Fretless styles (beginner question)

[Penepasta]

I've been considering making the switch from a fretted bass to fretless. My two favorite bassists are fretless players and I figured I wanted a thunderous, unmistakable sound too. But as I browse youtube and read articles all I see is a bunch of old men playing jazz or metal or classic rock (not to bash in any way) but those are my least favorite styles, I see people sliding and making a sound that I can only describe as "smooth weather channel". I guess my question is, if you aren't into stuff like that is a fretted bass a better idea? I play mainly high energy stuff (punk, post-punk, ska, indie).

[BassChuck]

If the sound you are looking for requires fretless, then get one and play what you hear in your head.
BTW, who are your favorite bassists?

[bobbth]

You canget any sond from any bass (it just gets harder and more expensive the more picky you are), try a fretless if you like, you play. Fretless basses open up a whole new playing field (although not the most useful field outside of awesome slides)

[JTE]

Fretless is simply another voice. Is it your voice? Only you can tell. Only YOU are restricting whether it can be used for different "styles" of music. If you play fretless well, you should be able to play it so no one knows you're playing fretless unless you want them to know. Listen to Freebo on the early Bonnie Raitt albums ("Give It Up" and "Takin' My Time", both from the early to mid '70s). Check out how he controls intonation.

Perhaps it's more of a technical challenge to play chords or fast slap-pop stuff on a fretless, but even that stuff is possible if you're willing to work at it. Don't let what others use dissuade you from using fretless just because it's not common in what you perceive as a "genre" or "style".

John

[Blackbird]

If you are aiming for a sound that is "thunderous and unmistakable", your best bet is to become the best player you can be and not expect your instrument to get your sound for you. Great players can pick up anybody's instrument and sound like themselves.

[Headless Llama]

my first bass was a fretless. I play everything on it, from blues to Rush...

I honestly bought it because I liked how it felt, I didn't even know who Jaco was when I bought it! I bought it because it was the one that made me feel good... It is hard to explain, I guess the bass found me...

I also have two fretted basses that I play. But I still prefer my fretless. It still speaks to me.

[Monkey]

I agree with JTE.... Only you can decide if fretless is "your' voice.

I bought my first fretless in 1982, before I had ever heard of Jaco. I was into Yes, Rush, roots reggae, and classical Indian music at the time, and happened to find a fretless in a music store. I immediately found that fretless was my voice and I gave up fretted bass. I don't sound like myself at all on fretted bass; it feels like playing with handcuffs on.

I think you can play fretless in any kind of music. I have been playing roots reggae on fretless for over two decades, and also play funk, rock, folk, blues, etc.

[dalconthenovice]

i'm sad to say its near impossible for me to play fretless bass, my fingers are way too small, i'm bairly able to play in first position on the bass let alone make the finger stretches to play the notes on a fretless

[bwoodman]

Don't get rid of your fretted bass - buy a fretless or convert a fretted so you have both. I used to be in a all original band that played jazzy rock - like Sting/Steely Dan/Joni Mitchell - and fretless was really cool with that band. I'm no longer in that band and hardly play fretless at all now. Even Pino Palladino went back to a fretted P Bass after having been known for his fretless Stingray tracks in the 80s. I think it's better to have a fretless for when you need it and don't "switch" to fretless. If you've never played a fretless, you'll find it a huge challenge, unless you've played upright before. Playing in tune is the challenge - you have to really be aware of pitch at all times.

[uethanian]

i hear what you mean about 'smooth weather channel' sound...there's a painfully cliche use of fretless bass in new-age/smooth jazz/easy listening. but you can sound obnoxious on a fretted bass, or really any instrument if you put your mind to it.

a fretless won't give you 'your sound,' it will only open up a new range of possible sounds. it's like a lot of things; buying a performance car doesn't make you a good pro driver, buying nice golf clubs doesn't make you tiger woods, etc.

all that being said, my first real bass guitar was a fretless and i don't regret the decision. it just feels better for me, even if some music is made more difficult by it.

[fingerbun]

Originally Posted by bobbth

You canget any sond from any bass (it just gets harder and more expensive the more picky you are), try a fretless if you like, you play. Fretless basses open up a whole new playing field (although not the most useful field outside of awesome slides)

The sound of strings on wood rather than frets opens up a world of possibilities that I have never heard anyone get with frets. More subtle than slides but highly addictive.

(of course that cuts both ways. Frets get sounds that you can't get on fretless)

Listen to Jaco on Hijera. You can't get that sound with frets.

[BKBassDude]

Originally Posted by Penepasta

I've been considering making the switch from a fretted bass to fretless. My two favorite bassists are fretless players and I figured I wanted a thunderous, unmistakable sound too. But as I browse youtube and read articles all I see is a bunch of old men playing jazz or metal or classic rock (not to bash in any way) but those are my least favorite styles, I see people sliding and making a sound that I can only describe as "smooth weather channel". I guess my question is, if you aren't into stuff like that is a fretted bass a better idea? I play mainly high energy stuff (punk, post-punk, ska, indie).

Who are your two favorite players? Because most fretless players take advantage of at least some of the sliding/vibrato/glissando elements of fretless, otherwise you might as well be playing fretted. Unless you're into some crazy microtonal stuff.

[Iceman500]

Originally Posted by dalconthenovice

i'm sad to say its near impossible for me to play fretless bass, my fingers are way too small, i'm bairly able to play in first position on the bass let alone make the finger stretches to play the notes on a fretless

I believe most people have fingers too small to play "first position" on the upright bass. You can play a fretless if you want!

[Iceman500]

Originally Posted by Penepasta

I've been considering making the switch from a fretted bass to fretless. My two favorite bassists are fretless players and I figured I wanted a thunderous, unmistakable sound too. But as I browse youtube and read articles all I see is a bunch of old men playing jazz or metal or classic rock (not to bash in any way) but those are my least favorite styles, I see people sliding and making a sound that I can only describe as "smooth weather channel". I guess my question is, if you aren't into stuff like that is a fretted bass a better idea? I play mainly high energy stuff (punk, post-punk, ska, indie).

Go for it, from jazz to extreme metal there are plenty of fretless player, music genre is not a barrier.

[Nic.]

I play a lot of rock on fretless, and some metal too. Played some punk-ish songs on it recently, although they're not my taste. If you're worried about tone... well, I have an ebony fingerboard fretless with coil-tappable humbuckers and flatwounds for a more traditional dry tone, and an epoxied fingerboard fretless with bright roundwounds that I play with a pick. Has a very bright aggressive sound, and also has the ruuwawaaaaaooo and the other subtleties of fretless. You can get a percussive sound with that kind of combination with looser strings and really hard attack and some control on the left hand- I sometimes pick with the same wrist movement and strength as I drum. I figure it's bad for the strings, but it gets me a pretty unique sound. I slide and vibrato all the time too. It's definitely a fretless sound, but it's as aggressive as a fretted.

[lowendfriend]

I'm playing my Lakland 55-01 a lot since I picked it up in October. Other than the obvious big differences, Fretless is different in a lot of smaller ways that are hard to enumerate.

For one, the 55-01 is 35" scale and my Warwick fretted is 34". Playing the 66-01 stretches my hand a bit differently. I guess I'll just say that you have the opportunity to transition between notes differently. You've got to work at intonation and accuracy differently than the fretted of course. But I love the ways to "slide into home plate" with the fretless as you are learning a song, or modifying your style.

There is learning value in playing both regularly, just as it pays to jump music genres from time to time. I played my first country tune at a gig recently and while it's lots of half notes, you pay more attention to subtle timing and transitions in some ways.

Enjoy the journey!

[mambo4]

I play mainly high energy stuff (punk, post-punk, ska, indie).

use a fretted bass:

-these styles rarely use the sound of a fretless
-for a beginner, there are fundamentals more practically valuable to acquire than fretless chops.
-you seem to actually dislike the fretless sound, judging by your comments.

I love fretless, but for the genres you list, I'd just grab a fretted P-bass. Maybe after you develop a solid foundation for bass/punk/ska/indie, you can try to innovate...but as a beginner there are probably more effective areas to focus on.

[dalconthenovice]

Originally Posted by Iceman500

I believe most people have fingers too small to play "first position" on the upright bass. You can play a fretless if you want!

you actually probably don't know JUST how much reading that meant to me, thank you