fret vs fret less

[BillyH]

Im loving my new Birdsong bass. Im trying to justify another one and the only excuse I can come up with is I need a fret less. What are the advantages and disadvantages to having a fret less? Our current band does 60-70's covers. Lots of Motown, horns etc.

[garmenteros]

I'm not to familiar with mo town records, but I imagine some if not a lot of the tracks feature fretless on them, so getting a fretless would nail some of those tracks better.

I got one for fun and playing a couple of slower tracks my zeppelin band does and it adds a new dimension to my playing and it will probably do the same for you. You approach things differently, at least I do.

[TDP333]

Fretless wouldn't be a bad choice for Motown, Jamerson and Babbitt both used fretted Fender Precisions strung with flat-wounds or tape-wounds, although the sound they achieved was more muted, smoother and arguably a more fretless tone than one would expect from a fretted instrument. This is because these basses used to come stock with foam mutes just in front of the bridge.

I play fretless almost exclusively now, although I always have a fretted in my arsenal. I feel it’s the best of both/worlds in terms of upright and electric, you can have an organic woody tone and smooth glissandos, but with the volume, punch and articulation of a solid-body electric instrument should you need it.

One thing though, if your used to playing fretted, depending on your technique you may need to set some time aside to work on your fretless articulation as it is less forgiving in some respects, the upside is that it can be more forgiving in the sense that there is no fret-noise.