Is transitioning from fretted to a fretless hard?

[BassmanI]

I still say some of the best training for electric bass is learning the double bass properly. Then transition to fretless electric will be practically nothing.

[zazz]

I have had a couple of fretless basses with lines..one was on purpose ...the other a defretted ...personally I could just about play them in the dark which quite often was the case on stage....the idea that someone could prefer an unlined neck is purely an aesthetic choice....I mean do the lines put you off?

I think to do accurate stuff further up the neck the lines are helpfull.... And a lot of guys sort of bluff it by slightly sliding up on every note till they hit it...which is fine but could they go straight to it every time without a bum note....well I guess with time they could but the lines although not cool could reassure that type of play.

[stettoman]

I bought a Warwick Rockbass Corvette fretless about two years ago. I'd played a fretless P-Bass years ago and my intonation was near perfect at the start. I'm still working on it with the Warwick. Besides my ears getting old and stubborn, part of my problem is where the side dot markers are: Exactly where they'd be on a fretted model. My mind tries to trick me into fretting ON the dots, causing me to "fish" for pitch far too often.



My intonation is better when I don't look at the neck, but the confidence factor has me looking too much. I just signed on with a 4-piece combo where fretless would be perfect, so I'm working it 4-6 hours a day. It WILL come...

[DRockMech]

I JUST got a double bass Friday after 12 years of fretted play. After a few hours of practice I've already got the hang of it.

Expecting to take months to be "stage" ready, this makes me wish I had the guts to do this long ago. Out of excitement, I didn't mark the side of the neck like I had intended, and dove right in.

I have learned that practice will eliminate the need for the markers. Like someone else said, dive into the deep end. Instinct will take over and you'll find enough similarity to be right at home.

[ggunn]

Originally Posted by RxFunk

Sometimes the lines on a lined fretless are a little bit off, which may be why you sounded "messy".

I don't think so. Most if not all lined fretless necks are just fretted necks with inlays instead of frets in the fret slots. That's why the side dots are usually in the wrong place for fretless playing.

[ggunn]

Originally Posted by nad

I tend to approach fretless basses quite differently than fretted.

There is a lot of freedom with fretless. Horrible, horrible freedom!

What I have learned from (painfully) listening to recordings of jams I have been in is that after I've had about four beers somebody needs to take the fretless bass away from me.

[NYCbassist]

Originally Posted by stettoman

I bought a Warwick Rockbass Corvette fretless about two years ago. I'd played a fretless P-Bass years ago and my intonation was near perfect at the start. I'm still working on it with the Warwick. Besides my ears getting old and stubborn, part of my problem is where the side dot markers are: Exactly where they'd be on a fretted model. My mind tries to trick me into fretting ON the dots, causing me to "fish" for pitch far too often.



My intonation is better when I don't look at the neck, but the confidence factor has me looking too much. I just signed on with a 4-piece combo where fretless would be perfect, so I'm working it 4-6 hours a day. It WILL come...

Keep at it man. I remember some really dark stages where looking down was just pointless. It was then I realized it can be done. Them Dots can be a pain in the arse.

[zortation]

If the fretless is giving you trouble now, I would say hold off for a few more months. Once you explore and develop your left hand positioning a little more on the fretted, it'll be much easier to find your way around on a fretless.

[woodyng]

I've played bass for eons,but never picked up Fl or a URB. When i got a "beginner" lined fretless last year,i was pretty much sight-dependent during the initial learning process. As i got used to the neck,i made a determination NOT to look at it,and just listen to what i was playing. This helped me 100%,and encouraged me to look into getting a more refined FL to improve my playing. I am looking at a bass that has an unlined fingerboard now,and find i get all the information i need to play through my ears.

[stettoman]

Originally Posted by NYCbassist

Keep at it man. I remember some really dark stages where looking down was just pointless. It was then I realized it can be done. Them Dots can be a pain in the arse.

My REAL problem is that for the 1st year and a half I only picked it up about once a week--I was that afraid of it once I realized I had to redevelop my sense of pitch on a fretless.

Every day makes a difference--'Ramble On' is WAY cool on fretless!

[joegrant413]

I say go for it. There is transition time, but maybe not as bad as you might think.

I've played only fretless for a couple of years. It's lined. Honestly, I don't know musically what the advantage to unlined would be. But I haven't tried.

Good luck,

- Joe

[Jeff Scott]

Originally Posted by Emilym80

If you want to get a fretless, practice fretting directly on top of the frets of a fretted bass as opposed to between them.

Even when I play a fretted bass I place my fingers as close as possible to the fret, almost on top of it. This helps tremendously in eliminating any fret buzz from the strings.

[Jeff Scott]

Originally Posted by woodyng

I am looking at a bass that has an unlined fingerboard now,and find i get all the information i need to play through my ears.

You haven't bought it, yet? Do it!

[Jaco D]

This is/was my experience as far as playing fretless and fretted basses is concerned. Everytime I shift back to fretted, my fretting seems to be clearer, crisper. I guess because the frets on a fretted bass acts like a safety net that saves you from crappy left hand actions, which you don't have on a fretless bass. Give it a spin around the block. It's gonna be a bit disconcerting at the start, but once you get the hang of it - including relying more on your ear than your eyes, you'll pick up one heck of a skill that would blend in well (often times better) with your fretted playing.

[zazz]

The part of this thread about lines on the fretboard ...it's just a display of macho .... Look at me ..I don't need training wheels.... It may as well be a discussion about buying a car with an unmarked gear stick ...

Granted a pure ebony fretboard devoid of any blemishes is truly a thing of beauty.....but the music doesn't mind one jot.

Seems like everyone is more concerned about the look....not the sound....

Who cares about the look.....

Personally Given the choice i would get lines every time.......I may not need them ...maybe I do ..who knows?..... But at least they are there if required.

[Lo-E]

I started playing fretless less than a year after I started playing fretted, so I was at the same point as the OP when I got it. My first fretless was lined, but I found it confused me more than it helped me. A year or so later, I switched to an unlined, which I was much happier with. All my fretless basses since have been unlined.

Ultimately, I agree with the others here who pointed out that it really has a lot more to do with ear training than anything else. While my personal preference has been unlined boards, there's nothing at all wrong with lines and plenty of high-profile players have used them.

I respectfully disagree with some here who suggested DB as a means to get better at playing fretless BG. DB will certainly help with ear training. There's no doubt about that, but the neck on a DB gives the player more physical landmarks than that of a fretless BG. Remember, the neck heel of a DB is at D or Eb - only 8 or 9 "fret" positions from the nut. On a fretless BG, you may not hit any physical landmark until you reach "fret" position 14 or 15 or even higher. I don't think it's a bad idea to play DB as well, but I wouldn't suggest it as a means to improve one's playing on fretless BG.

[Lo-E]

Originally Posted by stettoman

part of my problem is where the side dot markers are: Exactly where they'd be on a fretted model. My mind tries to trick me into fretting ON the dots, causing me to "fish" for pitch far too often.

Well, that certainly makes things harder than they need to be! (Warwick makes wonderful instruments... why would they do something so frustrating?) If it were me, I would seriously consider taking that bass to a good luthier and having them fill the holes with matching ebony and moving the dots to where the actual frets would be. I know that seems like an ordeal, but if you end up with another fretless someday that has the dots in the more typical spot it'll drive you bonkers. I'm really surprised Warwick did that!

[KingOlav]

I like a lot of what I'm hearing about the fretless; I myself have been wanting after one, but have also been intimidated by the thought of it for two reasons:

1. I'm building a 5-string Warmoth that will be my main instrument, and I don't know if I should make my main instrument fretless (even though I've always hated high action and fret noise), and

2. I wonder how much of a "funky" or poppy sound I could achieve with a fretless. I imagine if I put round-wounds on it and pluck every note I play, I could achieve a sound similar to that of a fretted bass, but I'm not sure. Any ideas?

[zazz]

Originally Posted by KingOlav

I like a lot of what I'm hearing about the fretless; I myself have been wanting after one, but have also been intimidated by the thought of it for two reasons:

1. I'm building a 5-string Warmoth that will be my main instrument, and I don't know if I should make my main instrument fretless (even though I've always hated high action and fret noise), and

2. I wonder how much of a "funky" or poppy sound I could achieve with a fretless. I imagine if I put round-wounds on it and pluck every note I play, I could achieve a sound similar to that of a fretted bass, but I'm not sure. Any ideas?

You can with practice punch a string against the fretboard to get a lot of funk and pop..... It can be done...

[KingOlav]

Originally Posted by zazz

You can with practice punch a string against the fretboard to get a lot of funk and pop..... It can be done...

That's fantastic.