Anyone else try using a pick with a fretless bass?

[M0ses]

So, maybe it's OT, but when are you going to tell us what each of the 6 knobs on your bass does?

 

[kevin newsham]

So, maybe it's OT, but when are you going to tell us what each of the 6 knobs on your bass does?

I am going to bet it is stacked volume and blend, stacked treble and bass, and stacked mid and frequency.

 

[Ric5]

So, maybe it's OT, but when are you going to tell us what each of the 6 knobs on your bass does?

1 - balance
2 - volume
3 - low mids
4 - high mids
5 - bass
6 - treble

I can pretty much dial in any tone I want or need with the 4 band Audere preamp, and the stacked knobs are compact and clean.

 

[David Jayne]

Love your 'rick-y' basses, Ric5(pickup locations). Very cool indeed- might have to make one myself.
Hey, if it makes a noise you like, play it however you like. No shame in using a pick on fretless.

 

[scotch]

Oh yeah! I LOVE playing my fretless with a pick! And it's not exactly blazing into uncharted territory- check out old Police footage to see one very cool approach...

As much as I respect, appreciate and admire Pastorius' contribution to the art of fretless electric playing, I'm bored with so many players dogmatic adherence to his approach. You don't have to embrace slide-harmonics and the ubiquitous "mwahhhh" when you strap on a fretless. There's so much more potential!

I love the combined effect of my flatwound-strung fretless maple board with the added attack of a pick. It sounds natural and focused. People often don't notice that I'm playing a fretless until I incorporate and obvious slide. I think thats a good thing.

 

[Nashrakh]

I tried it once and liked it better than I initially thought (not big on pick playing, somehow).

Need to get my fretless set up differently for that though, too much buzz.... :\

 

[M.R. Ogle]

You don't have to embrace slide-harmonics and the ubiquitous "mwahhhh" when you strap on a fretless. There's so much more potential!"

Amen to that.

Nobody in the audience really wants to hear those little parlor tricks... except maybe other bass-geeks.

 

[harmendebresser]

Hmmm... Also, a pretty well known guy named Gordon used to play it like that with his band... Had a couple of hits in the 70's... And 80's... Reunited for a world tour 2 years ago... Took his son's band with them on the road... What was his name again...

 

[M.R. Ogle]

Post 25....

 

[bolombo]

Post 17....

 

[nato101010]

The reason I bought a fretless.

And here I am, left with that tone in my head, and no way to create it.

 

[julieslick]

Sometimes with my Lakie 44... can sound really cool, with the tone turned back a bit...

 

[scotch]

sounds ok to me...

Exactly!!!!

 

[acleex38]

I'm playing with a pick about 10-20% of the time these days and play fretless 90% of the time, so yeah. I love it!

 

[JohnnyB53]

...
I love the combined effect of my flatwound-strung fretless maple board with the added attack of a pick. It sounds natural and focused. People often don't notice that I'm playing a fretless until I incorporate an obvious slide. I think that's a good thing.

Exactly. A pick expands your range of tonalities and especially attacks.

Playing with fingers causes the bass tone to swell a little more slowly. Switching to fretless lengthens the swell even more. So does moving from roundwounds to flats. By the time you take a fretless, put on flats, and play with fingers, the bass's response has slowed down considerably, making it difficult to play fast phrases clearly.

The right pick helps speed up the attack. I use pressure wound strings on mine. They're almost as fast and bright as rounds, but easier on the board and quieter under the fingers. When I play songs with critical faster passages I often switch to a pick. A thick, powerful pick launches the string to full volume immediately, giving more drive to the song and more clarity to the bass line.

I've found the ideal bass pick to be the Dunlop Big Stubby in 2.0 or 3.0 mm thickness. It instantly launches a 34" string to full volume with no clicky sound.

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[M.R. Ogle]

What JohnnyB53 said!!!!


WORD!!!

 

[Legion]

Personally I like the sound of a fretless played with a pick as it sounds pretty unique as there's some buzz that isn't fret buzz. Also, it sometimes sounds as if there's a chorus effect going on. It's sorta hard to put into words -- maybe that's why I like it.

I was wondering if I was imagining that "Chorus" effect, but I'm glad you phrased it in the same way as it must be there although it is pretty subtle. Personally I really don't like that sound so I tend not to use a pick on my fretless unless I'm muting with the heel of my hand.

I wonder if the gauge of the pick has anything to do with it? I use a very thin pick...

EDIT: posted before reading page 2 - as per post#35 I'll give it a go with a stubby pick

 

[AltGrendel]

Yes, I do use a pick.

No issues at all, just a slightly different mwaahhh.

 

[boomtisk]

I was wondering if I was imagining that "Chorus" effect, but I'm glad you phrased it in the same way as it must be there although it is pretty subtle. Personally I really don't like that sound so I tend not to use a pick on my fretless unless I'm muting with the heel of my hand.

I wonder if the gauge of the pick has anything to do with it? I use a very thin pick...

EDIT: posted before reading page 2 - as per post#35 I'll give it a go with a stubby pick

Funny, I too usually use somewhat thin picks. Although I think I once "picked" my fretless in a band situation and the "chorus effect" didn't come through at all in the mix. But then again I wasn't allowed to play very loud that day as we were jamming at a friend's house.

 

[Ric5]

This is the song that got me into fretless bass ...