Is that so? absolutely untrue? I have good pitch and have been playing fretless since the late 70s. Try the test. Everybody try the test and see if you agree or disagree. I know what vibrato is and it has nothing to do with what I was talking about.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Convince me why I should consider a fretless
- Thread starter Darkhorse1962
- Start date
-
- Tags
- fretless
I don't mean it as vibrato...I meant the "mechanics" of vibrato . Simple concept , comparable to your test....try to keep up , I'll go slow....rocking your finger back and forth in a rolling motion"AS IF " without actually taking your finger OFF the fingerboard. If you CAN"T here a pitch difference then you OBVIOUSLY DON"T have good pitch. If you can't notice that you are both slightly flat and slightly sharp when doing this, then I don't know what you've been doing on a fretless since 1970.
Your statement of being off with your intonation "slightly" and no one will notice may be true for YOU and if it is then there are many good ear training courses out there. So if a luthier is off with his fret placement then "no big deal"cause no one will notice! There is BAD intonation which is VERY different from playing jazz improv in a club with other musicians where at times a player may be off and it sounds GREAT ....but don't try to convince me that no one will notice. I don't care how long you've played fretless, that means nothing to me ....Ive been playing it just as long and have studied with one of the most unique ,well known fretless players there is.
I'm not going to derail this post anymore by arguing with someone who just wants to argue for the sake of arguing. You can always pm me if you want a real discussion....same for the other guy who can't read....I never said anything about what you can do on fretted you can't on fretless...I mentioned a few techniques that one does on fretless that aren't possible on fretted, and some that don't work as well...He obviously got that one backwards as well. If you want to troll then have fun, I'm not going to entertain it.....PM ....but I expect the several posts I'll get hear from you guys that I won't address.
I'll go slow so YOU can understand! It seems that others can be abusive and get away with it so, I will hold my temper and simply say you are wrong. Your opinions mean 0 to me. So, keep up the insults, I don't care.
Last edited:
My number one reason.
But it also scares the heck out of some folks. If you embrace the fun aspect the fear factor is usually minimized. Just play it often.
Fretless Is fun and satisfying to play. Nothing wrong with fretted bass, it's just a matter of personal preference.My number one reason.
But it also scares the heck out of some folks. If you embrace the fun aspect the fear factor is usually minimized. Just play it often.
Me too. That guy is pretty good though. I stumbled across his video when I was curious about slapping on fretless basses one time. Cool stuff.
Here's what you said:
"I didn't mean that fingering and plucking aren't the same ,although some can argue that point as well,....maybe the player uses a pick, maybe
he is into slapping or some other techniques that don't necessarily translate that well on a fretless instrument. I studied with a very famous
fretless player and he taught me things that CANNOT be done on a fretted instrument , so the not everything crosses over from one to the
other."
It's already been shown that slapping translates well to fretless. You mentioned there are other techniques that don't translate to fretless. What are they?
I got lucky, my friend is letting me "borrow" his fretless Laguna Ocean. It's a fine looking bass and sounds great! I'm still a new player (just over 2 years now) and can competently play easier stuff, given that I have enough time to learn it. Just started on the fretless this week and WOW....it feels soo natural. Tried my fretted and I was like ***! I want my own fretless now! As for genres of music, I think I could make one work for whatever I want to play.
Because a fretless gives you a different set of sounds, and you won't know whether or not those sounds will work for you until/unless you try it for awhile. Everyone should try fretless, because it expands your range. I love my fretless instruments, but they don't cover all territory. I really wish I had a fretted version of my fretless StingRay to complement her. OTOH, when you take a fretless out of its case in front of a whole crowd, you are bound to get a couple of comments from very impressed audience members. Just make sure your intonation is good.
