Who said everything is supposed to be easy?
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Convince me why I should consider a fretless
- Thread starter Darkhorse1962
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If you need convincing you probably don't need one.
The original recording was done with a fretless, by Flea. The isolated bass track is on YouTube.
The only reason I need, is playing You Outta Know by Alanis Morisette on fretless, like it should have been done originally!!
The original recording was done with a fretless, by Flea. The isolated bass track is on YouTube.
This is true.
Which is why my first fretless was a $90.00 SX Precision from rondomusic.com. With a good set-up it was plenty good enough to let me get my head around intonation and technique quick enough to hear what I was after, and I was hooked and ready to trade up.
I still agree that it is very difficult, maybe impossible, to make that determination via an internet discussion. You really have to get your hands on one.
I've actually noticed the opposite. Most fretless players are very encouraging of people trying it out, and offering solid advice. Fretted players are the ones who show trepidation and discouragement.
Maybe they tried and failed at it, or the idea of playing without frets makes them nervous, but there is no big secret to playing fretless. If your technique on fretted is good, the transition is an easy one.
From personal experience I can relate this: fingerboard lines help very little. Unless you lean forward and look at the fingerboard, you can't really see them. Side dots or markings are far more useful.
I play country and classic rock as well, and am playing fretless instruments (Ibanez Portamento 5 string and NS Designs NXT) on about half of our tunes. EVERY ballad gets the Portamento. There's so much room to play on a song like Stay by Sugarland or Tennessee Whiskey by Chris Stapleton that I couldn't imagine using a fretted instrument.
Good luck with your decision.
They are even more rare in any music store, used or new, than lefty basses. When was the last time you saw a fretless bass in a music store?
Who said everything is supposed to be easy?
You implied it in your first quote.
...'what happened to going to a music store and trying different things out?' ... 'they can learn more in an hour at a music store that they can in a month in the Internet'.
You can't learn about anything in a music store in any amount of time if they don't actually stock the item.
I've never showed up for any kind of audition with anything else save a fretless as well, and it has never been an issue. I have on at least one occasion been playing with a BL who one night asked me if I could bring a fretless for a particular song. I told him I'd been playing nothing but. Look on his face was priceless; he'd never noticed.
I completely agree with this. I make a point to hand my unlined fretless Fender to other players to see how they like it, particularly if they've never tried a fretless before. They seem to take to it immediately and are somewhat surprised at how easy it is to play.
I think fretless works well in anything, including rock. But I only have so much energy to fight the Fender gravity well these days. I try to introduce things like my Ripper or a fretless. But "you can't talk to a man, when he don't want to understand..." like the song goes.
Glad you're making headway on the fretless front at least.
No good reason to get one I suppose, but I just like them. BUT, I like to do slides and some other stuff that just sounds so much better on a fretless. Plus, you get style and cool points for being a little bit different. They do have drawbacks for sure, but for what I like to do they work just fine and there's just something fun about playing one.
Last time I saw a fretless in a guitar shop it was 2007 (my never-used Squier VM). I bought it. Last time before that was 1986 (my always-used Steinberger). I bought that one too.
Few stores will carry them or buy them used and why would they? It's gonna sit for YEARS, costing you money every day it sits there.
I bought and returned/resold a bunch of fretless basses over the internet, at some considerable expense, before finally finding one (actually three Cort B4FL basses, all awesome) that could adequately replace my Steinberger as my gigging bass, because I wasn't real keen on taking an original L-series Steinberger out to a fifty-buck club gig. Really no other options with fretless, if you wait for one to show up in your local store you'll be waiting a decade and maybe more.
- Jun 6, 2012
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I'm not saying other fretless players are discouraging. What I was alluding to is how some make it out to be far more difficult than it actually is - which is to say: not very. I myself don't really care whether a neck is lined or not. I just ignore them anyway. But I started on upright and played that for the first several years I was playing so it's no nevermind to me. I don't think they're all that useful personally. But some players are more comfortable with the fact they're there. and I have no problem with that. Whatever works best for the individual. I do like and benefit from side markers however. At least on those infrequent occasions when the bass doesn't seem to want to cooperate. Which happens every so often because I don't play fretless as much as I used to.
I can imagine any bass in any song. Some I'd definitely like more than others. But I also like to think I can make any bass work at this stage of the game. I try not to impose any conditions on what I'm playing, or how I'm going to play it, or on what instrument - other than it always be in the service of the song.
But that's me. I've lightened up considerably over the years about a lot of peripheral things (like which bass to play) that once used to get my hackles up. I'm much happier for it now that I have. YMMV.
I tried fretless and figured out I didn't need to learn it. I traded it a year later for another bass.
Every time I go in a music store I see fretless basses. Atomic Music, Guitar Center, Chuck Levins, Bills Music, etc.They are even more rare in any music store, used or new, than lefty basses. When was the last time you saw a fretless bass in a music store?
You implied it in your first quote.
...'what happened to going to a music store and trying different things out?' ... 'they can learn more in an hour at a music store that they can in a month in the Internet'.
You can't learn about anything in a music store in any amount of time if they don't actually stock the item.
I'm not going to argue. People make excuses for things they don't want to do and they find a way to make the things they DO want to do happen.
People today give up every time something isn't easy.
I didn't imply anything in my post. You read what you wanted to read.
I play my fretless in my metal band. Nobody has tried to kill me, yet.
The real question is: what is the best fretless for metal? And I do not know the answer to that.
The nice thing with ballads, is that there is room to breathe. You're not trying to fight the guitarist or keyboards for sonic space. And the vocal quality of fretless really lends itself to those situations. But, like you said, YMMV.
Agree. It does work well with a ballad. Unless you 'style' it so much it draws attention to itself. Or go overboard with the mwah so much it becomes a parody of itself like many new fretless players tend to do.
But you can get some equally soulful basslines out of a fretted bass with the right touch and settings. Again, it's not so much the instrument as it is the player.
One thing fretless will do is make you a better player overall. At least IMO. But that's a whole separate topic for discussion.
HEY BUD HOW YOU DOING,I LOVE FRETLESS,,,THE SOUND,,,,I PLAY FOR A LIVING,,,,,EVERY FRETLESS IS DIFFERENT,,,LIKE A FENDER,P OR JAZZ,WHEN U PLAY A FRETLESS FENDER,USE YOUR EAR OF CROUSE,BUT YOU HAVE TO HIT IT WHERE THE FRETS WOULD BE,,,I MEAN,RIGHT ON THE FRET IF U HAD A FRETED BASS,LIKE A WARWICK U PLAY RIGHT ON THE DOT,RIGHT ON THE DOT,LITTLE IN FRONT OF DOT,,,,AND IF YOU PLAY WITH 2 GUITAR PLAYERS OR A KEYBOARD,SOMEBODY WILL BE OUT OF TUNE,,,,,THE SOUND AND FEEL,IS GREAT,,,I HAVE 4 FRETLESS BASSES GREAT FORSOLO,S ONE GUITAR PLAYER AND SLIDES GREAT,LIKE A STAND UP KINDA,,,,WATCH YOUR OCTIVES,,,LIKE SAY AND E NOTE,CHECK EVERY E ON BASS,,,CHECK YOUR OCTIVES,,,LOVE FRETLESS YOU CAN PLAY IT,,,,,,KNOW YOUR FRET BROAD,,,,,,,,OCTIVES,,OCTIVES,,,THANK U,,,,,,,C.PEARSON-4 STRING MASTER OF DISASTER
UND,,,,I PLAY FOR A LIVING,,,,,EVERY FRETLESS IS DIFFERENT,,,LIKE A FENDER,P OR JAZZ,WHEN U PLAY A FRETLESS FENDER,USE YOUR EAR OF CROUSE,BUT YOU HAVE TO HIT IT WHERE THE FRETS WOULD BE,,,I MEAN,RIGHT ON THE FRET IF U HAD A FRETED BASS,LIKE A WARWICK U PLAY RIGHT ON THE DOT,RIGHT ON THE DOT,LITTLE IN FRONT OF DOT,,,,AND IF YOU PLAY WITH 2 GUITAR PLAYERS OR A KEYBOARD,SOMEBODY WILL BE OUT OF TUNE,,,,,THE SOUND AND FEEL,IS GREAT,,,I HAVE 4 FRETLESS BASSES GREAT FORSOLO,S ONE GUITAR PLAYER AND SLIDES GREAT,LIKE A STAND UP KINDA,,,,WATCH YOUR OCTIVES,,,LIKE SAY AND E NOTE,CHECK EVERY E ON BASS,,,CHECK YOUR OCTIVES,,,LOVE FRETLESS YOU CAN PLAY IT,,,,,,KNOW YOUR FRET BROAD,,,,,,,,OCTIVES,,OCTIVES,,,THANK U,,,,,,,C.PEARSON-4 STRING MASTER OF DISASTEREarly on in my playing years, fretless called to me just like religion calls to some people and, I answered without regret. The sound of a fretless bass is the sound of a human voice, in all it's glory. I also occasionally slum on fretted bass but, I prefer the sight of a blank board with no markings. If a company made a fretless bass with no side markers, it would be difficult for me not to purchase it.
