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Do fretless basses work on a rock context? ((tl;dr) at the end)

FranTheReaper

FranTheReaper

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Jan 13, 2016
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#1
Hi, I'm new to the forum!
I'm planning on making my bass a fretless one but I'm not sure if it is gonna work with my way of playing and the type of music I like. I haven't developed my bass style yet but I'm trying to be a melodic player with a bit of improvisation and jazz on what would be a rock context (e.g.: Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, etc).
The problem is that most of the bands (be it a rock band or of any other genre) I listen to don't have a fretless player on them so I don't have any reference that I can use to know if it is gonna work.

Some of the bassists I like and influence me in diferent ways are JPJ, Geezer Butler, Duff McKagan, Paul McCartney, Cliff Williams (not melodic, I know, but I still like him), John Entwistle, Jaco Pastorius, Sting and some bassists from my country, Argentina, some of which aren't exactly hard rockers. (Youtube links below so you can get an idea on what they sound like)

So, what do you think? Should I make the change to a fretless bass or keep my fretted one as it is?


YOUTUBE LINKS

Band/Bassist's name - some description and stuff

Serú Girán/Pedro Aznar - quite a slow song even by their standards. The guy was influenced by Jaco and got to play with Pat Metheny (although not as a bassist, I think). Had to choose between this one and another from the same record but chose this for its use of harmonics, arpeggios and the bass riff. He's the only one that plays a fretless bass regularly besides Jaco as far as I know




La máquina de hacer pájaros (Literally, The machine for making birds)/ José Luis Fernández - prog rock, sometimes slow, sometimes with a bit more of energy. The track is long and mostly instrumental with a lot of different parts so is a great way to show his sense of groove, harmonics and melody. Bass kicks in at 40 seconds




Divididos (The Divided)/Diego Arnedo - now this straight hard rock in my opinion. It has a good bass riff at the beginning and at the bridge, plus a tone that reminds m of Entwistle with fast blistering licks from 2:00 onwards. This guy made me start playing bass. Sure, there are some that I like more now but this track is like a blueprint of what I want along with the guy from the first song and JPJ. The rest are just adding to that mix.




(tl;dr): Planning on getting a fretless bass. Will it work for a (mostly) 70's rock style musician with little hints of melodic kind of playing in it?

P.S: Sorry for any spelling mistakes or anything. As I said before, I'm from Argentina so English isn't my first language, although I can handle it very well when reading it or hearing it to a lesser extent.
 
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#7
wvbass said:
Two words: Blue Murder

Click to expand...


Thanks wv, I've never heard Blue Murder before. I think I've heard of them, but I was never into '80s hair metal that much. I'm more familiar with The Firm and some of his other (less hair metally) projects.

That was good to hear, though. And a great example of fretless rockability.
 
#12
Worked for Colin Bass of Camel. IMO it's a natural for prog. I used one quite often when playing that genre.



And it worked for bass legend Tony Levin with Peter Gabriel. That fretless MM Sabre of his defined the sound of Sledgehammer. Although Tony could pull a great performance out of a rubber band if he had to.



And Stanley Sheldon on the Frampton Comes Alive album. He was one of the earliest rock bassists to go with a fretless.

And...and...and...it just goes on...

So yeah, a fretless will work in a rock context.

But if you're not 100% sure, do not pull frets on your current bass. Especially if it's your main (or only) instrument. Either swap out the neck (easy if it's a Fender) or get something inexpensive but workable and give it a try first to see what you think.

Also be aware that even if you do fall in love with it, you may end up not playing fretless anywhere near as much as you'd like, or expected to. I started on upright so I was initially more comfortable with a fretless neck than a fretted one. But even though I love the sound and feel of the fretless basses I've owned, I maybe play them only 5% of the time - at most. The bulk of what I do - and am called on to do - uses a fretted bass. And that creates a minor problem...

Because, once you get fretless down, you'll have to make a commitment to stay on top of your skills. And that's because a fretless bass requires regular practice. More so than a fretted bass does. Go too long without playing one and it will feel like you're starting all over.

Most players who try a fretless either give up before they attain an acceptable level of proficiency; or end up not sticking with it even if they do, for a variety of reasons.

These are all things to think about before you pull the trigger.

But on a positive note, that's also what also guarantees there's a goodly number of decent fretless basses (and necks) out on the used market for reasonable prices. So be sure to shop for used first.

Good luck! And happy fretlessing. (Is that even a word I wonder?) :thumbsup:
 
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#14
Mosstone said:
Thanks wv, I've never heard Blue Murder before. I think I've heard of them, but I was never into '80s hair metal that much. I'm more familiar with The Firm and some of his other (less hair metally) projects.

That was good to hear, though. And a great example of fretless rockability.
Click to expand...
It does have a heavy dose of 80's, but this is just about my favorite hair metal song.
 
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#15
I play hard rock and play a fretless. I've found over the years the sound of a fretless fits my style and what I want to accomplish tone wise.

There is a bit of tonal variance from a fretted bass as others have stated. Also, you do have to practice more. Never a bad idea. The more you practice the better you become (as long as you practice proper technique).

Me personally being a left handed player playing a right handed bass I find myself using a much heavier approach with my left hand. On a fretted bass there was always an almost slap tone resulting. I kept on trying to eq out the fret noise resulting from it. On a fretless (I use chromes for strings) it brought the tone more in line with the snare and toms and less in line with the cymbals. I find my self locking in with the drummer more and more in better ways.

As a musician I've improved greatly. My pitch has improved resulting in better vocals and bass lines. In the end however, it relies more so on your personal tastes.

I recommend picking up a cheap fretless first and seeing how it feels in a band setting prior to taking the full plunge.
 
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#20
LowDownHawkeye said:
Not sure if this is supposed to be a joke. Wouldn't this be a legit idea? multiscale for the same reasons as a fretted fanned fret bass?
Click to expand...
Dingwall makes them, probably others.
They are, unsurprisingly, lined fretless.
Don't think I could cope with the learning curve for an unlined multiscale fretless.

There are lots of examples of fretless in rock.
Didn't see _Frampton Comes Alive_ mentioned yet*. The bass is pretty well buried in the mix, but fretless it is.

I play blues on mine, and there are a lot of people who think _Crossroads_ is rock - at least the way Cream plays it...
About the only things it's not _as_ good at is slapping and tapping, but they're both possible...
___________
Edit: It was; I missed it...
 
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