Since ive defretted my bass cos iwanted more freedom ive noticed this is really not the case. Imean the only thing ive noticed is that you can do slides easier, but it aint to hard on a fretted. Have i missed something? exept for vibratos wich is really a minor thing especially if you play metal. And the "you can play inbetween notes", wats the point on making a note between A and A#? Is it something ive missed? Im thinking i went fretless for the wrong reason.
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Does fretless really give you that much more freedom?
- Thread starter Demon
- Start date
Fretless has completly unique tonal qualities as well. You cant get much (or any) "mwah" with a fretted instrument
fretless and fretted basses contain the same amount of freedom, its really up to your imagination and creativity to decide how much "freedom" you have in your bass imo
Yeah, i think i made a mistake going fretless. Honestly i think i did it to stand out more and maybe cos i thot it gave more freedom for bad reasons, i never really liked the fretless sound:/ I thot i was gonna change the fretless sound so i liked it, but guess thats whats effects are for. Anyway, it was a Squier, so it aint that bad.
I dont really think a fretless is that useful in metal. Of course there are a few exceptions, but anyone who will disagree is solely doing so for the sake of being difficult. Metal isnt a fretless's playground.
Ive attempted to incorporate a fretless into my playing twice. The first time,I used a fretless for awhile but i basically played it like a fretted,which quickly became pointless,so I sold it. the second time it just never got played. I dont like the way my current fretless sits in the mix with my band. That and the fact that i just dont realy enjoy playing fretless.
Ive attempted to incorporate a fretless into my playing twice. The first time,I used a fretless for awhile but i basically played it like a fretted,which quickly became pointless,so I sold it. the second time it just never got played. I dont like the way my current fretless sits in the mix with my band. That and the fact that i just dont realy enjoy playing fretless.
Yep,im thinking the same that im trying to play it like a fretted hehe=/ But ill keep it for maybe 1 or 2 songs, imean, im sure it would be of use for something later if you want some oter sound, but id prefer having effects since those can give you lots of cool sounds.
Having more freedom of intonation can be cool with notes whose pitch is kind of "relative" such as the blue notes (the b5 for example), this also works for metal lines (you're into metal, aren't you?) The b5 in blues is sort of inbetween the 4 and the flat 5 and which means you can't really nail it with a fretted instrument unless you bend the strings.
I hope I'm making sense. If you play the root notes and notes that are in the chord with a band, your intonation should always be spot-on because those are the notes that define the tonality. You can take liberties when intonating notes that aren't as "important" (i.e. play them slightly flat or sharp) to make your fretless lines more interesting.
I hope I'm making sense. If you play the root notes and notes that are in the chord with a band, your intonation should always be spot-on because those are the notes that define the tonality. You can take liberties when intonating notes that aren't as "important" (i.e. play them slightly flat or sharp) to make your fretless lines more interesting.
Thing is, i realize i was trying to get my fretless to sound like a fretted (more agressive/boomy/powerful whatever you call it).
Hahah, well,ive already said why
And i probably will go back to Fretted, or stay fretted, since i recently defretted it;P
And i probably will go back to Fretted, or stay fretted, since i recently defretted it;P
I really enjoy fretless although I haven't owned one in a while.
That said, fretless is different, it isn't really any more "free" than fretted bass guitar.
That said, fretless is different, it isn't really any more "free" than fretted bass guitar.
I seem to be the exact opposite of you. I defretted one of my cheapies and set it up nicely and I barely pick up my fretted anymore. I just feel restrained when I do. I guess fretless just isn't for everyone.
Demon said:
fretless can work fine in metal, I think the issue is 3 fold.
First: you are expecting a defretted P bass for be something it's not.
Second: You may not have 'optimised' the bass for fretless playing. ie: did you recut the nut? did you reserface & reradius the board? etc
Third: I don't think you've taken the time to 'learn' how to make a fretless speak. There is a more physical connection between player and fretless... it takes time.
Figjam said:
Tell that to Steve DiGiorgio.
Or me, for that matter. My fretless 4 sat better in a metallish mix than did my Conklin GT-7, even with a baritone guitar player to go up against. Granted, I don't set my fretless up to be a clone of Jaco's bass. I can see where you might think that mwah isn't useful in a metal band, but not all of us set our basses up like that. Or at least I don't.
I guess having responded to my post you are agreeing that you are disagreeing just to be difficult 
James Hart said:
Thing is, i actually like the sound of my precision more than jacos tone, so you get my point? I dont like the tone and when i defretted it i was thinking that i was gonna change the sound not to sound "fretless". Icant really see how fretless gives more "physical connection" than a fretted. And what does that mather anyway=P Anyway i guess i might aswell had the feeling that it would make me stand out more. But guess i could do that with effects, playing style, technique etc. I just dont like the Damped, Mellow tone of a fretless, and i thought i could change it to a more fretted like tone without using a pick.
Demon said:
well, that all takes time to learn as well. My fretless is a big 6 string P bass... It's got a lot of the stuff you searched for in your other threads. Just give it time.
(I'm not crazy about Jaco's tone for myself either)
It's a very different playing style, that can take a while to really adjust to, but it's well worth trying. I for one can barely stand to play fretted instruments anymore - it feels like I really have to think about each note, whereas on a fretless I just feel them. It feels a lot more natural.
It's not for everyone, and it can be hard to fit them into certain styles of music, but I for one am a convert.
It's not for everyone, and it can be hard to fit them into certain styles of music, but I for one am a convert.
yeah, I remember I defretted my old Rogue (such great memories) and I filed the nut down and changed the action, and it actually almost started to sound like a fretless, as cheap as it was. Then I won my KSD fretless, and it rocks. And as crazy as I know it sounds, I really do have a physical connection with my bass.
