i'd bet that if you got another fretless = it would 'click' for you. also, you could get a cheapie and just have it lying around until the mood struck!
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Don't be scared to play fretless!
- Thread starter Katoosie
- Start date
i'd bet that if you got another fretless = it would 'click' for you. also, you could get a cheapie and just have it lying around until the mood struck!
I currently only have a 1 in 12 chance of hitting the right note. My odds will surely go down on a fretless! 
I actually enjoy hearing some intonation variations because it humanizes the listening experience. Today’s DAW corrected timing and pitch variations have made music seem so sterile to me.
Fretless is in almost every way easier and less intimidating than fretted.
On a fretted bass if you err there is a fret buzz and/or you are a semitone flat or sharp. On a fretless there is nothing but lovely mwah. Why would anyone be intimidated? Notes are notes. There’s more of them on a fretless.
On a fretted bass if you err there is a fret buzz and/or you are a semitone flat or sharp. On a fretless there is nothing but lovely mwah. Why would anyone be intimidated? Notes are notes. There’s more of them on a fretless.
I'm in the minority here, admittedly.
I played a fretless jazz bass exclusively for years. Then I grew weary of it. I didn't like the sound anymore, so I sold it. I'll probably never buy another one again.
I played a fretless jazz bass exclusively for years. Then I grew weary of it. I didn't like the sound anymore, so I sold it. I'll probably never buy another one again.
I agree! I bought a real inexpensive Rogue fretless when they went on sale at MF. Pulled the electronics out of it. All that was left was the body and neck and minor hardware. Replaced the tuning machines with licensed Hipshots. New Pickups, pots, wiring and some La Bella Black Tapewounds and man what a great fretless for “On the Cheap”! I love the sound of a fretless Electric Bass.
i'd bet that if you got another fretless = it would 'click' for you. also, you could get a cheapie and just have it lying around until the mood struck!
Playing fretless will cause the band to go out of tune. Actually I only play fretless because I love the expressiveness of it and lack of fret noise. It's kinda like driving a manual transmission. It feels more like singing and less like bass playing to me.
I bought a lined fretless in the early 90's. Then back to my 77 Jazz fretted 10 years later because the sound of that particular bass fit the band I was in better. Several years ago I put together an unlined fretless and have since put together four more. My fretted basses are "retired" and the lined fretless was sold. I gig unlined basses exclusively now and wouldn't have it any other way!
My advice to anyone who is thinking about it? JUST DO IT!
My advice to anyone who is thinking about it? JUST DO IT!
Double Bass is very difficult to play in tune. It's a constant struggle, and no one plays one perfectly in tune.
Fretless electric is more difficult to play in tune. Jaco and Gary and a handful of others played it flawlessly. Unless you can commit to working hard on intonation every day, do yourself and everyone else a favor and stick to fretted bass.
Fretless electric is more difficult to play in tune. Jaco and Gary and a handful of others played it flawlessly. Unless you can commit to working hard on intonation every day, do yourself and everyone else a favor and stick to fretted bass.
I currently only have a 1 in 12 chance of hitting the right note. My odds will surely go down on a fretless!
A fretless is topologically the equivalent of slide guitar. You're not out of tune until you stop moving!
I have a fretted and fretless neck for my P bass. It has fretless on it right now, on a trial basis.
I like it, it's fun to play songs with slides (such as Ramble On), and in case my Zepp band ever wants to play In My Time of Dying (such a downer song, no?) I'll be ready if that day ever comes.
I have the EUB, so I could always go for the "beeeg fretless" if I needed it for a project.
I like it, it's fun to play songs with slides (such as Ramble On), and in case my Zepp band ever wants to play In My Time of Dying (such a downer song, no?) I'll be ready if that day ever comes.
I have the EUB, so I could always go for the "beeeg fretless" if I needed it for a project.
I'm afraid I have to disagree here, with all due respect. The simple fact of the FL is that you have to learn to intonate on it in addition to everything else, and good intonation on a stringed instrument is just plain hard. It just is. Of course there are various levels of mastery, but it's another task that you're burdened with on the FL that you aren't on the fretted bass. And it takes a lot of work to get to a decent level of mastery with it.
Technically the EB is a member of the guitar family, what with the most popular original design being a fretted instrument. The fretless EB is actually the "innovation" on the EB and not the other way around. In other words, it's a fretless version of an instrument originally intended to be a fixed pitch one like the typical guitar.
Meaning, it has drawbacks as an FL instrument that, say, the UB doesn't have. In particular, the general lack of physical reference points as you move up the neck (Jaco remarked about this when he talked about the value of lines on an FL fingerboard). So it's a beast to intonate well above about the "12th fret" area, especially if the board is unlined. It can be done by very skilled and talented players, but we can't kid ourselves about the amount of work required to really learn to do it well.
So we shouldn't be under any illusions about the FL being easy, especially compared to the fretted. The fretted bass is the easier one, and that's the unfortunate truth.
OTOH, it is true that the tone of an error is different. A flubbed note on the fretted bass is a buzz or ugly snarl, but on the FL it's a fully formed out of tune note, or nearly that. I've played the FL for about 20 years now and I haven't decided what sounds worse, though: the buzz or the OMG nasty out of tune fully fledged note. I guess, you just gotta pick your poison on that one.
But the "singing", human voice -esque tone is really the only reason to pick up the FL. It's a very compelling reason, of course, and totally totally worth the investment. But really that's the FL's only real benefit. Everything else about it compared to the fretted bass is harder or more of a PITA on all kinds of different levels....
L
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I strongly agree with you that playing a fretless is more difficult (at least for those unfamiliar with double basses).
I also consider the "singing" tone a great advantage. But I do think that there are enough other tonal variations that make me choose a fretless over a fretted bass for particular songs, say playing muted, trying to sound similar to a double bass...
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
It's not as difficult as some think, but it takes more work and concentration. I play fretless for jazz, fretted for most other stuff.
