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First fretless. Do I go for flats?

#21
Good responses. I'm a 98% fretless player. Started with rounds for many yrs...then light rounds...then Chrome flats....now I've converted all my fretless and fretted to flats because... I prefer the smooth tone, long life, and no rope burn. I would start with what it comes with. After some woodshed while staring at your tuner choose what your taste dictates. I've chewed up some fretless fingerboards with rounds as well as flats so don't let that be the deciding factor. It's highly subjective...enjoy it.
 
#22
As already said, for the 80’s fretless sounds, it’s rounds. Really, for every iconic fretless sound that comes to mind (my short list is Jaco, Pino, and Bakithi Kumalo, but lots of other folks also copped those sounds), it would be rounds. Maybe it can be approximated with some very clear sounding flats like Chromes… idk, but for what you describe wanting, you can’t miss with some good rounds.

If you want to hedge and preserve the fingerboard from damage by rounds, that’s another question.
 
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#23
coy garcia said:
Good responses. I'm a 98% fretless player. Started with rounds for many yrs...then light rounds...then Chrome flats....now I've converted all my fretless and fretted to flats because... I prefer the smooth tone, long life, and no rope burn. I would start with what it comes with. After some woodshed while staring at your tuner choose what your taste dictates. I've chewed up some fretless fingerboards with rounds as well as flats so don't let that be the deciding factor. It's highly subjective...enjoy it.
Click to expand...
Your comment has reminded me that I own a Peterson Strobostomp HD tuner that has the capability of always on pitch detection. I turned it off when I got it but this might be a good time to turn it back on for practice with this baby.
 
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#26
In my opinion/experience: flats are the best place to start, but either is fine. Flats are a bit more forgiving and mwah is actually a bit over-rated, especially when you are just starting out on fretless. I strive to control the mwah, invoke it for expression, bringing it in on some notes and not others. This is easier done with flats.

That said, you will know if the strings are not right for the bass. I have some basses that seem to like flats and others that like rounds. I tend to go with what works best for the bass and then choose the best bass for the gig, including the string choice that it is currently string with.
 
#27
I have a jaco'd Aria pro II with a rosewood board that I absolutely abused with roundwounds (slap happy in my youth!) they destroyed that fingerboard, and I've since swapped the neck for fretted. Still have the fretless neck and I'm waiting for the inspiration to revamp it with some kind of epoxy-like substance.

I have had my current fretless with a purple heart fingerboard wearing flats for at least a decade, and virtually no wear.
 
#30
What do you want your fretless bass to sound like?

I came up playing double bass. I've never heard a double bass strung with rounds, so the sound in my head was flats.

If my ideal fretless sound were based on electric players like Jaco, I'd be more inclined to use rounds.

I installed Dogal Hellborg rounds on a fretless electric for the first time last year. It took several months for me to become comfortable with the sound.

We're all different. Do what works for you.

Good luck with your quest! :)
 
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#31
Flats make a nice upright impression on a fretless, but rounds are where it's at for a "fretless electric" sound or "mwah". There are special pressurewound strings such as Rotosound 55 (I believe Sting used them or the Superwound 505) with a roundwound sound, but are easier on the fingerboard.
 
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#32
scottfeldstein said:
I've bought my first fretless bass, an ESP LTD B-205SM. It's B stock so I imagine it will arrive with the manufacturers string choice on it which would be D'Addario XL 45-125. The website doesn't say, but I assume they're round wounds.

Here's my question. Should I stick with those or something similar, or do I want flats? I'm thinking about Sting in The Police and Pino back in the day doing his fretless thing. If I want those kind of sounds, can I just use anything? Or should I definitely use flats or rounds?
Click to expand...
I recently put Slinky Flats, 45-100 on my Diva. I am very pleased. I'd always used RW's until now. That being said, yeah, maybe hold off until you have a chance to get better acquainted...

BBB
 
#36
Give GHS Pressurewounds a shot
OP in this thread same bass as yours

J

Thread 'GHS: PressureWounds on Fretless? Bright Flats on Fretted?'

I have an LTD B-205sm 5-string fretted bass - 34" scale.
On-board active 3-band EQ and 2 ESP SB-5 pickups. Sales hype describes as "Bright and Punchy"

I intend to buy it's identical fretless twin, the LTD B-205sm-FL - 34" scale.
On-board active 3-band EQ and 2 ESP SB-5 pickups. Sales hype describes as "Bright and Punchy"


I want my fretted bass to sound like THIS GUY.
I think GHS Bright Flats are the right choice (or maybe the PressureWounds?).
What do you guys think?

I want my fretless to sound "typically fretless"...
 
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#38
Lots of great choices. Many of my favorite fretless recordings were done with roundwound strings.

But then, I've mostly used tapewound strings, though, on my own fretless basses.

In my opinion, it may be worth sampling all string types: roundwound, flatwound, tapewound, groundwound (I like GHS Brite Flats), pressurewound... They all bring something a little different to the table, both in feel and in sound, and you might find you like one over the others.
 
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#39
NICKEL round wounds, stainless is much harder and will have much more wear on your board. I'm running Tapes on my Godin semi accounstic but I bought that because I wanted an upright sound. I do miss my Pedula Buzz with rounds at times, couldn't use it as my only bass like I did back in the day, but that Mark Egan tone thing kills. Love Jaco's playing an innovation, but no one had a better fretless tone than Mark Egan.
 
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#40
scottfeldstein said:
Your comment has reminded me that I own a Peterson Strobostomp HD tuner that has the capability of always on pitch detection. I turned it off when I got it but this might be a good time to turn it back on for practice with this baby.
Click to expand...
While I think this works well, I think my Fretless playing/intonation improved the most with the use of IEM. Hearing yourself as honestly as a good IEM mix provides allows you to adjust to ear without struggling to hear yourself in the mix, and you aren't eyes glued to your tuner.
 

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