Anyone with any tips for playing fretless bass above the "12th"? I've tried a few ways to improve my initial pitch accuracy but I'm curious as to how more experienced players handle it. Applying buckets of vibrato or sliding up to every note are not very musical.
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Fretless above the 12th
- Thread starter iqi616
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- fretless bass
Sigh. Me too. But I know the answer already - more practice. Hope someone can suggest efficient practice methods.
Develop your handshape/posture and try to break reliance on lines or other visual cues - they can't be trusted!!
- Dec 21, 2007
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I find that I have to practice in each position regularly for my hands to "know" the spacing there. ESPECIALLY above the 12th fret.
Agreed. I've also found that I have to start around the 8th fret and do exercises up and down the neck until I can get above the 12th with anything resembling accuracy (hah!). And then the next day I have to start all over again. Someday I'll make it all the way up to the heel, but it's gonna be a while.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Nothing but time. Imagine how it is playing violin.
I don’t find intonation above the 12th not more difficult than below to be honest. Not sure why some have more trouble with that. Maybe you just notice or hear intonation mistakes better because it’s higher?
How comfortable are you playing in that range on fretted instruments? If you aren't super proficient on your other basses it would make sense that you wouldn't be any more proficient on the fretless.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
The higher you go, the tighter the spacing. Less room for error.
I see this said a lot when people here try to discourage others from trying short-scale fretless. It's both true and not true. When the stops are closer together there's less room for error, but there's also less movement needed for your hand, wrist and fingers, so you have more control over your actions.
I think most people have difficulty playing up the neck on a fretless because they don't practice it as much as they do the lower part of the neck. Which isn't to say it's easy, only that it's not necessarily that much harder either.
Good question. I'm reasonably comfortable though it varies between my basses depending how difficult it is physically. It's fairly easy on my 24 fret Aria but more difficult on my P and my J. My fretless is okay to the 19th but above that isn't really worth trying.
I am a low time fretless player, 8 or 9 months now, but I've played fretted for awhile, starting in '72. I had difficulty going to the upper octave when I was learning fretless on my lined SR370EF. I think the reason is the lines distort up there as viewed from my perspective on that bass. When I acquired an unlined fretless, the Sadowsky MX Fretless Hybrid, I actually found it perhaps easier to play in the upper octave. Reason, I was just relying on my fingers and my ears without trying to position my fingers to the lines anymore. The upper octave is easier to hear. Distances are smaller, so if you hear a flat or sharp you can correct with just a roll one way or the other. One finger width generally equals one semitone. Not rocket science.
For some strange reason I seem to also land the long range shifts more accurately up there. No idea why.
For some strange reason I seem to also land the long range shifts more accurately up there. No idea why.
Can you imagine playing your bass tuned in fifths, like a fiddle? I was thinking about that last night, and I cannot begin to imagine it.
How much additional tension would that put on a neck? I guess people have done it.
just gotta open up those ears and from there it's trial and error. try to practice with some sort of backing to help reinforce correct intonation. also can try doing exercises with a drone tone as well.
Mine is unlined. I'm trying to make sure my eye is perpendicular when I play up high. It's not actually that difficult with my fretless fortunately without craning my neck in any awkward way.
When I play my lined SR my neck is at 45 degree angle. When I play my unlined Sadowsky my neck is at perhaps 20 degree angle. I have a whole different perspective on the board with the two basses. Being steeper makes it easier to access upper register but it distorts your view. I don't hit as accurately up there. Being flatter makes me work more to get up to higher notes and my wrist angle isn't as good but I have a better view of what I am doing.
Also, the SR is 24 fret lines, the Sadowsky is 21. Not as many notes.
If you want to play lots of high notes, lots easier to cave in and get a 6 string?
Totally different instrument.
If you only want to play the lowest notes why not play upright?
