Fretless players; lined or unlined? and why?

[Acoop]

I think the fretless is a personal instrument that you have no idea how you'll take to it until you play it, then, if it's you, you're off on the search for the perfect fretless neck. ... I have 2 electric fretless basses. My original 66 P-bass I defretted in 77, which is lined with an poxy coated rosewood board and my custom J-bass ebony fretless which has marks along the top of the fretboard, which I prefer when I playing live. ...

 

[CereBassum]

I have an Ibanez Portamento - unlined with markers on the side that work very well so you can see across the neck - something about the way the light hits it. Looks great and lets me cheat.

Great instrument BTW - best bang for the buck in a fretless IMO. Designed from the ground up to be a fretless and has a great piezo system. Looks very cool and it's light.

 

[mmon77]

I prefer the look of unlined for purely aesthetic purposes. I know that I don't need lines, but to each their own.

I have not read the whole thread, but usually it devolves into some people arguing that Gary Willis says that lined is better, and he stares at his bass while he plays, and he's better than all of us, so he is right, and no other opinion matters.

This thread is up to 8 pages, and still going, so that must not have happened yet.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

I prefer the look of unlined for purely aesthetic purposes. I know that I don't need lines, but to each their own.

I have not read the whole thread, but usually it devolves into some people arguing that Gary Willis says that lined is better, and he stares at his bass while he plays, and he's better than all of us, so he is right, and no other opinion matters.

This thread is up to 8 pages, and still going, so that must not have happened yet.

Arguing about fretless with lines vs without is like arguing about whether or 2-tone sunburst is better than 3-tone sunburst.

 

[lordradish]

All whatever works for you. I play unlined - I started that way because I didn't want to rely on my eyes. But again, whatever works for you.

 

[DJ Bebop]

I prefer the look of unlined for purely aesthetic purposes. I know that I don't need lines, but to each their own.

I have not read the whole thread, but usually it devolves into some people arguing that Gary Willis says that lined is better, and he stares at his bass while he plays, and he's better than all of us, so he is right, and no other opinion matters.

This thread is up to 8 pages, and still going, so that must not have happened yet.

We did have a Jaco reference that was basically the same

Fretless players; lined or unlined? and why?

 

[mmon77]

Arguing about fretless with lines vs without is like arguing about whether or 2-tone sunburst is better than 3-tone sunburst.

I agree. However there are very strong opinions on both sides that tend to butt heads (or become buttheads?).

I'm a strong live and let live believer, so I'll continue to enjoy my unlined fretless and hope that other people will continue to enjoy whatever they prefer to play.

 

[misterCRUSH]

I have an Ibanez Portamento - unlined with markers on the side that work very well so you can see across the neck - something about the way the light hits it. Looks great and lets me cheat.

Great instrument BTW - best bang for the buck in a fretless IMO. Designed from the ground up to be a fretless and has a great piezo system. Looks very cool and it's light.

I had the portamento, went to the SRH500F....even lighter. It has very dark lines that are all but invisible. Also a very great offering from Ibanez!!!!

 

[TFunkadelic]

Lined.

I often hear people say that you're supposed to play in tune by using your ears, constantly adjusting to make sure your pitch is accurate. Well, my ear isn't that good, and my reflexes aren't that fast.

Moreover, I've played enough gigs in a variety of situations to know that you often can't rely on hearing your bass well on the stage. In those instances, you could be well out of tune and never know until after the gig when you get fired.

Why not avoid this and have lines on the bass?

 

[acleex38]

I like to quote a friend of mine who quoted a friend of his:

"If I'm going to work that hard to play fretless, I want the audience to know it." I have an old lined fretless in addition to my three unlined. I'm not any more in-tune on it, and the lines might fool me into ignoring my ears and thinking I am.

 

[mmon77]

Lined.

I often hear people say that you're supposed to play in tune by using your ears, constantly adjusting to make sure your pitch is accurate. Well, my ear isn't that good, and my reflexes aren't that fast.

Moreover, I've played enough gigs in a variety of situations to know that you often can't rely on hearing your bass well on the stage. In those instances, you could be well out of tune and never know until after the gig when you get fired.

Why not avoid this and have lines on the bass?

I know that personally, I would be a train wreck if I couldn't hear myself well, frets or none. I think that this is something that is personal and different for everyone, and you have to figure it out for yourself.

I "hear" intervals, and that is how I play. Those translate to positions on the instrument that I've learned over time from practice. The markers, lines, frets surely provide me with some visual clues that I rely on to some degree, but most of it is muscle memory.

Therefore, frets or not, lines or not, I'm not dependent on the visual clues to the same degree as I am on the audible ones.

Again, these are things that each person needs to figure out for themselves, and whatever works for me, probably does not for many others.

 

[MD]

Me too.

My acoustic under regular light.
View attachment 4170650

And under black lights.
View attachment 4170653

Holy guide dogs Batman!
I mean, my eyes aren't great, probably a few years away from bumping into walls - but - DAANM!

 

[pbass888]

My first fretless was a '83ish mij jazz no lines. So back then I learned no lines. I used the lined for gigs with reading scores, the unlined and upright for jazz and over all, regardless of the lines, the bass still sounds like I am playing it.Also, never been asked 'bring the bass with lines".. lol

Edit: I did one tour with an unlined fretless, Reggae band, and the other guys never noticed or said anything .....

 

[bobyoung53]

I started out on unlined and have stayed with them, I don't know how the lines could help on a gig anyway unless you stare down at the neck and that is kind of obvious. I like the look better anyway. I bought my first lined fretless 20-25 years ago by accident, I had not heard of them so it had never entered my mind to ask as I had to order it, it was an American Jazz fretless and I was so PO'ed that it had lines that I didn't give it a chance and brought it back after a few days.

 

[TFunkadelic]

I know that personally, I would be a train wreck if I couldn't hear myself well, frets or none. I think that this is something that is personal and different for everyone, and you have to figure it out for yourself.

I "hear" intervals, and that is how I play. Those translate to positions on the instrument that I've learned over time from practice. The markers, lines, frets surely provide me with some visual clues that I rely on to some degree, but most of it is muscle memory.

Therefore, frets or not, lines or not, I'm not dependent on the visual clues to the same degree as I am on the audible ones.

Again, these are things that each person needs to figure out for themselves, and whatever works for me, probably does not for many others.

Agreed. Let me describe a situation where I have find lines especially beneficial.

Playing on stage, with a poor (or nearly non-existent monitor) and playing a piece that requires relatively large position shifts. My muscle memory isn't so good that I can jump from the 2nd fret on the B string to the 10th fret of G string and nail it every time, without being able to hear myself. Lines would be helpful here even WITH a good monitoring setup.

Now someone may say, they've never been in a position like that. That they wouldn't be playing a show where they couldn't hear themselves well on stage, and that's fine. Personally, I'm glad I have lines that I can use in a pinch if need be and ignore otherwise, and not worry about being hung out to dry by the sound man/venue.

 

[Gsnorgathon]

... I mean. How do you sing? ...

Up to this point in the thread, I'm thinking "Unlined. Definitely unlined." Then I see "How do you sing?"

Now I'm thinking "Frets. I'll stick with frets."

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

I use lines along with side dots located directly below the lines (as they usually are on an unlined fretless but not often on a lined fretless).

You should use your eyes whether you play lined or unlined, as using your ears alone only tells you if you’re making mistakes after you’ve already made them, meaning when it’s too late. Treat it like driving- are you going to let the sounds of screeching metal and screaming pedestrians be the cue to let you know that you’ve swerved off the road a bit, or are you going to use your eyes at least a little to put yourself in the right spot beforehand?

 

[friend33]

I’m still learning, so plenty of dented metal/broken glass littering the music room. Pedestrians definitely steer clear once the jewel light clicks on...(particularly when the driver swerves toward the upper “frets”... there’s already a citizen’s initiative afoot to install guard rails at that curve, too many tragic accidents already...)

(Edit: Don’t want to deter anyone thinking about trying a fretless, so just want to note here that this is 100% in jest - fretless is super fun, expressive and awesome! I would never be without one - lines, no lines, or any other config. My only thing is, when people sell them, they rarely add a pic of the side dots. What’s up with that?)

 

[dabbler]

Different strokes for different folks. I too like the look of an unlined fretless neck, but I don't discriminate. I have lined, unlined with dots where the lines would be an unlined with dots at the same place as they are on a fretted bass. As long as I know which dot configuration, it doesn't matter to me.

I'm not saying I'm the greatest fretless player ('cause I know I'm not), but I enjoy playing them.

 

[Lownote38]

That was my theory for my current unlined axe. Still true, I'm glad about it in that way. But I'm not as razor sharp accurate on it when I'm improvising, that's for sure.

Give it time, and you'll get razor sharp accurate!