Fretless players; lined or unlined? and why?

[dkelley]

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

I doubt it, without lines. Played fretless professionally for decades. I can't make the jump accurately if I can't feel or see where I'm jumping to without hearing the note first. And tapping the string to hear it is the only way, and everyone can hear it, not just me.

But... thanks for the vote of confidence... I AM trying to get so good that I can jump anywhere on the neck and nail a note without anything to feel and guide me... practice makes ... well, pretty good

 

[JTE]

Unlined, but mostly because my first fretless was unlined. I have a couple of lined fretless basses now, and the lines don't do anything for finger placement. I do use the side dots as landmarks, and my lined electric has the dots between the stops, just like a fretted bass. That throws me off still.

 

[Pyrat]

Fretless is freedom...no need to try to put bars on it~

 

[Chad Michael]

Not that anyone else should do this, but my first goal of connecting with a fretless bass:

- make it sound like it is not fretless... then build from there

 

[spade2you]

It really doesn't matter. Most of us pick one and stick with it. My first fretless bass was an unlined Peavey Cirrus, which is quite possibly the ONLY unlined fretless Peavey ever made.

I do a slight twist and put side dots at every "fret" up top and dots between the high strings of 6-7 string basses for parallax. I mostly do this because I am constantly jumping between guitar and bass with different scale lengths. For me, it helps me adjust and adapt a hair quicker when I switch from one scale length and/or number of strings to another. I used to routinely swap between a 35" scale fretless 6 string to a 30" scale fretless 4.

 

[Watchootognbout]

For years I've owned a few defretted basses with styrene inlays.
In 2017 I had an unlined ebony fingerboard applied to my lined rosewood sixer.

After four years I've come to a point of decision.

• I like the sound of rosewood over ebony.
• I like having lines.Especially when playing up in the "Ionosphere"
• I need to "cull the herd"

So I am now in the process of defretting my fretted Tune TWB.
I will inlay styrene strips as before.
I will sell the unlined fretless TWB and the seven string guitar.
Leaving me with my N/S Stick,Ibanez BTB676 and my newly converted fretless.

 

[SteveCS]

...
...
I will sell the unlined fretless TWB...
...

Some lucky person is going to be getting a wonderful instrument. I wish I was in the market.

 

[Watchootognbout]

Some lucky person is going to be getting a wonderful instrument. I wish I was in the market.

I haven't decided whether I will sell it to Music Go Round,which is what I usually do,or put it in TB classifieds.

 

[Watchootognbout]

So I am now in the process of again defretting a fretted Tune TWB.
I will inlay wood strips this time.

 

[Lo-E]

Unlined for me. My first fretless was lined and I found it to be more confusing than helpful. I switched to unlined and it was smooth sailing so that’s what I stuck with and it’s what I got used to.

Lines aren’t a deal-breaker, but I prefer unlined and all my FLs are currently unlined.

 

[armybass]

My favorite is the “unlined only” bass player who doesn’t need “training wheels” but also doesn’t know he’s tone deaf and always out of tune lol. We have a local guy like that. We all wish he’d also play a stringless as well as an unlined fretless.

 

[nonohmic]

My favorite is the “unlined only” bass player who doesn’t need “training wheels” but also doesn’t know he’s tone deaf and always out of tune lol. We have a local guy like that. We all wish he’d also play a stringless as well as an unlined fretless.

Loooool

 

[Tim Schnautz]

Loooool

LOL!!

 

[nonohmic]

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.

You mean he wants the 2 or 3 chin stroking musicians in the audience to know it.

I'm settling on fretless because it more closely matches the sound I have in my head than fretted. I'm down with lines for now, and unlike what seems like the majority of lined fretless, mine intonates perfectly up and down the neck if I always 'fret' in the same spot.

I could see my self going the mini ghost lines route ala the Ibanez Portamento eventually cause if you're standing up lines don't mean squat..but I feel like I'll always need some kind of visual reference, since the EBG doesn't the haptic feedback like a DB.

 

[GreyBeard]

Mine is unlined but, there is nothing wrong with lined, it's just what I ended up with

 

[Watchootognbout]

The finished product.

 

[Watchootognbout]

Update:I have decided to keep the 7 string guitar.
But the unlined fretless has been sold for a little less than I bought it for.
$500.00

 

[Gregc57]

Lined; landmarks on the highway.

 

[TrevorG]

I just think lines look ugly. Used to be a trombonist so there's some musicians pride involved as well.

 

[mr80htz]

I'm on my break at a gig and my unlined fretless is looking like a sexy, sexy boss right now on stage. Just take the time to learn without lines. It's not impossible and you will feel a sense of earning a skill.