Fretless Side Dots

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Hmm... If we're talking show horses, there's no lines on Micheal Manrings fretless... He seems to do fine. When was the last time you spent a year with an unlined fretless? Trying to talk enlightenment without meditation.

Of course he gets along fine on his unlined. Anyone can learn to play either one of them in tune. That’s not the point. The point is the poorly thought-out notion that one of them makes you use your ears more than other rather than taking responsibility for yourself. And my last year on an unlined was on my unlined Warwick Corvette. That’s neither here nor there though. It’s the equivalent of saying “when was the last time you worshipped this magic rock? I ask it to protect me from falling anvils, and I haven’t been hit with an anvil once so it must be working.” The inanimate object isn’t doing the work.
Oh, and for what it’s worth:

As far as unlined boards go, it's a matter of familiarity, really. I think lined boards are probably a better idea, but when I first started playing fretless there weren't a lot of options. The basses I wanted to buy were all unlined, so I had to do the best I could. I actually took my main fretless to a luthier at one point to have lines put in, but ran out of money before he could do the job!

 

[Gilmourisgod]

These discussions always devolve into Lined/Unlined debates because some Jacka** always implies lines are some kind of "crutch" that lesser players rely on because they lack the moral fiber (or something) to rely on their ear and "muscle memory" to play in tune. (For the record, muscles don't "remember" anything, it's neural pathways in your brain. Try removing the brain from your average bass player and get back to me on how much his muscles "remember" about bass playing). If lines are a crutch for the unworthy, what about all those hapless slackers (95% or so of bass players) who rely on frets to play "With Precision", which is how Leo Fender came up with the name for a certain well-known bass. Lines/No Lines is a purely aesthetic decision, I happen to prefer the look and functionality of a lined board, but pass no judgement on those who prefer an unlined. If anybody arguing lines are a "crutch" would care to post a video where they play this pathetic lined-board user Mark Egan under the table, by all means, please post your video. Note how he looks at the board ALL THE TIME, and yet, somehow, seems to play IN TUNE, which would seem to indicate it actually IS possible to look at the board, both seated and standing, while playing. I myself, a mediocre player at best, am able to perform this wondrous feat of vision.