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Fretless what can you tell me about them to persude me to get one.

#101
blowinblue said:
The best reason to play fretless bass guitar is that it impresses folks on Talkbass. Hey, that's why I do it. :oops::)
M. M.
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Not in my Experience! On TB most props comes from a fretted 4 string P-bass with tort and flats! :)

My take is that a Fretless bass is a lot like the difference between stick drums and hand drums. When you whack a drum with a stick with few exceptions gives pretty much the same sound no matter how you do it. With a fretted bass you get pretty much the same note no matter where you press down between the frets. Indeed that is the whole idea of frets! But with hand drums and fretless you have all manner of subtle shading and technique right at your fingertips so to speak. To me this gives me much greater subtle control over what I"m playing and I love that.

The Downside in both cases, however, is that that subtle shading requires skill to produce it. And that means i the case of Fretless bass that you can no longer get away with inaccurate fingering and that translates to woodshed time. But like so many things that require some effort, eventually that effort pays off with rewards. and that is why I love my fretless basses. But no one way of doing things does everything best, which is why I like to keep fretted-fretless pairs of basses. Gives you the most options to choose from.
 
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#102
bassbenj said:
...with hand drums and fretless you have all manner of subtle shading and technique right at your fingertips so to speak. To me this gives me much greater subtle control over what I"m playing and I love that.
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Like the difference between an automatic transmission vs. a manual 5 or 6 speed gearbox.
 
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#103
I'll chime in. Years ago, I was in a (terrible) classic rock cover band. We were gonna play The Who's "Behind Blue Eyes" and I said to myself: "Myself, I think fretless would sound awesome on this track!" so I ordered a cheapo Palmer 5-string. It had no fretlines NOR side dots. Needless to say I did add side-dots myself. The band imploded, and I ended up taking this fretless to 2 gigs where I did not want to bring a more expensive bass. For years, that was all I ever did on fretless.

Then last year, I was looking for a precision with a P/J configuration, and I wanted a fretless. I also always wanted a Tony Franklin, which has all of these features. Now, I play fretless 99.9% of the time and when I do pick up my trusted Jazz bass, she feels like a stranger :(
 
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#106
wildman2 said:
Lately for some reason Ive been drawn to fretless basses.No idea why. Ive only held one a cpl of days ago for the first time..So a P a J a Squire(they seem to get some love on sweetwater). My local store has a cpl of fretless there a P and a J The Fender 1970's P is way out of my price range the Fender 1990's J is alot closer.I think the J is a little over priced but it only has two very minor blemishes on it so there's that.
Other than the no fret thing is there a major difference in sound?Since there are no frets I'd imagine a change in fingering would be in order. Intrigued by them lately for some odd reason(gas?)
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I've played one for years and couldn't go back to fretted. I do find it helpful to have dots on the edge of the neck (at 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, etc) on a plain neck (which looks cooler!), or fret-lines on a marked one. I love the sound and you can subtly adjust the intonation as you play. Sliding is good on a fretted but it's just that different sound which I love. You can choose flat- or round-wound strings depending on whether you want a more upright bass sound. Dunno if that's any help. (My main one is an old Yamaha.)
 
#107
Well, they are a different beast and a good bit of work, if intonation is an issue. I played them exclusively for 5 years, but then discovered that the music I was playing (big band, theater pit orchestra), 1.) left little room for self expression, especially in terms of tone. 2.) was rather sensitive to intonation shifts. 3.) often demanded the kind of sound that fretless doesn't have. (think of shows like Grease, Hair, JC Superstar)
Also, I was spending a good bit of time working and sustaining intonation and couldn't spend that time on sight reading (a real necessary skill in big band work) and learning difficult music (often a situation in theater pits). So I switched back to fretted and spend a small amount of time keeping the negative (for that music) aspects of fretted bass to a minimum (clang, fret noise, excessive treble attack, volume).
If I was playing small group jazz or things of that ilk, I'd break out the fretless again.
 
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#108
Never owned a fretless, but got the bug a couple years ago. Decided that it should be a Jazz Bass since I love J's anyway. Found a nice 85 Peavey Foundation lined fretless for $200 with case. That's Squier $ for a bass that is as good as MIA. It was killer, but after getting somewhat comfortable with fretless, I decided that in the long run and for keeping the numbers of instruments down, it should be a 5 string, preferably active. Found a used Lakland 55-01 fretless and it ticked almost every box: 5 strings, 35" scale, active electronics, really nice quasi J tones, great playability and a killer price ($400!). The only "negative" thing is that it's not a cool solid color, but a quasi hippy spalted maple. Not my cup of tea. Oh well, it's a screaming deal. I sold the Foundation for $300 and that made the transition cheap.
 
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#110
edbass said:
I strongly suggest going unlined. You play fretless with your ears, not your eyes.
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I strongly disagree! The best fretless guys use lines. You need the lines to navigate the board especially on a darkened stage. It gives you more confidence when your ears and muscle memory aren’t up to the task. I’ve been playing fretless for some forty years and have had both and my intonation and confidence always suffered without the aid of
lines. It’s about the music being in tune and not how pretty the bass is. IMHO.
 
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#113
I was shopping for a new bass way back in the 80s. Really liked the Kramer look and feel. Was trying to decide between two Kramers. My guitarist walk d up to me while I was playing one, said “I didn’t know you could play fretless”. Until that moment I had not noticed that the “frets” were actually just lines! Moral of the story, if you just immerse yourself in the music, you will never notice the frets, or lack of. That said, you do have to be much more precise with your finger location.
BTW, eventually had to dump the Kramer. Lovely bass, but it weighed half a ton!
 
#114
wildman2 said:
May just get the Squier has some pretty good reviews and not too crazy on price.
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I've got one. The notion is that is has a Jaco vibe. They come with rounds. I swapped for flats. I also put on a third-party pick guard for looks. The pots are great, as is the neck. The synthetic fingerboard plays like a maple. I'll be swapping the pups for noiseless, but in the meantime, as long as you have some amount of volume on both noise is not an issue (same as a normal jazz bass). There are a couple of things to keep in mind: You do have to be much more precise with your playing. This being the case, the fret lines do help. Another is to make sure it is set up properly. A third is about right-hand technique – the angle of attack makes a difference between a clean sound, a nice warm fretless buzz, and a klunk. You'll figure it out.
 
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#115
It's like a whole 'nother instrument. You can solo like a Cello player, but then you can play it like a regular bass as well (though speedy lines will give you a 9.2 pucker factor).
FBB Redwood Bass.jpg
 
#116
Personally, I think the whole lined/unlined things is all in our head. You want lines? Get a lined fretless. You want an unlined one? Go for that.

Don't tell me my intonation would be better or worse either way. That is my concern :) Heck, my guitarist only noticed I play one, after more than 5 rehearsals. And only cos I told him :D
 
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#117
More than likely get a lined one which ever one I buy.Squier is top of the list so far price/quality wise ratio.And I do have access to a cello in the mean time.All I have to do is ask the stepson to bring it here..Has a bow for it too may be cool to FIDDLE around on it for a while till I get a fretless bass.Might open a can of worms that could be way more pricey though by fueling the gas for an upright bass.
 
#118
the first time I heard a fretless I fell in love. I always loved that stand up bass sound and the fretless somewhat captures that. I’ve had my F bass for over 20 years. The rich sound, the famous fretless growl, the variety of tones. I had to take a lot of intonation and ear training to get it right. Muscle memory had to be developed too ( I don’t have fret lines on mine only teeny markers on the side of the neck. ) I just love my fretless.
 

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