K so i've never played a frettless bass and was curious as to waht styles of music use fretless basses and how they sound and so on and so forth, and i'm just curious to peoples opinions about them.. THanks! and if you could tell me how to play one that would be great too, thanks!
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Fretted VS. Fretless
- Thread starter Krist Waterston
- Start date
What styles of music use them? All styles in some way, shape or form.
How do they sound? Exactly how you want them to. I've played my Warwick at a hard rock show and had a fellow TBer come up to me and say he didn't even realize I was playing a fretless until he looked at the neck and saw no frets. The general tone people go for, however, is that of a mwah kind of sound.
How do you play one? The same way you'd play a fretted bass. You have to put your finger in the position where the fret would normally be and you have to listen harder to make sure your intonation is right, but the basic principles are the same.
How do they sound? Exactly how you want them to. I've played my Warwick at a hard rock show and had a fellow TBer come up to me and say he didn't even realize I was playing a fretless until he looked at the neck and saw no frets. The general tone people go for, however, is that of a mwah kind of sound.
How do you play one? The same way you'd play a fretted bass. You have to put your finger in the position where the fret would normally be and you have to listen harder to make sure your intonation is right, but the basic principles are the same.
Hi Krist,
That is a pretty broad question
You should go down to the music store and try a fretless out, the difference will be obvious.
The album that got me hooked on fretless bass is Graceland by Paul Simon. Check it out!
You can use fretless bass in any style of music. Think of it as a different flavor of ice cream, like strawberry instead of chocolate.
That is a pretty broad question
You should go down to the music store and try a fretless out, the difference will be obvious.
The album that got me hooked on fretless bass is Graceland by Paul Simon. Check it out!
You can use fretless bass in any style of music. Think of it as a different flavor of ice cream, like strawberry instead of chocolate.
But...I like chocolate better than strawberry, but I like fretless better than fretted...
Okay, how about mwahberry vs. slapolate?
I love playing disco-style slap-bass octave parts with the top note a quarter step out of tune
Slap on a fretless is a whole different beast, and I love it. Tonal opportunities open up that never even existed on a fretted.I love playing disco-style slap-bass octave parts with the top note a quarter step out of tune
That said my fretless has roundwounds on it, so it's not the typical fretless tone.
is that the ASCII encoding of a digitally recorded fretless sound?
Sounds like it, fretless at 16bps (bits per sound).
Seriously, fretless can sound great in any genre or form - I've heard it even in death metal and ye gods, did it sound awesome.
If you say so, bro.
So did we answer your questions? We'd be happy to expand on anything if you like.
So did we answer your questions? We'd be happy to expand on anything if you like.
Best to use you hands, but if you must use your feet, make sure they're clean.
And btw do a search on this, it's been discussed to death.
yeah, i prolly need to play one to really know though thanks! now what kind of PU can i get to get the Gibson Ripper tone
There's a video floating around of an armless guy who does it, can't find it at the moment though.
