How Do Un-fretted Instruments Work?

[AndyPanda]

Listen to the bass in this:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFf5iVBuQlo

Or this example of a bridge designed to give "mwah" on a fretted bass. And it can switch between a clean breaking saddle and the "mwah" saddle break. So you can hear examples of "mwah" and without "mwah" on the same fretted bass:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQrRxMSbRhI

 

[scottrolf]

Calling the "violin" family unfretted is missing the mark as they were never intended to be fretted.

No, in the context of which I was stating the question it is right on the mark.

 

[carl h.]

You can't un fret something which never had frets.

 

[Kirk Bryant]

Quite well thang you .....OMG

 

[AndyPanda]

You can't un fret something which never had frets.

by your logic "unborn baby" would have to have been born and then returned to the womb and "unpainted wood" would need to have been first painted and then stripped.

but that reminds me of the old joke about Beethoven erasing notes from sheet music in his grave as he is decomposing.

 

[jmetcher]

With regards to all un-fretted instruments such as violin, cello, bass, etc, how is it that you can produce singular clear notes without frets? I realize that the fretboards have compound radiuses and neck relief, but I'm still puzzled why the strings don't (for the most part) just lay flat when depressed and buzz without the use of frets to make that distinction.

Compared to bass guitars (and generalizing a bit), members of the violin family have:

a) much taller bridges and much higher "action"
b) lower string tension
c) more flexible strings
d) wound strings are always flatwound
e) use of a bow more than compensates for the sustain-reducing tendency of all of the above and the damping effect of the finger tip.

all of which makes them very different to even fretless bass guitars, let alone fretted ones. Usually (but not always) there's a very small amount of relief planed into the fingerboard, but contrary what was implied (perhaps unintentionally) above, violin family instruments generally don't have truss rods.

Upright basses aren't strictly members of the violin family, and there is a bit of a vogue for using smaller basses with very low action in amplified settings (where to my ear they are almost indistinguishable in sound from a fretless bass guitar), but aside from that the same pretty much applies to them.

 

[gln1955]

You can't un fret something which never had frets.

I think the word you are looking for is defretted. Violins are not defretted, but they are unfretted.

 

[carl h.]

Violins will never have frets, just like bassoons.

Whole thing is dumb.

 

[gln1955]

Google "fretted violins" and become enlightened.

 

[rufus.K]

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
5 string fretted violin

 

[scottrolf]

You can't un fret something which never had frets.

Un-fretted means it doesn't have frets. What is this, The Gear Page???

 

[elgecko]

Link Removed

 

[elgecko]

 

[Off-Beat]

With regards to all un-fretted instruments such as violin, cello, bass, etc, how is it that you can produce singular clear notes without frets? I realize that the fretboards have compound radiuses and neck relief, but I'm still puzzled why the strings don't (for the most part) just lay flat when depressed and buzz without the use of frets to make that distinction.

Why should they? They'd only lay flat if the bridge and the fingerboard were on the same level - same for the nut on open strings. Never had an fretless bass, but I'm sure you can achieve way lower action with one as the higher pitched frets are more in the way when you press a note.

 

[MrMerrey]

You can't un fret something which never had frets.

I think when posted on a Bass Guitar forum in the Electric bass section, unfretted is a perfectly viable term. As the main subject the electric bass primarily has frets, therefore anything without frets is unfretted and not the normal subject matter.

 

[Relsom]

Speaking of artuculation, I had a fretless bass with a Moses graphite neck/fingerboard that could punch through better than any fretted bass I owned. The mwahhh actually had to be sought after by adjusting your playing technique.

 

[dincz]

Un-fretted means it doesn't have frets. What is this, The Gear Page???

It's the grammar page and you don't need a hyphen after a prefix. Unfretted.

 

[Jay Corwin]

Compared to bass guitars (and generalizing a bit), members of the violin family have:

a) much taller bridges and much higher "action"
b) lower string tension
c) more flexible strings
d) wound strings are always flatwound
e) use of a bow more than compensates for the sustain-reducing tendency of all of the above and the damping effect of the finger tip.

all of which makes them very different to even fretless bass guitars, let alone fretted ones. Usually (but not always) there's a very small amount of relief planed into the fingerboard, but contrary what was implied (perhaps unintentionally) above, violin family instruments generally don't have truss rods.

Upright basses aren't strictly members of the violin family, and there is a bit of a vogue for using smaller basses with very low action in amplified settings (where to my ear they are almost indistinguishable in sound from a fretless bass guitar), but aside from that the same pretty much applies to them.

Most of what you said is complete horse hockey. I'm gonna go get coffee now.

 

[bholder]

Most of what you said is complete horse hockey. I'm gonna go get coffee now.

His points seem ok to me...

 

[Watchootognbout]

When you refer to "mwah" and "blooms" are you saying that you cannot get a nice sharp staccato effect but rather a swelling?

You can get less "Mwah"Play close to the bridge.
You get less string bloom.
Listen to Jaco's bass on "Palladium"Most of the time he's playing near the bridge.But when he wants "Mwah" he'll play next to the neck.