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How do you guys stand the frets?

D.Don

D.Don

Mar 6, 2008
2,396
7
Swede lost in the 5th republic
#1
Hi,

I started playing some 4 months ago, and started off on a fretless V (check the link in my signature), and yesterday I got a fretted V, a really nice expensive Carvin from a friend who quit playing (for me to borrow for as long as I please) coz he's all into classical music now after some 10-15 years playin jazz. Thing is, I can't stand those frets, the bass feels "dead", the tone is nice and the active pups/electronics has a steady nice firm output, but omfg I get so annoyed by them, and I feel like it's not organic enough...

I think I'll stick with my Peavey Fretless V and just use his Carvin to learn to slap and then eventually buy it and de-fret it if I like it a lot...

:)

D.Don
 
#7
you have been playing for 4 months and dont like frets...am i missing something here? my advice to you would become comfortable on both animals. down the road you will find each has their own good points and bad points as well as sound. limiting yourself to one or the other at this point in my opinion would be a big mistake. i love to turn my amp to eleven and melt the back of my guitarists head with a fretted but some of my fondest memories are kicking back at the lake with a cooler full of beer and all the bikinis in earshot while my bandmates play their acoustics and i happen to have my michael kelly 5 acoustic along. you know, just so the bikini's know i am a musician as well. :) :smug:
 
#8
MTMTEX said:
you have been playing for 4 months and dont like frets...am i missing something here? my advice to you would become comfortable on both animals. down the road you will find each has their own good points and bad points as well as sound. limiting yourself to one or the other at this point in my opinion would be a big mistake. i love to turn my amp to eleven and melt the back of my guitarists head with a fretted but some of my fondest memories are kicking back at the lake with a cooler full of beer and all the bikinis in earshot while my bandmates play their acoustics and i happen to have my michael kelly 5 acoustic along. you know, just so the bikini's know i am a musician as well. :) :smug:
Click to expand...

Nahh, I'm done with the live scene, been playing keys for 20 years, and some guitar the last 10, and my bass ambitions are to have a nice hobby that I can use in my home studio for doing some cool basslines on my recordings.

I will use the fretted bass to get a grip on slapping, and eventually if I find I need a fretted bass I'll try to find some nice Jazz bass or something with some character to have for those occasions.

;P

D.Don
 
#12
MTMTEX said:
you have been playing for 4 months and dont like frets...am i missing something here? my advice to you would become comfortable on both animals. down the road you will find each has their own good points and bad points as well as sound. limiting yourself to one or the other at this point in my opinion would be a big mistake.
Click to expand...

:smug: +1
 
#14
RCCollins said:
Frets are awesome if you know how to use them. You seem to be suggesting that they are a crutch for people who can't play fretless and that definitely isn't so. Fretless have their uses but fretted basses lend themselves to a broader range of applications.
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Indeed I do not, I just feel that the frets kind of ruined the feeling of playing, but hey, that's just me!

;)

D.Don
 
#16
I feel that the frets on my Fender Precision are really what makes it a Precision. They allow for precise intonation, even from an amateur player.

;)(that's why Fender called it that, in case you didn't know)

Seriously though, obviously fretted and fretless don't sound the same. I'm a rock guy. I prefer the tone of a fretted bass. I hate nothing more than the sound of a fretless where it doesn't belong. I'm probably going to take some flames for this - but what the heck. I HATE most of the bass work in Pearl Jam songs, mostly because of the awful inappropriate fretless tone. If they had a bass player that played traditional rock bass lines (yep - lots o roots) on a fretted P I think I'd like the band's overall sound much better.

Also - Ever heard somebody play fretless with poor intonation? There's the answer to "why frets?"

Lastly - Please do not judge all fretted basses on the tone of a Carvin. (heck, don't judge how a Carvin sounds in the mix based on how it sounds playing solo)
 
#18
Matthew Bryson said:
I feel that the frets on my Fender Precision are really what makes it a Precision. They allow for precise intonation, even from an amateur player.

;)(that's why Fender called it that, in case you didn't know)

Seriously though, obviously fretted and fretless don't sound the same. I'm a rock guy. I prefer the tone of a fretted bass. I hate nothing more than the sound of a fretless where it doesn't belong. I'm probably going to take some flames for this - but what the heck. I HATE most of the bass work in Pearl Jam songs, mostly because of the awful inappropriate fretless tone. If they had a bass player that played traditional rock bass lines (yep - lots o roots) on a fretted P I think I'd like the band's overall sound much better.

Also - Ever heard somebody play fretless with poor intonation? There's the answer to "why frets?"

Lastly - Please do not judge all fretted basses on the tone of a Carvin. (heck, don't judge how a Carvin sounds in the mix based on how it sounds playing solo)
Click to expand...

+1 to pretty much that whole thing.

I liked Jeff Aments studio tone, but the live recordings border on unlistenable for me, because I just can't stand his live fretless tone. If he was playing a fretted bass, the overall sound would improve immensely, IMO.
 

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