How does your technique change from fretted to fretless?

[FretGrinder]

I guess Stanley Clarke also seems to do alright without frets, doesn't he? Very good points about it being a different thing without frets though.

 

[lowendfriend]

I find I need to pay more attention to muting strings as the mwahh tends to run away a little too much if I let it. Perhaps I should just crank in a little more relief.

 

[maturanesa]

I'm dreaming of a fretless at some point in the future, and I was wondering what kind of changes to expect in the way I play.

I posted a thread in the Bass forum recently asking about the playing in a certain video (http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=711889&highlight=terribilino), and several people replied that the player in that particular video was plucking too hard too close to the neck. One TBer replied that he personally plucks very hard, but way down close to the bridge.

What do you find changes in the way you play a fretless as opposed to a fretted bass?

Thanks!

For me, to get a good intonation is necesary to rotate your left wrist (anticlock) to keep the knuckles parallel to the fretboard (more than a fretted bass)..

 

[terribilino]

Never said thanks for all this great advice, so.. thanks!

 

[Simon Day]

Learned on a de-fretted hand-made thing in the mid-70s and moved to a fretted P in '77. Never looked back, until a few months ago when I acquired a Sire V2 fretless 5-string P7 (utterly awesome at the price) which is what caused me to search up fretted to fretless and come across this thread.

Loads of great advice above but the visual focus on the board is a key thing for me as I also sing lead; makes connecting with the audience a lot tougher. I'm currently working out which songs in the set would most benefit from the fretless (and leave the rest to the Jazz) and then practice/listen practice/listen practice/listen. If Sting can do it... well, you know...

 

[Watchootognbout]

I tend to "sing"through fretless when I play it.
I play in a more lyrical way.
Slide into notes when it calls for it.
I also pluck on the side of my fingers at the end of the fingerboard to facilitate "mwah"

 

[CM63]

How does a bass' action effect mwah? I'm new to fretless and usually set up my own basses.
The lower the better?

 

[Les Fret]

How does a bass' action effect mwah? I'm new to fretless and usually set up my own basses.
The lower the better?

Indeed. The lower the better, but not so low that there is too much buzz. Also use rounds for more mwaaahaha.

 

[nonohmic]

My left hand is a lot more deliberate with fretless. I prefer it that way.

 

[nonohmic]

How does a bass' action effect mwah? I'm new to fretless and usually set up my own basses.
The lower the better?

Indeed. The lower the better, but not so low that there is too much buzz. Also use rounds for more mwaaahaha.

Rounds or gtfo.

 

[micguy]

The left hand technique will be quite a bit different for good intonation, that's a big factor in playing it well.

If you play your fretted basses with your fretting finger right up against the fret, your technique (at least in terms of placement) doesn't really have to change - your fingers are already going to the right places. If, however, you play by putting your fingers wherever between frets, then you will have to adapt quite a bit.

If you play fretted with a light touch (pushing only as hard as you need to to fret the note), you need to be in the right position, or you risk buzzing when you miss that position - this is especially true on stainless frets. The technique is very portable when it comes to fretted or fretless. If your fretting hand is a "clamp" - you apply far more force than necessary, then things are far different; you will need to adapt much more if you pick up a fretless.

If you've never played a fretless with rounds (and a hard fingerboard), you really need to - life is too short to cower in a corner playing flats for fear of denting your fingerboard.

 

[2thAche]

Fretless: Intonation #1, #2 fingertips and arched fingers on technique. #3 hand rolling vibrato vs pull/push like on fretted. I grew up playing cello so it doesn't seem weird to switch to fretless but if you only know fretted, the first thing that's going to happen is realizing that your intonation sucks

Mwah: IMO it's more about perfectly flat fingerboard with no relief in the neck (flat neck, flat fingerboard).

 

[steve_ss]

From fretted to fretless, my technique goes from bad to worse.

 

[Malcolm35]

Fretted to fretless. On fretless where the sweet spot actually is will rely upon your ear. Like has been said, everything else - for me anyway - stayed the same. As my ears are old and made of tin my fretless was given away to one of my students. He loved it. Young ears and fretless go together.

Good luck.

 

[WG Plum]

I never bend notes on fretless, just roll my finger a little, like a Cello player, to change pitch or add vibrato.

This is the biggest difference for me.

 

[FeltTipPen]

I've found that I play with too much tension recently. It's been wreaking havoc on my fretless playing (hand issues).

 

[Marcury]

I don't really change much. I mostly play Fretless (have for more years than I want to say), but remember playing a friends Fretted one day and he started chuckling. I asked him what was funny and he said "you play Fretted like it's a Fretless"

 

[ThudThudThud]

It's probably wrong, but I tend to adopt a left hand position similar to what I was taught on a 'cello.
More fingertips than meat.
Self taught on bass (for the most part) and guitar, so my left hand technique may be all wrong there too.

 

[Les Fret]

It's probably wrong, but I tend to adopt a left hand position similar to what I was taught on a 'cello.
More fingertips than meat.
Self taught on bass (for the most part) and guitar, so my left hand technique may be all wrong there too.

You're probably doing ok. Cello technique translates well to electric bass and guitar (as OFPF is concerned). I think guitar is about the same scale as cello (not totally sure though).

 

[ThudThudThud]

You're probably doing ok. Cello technique translates well to electric bass and guitar (as OFPF is concerned). I think guitar is about the same scale as cello (not totally sure though).

I mean with a fretless that I go 'cello-style. I guess it creeps into my fretted, and guitar playing too, but that tends to be a little more 'relaxed.'