How to play Fretless ?

[gnmaster779]

Hi guys !

I want to start playing fretless. I got Red Fox... Yeah it sucks

Can someone tell me how to play on a fretless ? Video or description ?

Thx

 

[Jazz Ad]

Don't sweat it.
It plays like any other bass. Put your fingers where there would be frets.
A bit of practice shall be necessary to play with good intonation, that's it really.

 

[dieselbass]

Gary Willis suggests having music sort of "in line" with the neck so you can reference where you are without loosing track of your spot in the tune. Assuming sheet music is involved that is. Mine has cheater lines where the frets should be that is a big help. +1 to Jazz Ad as intonation is pretty important. really comes through when your out. Best of luck!!

 

[AmadeusXeno]

I used a fretless as my main bass for a bit in a band. Just play like normal. Most of the time you can be up to 1/4 step off and no one really notices. Keep practicing with it though and your intonation will get a lot better. Just pay attention to the rythim guitar for making sure you aren't too far off from the note you should be playing. Another thing that helped me since my fretless is unlined is play the notes in different spots of the neck while plugged into a chromatic tuner.

 

[gnmaster779]

Thx for the answers guys !

Now, i would like to buy a fretless 5 string... Which ones should i try (before buying it) ?
I would like to have dots and line to help me because i begin.
Another question... Should i buy a fretless ? or should i buy a fretted 5-stings bass and remove the frets with a luthier ?

 

[FretlessMainly]

Most of the time you can be up to 1/4 step off and no one really notices.

Oh my, how could you say such a thing? When I'm just noodling around on a FL (acoustically) on the bed watching TV with my wife, and she's typing an e-mail, if I miss a note by 1 mm, she'll say to me "Honey, that was a clam!"

Anyway, gnmaster: I would offer this advice as a long-time FL player: avoid fretlines and go with side dots. I say this for two major reasons:

1. Fretlines supply a false sense of proper intonation. The lines just don't tell the story; your ear does. In general, setting the intonation of a fretless bass is different from a fretted bass because it is so dependent upon the string height and the finger positions used to set the correlation between the open string and the octave. You can use the 12the "fret" harmonic, but that has its own set of problems depending upon how you finger the actual note.

2. In most normal playing positions (standing up, I mean), you shouldn't have to struggle to see your fingerboard; this can create neck and back pain. You should be looking at the side of your neck for the fret dots, which, on an unlined fretless will be at the the proper pitch positions. On a lined fretless, the dots are most often at the "mid-fret" positions (like a fretted bass), which forces you to look at your fingerboard to find the line.

It's all ergonomics and hand/eye repetition.

Just my advice. Do as you will.

 

[groooooove]

just play it. if your flat, move your finger up. if your sharp, move it down. youll develop a vibrato techneque easily too. right hand placement (ie, "where you pluck") will have more of an effect.

there is no real "how" on fretless playing. its really the same, on "how you play it"

 

[gscroggin]

Make a concerted effort to play lots of octave formations. Your ears and muscle memory will naturally find their way, and quicker IMO and experience.

 

[Shakin-Slim]

Also, play it like it's fretted. Nobody wants to hear you sliding all over the show. And when you do, it'll sound much nicer. It's like spice in food. Just the right amount. Too much will ruin it

 

[queevil]

As for no one noticing you, the player, being a quarter step off I somewhat disagree. Yes, it's true that the casual listener in an audience may not be able to hear it but your bandmates probably will and you definately will. To me that wouldn't be acceptable. It's especially noticeable when you play higher up on the neck.

My fretless has lines but that's because I wanted a Fender J and they don't make anything with an unlined fingerboard that's in the range of affordability for me. Learn to let your ears be your guide. gscroggin made a great suggestion.

If I've learned anything over the years about fretless, it's that everything that makes it such a wonderfully expressive instrument such as sliding, vibrato, harmonics, glissnado harmonics ect. are also the things that can really make it sound like crap if they are overused. So, I would urge you to learn to play the fretless in a way that you can make it sound like a fretted bass. Thus when you use the aforementioned techniques they have a greater impact.

I find a comfortable setup to be of the utmost importance for any bass but for me it's even more crucial on fretless. What's comfortable to me you may feel is horrible for you. I like the action as low as possible and the neck as straight as possible. I pluck the strings rather lightly so I can get away with it. The strings that I use are very low tension. Fender Nylon Tapewound 9120's. They just sing on my fretless. However, right now I'm actually using a trial set of roundwounds from Elixir. I'm not really sure if I like the roundwound brightness on my fretless. Over time roundwound strings can cause some wear to a rosewood fingerboard to the point that you may have to have it re-planed every so often.

These are just my preferences and the setup and strings that I prefer you might actually hate.

Fretless is awesome. It's really opened up my horizons as a musician. I'm sure that you'll love it. Whatever you do, make sure that you're having a blast.

 

[Nofretz6]

A note on side markers taken from FretlessBass.com.....

For a lined bass they should be placed exactly where the frets would be if they existed (on the position). In between (ala fretted) is tolerable for lined fretless but not preferred.

On an unlined fretless bass, the side markers should be placed exactly where the frets would be if they existed. Markers between positions (ala fretted) on an unlined fretless will screw you up royally.

Markers at the 11th and 12th positions is a special case, here there should be one marker at each of these positions. Placing markers on each side of the 12th position is a mistake. You will find it very difficult to find the 11th and 13th positions if you have two 12th position side markers neither of which is exactly on the position.

 

[Baboma]

I would offer this advice as a long-time FL player: avoid fretlines and go with side dots. I say this for two major reasons:

1. Fretlines supply a false sense of proper intonation. The lines just don't tell the story; your ear does. In general, setting the intonation of a fretless bass is different from a fretted bass because it is so dependent upon the string height and the finger positions used to set the correlation between the open string and the octave. You can use the 12the "fret" harmonic, but that has its own set of problems depending upon how you finger the actual note.

2. In most normal playing positions (standing up, I mean), you shouldn't have to struggle to see your fingerboard; this can create neck and back pain. You should be looking at the side of your neck for the fret dots, which, on an unlined fretless will be at the the proper pitch positions. On a lined fretless, the dots are most often at the "mid-fret" positions (like a fretted bass), which forces you to look at your fingerboard to find the line.

Plus, when you see the side of the neck only, the fretlines give exact positions for the lowest string only. For the other ones, you need to take perspective into account and estimate correct positions just as you would with an unlined neck.

 

[unclejane]

If I've learned anything over the years about fretless, it's that everything that makes it such a wonderfully expressive instrument such as sliding, vibrato, harmonics, glissnado harmonics ect. are also the things that can really make it sound like crap if they are overused. So, I would urge you to learn to play the fretless in a way that you can make it sound like a fretted bass. Thus when you use the aforementioned techniques they have a greater impact.

+1. In fact, please don't use slides and harmonics (unless you're playing solo to people to whom you don't care if you "sound like Jaco", then knock yourself out). The rest of the band will certainly thank you for not "expressing yourself".

Vibrato is a good technique for fudging it if you're a little off, but avoid that too until you have some control over your intonation.

In fact, ironically, one of the reasons I gave up fretted is because somehow the silly things are out of tune in certain places on the neck every time. You intonate it so it's in tune in one place on the neck, and it's then wrong somewhere else. Drove me nuts.

The FL gives you the opportunity to be in tune everywhere without the nonsense of fiddling with the bridge saddles and endlessly screwing around with your bass.

But the goal of playing in tune first in imitation of the fretted will probably be what you'll be thanked for the most by the other folks and what will give the best sound in an ensemble.

As for lines vs unlined, I'm personally agnostic about it in terms of playing. But lined instruments are usually just the fretted models with plastic inserts glued into the fret slots. No matter how well done, they eventually start coming out creating a nasty mess. Unlined never gives a problem with this. So I tend to suggest unlined for that practical reason.

LS

 

[FretlessMainly]

Plus, when you see the side of the neck only, the fretlines give exact positions for the lowest string only. For the other ones, you need to take perspective into account and estimate correct positions just as you would with an unlined neck.

Yes indeed.

#3 on my list would be parallax error.