So I had a dream last night that I was shredding on a fretless bass. It got me thinking... What are some of the pros/cons of a fretless? For those of you who love fretless, why do you love it? If you hate it, why is it so bad?
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I had a (fretless) dream...
- Thread starter Hulktopus
- Start date
SirMjac28
Patiently Waiting For The Next British Invasion
I have a fretless Jazz that I love it plays super fast but having a fretless also affects the type of strings you buy unless you don't mind tearing your fingerboard up.I also make sure I rub it down with a fingerboard cleaner and protector
Regular fl player here:
-Play one, you might not like it
-If you want to "bond" with your instrument yank the frets out yourself and do the epoxy coating
-Overall experience with fretless I would say I like it over fretted basses, it gives up on some things to take up on others (Ex. Crisp slap for Mwahh)
I love fretless ... so much freedom
-Play one, you might not like it
-If you want to "bond" with your instrument yank the frets out yourself and do the epoxy coating
-Overall experience with fretless I would say I like it over fretted basses, it gives up on some things to take up on others (Ex. Crisp slap for Mwahh)
I love fretless ... so much freedom
fretlesses tend to requre a lot more musical skill and dexterirty IMO because if you wanna do anything besides a bass solo,you have to play really well to get the pitch exact. what used to just be the 5th fret on a fretted instrument is now a 1.5 inch strip of wood where all kinds of possible pitches can be achieved. the couple times I tried fretless basses songs I already knew were harder to play because I couldn't get the pitch exactly right.to do this you have to hit in a certain spot and be really precise.
its hard to do big chords on a fretless, but you're not gonna get a tone like this on a fretted bass http://youtu.be/vnBVXvF1N-s
I started out on upright and moved on to electric due to the high cost getting a good upright bass.
When starting, remember it is a totally different instrument, another creature. Take the time to create the tone. Feel how the left hand fingers sound on the fingerboard, feel how to create the tones with the right hand fingers. Go slow! Play slow and try to be accurate, when in the higher positions, let open strings ring just to get reference pitch from time to time.
About lined fingerboard...
Many people tend to play by their eyes instead of by their ears. Avoid sliding in to the next note, try to place the fingers correct. One thing to do is making "runs" on one string at a time, letting loose the open string once in a while so you hear that you are accurate. Do that with your eyes closed...
Remember, you can always mask a badly intonated note by adding a slight vibrato, but don't overdo that!
Don't play "Teen town"! Loooong notes at the beginning. Accurate notes. Also remember one thing: do NOT use more force in the left hand fingers than needed. Don't strangle the bass!
A fretless has a "somewhat spungy attack" making the note bloom after a while, not like a Marcus Miller slap tone. Try to make notes you like to hear. Also change position on your right hand, near the bridge for that Jaco-ish funky barking tone, closer to the neck for mmmwwwwwaaaaaaah, and over the fingerboard for more of an upright tone.
OK, how to tweak the bass then? I set the neck with as small relief as possible, nearly no front bow at all. I compensate by raising the bridge saddles to avoid too much buzzing. Some buzzing is okay...
Also - file down the grooves in the nut as close to the fingerboard as possible. A fingered note is flat on the surface of the board, an open string should be as close to that as possible too...
My ideal tone tweaking, then...
Balance towards the bridge pickup, for added fullness I may turn the balance towards center click but NEVER all the way.
And - I use D'Addario Chromes strung thru body. They are bright enough and let you play without finger scratch...
Some effects that work well with fretless:
- Chorus (obvious...)
- Octaver (works very well due to the slow attack of the bass)
- AutoWah
Use those three together and get the most Joe Zawinul-ish synth bass emulation there is...
I hope it made sense...
When starting, remember it is a totally different instrument, another creature. Take the time to create the tone. Feel how the left hand fingers sound on the fingerboard, feel how to create the tones with the right hand fingers. Go slow! Play slow and try to be accurate, when in the higher positions, let open strings ring just to get reference pitch from time to time.
About lined fingerboard...
Many people tend to play by their eyes instead of by their ears. Avoid sliding in to the next note, try to place the fingers correct. One thing to do is making "runs" on one string at a time, letting loose the open string once in a while so you hear that you are accurate. Do that with your eyes closed...
Remember, you can always mask a badly intonated note by adding a slight vibrato, but don't overdo that!
Don't play "Teen town"! Loooong notes at the beginning. Accurate notes. Also remember one thing: do NOT use more force in the left hand fingers than needed. Don't strangle the bass!
A fretless has a "somewhat spungy attack" making the note bloom after a while, not like a Marcus Miller slap tone. Try to make notes you like to hear. Also change position on your right hand, near the bridge for that Jaco-ish funky barking tone, closer to the neck for mmmwwwwwaaaaaaah, and over the fingerboard for more of an upright tone.
OK, how to tweak the bass then? I set the neck with as small relief as possible, nearly no front bow at all. I compensate by raising the bridge saddles to avoid too much buzzing. Some buzzing is okay...
Also - file down the grooves in the nut as close to the fingerboard as possible. A fingered note is flat on the surface of the board, an open string should be as close to that as possible too...
My ideal tone tweaking, then...
Balance towards the bridge pickup, for added fullness I may turn the balance towards center click but NEVER all the way.
And - I use D'Addario Chromes strung thru body. They are bright enough and let you play without finger scratch...
Some effects that work well with fretless:
- Chorus (obvious...)
- Octaver (works very well due to the slow attack of the bass)
- AutoWah
Use those three together and get the most Joe Zawinul-ish synth bass emulation there is...
I hope it made sense...
