I made up my mind: I prefer lined fretless.

[Dr. Cheese]

I am so glad I bought the Glarry instead going in the deep end with a Tony Franklin. I can play unlined fretless and I can stay in tune, but frankly, I don’t need the challenge of an unlined fingerboard. Lined or not, it is very easy to go out of tune playing fretless. The lines make it much easier for me to self correct. Your mileage may vary, but I have no shame in my game:we get no bonus points for difficulty of execution, so I am happy to have the help of lines.

 

[CTBassGuy]

Lined or unlined does not matter; it's the mwah that rules them all!

 

[Mr Ralph]

I am thinking of doing a conversion but only putting in lines at certain points as reference points. Sometimes I find the lines seem to clutter things up but I would rather have them then not. Say at the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 10th, Octave and 15. Thoughts?

 

[msb]

I had a blank plank as my #1 for a good many years . I rarely went mwah , I also play upright . I was often told that people had no idea I was playing a fretless bass .
Took that as a compliment ...

 

[nonohmic]

Lined ftw.

 

[SteveCS]

'Blank planks' all the way for me...

 

[Dr. Cheese]

Lined or unlined does not matter; it's the mwah that rules them all!

True, and the Glarry has a whole lot of mwah.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

I am thinking of doing a conversion but only putting in lines at certain points as reference points. Sometimes I find the lines seem to clutter things up but I would rather have them then not. Say at the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 10th, Octave and 15. Thoughts?

Anything that works for you is cool.

 

[MD]

Here we go.
Woo-hoo...

 

[Dr. Cheese]

Here we go.
Woo-hoo...

View attachment 3945543

I have no problem with anyone who prefers no lines. Christian McBride, Pino Pallidino, Percy Jones, and Tony Franklin, like lineless fingerboards, who am I to criticize them?

Jaco, Mark Egan, and Marcus Miller, like lines. I think they are pretty good too.

 

[steelbed45]

I just had my Little Guitar Works bass turned into a lined fretless, and with super-low action and TI flats, it just sings. I'm with you, Doc!

 

[buldog5151bass]

If you say you don't need the lines because you aren't looking, you shouldn't care if the lines are there, because you won't see them anyway.

 

[oren]

I’ve got one of each and like them both. I find it easier to play in tune and not get lost above the 12th non-fret with the lines.

 

[Vinny_G]

I have no problem with anyone who prefers no lines. Christian McBride, Pino Pallidino, Percy Jones, and Tony Franklin, like lineless fingerboards, who am I to criticize them?

Jaco, Mark Egan, and Marcus Miller, like lines. I think they are pretty good too.

I tend to think Jaco couldn't care less.

 

[bikeplate]

 

[bass12]

My fretless is lined. My first fretless was not. I’m fine with either but I quite like having the lines there. Aesthetically I think some electric fretlesses look good line-free but I think a lot look better with lines.

 

[cheapbasslovin]

I can sound real bad with either .

I like both, but if I'm doing something that requires a lot of repositioning, lined is much more forgiving and it's hard to ignore that.

 

[HearNoStevil]

When I got my first unlined ESP fretless neck in the late 80's, it was unfinished.

The first thing I did was go to Radio Shack and bought some of those dry transfer rub-off letter packs that were used to label electronic equipment. They had little 1/8" long lines in those packs you could rub onto anything you wanted.

I used a fretted neck as a template, and rubbed off lines on the side of the neck where frets would be. I then rubbed off dots between the frets, where they would normally go on a fretted bass.

So, from the side, it is lined, and looks like a regular bass. I never understood an unlined fretless having fret dots at the actual fret positions, it's not standard and it threw me off. Seemed stupid and non-intuitive.

I then sent the neck off to Pat Wilkins to clearcoat the entire thing. It came back perfect, but the fretboard was so flawless I never wanted to scratch it with strings. It looked like fine furniture.

To me, that's how an unlined fretless should be, and I'm surprised no one makes them like that. Lines only on the side of the neck indicating where frets would be, and dots in the normal places on the side of the neck. The fretboard itself can remain blank.

If someone else makes them like this, I am unaware of it.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

I tend to think Jaco couldn't care less.

When he was alive he didn’t give a damn either.

 

[Inara]

When I got my first unlined ESP fretless neck in the late 80's, it was unfinished.

The first thing I did was go to Radio Shack and bought some of those dry transfer rub-off letter packs that were used to label electronic equipment. They had little 1/8" long lines in those packs you could rub onto anything you wanted.

I used a fretted neck as a template, and rubbed off lines on the side of the neck where frets would be. I then rubbed off dots between the frets, where they would normally go on a fretted bass.

So, from the side, it is lined, and looks like a regular bass. I never understood an unlined fretless having fret dots at the actual fret positions, it's not standard and it threw me off. Seemed stupid and non-intuitive.

I then sent the neck off to Pat Wilkins to clearcoat the entire thing. It came back perfect, but the fretboard was so flawless I never wanted to scratch it with strings. It looked like fine furniture.

To me, that's how an unlined fretless should be, and I'm surprised no one makes them like that. Lines only on the side of the neck indicating where frets would be, and dots in the normal places on the side of the neck. The fretboard itself can remain blank.

If someone else makes them like this, I am unaware of it.

Ibanez SRF700/705/706 are exactly like that.