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I'm considering a fretless, please advise
- Thread starter jfunk
- Start date
They come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and flavors. Mine is mostly based on the Pedulla Buzz, but I'm more of a 3 band EQ guy, especially if you can throw in high/low mids.
Well, I consider my Tony Franklin just a fretless P. I don't use the J pickup.
I love that bass. A bit pricey, but really a wonderful instrument.
I'm also gassing a bit for a fretless Rickenbacker and fretless Bongo 6-string, but I never played them.
I did play the fretted versions of these kind of basses. And as much as I liked them, a precision bass is more my thing, both fretless and fretted.
So I am quite pleased with a fretless precision.
I even am thinking of getting a black Tony Franklin because a fretless precision fits me so good.
I love the fretless MTD's and fretless Elricks. Most Elricks have an active/passive switch that can get you the best of both worlds.
A fretless Precision isn't going to be the most versatile, but will sit perfectly in most situations just like a fretted P. I personally think the P sounds more like an upright than a Jazz Bass. You can eq the jazz, but the P has it right out of the box. A P-J set up would work really well, especially active with and active/passive preamp.
Greg Yancey makes some great basses. I played a fretless 5 of his, but someone else bought it before I could get it. Very versatile and plenty of mwah.
Get out there and play as many as you can. Pick the one that speaks to you.
Good luck.
A fretless Precision isn't going to be the most versatile, but will sit perfectly in most situations just like a fretted P. I personally think the P sounds more like an upright than a Jazz Bass. You can eq the jazz, but the P has it right out of the box. A P-J set up would work really well, especially active with and active/passive preamp.
Greg Yancey makes some great basses. I played a fretless 5 of his, but someone else bought it before I could get it. Very versatile and plenty of mwah.
Get out there and play as many as you can. Pick the one that speaks to you.
Good luck.
I have a Rickenbacker fretless and I love it. However I play hard & progressive rock with it so it doesn't sound like that's your thing.
Personally if I were interested in something more "traditional" sounding, I'd probably go for a P bass. J bass being a close second.
Personally if I were interested in something more "traditional" sounding, I'd probably go for a P bass. J bass being a close second.
Active/passive is usually a decent option, but depends on the pickup/pre-amp combo. Something like active EMGs can't be run passively. I find that Barts pickups and pre-amps of today seem to sound the same with the EQ flat when you switch to passive. I've heard that the Glockenlang pre-amp is also very transparent. Still, I highly recommend something with multiple mid frequency. It really opens up the versatility!
Tom7
I'm so bright, my mom called me son! ;-)
Actually, I have a REALLY hard time understanding why anyone would want a 4 or a 5 string fretless bass. Six is almost the only thing that makes sense.
First, it's not like the C string is going to get in the way of slapping. If anything, the C string is a huge help, because it lets you play lines closer to the nut where the spacing is wider and the intonation much easier. Also, the C string gives you ready access to some very handy harmonics.
Second, often many of the songs you would want to play with a fretless bass have horns, and are frequently in keys such as Bb or Eb, therefore having a B string is a huge help. With a B string, you can play patterns and lines consistently without awkward octave jumps in those keys.
Consequently, a 6 string bass makes FAR more sense to me than a 4 or a 5 string bass.
That said, I should confess that I currently own 4 fretless basses:
The thing is, the 4-string Fender is pretty much a collector bass for me now; I never gig with it. And as for the 5-string Barker, I play the Barker when I need "that look" in situations were the band benefits from the look of an upright bass. The Barker is a blast to play, but it drives me crazy not having a C string.
Of course, not everyone LIKES a 6 string bass, so there is that to consider, but if you don't mind playing one, 6 strings really do make the most sense for a fretless bass.
As for WHICH fretless bass to get, I'm most happy with the flexibility of my Fbass AC6. Well, check it out for yourself.
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With flexibility like this, this one bass really does most of what I want to do with a fretless bass.
The strings, by the way are flat wound Thomastic Infeld Jazz Bass nickel wound steel strings.
And the recordings are truly quick and dirty. Because they were done just for the purposes of showing you guys here the AC6 flexibility, I didn't let myself be bothered by slop... so please don't be too critical of the playing.
The recordings were done straight to the computer using a HANDY cable my wife got me that has a USB plug on one end and an instrument cable on the other.
(By the way, my wife is looking over my shoulder right now. Originally I typed "a cheap cable my wife got me" and she objected, so I changed it to a "handy" cable. All is well at home again. ;-))
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First, it's not like the C string is going to get in the way of slapping. If anything, the C string is a huge help, because it lets you play lines closer to the nut where the spacing is wider and the intonation much easier. Also, the C string gives you ready access to some very handy harmonics.
Second, often many of the songs you would want to play with a fretless bass have horns, and are frequently in keys such as Bb or Eb, therefore having a B string is a huge help. With a B string, you can play patterns and lines consistently without awkward octave jumps in those keys.
Consequently, a 6 string bass makes FAR more sense to me than a 4 or a 5 string bass.
That said, I should confess that I currently own 4 fretless basses:
- a 4-string 1976 fretless Fender Jazz bass (lined a la Jaco)
- a 5-string Barker electric upright (unlined)
- a 6-string Yamaha (John Patitucci signature, lined)
- a 6-string Fbass AC6 (Alain Caron signature, unlined)
The thing is, the 4-string Fender is pretty much a collector bass for me now; I never gig with it. And as for the 5-string Barker, I play the Barker when I need "that look" in situations were the band benefits from the look of an upright bass. The Barker is a blast to play, but it drives me crazy not having a C string.
Of course, not everyone LIKES a 6 string bass, so there is that to consider, but if you don't mind playing one, 6 strings really do make the most sense for a fretless bass.
As for WHICH fretless bass to get, I'm most happy with the flexibility of my Fbass AC6. Well, check it out for yourself.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed].
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed].
With flexibility like this, this one bass really does most of what I want to do with a fretless bass.
The strings, by the way are flat wound Thomastic Infeld Jazz Bass nickel wound steel strings.
And the recordings are truly quick and dirty. Because they were done just for the purposes of showing you guys here the AC6 flexibility, I didn't let myself be bothered by slop... so please don't be too critical of the playing.
The recordings were done straight to the computer using a HANDY cable my wife got me that has a USB plug on one end and an instrument cable on the other.
(By the way, my wife is looking over my shoulder right now. Originally I typed "a cheap cable my wife got me" and she objected, so I changed it to a "handy" cable. All is well at home again. ;-))
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A 4 string, passive jazz suits my fretless needs. Of course, I'm not against using anything else, but for now, a jazz does my fretless playing just fine! (I love that Jaco sound!)
