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Is fretless over-rated?
- Thread starter FJR Rider
- Start date
Playing with high action on a fretless is a whole different thing. With proper fingering ["different" fingering?] you can get the "mwaah", but with that high action, and with nails or a pick, one can get an almost fretted sound. Thumping and popping can sound good as well.
After years w/out, I just purchased another fretless, but this time I'm going to approach it differently. This time [I'll have a ramp] I'm going to save all my high action/aggressive stuff for my fretted basses, and I'm going to dial in some low-action "economy of motion" artsy stuff with the fretless. I suppose this is the more traditional approach.
Damn, I may have to buy another fretless so I can do my high action fretless shtick I used to do
After years w/out, I just purchased another fretless, but this time I'm going to approach it differently. This time [I'll have a ramp] I'm going to save all my high action/aggressive stuff for my fretted basses, and I'm going to dial in some low-action "economy of motion" artsy stuff with the fretless. I suppose this is the more traditional approach.
Damn, I may have to buy another fretless so I can do my high action fretless shtick I used to do
I've been playing a fretless ABG for acouple of years now.....different animal altogether from electric so I won't even try to make a comparison.
I too have been playing strictly fretted basses for over 40 years and just picked up a Squier VM Fretless Jazz bass last week. My first foray into a fretless and the only question I have is why did I wait so damn long? I took it to rehearsal for the first time last night and, as of now, it's looking like there's a good chance it could become my main bass. We'll see how it works out when I put flats on it and a pro setup.
So it really is a matter of opinion.....personally, I tried out a 5 string for a couple of weeks and returned it for the VM Fretless Jazz. I thought I wanted to own a five'r but, it turns out it's not for me.....but it does have it's place. Maybe later when I find where that place is in my bag of tricks but, for right now, I'm diggin' the **** out of going fretless!
I too have been playing strictly fretted basses for over 40 years and just picked up a Squier VM Fretless Jazz bass last week. My first foray into a fretless and the only question I have is why did I wait so damn long? I took it to rehearsal for the first time last night and, as of now, it's looking like there's a good chance it could become my main bass. We'll see how it works out when I put flats on it and a pro setup.
So it really is a matter of opinion.....personally, I tried out a 5 string for a couple of weeks and returned it for the VM Fretless Jazz. I thought I wanted to own a five'r but, it turns out it's not for me.....but it does have it's place. Maybe later when I find where that place is in my bag of tricks but, for right now, I'm diggin' the **** out of going fretless!
So you don't like fretless, or you simply discovered you're not any good at it after putting some hours into it...
That's cool.
Play fretted then.
To each their own( as said before).
I do not think that fretless is an instrument of jazz or "softer styles". Not at all.
...what was the question?
Less Claypool uses a fretless alot, and I wouldn't consider his style to be soft...rather more like eratic and psychotic. But he also plays fretted
Have you ever heard Steve DiGorgio, Seon Malone or Tony Frankling play their fretless basses?
Nothing soft about that.
Fretless is my main bass and I play metal. It works just fine.
For me personal it's better, I like the feel of the fretless, it can make me play much faster. Okay, I'm 6 years on the fretless and I must admit that I must keep practicing accuracy.
I can make my fretless sound almost like a fretted.
Maybe you are a bit confused about the use of a fretless.
When you mention fretless most bassists think of a stereotype signature fretless mwah sound. Sweet voiced and only for softer music.
But fretless can be applied to any music.
I guess fretless is not your thing, nothing wrong with it.
If you can do all you want on a fretted and are pleased with it, stay with fretted.
The most important thing is that you play a bass you are comfortable with.
I absolutely do not agree that fretless is overrated but I understand where the comment comes from. There are too many mediocre fretless players who seem to think that sliding up and down the neck is "required" if playing a fretless bass.
For me personally I agree with some of the previous posters. My primary bass is a fretless and I (generally) play hard rock. People listening to me play would probably not realize that I'm playing a fretless (but if they look they could see). For me its not about sliding up and down. Its about the hyper low action I'm able to get which lets me play faster. I also like the "grindy" sound that inherantly comes from wood on string.
Thing is you have to practice a lot to sound good on a fretless. There's no training wheels. If your finger slips even by a tiny amount - oops - everyone hears it.
For me personally I agree with some of the previous posters. My primary bass is a fretless and I (generally) play hard rock. People listening to me play would probably not realize that I'm playing a fretless (but if they look they could see). For me its not about sliding up and down. Its about the hyper low action I'm able to get which lets me play faster. I also like the "grindy" sound that inherantly comes from wood on string.
Thing is you have to practice a lot to sound good on a fretless. There's no training wheels. If your finger slips even by a tiny amount - oops - everyone hears it.
I don't think Fretless is overrated, but what I do think is overrated is the type of Fretless basses you always hear people buying: Squier/Fender.
Fender's are great, but honestly...I played a Jazz fretless, and sat there and played it for a good solid hour and couldn't get anything out of it. When I played an acoustic fretless from a brand I can't remember however for five minutes...i was in love.
Fender's are great, but honestly...I played a Jazz fretless, and sat there and played it for a good solid hour and couldn't get anything out of it. When I played an acoustic fretless from a brand I can't remember however for five minutes...i was in love.
Well, it also depends on the bass itself. After trying some fretless basses, I came to the conclusion that if the bass is... well, kinda crappy, it WILL throw you off, no doubt. My first experience with a fretless was with a chinese fiver with exotic woods and big ass roundwound strings, 35". Active electronics that -to my surprise- could blow the roof off, and that not even cranked. BUT, the action, however high or low I set it, combined with the roundwounds just made it sound totally crappy. I had to play it all soft, always went all carebear on it in gigs, until my aggresive hands started flippin' me the bird for it! Luckily, I don't encounter any great problems with accuracy, but that whole "bang-ding-dong-whew-scratch" thingy when playing too hard totally threw me off. Then I tried a Tony Franklin fretless... Well, I guess you know what that was like compared to my first encounter!
Apart from that, and getting back to the matter at hand, a fretless is a fretless, a fretted is a fretted. It's apples and oranges (once again). Fretless gives you something the fretted does not, and vice versa. Personally, I don't think it's pointless, overrated, "elitistic", "snobby" etc. Just a different choice.
Apart from that, and getting back to the matter at hand, a fretless is a fretless, a fretted is a fretted. It's apples and oranges (once again). Fretless gives you something the fretted does not, and vice versa. Personally, I don't think it's pointless, overrated, "elitistic", "snobby" etc. Just a different choice.
I have the Tony Franklin fretless. I'm so pleased with it that I'm considering buying the other color it comes in.
This bass is in a different league then the other fretlesses I own/owned.
Is Fretted over-rated?
These newfangled "frets" that Leo Fender introduced are not doing it for me. They lock you into pre-determined notes, if your bridge needs to be adjusted you have no choice but to hit sour notes, they lack warmth and texture...
I don't know, I know that everyone's all excited about these newfangled fretted bass players but I just ain't feeling the love.
Kidding of course. I love fretted & fretless (though I primarily play fretless). Lest we forget, fretless was here first.
These newfangled "frets" that Leo Fender introduced are not doing it for me. They lock you into pre-determined notes, if your bridge needs to be adjusted you have no choice but to hit sour notes, they lack warmth and texture...
I don't know, I know that everyone's all excited about these newfangled fretted bass players but I just ain't feeling the love.
Kidding of course. I love fretted & fretless (though I primarily play fretless). Lest we forget, fretless was here first.
No kiddin' man! That bass was so smooth and buttery, and the sound was... God damn! I went into the store to try some basses just for the heck of it, and when I tried the TF one I honestly considered beating everyone up and running home with it! (j/k). So, yeah, pretty amazing bass - wish I could pony up the cash!
(I don't usually play fretless, too)
I play both but haven't touched the 'smooth one' in a while. I used it to record a rock ballady sort of thing recently, and it sounded great. But I generally get a 'harder' sound from the fretted ones. And the lovely and much sought-after mwahhh sound from my fretless is unavoidable in most positions and so tends to draw attention to itself, which is not always desirable to me-it just doesn't fit the situation sometimes. But I'll never sell it!
