Is getting an unlined fretless a good idea?

[Tupac]

I consider myself a near beginner (been playing for 6 months) , and I have to say that I LOVE the sound of a fretless. I love, love, love it. I would really like one. So, the question is to get an unlined or lined. I'd prefer an unlined for looks, as well as to feel a bit closer to a double bass. So... how do unlined players have any idea where they are on the fretboard? Are there still dots on the side of the neck to tell where you are? Would it be easy for someone like me to adapt to it?


PS: If anyone has recommendations for a good, cheap fretless, that would be nice. I'm thinking a Squier VM Fretless is all I need.

 

[davidjbass]

I have played fretless's with both lines and no lines. I find that I am more comfortable with an unlined fretless. Reason being is that the dotes on the side of the fretboard are your actual position markers so you match your fingers to the dotes and listen good to your intonation. With most lined fretless's they put the dotes in the middle of the fret just like a fretted bass. And then you have the lines between them. I find this very confusing especially when your playing the bass standing up. It's a little easy when your sitting down because you tend to see the lines of the fretboard better.

Going unlined is the way I would recommend. It might take you a little longer to get good at it but once you are learn to see and hear your intonation you will be fine. Practice, practice and then practice more. Hope this helps and good luck.

 

[lpdeluxe]

I've had three fretless basses: a Fender Standard Fretless with lines, a Precision with a Warmoth unlined neck, and my current Godin A5 fretless.

The Fender was very easy to play in tune, but I'm just not a Jazz guy. The Precision was better, but difficult to find the intonation. The Godin is perfect: it has small lines that extend under the B string, and it's quite easy to find the notes. I have been playing lots of solos with the Godin, which I never did with a fretted bass. Ibanez is another builder of fretless basses with the truncated lines, and I'm a convert.

Pics:

Fender Standard Fretless:

Fender Precision/Warmoth fretless neck:

Godin A5 fretless:

 

[fretlessguy]

If you like the tone and fee of the Squier Jazz fretless, then it doesn't matter about the fact it is lined. Just make sure the intonation is correct and with the lines.

 

[dj5]

I always find lines irritating - just a tiny bit off (and where exactly is ON the line? - fingers are fatter than lines) will sound terrible, so I think they're redundant. The side dots will give you a perfectly good idea of where your fingers are, and I'm sure you don't play looking down at the fingerboard anyway. You can visualise the correct position from looking at the side dots with ease IMO.
No side dots - now that's a different kettle of fish!

 

[Matthew_84]

I always find lines irritating - just a tiny bit off

I've been following this thread and this kind of points to a question I've always had about fretlesses and maybe it would help Tupac decide as well.

A fretted base can never be perfectly in tune. Even when the intonation is at its best, it will still always be a little flat in the lower position, and a little sharp in the higher positions - not much -2/+2 or whatever. But it is even when the harmonics are right and the 12th fret is dead on... Just the way it is.

* If you don't believe this, get your fretted bass out, make sure its intonation is perfect. Now fret the 5th note. Now fret the 17th fret. The 5th should be a little flat, and the 17th should be a little sharp. If only one is true, then its intonation is not 100%. They should be an equal amount of flat to sharp. If you still don't believe me, get a chromatic tuner and fret every note chromatically.

So with an unlined fretless, you don't rely on the fret lines. You rely on your ear and if your ear is solid then you can get perfect intonation. But if you play a lined fretless and use the lines to gauge where you should play, rather than your ear, then you should still be just slightly off, like a fretted.

Now most people may not be able to hear the difference, but anyone that can play an unlined with great intonation should.

So to me, at least (and correct me if I'm wrong so far), it would seem that to play an unlined fretless you would need to devote most of your time playing it, so that your ear can truly develop. Where as someone who is playing a lined fretless (using the lines, not the ear) can kind of switch back and forth between a lined fretless and a fretted without hearing much a difference.

Does this seem accurate? For you guys who play both lined and unlined fretlesses, when you play your lined, do you follow your ears to tell you where to play or do you play right on the lines? Do you hear the slight difference in pitch between the two? Or rather, if you played an unlined fretless and then a fretted, does the fretted sound somewhat out of tune (at the lowest and the highest frets)?

 

[ChrisPbass]

Ultimately you will use your ears. It is amazing how little movement it takes to be on or off the intonation mark. Literally, rolling your finger is all it takes to go sharp or flat. Since you're just starting out on bass I recommend the unlined. Work at it and you'll get it.
Fretlessness is a beautiful thing. IME no stringed, fretted instrument gets a note in tune like a fretless, or a bent string on a guitar. (open strings excluded)

 

[chuck3]

Another vote for unlined. I have three fretless basses - two unlined, one lined. I only play the two unlined and am looking to sell the lined, even though it's otherwise a really nice bass. The lines hurt intonation more than they help, IMO, for the reasons others have stated above. And the unlined look much nicer as well.

 

[Tampabass]

yes, unlined - go for it. Once you get the hang of it, you'll be be happy you did.

 

[powerbass]

I started out on fretless - I made my own bass w/out lines then after a couple years I moved to upright bass. I liked the unlined better since my mind/ears worked better thinking intervals instead of lines. My experience on upright has taught me that intonation is about learning correct fingering and knowing your intervals. This is a big task and frustrating if you don't approach playing fretless with discipline

 

[coreyfyfe]

Does this seem accurate? For you guys who play both lined and unlined fretlesses, when you play your lined, do you follow your ears to tell you where to play or do you play right on the lines? Do you hear the slight difference in pitch between the two? Or rather, if you played an unlined fretless and then a fretted, does the fretted sound somewhat out of tune (at the lowest and the highest frets)?

I always found myself distracted by the lines when playing a lined fretless, so I much prefer an unlined, though they tend to be more expensive/harder to find readily available. I think the issue I have is that I never play enough fretless to completely ignore the lines so swapping over to an unlined forced me into that.

 

[smcd]

If you're a beginner, you absolutely positively want a LINED fretless. It's much easier to learn to play. If you decide later for some inexplicable reason you want an unlined fretless, you can take a Sharpie marker and hide the lines.

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

If your end goal is to play an unlined, get an unlined now. Getting a different sort of bass to start off on will only result in additional transitional difficulties and having to purchase another bass. This goes for lined and unlined, string count, or any other possible transitional issues that can happen by not starting on the instrument you want to end up on.

So with an unlined fretless, you don't rely on the fret lines. You rely on your ear and if your ear is solid then you can get perfect intonation. But if you play a lined fretless and use the lines to gauge where you should play, rather than your ear, then you should still be just slightly off, like a fretted.

You can use the lines to help with intonation without having to put your finger exactly on the line at all times. The are exactly as accurate (or inaccurate) as side dots, as they're placed at the same position, so playing a lined fretless using the lines as a visual cue will put you no closer to being "off" than playing an unlined using the side dots as a visual cue. You need to use your ears with both, and your finger placement is up to you, not the lines.

 

[Tampabass]

No, not quite right. Start on unlined, and learn to rely on your ears rather than always looking down at the fingerboard. You'll end up playing & sounding better and you'll have a bass with a fingerboard that, IMO, looks nicer than one with lines.

If you start on lined, you'll quickly start relying on the lines and it'll be that much harder to switch later.


If you decide later for some inexplicable reason you want a lined fretless, you can always take a dark Sharpie and add lines. edit: forgot to add this here:

 

[mantrabass]

Why does everyone keep making the recommendation to use a SHARPIE to add lines? Yuuuuck, that'd look even worse than having lines to begin with.

If you're a beginner, using lines is a good way to get started. It's an easy transition, and once you become familiar with where your fingers need to be, you can move on to an unlined. Good luck!

 

[AltGrendel]

Unlined, definitely.

 

[etoncrow]

Unlined; training wheels are easy to remove, lines are not. Besides, are you really going to turn the fretboard up so you can see them? Orientation for intonation is the key; not specification...what?

 

[onosson]

Unlined, definitely.

I agree. My path was: fretted electric bass -> double bass -> fretless electric bass. I never even considered getting a lined fretless, after playing double bass. No other fretless stringed instrument has lines - except maybe fretless guitar? You don't need them and you'll be better off without, for all the reasons mentioned in previous posts.

 

[smcd]

Why does everyone keep making the recommendation to use a SHARPIE to add lines? Yuuuuck, that'd look even worse than having lines to begin with.

You use a Sharpie to HIDE lines. I've never heard of anyone adding lines with a Sharpie. The thought of that is actually very funny.





Too many people in this thread have forgotten what it's like to learn how to play. There's no other reason so many would be recommending an unlined fingerboard.

 

[baileyboy]

FBB Custom Bass Works I really love the sound of my FBB fretless. Though I don't use it often, it's too sweet to part with.