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Kala UBass Megathread, Part 2
- Thread starter smperry
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4. String against wood: always a note. No buzz or fart, ever. And it sounds warmer IMO
5. It is even closer to an upright or baby bass sound for reasons 1-4.
5. It is even closer to an upright or baby bass sound for reasons 1-4.
Agreed for all of 1 - 5.
Now that my fretless ear and fingers are Starting to emerge,
I will never go back. This is awesome.
Now that my fretless ear and fingers are Starting to emerge,
I will never go back. This is awesome.
For the people on the fence about fretless, worried about that intonation thing, and missing the right note, it does take some practice. I won't lie about that. Just sit down and practice. Keep your eyes on the fret board and begin moving your fingers. Simple scales, arpeggios, etc. Keep it slow until you gain comfort, then speed up the metronome a bit at a time. Because of the shortness of the scale, your hand doesn't have to move nearly as far for any one note, even if you decide to play a B to an E, staying on the A string instead of using the E on the D string.
Does anyone want to describe fretless technique?
I'm trying to figure it out, but I have never read anything in a book about it.
I'm basically focusing on not overextending. Rather, I'm trying to hit the middle of the fret and then sort of apply pressure to quickly bring it to the right pitch when it is not already there. Is that sorta kinda the right approach?
I'm trying to figure it out, but I have never read anything in a book about it.
I'm basically focusing on not overextending. Rather, I'm trying to hit the middle of the fret and then sort of apply pressure to quickly bring it to the right pitch when it is not already there. Is that sorta kinda the right approach?
I'll go into detail what I do later when I have more time.
It's basically like playing fretted but with more precision and a few extra tricks (for me).
It's basically like playing fretted but with more precision and a few extra tricks (for me).
Alright...so I flipped a coin and lost...emailed Sweetwater and had them change my reorder to a fretless Hog. I guess i'm just a sucker for a fretless. I didn't notice much "farting" from my Ubass, but I did have to concentrate on finger position. Might as well buy a fretless, right?!? I've just spent 20 years perfecting my technique and I hope it doesn't mess with my intonation on my other basses, for whatever reason. Now I'm back to the waiting game with Sweetwater....yeah.
G sharp to A is a leading tone. A G sharp is not an A flat.
Also, this Is a bass that you can't bend notes either. One dimension gone. So frets take away yet other dimensions of intonation and expression since not only can't you control intonation, You can't even smoothly slide a note. This bass shouldn't even be made with frets. Its out of tune even in the conventional sense anyway. And fretted (regular) bass guitarists who don't bend notes always seem a bit out of tune for me. Especially in a melodic context.
I just think people have to get over the fear of losing their frets and get a little discipline, and also realise its your ear that is the instant fine tuning adjustment. The last pitch a listener hears is what they remember.
I would recommend just one lesson from a classical string player if you need some help. Well worth it.
Now if only I could figure out a way to bow it...
Also, this Is a bass that you can't bend notes either. One dimension gone. So frets take away yet other dimensions of intonation and expression since not only can't you control intonation, You can't even smoothly slide a note. This bass shouldn't even be made with frets. Its out of tune even in the conventional sense anyway. And fretted (regular) bass guitarists who don't bend notes always seem a bit out of tune for me. Especially in a melodic context.
I just think people have to get over the fear of losing their frets and get a little discipline, and also realise its your ear that is the instant fine tuning adjustment. The last pitch a listener hears is what they remember.
I would recommend just one lesson from a classical string player if you need some help. Well worth it.
Now if only I could figure out a way to bow it...
"No problem, Hop. Convert your other basses to fretless." ^Chad Wilson
That's what I'm saying man...I don't have any fretted basses. Mostly play electric upright. But everything I've heard makes sense, especially the post by brianspkr. Never really took expression into account, but I'd probably get bored with the frets and have to buy another anyway. Glad I sent the other one back now...guess the new one should have the new stock strings and a truss rod anyway. Word!
That's what I'm saying man...I don't have any fretted basses. Mostly play electric upright. But everything I've heard makes sense, especially the post by brianspkr. Never really took expression into account, but I'd probably get bored with the frets and have to buy another anyway. Glad I sent the other one back now...guess the new one should have the new stock strings and a truss rod anyway. Word!
Man, I could use the truss rod. One of my basses could use a little more relief to make the E string speak a little better. Its slightly back bowed around the 5th fret. In this case really needed. I guess in the beginning they thought with the soft string an high action, it wasn't needed.
It's not an Ashbory thread, but I thought most here would find these comments interesting.
I now have access to an Ashbory, and this weekend I pulled the nasty stock strings off of it and threw on a set of Thunderguts.
I think Thunderguts can give this old Ashbory design a second life. The bass is pretty Amazing with the Thunderguts.
A couple of other interesting Ashbory tidbits for us UBass/microbass loving people:
- The fretless fretboard is high gloss - cause - I think - it's plastic.
Sounds crazy, but, it actually feels Great. It works.
- The electronics on these basses are pretty impressive for a such a low priced bass. The pickups have 3 controls - separate volume, bass, and treble controls. Excellent.
These Ashborys are Not a substitute for the acoustic UBasses.
But - they are a pretty interesting alternative to the solid bodies - at a very low price point.
I now have access to an Ashbory, and this weekend I pulled the nasty stock strings off of it and threw on a set of Thunderguts.
I think Thunderguts can give this old Ashbory design a second life. The bass is pretty Amazing with the Thunderguts.
A couple of other interesting Ashbory tidbits for us UBass/microbass loving people:
- The fretless fretboard is high gloss - cause - I think - it's plastic.
Sounds crazy, but, it actually feels Great. It works.- The electronics on these basses are pretty impressive for a such a low priced bass. The pickups have 3 controls - separate volume, bass, and treble controls. Excellent.
These Ashborys are Not a substitute for the acoustic UBasses.
But - they are a pretty interesting alternative to the solid bodies - at a very low price point.
It's not an Ashbory thread, but I thought most here would find these comments interesting.
I now have access to an Ashbory, and this weekend I pulled the nasty stock strings off of it and threw on a set of Thunderguts.
I think Thunderguts can give this old Ashbory design a second life. The bass is pretty Amazing with the Thunderguts.
A couple of other interesting Ashbory tidbits for us UBass/microbass loving people:
- The fretless fretboard is high gloss - cause - I think - it's plastic.
- The electronics on these basses are pretty impressive for a such a low priced bass. The pickups have 3 controls - separate volume, bass, and treble controls. Excellent.
These Ashborys are Not a substitute for the acoustic UBasses.
But - they are a pretty interesting alternative to the solid bodies - at a very low price point.
I think the thunderguts work best on an 18-19"scale. If you want to see how they feel. Tune your Kala with Thunderguts down 2 semitones.
A heads up: for those of you who have not played a fretless and think frets is the way to go... The EB classifieds have an apparently barely used hog up for sale. FYI
As I'm staring at this little stick of an Ashbory,
I realized I was describing what I was just doing - on the Ashbory. The scale is shorter, and I was getting best success thinking in terms of hitting the middle. On the Kala, yes, I'm definitely hitting right before the fret mark.
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