Hey Pete - how is it tuning your Krappy with those tiny tuners? With the used strings that came with mine, I was able to tune the strings up to the desired E/A; but it was slightly painful on the fingers, trying to apply the necessary leverage to those little buttons. When I received the Brite Flats in the mail, and put them on - forget it. With my fingers alone, I simply could not get the new strings tight enough! So I took a block of wood and sawed a notch into it, just wide enough to accomodate the tuner buttons. Voila! My own homemade Krappy tuning wrench! Got the new strings tuned up. I wonder if the new-ness of the strings was the main culprit, and perhaps I will be able to tune them by hand as they get worn in? Or do the Flats have more resistance, and I will always need to use the wrench? Maybe I can find bigger buttons to screw onto the tuning machines, that will provide more leverage.
Anyway - playing around with a 2 string fretless is proving to be a very tasty challenge. Especially as I want to play more than just root/fifth oompah lines.
I've always been a basic box position guy, visualizing my scales as they straddled the strings, perpendicular to the neck. Now, w/ only 2 strings, I am trying to see my scales as patterns that ascend vertically up the neck! I always realized that the frets on a bass get closer together as you move up the neck. Who cares - just put my fingers where the frets are. But...on my FretLesPaul 2, this little piece of musical geometry is an important factor to consider.
Fortunately, I have a good ear. I can tell my note is off upon attack, and quickly slide into where I should be. Then it sounds like I am doing this on purpose, for musical effect. (I am willing to bet that this is a common trick of fretless bassists!)
j
