Once you go fretless....

[mongo2]

Fretless is just another tool in the kit, but for me it's a rarely used tool.

Mine:

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[SJLee]

Ebony is also a good fingerboard wood. It's much denser than rosewood. Tape wound and half rounds are good too.

 

[johhn smith]

i have always found the issue of string wear kind of curious. i had an old yamaha bb300 with a rosewood board that i had defretted around 1987 and played that bass exclusively ( i didn't own another ) until around 1995. since then i have had a custom fretless w/ an ebony board, a godin a4 fretless w/ an ebony board, a musicman fretless w/pau ferro board and currently own a zon. all of my wood neck basses never had any problem with fingerboard wear. i play about medium when it comes to finger pressure, i do not crush the neck, nor do i play excessively light, and apart from some scratching i have never had any wear worth caring about. i have always used rounds of different manufacturers as i do not like the half/ground/flat wound sound. and the basses get played frequently so, hmmm........

 

[line6man]

Fretless is just another tool in the kit, but for me it's a rarely used tool.

Mine:

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WHAT!? How can you build a nice bass like that and rarely use it?

Here is my second Warmoth fretless that i finished last month:

 

[mongo2]

WHAT!? How can you build a nice bass like that and rarely use it?

Yes.

It comes in handy when I need it.

 

[Bassgrinder77]

you never again play in tune.

 

[line6man]

you never play in tune.

Not at all, you just need to practice more. Fretless isn't as hard as some people think it is.

 

[spade2you]

Not at all, you just need to practice more. Fretless isn't as hard as some people think it is.

+1. When ya get it right, you can be more in tune than the frets.

 

[theunknowndude]

Fretless is just amazing. I actually run a blog all about them xD. Going to get a new one thats more advanced when the funds support The tax people has my money come today.

nice blog, just needs alot more information and posts hehehe (sorry this is coming off of bassfuzz.com!)

 

[Bassgrinder77]

Yeah, but do ya HAVE to use reverb like all those cliche' recordings in the 80's and 90's?

+1. When ya get it right, you can be more in tune than the frets.

 

[Alienation]

Tapewounds are the smoothest and most expressive strings I have ever played. They are warm and paired with a fretless, satin finished neck are unbeatable IMHO.

 

[line6man]

+1. When ya get it right, you can be more in tune than the frets.

Yep.
But if your frets are out of tune, maybe you need something this like this to help you keep your intonation in check.
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[Tom Howland]

WHAT!? How can you build a nice bass like that and rarely use it?

Here is my second Warmoth fretless that i finished last month:

That second Warmoth id giving me big GAS !!!!
Very nice.

 

[Fretless1!]

A huge +1

Just play the bass...
If you wear out the fingerboard, have it sanded down.

Amen, brotha!

 

[Spacelordmother]

How would Coated strings work? Wanted to get DR Black Beauties

I love the sound of Black Beauties on my fretless jazz...

 

[jmac]

I love the sound of Black Beauties on my fretless jazz...

Agreed, I have BB on my GWB35. I like it.

 

[etoncrow]

For you guys who want round wound strings and are worried about the fretboard try SIT Silencers:

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[Rickett Customs]

I may end up using tapewounds on my latest build. Just gotta get it in the spray booth for a finsh:

 

[pepelaici]

Hi

Since I first heard Jaco Pastorius, Alphonso Johnson and Ralphe Armstrong during the seventies... I inmediatelly wanted to do the same...
This was the Fretless Life of mine

Buenos Aires 1979
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New York 1980
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Geneva 2008
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[spade2you]

Ralphe Armstrong has always been a fav of mine. More people need to discover Enigmatic Ocean!