Should I get fretless?

[waynobass]

... I'm not a bass player, I'm a guitarist ...

No. Most bassists struggle with playing fretless. For a guitarist it would be hopeless.

 

[Wesley R]

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works that way for me --- and i know i'm not the only one! lots of cats would rather practice on a fretless EB than any other option.



speaking for yourself?! sorry it didn't work out for you. but i gotta push back --- many folks/players don't really know until they try it, and after they do: many of them prefer to keep playing a fretless. this joint has tons of 'fretless only' and 'fretless mostly' players!

Long story short I loved my fretless. The OP doesn't sound as into bass guitar as many here. Heck I was playing an Ampeg Baby Bass for years before I got my almost new 1972 fretless P. I'll agree on the don't know until you try aspect, yet most people I know that are good-great on a fretless were good to great on a fretted. I wish the OP the best of luck, and believe if he wants a fretless, he should have one. He asked, people have responded. It was not a pro vs anti fretless question.

 

[JRA]

...most people I know that are good-great on a fretless were good to great on a fretted.

sure, maybe because they started on fretted and became great players. but some of us just don't mess with fretted axes because we play better/easier/simpler on fretless --- there's that!

I wish the OP the best of luck.

me too!

 

[KenSmithFan]

Don’t waste your money. If you aren’t playing the bass you own, you won’t play the fretless. It takes work to get proficient on a fretless, it’s not a lark.

 

[J Wilson]

YES.

 

[J Wilson]

NO.

 

[J Wilson]

We can't decide for you, only you can answer that.

I will say that if you selected YES, either find a viol family instructor for training to play an unlined neck. If that's not practical or something you'd want to do, play a lined fretless so you'll be able to find your way.

 

[Rocket Queen]

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Cool instrument! Four strings at the bridge, three strings at the headstock, and six tuners!

And, left-handed controls?

 

[ProbablyTooLoud]

Hi, I'm new here and just like the topic says I'm thinking of getting a fretless.
Now I know asking strangers online if you should buy something is pretty much always answered with a yes, but I thought I'd explain myself and get some advice.
First off, I'm not a bass player, I'm a guitarist and while I do own a bass it has largely gathered dust in the years I've owned it.
The main reasons I'm considering getting it are because I've always thought it'd be cool to have one, it's cheap and it'd be a birthday present. By cheap it's $300 AUD, and the same shop is selling a Squier mini P bass for $320 so you can better adjust that price to your currency.
I'm worried that it'll end up being a novelty that largely gathers dust despite my intentions to actually learn how to play it so what do you think I should do?

Based on this info?
Nah.

 

[grimjim]

As I have aged, my musical preferences have gone away from your usual pop/rock stuff and, to a certain extent, even blues, over into Americana, traditional American music, and even Great Folk Scare-era Greenwich coffee-house folk.

Interesting. As I've gotten older, my musical tastes have gone off the cliff. I'm 59 and play in a death metal band. 5 string p-basses tuned to A.
I do play in a rock cover band, for that I have a fretless 4 string p-bass that I absolutely love. Funny though, the band is called Coffee House Nightmare.

 

[JRA]

Cool instrument! Four strings at the bridge, three strings at the headstock, and six tuners! And, left-handed controls?

--- i just like to give @GretschWretch a giggle when i can!




it's night cafe AI, images from text prompts. note: if AI can't do any better than this = nothing to worry about.

 

[City]

Well I bought a really cheap fretless Glarry. no fret markings.....just to see if I could and tosee if the situation to fretless might happen for me. Then COVID hit. anyhow I could play the fretless seemlessly I thought, and thought I could move into a good one.....the COVID hit. eh....

 

[JC Nelson]

If you can get your hands on it and it feels/sounds great then go for it. A fretless that is set up properly can be a musically inspiring instrument. I have a Japanese Fender Jazz that nearly plays itself.

On the other hand, there is nothing worse than a poorly set up fretless. I have a cheap Vintage Icon Jaco replica dust collector.

 

[RandomKaren]

Do it.

 

[groovepump]

if you like it go for it. With questions like this a lot of people will say stuff like, "oh, intonation, get a lined one, or get frets first, etc." but, what if you wanted to learn the violin or the theremin? You'd have to learn how to do the intonation that way, so, get what you like, and with every instrument it takes practice.

Your points are very valid. I started with frets, bought a DB, and even though I could only play 3rd chair in an orchestra after a few months of playing, I enjoyed the challenge and sound so much it didn't matter that I couldn't play like Billy Sheehan. If the mystique and challenge is there, you don't have to meet any 3rd-party performance level to justify the enjoyment of the experience itself. There are things we can do on a fretless bass that we can't do with the fretted. Imagine how vocalists would sound if their voices were fretted...

Anyway, to the OP: just consider "why" YOU are attracted to a fretless bass. Only your opinion counts.

 

[groovepump]

Cool instrument! Four strings at the bridge, three strings at the headstock, and six tuners!

And, left-handed controls?

Great headstock, though!

 

[Lance Bunyon]

Why not?
I have six.

 

[Pings Bass]

Yes

 

[LowendG]

Hey, if it speaks to you give it a go--maybe you'll get really inspired by it. I'm not much of a guitarist, and the ones that I do own I only use for work when needed. I never just grab them for kicks--they're truly just "tools". But I got this crazy idea I wanted to try a microtonal guitar and I bought one and then played the heck out of it for a year or so mostly just for fun('cause there's not much call for microtonal guitar out there!). Stretched me musically, I came up with lots of new ideas, and even though I don't play it much now, was certainly worth it.

 

[GIBrat51]

Hi, I'm new here and just like the topic says I'm thinking of getting a fretless.
Now I know asking strangers online if you should buy something is pretty much always answered with a yes, but I thought I'd explain myself and get some advice.
First off, I'm not a bass player, I'm a guitarist and while I do own a bass it has largely gathered dust in the years I've owned it.
The main reasons I'm considering getting it are because I've always thought it'd be cool to have one, it's cheap and it'd be a birthday present. By cheap it's $300 AUD, and the same shop is selling a Squier mini P bass for $320 so you can better adjust that price to your currency.
I'm worried that it'll end up being a novelty that largely gathers dust despite my intentions to actually learn how to play it so what do you think I should do?

Well... if the bass you have is lonely, just sitting around gathering dust? Then, yes; buy another one. By all means...
Otherwise? Sorry; can't help ya. You're a big boy; spend your euros however you want. However...
I will tell you that I bought my first fretless bass - a 32" scale ("medium" scale) '93 made-in-Canada Fury Anthem lined fretless - about 6 months ago. After playing only fretted basses for 55 years. And, I'm very happy I did, too; it's a total blast to play. I got the lined fretless because, while I'm not entirely too old to learn new tricks, I'm probably too old to try learning to play an un-lined fretless. Especially since I'm also kind of tone deaf... But, after a couple minutes figuring out that my fingers need to touch the lines - not just behind them, like a fretted bass - playing that bass was easy-peasy. So much so, that I now have 2 other lined fretless basses - and a third one is under construction. Left hand fretless basses are pretty scarce; lined ones are even more so. The one I'm having made is a 31" scale Birdsong, 'cause left handed short scales are... very rare, indeed.
So... bottom line? Do what you want; it's your money. Learning to play an unlined fretless bass may be a short learning curve for you - or, it may take quite a while. Especially since you don't seem a particularly motivated bass player, in the first place. But, please yourself...