I just recently purchased a fretless bass, coming in tomorrow, trying to prepare myself for it, I have 1 question, wouldnt slapping on it hurt the fretboard? Let me know what you guys think, and tips on fretless bass besides intonation and finger placement would be great! And What kind of strings can i put on it?
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Slap bass on fretless?
- Thread starter Christian12
- Start date
Rounds = they will eat your fretboard over time (rounds are key to jaco tone IMHO)
Flats = not so much but I feel flats are harder to play with. (require more finger strength) but sounds epic no doubt.
Slapping sounds pretty cool on a fretless - not sure in a live situation but as solo it sure does. towards the end of your fretboard (where you might slap) will get eaten badly though. Check out Les Claypool, he does some crazy stuff of a fretless.
Enjoy your bass looks like you got a Gooden. Love a Fender and especially a Jazz!
Matt
Flats = not so much but I feel flats are harder to play with. (require more finger strength) but sounds epic no doubt.
Slapping sounds pretty cool on a fretless - not sure in a live situation but as solo it sure does. towards the end of your fretboard (where you might slap) will get eaten badly though. Check out Les Claypool, he does some crazy stuff of a fretless.
Enjoy your bass looks like you got a Gooden. Love a Fender and especially a Jazz!
Matt
Fretless bass string poll | TalkBass.com
I don't slap, but if it gives you the sound you're looking for, go for it.
I don't slap, but if it gives you the sound you're looking for, go for it.
Slapping doesn't sound the same on a fretless because one end of the string is being pressed into wood, not being stretched over a metal fret. It's hard to describe the tone produced, but it is unique. I tried it on my fretless 4001 and it sounded odd. A jazz is more suited to slapping than a Ric is anyway. Best of luck to you, congrats on your new bass, and welcome to TB.
Far be it for me to say that no one should slap on a fretless.Many do.
But as for me,I like that"Ping".
The sound of strings on frets.
When you slap on a fretless the sound is "Pawp"
So I don't slap my fretless.
When you slap on a fretless,you are basically "whipping the wood"and will have more wear much faster.
If you are going to do this you should know how to dress your fingerboard on your own.
Epoxy coating is recommended.
But as for me,I like that"Ping".
The sound of strings on frets.
When you slap on a fretless the sound is "Pawp"
So I don't slap my fretless.
When you slap on a fretless,you are basically "whipping the wood"and will have more wear much faster.
If you are going to do this you should know how to dress your fingerboard on your own.
Epoxy coating is recommended.
Last edited:
- Dec 21, 2007
- 15,222
- 45,001
- Disclosures
- Lark in the Morning Instructional Videos; Audix Microphones
Michael Manring slaps the heck out of a fretless.
I do not. Like gebass6, I don't like the sound that I get.
Yes, slapping a fretless will cause significantly more wear on the fingerboard than fingerstyle playing. With fingerstyle playing I find fingerboard wear to be a non-issue - so you *might* need to have your board resurfaced every 5-10 years, so what if it allows you to play the strings that give you the sound you want?
With slapping - you have the forceful collisions between metal and wood. Metal's gonna win every time. When you slap on a fretted bass the string is hitting a fret - a metal vs. metal collision, which is a more even bet.
Your sound, your bass, your call.
I do not. Like gebass6, I don't like the sound that I get.
Yes, slapping a fretless will cause significantly more wear on the fingerboard than fingerstyle playing. With fingerstyle playing I find fingerboard wear to be a non-issue - so you *might* need to have your board resurfaced every 5-10 years, so what if it allows you to play the strings that give you the sound you want?
With slapping - you have the forceful collisions between metal and wood. Metal's gonna win every time. When you slap on a fretted bass the string is hitting a fret - a metal vs. metal collision, which is a more even bet.
Your sound, your bass, your call.
IMO the best fretless bass slap tone in the history of bassdom. Be sure to watch the entire clip
Last edited:
Slapping a fretless would sound different from slapping a fretted neck. As far as your concern about slapping and fretboard wear, how much slapping are you going to do anyway? I could be wrong but I think the majority of players don't use slapping as a their main playing technique, so wear shouldn't be a major concern. Flats and rounds give you different sounds on a fretless, so much so that I opted to maintain two fretless basses - one on flats and one on rounds. As for technique, play it like a cello - vibrato going down along the length of the neck instead of across ("string" bends) like that on a guitar. One thing you'll appreciate (or hate) about playing fretless is that it requires more precision than a fretted bass. The nice thing about it is once you get the hang of it you'll notice that your fretted playing would improve.
Have fun and enjoy!
Have fun and enjoy!
Les Claypool and Bakithi Kumalo spring immediately to mind. Slapping on a FL is a pretty unique sound, but very cool.
I tend not to slap my FL basses unless they're naughty.
Fingerboard wear on FL is a topic that's hotly disputed, er, discussed on TB and really depends upon a lot of factors - strings, setup, fingerboard material (rosewood in your case), fingerboard coatings and, most of all, the player's style of playing. Just remember that wear can be dressed out of a board if it becomes a problem so a little trial and error won't do any permanent damage. Try some things out and just see if wear becomes a problem for you.
I tend not to slap my FL basses unless they're naughty.
Fingerboard wear on FL is a topic that's hotly disputed, er, discussed on TB and really depends upon a lot of factors - strings, setup, fingerboard material (rosewood in your case), fingerboard coatings and, most of all, the player's style of playing. Just remember that wear can be dressed out of a board if it becomes a problem so a little trial and error won't do any permanent damage. Try some things out and just see if wear becomes a problem for you.
If you slap rounds on a fretless, you will quickly destroy the finger board (not fret board since it has no frets--- think upright).
My fretless G&L quickly showed signs of wear with round (and I only experimented with slapping on it).
If you need a bright sound on it---- use ground wound or 1/2 round or bright chrome flats. Otherwise, try to get a sound you like with flats or bright/chrome flats if necessary.
My fretless G&L quickly showed signs of wear with round (and I only experimented with slapping on it).
If you need a bright sound on it---- use ground wound or 1/2 round or bright chrome flats. Otherwise, try to get a sound you like with flats or bright/chrome flats if necessary.
I spent many years playing a good deal of slap on fretless jazz bass- never had too many problems. Just touch up the fingerboard every few months.
Not doing as much slap in general these days- but sometimes my hands make their own decision and I am often surprised and elated with the results!
Not doing as much slap in general these days- but sometimes my hands make their own decision and I am often surprised and elated with the results!
I have been using my Tony Franklin fretless in a hip hop/ jazz project and one of the songs has a slap part I recorded using a Jazz bass with rounds. I was just using my fingers only with the fretless and the BL asked me to try slapping and it sounded really cool. I use flats and the TF has an ebony board so I have no worries about the fingerboard getting messed up.
Years ago I have a fretless P bass with a rosewood board that I used rounds on and back then I played much harder and slapped a lot (it was the early 90's) and the fingerboard held up very well just some marks but no "chewing or digging" damage at all.
Years ago I have a fretless P bass with a rosewood board that I used rounds on and back then I played much harder and slapped a lot (it was the early 90's) and the fingerboard held up very well just some marks but no "chewing or digging" damage at all.
Slapping will eat the bottom of the fingerboard... flats would do so less but slapping flats doesn't sound so great.
I play fretless at least 80% of the time and I slap on mine. I've been playing bass for over 26 years and haven't significantly damaged a fretboard, even while using round wound strings. If you're afraid of damaging the fretboard on your fretless the best thing to do is to put it in its case. Basses were meant to be played (not abused, unless that's what you're into). Try it. It may work for you or you may find like many do that it's not the same and not worth it. For me, when I slap on fretless I make sure my intonation is dead on and I EQ in a bit more treble. Most of the time people never realize that I'm using a fretless bass. Enjoy let us know how it goes!
