Slapping bad for fretless

[5656130]

I just remembered i signed up for this site and now hopefully you expert bassists can address my problem.

I came across many places saying slapping was bad for a fretless bass. Now i dont understand this im sure its bad to a degree but dosent les claypool have a fretless CT that hes been slapping on for years i dont think hes ever had problems with it and ive never heard of this before. Now another issue, where are all the fretless 6 string basses. I checked guitar center and found 3 and ones some ******** design ibanez came up with. How come noone makes 6 string fretless'? Anyways i love this site!

 

[nostatic]

Nonsense. I slap my fretless basses regularly. Whether or not it sounds particularly good is another story but it isn't "bad" for the bass...

 

[Ric5]

Slapping won't hurt your fretless bass.

 

[5656130]

Thank you guys, now can anyone answer my question of where all the fretless 6 strings went?

 

[David Jayne]

Thank you guys, now can anyone answer my question of where all the fretless 6 strings went?

E-bay?

I don't think there were very many to begin with, right? And today's fashion doesn't really support it much so......

 

[5656130]

E-bay?

I don't think there were very many to begin with, right? And today's fashion doesn't really support it much so......

I remember looking last year and there were a few good middle priced ones to choose from.

 

[crkempton]

Well.. If you go the custom route most things are possible. I'm sure you'll find MANY people here have them.

Rondo has this one... Any chance you're a lefty?

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[BioDriver]

Hey, it works for Claypool and Stanley.

 

[5656130]

Well.. If you go the custom route most things are possible. I'm sure you'll find MANY people here have them.

Rondo has this one... Any chance you're a lefty?

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Unfortuneately not i was thinking about ordering from warmoth and just putting the neck to the body but then i remembered i had to buy the hardware seperate which would put me at close to 1600 for everything. If anyone finds a 6 string fretless for 1,200USD and under let me know.

 

[OmnitzGarima]

Nonsense. I slap my fretless basses regularly.

This is interesting. I was under the impression that slap and fretless didn't work well together. I'll have to experiment.

 

[5656130]

This is interesting. I was under the impression that slap and fretless didn't work well together. I'll have to experiment.

It wont be the same or sound as good as slapping with frets, but then again a fretless isnt them same nor sounds the same as a fretted bass anyways.

 

[lhoward]

It really depends on the player and their setup. Gary Willis plays a signature fretless but doesn't slap. Michael Manring slaps occasionally. I normally don't slap on my fretless; sometimes I do, but only when it gets out of hand or frisky. )

 

[lhoward]

This is interesting. I was under the impression that slap and fretless didn't work well together. I'll have to experiment.

FWIW, my primary fretless doesn't sound good slapped no matter what strings are on it. I have a relatively inexpensive Yamaha lined fretless, RBX-270F, with LaBella Deep Talkin' 760FM flatwound strings and it sounds fairly decent slapped. The strings are pretty stiff and with a very low action the combination sounds good.

You should have some fun taking some time and experimenting. One thing I've found is that stiff strings like the LaBella's seem to work better, at least on this particular bass. I had some D'Addario Chromes and TI Jazz Flats on it before but I like the sound of the LaBellas best so far, at least until I get GAS to try something new.

Lloyd Howard

 

[fourstringburn]

I agree with the posts that say slapping on a fretless doesn't sound good, at least not as good as a fretted bass. I think you will see more posts that will concur on this aspect about fretless slapping.

 

[nostatic]

some slapping going on here towards the end in the bass solo then head reprise - fretless Rob Allen

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed] (I usually do that song on fretted)

Certainly different, but I kind of dig it and use it for effect on certain songs. Just another "color" available at your fingertips (well, thumb actually).

 

[Kwesi]

The truth is that it depends entirely on the bass. The majority of fretless basses I've tried slapping on sounded pretty lame but I swear Brad Johnson's epoxy coated Brubaker KXB-6 sounds fretted when you slap it! It's almost creepy how good it sounds slapped. And my Tom Clement fretless 5 sounds pretty decent too when you roll up to the beck coil (which is a smidge closer to the neck that a 60 jazz bridge coil.

 

[steubig]

doesn't sound "good" or sounds "different"?

i'd say it doesn't sound the same as a fretted, but it has its own unique sound and can be useful. of course much the same can be said about slapping with flatwounds vis slapping with roundwounds.

 

[tjclem]

Most music stores got to only have one or 2 fretless basses period. Also only once have I gone out to the local bars and seen a guy playing a fretless. :scowl:

 

[tdizzle]

I just remembered i signed up for this site and now hopefully you expert bassists can address my problem.

I came across many places saying slapping was bad for a fretless bass. Now i dont understand this im sure its bad to a degree but dosent les claypool have a fretless CT that hes been slapping on for years i dont think hes ever had problems with it and ive never heard of this before. Now another issue, where are all the fretless 6 string basses. I checked guitar center and found 3 and ones some ******** design ibanez came up with. How come noone makes 6 string fretless'? Anyways i love this site!

Roundwound strings do pose a threat to a fretless bass, depending on how hard your attack. There does exist the possibility of the strings wearing grooves in the fret board, at which point the board would have to be plained. Epoxy helps to prevent this.

 

[chuck norriss]

slapping is no worse than warwick stocking they're beautiful fretless basses with roundwounds. idon't get that.