I tried my first Fretless bass ever today.........Fender Vintage Modified..........I plugged it in at the store and just kept playing it......there are no fretwire to get in the way so no buzzing.....and I could probably get the action really low...........I'm tempted to buy it tomorrow....only one problem.....it's a long scale.........I have small hands and short fingers and I only play shortscales......now I didn't have as much trouble playing this long scale bass as I do when I try fretted basses.......but it's a little too heavy and I found the pups didn't have much output, though I'll go back tomorrow and give it another try............I'm thinking that maybe I should take one of my shortscales and defret it.....I have a custom build with swamp ash body and maple top with ebony board, Aguilar preamp and Kent Armstrong MM pickup which I haven't used in a while but it's a $2500 bass and I'm not sure if I should do it..............
So what are the best reasons to get a fretless? A more proper intonation since no fretwire to make it buzz?
I play mostly Rock, Blues, Classic Rock.......I don't really see a fretless fitting in but....if I did use a fretless, then I guess I'd be "different" and it might add a little "je ne s'ais quoi" to the band.......all this just to say that I think I'm hooked to "fretless basses"......
I haven't had a chance to read all the fretless forums, it might take me weeks....lol.....So does anyone here play Rock, Blues and Pop with a fretless?
I take it you mean a Squier VM fretless? I just bought a used one last week and like it a lot. You're right that the pickup output is low. I just goose the input gain on my amp and it comes out fine. In fact, it doesn't sound weak at all, and dynamic range and control is very good.
I have small hands too, but I've found that I still like the 34" scale, and the longer scale provides an advantage over 30" on intonation with a fretless. Besides, so much bass is played between the 8th and 15th frets where the difference in fret spacing between the 30" and 34" scales is minimal. You might try a 5-string 34" fretless and simply play at the 5th fret and above. At any rate I wouldn't be intimidated by the longer scale length, and I sure wouldn't modify a $2500 custom. You can get an inexpensive 30" fretless from
Rondo Music to see if that's what you really want. You may need a better strap to get a good balance on the VM as I did.
I'm hooked on fretless too. I had a bass that I bought in 1998 that sat around mostly; then I bought a fretless in Oct. 2009, have been playing it ever since, and even play in a band now (I'm 57). The fretless simply sounds more like what I hear in my head, so for me it's a better instrument for self expression. You can really use fretless for most things, and certainly for rock, jazz, blues, roots rock, and '50s rock. I find it particularly good for blues. If you need a stronger leading edge attack usually supplied by the frets, just use a stout pick to launch the string at full swing.
Now I'm hooked on the fretless Jazz sound (my other fretless is a G&L ASAT with big humbuckers) and want a better one, so I'm thinking of getting a G&L JB-2 fretless or a Carvin B4000 fretless.
Best reasons to get a fretless is if you feel more at home playing one than a fretted. The rest hardly matters. If you bond with the instrument, you'll be able to play it on most music you want/need to play.
