This one is for the unlined fretless players...

[radioripster]

So tell me, how long did it take for you to figure out that the intonation on your unlined fretless bass has to be spot on to play in tune?..I mean dead on..as much as it can be. At first, we all do the finger rolls to pitch if we don't hit it right on the money and of course, vibrato can mask of it.

But playing with straight up fingering.

I call it the cello effect. It's just my own little moniker for this. heh. You see the good cello players zoom all over the place on the neck without looking and they're intonation is right on the money.

Once you've put the time in, with your brain, hands and have fine tuned your sense of pitch you can tell much more easily that your intonation is out on fretless more so than a fretted and by the tiniest amount.

Maybe that was just my experience with it all.

Did any of that make sense?

If it did, tell me so we'll both know.

 

[primal]

If you put in the time and effort that a cellist does, it wouldn't matter if the intonation is set correctly or not (it would just have to be consistent). After all, cellos/violins/etc don't have bridges that can be finely adjusted for intonation.

 

[radioripster]

If you put in the time and effort that a cellist does, it wouldn't matter if the intonation is set correctly or not (it would just have to be consistent). After all, cellos/violins/etc don't have bridges that can be finely adjusted for intonation.

Ok..good point..I think about the fixed bridge.

I think the point I'm getting to with all of this is from playing (left hand) position so much that I can tell when the string length intonation is off. I guess that comes from me playing upright too.

 

[Quentin Hunt]

I have an undotted and unlined 6-string fretless that I got yesterday. With my fingerboard and pitch memory I'm pretty familiar with the fingerboard up to the 14th fret before I have problems.
I'm a day into owning my first fretless, so I'm pleased with my capabilities after a few hours of play.

 

[TMARK]

I feel you. I can hear when I'm a bit off. I will roll to pitch, but this mostly happens when improvising.

 

[Old Blastard]

Yes. Spot on.

 

[eightyearsapril]

I've found that I can only play basses that have a 34" scale, or else my muscle memory gets fogged. I sold a nice 35" scale five string bass because of this.

Multi scale basses intrigue me, but I won't invest in one until my unlined fretless intonation is flawless.

 

[twinjet]

At first, we all do the finger rolls to pitch if we don't hit it right on the money and of course, vibrato can mask of it.

Unfortunately, some fretless players still do it and mask it in a way that is just god-awfully obvious.

 

[bholder]

I had the mental understanding that it had to be spot on from the start, though I'm still not sure 16 years later that my fingers have really learned everything.

 

[Groove Doctor]

I've found that I can only play basses that have a 34" scale, or else my muscle memory gets fogged. I sold a nice 35" scale five string bass because of this.

I used to feel the same (for 20 years).

(Besides my 34"ers), I have three 30" fretted and one 30" fretless. The more I play these fretteds, the easier the fretless becomes.

It's a Rob Allen Mouse fretless and its such a delight to own and inspiring to play. I fully committed to (re)learning how to play it. 3 years now, and I get more and more used to it each time I play it.

Then there's my 3/4 DB.... 30", 34" AND 41" basses.

 

[basspedaler]

I'm finding my pitch is ok up to the 12th fret, then it gets a lot more fickle. the notes are really close and a millimeter can really throw it off. on my lined basses I do fine. I just need more time on the unlined, and new P with unlined ebony is my fave so it will come. I practice and play mostly with a TC head with a constant tuner and that is a huge help too..

 

[Eilif]

I was raised on upright and spent a few years after that playing mostly unlined fretless. After almost 10 years of mostly fretted, I'm back playing alot of unlined fretless, but I don't actually know if I've "Got it". I've certainly got it enough that an audience wouldn't be able to tell the difference, but I wonder if my fellow bassists would think the same.

I definitely agree with basspedaler about the 12th fret. Not that I play much above the 12th anyway, but my intonation definitely isn't as tight up there. Still, I love the tone of fretless and the feeling of purity I get from an unlined board so I carry on.

If I'm honest, I to admit that I also enjoy the confusion and admiration I get from audience and other musicians when they see an unlined fretless.

 

[tfer]

I believe that the ease with which you play fretless, depends on how you play fretted. When I first started, my teacher insisted that I place my finger as close to over the top of the fret as I could, without muting the note. The muscle memory that developed from there transferred very well to fretless.

However, once you get past the 12 'fret' location, the tight spacing can certainly cause problems. It's one of the things that I like about a 35" scale - it opens up the spacing there.

 

[Moe Monsarrat]

I am a lead singer who plays bass. One day years ago I went in a pawn shop in Austin and saw an old factory fret less P bass. I asked about it and was told it was priced at $200. The guy said he couldn't sell it because it had no frets. I paid $180. I loved the tone and decided it would be my main axe come hell or high water. When I showed up at my reggae gig the band was sure I had finally lost my mind. But over the next three years I played only that old unlined P. Since I sing in pitch I found playing in pitch came naturally. After I got used to listening instead of looking for notes it was a piece of cake. Now I play both fretted and fretless 5 strings on stage.

 

[Panther]

I've had mine for only a month or so, played fretted for 22 years. I can say I can have much better days than some, but most times I'm solid - but I can just tell when i'm off the slightest bit. I haven't got to jam with it tho, where I suspect I might have some moments.

 

[neckdive]

Very early on when I first started bass, I gravitated towards playing a fretless after seeing a lot of people playing it online. I bought a lined VM Squier but the lines just didn't match the correct pitch even though the bass itself was intonated correctly. I played using a large strobe app leaning up against the amp in order to learn exactly where my fingers should be regardless of the lines. I ended up just marking over the lines with black permanent marker because they were 'freaking me out' a bit. Then it became much easier. I eventually, built my own unlined dotted ebony boarded neck and continued to play fretless only.

I now only play an unlined fretless maple Fender and have a very hard time playing fretted basses. Many times, I'll hand mine to other bassists or guitarists to play just to see their reaction. Invariably, they all find it to be a lot of fun and cool to play rather than commenting how hard they think it would be.

Personally, I'm not into the whole 'mwah' thing so my tone doesn't really scream fretless. It's more about the smooth feel; like a trombonist wouldn't need small 'stops' in the slide. I've trained my fingers to automatically go where they should be, at least for the first 12 frets. I also make it a point to look away from the board as much as possible.

I personally haven't found a lot of people that seem to care one way or the other if it's fretless much less unlined, even other bassists or musicians. Perhaps they just don't say anything. Either way, it doesn't matter since the unlined fretless just sort of suits me.

 

[nostatic]

Music isnt about perfection. If you listen to many of the great upright players, their intonation wasn't perfect. But it served the music. Technique is only one small piece of the musical puzzle. That doesn't mean one shouldn't work on it, but they should also work on phrasing, articulation, tone, emotion, etc.

 

[macmanlou]

I think it's actually easier to play more in tune on my unlined fretless than it is on my lined ones.

 

[TMARK]

Music isnt about perfection. If you listen to many of the great upright players, intonation wasn't perfect. But it served the music. Technique is only one small piece of the musical puzzle. That doesn't mean one shouldn't work on it, but they should also work on phrasing, articulation. tone, emotion, etc.

This is so right on.

 

[tfer]

Whether or not it has lines doesn't matter to me. Some people like wood grain basses, some like sunbursts, others like solid paint. Strictly personal preferences. I see the fret lines the same way.

I've played both, and when I'm standing, I can't see the surface of the fingerboard anyway, so the lines are irrelevant. Get a bass that feels right, and go from there.