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Unlined for First Fretless?
- Thread starter MarkF786
- Start date
I'm 7 months in on a lined fretless. I play 1 - 2 hours per day, every day, and almost exclusively on the fretless. My muscle memory is good and I only look at the board when making major shifts, and even then, not often. I can shift between my fretted and fretless with no issues. I'm almost to the point where I think I'd be comfortable on an unlined one, but not quite there yet. Does that answer your question?
Is it necessary to have lines? No, but it does help with general orientation on the board. It's more of a visual aid for your brain, which is used to seeing frets. Makes it easier for your brain to understand the board when you glance at your fingers. BTW, the lines become less useful in the upper register, diminishing returns as you move up higher on the board. They can actually mislead you up there.
Is it necessary to have lines? No, but it does help with general orientation on the board. It's more of a visual aid for your brain, which is used to seeing frets. Makes it easier for your brain to understand the board when you glance at your fingers. BTW, the lines become less useful in the upper register, diminishing returns as you move up higher on the board. They can actually mislead you up there.
I vote lined. They don't affect the tone and they make life easier. My current fretless is lined and I've done a few shows with it as my only bass. It really worked out well.
Bones
Bones
Yes, it's interesting. Design your own with Fender and you can only get lines, but you rarely see a fretless Stingray with anything other than a blank board. It just wouldn't look right. I know if I buy one from their Design Center it won't have lines.
Bought a lined. Tried it. Returned it. Bought a much nicer unlined.
I’m not great at it, but it isn’t as difficult to stay reasonably in tune on it as you might think it is. If you have side dots, you’re most of the way there.
I’m not great at it, but it isn’t as difficult to stay reasonably in tune on it as you might think it is. If you have side dots, you’re most of the way there.
Another vote for a lined to start. I’ve been playing fretless bass for 22 years, and still prefer lines over unlined any day.
Plus, just my opinion, but I think unlined looks cheap. Like the builder called it good enough rather than doing the hard part of cutting slots in the correct places.
Plus, just my opinion, but I think unlined looks cheap. Like the builder called it good enough rather than doing the hard part of cutting slots in the correct places.
Not even reading the prior comments…
Jaco’s jazz bass had lines.
Jaco’s jazz bass had lines.
How much effort are you okay with spending on learning the instrument? Lines are a good training wheels concept as you can ride/play right away. Either way you need to practice good technique. I went unlined because I would eventually want to get there so I'll just put in the time now. It was worth it for me.
If you want to learn to play fretless with your eyes, then the board should be lined. If you want to learn to play fretless with your ears, then the lines should not be there in the first place.
Grade schools regularly hand unlined fretless instruments to 8 year olds - violins are much shorter in scale, which makes finger placement much more critical. They’re higher in pitch, which makes errors much more audible.
If I could play a violin well at 8 years old, you can play an unlined fretless bass. It’s not that hard.
If I could play a violin well at 8 years old, you can play an unlined fretless bass. It’s not that hard.
I studied Double Bass in over 6 years with Dr. Phillip Albright (who studied with Oscar Zimmerman at the Eastman School of Music) Double Basses have unlined finger boards but they are played on a mostly vertical plane with a very curved fingerboard that matches curve on the bridge. This matches the natural curvature of your hand. Fretless bass guitars have fingerboards with some degree of radius's but are essentially flat and played on a horizontal plane. In my experience they are more difficult to play in tune that’s expressly why I have a lined fretless bass. Just my take of course.
in-between choices, ... dots!
- start with lined and black out lines and have tech put dots in top and /or side fingerboard which shdn't cost too much
- start with unlined and have tech put dots in top or side
- start with lined and black out lines and have tech put dots in top and /or side fingerboard which shdn't cost too much
- start with unlined and have tech put dots in top or side
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In 1987 I bought my first fretless and traded in my only other bass for it. It was unlined, and I had a gig a week later. You'll be fine if you have a decent ear and are willing to practice. Lines don't really help you play in tune IMO.
I always assumed classical stringed instruments were unlined because you would be looking at sheet music, but all of my kids at least tried violin, and all of them were taped at the first few positions on beginner violins. I couldn't help noticing that most kids sound dreadful on violin for at least a couple years, and always thought a lined board would help, the gradation between sharp and flat is tiny. Now they even make fretted violins, go figure.
No, not at all. Just make sure it has dots on the side and they are on the fret position. And these dots would not be every fret - it would just be the same number as a regular fretted bass
I have benn playing fretless for a long time and I do not care about lines or no lines. I only had 1 bass for a while and it was an unlined fretless
Now if there is a race, the guy with the lines maybe in tune faster but you will learn to be in tune by ear faster on an unlined, Always use the open strings for reference and with a piano or guitar learn how the interval sounds and internalize it, You must do this whether you are playing lined or unlined
Good luck!
The funny thing is, when you play a lined fingerboard you rely on lines to dictate your pitch. Ideally, you do not want to do that. But, having no indicator at all as to where the proper position is, normally will squelch anyone’s desire. You are often playing out of tune without any indicators. And the learning curve can be long and slow, eventually causing many to simply stop trying. I have found I prefer to look at the top of the fingerboard, not the “face“ of it. I will take an unlined board and lay a 1/8 inch striping tape on top of it. Then I will put an identical scale bass up to it and mark the fret positions on the tape. Now, when I look at the neck, I’m looking at the top not the face. This gives me a very close general idea as to where the position of the proper pitch is, but also allows me to use my ears to ensure the pitch is correct
Here is an example of one of the recent builds I have done using an unlined board. I highly recommend this technique. You will be playing in tune fairly quickly without having to rely on full lines across the board.
Here is an example of one of the recent builds I have done using an unlined board. I highly recommend this technique. You will be playing in tune fairly quickly without having to rely on full lines across the board.
