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Unlined or Lined: Irrelevant?

#264
87D571AF-FE48-4674-8098-B6772E21BF10.png
This was my choice & I have never thought of a lined one
You can learn unlined it just takes practice
Duke
 
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#265
I prefer unlined, I'm used to it. But someone mentioned here that guitarists can't see what you are doing. On new tunes, I often have to hold my bass like an upright and stand next to my guitarist(the one who cares) so that he can see, by the dots, where I am. This is a definite advantage for the guys who prefer lines. Sometimes I'll play my fretted bass just for this reason. When I'm on upright, I have to hold up fingers.

There ya go, I concede a point to the other side. I'm looking forward to the first time I see someone with a lined bass (us fretless guys are uncommon), I'll ask if I can try it and see what I think
 
#267
I have both, and I generally look at the dots on the side of the neck on both, but the dots are in the wrong place on lined necks. I really can’t see the lines all that well anyway, so I like the dots to be in the right location.
 
#270
Stewie said:
You're all wrong, fretless basses are stupid! So are uprights. In fact all basses are stupid, any fool can do the job with a Strat and an octave pedal, Almost all Strats have frets.


EDIT: the above is sarcasm
Click to expand...

You mean a Baritone Strat. And when you want to make guitar sounds just use a Whammy pedal to kick it up an octave or two.

OR, just use a 50's wired Telecaster. The neck pickup was intended to be used as a bass.
lol
 
#273
Dr. Cheese said:



I was playing that Tony Franklin again. My teacher really discouraged unlined fretless, but I am confident that I could be competent on an unlined fretless if I bought one. Once I thought about some more, I really thought why am I worried about lined or unlined fingerboards? Fretless depends on a good ear and muscle memory whether a bass has lines or not. I just need to practice on the basses I own already. I do not want to fall into the trap I was in when I was young of worrying about a 24 fret bass instead of buckling down and learning the fretboard and theory. That Tony Franklin is sweet, but someone else can have it.
Click to expand...


My first fretless was lined and I appreciated being able to see the ends of the lines on the top edge of the fingerboard. After deciding I preferred playing fretless, I built a Warmoth unlined P bass and installed small side dots @ every fret location and medium dots @ the 3, 5, 7, etc. locations. It looks bitchen and I feel more confident with the reference points.
 
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#277
I gigged a frankenfretless that I ripped the frets out of for over a year. It had very visible lines from where the violence occurred. I honestly really appreciated having them. At the end of the day, it probably doesn't matter, but if you have the option for lines, I'd say go for it!
 
#278
Just want to be clear about the “debate” in this thread....

So, basically folks are debating about the KINDS of reference marks on fretless bass guitars? Seriously?

Does anyone actually gig a fretless bass with no marks at all anywhere? Because, it seems to me that everyone is using some kind of visual marks on the neck for reference.

And, if that is true, does it actually matter what kind of reference marks some player chooses? Seems to me that’s each player's business. And just how one kind of mark would be training wheels and another kind of mark would be for grownups seems rather facetious. At best. Come on TB’ers, surely we are better than that.
 
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#280
bucephylus said:
Just want to be clear about the “debate” in this thread....

So, basically folks are debating about the KINDS of reference marks on fretless bass guitars? Seriously?

Does anyone actually gig a fretless bass with no marks at all anywhere? Because, it seems to me that everyone is using some kind of visual marks on the neck for reference.

And, if that is true, does it actually matter what kind of reference marks some player chooses? Seems to me that’s each player's business. And just how one kind of mark would be training wheels and another kind of mark would be for grownups seems rather facetious. At best. Come on TB’ers, surely we are better than that.
Click to expand...
No, we are not.:roflmao:
 
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