What's with the lines??

[Justin Tuskey]

Or you could really blow them away by adding more lines!! Different colors too. Make some of them crooked, even. Nobody would know what you were up to and would assume you are a god.

I never thought about that! novel idea though, if you really wanna bring out the 'tard in your bands guitard. wow, I need to get to work!

 

[lkngro]

Just draw over the lines with a sharpie!

 

[bucephylus]

I thought real fretless players ONLY played blindfolded with no lines OR side dots. Yeah if you can't play the whole Bird catalog with flawless intonation blindfolded, you should just go find another hobby.

Seriously, can't you just hear those lines popping out of the recordings? How could people use those things?

Now, I'm looking for a lift kit for my fretless so it can crush other basses.

 

[peledog]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Fender-Jazz-bas...e-/180579540422?pt=Guitar&hash=item2a0b611dc6

Relax. They're only lines.

 

[Scatterblak]

Don't like lines on my neck!

Take a look at this:

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Granted, it's a P, but Brian also makes *amazing* J's, and he's got one right now (I believe he's still got it - passive, no lines, J, hanging in the back, almost completed) that fits what you're looking for. You may want to check him out at http://www.thelowend.net

Peace!!

 

[Scatterblak]

...here's a nice one:

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[nostatic]

I've made this argument before - for some (at least me), having lines makes it harder, not easier. Unlined and side dots gives you a rough visual reference, so you have to really rely on your ears and practice/muscle memory to nail intonation. For me, with a lined neck my brain gets a short-circuit between chasing the lines for intonation and the reality that on a fretted bass I play behind the lines, so my eyes say "fretted" but my ears don't.

Not everyone is wired as oddly as me. But I have a tough time playing in tune on a lined neck. I find unlined much easier. I also have been playing unlined for a lot of years so part of that is what I'm used to.

 

[kesslari]

I've made this argument before - for some (at least me), having lines makes it harder, not easier. Unlined and side dots gives you a rough visual reference, so you have to really rely on your ears and practice/muscle memory to nail intonation. For me, with a lined neck my brain gets a short-circuit between chasing the lines for intonation and the reality that on a fretted bass I play behind the lines, so my eyes say "fretted" but my ears don't.

Not everyone is wired as oddly as me. But I have a tough time playing in tune on a lined neck. I find unlined much easier. I also have been playing unlined for a lot of years so part of that is what I'm used to.

Yeah but you align all the ball ends on your strings to 72 degrees.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I rest my case.

 

[Kwesi]

Lines help me not suck, so I like them. If lines make or break the look of a bass, that bass probably wasn't much of a looker to begin with.

 

[Charles Obscure]

For my first foray into fretless, I opted for an unlined neck simply because I think it looks better. Bought a black Rogue LX200BF, and used my wife's nail polish to add extra dots on the side of the neck for reference. I haven't tried a lined fretless bass yet to make any comparisons, but I agree with Nostatic that the unlined board seems to make me pay more attention to training my ears to tell me where I'm at on the fingerboard.