Because I love the unique voice. And this coming from a guy who mostly plays fretted with a pick. 
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Why play a fretless bass?
- Thread starter Jackcrow
- Start date
There is something about stopping the string against a piece of wood, vs. a piece of metal. It is more organic, more intimate. My left hand talks to me sometimes, it once said "This warms my feelers"
My fretless was my number one for two years. I loved the feel of it and that I felt I was connected to the roots of the bass. One of my fretted basses has taken over top spot for almost a year simply because I like the tone better. It is sharper and can be used in more contexts.
You also don’t have to endure any sharp fret ends!
As far as the conspiracy goes you must not leave out @JRA. His Glarry fretless mods have been simply creatively beautiful and inspiring. And @Dr. Cheese ’s videos of his Glarry playing on the unlined fretless have also been inspiring.
Go for it GW!
Not disputing you, B. But it was YOU who got me to break my policy of not joining any clubs, and then I got made #1, which now gives me expectations to fulfill. There are other co-conspirators within the club, but you are the chief instigator. And until the good Doctor posted his video of him spiffy riffin' all over his Glarry fretless I had no Glarry fretlesses. And now, here we are.
I will say that on the @Dr. Cheese video and on some others (e.g. @Jeff Scott ) I didn't hear anything I could not actually play, but I heard boatloads of stuff I would never have thought of to play. I think it would only be in the spirit of Christian charity if the Dr. transcribed all that good stuff he was laying down and then mailed me the transcription.
All in good fun, fellas.
Up until about 2 months ago, I haven't owned a fretted bass in about 15 years and I've played the FL full time for around 20.
I initially went to the FL in a desperate bid to improve my crappy flubby tone with indistinct notes. However, by the time that I discovered that I still have crappy tone on the fretless also, a number of years later in fact, it was too late. All my basses were FL and I had adjusted to it so I just continued to play the FL in my same crappy flubby way.
About the aforementioned 2 months ago, I finally decided to get a fretted bass, and I bought a CLF research L2000. Just to see if anything had changed, and it has not. I still sound terrible on both the fretted and the fretless basses. So now I have 4 beloved FL's and one fretted and I can switch between crappy flubby playing on each one when I want to.
One difference I do notice on the FL vs the fretted, is the additional workload of intonating has an effect on my playing style. It works kind of like those speed bumps in dense neighborhoods which automatically keep you from driving dangerously fast through there whether you're actually conscious of it or not.
Similarly, on the FL I'm much less prone to overplaying or being too busy, especially on my Tony Franklin which is unlined. The fretless is extremely unforgiving of when you don't know the notes, unlike the fretted bass which will let your flying fingers kinda sorta still sound musical. But on the FL, those same mistakes sound like a hungry burro. So Im much less prone to "take chances" on the FL.
That's both a good and a bad thing. But so far that's the only benefit of the FL over the fretted that I've personally found. Good players with musical talent and good technique, unlike myself, will usually experience tonal advantages too, though.
Everything else that I can think of about the FL is a drawback over the fretted bass, except the appearance. An unlined fingerboard just looks darn cool in a way that a lined or fretted one does not.
L
I initially went to the FL in a desperate bid to improve my crappy flubby tone with indistinct notes. However, by the time that I discovered that I still have crappy tone on the fretless also, a number of years later in fact, it was too late. All my basses were FL and I had adjusted to it so I just continued to play the FL in my same crappy flubby way.
About the aforementioned 2 months ago, I finally decided to get a fretted bass, and I bought a CLF research L2000. Just to see if anything had changed, and it has not. I still sound terrible on both the fretted and the fretless basses. So now I have 4 beloved FL's and one fretted and I can switch between crappy flubby playing on each one when I want to.
One difference I do notice on the FL vs the fretted, is the additional workload of intonating has an effect on my playing style. It works kind of like those speed bumps in dense neighborhoods which automatically keep you from driving dangerously fast through there whether you're actually conscious of it or not.
Similarly, on the FL I'm much less prone to overplaying or being too busy, especially on my Tony Franklin which is unlined. The fretless is extremely unforgiving of when you don't know the notes, unlike the fretted bass which will let your flying fingers kinda sorta still sound musical. But on the FL, those same mistakes sound like a hungry burro. So Im much less prone to "take chances" on the FL.
That's both a good and a bad thing. But so far that's the only benefit of the FL over the fretted that I've personally found. Good players with musical talent and good technique, unlike myself, will usually experience tonal advantages too, though.
Everything else that I can think of about the FL is a drawback over the fretted bass, except the appearance. An unlined fingerboard just looks darn cool in a way that a lined or fretted one does not.
L
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I play both fretted and fretless, but if I had to choose one or the other--if I could only have one bass--it would be fretless. I love the sound of fretless; the expressiveness. To me, going from fretted to fretless is like going from 2D to 3D. I like how shifting my right hand from over the bridge pickup to over the top end of the fretboard (and points in-between) makes a profound difference in tone. I like how with my left hand I can control what the note does: make it blossom or make it short and punchy, give it the amount of vibrato I choose, slide it up or down to the next note (or not), etc. I love how fretless bass can provide a bed beneath a song that feels alive and flowing and slightly unpredictable, like a river. And I like how fretless challenges me: I can't get too complacent or lazy.
Because it’s me. Pesky frets get in the way.
It's fun watching the guitarists continually looking puzzled and checking their tuning.
Fretless allows subtleties with slides and vibrato you just can't get any other way. It's "dangerous" and you have to pay attention to every note.
Some songs would simply fall flat without fretless
For the record the bassist in the music video is not on the track. I guess Mark Egan didn't look cool enough for MTV
Some songs would simply fall flat without fretless
For the record the bassist in the music video is not on the track. I guess Mark Egan didn't look cool enough for MTV
I’ve dabbled in playing fretless over the last decade,and owned 4 very different fretless instruments, one at a time.(currently I am fretless-less.
)
I’m both attracted to and frustrated by the sounds i get. I don’t feel like i’ve found THE fretless sound I hear in my head with any of the basses I’ve used so far. Possibly my technique,so I’m disinclined to spend big bucks for something i may never get that much use out of. (Would love to get my mitts on a Pedulla buzz or a Wal for a trial spin,though.).
For now, I content myself with the pseudofretless sound of
my (fretted) Peavey Palaedium’s bridge pickup.
)I’m both attracted to and frustrated by the sounds i get. I don’t feel like i’ve found THE fretless sound I hear in my head with any of the basses I’ve used so far. Possibly my technique,so I’m disinclined to spend big bucks for something i may never get that much use out of. (Would love to get my mitts on a Pedulla buzz or a Wal for a trial spin,though.).
For now, I content myself with the pseudofretless sound of
my (fretted) Peavey Palaedium’s bridge pickup.
D
Deleted member 165050
Guest
That is the lowest action and highest pickup height I’ve seen! Assume you have a very light touch!
D
Deleted member 165050
Guest
It's a budget version they made in the 80s, none of the active electronics Wals are known for but still a great sound and very nice to play.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
All depends on the tone I want. For rock it doesn't add anything. For jazz it sounds much closer to an upright.
I've been enjoying the sound of fretless for years (from jazz to metal), so i had to try one myself. Well, I couldn't believe what i was missing, from the feeling of a bare fingerboard to the sound and the way you (can) move between notes. Obligatory fingerboard photo:
