Why the hate towards lined fretless?

[mark beem]

I prefer lined.

 

[bmc]

Why did we re open this thread? I thought we all agreed that lined was for wannabes?

Just joking.

Mark Beam...I have been wanting to tell you for a long time that you have some absolutely beautiful basses.

 

[nostatic]

lines would just mess up the aesthetic...

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

lines would just mess up the aesthetic...

Then why'd you get walnut and koa covered in them?

 

[mark beem]

Why did we re open this thread? I thought we all agreed that lined was for wannabes?

Just joking.

Mark Beam...I have been wanting to tell you for a long time that you have some absolutely beautiful basses.

Thank you, sir!

I have amassed too many and am in the process of downsizing. Had close to thirty. Currently down to twelve. Wanna eventually get down to 5 or 6.

Find myself more and more going with my fretless basses these days. My ultimate GAS bass is this:

Oh, BTW that's spelled Beem..

 

[Jackie Clark]

Why does anyone care whether a fretless has lines or not is what puzzles me!

I don't know of anyone learning how to play without looking at first...I know I learned how to play fretted bass by looking first until I acquired the feel for what I was doing...same thing with fretless.

I even took it a step further and got the same fretless as my fretted bass to make it easier in terms of familiarity with the neck and overall feel of the instrument.

Don't let it bother you bro...as long as they're not signing your checks,you're good! haha!

Here's my baby(who happens to be 11 years old TODAY!!!) oh...and she has LINES!!! hahahahaha!

 

[Jackie Clark]

lines would just mess up the aesthetic...

I totaly agree...especially on those basses.But,I don't think that applies to all basses.

 

[nostatic]

Then why'd you get walnut and koa covered in them?

Actually both are walnut tops.

And nature put those lines there. I'm not gonna argue with her

 

[Scottkarch]

OK maybe no fret lines... but how about inlays? LOL
My guitar player asked me if they confuse me, or if I know what frets are by which leaves...LOL

I told him I can't SEE the fingerboard. That's the main reason I don't like lined fretless... I don't see them anyway.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

That's the main reason I don't like lined fretless... I don't see them anyway.

Don't you have a bass with fretboard blocks in your avatar?

 

[DiMarco]

When I play my fretted bass I put my finger just behind the fret, not on top of it. The lines on a fretless make me do the same. It is harder to play for me then an unlined properly.
I think I could get over it and play a lined fretless without any problem but if I have a choice I prefer it to be without any lines.
I also feel the dot markers on the side of the neck are the only anchors you need while playing any bass, fretted or fretless. Muscle memory will do its work.

Having said that, I think it is much more important you get a fretless bass that sounds good and brings out that hhhhmwhaaaaaaaaaaaat?

 

[Scottkarch]

Don't you have a bass with fretboard blocks in your avatar?

LOL Busted!!! I think the lined thing for me is a bunch of things to varying degrees ...

1) machismo. I'm awesome! I don't need lines!
2) Knowledge one guitar player keeps walking over to feel my fingerboards because he never knows which of my basses are fretless or not. The unlined ones he knows. I think I want people to know it's a fretless... I realize nobody really cares...
3) LOOKS I think that unlined does make for a cooler look on most basses...

I'm still planning on turning a fretted Epi Tbird to fretless.. with a copper clad fingerboard covered in epoxy to protect the copper. Just for fun. No lines.


***** For the record.. I don't HATE lined fretless. I just like unlined better. I dont HATE any basses or bass styles. Stop the hating.

 

[M.R. Ogle]

I'm surprised to see this thread back.

But I was really hoping to find an active link to that video of Wishnevsky and his cronies where the bass sounds like a cow moo-ing.

Gotta be one of the funniest things I've ever seen!

 

[pkstone]

jaco played a lined fretless....i think people have forgotten

I don't think that's possible; it gets brought up every time this debate breaks out. Jaco's bass was "lined" because he de-fretted his first one (and subsequent ones?) himself.

Re-reading the original thread, it seems to me that the "hate" is imagined. I *prefer* unlined, because the lines seem redundant to (properly-placed) side dots, and I like the look of a clean fingerboard. However, I certainly don't look down on players who prefer lines; I'm just glad to have another fretless player to talk to.

 

[spade2you]

jaco played a lined fretless....i think people have forgotten

Jaco's bass was a defret. Have you forgotten?

 

[mikeswals]

Okay then...Mick Karn's Wals were lined by choice. And that dude never looked at his fingerboard while playing.

 

[Munjibunga]

I've played lined and I've played unlined. Lined is better.

 

[Batmensch]

I'm just going by what I've read here on TB the few years I've been here, but I haven't perceived any actual "hate" for lined FL, just a rather vocal preference by a good number of fretless players. I've only seen one or two times where some measure of disdain was held for lined Fl and the folks that play them, but that's about it. Personally, if I were to ever try to play fretless, it would have to be lined, I have enough trouble hitting the right notes even WITH frets!

 

[Munjibunga]

Jaco's bass was a defret. Have you forgotten?

Uh huh. And Jaco's fretless was lined.

 

[spade2you]

Uh huh. And Jaco's fretless was lined.

because it was defretted.