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Why the hate towards lined fretless?

#242
Tropic said:
It seems like every time (well not every time) I see some topic about fretless, as soon as a lined fretless enters the thread, people seem to think it inferior to unlined or make it seem not as good. Why is that? Am I missing something here?
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plain and simple.

They're hard enough to play in tune even WITH lines...without lines...:rollno:

Cheers,
Cameron
 
#243
M.R. Ogle said:
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!
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One of the mostest bestest things I have seen in my life. Absolutely beautiful playing, beautiful scenery, etc.;) Classic.

In any case, I am a wuss.... I prefer lined fretless. I have had unlined Benavente, EBMM, G&L and Fender basses, but I like the lines for chords and just prefer it in general. Unlined does look cooler though.

So in an ultimate wuss move, I am expecting to order a lined Fodera fretless in a few days. The ultimate UNCOOL bass.:bassist::hyper:
 
#244
For my first fretless I did like a year of reading before I ordered. I followed the encouragement to get a fretless version of my current bass, so muscle memory would help. Hooray for that.

I had a pro player nudge me toward no lines/no dots. I took the plunge. Glad I did. It's not the impossibility I thought it might be. I would encourage no lines, but I sure understand either way. If i had gone from my original 24 fret neck through fretted to a short bolt neck fretless, I might just have gone with lines.

If the day comes for an electric/acoustic fretless I would probably get lines due to the transition being so huge. Not sure though.
 
#245
Baird6869 said:
In any case, I am a wuss.... I prefer lined fretless. I have had unlined Benavente, EBMM, G&L and Fender basses, but I like the lines for chords and just prefer it in general. Unlined does look cooler though.
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I have lined and unlined and now prefer unlined. Basically it's because of looks. Especially when you add to that the fact when you are standing all you can see is the edge of the neck anyway so the lines really don't make that big a difference. So I said, why not go for looks since it doesn't matter because you only see the ends of the lines anyway.

On the other hand when I was a fretless noob I ordered my Carvin AC50 with lines. And it was a help. The main reason being that when you play unlined you have a bad tendency to play at an angle to the neck making some notes out of tune. The lines are great training (you have to practice with them making sure you keep intonation across the neck) to cure yourself of the sloppy angle habit.
 
#247
bassbenj said:
Especially when you add to that the fact when you are standing all you can see is the edge of the neck anyway so the lines really don't make that big a difference. So I said, why not go for looks since it doesn't matter because you only see the ends of the lines anyway.
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I've read that from a lot of people and have always wondered if those folks have short necks or something. I've always been able to see the lines easily when standing.
 
#249
It's a choice and has nothing to do with how good to player is. Even Alain Caron has his bass half lined with dots on the finger board. Fretless is fun and let you be more creative, however, not for any gig nor any style.
 
#252
I like unlined for the looks and for the challenge. Though if I had my choice I'd go something like the Ghost Line option that G&L used to offer. "Lines" that you can see but only if you're right up close. Second behind that is partial lines.
 
#253
I have no hate towards lined fretless, I just find them harder to play than unlined. I use the dots for a quick position check and they aren't in the right place on most lined boards so I have to then find the line next to the dot. The shortcoming is mine, but playing a lined fretless drives me a bit crazy.
 
#254
Tropic said:
It seems like every time (well not every time) I see some topic about fretless, as soon as a lined fretless enters the thread, people seem to think it inferior to unlined or make it seem not as good. Why is that? Am I missing something here?
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I have no idea! Snobs perhaps? The same people that look down their noses at someone who plays with a pick?

I've got one of those little SX short scale fretless guitars, and it has the inlayed fret lines on the fingerboard.

So what? I don't play fretless all the time, and when I am in the studio and want that sound and effect, it is a heck of a lot easier for me to have some landmarks on the neck so I can get the part cut and move on to the next track.

But then again, I'm a practical person and songwriter/player, so who am I to read the mind of your typical fretless snob?

LOL! :D
 
#255
groooooove said:
because they think an unlined fretless is just how it should be, and that lines are "bailing you out."
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These kinds of people are typically more POSER, than player. At least in my experience.

Guess they have never heard the old saying from many of the legends of blues and jazz... "it don't matter how you play it, as long as you get it played!" ;)
 
#256
My main fretless is unlined (a nice inexpensive Moses graphite neck I picked up in our classifieds), but when I get my next fretless it will definitely be lined. I don't care what the audience thinks (as if they actually give a rat's behind about the bass player) but I would rather not miss a note high up the neck. I have gotten pretty good about my fingering below the 12th, but I really DO NOT want to be limited to that. I am not a 4 fret/ 4 string bassist: never was and never will be. I want to be all over the place and want it to sound good - so I will gladly take all the crutches available to me for the sake of the music, thank you very much :)
 
#257
jim777 said:
I don't care what the audience thinks (as if they actually give a rat's behind about the bass player
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Exactly. 'Joe Listener' wont care whether it's lined or unlined. Hell, most listeners probably wont even know what a fretless is. If lines help you play better then use lines! That IS after all what it's all about, isn't it? Making the best music you can???
 
#258
Lines are invisible on a dark stage. Lines, like frets are a compromise, and are actually less in tune than no lines—when the player has done the wood-shed time. Who wants to look at lines when there are all those intoxicated people to watch—no, not the chicks, the band leader and drummer, LOL!

Does that seem like hate?
 
#259
mark beem said:
Exactly. 'Joe Listener' wont care whether it's lined or unlined. Hell, most listeners probably wont even know what a fretless is. If lines help you play better then use lines! That IS after all what it's all about, isn't it? Making the best music you can???
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The thing is, the only posts on this thread that talk about caring what the audience thinks about lines are coming from the "lined" defenders projecting this idea on "unlined" players. Same with the imagined disdain unlined players have for their lined peers.

Enjoy your fretless, be it lined or unlined, and stop being so freakin' defensive about your choice if it's lined.
 
#260
Jim Carr said:
Lines are invisible on a dark stage. Lines, like frets are a compromise, and are actually less in tune than no lines—when the player has done the wood-shed time. Who wants to look at lines when there are all those intoxicated people to watch—no, not the chicks, the band leader and drummer, LOL!

Does that seem like hate?
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Not hate- just incorrect :) Invisible on a blackened stage- yes. A darkened stage- no, and how often do we play in complete darkness? Even the really dark bar we've played at near hear has a wondrous collection of spinning lights that both let you see your instrument and give you epileptic seizures. Neither lines nor unlined are in tune- the only thing that gets you in tune is finger placement, and unlined isn't going to help you more there. And I'll flat-out say that those who think they're playing more in-tune than a fretted on their fretless are fooling themselves about their accuracy.
 

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