If Scott Devine prefers and suggests lined..... Good enough for me.
That is an excellent video....I've seen that! Scott is a great bass educator. I use his videos allot.
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Why the hate towards lined fretless?
- Thread starter Tropic
- Start date
That is an excellent video....I've seen that! Scott is a great bass educator. I use his videos allot.
Well, I think it's settled, at least for the most of us. Unlined is cool, lined is cool. Play what you like. Be happy. Now I think we should direct our anger and angst toward those pesky fretted players. How dare they? Oh wait...I play fretted most of the time (at least on gigs). Scratch that. 
M. M.
M. M.
This was my solution for parallax. I only kinda need them on my 6+ stringers. I don't really feel they're too necessary when it's a 4-5 string.
My ('80) Pedulla Buzz is unlined with only the 9-10 "dot position" side markers.
For My Ramirez 7, the higher register strings (especially the F) are pretty unforgiving so we went with partial lines and top side dots for each fret position.
I think it's a nice compromise between a clean look and having more visual reference :
I'll be receiving a 9 string pretty soon and that will be fully lined.
One thing I would NOT do is have full lines without an adjustable bridge.
In my experience the bridge has to be set spot-on or relying on that line will assure playing out of tune.
Without an adjustable bridge, I would go with a side dot for every fret to get me in the ball park, or maybe upper register face dots ala F Bass (and work harder on my muscle memory
).
For My Ramirez 7, the higher register strings (especially the F) are pretty unforgiving so we went with partial lines and top side dots for each fret position.
I think it's a nice compromise between a clean look and having more visual reference :
I'll be receiving a 9 string pretty soon and that will be fully lined.
One thing I would NOT do is have full lines without an adjustable bridge.
In my experience the bridge has to be set spot-on or relying on that line will assure playing out of tune.
Without an adjustable bridge, I would go with a side dot for every fret to get me in the ball park, or maybe upper register face dots ala F Bass (and work harder on my muscle memory
).
IDK, these guys are alright to play without an adjustable bridge.
That's a beauty!
I would be fine with that arrangment.
Maybe you misunderstood:
For me, non-adjustable bridge + lines creates problems
What I'm saying is I've played lined fretless that the placement of the lines were not pitch perfect.
So if a beginner player or any player, placed his fingers where the lines tell him to. His intonation would be wrong.
You still must use your ears to play in tune.
As for your finger comment, your ears tell you where to put your fingers on a fretless.
That's a basic setup issue.
A wise man once said that if you are using your ears to pitch then your note is wrong in the first place.
end result was that he played a fretless with LINES on the fingerboard.. he could have covered or smoothed it out or whatever... BTW he defretted his bass in a hotel room that he shared with herbie and played a gig the next day.. and guess what? the bass metamorphosized into a lined fretless
, defretted or otherwisePS: according to such logic only an upright deserves true respect..even an unlined unmarked fretless is uhhhhh shameful or something???? i repeat again according to this logic; not according to me.. u could put runway lights on a fretless and i would only care if it was played either badly or beautifully... good players can make a varied range/type of basses sing true
Well, I think the lined/unlined debate is kind of funny. You STILL have to use your ears. And I'm quite sure my audience doesn't care one bit.
And when you sing while you play, the lines are just as invisible as if they weren't there.
And when you sing while you play, the lines are just as invisible as if they weren't there.
I will try, one more time, to point out that there has been no evidence of "hate" on this thread from those who favor unlined fretless necks. What I *have* seen is a great deal of defensive projection from those who seem insecure about their choice of lined necks. I can't find one example of so-called "snobbery" or "macho" posturing about playing unlined.
Many posters have said they *prefer* unlined, and given quite reasonable explanations as to why their *personal preference* is for unlined. Some have been so bold as to recommend unlined for new players. The horror! Almost every proponent of unlined necks has also said that they hold no bad feelings towards those who chose lined.
Would it be asking too much for moderators to change inflammatory thread titles like this in the future? Asking "Why the hate" for this or that only seems to create hate and defensiveness that really isn't there in the first place.
Many posters have said they *prefer* unlined, and given quite reasonable explanations as to why their *personal preference* is for unlined. Some have been so bold as to recommend unlined for new players. The horror! Almost every proponent of unlined necks has also said that they hold no bad feelings towards those who chose lined.
Would it be asking too much for moderators to change inflammatory thread titles like this in the future? Asking "Why the hate" for this or that only seems to create hate and defensiveness that really isn't there in the first place.
+1
Not saying one can't play by constant adjustment. Its just that to be able to pull off well articulated rapid passages with good intonation, the shifts MUST be accurate. There isn't time to adjust.
I studied for a couple years with Bob Gladstone on upright. Bob was principle in the DSO and an ex - Fred Zimmerman understudy. Bob was a fanatic about muscle memory and shifts. FANATIC. To the point that a lot of players didn't care for his teaching methods.
Bottom line is shift and adjust only works up to certain tempos; except for those of you who have no issues defying gravity and work primarily through a psychic vortex.
Fretless bass guitar is more problematic. Muscle / positional memory is more challenging. While reading, there is only time for periodic visual checks. Very demanding (and wonderful) instrument, done right.
Agreed, this has been a (refreshingly) civil thread. Yay!
To your last question, a bit of searching would turn up a large number of threads wherein lined fingerboards were rather outspokenly referred to as "training wheels." Rather unfortunately humorous evidence of a bit too much of the competitive spirit out there in TB land at times. Anyhow, there is some background on this topic.
Eventually most here figure out that it doesn't really matter what other people think, aside from the audience. I actually get somewhat amused at the gigs whenever the various aspiring bassists in the crowd confront me between sets with some kind of gear related one-ups comments. LOL. Great entertainment.
I'll just add that I recently picked up a gig with one of the PHX area working Big Bands and am using my Zon fretless with lined board. The lines are pretty much irrelevant trying to read down the charts with 5 and 6 flats. Gotta love playing with horns.
Still, it's a stretch to call that "hate." Hyperbole is the worst thing in the universe!
I think it's a silly debate and just a personal preference. I understand both points of view. I happen to have an unlined fingerboard, but only because I got a good deal on the bass. I tend to rationalize whatever I'm doing, so I like unlined. If the bass had had lines, I would now favor that approach.
Ultimately, the recordings will show how good your intonation is. Intonation is the result of lots of practice, but it pays off. I will say that fretless in general has improved my ear and my intolerance of anyone being out of tune (especially me).
Ultimately, the recordings will show how good your intonation is. Intonation is the result of lots of practice, but it pays off. I will say that fretless in general has improved my ear and my intolerance of anyone being out of tune (especially me).
Maybe this belongs in technique and is a bit of derail, but I am curious what methods you cats are using to develop muscle memory on fretless EBG, lined or unlined?
I find that with certain restrictions, sight reading with a fretted bass is actually pretty good muscle / positional training for me. I stop the strings immediately behind the fret, not in the middle between them. With that fingering technique there is a lot of mechanical feedback on the shifts. That helps me a lot when I switch over to fretless. YMMV.
I find that with certain restrictions, sight reading with a fretted bass is actually pretty good muscle / positional training for me. I stop the strings immediately behind the fret, not in the middle between them. With that fingering technique there is a lot of mechanical feedback on the shifts. That helps me a lot when I switch over to fretless. YMMV.
