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Wow, fretless experience
- Thread starter Thomas Kievit
- Start date
Not necessarily, no. Of course without frets, you can lower the action and not have to worry about fret-buzz.
I like my action very low but it gets a little clanky at times. That is how I keep it on my Fender Jaco fretless. I just sold a Fender MIM Jazz that I had set to a more medium action and due to it being fretless it did not seem to bother me as much as a fretted set at that height. I have a Squier Vintage Modified fretless that I keep more at a medium height also.
I agree . . . the first time that I ever picked up a bass (still a guitarist at the time) . . . I sat in on a jam . . . the jam band was short a bassist, so I went up to play. Hell, I could play route notes or some kind of riff, and it went well . . . played about 6 blues songs, and I never knew that the bass was fretless until later when I went up during a break, and the owner of the bass asked me how I liked it???????
Love fretless. However, I find that I'm happiest on an ERB, and have yet to hear a six or more stringed fretless where the notes maintain that 'fretless' quality on the C and/or F strings.
Anyone else have this experience?
Anyone else have this experience?
I defretted my neck thru Grind and liked it a lot so I up graded to a Peavey Dyna Unity. The one on the left is a factory fretless.
Be carefull about defretting a neck thru you cant replace the neck like a bolt on.
Good luck.
Attachments
My Roscoe is pretty low, too. It's lower than I'm used to but I like it because it's easy to play and if I want to sound more "fretted" iI just dig in a little and use some of that clank like fret noise.
I agree. It's hard to find a good sounding C string. I think Jimmy Haslip has it with his Roscoe. I had a fretted Roscoe 6 that sounded good. I have played a few fretless Roscoe 6'ers that I thought were pretty darn nice. That's what I'd get if I went fretless 6. So far, my 5 has been all I need.
I'd classify the C on my bunny 6 as ok, but it will get a little whiney billy goat sounding if I try to pluck very legato up near the neck. It sounds fine, tho, when I'm plucking back over the bridge PU like I normally do. I sound horrible playing like that anyway so I very rarely try to do the expressive "muaaah" thing and just stick to as close to a fretted tone as I can get.
The B string is pretty good, though the lack of frets does impose a muaaah. On notes that low muaaah can slightly mud the tone up; again I control for that with technique, plucking lightly over the bridge PU.
Else, I love playing ERB on a 6, looking Steve Bailey style with the big unlined board. Too bad I can't play like him, but it's definitely the way to go...
LS
Jaco Pastorius, when asked about intonation:
"I had taken my frets out, but the lines were still there, because I put some sort of wood putty in there, so you could see that, which helped, too. Because the Fender bass has got such a long neck... it's a long way; you've got to look at the neck if you're making big jumps. So, that helped a lot - having the fret markers, where the holes were filled in."
Mark Egan comes to mind as another lined-fretless player.
I don't really have a dog in this race. Both of my fretless basses have lines, and yes, they do help - especially when the sound on stage isn't great and you need to double-check your position because you can't hear properly. However, if I were to seek out a new fretless, I would look into un-lined as well as lined necks.
I loved the feel of my MMRay5 lined fretless but I just couldn't dig the tone from it, not sure if that was the Ray I had or the fretless neck as it was my first of both.
I know I love the Spector neck, torn between ordering another Fretted or my First fretless.
I know I love the Spector neck, torn between ordering another Fretted or my First fretless.
Check this video of Jeroen Paul Thesseling, ex-bass player Obscura and his 7 string fretless Warwick Thumb.
Uh oh, run for your lives - it's the lined vs unlined thread again
.My take on the lines is only a pragmatic one - the lines are usually inserts of some kind glued into already-cut fret slots in the board. Over time, as the wood expands and contracts, the adhesive loses its grip and they can start popping out. This can make a real mess of your fingerboard.
So if you do get a lined model, try to get one with a hard finish over the board so it's impossible for the inserts to come out.
Else, you'll play just fine on either one. I prefer unlined boards simply because of the above, no inserts to worry about.
LS
Mine has no lines, and for about 3 years it was the only bass I played. I agree completely - lines are a crutch, and the fingerboard looks so much cleaner without them.
You DO get used to not having them.
When my wife finally says I can, I'm going to order a fretless Tele neck from B. Hefner and get a new Squier TB to put it on.
Fretless 70's thump from the depths of Godzilla's bowels kind of awesome.
I'd rather have great intonation vs. average to mediocre. I'd rather have Gary Willis's intonation (lines) vs. Steve Bailey (no lines). No one but other bass players are going to care that your fretless bass has lines or not and I guarantee no one listening will know but they sure will know if your intonation sucks.
Just my opinion.
I have it on pretty good authority that, even to this day, Gary Willis looks at his fretboard, one major reason is to ensure his intonation is dead on, another has to do with how he approaches phrasing but this gives you an idea on how critical it is to have great intonation.
OK guys, I have taken the plunge and bought a fretless bass. I only got a cheap one for now because I want to see if I can play it at all before investing in something more 'up-market' (it's a Stagg, don't laugh!!).
It doesn't have fret markers , so I'm thinking of either drawing the frets on with a white pencil or a marker pen, which will undoubtedly rub off on my fingers. Alternatively, I'm thinking of marking up the frets with some thin art tape - any thoughts?
And another question concerning strings:
Whenever I buy a new bass (and I've had a few), I always fit new strings because factory fit strings are generally rubbish anyway, so I ordered a new set of flatwound Fender 9050 lights; I just assumed that the new Stagg would arrive with cheap, heavy guage roundwounds, which would definitely have to go!
Anyway, the strings it arrived with are weird, unlike any I have seen before. They have a smooth surface, but aren't wound with the flat metal tape that I would usually expect to see on flatwound strings.
These seem to have no surface texture at all; what are they?
They sound rather dull and lifeless to me, but they feel really nice and light, especially the G string, which feels really thin. Are these the sort of strings that are normally associated with fretless basses, or am I OK to change them for the Fender 9050's?
What do other fretless players use?
It doesn't have fret markers , so I'm thinking of either drawing the frets on with a white pencil or a marker pen, which will undoubtedly rub off on my fingers. Alternatively, I'm thinking of marking up the frets with some thin art tape - any thoughts?
And another question concerning strings:
Whenever I buy a new bass (and I've had a few), I always fit new strings because factory fit strings are generally rubbish anyway, so I ordered a new set of flatwound Fender 9050 lights; I just assumed that the new Stagg would arrive with cheap, heavy guage roundwounds, which would definitely have to go!
Anyway, the strings it arrived with are weird, unlike any I have seen before. They have a smooth surface, but aren't wound with the flat metal tape that I would usually expect to see on flatwound strings.
These seem to have no surface texture at all; what are they?
They sound rather dull and lifeless to me, but they feel really nice and light, especially the G string, which feels really thin. Are these the sort of strings that are normally associated with fretless basses, or am I OK to change them for the Fender 9050's?
What do other fretless players use?
I know! She's amazing, and oddly she said the same about me after seeing some of my stuff, but objectively speaking she is 1000 times more accomplished than I am.
Having just taken delivery of my first ever fretless today, I am now looking at fretless bass songs to have a stab at. Current choices are:
Wherever I Lay My Hat - Paul Young
She Makes My Day - Robert Palmer
Oh What A Circus - David Essex
This is what we do for beginning violin players. Works fine. Alternatively, try playing without any guides for a while. You may be surprised. Just use the side markers on the fingerboard for reference.
Instead of playing "fretless" songs, maybe try playing your "usual" songs on fretless. You already know how the sound, which will help with intonation.
When I got a fretless again a few months ago, I played only fretless for a few weeks. YOu'd be amazed at how well fretless "fits in" with what you think are "fretted" songs.
Have fun. I prefer fretless over fretted these days.
mark beem
Wait, how does this song start again??
My toof-less herd..
Carvin LB76PF
Ibanez GWB35. I've since dropped a Bart 3-band pre in it.
ESP LTD B-205SM-FL
Carvin LB76PF
Ibanez GWB35. I've since dropped a Bart 3-band pre in it.
ESP LTD B-205SM-FL
