Fretless Bass Question #2

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Illsidgus

Illsidgus

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I have been pondering the choice of a bass guitar for about eight months now and have pretty much made up my mind that I want a fretless bass. It seems to me that a lined fretless would mess me up after 45+ years of playing guitar and learning just how close to put my fingers to the frets. On a lined fretless do you put your fingers on the lines or just behind them as you would on a fretted bass? I have played an unlined fretless and didn't have any problems finding the notes I wanted.

So what is the prevailing wisdom; lined or unlined. You guys are the experts, I'm just a humble guitpicker/bass player wanna be.
 
The line ought to represent the fret which is the point at which the string is shortened when the finger depresses it just behind the fret so it'd be the line according to my understanding but I DON'T actually KNOW!
Fretless bass is a VERY difficult creature to play, rewarding it's its tonality but difficult. A lined fretless is a bit of a cheat isn't it?
 
Telegram Sam said:
What was Fretless Bass Question #1?
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I am sorry T-Sam and moresound, I posted Fretless Bass Question #2 after I posted Flat or Round and was going to edit Flat or Round and change the title to Fretless Bass Question #1 but never got a flat, I mean a round to it.

I just discovered that I can't change the title in edit mode.
 
You play ON the lines. If you really can play without the lines, then that's the way to go. It will be less likely to mess you up in the long run. Both of mine have lines, but I need all the help I can get.
 
My fretless has no lines. I wish it did. I have to listen intently to everything I do.
 
I used to have a Fender musicmaster bass and as I was getting into jazz fusion in 1990, I decided to get the bass converted to a fretless. I was so excited to get a fretless and I couldn't wait to start making all those "B0aaaawwwwoooong" fretless sounds but I was in for a shock. When I started playing, everything sounded off and out of tune. I'd never played a fretless bass before and as I put my fingers in the places where the notes sounded right, I could see that they bore no relation to where I had been putting them for the previous 8 years ! Sheesh !! So I had to relearn the instrument. I soon lost interest in the fretless and within a couple of years swapped it for an Aria something or other.
Fast forward to 2009 and the idea of the acoustic fretless bass guitar began to seep into my consciousness. I looked them up on ebay and close to where I used to live, this guy that sold beds also sold them in the back of his bedshop ! So I bought one. Cheap as you like. It had fretlines, an inbuilt pick up and a little equaliser and I thought of it as killing two birds with one stone, approximating a double bass as well as fretless electric. It came with roundwound strings and they sounded awfully bright and 'razzy' so I bought a set of flats and got the action changed and pick ups altered. It's nothing like a double bass, by the way !
But I digress.
I find that the fingers need to land just behind the fret lines for the note to be dead on. On the line or in between the lines and the note is off.
I suppose that having lines is cheating :D but I don't care. Expertise is not my concern. I just like the sound, want to be in tune and I need the assisstance ! But as I'm playing, looking at the lines is kind of unconscious.
 
You do the same thing violin and cello players do: Use Your Ears and learn what's in tune....
 
TimOBrien said:
You do the same thing violin and cello players do: Use Your Ears and learn what's in tune....
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Not at 49 years old ! :D
Joke !
I already stated that I could tell when the note is off. That's how I know where in relation to the lines to place my fingers !! ;)
 
As a sometime cellist I use dot stickers for the note sweet spots when the instrument is fully in tune. I guess that;s the beauty of playing a fretless instrument - it can go a little out of tune and you can compensate on the run IF your ears are good enough - mine aren't.
 
rayc said:
As a sometime cellist I use dot stickers for the note sweet spots when the instrument is fully in tune. I guess that;s the beauty of playing a fretless instrument - it can go a little out of tune and you can compensate on the run IF your ears are good enough - mine aren't.
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My hearing used to be good enough to do that but after nearly 25 years with the whine and roar of fighter jet engines in my ears, my hearing is not as good as it used to be. I guess that I will find out when I finally buy my fretless bass. But then, as with playing the guitar, most of the time I am not looking at the fretboard while I am playing. It is a matter of really knowing your instrument. A practice technique that I sometimes use when working on a classical piece is to wear a blindfold while practicing.
 
I have a Squire VM Fretless Jazz bass with a lined fretboard. The lines represent the frets and are fingered accordingly.
 
Just go out to the stores and try a few, or a bunch. Fretless basses are great, if you have the ear for it. But, you'll never find out for yourself without trying a few.

:guitar:
 
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