Fret Markers on a Fretless

[mikel]

On 23/06/2011 at 20:07, BottomE said:

Thanks chaps. It has dots on top of the neck in the usual places but i never realised i was so reliant on the fret markers on the fingerboard If "someone" wanted to put temporary fret markers on the fingerboard how would they do it?

If it makes no difference to the sound then what is the problem? I have mates who play fretless and they play it for the sound, not the looks. Anything that makes an instrument easier to play and give you the sounds you want has to be a bonus.

[pete.young]

This is an 8 year old thread. If he hasn't figured it out by now, he probably never will.

[project_c]

Let’s bring the zombie thread back. I have a precision with a maple fretless 78 neck that the previous owner started to refret but gave up after cutting a couple of fret slots. I’d been wanting a fretless maple P for ages but I wanted lines, so I thought it would be perfect for that. I bought the neck from him and had the grooves re-filled, and then had the whole thing lined by the Gallery (who did a brilliant job btw). I also drew side dots on there with a marker in the same place as on a fretted (sacrilege) and I also bought some dot stickers and stuck them on the board (even bigger sacrilege). So now it basically looks exactly like a fretted P, except it’s a fretless.

The point is that I never understood why fretless basses had to have different rules to normal basses, and I don’t have the necessary practice time to re-align my brain, I just want to play the thing without getting lost or confused, especially as the music I play on it is complicated enough without having to add a whole other layer of complexity. I play it 99% without looking at it, but there are points in almost every tune on our set list where I need to glance down and check my position, and it makes all the difference having markers during those moments.

Blank fretless necks definitely do look way better, but I don’t care, the band I play with definitely don’t care, and the audiences we play to care even less. But if I’m out of tune everybody cares and it’s embarrassing..

[neilp]

As a double bass player and lover of fretless basses, the biggest lesson you can learn is that your ears are what tells you you're in tune, not your eyes. Practice with your ears wide open and your eyes closed and you'll be amazed how quickly you "get it"