Short Scale Fretless

[James Nada]

I'm thinking of trying fretless (again) and I'm looking for opinion/debate about playing fretless on a short scale bass.

I usually play long scale (P-Bass) but I also occasionally play a Hofner hollow-body short scale.
The kind of fretless sound I'm thinking I want is more double bass than 'Jaco', which fits far with the Hofner thump (I think). I imagine intonation is more challenging on a short scale.

So, pros, cons and opinions on short scale fretless...

Edited July 2, 2017 by James Nada

[mark76]

Thomann makes a fretless Violin bass [url="https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_beatbass_fl_vs_vintage_series.htm"]clone[/url]. If you want something cheap and easily returnable to try it out first,

[scrumpymike]

Not sure what your budget is but these are totally unique and offer UB-type sounds in a compact package (31.5" scale IIRC)! Michael G was one of the sponsors of our South-West Bass Bash in May and there was a huge amount of interest in his stuff. Personally I'd go for the slim-bodied version.

[url="http://www.gillettguitars.co.uk/video"]http://www.gillettguitars.co.uk/video[/url]

[scrumpymike]

PS The intonation on the one I played was spot on (cos I checked it!!).

[Tradfusion]

[quote name='scrumpymike' timestamp='1498994946' post='3328400']
Not sure what your budget is but these are totally unique and offer UB-type sounds in a compact package (31.5" scale IIRC)! Michael G was one of the sponsors of our South-West Bass Bash in May and there was a huge amount of interest in his stuff. Personally I'd go for the slim-bodied version.

[url="http://www.gillettguitars.co.uk/video"]http://www.gillettguitars.co.uk/video[/url]
[/quote]
Lovely fretless... What sort of money are they?

[Byo]

Really nice! Not a big fan of the headstock design but the body looks amazing with the contours and the added magnetic pup.

[scrumpymike]

Around £2250 I believe but the craftsmanship, sounds, playability and finish are exquisite.

[randythoades]

I converted one of my violin basses to fretless and intonation is a little suspect. Because of the short scale and floating bridge, a small adjustment in fingering makes a huge difference (and not always in a good way) but it does force you to listen to what you play and adjust fingering as you go along compared to the jazz bass. I don't play fretless often enough really to be good at it, but I am sure you would become used to it
I actually use a bass ukulele for this sort of sound and find it a little better.