New to Fretless - lined or unlined?

[Frank Blank]

1 hour ago, EssentialTension said:

But many of us are very similar so there is very good reason and a sensible motive to test and even to adopt some methods that have worked for others.

Oh yes, I wholly agree, it would be foolish not to try all methods and see what works best for you, especially methods tried and tested by others, all I’m saying is that there won’t be one method that suits everyone.

Edited February 25, 2018 by Frank Blank

[mcnach]

.

I thought the same but found it really didn't make much (any?) difference, having both lined and unlined fretless basses simultaneously. I don't really look at the TOP of the fingerboard.

You'll have side dots, which on a fretless should typically be placed AT the fret positions, not between frets, and that's enough help. I added smaller dots (stickers) on one of the basses at every fret position on the side for a while and that was helpful at first. 

So I'd go with the look you prefer. Lined fingerboard, on top, makes little difference in practice.

[mcnach]

On 2/23/2018 at 11:40, BassBus said:

Gary Willis

Scott Devine

Mark Egan

Steve Lawson

Juan Alderete

Marcus Miller (when he plays fretless)

and some guy by the name of Jaco 

They all have one thing in common. Who am I to disagree with them?

 

what's the point of this list?

I can post another list of players that play what I prefer... say red basses... so, what is the point exactly?

(this thing about "if X is good enough for Y, who am I to argue?" really bugs me (in a non-very-serious kind of way)

[AndyTravis]

Here’s my solution. A bit of both 😏

[EssentialTension]

3 hours ago, Count Bassy said:

Surely a lined fretless covers all options. The lines are there if you want them and if you don't want the lines then don't look at them.

-  or is it to do with the kudos of the audience going Wow - he's playing without lines.

 

The audience commonly do not know and even less do they care.

In ten years I have only ever one time had an audience member comment on my fretless or upright playing ... and that was another bassist on Basschat.

The words 'kudos', 'wow' and 'without lines' were not used.

[ezbass]

Double post.

Edited February 25, 2018 by ezbass

[ezbass]

25 minutes ago, EssentialTension said:

The audience commonly do not know and even less do they care.

In ten years I have only ever one time had an audience member comment on my fretless or upright playing ... and that was another bassist on Basschat.

The words 'kudos', 'wow' and 'without lines' were not used.

I got a comment last night, the sound of the fretless was recognised, that fact that my Elwood L has lines wasn’t mentioned.

[EssentialTension]

43 minutes ago, ezbass said:

I got a comment last night, the sound of the fretless was recognised, that fact that my Elwood L has lines wasn’t mentioned.

Is that a Maruszczyk?

[BassBus]

3 hours ago, mcnach said:

 

(this thing about "if X is good enough for Y, who am I to argue?" really bugs me (in a non-very-serious kind of way)

Only too pleased to oblige (in a non-very-serious kind of way) 

[ezbass]

1 hour ago, EssentialTension said:

Is that a Maruszczyk?

Yep.

[EssentialTension]

10 minutes ago, ezbass said:

Yep.

Very nice.

[neilp]

8 hours ago, Count Bassy said:

Surely a lined fretless covers all options. The lines are there if you want them and if you don't want the lines then don't look at them.

-  or is it to do with the kudos of the audience going Wow - he's playing without lines.

 

Who has time for kudos? It's about the fact that I find it easier to make good music and play in tune without trying to use visual clues to get a result that is non-visual. You don't use your ears to help you paint...

[project_c]

2 hours ago, neilp said:

Who has time for kudos? It's about the fact that I find it easier to make good music and play in tune without trying to use visual clues to get a result that is non-visual. You don't use your ears to help you paint...

..But you do use your eyes to make music. You make eye contact with other musicians, you read charts, you occasionally check that your hand is in the right place, and that you're not going to fall off the stage.

And plenty of artists use their ears to paint, especially when music is the inspiration behind the painting. 

You need to stop with the Jeff Berlin. People have different ways of achieving what they need to achieve. If unlined works for you, brilliant. For other people - especially visual people - visual triggers might be more important than you realise.

Fretlines do not affect the size of anyone's penis. Using ears is great, using visual cues is also great. It just depends on what your goals are. 

[Guest]

One of the most accomplished fretless players of the last 30 years, Gary Willis, has always had a lined fretless board. Why make things intentionally more difficult? Sure, when playing live you don’t want to spend the whole gig staring at your fretting hand, but I’ve yet to see a guitarist/bassist who doesn’t grab a look, at least when shifting positions or for a tricky bit.

Edited February 26, 2018 by FDC484950

[neilp]

11 hours ago, project_c said:

..But you do use your eyes to make music. You make eye contact with other musicians, you read charts, you occasionally check that your hand is in the right place, and that you're not going to fall off the stage.

And plenty of artists use their ears to paint, especially when music is the inspiration behind the painting. 

You need to stop with the Jeff Berlin. People have different ways of achieving what they need to achieve. If unlined works for you, brilliant. For other people - especially visual people - visual triggers might be more important than you realise.

Fretlines do not affect the size of anyone's penis. Using ears is great, using visual cues is also great. It just depends on what your goals are. 

With respect, what codswallop. If you're using your eyes to keep you in tune, you can't be using them for watching other musicians. You need to stop denigrating the tried, tested ways. Yes you can achieve what you think you need NOW, but further down the line the fact that you cut corners and relied on lines will come back to bite you. If lines were the way forward, trust me, I'd be using them. So would every string player in the world. They don't help you develop a technique or an ear.

 

And as for artists using their ears to paint.... a bit like suggesting someone uses their backside to talk

[project_c]

36 minutes ago, neilp said:

i With respect, what codswallop. If you're using your eyes to keep you in tune, you can't be using them for watching other musicians. You need to stop denigrating the tried, tested ways. Yes you can achieve what you think you need NOW, but further down the line the fact that you cut corners and relied on lines will come back to bite you. If lines were the way forward, trust me, I'd be using them. So would every string player in the world. They don't help you develop a technique or an ear.

 

And as for artists using their ears to paint.... a bit like suggesting someone uses their backside to talk

How would you know how artists work? Are you an artist? Do you speak for all artists? Picasso, Kandinsky, Chagall, Georgia O'Keefe, Raymond Pettibon and a million other painters all used music as an integral part of their work. Let me know when you think you know about how art works better than them, before going anywhere near my backside.

The good thing about being a human is that we have a whole range of senses that we can utilise in whatever way we like. You're implying that if you use your eyes, you switch off your ears, which is stupid. Why not use both? That's what they're there for. You look at sheet music, don't you? Does it make you an inferior musician?Most of us combine our various senses to perform activities, they don't need to be used in exclusivity. It's a flawed argument. The intention behind it is valid, but it's flawed.

 

[mcnach]

Amazing, the kind of arguments we get to have here...

[Guest Jecklin]

19 hours ago, ezbass said:

Yep.

Absolutely love it!

My kind of bass

[Guest Jecklin]

Well my fretless, my only bass, is lined, but I practice with my eyes closed, unless i'm reading music.

 

My intention is to get a new status graphite neck for it at some point and I'm debating as to whether to get an unlined board or stick with lines.

[EssentialTension]

1 hour ago, mcnach said:

Amazing, the kind of arguments we get to have here...

I still prefer unlined.

[franzbassist]

It's always been unlined for me.

Lines on the board are more confusing to my eyes, but I totally get that they work for others!

 

 

Edited February 26, 2018 by walbassist

[Frank Blank]

2 hours ago, project_c said:

 Let me know when you think you know about how art works better than them, before going anywhere near my backside.

The good thing about your backside is that it seems to understand that all humans are different. More power to your backside Sir.

[BassBus]

15 hours ago, project_c said:

..But you do use your eyes to make music. You make eye contact with other musicians, you read charts, you occasionally check that your hand is in the right place, and that you're not going to fall off the stage.

And plenty of artists use their ears to paint, especially when music is the inspiration behind the painting. 

You need to stop with the Jeff Berlin. People have different ways of achieving what they need to achieve. If unlined works for you, brilliant. For other people - especially visual people - visual triggers might be more important than you realise.

Fretlines do not affect the size of anyone's penis. Using ears is great, using visual cues is also great. It just depends on what your goals are. 

Good man. Glad to see someone taking their blinkers off.

3 hours ago, neilp said:

And as for artists using their ears to paint.... a bit like suggesting someone uses their backside to talk

Now, that really is codswallop. Evidence? Steve Lawson's gig at the weekend with artist Poppy Porter. He played, she drew from what she felt from his playing

 

 

Edited February 26, 2018 by BassBus

[BassBus]

The most amusing thing is that everything after page 1 of this thread has been a complete waste of time. The OP made his decision on page 1.  

[ezbass]

27 minutes ago, BassBus said:

The most amusing thing is that everything after page 1 of this thread has been a complete waste of time. The OP made his decision on page 1.  

C’mon, you’re not a BC newbie, you know that this is our modus operandi