Delberthot Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 I was just thinking that perhaps less than 0.1% of the music I own has a fretless bass in the recording yet I've had maybe 20 of them over the years. My main inflences and bands I listen to are Kiss, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Yes, Motorhead, Pink Floyd, Aerosmith but there are loads of others - how many have featured a fretless? I can only think of Hey You by Pink Floyd out of those So is there a reason that most of us on the forum have or have had a thing for fretless basses? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldslapper Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 My first bass was an unlined fretless, so they just feel right. Funnily enough, other than some Bruce Cockburn albums that have obvious fretless sliding playing on them, I'm not a fan of the "mwwahh" sound. I like fretless playing that you wouldn't know was fretless by just listening (Boz & Kenny Passarelli). Maybe Jaco's status as a bass "god" influences people to try fretless. Personaly I don't have any music with Jaco playing on, but maybe I should. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykesbass Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 (edited) 18 minutes ago, oldslapper said: My first bass was an unlined fretless, so they just feel right. Funnily enough, other than some Bruce Cockburn albums that have obvious fretless sliding playing on them, I'm not a fan of the "mwwahh" sound. I like fretless playing that you wouldn't know was fretless by just listening (Boz & Kenny Passarelli). Maybe Jaco's status as a bass "god" influences people to try fretless. Personaly I don't have any music with Jaco playing on, but maybe I should. This. I play fretless, but only have one song in our repertoire where I use it in an obviously fretless way. Oh, and it is my only gigging bass, blues/rock type band. Edited March 3, 2018 by Mykesbass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 One tune, roughly in your genre, springs to mind - Looking For Love, Whitesnake. Nice widdly guitar in this, too, if that is your kind of thing. I have a fretless electro-acoustic-y thing. My little band did an acoustic gig recently and are threatening to do more of them so I think it kind of fits in nicely with that whole vibe. Not sure I would bother otherwise, for myself. Immense talent and game-changing pioneer notwithstanding, I find Jaco not to my taste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuyR Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 It's a more expressive instrument, played well. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 I had Ten by Pearl Jam on loop in my walkman when it came out but my only fretless basses are vertical! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cato Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 (edited) 2 hours ago, Delberthot said: I was just thinking that perhaps less than 0.1% of the music I own has a fretless bass in the recording yet I've had maybe 20 of them over the years. My main inflences and bands I listen to are Kiss, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Yes, Motorhead, Pink Floyd, Aerosmith but there are loads of others - how many have featured a fretless? I can only think of Hey You by Pink Floyd out of those So is there a reason that most of us on the forum have or have had a thing for fretless basses? If you can play a fretted bass why wouldn't you want to try fretless? Theoretically at least, just about every member of this forum has the fundamental skills needed to play a fretless, it would be stranger if most of us didn't fancy giving it a go at some point. Edited March 3, 2018 by Cato 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mentalextra Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 Is there anyone here that learnt to play on a fretless and has 'never' played a fretted bass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bay Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 11 hours ago, stingrayPete1977 said: I had Ten by Pearl Jam on loop in my walkman when it came out but my only fretless basses are vertical! That’s the one for me as well, the fretless was bought for the couple of songs off there we cover. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger2611 Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 27 minutes ago, mentalextra said: Is there anyone here that learnt to play on a fretless and has 'never' played a fretted bass? My serious bass playing life started with a Westone Thunder III fretless and from then on to a Bass Collection SB602 fretless, it was many years before I added a fretted bass to the armoury but even then it was a largely unused back up, sadly that changed after I stopped touring and, stupidly, sold the Bass Collection bass, I was offered a fretted early 70's Precision which I snapped up and that was the changing point....I played that as my only bass for a few years but it signified the complete change.....I am lucky enough to have found another Thunder III fretless and another Bass Collection SB512 fretless but sadly they don't get played very often as I no longer feel half as confident with an unlined fretless as I do with a fretted Precision, I am a little saddened by that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 Pearl Jam, 10 is one hell of an album and it persuaded me to go fretless aged 18. That was my only bass for a very long time and all through my first band years playing Hendrix, Sabbath, etc. I wasn't allowed to slap so they had to allow fretlessness! I still use it now, even on some songs that have a slap fill, I just fingerstyle it instead! You can play a fretless with as much or as little mwah as you like which makes it easier to persuade skeptical band members that it's the right tool for the job. I knew one excellent bass player who had only ever played fretless. He was a violin prodigy though so I think that helped him! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 I have been primarily a Fretless player since 1986. Rock, Jazz, Funk, Latin, big band, small group. It's all on there. I have had fretted basses throughout but don't gig them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yank Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 I learned on a fretted, but quickly switched to fretless. Fretted didn't get used so sold it. 15 years on, still only play fretless. So much more expressive. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin_lindsay Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 (edited) I alternate between these two basses most of the time. The fretless however, just feels like "home" when I'm playing it - there's something special about playing unlined fretless. Edited March 4, 2018 by kevin_lindsay 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 I'm getting a bit of fretless gas now, you buggers! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldslapper Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 17 minutes ago, stingrayPete1977 said: I'm getting a bit of fretless gas now, you buggers! Mwaaaahahaha....😌 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 I played fretted for over thirty years without ever thinking about even trying fretless. Then I got a gig, without any audition, with a band who, it turned out later, thought I did play fretless - no-one seems to know why they thought that. I liked the band so I bought a lined fretless Fender Jazz and it turned out that I could play fretless at least well enough. The Jazz got replaced by an unlined fretless Fender Precision which in turn was replaced by a Takamine B10 hollow bodied bass. It also led me to an NS electric upright and then to a double bass, which, although I could get a tune out of it, did prove either beyond my ability or beyond my motivation or beyond both. After eight years that band is no more and I am without any unfretted instrument. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barking Spiders Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 (edited) Unlined fretlesses just look the coolest of any guitars and you can still make them sound as funky as f**k What's not to like?. Edited March 4, 2018 by Barking Spiders misstype 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 29 minutes ago, stingrayPete1977 said: I'm getting a bit of fretless gas now, you buggers! Lol! I just started my fretless journey, with a bass trade in some dodgy motorway service station followed by a very pleasant chat over coffee with a fellow BCer (who ran off with my Warwick Corvette $$ 5er), a week ago today. Actually is that strictly correct - does my EUB also strictly count as a 'fretless'?! You will also deduce that I've become a massive fan of Ibbys over the past 12 months, and I'm already loving the addition of the Portamento to my herd... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bay Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 7 minutes ago, Al Krow said: Lol! I just started my fretless journey, with a bass trade in some dodgy motorway service station followed by a very pleasant chat over coffee with a fellow BCer (who ran off with my Warwick Corvette $$ 5er), a week ago today. Actually is that strictly correct - does my EUB also strictly count as a 'fretless'?! You will also deduce that I've become a massive fan of Ibbys over the past 12 months, and I'm already loving the addition of the Portamento to my herd... Was that the one for sale on here? I had serious GAS for that but other priorities won out (the orange terror amp you love) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowdown Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 5 minutes ago, Barking Spiders said: Unlined fretlesses just look the coolest of any guitars and you can still make them sound as funky and f**k What's not to like?. Seen his videos before, an excellent player. No tickling the strings with his playing, he really attacks the notes. Nice, clean playing with plenty of articulation... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 7 minutes ago, T-Bay said: Was that the one for sale on here? I had serious GAS for that but other priorities won out (the orange terror amp you love) Yes it was, my friend. I'm glad you let me beat you to the draw on that one (one year old, mint and from a fantastic fellow BCer) It seems only fair to reciprocate by letting you (or frankly any other bass player on the planet) be ahead of me in the queue for an Orange Terror amp as the quid pro quo... and I should buy you a TC Mojomojo and a plectrum to go with it, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bay Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 6 minutes ago, Al Krow said: Yes it was, my friend. I'm glad you let me beat you to the draw on that one (one year old, mint and from a fantastic fellow BCer) It seems only fair to reciprocate by letting you (or frankly any other bass player on the planet) be ahead of me in the queue for an Orange Terror amp as the quid pro quo... and I should buy you a TC Mojomojo and a plectrum to go with it, right? It is a looker for sure and they get great reviews. I already have an Ibby fretless which sort of made my mind up but I may well search one out at some point. I have just received a big selection of plectrums courtesy of eBay and found a nice thick one that feels right, not sure I will use it that much, but I don’t see any practice as wasted so am happy to give it a go. I have also started a build on a DIY pedal so any spare mojomojo you have would,be most useful as I will need a case for it at some point 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 I discovered the instrument I wanted to play in the end of the 70's, early 80's listening to the music of that period like Japan, Brand X and the likes without knowing it was an instrument. I loved the sound and told myself I would play that instrument which I naively thought was a brand called : Fretless ! Then Paul YOUNG came with a guy called Pino PALLADINO and I realised it was an instrument by itself, not a brand... I bought my first bass when I raised enough money : a horrible fretted some kind of Maya Unprecision bass, but I didn't like it, sold it and got drunk with the money: hey a was a student... Then I noticed an Aria Diamond Violin bass for peanuts in a second hand shop, being a huge fan of the Beatles, I bought it. Then I went to my local luthier, a guy called Christophe LEDUC, to have it defretted. I followed his advise and had a pair of EMG humbuckers installed on it. Got it back some weeks later and IT was it. That was the end of the 80's and it became my one and only bass for years. I couldn't play anything than fretless, period. I even got it painted ... pearly yellow, great fun ! Then I started my long journey into fretless with my main influences : Mick KARN, Percy JONES and Pino PALLADINO. I have to admit that I've never been a big fan of Jaco, not what I was waiting for a fretless bass player, except when he is (was?) playing with Joni MITCHELL. So, I can say that I'm a fretless player owning today 6 fretlesses, including a double bass and a 6 strings LEDUC EUB, even if I've played some fretted over these three decades. Fretless addicted, that's what I am ... and proud of it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted March 4, 2018 Author Share Posted March 4, 2018 16 hours ago, Paul S said: One tune, roughly in your genre, springs to mind - Looking For Love, Whitesnake. Nice widdly guitar in this, too, if that is your kind of thing. I have a fretless electro-acoustic-y thing. My little band did an acoustic gig recently and are threatening to do more of them so I think it kind of fits in nicely with that whole vibe. Not sure I would bother otherwise, for myself. Immense talent and game-changing pioneer notwithstanding, I find Jaco not to my taste. It's funny you should mention Whitesnake as for years I was convinced Fool For Your Loving was a fretless. I never understood the draw to Jaco myself either but that's for another thread. My main problem with fretless is that it just does not have the same punch and attack that a fretted bass has. I've listened to loads of live recordings of Pino and Tony Franklin and great players as they are there's just no punchiness to the sound. I know that's not the point of a fretless, it's more of a soft swell rather than a hard attacking sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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