Our Fascination With Fretless

[Misowaki]

1 hour ago, oldslapper said:

Mwaaaahahaha....😌

A precision pun on the fretless sound whether intended or not. Tickled me at least.

[ezbass]

2 hours ago, Roger2611 said:

My serious bass playing life started with a Westone Thunder III fretless.

When I first picked up the bass in the 80s I swapped my Yammy BB300 for a Thunder lll. I didn't have it long when I ripped out the frets. Shortly after that I one t back to guitar exclusively, but since returning to the bass at the turn of the century, I've pretty much always had a fretless (or 2) and wouldn't be without one now. If I was only allowed one bass, it would be a fretless. I blame Pino.

[Al Krow]

1 hour ago, Delberthot said:

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.

I'm not entirely convinced by this. I think the combination of pups and playing style can make for a hard attacking sound if that's what you want. The drummer in one of my covers' bands also plays in two death metal bands and his bassist for these uses a 7 6 string fretless. Now that genre is COMPLETELY NOT my cup of tea but I'm pretty sure there is no lack of punchiness in the bass line!

Edited March 4, 2018 by Al Krow
Just had confirmed: 7 and 5 string fretted, 6 string fretless

[Al Krow]

14 minutes ago, ezbass said:

When I first picked up the bass in the 80s I swapped my Yammy BB300 for a Thunder lll. I didn't have it long when I ripped out the frets. Shortly after that I one t back to guitar exclusively, but since returning to the bass at the turn of the century, I've pretty much always had a fretless (or 2) and wouldn't be without one now. If I was only allowed one bass, it would be a fretless. I blame Pino.

Ooooh you had a Yammy BB3000?! Now gone? I would LOVE to try one of those!

EDIT - ignore, I just spotted that was a BB300 not 3000. Clearly need to get my reading glasses out!  

Edited March 4, 2018 by Al Krow

[stingrayPete1977]

1 hour ago, Delberthot said:

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.

John Deacon played some great punchy lines on his. 

[drTStingray]

My first interest in Fretless bass guitar was Boz Burrell with Bad Company, followed by Jaco and then Pino. I would say that between Bernard Edwards, Louis Johnson and then Pino, my interest in playing Stingrays was born and when an immaculate 1993 example cropped up on You Tube about ten years ago I couldn't resist - actually playing all those bass parts recorded on a Fretless on a Fretless rather than a fretted bass (as I did previously) is great fun - a good, and probably not obvious example is Feel Like Making Love by Bad Company - sounds better on a Fretless 😏 

However this should dispel any idea a Fretless can't be aggressive sounding as well - excellent slap sound as well as Fretless sound - along with Pino's ever impeccable groove. Musicman Stingray and Trace Elliot I think. 

 

Edited March 4, 2018 by drTStingray

[Hellzero]

Terrific !

[Hellzero]

Mick KARN here :

 

 

[BreadBin]

My latest acquisition is a Vintage fretless, great for the money..

For me it was first Pino, then Les Claypool that made me want to play fretless as well.

[Al Krow]

That is one tasty bass - particularly being a P/J! Which model Vintage is that and what pups does it have on?

@stingrayPete1977 - if that is not temptation enough to get a fretless, you've got more will power than me!  

[stingrayPete1977]

I sold a really nice BassCollection SB320 a few years ago, I should have had the frets pulled!

[mentalextra]

4 hours ago, Delberthot said:

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.

Tony Franklin would disagree

[ezbass]

12 minutes ago, mentalextra said:

Tony Franklin would disagree

I saw TF at a guitar show in Birmingham years ago, on the Fender stand, I thought his bass was going to yelp, run away and hide in a corner he was beating it so much.

[aguacollas]

I fell in love with the sound of fretless many years before playing bass. I also fell in love with trumpet, oboe, cello, guitar,  piano... I just never began playing those lovely instruments. 

Once I began playing electric (fretted) bass, fretless sound was there haunting me every time I listened to a song with that sound. Many many great songs I can't even recall were played with fretless bass or double bass. It wasn't who played fretless (that came later), it's the sound and the expressiveness and subtlety in playing that you get from a fretless  that I love. 

 

Edited March 4, 2018 by aguacollas

[EssentialTension]

I had a Tony Franklin fretless Precision and it's the one bass I strongly regret selling.

[BreadBin]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

That is one tasty bass - particularly being a P/J! Which model Vintage is that and what pups does it have on?

@stingrayPete1977 - if that is not temptation enough to get a fretless, you've got more will power than me!  

I am pretty sure it's a V940 Active Bubinga - pickups are unmarked but probably Wilkinson. The bridge pickup is very quiet for some reason which may well be an excuse to upgrade .

It looks good in the natural wood section of my herd!

[Delberthot]

28 minutes ago, mentalextra said:

Tony Franklin would disagree

Hmm - maybe I have a different definition of punchiness in my head - to me that isn't punchy in the slightest

[Delberthot]

3 hours ago, stingrayPete1977 said:

John Deacon played some great punchy lines on his. 

Do you have a list of which songs he played fretless on in the studio? i was under the impression that he only played '39 live with a maple fretless

[Al Krow]

21 minutes ago, BreadBin said:

I am pretty sure it's a V940 Active Bubinga - pickups are unmarked but probably Wilkinson. The bridge pickup is very quiet for some reason which may well be an excuse to upgrade .

It looks good in the natural wood section of my herd!

Thanks for that - Bubinga is just a lovely looking wood so I now get why I was immediately drawn to it! And the trade-off of it being dense and therefore heavier is that it should provide really good sustain which methinks is going to suit a fretless sound to a tee!

I think this is what yours has?

VINTAGE V940 FRETLESS ACTIVE BASS FEATURES:

• Body: Bubinga
• Neck: Maple / Bolt On
• Fingerboard: Rosewood
• Scale: 34"/864mm
• Neck Inlays: Pearloid Dot
• Tuners: Wilkinson WJB150
• Bridge: Adjustable /Raised Tail
• Pickups: Wilkinson Split Coil x 1/ JZ x 1 (M)WPBE500 (B)WPBE900
• Hardware: Black
• Controls: 1 x Volume/ 1 x Balance/ Active EQ/ Bass/ Treble

Edited March 4, 2018 by Al Krow

[Delberthot]

3 hours ago, drTStingray said:

My first interest in Fretless bass guitar was Boz Burrell with Bad Company, followed by Jaco and then Pino. I would say that between Bernard Edwards, Louis Johnson and then Pino, my interest in playing Stingrays was born and when an immaculate 1993 example cropped up on You Tube about ten years ago I couldn't resist - actually playing all those bass parts recorded on a Fretless on a Fretless rather than a fretted bass (as I did previously) is great fun - a good, and probably not obvious example is Feel Like Making Love by Bad Company - sounds better on a Fretless 😏 

However this should dispel any idea a Fretless can't be aggressive sounding as well - excellent slap sound as well as Fretless sound - along with Pino's ever impeccable groove. Musicman Stingray and Trace Elliot I think. 

 

Fantastic - I've been proven wrong regarding the punchiness thing so it it down to the actual bass then?

Is a Stingray with a naturally more in your face tone than a Fender the way to go if you want a punchy fretless sound?

Off the top of my head some of the fretless basses I've owned over the years have been:

 

Bass Collection passive

Yamaha TRB6 - converted to fretless

Musicman Stingray

Fender Jazz

Squier VM Jazz

Harmony - Gibson Grabber copy maple fretless

Ibanez SR370 EF

70s Fernandes Jazz with EMGs

Antoria PJ 

Aria ZZB

Trace Elliott T-Bass 5 string

 

Out of all of them I always thought the Stingray was the best but at the time I couldn't put my finger on what made it better than the rest

[Hellzero]

8 minutes ago, Delberthot said:

Hmm - maybe I have a different definition of punchiness in my head - to me that isn't punchy in the slightest

Don't tell me there is no punch in Mick KARN's playing !?! Listen to the album "Bestial Cluster".

Or this most improbable reunion :

 

[BreadBin]

@Al Krow thanks! That looks about right. It's definitely no lightweight considering the compact dimensions - it's not much bigger than my Curbow but has noticeably more mass.

It sounds great, but could do with more bridge tone. 

[Al Krow]

40 minutes ago, BreadBin said:

@Al Krow thanks! That looks about right. It's definitely no lightweight considering the compact dimensions - it's not much bigger than my Curbow but has noticeably more mass.

It sounds great, but could do with more bridge tone. 

So what have you got in mind for a more tone-ful bridge set up?

I'm guessing that the on-board EQ will play its part, too, as well as the pups (piezo seems to work a treat, if done well, with fretless  - certainly on my Ibby).

Be really interesting to know if other fretless owners on this thread (btw - with a ton more experience and expertise on the subject than me - I've got all of 7 days experience under my belt!) have upgraded their pups and EQ and, if so, how?

[Barking Spiders]

3 hours ago, BreadBin said:

My latest acquisition is a Vintage fretless, great for the money..

For me it was first Pino, then Les Claypool that made me want to play fretless as well.

I have a Vintage V940FL. Small body but the bubinga wood makes it deceptively heavy. Lovely little instrument . IMO Vintage are very underrated

[stingrayPete1977]

2 hours ago, Delberthot said:

Do you have a list of which songs he played fretless on in the studio? i was under the impression that he only played '39 live with a maple fretless

Not off the top of my head but I've got the platinum best of collection and there are a few tracks that are fretless as far as I can tell, mainly the early stuff.