Anyone else play unlined fretless?

[lemmywinks]

Here's mine, put together on the cheap from an old Korean Cort (Hohner) body, Mighty Mite P neck (ebanol board) with a piezo bridge and Bartolini buffer pre.

 

It's my around the house bass as I can't practically gig a 4 string now but can't bring myself to sell it, it sounds beautiful and has seen off some posher fretlesses even before getting the piezo bridge and Bart pre mod. I have a 5 string version of the Fishman piezo bridge squirrelled away for when I find a suitable body/neck to put it on.

 

It goes mwah when you so much as look at it and it's effortless to get that classic tone, I always thought when you get a fretless that you click with you should keep it forever. My upper register laying is getting more tuneful now too!

[Grahambythesea]

Used to have an unlined Washburn AB5; no problem eith unlined, but the neck on it was a tree! It was a 5 string but with the width sufficient to have converted to a 7. Now have a lovely lined Spectorcore which comes with the Fishman piezo bridge. Nice to play, but surprisingly lacking in Mwah. 

[neilp]

Any fretless can be set up to do the mwah thing. Usually a combination of cutting the nut slots deeper and less relief. Don't overdo it with the truss rod though, or you'll choke the notes.

[knirirr]

11 hours ago, lownote12 said:

So far the upsides are the sound, and having young people at blues jams ask "Are you really playing unlined? Wow" in an awed tone which frankly I don't get very much for .. anything really.

The only comments I've had (jazz jams) relating to the fretlessness of my instrument are along the lines of "Fretless, eh? Better make sure you play it in tune!"

The first bass I ever had was unlined fretless. I now have two, my favourite being this. It sounds excellent with TI flats on. I tried a fretted bass once and though it was OK to start with it didn't last.

 

 

Edited January 1, 2020 by knirirr

[AngelDeVille]

The MG (right) is lined. I discovered I don’t like lines.

the Pbass is baked maple no lines no dots.

thunderbird is a conversion and I figured out a way to stain it so it’s lineless,

 

I’ll go back and make my Hohner Jack lineless/dotless  when I get some spare time. 
 

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

I put together a bitzer Precision about 17 years ago using a brandoni sunburst body & neck with an unlined ebony fingerboard. I whittled the nut from an imitation ivory chopstick from Wing Yip. Its a lovely bass and I've swapped out various bits & pieces over the years. It currently has hipshot lollipop tuners, a 1986 EMG active pickup powered with 2xA23 batteries (24v), a badass II bridge, rosewood thumbrest and a cheapo (£8) Chinese 4 ply torty pickguard which I think looks a lot nicer than it should. I don't find it particularly hard to play compared to a fretted bass and it sounds great - the EMG pickup suits it really well giving it a beautiful growl.

Edited January 1, 2020 by Jean-Luc Pickguard

[AngelDeVille]

1 hour ago, neilp said:

Any fretless can be set up to do the mwah thing. Usually a combination of cutting the nut slots deeper and less relief. Don't overdo it with the truss rod though, or you'll choke the notes.

I have my Pbass and Jack set up for auto-mwah.

 

roundwounds on all of them help...🤠

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

I have a played-in set of LaBella white nylon tapewounds on mine currently - lots of lovely mwahh, the TI JF-344s I had on it previously were good as well.

[bassbiscuits]

I used to play an unlined SGC Nanyo SB301 fretless and it was great - the usual good build quality and value for money.

I sold it a few years back when I was skint and haven't seen one again. 

The lack of lines didn't bother me - I navigated by a mixture of feel and the guide dots along the edge of the fingerboard.

 

[Soledad]

18 hours ago, JohnFitzgerald said:

this one has ebony board an the brightest sounding flats I've ever heard.

What strings please? I'm a fan of EB Cobalts but always keen to know what else is out there on the bright flat side.

And regarding lines, agree with most here, silly things, can't see 'em anyway when you're playing and they get in the way of what really matters - ears and muscle memory. Why Fender USA seem to always put lines on beats me. Maybe a hangover of Jaco's Jazz, and the fact the makers aren't fretless players.

PLUS, and let's be honest here - unlined looks very cool indeed. Lined looks a bit pony.

[knirirr]

21 minutes ago, Soledad said:

What strings please? I'm a fan of EB Cobalts but always keen to know what else is out there on the bright flat side.

My other one has Fender flats on it and these seem very much brighter than the TIs; a bit cheaper as well.

I completely agree about the lines/Fender etc. The worst bit is the side dots being in the wrong place; I could put up with lines but the dots throw me.

 

 

[three]

Lines just cause problems for me - I read a post a long time ago about just 'listening' - it was a revelation.  I play fretless short-scale mainly too and that just confuses the issue if moving from long-scale fretted to short fretless.  This is what's getting most use at the moment

Edited January 1, 2020 by three
spelling

[lownote]

1 hour ago, Soledad said:

What strings please?

 

I use Dunlop flats. Used to like D'Addario Chromes but the Dunlops feel a little more  flexible to me

Edited January 1, 2020 by lownote12

[NikNik]

Yes. Got three UF Fretless Jazzes. Here's a bitsa one with epoxied ebony 'board.

[Pinball]

11 minutes ago, three said:

Lines just cause problems for me 

 

Yep that sums up my experience. I found myself trying to look at the lines all the time, where as when I when unlined and used my ears and the side dots for a reference I learned really quickly. I also think that improved my fretted technique.

I was playing a SR5 fretless and not have an Ibanez SRF5, which I rate very highly 

[threedaymonk]

I don't have any unlined basses, but my shamisen (the thing I'm playing in my profile photo) has no markings at all, except for a couple of dots I've put at the equivalent of the 5th and 12th fret positions.

Since I've been playing without fret markers, I've found that my ability to find my way around the neck on fretted instruments has really improved: I have a better innate understanding of intervals now.

[Soledad]

58 minutes ago, three said:

This is what's getting most use at the moment

not bloody surprised 👍

[ead]

Oooh count me in.  I have a couple of ACG fretless basses:

[paul_5]

Moi aussi.

 

[Defo]

Yep, Warwick Thumb with piezos. There are dots on the side of the neck but tbh I find myself losing them less and less, it's all about coming up to the note rather than going straight for it (i.e. I'm not very good  )

[Linus27]

On 31/12/2019 at 13:06, Maude said:

I've only ever had unlined and quite honestly have never understood the lined/unlined thing. If you have side dots then I really can't see having lines or not makes things any different.

On a fretted bass surely people aren't leaning over the front to see where they are by using the fretboard dots or blocks over using the side dots, same with fretless. 

I much prefer the look of unlined as well and would always buy unlined over lined if a choice was available. 

Yep, unlined as well and I also dont understand the lined/unlined thing. You don't get lined violins, cellos, double basses, viola's etc.

[uk_lefty]

I only own a lined Fretless but have dabbled with unlined and found it far easier than I expected. I am very keen on the idea of building up a bitsa unlined PJ using a decent fingerboard and hardware and some cobbled together bits. 

[Paul S]

I don't currently have one in my team but when I do have a fretless it is always unlined.  Given that I am equally bad at both lined and unlined the unsullied board wins it for me  

[StickyDBRmf]

I don't like lines. They throw me off. Just give me side dots. History of basses - Jazz bass, Precision w/ maple frettless, removed the epoxy/resin...wore the neck out, replaced w/ Mighty Mite ebony no finish, Pedulla Pentabuzz was requested w/ no "Buzz" finish, no lines...Ibanez 8-string that I .tore the frets out with a claw hammer...I wound up selling or giving away these except for the 8-string. I have two Chapman Sticks, one is an Ironwood from mid-80's w/ nickel frets that, after missing the Pedulla so much, had my local luthier remove the frets. WHOOPS. It'sa good thing I have two Sticks because a fretless Stick is a BAD IDEA. I'm having a luthier put frets back in. (I'm not sending it to Emmett, they're like his babies, I'm just glad he still sells me strings). And I bought a Hartke bass for $30US w/ a bad p.u. but the neck is so straight I pulled the frets out (the right way this time) didn't fill in the gaps just oiled the stinky poo out of it. Right now just the J-bass p.u. works so it's all Jaco all the time. I do have one fretted bass it's an ESP Ltd. neck-thru w/ active p.up.'s it sounds like any bass I would want. Like I said in other posts when I play these days I play Stick.

[Hellzero]

A fretless stick could be very interesting and tempting... Not such a bad idea.