Fretted and Fretless Basses are completely different instruments - Discuss

[dave moffat]

29 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

So you strike harmonics then press down onto the fingerboard?

Sorry if I seem thick, I'd imagined fingering two notes then striking harmonics with my middle hand while plucking with my right (which obviously requires an excess of hands...)

[Under threat of death if I plug my amp in at the moment 🤬 but despite being surprisingly easy to finger I'm guessing from the feeble amount of volume I'm getting with my technique this might not work for me...]

Just a suggestion, but maybe if you work on fingering the G string you'll be allowed to plug yourself in.

[drTStingray]

1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

So you strike harmonics then press down onto the fingerboard?

Sorry if I seem thick, I'd imagined fingering two notes then striking harmonics with my middle hand while plucking with my right (which obviously requires an excess of hands...)

[Under threat of death if I plug my amp in at the moment 🤬 but despite being surprisingly easy to finger I'm guessing from the feeble amount of volume I'm getting with my technique this might not work for me...]

It should be possible to get this to sound acoustically. You pluck all three notes as harmonics at once, so you'll need three on the fretting hand as well - then slide the pattern down the strings - I press the strings down slightly whilst doing that. 

I found getting hold of a transcript of Portrait of Tracy (Jaco) helped a lot in learning harmonic techniques - although it took me about a year to learn to play it - and I had to substitute some notes because I don't possess very long fingers and there are one or two extreme stretches!! 

Pino's Fretless was really a follow on from Jaco as applied to pop and (as Jaco) R and B, and also rock. Great feel and choice of notes though - and such groove!! 

[Stub Mandrel]

11 hours ago, drTStingray said:

Portrait of Tracy

In my dreams....