Musicman666 Posted February 19, 2023 Share Posted February 19, 2023 i started off in the 80s with a fretless wal and mwahed it like there was no tommorow... i now have three fretless all lined but my latest custom made one has faded lines that only i can really see which i thought was a great compromise. Also as part of the same custom purchase i had the exact same bass but fretted and both these are drop d tuning which is another compromise between a four and a five since i rarely went lower than a low d. As said here earlier you don't have to sound like pino to play a fretless ...as time goes on my fretless playing has become way more subtle in that regard but there is something about a very tiny bit of slide up to the note that gives it a great note quality that fretted can't really do, i often punch and slap mixed in with a regular play style all within one bar ... kind of levin meets enwhistle all on the fretless ... i guess it's my own personal style that's evolved over the years but it was the fretless that took me down that path. What is quite useful is having the same bass both fretted and fretless and auditioning them when laying down track ideas ...i can definitely see myself culling all my other basses save for these two. interestingly both sting and jack bruce often played their fretless like a fretted.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishfacefour Posted March 9, 2023 Author Share Posted March 9, 2023 Kicking this thread off I wasn't sure about getting a fretless, I was just curious. I took the plunge with a used sire v7 from bass direct which arrived yesterday. I've only had an hour or so with it but I can definitely see the attraction! The resonance and tactile feedback is amazing. It definitely pushes you to different lines and more melodic playing. Intonation isn't too bad, but i occasionally trip up, especially with stretches and holding on too long when shifting positions. I need to do some work on the setup as the B string is choking out and will probably get some new strings. So far so good. Thanks all for the good discussion and pointers. Oh gratuitous pic (it came with the pickguard off for some reason) 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTB Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 Wow! Nice bass. I’m very impressed with the Marcus Miller stuff and the V8 is on my ever growing want list. Enjoy, I’m not at all jealous!!!! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishfacefour Posted March 9, 2023 Author Share Posted March 9, 2023 Also managed bonus points for making my sick girlfriend smile by doing my best Alan Partridge/Pino Palladino impression... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StickyDBRmf Posted March 9, 2023 Share Posted March 9, 2023 Oddly enough I just pulled my fretless Stick out of the storage unit. Will attempt (again) making sense out of, in hindsight, a senseless act. (the de-fretting that is) Have fun with your new bass! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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