Fretless bass anon opinion

[alyctes]

If there's a reappraisal, the prices will go up...

[Linus27]

I don't actually own a fretted bass and find frets, dots and binding massively distracting. I don't have a pony or a tail but did have long hair and a waistcoat once.

 

 

 

[Bagman]

Fretless is fun. 
 

I wouldn’t be without one, in fact I would quite like a Fretless 5 

[Downunderwonder]

5 hours ago, StickyDBRmf said:

 

I don't know what double denim is, but I wear a leather jacket on occasion.

You are safe then.

 

DD is otherwise known as the Denim or Traller Park Tuxedo ( suit, ie jacket and pants )

[steve-bbb]

On 23/12/2024 at 13:31, RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE said:

" Not suitable for metal" "Don't use a pick "  "Most fretless players don't use lined fretless " These comments were in bass guitar mags back in the day .
How times change ..

so i wonder why there are hardly any unlined fretlesses in production these days - from casual observation most seem to be lined

 

[steve-bbb]

@knirirr you may recognise this one  new ebony fingerboard gotoh bridge and wizard pickups - might add a black plate but quite like the way it looks plateless

 

 

  

[Woodwind]

6 minutes ago, steve-bbb said:

so i wonder why there are hardly any unlined fretlesses in production these days - from casual observation most seem to be lined

 

 

 

Although it seems counter intuitive it's a symptom of mass production.

 

If you have machines and workers set up to make fretted necks, you don't need to change anything to make lined fretless necks.

 

However an unlined neck needs a new worker/bench etc as it has the side dots in a different place, so becomes more expensive to make

 

[knirirr]

2 hours ago, steve-bbb said:

@knirirr you may recognise this one  new ebony fingerboard gotoh bridge and wizard pickups - might add a black plate but quite like the way it looks plateless

 

 

  

 

Looking good - I hope you're still enjoying it!

[Johannes]

I can’t think of any disadvantage using a lined fretless bass until You’re blind, in that case You could possibly save few bucks by buying unlined…

I have owned several fretlesses, always lined. I’ve played them hundreds of live, theatre and studio gigs so I pretty well know sometimes those lines can be real life savers. I`ve never ponytailed my hair but it was very long indeed something like 40 years ago and didn`t always wear a suit. Here is the fretless I use these days, lovely Sadowsky N.Y.C. modern 5 wich I ordered lined, of course. I wish very Happy New Year to all of You basschatters!

[Mickeyboro]

3 hours ago, Johannes said:

I can’t think of any disadvantage using a lined fretless bass until You’re blind, in that case You could possibly save few bucks by buying unlined…

I get conflicted, not wanting to trust my ears. Both my fretless are unlined, and my eyes aren’t drawn to the fretboard. 
Besides, it looks way cooler…

[3below]

Three of my fretless basses are unlined, two are lined  (don't ask, I have been playing for over 50 years... one owned from 1978/9)  I prefer unlined, lines are no problem, but for me, the side dots have to be at 3,5,7 etc. not in between as fretted ones are.  The bass I have owned from 78/79 has a novel arrangement, there is a dot at 10, not 9.   I only noticed that after about 44 years of owning it, go figure!

[tauzero]

I prefer unlined - currently have four fretlesses, one lined, two unlined, one defret which doesn't have visible lines. Had to have the dots moved on the lined one so they're on the lines, I think I'll either just have to cope with the defret as it is or do what my Ibanez SRF705 has, teeny little fret markers on the edge of the fretboard. Incidentally, I have occasionally played a bass which was a fretless but was then fretted and the dots at the fret positions are really confusing, silly as it may seem.

[Bagman]

Unlined for me

previously had a lined (defret) 

 

aesthetic / vanity unlined is best , looks cooler 

[ezbass]

I’ve always had lined, not always by choice, but I’m OK with it. I’m the bass player, no one else other than me cares, or probably notices, even other bass players (I kid you not. I actually had a bass player once ask me how I got ‘that sound’).

[Hellzero]

At the moment, I have 6 fretless basses (34 inches scale), all unlined and 5 of them are sixers, the sixth one being a 4 string.

 

My third ever bass way back in 1987 was a fretless (a defretted Aria Diamond 500/1 copy painted in pearly yellow with two EMG HB pickups and a piezzo under the floating bridge) as I always wanted to play fretless and since then almost did with very few incursions in the fretted world.

 

I prefer unlined fretless basses, but really don't care if they are lined with frets positions at the fretted place or at the frets places as I only look at them when I'm some kind of lost after a huge slide or a technical acrobatic stuntery...

 

That said, the strangest fretless bass I had was an unlined fretless with dots at the fretted positions: simply a nightmare to play as each time I looked at them, it blocked me as my ears were telling me I was in tune when my eyes were saying I wasn't.

 

I ended up giving it to a school after having masked the frightening dots and putting some fluorescent dot stickers to the usual spots (3, 5, 7, 9, 12...).

 

The funny thing was that it was sounding vey well...

[Linus27]

Unlined here as well. I have no issue with unlined but for me it's easier playing unlined as you either fret on a dot or a space. Lines just make it look cluttered to my eyes and end up bei g a target to aim for rather than using my ear.

[BlueMoon]

I certainly prefer unlined fretless, since I transitioned over from double bass. I have both lined and unlined, 4 and 5 string electric fretless basses though.

 

There really is nothing like the sound and feel of a fretless bass.

[knirirr]

51 minutes ago, Linus27 said:

Unlined here as well. I have no issue with unlined but for me it's easier playing unlined as you either fret on a dot or a space. Lines just make it look cluttered to my eyes and end up bei g a target to aim for rather than using my ear.

 

Exactly this. The first bass I ever had was an unlined fretless, back in the 90s (Encore P copy) and it was easy enough to adapt to.
I would struggle to play one with lines and dots in the same place as a fretted bass; it would be rather confusing.

I'm reminded of an amusing exchange on another forum, which went along these lines:

A: "Unlined fingerboards are stupid! You never see professionals who have unmarked tools - would a mechanic have spanners without the sizes marked on them?"
B: "I program computers for a living and own a keyboard with no markings on the keys."
A: "No one cares what nerds think!"

[petebassist]

Aesthetically I think unlined boards look nicer, but I don’t understand the big deal about lined boards - you don’t have to look at the lines, indeed it’s difficult unless you’re bent double over your bass. 
I play by ear or use the side dots on my Ibanez if things go awry…

[uk_lefty]

I've had a fretless five since my 18th birthday. I recently got a lined fretless jazz. In between times I've had an unlined, fretless Warwick that sounded amazing but I sold it when the 80s band failed to take off. I find the lines helpful above the 12th fret but muscle memory does the job at the "money" end. 

[miles'tone]

Great vid here by Tony Franklin on why he plays unlined rather than lined. 

It's all good but go to 3.30 for his reasoning and demo...

 

 

[Hellzero]

Saw that video some time ago and funnily it's the answer to the reversed question I asked to Alain Caron during a masterclass. 😉

 

My question was: "Does it bother you to play the fretless out of tune to be in tune with the other instruments?"

 

It's something I noticed a very very long time ago when practicing my scales perfectly in tune (with a tuner) and that, when I was playing perfectly in tune (for my notes) with others, the overall "chords" were out of tune, wobbling, so I started to really play with my ears listening to the others and adapting for a total non disturbing harmony.

 

It's at this point that the lines are becoming very dangerous for the music...

[BlueMoon]

Yes, I always try to follow what my ears are telling me rather than hitting lines or markers on the fingerboard.

[Linus27]

10 hours ago, petebassist said:

Aesthetically I think unlined boards look nicer, but I don’t understand the big deal about lined boards - you don’t have to look at the lines, indeed it’s difficult unless you’re bent double over your bass. 
I play by ear or use the side dots on my Ibanez if things go awry…

 

It's not so much the lines as you dont look at them, it's more of a case of where the dots and lines are on the side of the fretboard. On an unlined it's either dots or blank spaces. On a lined its dots and lines on every fret which to my eyes is super messy and confusing.

[bass_dinger]

20 hours ago, miles'tone said:

Great vid here by Tony Franklin on why he plays unlined rather than lined. 

It's all good but go to 3.30 for his reasoning and demo...

 

 

I must have seen that video previously  - because it is the reason why I went for an edge-lined fretless.  

 

The edge-lines allow me to get into the right region, and my ears (ha ha) will allow me to make adjustments from an even-tempered scale.