Playing the fretless bass

[bass_dinger]

I recently acquired an edge-lined fretless bass.  How do I play it?

 

Specifically:

 

How do I improve my ability to pitch the notes correctly?

What is "correct" - should I aim for Even Tempered pitch or the actual pitch? (I have already discovered that the 3rd of the scale sounds more correct against the Root when it is slightly flat)

What slides work (from the 4th to the 5th? 1st to 2nd?)

How can I get more "mwah"?

 

Edited January 23 by bass_dinger
More questions

[Twigman]

??

I find by ear is best.

[Beedster]

Same as you woulkd play a normal fretted bass. Seriously that is IMO by far the best way to start. The worst way - again IMPO - is to try and play, Jaco, Karn, or Pino. Best thing I did to was take my fretless along to rehearsals and simply integrated it more each week to the point that I was giging it around 6-weeks later. Good luck, it's fune 👍

[Bilbo]

You need to learn to listen to your notes in context in a different way which requires a little discipline but, mostly, it's the same. 

[Linus27]

1 hour ago, Beedster said:

Same as you woulkd play a normal fretted bass. Seriously that is IMO by far the best way to start. The worst way - again IMPO - is to try and play, Jaco, Karn, or Pino. Best thing I did to was take my fretless along to rehearsals and simply integrated it more each week to the point that I was giging it around 6-weeks later. Good luck, it's fune 👍

 

Exactly this, don't think of it as a different instrument that needs to have a different approach, it's not, it's no different to a fretted bass, it just has a different voice. Also, don't try and make it sound like a fretless and play like Jaco, Pino. Play it like a fretted bass and let your own technique and voice come through. Over time you will find what works and what doesn't. The only thing that requires more focus over a fretted bass is using your ear and fretting accurately. How weak or strong this is already will be your only obstacle.

[Wombat]

I’d go with what’s said above. You can stick a tuner on but you end up either watching that or your fingers and don’t concentrate on what you are playing. The “line” is where the fret is so play on it, not behind it. And just enjoy. It will come.

[Grooverjr]

I've just got a fretless, too. Fun, ins't it?

I'm taking the approach of playing lines I know really well, scales etc. i.e. things where my ears will notice anything that isn't right and trying to dial it in from there. Mine has no lines, only dots where the frets ould be at 3/ 5/7 etc. (not where the dots would be on a fretted bass) and I was planning to put lines on but I don't think I will as the muscle memory seems to be doing a decent job and it is forcing me to use the ears more. I did swap out the old strings for some very worn-in rounds and that is helping with the feel (and the mwah) as I was finding the tapewounds too stiff and as a result I was plucking too hard. 

[paul_5]

When I first started playing fretless I used open strings wherever possible so that I could use it as a reference pitch to determine whether I was in tune or not. 

As I got more experienced I substituted the open strings for fingered notes for consistency of tone, but it's an exercise that served me well.

[Wombat]

51 minutes ago, Grooverjr said:

I've just got a fretless, too. Fun, ins't it?

I'm taking the approach of playing lines I know really well, scales etc. i.e. things where my ears will notice anything that isn't right and trying to dial it in from there. Mine has no lines, only dots where the frets ould be at 3/ 5/7 etc. (not where the dots would be on a fretted bass) and I was planning to put lines on but I don't think I will as the muscle memory seems to be doing a decent job and it is forcing me to use the ears more. I did swap out the old strings for some very worn-in rounds and that is helping with the feel (and the mwah) as I was finding the tapewounds too stiff and as a result I was plucking too hard. 

I used to use rounds as the mwah was just stunning. But do note (in case it matters) that rounds will damage the board. They dig in over time leaving tiny lines.

[Grooverjr]

1 hour ago, Wombat said:

I used to use rounds as the mwah was just stunning. But do note (in case it matters) that rounds will damage the board. They dig in over time leaving tiny lines.

Thanks. I'd heard about this and it makes sense. The board does have a few scuffs from someone doing the same in the past but nothing serious. They're very old strings so a lot of the roughness has worn off and it was really an experiment to see if the extra give was what I wanted (it was). So I've got some TI flats on the way which I expect to live on the bass forever more. I can get a sort of Mwah out of the TIs I have on a afretted shortie so I'm looking forward to their arrival!

[Wombat]

I found the ‘transition’ to flats partly helped by overplaying a fretted and having sore fingers so the flats felt lovely 😂.

Most of the ‘damage’ was near the nut. I must be pressing harder there.

Ended up with some Labella flats that I don’t like. But they cost too much to not use 😂.

Still use rounds on fretted but quite like being able to switch to flats on the fretless.

[Grooverjr]

2 minutes ago, Wombat said:

I found the ‘transition’ to flats partly helped by overplaying a fretted and having sore fingers so the flats felt lovely 😂.

Most of the ‘damage’ was near the nut. I must be pressing harder there.

Ended up with some Labella flats that I don’t like. But they cost too much to not use 😂.

Still use rounds on fretted but quite like being able to switch to flats on the fretless.

I tried labella flats and hated them. Like playing fence wire. A very expensive mistake. Tapewounds are better but they are very, very thick and the sound is only really appropriate for certain things. I like the sound of flats but find that I play them badly - my middle finger occasionally seems to catch and not move through smoothly so I either end up missing the beat or getting a horrible extra loud note. TIs are much more like rounds in their flexibility

[Bilbo]

I used Rotosound Solo Bass strings for three and a half decades on my Wal and it didn't do any damage at all. Groundwound i.e. roundwounds but with the surface ground down so it is less inclined to damage the fretboard. 

[bass_dinger]

4 hours ago, Grooverjr said:

just got a fretless, too. Fun, ins't it?

I'm taking the approach of playing lines I know really well, scales etc. i.e. things where my ears will notice anything that isn't right and trying to dial it in from there. Mine has no lines

It is terrific fun, and very rewarding to nail a line, or even a note. I feel that I have unlocked a new skill level!

 

I am still trying to increase the "mwah" which I have done by turning up the midrange.  

 

Is there another way of getting more mwah? Lower action? Different strings?

 

 

[paul_5]

Generally a lower action helps, as does sliding into the note slightly.

[ezbass]

Low action and low neck relief can help with mwah.

[Bagman]

Flats are the business on Fretless. 
 

smooth as a baby’s bottom 

[Bagman]

GHS set on my Stingray presently 

 

Chromes were good on this but certainly a different flavour 

[Bilbo]

Playing nearer the neck than the bridge will increase the mwah. Check out Jaco's right hand placement on the opening bars of this and you can hear the effect of the hand placement on the tone

 

https://youtu.be/TgntkGc5iBo?si=QH3KGkrEPKDjOgvC

Edited 11 hours ago by Bilbo

[SimonK]

Yes I made the mistake of having rounds on my fretless for the first couple of years and ended up having to get the fret board sanded down to get rid of the marks. The flat wounds don't have as good a mwah but are more comfortable to play (as in they don't hurt fingers as much when sliding). I agree that low action is a must.

 

I like the fact that people see a fretless and think it must be harder to play when it really isn't. I think when I first got mine I just took it along to band practice, checked once or twice to see if anyone thought I was out of tune but as no one did hey presto I was now a fretless player! Thus said I do keep an always on tuner on my pedal board, but it is only really to glance at every now and again, especially if I'm struggling to hear myself. Conversly so long as you don't play open strings you don't need to worry too much about tuning the strings on a fretless so long as it's within a semi-tone which is great if temperatures are fluctuating!

 

Gratuitous fretless photo:

 

[mybass]

On 23/01/2025 at 17:01, bass_dinger said:

I recently acquired an edge-lined fretless bass.  How do I play it?

 

Specifically:

 

How do I improve my ability to pitch the notes correctly?

What is "correct" - should I aim for Even Tempered pitch or the actual pitch? (I have already discovered that the 3rd of the scale sounds more correct against the Root when it is slightly flat)

What slides work (from the 4th to the 5th? 1st to 2nd?)

How can I get more "

Macassar ebony fingerboards on my own make of fretless basses, D’Addario XL roundwound strings, no problems, the occasional sanding of the fingerboard once in a blue moon, much like any guitars’ reset of frets/fboard. Practice scales and sing along with them, you’ll see how your tuning is then! This was old advice from my very reputable double bass tutor many years ago.

[JPJ]

Watch this then start playing using your ears and not technology. I’ve always preferred unlined boards but never really understood why until I saw this Tony Franklin video