FRETLESS PLAYERS

[Jase]

Lined, dots, big signs saying " Put finger here!" I use rosewood at the mo but as soon as cash is available it's maple all the way for me ( Precision neck too ) I'm gagging to rip the frets out of my new maple Precision...it's the ugliest Fender colour available....Charcoal Metallic Frost...so it deserves it!!!

[farmer61]

Lined cause mine was a defret job, really wish I hadn't bothered tbh

[Higgie]

I only got my first fretless a couple months ago, which is a 1989 Unlined Pau Ferro board'ed Stingray 4. I'm getting to used to having no lines, and the dot markers are actually ON where the line would be at 3, 5, 7, 9 etc.

I must say I don't get the confusion you guys talk about when switching between fretted and fretless? I just think, "when playing fretless, the dots are my frets" and then I'm good to go!

[wateroftyne]

[quote name='Higgie' post='651737' date='Nov 11 2009, 04:18 PM']I must say I don't get the confusion you guys talk about when switching between fretted and fretless? I just think, "when playing fretless, the dots are my frets" and then I'm good to go![/quote]
That's me, too... I gigged it pretty much straight away without too much trouble.

Mind you - up at the top, where the margin of error is less, can get tricky pretty easily.

Edited November 11, 2009 by wateroftyne

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='651747' date='Nov 11 2009, 04:28 PM']That's me, too... I gigged it pretty much straight away without too much trouble.

Mind you - up at the top, where the margin of error is less, can get tricky pretty easily. [/quote]
Yeah, don't go up there is my motto. It's asking for trouble. I don't even go there with frets.

[mrcrow]

[quote name='henry norton' post='648300' date='Nov 7 2009, 07:17 PM']Just curious but what type of board do you prefer; lined, marked (with harmonic positions where the fret would be), or good old plain unmarked?

And why, of course![/quote]

my only fretless was ebony board with side dots at the 'frets'

i got it fretted and the luthier put on a zero fret so that the dots were then not in line with the frets

if i got another..and i really do fancy one again..i would go for fretlines...dots arent reliable as they dont cater for parallax looking up the neck

[fatback]

[quote]dots arent reliable as they dont cater for parallax looking up the neck[/quote]

You're right there. On the rare occasions I find myself at tha altitude, I love my lines.

fatback

[BigRedX]

That's why my preferred option is dots on the side at positions 1,3,5,7,9,12,15,17,19,21,24 and a subtle dot on the fingerboard between the two highest strings from the octave upwards.

[Dr.Dave]

I can't play well on a lined fretless - don't know why.

So - unlined , side dots where the frets would be at 3 , 5 , 7 , 9 , 12 etc which my eyes use as a guide rather than a rule. I like rosewood for no real reason I can think of. I use either flats or half wounds , currently the latter.

You really do need to use your ears , that's what I've found. My eyes are locked on as a sort of habitual safety blanket I think which I probably don't need much.