Fretless fears subsided

[niceguyhomer]

I bought a Gary Willis fretless just a week ago and used it for the first time yesterday with the band at rehearsal. I was quaking a bit TBH - we have a top class violinist in our band and he'd been ribbing me a bit about it but I was surprised how I got on with it with very few cock-ups.

The band loved the sound with a bit of chorus in there, dunno why I was so nervous about fretless in the past, I had a lot of fun with it and it brought a new dimension to the band's sound.

[Bilbo]

Don't let violinists rib you abot intonation, ngh. They have no right to point that particular finger.

Definition of a minor ninth? A violin and fretless bass playing unison lines!!!

[Dom in Dorset]

Remember that when you play live the stage lighting may not be as good as in rehearsal. Trying playing your set in poor light conditions to make sure that you can play without looking.

[geoffbyrne]

I actually look at my fretless far less than I do on my ftretted.You just have to learn to trust your ears.

G.

[niceguyhomer]

I find I play better if I relax and stop staring at the fretboard and rely more on muscle memory.

[Beedster]

[quote name='geoffbyrne' post='774970' date='Mar 15 2010, 09:50 AM']I actually look at my fretless far less than I do on my ftretted.You just have to learn to trust your ears.

G.[/quote]

+1, odd but true, I look when i play fretted and listen when I play fretless. The thing with fretless is that if you cock up you can slide into the note without the obvious semitone pitch change, it's not the all-or-nothing intonation of fretted.

When I play gigs fretless I always have a far better idea of who's in the crowd!

C

[thepurpleblob]

I found that getting decent results on a fretless was a lot easier than I expected. Until I get past the 9th fret when it becomes a lot harder than I expected!!

[xilddx]

[quote name='Bilbo' post='774948' date='Mar 15 2010, 09:19 AM']Don't let violinists rib you abot intonation, ngh. They have no right to point that particular finger.

Definition of a minor ninth? A violin and fretless bass playing unison lines!!![/quote]