Fretless Bass?

[Staff]

I saw a little ad for one of these on Musician's Friend. How does this fretless contraption work?

[lunchbox]

Fretless basses are way cool....but I would suggest not getting one if it is going to be your first bass - you will see them used a lot in jazz combos when the bass player is using an electric bass as opposed to a stand up or upright bass...there are no fret markings or frets on the neck - you have to have a very good ear to stay in tune with other musicians....they are much harder to play and require a whole extra set of bass skills to be proficiant on one......again if it is your first bass or will be your only bass I would suggest starting off with a standard fretted bass......check out Les on any Primus album and you will hear some of the killer sounds these basses produce....played in a very "extreme" fassion.

[13noon]

"there are no fret markings or frets on the neck"
all the fretless basses i've seen have position markers on the side of the neck.

[Staff]

I was just wondering how it could play different notes without having any frets.

[Zeppelinfan13]

It's just like a viola or violin, the sounds comes from the string on it's own mostly, i think frets just tell you where to put your fingers. hope that helps:D

[FleaBass]

oo man frettless basses so kick ass. i saw this jazz dude once with a double necked fretless bass. man he was so good at it 2. back and forth to each neck. slide after slide slap after slap. (that sounded totally wrong) but if ya know what your doin with a fretless you can really make some kick ass sounds and what not.


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[Super_smack1]

where on a fretted insturment the key of the note is generated by the string being shortened because it is pushed against a fret, a fretless bass is like a violin in that the finger itself is what shortens the amount of the string that vibrates and thus what kind of note it is. kind ahard to explain the mechanics of it...its just like a violin or standup bass

[Daledude2]

Originally posted by FleaBass
back and forth to each neck. slide after slide slap after slap. (that sounded totally wrong)


oh man :DF;jklsahf;lkjhsda'fjads HAHHA

[bassmaniac50]

There are plenty of fretless basses that have the fret lines,and dot markers inlaid to help keep you oriented. These are the only fretless basses that I can play without getting off key.
Side dots just don't give me enough reference.
I have a friend who plays a Fender Precision fretless,and he only has side dots on his.
He uses it as his main axe,and he plays in a rock band. He can do some amazing riffs,and gets sounds out of it,that are impossible on a fretted bass.

[FleaBass]

i think teh main advantage of a frettless is the sounds ya get when ya slide.... teh metal fret things (ccant think of teh name) arent there so ya can make some cool sound with differnt notes and what not.

pretty kick ass

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