Fretless

L

Lowly

Joined
Oct 2, 2007
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Hi all, I'm looking to add to my Warwick collection, and I'm looking for some opions. I'm intersted in purchasing a fretless bass, and I was curious about your expriences with them. I'm most interested in how difficult you find it to switch between your standard bass and a fretless. Any additional information would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

the Lowly bassist.
 
I found it very easy. With a good ear and good technique it shouldn't be too hard to intonate. Nothing you can't do with some practice!
I prefer fretless to fretted; I feel it has a fuller sound and is more musical.
 
thanks for the reply. I've played around on a fretless a few times, but nothing substantial enough to warrent an opinion. I like the sound on them, seems much more warm and full, but again that was only with limited playing time.
 
Fretless bass sounds really good......................but it's just totally not me..... :? I've played once, which was fun, but oh boy, I was sweating like a pig because I wasn't used to it. :lol: For the time being..............no fretless for me (and I'll save some cash too). 8)
 
Im also saving for a fretless... its good to play em' as a bass player just expanding your horizons...
 
Initially I wanted to go BIG, and get an upright. Sadly... those are very expensive, and I do believe my wife would kill me. :shock:
 
you can get a christopher upright for like 2000$... they are hands down the best laminite top uprights on the market.
 
My switch to fretless was very smooth and easy. I actually find it easier to play fretless and decided about a year ago that I would not go back to playing fretted basses. I love the tone of fretless and the versatility.

Good luck in your search.
 
I'm keeping a beady eye open for a fretless RockBass. Great quality, great price, and if it don't work out I'm not into it for thousands of bones.
 
I've only played bass a little more than 2 years. About a year into it, I picked up a Dean fretless. It sounded ok in the stare and I could afford it, but I soon found it lacked "mwah" and I just couldn't get the hang of it.

Later on, I got GAS for a fretless again, but decided to do it right and get a Warwick. What a difference it made! Turns out, you need a good, well-setup instrument if you want fretless to be a smooth transition! And guess what? Warwick fits the bill better than most. :D

I now have two Corvette Std. fretless 4's and a Thumb Dirty Blonde 4 that was de-fretted. People at my church love my fretless tone better than the fretted - I must be doing something right, because your audience will be the first to let you know if you're out of tune/intonation!

Go for a Warwick fretless, put some practice getting ear/hand coordination (feel the fingerboard positions where you play in tune), and have fun with it. It's quite addictive! 8)
 
This isnt aimed at you personally Mark,but in my experience,the audience are the last to know if something's not right.Then again,all of the audiences I've ever played in front of were mostly pissed to the eyeballs. :lol:

*edit.
Pissed as in drunk,not angry. :wink:
 
I play fretless all the time now, and it's become part of my playing style. Even playing rock music, I've only had compliments and no complaints from anyone! Like Greg says, I've never had a member of the audience coming up and saying "I've got perfect pitch and your intonation is not quite right". Read an article saying that if you don't practice your intonation (and you have to)... you are the first to notice... then the band... and THEN the audience!
 
Fretless is tons of fun, and then some!

But you do have to practice a lot to get good...
 
If you only have fretless then you have no choice but to practice. Sometimes I'm tempted to get a fretted and get down to some serious slappin' .... but maybe that's just an excuse to buy another bass!
 
I'm with Doog,
Get yourself a Rockbass fretless, you'll have loads of fun for minimal outlay.
I love the sound of a good fretless & find them more expressive. Also the very way you approach fretless basslines will expand your creativity.
Have fun & enjoy.....

Makes me wanna track down a 5 string rockbass myself & dig out my Jaco albums! :D
 
Difficulty with fretless bass is subjective. Most people aren't going to play at Jaco's level, and don't need to. I like to switch-off. I'll play nothing but fretless for a month or two, then pick up a fretted bass -- and wow, my technique will be better -- more accurate, better executed.

As for uprights, tough call. Standard or 3/4 scale on an upright is still pretty long. Consider a NS Design EUB -- I have one and it's great. I've heard the 'entry-level' NS Design EUB, the WAV, is quite good.
 
For an upright there's no real reason for getting a full size as opposed to getting a 3/4. The sound is a bit bigger but barely noticeable
 
I got my first fretless about 6 months ago and haven't really played my fretted since. The feel on fretless is so much nicer (to me atleast) :D . Of course you need to pay a little more attention when playing but i find it just to be a good thing
 
I'm pretty much 95% fretless for the last 7 or so years. I love fretless, I love the sound, the feel and everything about it. There are a few things that you can't do on fretless like slap, well you can do it but it sounds different and it kind of marks up your fretboard a bit but other then that it's all good. I have 2 Warwick fretless basses as you can see and an old Gibson G3 4 string that's been all reworked. In my opinion, and I've said it before on different posts, there is no better sounding fretless bass then a Warwick Thumb. BO or neck through, there is no bass that's got that sound. I get so many compliments from people on the sound. I've practiced a lot with it too and my suggestion is that you leave your fretted bass at home for about 6 months and just play fretless, you will develop your sound and your intonation will get pretty good too. And finally, save your money and buy a Warwick fretless, you'll never regret it.
Rock on my friend.

LR
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top