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Fretless basses

one way needleone way needle Posts: 196
edited March 2005 in Musicians and Gearheads
I'm just curious as to what the differences are in sound and how they're played compared to regular basses. Are they harder? No doubt you have to be pretty good to play one well. Thanks for any info.
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=) wah wah waaaah!!! ..........viking banjo hits of the 70's!
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Comments

  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    one way needle wrote:
    I'm just curious as to what the differences are in sound and how they're played compared to regular basses. Are they harder? No doubt you have to be pretty good to play one well. Thanks for any info.


    not harder at all with the fretlines drawn on anyway, the sound is much different. smoother, legato if you will. It's a unique sound because you don't have the brightness that the frets add. I like them.

    Makes you want to do glissandos.
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • one way needleone way needle Posts: 196
    Ah thanks, didn't know about the fret lines on the neck. I know Jeff used fretless basses in their earlier albums, but does he still do now? Any examples of songs?
    (
    =) wah wah waaaah!!! ..........viking banjo hits of the 70's!
    (
  • All Those YesterdaysAll Those Yesterdays Posts: 2,723
    Another cool trick is to put flatwound strings on a fretted bass. Its a very cool sound (sort of fretless). A lot of the highs are gone, nice smooth low end tone, string noise is almost completely removed. I have it on my '62 reissue jazz bass, and its just fantastic with flat wounds. I believe Jeff does the same thing on the bass he used to record "I Am Mine" could be wrong, I didn't re look it up, but I believe its the song.
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  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Bumfuq, MT Posts: 6,395
    one way needle wrote:
    Ah thanks, didn't know about the fret lines on the neck. I know Jeff used fretless basses in their earlier albums, but does he still do now? Any examples of songs?


    He still uses fretless basses, although I don't think he uses it on newer stuff as much as he did back in the day. A lot of Riot Act was on a vintage fretted P-Bass (versus his older fretless Warmoths).

    I've been cutting apart my bass rig and selling it off to finance the studio, but when I get back on my feet I plan on getting a Line 6 Variax bass, which has a lot of options (including fretless). I'd also love to get a MIM Jazz Bass and put flatwounds on it, just use it for a kicker.
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • puremagicpuremagic Posts: 1,907
    mccreadyisgod wrote:
    to finance the studio,

    How's coming along?
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  • Pacomc79Pacomc79 Posts: 9,404
    mccreadyisgod wrote:
    He still uses fretless basses, although I don't think he uses it on newer stuff as much as he did back in the day. A lot of Riot Act was on a vintage fretted P-Bass (versus his older fretless Warmoths).

    I've been cutting apart my bass rig and selling it off to finance the studio, but when I get back on my feet I plan on getting a Line 6 Variax bass, which has a lot of options (including fretless). I'd also love to get a MIM Jazz Bass and put flatwounds on it, just use it for a kicker.


    FYI, the Variax bass is bad ass. I still wish I could see pickups but, the sounds are cool. It feels like a regular bass. Occasionally when no one is looking I like to go in to the bass room and play everything on the wall.

    *is ashamed*
    My Girlfriend said to me..."How many guitars do you need?" and I replied...."How many pairs of shoes do you need?" She got really quiet.
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Bumfuq, MT Posts: 6,395
    Pacomc79 wrote:
    FYI, the Variax bass is bad ass. I still wish I could see pickups but, the sounds are cool. It feels like a regular bass. Occasionally when no one is looking I like to go in to the bass room and play everything on the wall.

    *is ashamed*

    I went through the online demo on the web site, and I was completely blown away. And, as a guy who isn't a bass player, but who plays bass, I would love to have access to all those sounds without dropping $1000 per on each model (whereas, since I'm a guitar player, I can justify spending that much per on a few guitars). I'd get a vintage P-Bass, a vintage J-Bass, a Stingray, a Rickenbacker, a fretless J-Bass, and a Les Paul in one unit. And the sounds are DEFINITELY there. Maybe not the vibe or mojo, but at least the sounds. Now I just have to wait and see if Warmoth will come out with a P-Bass body and neck to fit the electronics into.

    Oh, and puremagic: The studio is up and running great, got all the bugs out, and have been recording an album (not mine, for a band I know) over the last month and a half. Taking a while, but the results so far are great. I'll be on the hunt for more gear within the next few months to round things out (a few more channels of preamp, an 8-channel compressor, more plugins for ProTools, and after that, mics and an Avalon DI) but it's going great so far!
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
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