Barks Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 My best bass is a fretless 78 Precision that has been modified with EMG P and J pickups. Sound is really great and a lot better than my fretted bass. I would like to use this bass more with my band on gigs (funky pop, rock, covers) but don't know if I can pull it off. I would appreciate any ideas and thoughts anyone might have on whether it would work on the material we play. Or are there some pitfalls I might encounter that I haven't thought of yet!!? p.s. Saw the posts re Christian McBride - now he could do it! Saw a show at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival in the UK last year and his fretless was the best bass sound I ever heard at any gig. 'The most important thing is to settle on a bass then commit to it. Get to know your bass inside and out and play it in every situation you can.' Marcus Miller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 Originally posted by Barks: [QB]I would like to use this bass more with my band on gigs (funky pop, rock, covers) but don't know if I can pull it off. I would appreciate any ideas and thoughts anyone might have on whether it would work on the material we play. Or are there some pitfalls I might encounter that I haven't thought of yet!!? QB]The only obvious sonic 'problems' with fretless basses is that they struggle (even more) to cut through loud guitars, due to the less clanky top-end and smoother attack. Stylistically, I don't think its an issue - fretless basses have been used for everything from death metal to smooth jazz. The real issue is can you play it in tune? Alex P.S. Whose intonation is perfect on his own, but when other musicians join in it gets a little bit funky... Barefaced Ltd - ultra lightweight, high ouput, toneful bass cabs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcr Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 Yes, intonation really is the big issue. If you can play every riff in your set in tune at tempo, then it shouldn't be a problem. Your fretless doesn't always have to "sound fretless"; you can use different EQ settings & (most of all) playing techniques to get a more "fretted" sound when you want it. Sometimes it's fun to play really straight & then, for emphasis at just the right moment, bust out with a dose o' "mwah" to liven things up. It's in your hands. (That said, I do find that on my Sterling I get more mwah in series mode than in parallel, fwiw.) For me, one thing I'm still getting used to is the somewhat delayed attack (hence "mwah") of the fretless. At present, it takes more concentration for me to put out tight, funky grooves on a few certain songs on my fretless than on my fretted basses. I can do it, but it would take me a lot more dedicated time on fretless to get to where grooving is as natural as on a fretted. YMMV. Make it work for ya! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendan Orr Posted April 14, 2003 Share Posted April 14, 2003 yeah I would like to echo what dcr said. With my Peavey Axcellerator, I can get a pretty sweet solid "fretted-like" tone by setting the pickup selector to 100% neck pickup, then cranking bass and reducing the treble (50% is pretty good for me). groove, v. Inflected Form(s): grooved; groov·ing transitive senses:1a.to make a groove in;1b.to join by a groove;2.to perfect by repeated practice;3.to throw (a pitch) in the groove intransitive senses:1.to become joined or fitted by a groove;2.to form a groove;3.to enjoy oneself intensely;4.to interact harmoniously - groov·er noun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abaguer Posted April 15, 2003 Share Posted April 15, 2003 Don't use vibrato. Just play the lines the way you would on elec. If you're having trouble cutting through or it sounds too fretlessy, try raising the action a little. I played in a classic rock/top 40 band about 15 years ago and I had a lined fretless precision. No one knew it was a fretless for about 6 months until I did some sliding harmonics while noodling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ren. Posted April 15, 2003 Share Posted April 15, 2003 I've been using my fretless Fender Jazz in rehearsals. Even though it's been nice, I'd never use it exclusively during a concert. I actually play some sets with a Yamaha RBX6JM. But, hey, that's just me! Who Put The ' M ' In MySpace? don\'t_click | day_job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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