View Full Version : how does a fretless work?
eirlisdrumer
10-30-2005, 12:00 PM
well i dont normally come here, but iv always wondered, how does a fretless work? i mean the way a string makes sound is that it makes contact with the fretbar, but a fretless has no fret bars does it? just curious, sorry if this has already been a thread
BassPlayingPineapple
10-30-2005, 12:02 PM
Well for a start the string doesn't make a sound by hitting the frets, it makes a sound through the pickups. So a fretless is just bascially the same but you get a much smoother tone because of the lack of frets.
Tryxx
10-30-2005, 12:02 PM
You're right, so it's instead it's making direct contact with the wood. This yields a completely different tone and feel to the bass. It opens you up to more techniques such as the glissando slide, and is usually considered more difficult to play because of the intonation. If you're finger is off just a bit, you're out of tune. You must play EXACTLY where the fretlines were.
Wintermute
10-30-2005, 12:03 PM
The sound is made by the vibration of the string, not by the impact with the fret.
The frets are there to regulate the length of vibrating string. Without frets you must regulate the length yourself, so fretless playing requires much more accuracy.
Tryxx
10-30-2005, 12:03 PM
Well for a start the string doesn't make a sound by hitting the frets, it makes a sound through the pickups. So a fretless is just bascially the same but you get a much smoother tone because of the lack of frets.
I'm sure by "sound" he means the note or pitch.
BassPlayingPineapple
10-30-2005, 12:06 PM
ah that makes much more sense, stupid me.
Chaos
10-30-2005, 12:50 PM
You're right, so it's instead it's making direct contact with the wood. This yields a completely different tone and feel to the bass. It opens you up to more techniques such as the glissando slide, and is usually considered more difficult to play because of the intonation. If you're finger is off just a bit, you're out of tune. You must play EXACTLY where the fretlines were.
what?
trumpeter
10-30-2005, 12:52 PM
glissando is hitting every note from one note to another
actually its the same on a fretted just sounds different.
Tryxx
10-30-2005, 12:52 PM
I hope I spelled that right, but whenever you slide between fretted notes, you go from one note, to the next halfstep. On a fretless you go through all the tones.
Guinpen
10-30-2005, 12:54 PM
what?
Glissando (plural: glissandi) is a musical term that refers to either a continuous sliding from one pitch to another (a "true" glissando), or an incidental scale played while moving from one melodic note to another (an "effective" glissando).
Musical instruments with continuously variable pitch can effect a true glissando over a substantial range. These include unfretted stringed instruments (such as the violin and some bass guitars), stringed instruments with a way of stretching the strings (such as a guitar), wind instruments without valves or stops (such as the trombone or slide whistle), electronic instruments (such as synthesizers and theremins), the water organ, and of course the human voice.
courtesy of wikipedia, nice in depth explanation
trumpeter
10-30-2005, 12:55 PM
i can gliss on trumpet....meh not a true gliss but thats what it is.
cicatrix mortiz
10-30-2005, 02:09 PM
without frets there is a smoother feel but it also diminishes the sustain of the note so there are some pros and cons
ps. im new here so don't treat me badly im just a curly haired mexican looking for friends
edgebass5
10-30-2005, 05:04 PM
The sound is made by the vibration of the string, not by the impact with the fret.
The frets are there to regulate the length of vibrating string. Without frets you must regulate the length yourself, so fretless playing requires much more accuracy.
Very well said :thumb:
Purple Alien
10-30-2005, 06:55 PM
how come no one likes lined fretless basses i think its good cause you know where all the notes are without having to guess all over the place
Mr_Soup
10-30-2005, 07:02 PM
Glissando (plural: glissandi) is a musical term that refers to either a continuous sliding from one pitch to another (a "true" glissando), or an incidental scale played while moving from one melodic note to another (an "effective" glissando).
Musical instruments with continuously variable pitch can effect a true glissando over a substantial range. These include unfretted stringed instruments (such as the violin and some bass guitars), stringed instruments with a way of stretching the strings (such as a guitar), wind instruments without valves or stops (such as the trombone or slide whistle), electronic instruments (such as synthesizers and theremins), the water organ, and of course the human voice.
courtesy of wikipedia, nice in depth explanation
Heh, I play trombone...
AND I just got a new fretless.
Mr_Soup
10-30-2005, 07:03 PM
how come no one likes lined fretless basses i think its good cause you know where all the notes are without having to guess all over the place
Lots of people play lined fretlesses... one of Les Claypool's fretlesses is lined, and I'm pretty sure Jaco's jazz was...
edgebass5
10-30-2005, 07:13 PM
how come no one likes lined fretless basses i think its good cause you know where all the notes are without having to guess all over the place
purely an aesthetic/cosmetic issue.
Some people think playing a lined fretless is "cheating", I guess.
AcerbicCunnt77
10-30-2005, 08:53 PM
why not make wooden frets?
bass&cookies
10-30-2005, 09:43 PM
the pressure would put indentions in them, and rounds would tear them up
Yeah, basically they would wear down easily over time, especially if you were using rounds. I guess it might work with flats, but they would have to be made out of a very strong type of wood.
Guinpen
10-30-2005, 10:42 PM
Yeah, basically they would wear down easily over time, especially if you were using rounds. I guess it might work with flats, but they would have to be made out of a very strong type of wood.
perhaps the same kind of wood that they make fretless fretboards out of? :p
Tryxx
10-30-2005, 10:43 PM
Danny, my boy, we don't spam outside the casual while I'm online. :thumb:
irishslappop
10-30-2005, 10:44 PM
Danny, my boy, we don't spam outside the casual while I'm online. :thumb:
oh.... ok
perhaps the same kind of wood that they make fretless fretboards out of? :p
The fretboard is one solid piece though, I don't know how a single small piece of wood the size of a fret would hold up against the pressure of a string.
:amaze:
10-30-2005, 10:47 PM
perhaps the same kind of wood that they make fretless fretboards out of? :p
A string constantly being pressed onto a small sliver of wood would definately mess it up ... even string woods
:amaze:
Riouken
10-30-2005, 11:02 PM
You can sitll do a glissando slide on a fretted bass. You can do one on a piano too.
Fretless allows you to do a more smooth portamento without any fretbuzz though.
Guinpen
10-30-2005, 11:11 PM
A string constantly being pressed onto a small sliver of wood would definately mess it up ... even string woods
:amaze:
doesn't necessarily has to be a small sliver, it just has to end at the right spot
Naminator
10-31-2005, 04:12 PM
If you plan on going fretless don't ever slap with roundwounds, i chipped away the whole rosewood fretboard of a friends go flatwounds
neal_672
10-31-2005, 04:14 PM
It's perfectly fine to slap on a fretless with a slap plate to protect the ferboard. It would sound dull and lifeless without it anyway...
Akira
10-31-2005, 04:16 PM
Lots of people play lined fretlesses... one of Les Claypool's fretlesses is lined, and I'm pretty sure Jaco's jazz was...
But Jaco defretted his own bass, he played fretless long before fretless J-basses were made (I think).
Chris K
10-31-2005, 04:20 PM
how come no one likes lined fretless basses i think its good cause you know where all the notes are without having to guess all over the place
I was urged to start playing fretless on an unlined bass, to develop my intonation skills rather than relying on lines...now, I find this has worked to my advantage, I can play both lined and unlined fretless basses with ease.
I'd never consider a lined fretless bass since I think it's just ugly.
FREAKofNATURE
10-31-2005, 04:22 PM
Ya, Jaco's bass was not made a fretless. He ripped the frets out and filled them with resin and since the resin wasn't the same color the space where the frets would be, it stood out giving the appearance of a lined fretless.
gjbassist
10-31-2005, 04:22 PM
Lots of people play lined fretlesses... one of Les Claypool's fretlesses is lined, and I'm pretty sure Jaco's jazz was...
Jaco's bass was probably lined because he pulled the frets out of a fretted bass and filled in the empty spots with wood filler, which differed in color from the fretboard. I found this in an online article about him:
"The fretless was actually a fretted bass the previous owner removed the frets from and had done a bad job of it. Jaco, who had a background in repairing broken instruments, bought the bass and used wood filler to fill in the grooves where the frets had been, sanded down the fingerboard, and applied several coats of marine epoxy to keep the rough Rotosound roundwound bass strings he used from eating into the bare wood. Even though he played both the fretted and the fretless basses frequently, Jaco preferred the fretless, because he felt frets were a hinderance, once calling them "speed bumps.""
neal_672
10-31-2005, 04:23 PM
I was urged to start playing fretless on an unlined bass, to develop my intonation skills rather than relying on lines...now, I find this has worked to my advantage, I can play both lined and unlined fretless basses with ease.
I'd never consider a lined fretless bass since I think it's just ugly.
123
Mine's unlined and it's helped me no end with my intonation and general playing skill :thumb:
Chris K
10-31-2005, 04:24 PM
123
Mine's unlined and it's helped me no end with my intonation and general playing skill :thumb:
and it's a damn fine fretless we play :thumb:
thelowsoundofbass
10-31-2005, 04:28 PM
i like my lined fretless, but i have good enough intonation that i can sit down and play an unlined. i don't have to look at the fretboard at all. i can go from playing in first and hit the correct intonation at the 19th fret without looking if i have to
lowsound
LewsTherin
10-31-2005, 04:30 PM
If you plan on going fretless don't ever slap with roundwounds, i chipped away the whole rosewood fretboard of a friends go flatwounds
not true.
i have a fretless with a rosewood fingerboard that ive had rounds on for a while, and i slap all the time (and i slap hard), and i tap, and do everything youre "not supposed" to do on a fretless with rounds on, and i have absolutely no damage on my fingerboard.
peeted
10-31-2005, 05:01 PM
i can gliss on trumpet....meh not a true gliss but thats what it is.
not even by just useing your lips?
LedZeppFan83
10-31-2005, 05:07 PM
- I'm not exactly sure how they work. But i played one before, and it sounds really cool when playing it with slap.
Chris K
10-31-2005, 05:09 PM
- I'm not exactly sure how they work. But i played one before, and it sounds really cool when playing it with slap.
yeah, slap is awesome on fretless...sounds a little different, but it's cool
*hats off to you, Mr Manring!
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