I ask because I've had a few fours over the years and have come across a relatively good deal on an upgraded Yamaha BB5 with a replacement ebony fretless board and I'm really tempted. I understand the 'main' issue with fretless is intonation, especially when you get into the higher registers and especially when there are no fretlines. As this instrument will primarily be me-sodding-around-at-home and me-recording-low-register-basslines-for-my-tracks I don't see these as a big problem, but it's entirely possible I'm just being an idiot and infact it's still a problem.
As an aside, if anyone could advise if this Yamaha BBG5 (RBX375 pickups, ebony fretboard) or a Squier Deluxe Fretless 5 is a better shot then I would appreciate it.
Thanks,
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Unlined is a bit more tricky to start, but lined actually needs playing off the line a little. Some lined players intonate on the 7th fret rather than 12th. The higher you go, the more off line you need to be.
Ive got unlined and I have side dots at 3,5,7,9 etc.
But I've added another at the 1st fret as if I get something wrong it's that F!
https://speakerimpedance.co.uk/?act=two_parallel&page=calculator
1 Play into a chromatic tuner for a while. This is frowned apon at Talkbass etc but IMHO it's a good initial ear trainer. Stop using it asap and get on with it. Which leads to...
2 get on with it. I'd had mine a fortnight when Mrs S said to me, you better use it out. So I took it and got through it somehow.
3 On the lower registers use muscle memory more than looking at the dots.
4 The notes bloom more on a fretless so use them.
5 Play a harmonic then fret it and slide it. People will think you are a real fretless player.
6 Dont listen to Jaco it's not good for the ego. I always liked Mik Kahn or that Graceland bloke.
https://speakerimpedance.co.uk/?act=two_parallel&page=calculator
You can go really silly on bass amps with EA EBS Glockenklang etc. I've owned and tried a lot of that in the past. The Markbass stuff tends to be more value IMHO.
This is a shot of the bass I'm hoping to collect on Friday:
https://twitter.com/WilliamAyerst/status/805096479056658434
Nil Satis Nisi Optimum
Well, I've always wanted to try, for one - and I enjoy the sound i.e.:
And maybe that's why the vast majority of string players, across the world and for the last couple of hundred years, have played fretless instruments.
* Yes, I know Palladino and Sklar both often play fretless, but even when they play a fretted bass they can get the same smoothness and control. The bastards.
And @Mart I know that string players use unfretted instruments. @Sporky from this parish plays the Cello. My brother-in-laws daugher is learning the violin. If the answer to 'why' is for the musical freedom playing a bass, that no frets grants you, then fine. Just say so.
I never heard of Palladino or Sklar. I tried looking them up but........ I presume they are bass players. Please suggest an album that they or one of them played on. Not a solo album*, they are usually shit, but an album of decent music that showcases their talents.
* My aversion to solo albums is mainly due to not liking the sound of most instruments when played solo. With the exception of piano, church organ, uilleann pipes and the occasional flamenco guitar, most solo instrumentals are more technique based than musical. Not casting aspersions on your musical choices, this is how I see/hear it.
Nil Satis Nisi Optimum
To some extent I share your views about solo instruments. Apart from classical guitar there aren't many instruments I like the sound of on their own, and a solo album does tend to come across as a boast about technique rather than something designed to be listened to.
If you want to hear Lee Sklar at his best, then listen to him playing on an album you like. There's hundreds listed here:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leland_Sklar#Selected_albums
And similarly for Pino Palladino: pick any of these:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pino_Palladino#Discography_.28selected.29
My personal favourites are his playing on Paul Young's No Parlez and Tears for Fears's The Seeds of Love, but you probably have other tastes. I'll be amazed if there aren't albums you know and love that feature one or the other of them.
Having said that, the gentlemen who was due to sell me the instrument recorded a demo and wow, he's quite out of tune a few times. Hopefully I can focus myself to make it work.
Nil Satis Nisi Optimum
Sklar has played on over 2000 albums.
Pino came to fame on Paul Young's "Wherever I lay my hat" tune. While these days it sounds a bit cliche, it was one of the first, if not the first pop tune to mix with the bass that far forward in the mix to make the first half of the tune a duet between vocal and bass.
He used a fretless stingray for that.
He famously thought the production guys were mad and that it would never sell with the bass that high. It sold by the truck load and his phone has been ringing since.
https://speakerimpedance.co.uk/?act=two_parallel&page=calculator