Question Does anyone really need a Fretted bass?

[RitchieDarling]

i'm going to stand over here by rex.

+1

Actually, I'd love to have a double neck Sterling.

Fretted on top, fretless on the bottom.

And yellow..........

R

 

[ggunn]

+1

Actually, I'd love to have a double neck Sterling.

Fretted on top, fretless on the bottom.

And yellow..........

R

And a backbrace...

 

[MrMusashi]

you need a 25th.. fretted or fretless, its coming home with you no matter what

id love to check out a blank plank 25th! if its as vibrant as they say it must sing like angels in the fretless edition!!

MrM

 

[adouglas]

There are songs we do where a fretless (dare I say it - Bongo) would be perfect.

tbone

Dare. Definitely.

Any song that needs a fretless needs a piezo-equipped Bongo.

 

[Aussie Mark]

If I could play as well as Rick Danko, I could live with only a fretless. When I play my fretless I don't do any Jaco-tricks, I just play the same lines and runs I play on fretted, just like Ricky did (R.I.P.).

I never realised until just now how scarily similar these photos of Rick and I are, in terms of hand position etc .....

 

[Russel]

I'm going to stand over here by Rex.

Wait up!



I like the "idea" of a fretless bass.

But when it comes down to it, having slap as an articulation means a lot, as well as accurate intonation 100% of the time.

for those who can use them, mingus hit the nail on the head. har har

For those who can't, a fretted bass is a more effective, more reliable tool.

just my take.

 

[oli@bass]

Does anyone really need a Fretted bass?

Yes.



Different tones for different songs. Although I love the sound of my fretless 'Ray, I'd prefer the sound of the fretted for most of our material. Unfortunately I suck so bad at fretless, I can't play it at live shows anyways.

 

[Caca de Kick]

Totally depends on the song...some could be played on either, but some songs just have so much grit and edge to them that could only be done with frets.
I do love fretless...even spent one span of 3 years playing only fretless wether it fit or not, but went back when I mostly needed that edgy tone.

 

[adouglas]

Another Aussie Mark classic shirt!

Tell us...do those things hurt as much to wear as they do to look at?

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

I need the frets.

Both have their place but I don't actually need a fretless for any of the material I currently play.

 

[Deaj]

Frets for me too thanks!

 

[bizmarckie]

I need frets!

 

[EBMM7181]

I love frets

 

[Alvabass]

I play both fretted and fretless and I think that the presence/absence of those metal wires gives a completely different character to each instrument in spite of the fact that both share the same register, number of strings and scale length. Any player who deals with a wide array of styles should have both.

 

[oli@bass]

What Alvabass said, plus... I tend to play different lines and patterns, even in different register on a fretless.

 

[TheAntMan]

I play both fretted and fretless and I think that the presence/absence of those metal wires gives a completely different character to each instrument in spite of the fact that both share the same register, number of strings and scale length. Any player who deals with a wide array of styles should have both.

What Alvabass said, plus... I tend to play different lines and patterns, even in different register on a fretless.

+1 to both.

-- Ant

 

[ectoflanger]

Having one bass with frets can help verify what the notes of a song are (for composing and writing in standard notation) when all of your other basses are fretless.

 

[bradfordws]

I have 10 basses - only 1 is fretless, so yes - I need a fretted bass (basses)! I suppose if you play mainly jazz and blues, a fretless would be all you need. I play in several cover bands - one of them a disco band, so of course a fretless wouldn't work. Pino Palladino is the only cat I can think of, besides Jaco, who did some really cool stuff on a fretless. Like all those tunes with Paul Young, Don Henley and the "Lady in Red" track. I know there are many other players (Tony Levin, Tony Franklin), but I'm just talking about what comes to mind first for me. If you slap at all, a fretless is not gonna work. I only take the fretless if the tune requires it for a particular gig - like we recently did "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel - gotta have fretless on that one! Speaking of Pino, he's been back on the fretted P for a while now with John Mayer - and that's a blues gig! Why did he switch back to fretted? I'm a big fan of the Yellowjackets. Early on, Jimmy Haslip only played a fretted bass, then he switched to fretless as they got further away from the "pop-jazz" bag. So, I guess it depends on your mood, the music, and what you're listening to or studying that will influence if you play fretted or fretless. It's good to have both, but if I could only have one bass, it would be fretted - a Sterling 5HH fretted!

 

[five7]

Got to have both. It is a ying and yang thing!

 

[kylierider]

I like both too..For bar gigs which are louder I like a fretted because I wear earplugs. For a quieter church gig, resturant or quieter bar gig where ear plugs are not needed I prefer a fretless.