- Thread starter jlepre
- Start date
mathewsanchez
Well-known member
Because it's missing a string..
Um... 1.. 2.. 3.... 4! PERFECT!
Who needs five strings?
(I have to admit your SR5s do look awesome. I might get one in a couple of years but for now i'm a four string guy.)
bradfordws
Well-known member
You actually can see the lines on the top edge of the board since they are slots into the board. I have a fretless Tobias that was converted from fretted and I use those lines on the top edge for sure. I have a MM Sterling 5 fretless on order - with lines. Hey, Jaco had lines AND dots! OK, he had no choice back then - and had to make it into a fretless himself. I think Jaco could've played just fine without lines though. For me, I don't play fretless on many tunes, so when I do pick it up for that one tune per set, I need all the help I can get because playing out of tune on a fretless is no good.
lpdeluxe
Well-known member
My virtual $0.02: my first fretless bass had lines, and I discovered that they really annoyed me. I've been playing Dobro, lap steel and pedal steel for years so I guess I was conditioned to go with my ear.
I traded off the lined fretless, and got an unlined one. It has side dots where the III, V, VII, IX, XII and XV frets would be, but that's not enough. I bought a roll of silver pinstriping tape at a local auto parts store and cut little squares out of it, which I then wrapped over the edge of the fingerboard; I added Sharpie dots exactly where the fret would be. Now I have the look of unlined, but I don't set everyone's teeth on edge!
I have seen fretless basses with lines only on the edge of the fingerboard (look sort of like fret ends) and that looks like the solution.
For me, after a month of playing my unlined fretless, I'm ready to sell my fretted basses. Anybody wanna trade their unlined SR5?
I traded off the lined fretless, and got an unlined one. It has side dots where the III, V, VII, IX, XII and XV frets would be, but that's not enough. I bought a roll of silver pinstriping tape at a local auto parts store and cut little squares out of it, which I then wrapped over the edge of the fingerboard; I added Sharpie dots exactly where the fret would be. Now I have the look of unlined, but I don't set everyone's teeth on edge!
I have seen fretless basses with lines only on the edge of the fingerboard (look sort of like fret ends) and that looks like the solution.
For me, after a month of playing my unlined fretless, I'm ready to sell my fretted basses. Anybody wanna trade their unlined SR5?
I knew a girl who had such perfect pitch, she could tell you how many cents you were off when you played a note for her.
It was indeed more a curse than a blessing; she quit music because listening for her was often torture. I would love to make the jump to unlined, but am content playing my lined fretless.
They both sound the same, why worry?
