Fretless Bass: Is It For You?
As it's name suggests, a fretless bass guitar is simply a regular bass guitar without any frets. You might wonder why any sane individual would want to ditch those oh so convenient frets in favor of a wide open fretboard, but there are some good reasons to do this.
First of all, fretless basses have there own very unique sound. The most common fretless sound is often described as a "mwah" sound. This sound, heard in such places as the introduction to Pink Floyd's "Hey You," is very distinctive of a fretless bass, but is by no means the only sound it can produce. Players like Sting have used fretless basses successfully in a rock context, as well. Jaco Pastorious revolutionized the bass playing world with his brilliant work on a fretless bass with Weather Report. Pino Palladino has proven himself as a huge go to session guy, with much of his work being done on a fretless bass.
So, you understand that fretless basses sound different, but is that the only reason to play one? As it turns out, the fretless bass is actually capable being a very expressive instrument in the right hands, often more so than a fretted bass. Because you have no frets, you can provide a very precise control over the tone, pitch, and timber of each note. You can perform silky smooth legato slides, violin like vibrato, and many other unique expressive techniques that would not be possible on a fretted instrument.
Many would be fretless players worry about intonation. And its true, playing in tune does take a lot of practice. However, if you're diligent, its not impossible to learn by any means. It will take you some time, but unless you have severe pitch perception problems or coordination issues, you should be able to learn how to play the fretless bass in tune, given time and practice. Try not to let this be too big of a road block in your decision to play fretless bass.
I hope this has helped give you some idea of what you stand to gain from learning the fretless bass. If you're interested in purchasing one of these fine instruments, please check out our fretless bass product page. Thanks for visiting.
