Linus27

I've only had a very quick go on one and I wasn't a fan. Saying that, after playing fretless only for so many years, I find fretted basses tricky these days as the frets and dots seem to just make everything look messy. I actually had to sell my 75RI Jazz as it also had blocks and binding which really confused my head. I also play a lot in the dusty end and a lot of melodic bass lines so that probably doesn't help. I've found playing fretted, I see the notes and the places to fret but with a fretless, you look at the board and see shapes and lines, its a totally different way to look at the fretboard and I'm just used to that way now.

What's the best way to dirty up the back of a neck to make it look more used, any tips?

Unless things take a dramatic turn, I can see my 2025 GAS list being quite small. I'm very happy with my fretless basses and can't really see the need to get anything else or improve on what I have. I'm also very happy with my pedals but there are some I'd still like to try which are, Strymon Cloudburst MXR Script 90 Phaser I do have a bit of a love/hate relationship with my MarkBass LM IV and Barefaced Two10 rig. Some days I'm super happy with it and other days not. I'm actually really tempted to get a Fender Rumble 800 combo as every time I played through one, its sounded mega. So we shall see.

My favourite album is The Unforgettable Fire, closely followed by The Joshua Tree and War. This performance is incredible for a song they have really struggled to nail live.

He did play fretless on the video for Night and Day but its probably just for looks rather than actual.

I agree, it does a little but I just watched a live recording of it and it seems like its either the Edge playing those little slide parts or its a backing track.

Nope, no fretless on U2 I'm afraid. Adam also played a 51 P Bass occasionally and a Thunderbird but not really as a live instrument.

Another thing Adam uses on a regular basis is a Moog Taurus but it may be a bit overkill 😂

Here's our new EP from The Tim Shez Band with myself playing fretless on all 6 tracks. https://open.spotify.com/album/1iGP6xQ9PXYQlBKZzdo2OA?si=VuSVGEG5RS21FW2-DBJDDQ

Here's our new EP from The Tim Shez Band with myself playing fretless on all 6 tracks. https://open.spotify.com/album/1iGP6xQ9PXYQlBKZzdo2OA?si=VuSVGEG5RS21FW2-DBJDDQ

@police squad Another thing to remember is if you are playing to the original album recording, some of the earlier songs are tuned slightly different. I think from memory U2 used to tune down in the earlier days. I thought I'd mention in case it throws you out a bit.

Here you go. I actually put them into one playlist to make it easier. Please note that the quality is not great as most are about 15 years old before we had fancy GoPro's or iPhones etc. However, you can here the basslines, especially with headphones. I defy anyone to say Angel of Harlem is not a great fun little bassline as well 😂

No not really. In the early days he used to use a little chorus live on stuff around the War period (New Years Day) but generally no. He does like a bit of overdrive and has a Big Muff pedal but its used to add some grit mid range. He's a big fan of Ampeg but favours Ashdown as it gives him more control over his sound. He generally goes for a big fat bass sound which is typical P- Bass with an Ampeg/Ashdown with some drive behind it. He also uses a pick on the more driving stuff.

I actually played in a very good U2 tribute band. I only came in as a dep but as I know all the bass lines like the back of my hand, I ended up replacing their main bass player who was then moved to keyboards 😂 I took up bass after seeing U2 at Live Aid and after seeing Adam Clayton strutting around stage looking super cool, I thought I want a piece of that 😂 So I have literally learnt to play note for note their entire earlier back catalogue. I was also fortunate enough to be signed at one point and our producer was the super talented Mark Wallis who produced the It Bites album, Travis albums along with U2's Joshua Tree B Sides and who was also the studio engineer on the album. Being a huge U2 fan, I naturally spent a lot of time talking to him about U2. The thing he said about Adam Clayton is that yes, a lot of the song are driving 8's but his timing is impeccable. If you study his playing note for note, every one is spot on in time whereas most other bassist waver out of time playing repeated notes in that way. It makes him an incredibly solid bass player and could literally go into the studio, lay down the bass line perfectly first time. He also knows he can play way more elaborate or complicated bass lines and has in the past, however he very much plays what serves the song and leaves the space for The Edge to do his thing. @police squad That's a great set, pretty much exactly what I played. You might want to suggest the song Stay (Faraway, So Close) to your band mates. Bonus is it's a cracking little bass line in the same style as One and All I Want Is You. Give me a shout if you're struggling with any of them (I very much doubt it), I used to get asked how to play U2 basslines so I've got a bunch of YouTube videos on how to play them or can just record them again. I also might have a nice P- Bass for sale soon lol

The other option is the Warwick Adam Clayton signature. Its a cheap option as only about £700 and would make a good backup or an alternate bass for certain sets or sets.

I've always wanted one of these, I love the look of them and I believe they also sound really good. I have heard they are quite heavy though?

I know exactly what you mean as I've recently moved to the double bass. All that I can do is try and look interesting and occasionally tilt my head and shoulders over the body when playing high up to make it look like I am doing something magical 🤣

I'm not 100% but I think I pretty much have one of the stand legs in front of my right leg so that my right leg is between two stand legs. The main thing is as long as the stand leg isn't in my way then that's all I'm aiming for.

The way I set the stand is to open the legs on the tripod and lock that in place. I then slide the inner part of the stand upwards so its high enough that I can touch the bottom ridge bit with the tip of my thumb and with my fingers outstretched, the top ridge with the tip of my little finger. That way, the first fretting position is in line with my eye line. Hopefully that makes sense. I'm 5ft 9.5" so you might need to raise or lower depending on your height. Make sure you look at the stand and bass attached from behind as you can see if its straight or crooked on the stand as well. As for the angle, I have it tilted back a little so I can see across the board a little, so maybe tilted back about 20 degrees.