fretless situations

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='Gareth Hughes' post='957034' date='Sep 15 2010, 11:27 AM']The other tough thing to deal with, even if your intonation is correct, is playing with a guitar player with a slightly out of tune guitar - or with an in-tune guitar that just had a capo put on and has shifted everything sharp a little. When this happens on more than a few songs on a gig, that's when I begin to wish I'd brought a fretted.[/quote]

Best of all is trying to play fretless bass in a band built around a slide player. You end up using new definitions of "in tune".

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='957692' date='Sep 15 2010, 09:02 PM']Best of all is trying to play fretless bass in a band built around a slide player. You end up using new definitions of "in tune".[/quote]
Agreed, that can get quite spicy.

[thisnameistaken]

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='957692' date='Sep 15 2010, 09:02 PM']Best of all is trying to play fretless bass in a band built around a slide player. You end up using new definitions of "in tune".[/quote]

The other weekend I had the opportunity of playing double bass with other double bassists for the first (and probably only) time.

It's amusing when you've got six basses all bowing the same long note. If one person is slightly out - because the hardest instrument to hear is the one you're standing behind (ie: your own) - you instantly think it's you, and adjust your fingering. So one person plays out of tune and all six instinctively try to compensate! Very funny.

[Chris2112]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='957690' date='Sep 15 2010, 09:00 PM']Boy In The Bubble, Graceland and Diamonds all sound pretty good on double bass too. [/quote]

Hmm, I love those songs but I hate double bass so I think I would have to pass on that!

It's a shame as I've got a lovely fretless (my Alembic Epic 5 string) but I just don't play it all that much at the moment! The band is focusing a lot on a sort of early Level 42 funk fusion thing (which I love, it's what the band is about) but fretless has no place there!

[thisnameistaken]

I haven't had a fretless for about a year - I sold my Stingray last summer - but tbh I never used it for that familiar fretless sound anyway, I smothered it in synthy effects and used it to make unpleasant dance music noises.

I don't do any of that any more so I got rid of it, and I've got so into DB I doubt I'll buy another fretless, despite playing it exclusively for many years.

[Chris2112]

Just a couple of months ago I was playing fretless about 80% of the time. It's fantastic being in the studio when you can use one, knowing that if you fluff a line you can go back and perfect it! However, fretted basses are taking over and my slap chops are being wheeled out again! It's a big circle and I keep going round and round it!

[tauzero]

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='957692' date='Sep 15 2010, 09:02 PM']Best of all is trying to play fretless bass in a band built around a slide player. You end up using new definitions of "in tune".[/quote]
The definition of a minor second is a fretless and a trombone playing in unison.

[chris_b]

Don't worry. Just play what you want to play, the way you want to play it.

[Conan]

[quote name='chris_b' post='963044' date='Sep 21 2010, 10:03 AM']Don't worry. Just play what you want to play, the way you want to play it.[/quote]

This.

[Jase]

I personally think that there is too much emphasis put on "intonation" fretless works in any type of music.

[Rich]

This morning a mate sent me a rough mp3 of a tune he'd like me to play bass on. I've listened to it a couple of times and had wondered about going fretless for it... having read this thread, I reckon I definitely will now