argm Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 (edited) Do you have a Fretless and/or an acoustic bass and how often do you use them? Just curious. Edited August 17, 2011 by argm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linus27 Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Yes and yes. The fretless is an ESP 400 series Jazz which I use all the time including gigs. I also have a Warwick and Stringray fretless. I also have a Washburn AB10 acoustic bass which I use at home but have not ventured out to a gig yet. I play in an acoustic band so it would work perfect but the G string is too quiet and a lot of my bass lines would loose out if the G string could not be heard. I do plan on getting this sorted, either by taking it to a luthier or trying a heavier guage string. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisd24 Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 yes and yes....and sadly i was literally just looking at them both and wondering if the lack of time i seem to give them and the lack of space i have might be an indication to move them on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelk27 Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Fretless electric? Tick. Fretless acoustic? Tick. How often played? Well, play the fretless versions more often than their ftretted cousins. It's more fun without frets! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Yes and yes here as well. Fretless Fender JB and a Tanglewood acoustic that I use as a quick 'grab it at 2am' thing so I don't upset the neighbours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stingray5 Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Three fretless's (fretlii?) - all electric. MusicMan Stingray, Westone Thunder 2 (see my sig), both played semi-regularly, plus a Tokai Jazz with a broken rod. (Was fretted but had a luthier convert it to fretless and fix the rod enough to be playable. Just needs to be kept lightly strung but sounds superb. One electro-acoustic - just an Aria AMB-50. Fretted but sounds decent. Would prefer fretless so may get rid for the Takamine I wanted in the first place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhysP Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 I have a fretless but don't have, or any interest in having, an acoustic bass of any kind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfalex v1.1 Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Had a 'Ray5 fretless. Lovely bass, but didn't get used enough. Sold it on. I have an (Electro)Acoustic Ovation. Likely to be sold on. Looks/Sounds/Feels fine, but can't match Acoustic Guitars unamplified. When using at higher levels with a drummer etc. It becomes somewhat prone to feedback... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom in Dorset Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 I have an Ibanez acoustic, was my main bass for a while (playing mostly folky stuff). They seem to be difficult to record with, never quite sitting comfortably in the mix. I still use it but just for informal jamming, probably always have one but,if times got hard I'd trade the Ibanez for a cheaper one. Home made acoustic fretless: Also a one time main bass, mostly used for practicing/late night noodling, wouldn't be without it but not gigged anymore. Twin neck (fretted/fretless) : my gigging bass, used in two completely different bands, both necks 50/50. I suspect that most people would get more from a fretless than an acoustic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 I do have a fretless, my Iceni Zoot bass. I don't play it as much as a my fretted basses but that is mainly down to the stuff I play. I do love it though. Carbon fibre neck too, yum yum! As for acoustic basses, I've never really been that thrilled with them and the fretless acoustic basses I've played have never really impressed me. Maybe I just need to find a better one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Fretless P, play it fairly often. Acoustic bass... nah. I've owned a couple, but they always seem to be dogs to play, and are totally hopeless unless you plug them in. Whereupon they become almost totally hopeless. They're an early 90s hangover from MTV unplugged, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Fretless basses - I have lots. Although they don't get any use in my current bands because they don't suit the music we're playing the majority of songs in my previous 3 bands were played on a fretless bass. By acoustic bass do you mean the thing that looks like an acoustic guitar but with bass strings and scale length? If so personally I can't see the point. Apart from a couple of very specialised exceptions they are too quiet to use unamplified for anything other than home practice (there's a reason why the double bass is so big) and once you plug them in you might as well use a normal electric bass as it will sound better and be less prone to feedback. The only reason to have an acoustic bass in a band setting is for the looks and I doubt I'll be joining an acoustic look band any time soon. Oh and don't get me started on everything that is wrong about "unplugged"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 [quote name='Chris2112' post='1343958' date='Aug 18 2011, 07:52 AM']I do have a fretless, my Iceni Zoot bass. I don't play it as much as a my fretted basses but that is mainly down to the stuff I play. I do love it though. Carbon fibre neck too, yum yum! As for acoustic basses, I've never really been that thrilled with them and the fretless acoustic basses I've played have never really impressed me. Maybe I just need to find a better one.[/quote] [b]This is sex for your eyes....absolutely beautiful bass..[/b] Back to the OP...I own both, a fretless (80s Veillette Citron) beautifully balanced, fantastic range of sounds and tones but I'm not a fretless player and TBH it's wasted on me..I'm thinking of having it fretted so that at least it will get some use. I've also got a Crafter acoustic - pointless having one unless you amplify it - they just don't cut through against an acoustic guitar - amplified it gives a warm acoustic sound which makes a change from your usual bass tones. I use it mostly to work out riffs without the need for amplification. Knowing what I know, would I buy either again?? - Probably not.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 I have a fretless Jazz, which is my main working bass. I'd also like a fretless acoustic bass, at some point! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRev Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 I have my Eminence EUB (technically a fretless acoustic!) a Fender fretted acoustic and a Bass Collection fretless electric. The Eminence gets most of my playing time and is the only bass I gig at the moment. The Fender is next to the sofa for noodling and moments of inspiration, though I'm thinking of using it for a copule of tracks in my new band. The Bass Collection is sadly relegated to it's case as I don't have the space to have it out on display with the others and the Eminence has pretty much made it redundant. The Bass Collection is for sale (see sig) if anyone's interested... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jondeeman Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 I've got an Ibanez acoustic that I sit and noodle away on... It's the 5 string version, but as the B is a tad looser than Skanky Mo's knicker elastic , it's effectively a 4 string with a floppy finger rest. It doesn't leave the house much, but I like it, and it looks woody and cool... accept that without Unplugged, and especially Nathan East, I'd probably not have bothered. I've never gone fretless. I've always assumed it's like skinny dipping; a liberating experience until it becomes obvious to those around you, and then it's an embarrassing situation for all. Maybe I'll give it a try one day... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 [quote name='TheGreek' post='1344155' date='Aug 18 2011, 11:03 AM'][b]This is sex for your eyes....absolutely beautiful bass..[/b][/quote] Sounds great too, I love the sound of the magnetic pickup mixed with the piezo. This, combined with the graphite neck leads to a cool, multi-dimensional sound. As for acoustic basses, it has to be said they won't even be loud enough to match an acoustic guitar unless they're plugged in. And once they're plugged in you're often left battling feedback and thinking "why didn't I bring an electric?". I've also never found one that felt great to play. Plenty are useable, or passable. But never great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacko Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 I have a fretless acoustic Kelly Dragonfly that sits in the dining room and gets played every day for fun and makes a good instrument for learning new songs as I don't have to set my rig up. Also have my fretless Alembic that I use for about a third of our set so that goes to all my gigs and rehearsals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
originalfunkbrother Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 I have a Victor Bailey V acoustic. I dont use it much but when I do it sounds magical. I am yet to venture into the fretless world. Hopefully soon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnDeereJack Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 Yes & no! I have three fretless - a custom Larkin Reacter 4B I had built in 1989 (my avatar) which doesn't get nearly as much use as it used to or ought to, a modified Squier VM fretless that gets played constantly and a cheap crappy Stagg BC300FL I bought on a whim for £60 that never gets used. Ever! As for an acoustic, I'd love one but don't have the money to spend on a decent one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deep Thought Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 Had a fretless, didn't keep it long-couldn't get interested in it really. Recently bought a Washburn AB10 which is a beautiful thing and which I love the sound of, unamplified anyway. Bought as another experiment, as we have started doing some acoustic stuff. Too early to tell whether it will be of any use yet, although it's so nice I may keep it anyway, at least until I need funds for something I want more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blademan_98 Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 Yes and No! I have 2 fretless 4 strings and a 5er. I would like an acoustic bass but sadly don't have the money at present to buy one That will be remedied once I get another job! I don't play fretted that much. The acoustic will be fretless when I get one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apa Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 (edited) One of each, see list below. The Jazz (Jennie) is soon to be fretless A Edited August 20, 2011 by apa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 I have a fretless P in bits waiting to be finished and put together, so the answer to the fretless question is - kinda. I've had three acoustic bass guitars. One was a horrible £50 eBay cheapy which was horrible to play, horribly finished and didn't even work properly (A piezo element was quiet). I gave it away on Freecycle - I couldn't in any good faith ask for money for it. The next one was a Takamine G series which was big and beautiful. I must confess that I bought it because it looked gorgeous above any other reason (quilted maple front, back and sides) and I never really used it much (I wasn't playing much at the time). I moved it on to make some cash. The last one was an Ibanez AEB-10 - I bought it because I had a covers gig coming up and I wanted something I could practice on in my lunch hour with minimal fuss. This did that very well (loud enough for solo playing, built in tuner etc.) but ultimately it wasn't any use to me once the cramming was done. Took it to a practice with a singer and a single acoustic guitar and I had to plug it in. What's the point? Sold it. The only thing I miss is the looks of the Takamine. Nostalgia: Sigh. OK, I think I'm done with them now. From my own experience I can say that (in my opinion) their only advantage over a solid electric bass is aesthetics if you MUST blend into an acoustic type ensemble. But even then I reckon you could get away with using a suitably trad looking semi acoustic bass like a Rivoli/EB-2/Starfire/Jack Casady/etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyrene Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 I have an acoustic now, as of three weeks ago. Gigged on it twice now! Still haven't performed on my electric even though I've been playing it longer. Play the acoustic every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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