Is it crazy for a beginner to want a fretless?

[COYS]

I'm not a beginner to music or even fretted instruments. I am a proficient guitar player who knows more theory than most, who tried bass and fell in love with it, and now I'm basically converting over to bass completely. I have a little money to spend on it, since I'm changing over gear.

Those things being said, I'm obviously not ready to call myself an intermediate bassist yet after only a few months. I would say I'm 'late beginner'.

But I'm watching videos and hearing lots of tracks that were played on a fretless and feeling a huge pull toward that sound and to wanting to try to continue my development there. You know the sound, the Paul Young "Wherever I Lay My Hat" sound.

I know that many people who are proficient bassists don't ever master it, and I'm aware that it would be the long way around - but I'm still drawn.

I don't know if it would take, but what do you say? I always try to listen to voices of experience other than my own. Is it a little nuts for a "late beginner" to want to get a nice fretless bass? Any advice?

 

[bass12]

I say do it. If you’re drawn to fretless then a fretted bass is likely to leave you frustrated. Don’t sweat it - double bass players typically begin on fretless as well. Whether or not you want to go the “lined” fretless route is up to you.

 

[WillyW]

I’m only 3 years into my bass journey, and I almost immediately gravitated to fretless.


I love it.

 

[direktor]

Dress for the job you want.

or in other words, I’ve learned, go for what you want from the beginning. It can be detrimental sometimes to view things as steps that must be completed before you can move onto the next thing.

 

[Geri O]

Go for it.

 

[MrLenny1]

IME don't spend a lot on a fretless at first. Intonation is a
bitch to get down well and if you drop out of the fretless they are very hard to sell.

 

[Riff Ranger]

IME don't spend a lot on a fretless at first. Intonation is a
bitch to get down well and if you drop out of the fretless they are very hard to sell.

I agree with this, but I also agree with everyone else that you should go for it. In other words: no, I don’t think it’s crazy.

 

[P. Aaron]

Learn to do it before too much fretless music makes its way through your conscience. That way, you'll be more yourself than anything you may hear or have heard.

 

[elgranluis]

I know that many people who are proficient bassists don't ever master it, and I'm aware that it would be the long way around - but I'm still drawn.
?

Fretless is a novelty item for a lot of players, people simply want it for a couple of songs.

Unless you want to be the BL, you will have a very hard time finding a band that wants a Fretless-only bassist, so you’d still need to learn play fretted.

 

[pbass2]

Go for it!

 

[Killing Floor]

A fretless bass is no more difficult or easy to learn than a fretted bass. If it was, there’d be a lot fewer violinists, cellists, double bassists, trombonists, etc. Same notes, same positions, everything is exactly the same except your intonated proper landing is on the “fret” instead between them. That’s all. Ok, you can also do proper vibrato. Go for it. You won’t be sorry. And you can play any style fretless. People who say you can’t are people who don’t.

 

[coy garcia]

Last several years I made a full transition to playing fretless exclusively. I feel great freedom like i'm now singing without auto-tune. It is addicting and with practice it becomes 2nd nature. You can play soft ballads, blues, jazz or pound out AC/DC tunes fretless. Picking up a fretted after is no problem because your fingers go in pretty much the same place.

 

[Killing Floor]

Fretless is a novelty item for a lot of players, people simply want it for a couple of songs.

Unless you want to be the BL, you will have a very hard time finding a band that wants a Fretless-only bassist, so you’d still need to learn play fretted.

Or unless you choose to explain to everyone that your bass is fretless and how it’s different and become the “CrossFit” guy of fretless basses. Or if you’re like me with 40+ years gig experience and to date nobody has ever noticed unless they were also a bass player, and believe me, you don’t want too many bass players in a band. So just introduce yourself normally instead of “I’m Stan and my bass is fretless which, you know those line things on a guitar, well mine doesn’t have those…” that’s awkward and you definitely don’t want to make that your mantra. Nobody knows unless they are a bassist, nobody cares unless they are you. So be you. Fretless basses rock.

 

[WillyW]

The rest of the band won’t even know you are playing fretless.

 

[MichelD]

My first bass 46 years ago was fretless.

 

[COYS]

Thanks for all the feedback! Keep it coming!

 

[80jazz]

Fretless basses rock.

This is why starting on fretless is alright.

 

[bholder]

If you can play fretless, you can play fretted, the reverse is not necessarily true. Learning fretless improved my fretted playing. Nothing wrong with starting fretless, other than being harder...

 

[Jazzdogg]

I'm not a beginner to music or even fretted instruments. I am a proficient guitar player who knows more theory than most, who tried bass and fell in love with it, and now I'm basically converting over to bass completely. I have a little money to spend on it, since I'm changing over gear.

Those things being said, I'm obviously not ready to call myself an intermediate bassist yet after only a few months. I would say I'm 'late beginner'.

But I'm watching videos and hearing lots of tracks that were played on a fretless and feeling a huge pull toward that sound and to wanting to try to continue my development there. You know the sound, the Paul Young "Wherever I Lay My Hat" sound.

I know that many people who are proficient bassists don't ever master it, and I'm aware that it would be the long way around - but I'm still drawn.

I don't know if it would take, but what do you say? I always try to listen to voices of experience other than my own. Is it a little nuts for a "late beginner" to want to get a nice fretless bass? Any advice?

When I started playing double bass (fretless) more than fifty years ago, no one told me not to play the instrument because it lacked frets, nor did anyone tell me not to play an electric bass because it was fretted.

If you're being pulled toward a fretless bass and you are prepared to implement a process through which you will become competent on the instrument of your choice, go for it.

 

[Jazzdogg]

Fretless is a novelty item for a lot of players, people simply want it for a couple of songs.

Unless you want to be the BL, you will have a very hard time finding a band that wants a Fretless-only bassist, so you’d still need to learn play fretted.

I couldn't disagree more. I have played fretted and fretless basses since 1968, and in that time, no one ever commented on whether the bass I was playing was fretted or fretless - except that one time when I showed up with a fretted electric bass because I didn't understand the gig specifically called for double bass.

IME, it's all about the player serving the song, which can be done on virtually instrument.