How hard is it to play a fretless instrument?

[jon the art guy]

Re: How hard is it to play a fretless instrument?

I think if you've got the fretting hand all educated in placement and doing arpeggios without looking playing a fretless would be cake. The only thing you'd have to worry about is intonation and being a little more definitive on pressure.

I enjoy playing basses, but I have never played a fretless guitar, and I have a feeling I'd suck at it. I have like no calluses and soft, spongy fingertips on fingers that have very loose joints that are at this point misaligned. Ridiculous.

 

[blueman335]

Re: How hard is it to play a fretless instrument?

I think if you've got the fretting hand all educated in placement and doing arpeggios without looking playing a fretless would be cake.

Well isn't that the challenge with a fretless instrument? Once you good at something, sure it's a 'piece of cake.' It's getting there that's the issue.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: How hard is it to play a fretless instrument?

It's not for me. Playing violin was wildly difficult and I got frustrated and gave up. I always figured the easiest way to transition to fretless from guitar would be to get really good at slide playing . . . because that's basically ignoring the frets and trusting to your ears.

 

[Ashurbanipal]

Re: How hard is it to play a fretless instrument?

After watching these videos, it feels like you're saying: "if you're already one of the best professional guitarists alive today the transition will be easy"

Hah, didn't think of it like that. But, yes, if you're a pro like Pat or Guthrie, it would make it easier .

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: How hard is it to play a fretless instrument?

...like a cat...

 

[esandes]

Re: How hard is it to play a fretless instrument?

i used to play the trombone, which as you know has no keys or fixed pitches. you get to know the position and also play by ear quickly.

 

[jon the art guy]

Re: How hard is it to play a fretless instrument?

i used to play the trombone, which as you know has no keys or fixed pitches. you get to know the position and also play by ear quickly.

Trombone. Awesome. I wish I could get one so I could play "fat guy walk" for myself when I go out out walks.

 

[blueman335]

Re: How hard is it to play a fretless instrument?

i used to play the trombone, which as you know has no keys or fixed pitches.

Which makes me wonder about those guys. Are they just blowing and moving the slide around at random? Just how different is it from a kazoo?

 

[DarkMatter]

Re: How hard is it to play a fretless instrument?

Thanks for the Belew vid, Funk, now I gotta go to the eye doctor....

And then the head doctor.

Regarding fretless guitar, I'd like to try it. And I'd need a solid week with it, after that I would either dismiss it as a novelty, or be highly enthralled with the possibilities.

 

[blueman335]

Re: How hard is it to play a fretless instrument?

I think the problem with going fretless is that many of us have 'sloppy' fingering habits from relying on frets for correction. As long as we're somewhere between frets, we're good. You have to be a lot more precise without having frets to 'auto-correct' your positiong. I think it would be an exercise in futility and frustration for the vast majority of us. As it is, I hear enough live guitarists out of tune; that would increase geometrically if they were fretless. Most chords would be a painful to listen to. It would an assult on the ears. Fretless is for the rarified few with highly trained ears and meticulous finger control.

 

[frankfalbo]

Re: How hard is it to play a fretless instrument?

Here's my attempt. It's a gained up shred fest, full of guilty pleasures. A friend of mine, Greg Marra was working with his new Fractal and suggested I come over and make something. We wrote and recorded it same day LOL

Most of the solo stuff is fretless (you can hear when it's NOT fretless) The intonation is all over the place. I didn't want to wash it in chorus or slapback, but if you do, that can help smear the intonation around. It's definitely fun to mess around with.

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12457389

 

[fwr1982]

Re: How hard is it to play a fretless instrument?

I know a local bass player that has played in several bands with my brother in law, who is a drummer. I hung out with them during band practice one time and the bass player had an acooustic fretless bass. I asked him if it was hard to play a fretless bass, he just smiled, chuckled and said "not if you know what you're doing"

 

[blueman335]

Re: How hard is it to play a fretless instrument?

Here's my attempt.

Damn Frank, that's some great playing.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: How hard is it to play a fretless instrument?

Here's my attempt.

Nice playing!


So, do you only do slides with the fretless, or is it possible to bend notes too?

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: How hard is it to play a fretless instrument?

String bends are possible but it is usually easier to gliss along the string. It is possible to imitate those Hendrix-style bends in which one string shifts by a tone and another by a semitone. The Steve Vai "circular" finger vibrato technique can help with sustain.

 

[frankfalbo]

Re: How hard is it to play a fretless instrument?

Thanks doods! Yeah I always only slide back and forth for vibrato and bends. I've been playing lap steel a long time so all the slide techniques carry over. Mine has no dots or lines anywhere. Luke definitely shut off his targeting computer and you have to use the Force. But it's fun. It's definitely easier with a lot of gain and compression. I have PATB's in mine and I definitely think those are great pickups for the job. The split pole pieces are good for sustain and sensitivity and I put them really close to the strings. If I owned a Sustainer or Sustainiac I would probably use it on this.

A lot of that rhythm guitar is Greg Marra and he came up with that fancy breakdown part. I thought of the main chorus riff the morning I was going to his house. We pretty much wrote and recorded it in one day. The 2nd day for drum programming basically. I'd encourage anyone to try fretless. It definitely will teach you something.

 

[Rockstar216]

Re: How hard is it to play a fretless instrument?

Here's my attempt. It's a gained up shred fest, full of guilty pleasures. A friend of mine, Greg Marra was working with his new Fractal and suggested I come over and make something. We wrote and recorded it same day LOL

Most of the solo stuff is fretless (you can hear when it's NOT fretless) The intonation is all over the place. I didn't want to wash it in chorus or slapback, but if you do, that can help smear the intonation around. It's definitely fun to mess around with.

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12457389

That sounded awesome. Me personally I would of used it in more of a vocal quality since it's so much easier to slur the notes together. I would try a fretless bass before I would guitar.