subject: Fretless Guitar [print this page] Advantages and disadvantages Advantages and disadvantages
Fretless bass guitar
Fretless guitars are not constrained with particular musical tunings, tuning systems or temperaments, as is the case with fretted instruments. This facilitates the playing of music in other than 12-tone scales; these scales are typically found in non-Western or experimental music. Fretless guitars produce a different sound than their fretted counterparts as well, because the fingertip is relatively soft (compared to a fret) and absorbs energy from the vibrating string much faster. The result is that the pizzicato on a fretless guitar has a more dampened sound. One can finger notes with one's nail like an Indian sarod player does. This will sustain and brighten the sound.
However, playing a fretless instrument usually requires much more training of the fretting hand for exact positioning and shifts, and more ear training to discern the minute differences in intonation that fretless instruments permit. To make this easier, many fretless guitars and basses have lines in place of frets and side position markers (dots or lines), indicating half-tone increments.
Acoustic fretless guitars produce less volume than their fretted counterparts, which is usually addressed by the use of pickups and amplification. Fretless bass guitars, which have much heavier strings and a bigger body, are also typically amplified.
On fretless basses the fingerboard is usually made of a hard wood, such as ebony. To reduce fingerboard wear from round-wound strings a coat of epoxy may be applied. Other strings, such as flat-wound, ground wound or nylon tape-wound strings, can also be used to reduce fingerboard wear.
Fretless instruments
Fretless guitars are typically modified versions of factory-made traditionally "fretted" guitars, the frets being removed by the player or a professional luthier. There are also professional builders specialising in custom-made fretless guitars.
Fretless bass guitars are much more common than fretless guitars, and there are many manufacturers offering these as standard models.
Famous users
In no particular order:
Fretless guitar
John Cale used a fretless guitar on the 1965 album Stainless Steel Gamelan - a very early recording of fretless guitar.
Erkan Our (Turkish pioneer of the fretless guitar) makes nearly all his music with self-made fretless guitars.
Frank Zappa used fretless guitars on a few albums in the early and mid 1970s.
David Fiuczynski plays fretless guitar extensively in his instrumental project KiF.
Ron Thal (also known as Bumblefoot) has used fretless guitars extensively.
Adrian Belew has used fretless guitars on a few recordings in the '80's.
Franck Vigroux plays fretless guitar on Push the triangle's album "repush" and live acts.
Michael Atonal Vick aka VVV is the founder of the NYC Fretless Guitar Festival and has been playing fretless guitars since the early 90's.
Steve Vai played a triple neck (12 string, 6 string and 6 string fretless) guitar during live shows many years ago.
Elliott Sharp has occasionally used fretless guitars, such as on his 1996 album Sferics.
Karl Sanders plays them with Nile and solo.
Si Hayden plays a custom semi-fretless (eight frets, fretless thereon) model with Joe O'Donnell (celtic rock violinist), and extensively on jazz/poetry album 'Backra Men' (Morley Hayden Haines) also on his solo guitar album 'The apparent rules of thumb'
Ned Evett is the glass fretless guitarist who has opened for Joe Satriani on numerous tours.
Brian Larkin Tim Donahue Talradin Dobavich
Fretless bass
Jaco Pastorius (bassist for Weather Report, considered by many to be the most influential fretless bass player of all time) used a customized fretless Fender Jazz Bass that he modified himself.
Juan Alderete (bassist for The Mars Volta, and previously Racer X) has constantly used fretless basses over his career including using a custom fretless Fender Jazz Bass as his main bass of the album Frances the Mute.
Bill Wyman, (former bassist of The Rolling Stones), was the first bass player to use a fretless bass. This can be heard on many of the early Rolling Stones records.
Rick Danko (of The Band) used a fretless bass for several years, starting from the recording of the album Music From Big Pink.
Freebo (session musician known mostly for his work with Bonnie Raitt) has used a fretless bass live and on many recordings.
Brent Liles (bassist for Social Distortion and Agent Orange)
Jonas Hellborg (solo bassist) extensively used fretless bass both on his solo bass recordings and with other projects, currently has a signature bass co designed by him from Warwick.
Pedro Aznar, bassist and composer who has played with Ser Girn and The Pat Metheny Group
Laurence Cottle British session fretless/fretted bass player who has worked with such diverse artist as Sting, Cher, Eno, Eric Clapton and Black Sabbath
Steve Bailey, a session bassist, frequently performs on the six string fretless bass guitar.
Jack Bruce (of Cream) uses a fretless Warwick bass guitar.
Sean Malone (of Cynic, et al.), wrote an analytical teaching book on Jaco Pastorius' play and also plays the Chapman Stick
Gary Willis (of Tribal Tech), has a signature model fretless bass by Ibanez.
Marnie Jaffe (of Live Skull) played a fretless bass in the band Live Skull.
Steve DiGiorgio (one of the few fretless bassists in the metal scene) usually plays a five string fretless bass.
John Paul Jones (bassist for Led Zeppelin) plays fretless bass on several Led Zeppelin songs, most notably on "In My Time of Dying".
Colin Edwin (of British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree).
John Deacon (bassist of Queen) plays fretless bass on several Queen songs.
Mick Karn (former bassist of Japan and avantgarde musician) has used fretless bass guitar since the late 1970s. Karn has mainly used Travis Bean during his early Japan years and Wal (bass) since 1981.
Dill Katz (bass player with Barbara Thompson (musician)'s Paraphernalia has played fretless bass since the early 1970s
Tony Levin famous for the bass on Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer" and a large amount of his solo album work.
Tony Franklin has been instrumental in bringing the fretless bass to heavy music recordings. Franklin generlly associated with the fretless Fender Precision Bass, he has a signature model. During the 80's hes was also seen with Jaydee basses.
Pino Palladino, a session bassist, has developed a fretless bass method. The bulk of Pino's fretless work was played with a pre Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay.
German Pizano(plays 7 string fretless bass and designer of a pending musical instrument patent)
Percy Jones bass player with Brand X and Tunnels. Percy initially played a fretless Fender Precision Bass then a Wal (bass) since the late 70's.
Bunny Brunel had used a fretless bass on many recordings since the 1970s
Victor Wooten uses a custom five-string fretless bass on several of his own songs as well as several Bela Fleck and the Flecktones songs.
Sting (bassist and leader of The Police) used a variety of fretless basses with The Police
Jeroen Paul Thesseling, fretless bassist, plays microtonal world music using six-string fretless Warwick basses.
Jandek, outsider musician, has recorded entire albums of only vocals and fretless electric bass.
Josh Ansley, (former bassist of Catch 22) is well known for his innovative fretless bass styles.
Jeff Ament, (bassist of Pearl Jam) uses fretless basses on some Pearl Jam songs as well his other projects. Jeff is normally seen play Wal (bass) basses when using a fretless.
Paul Simonon from The Clash used a fretless Fender Precision Bass in 1981, during the period of their Sandinista! album.
Mo Foster is a highly regarded UK session bassist whose 'voice' is a fretless Fender Jazz bass.
Stomu Takeishi is a Japanese jazz bassist.
Geddy Lee, of the Canadian rock trio Rush has played fretless bass on and off since the 1970s, to include work on Rush's 2007 album, Snakes & Arrows.
Les Claypool (of Primus and his many many other side projects) uses a variety of fretless basses, most commonly an upright 5 string, and more famously his Carl Thompson (luthier) 4 string fretlesses and 6 string fretless Rainbow Bass.
Joe Hubbard, bassist for Gary Numan on the Warriors album and tour, played a Tokai Fender Jazz Replica with a Schaller bridge on that album.
Colin Moulding, bass player with XTC uses fretless bass to achieve their distinctive sound. Almost all songs on the XTC album English Settlement use fretless bass.
Martin Mendez, bassist for Opeth used a fretless bass on Still Life (Opeth album)
Phil Lesh, bassist for the Grateful Dead commonly uses a fretless bass.
David Gilmour, Pink Floyd guitarist, plays a fretless bass on Hey You
Michael Manring, solo bassist, plays Zon Hyperbass (TM) fretless basses for his experimental virtuoso music.
Tom Jenkinson, also known as Squarepusher, sometimes performs using fretless bass.
Dan Briggs, bass player with Between the Buried and Me uses fretless bass.
Morty Black, former bass player for TNT has used fretless bass on songs such as Forever Shine On and Without Your Love.
See also
Frets on bass guitar
References
^ http://www.silveryrecords.com
^ "TalkBass forum-Joe Hubbard & Gary Numan". http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=346266. Retrieved 2009-01-06.
