So nice to hear fretless bass played musically and in tune! I really enjoyed your Bach solo cello suite videos...and you bring the same attention to intonation and nuance on the electric bass that you do on acoustic bass. Thanks for the music!👍🏽🤗
Thank you very much for your kind and ecnouraging comment! Sorry I have been so late in replying, I'll try to get better at this in the future! Take care!
I've just converted my old Squier into a fretless. I love it, but I have zero experience in the fretless world despite being a bassist for 25 years. I build guitars too and this video gave me some good insight into what I should expect when setting mine up. Radiused my neck to a 14''. Feels lovely, but it's buzzy with a low action. Now I see that there's a certain amount of buzz that 'should' be there. Very helpful.
Did you do the conversion yourself or have a luthier do it? If you did it yourself spring for a pro set-up. Mine is a homemade fretless squier and it needed a little adjustment and a little sanding on the fingerboard, something I didn't want to do myself. Now it's low action and growly. I also replaced the pick-ups with DiMarzio 60's PJ set.
Such an excellent explanation, many thanks! I haven't look on your videos, but maybe it will be an interesting topic to talk about how to setup a fretless bass, nut, action etc.
You playing at the beginning of the video was a good choice. Convinced me to listen on, cause you definitely know what you're talking about. Fantastic sound from the bass and (that's the lesson) you.
It's all in the way you play it, you must FEEL the instrument. I also have a cheap fretless (Harley Benton JB4FL with roundwound d'Addarios) and it produces a great "mwah" :)
Thank you young man great lesson you really are good I do appreciate your health as I just purchased a friend in space I'm not young like you I'm pushing 70 but it doesn't matter old dogs can learn new tricks too right thank you again
I finally picked up a fretless at age 64 and I wish I didn't wait.I played fretted for decades and as a bassist that frequently sang lead I had enough on my plate.It's such a beautiful instrument.Getting "mawh" isn't that easy so I look for help where available.I get it much more on the D and G string.You get it beautifully.I mostly play fretless on an ESP-LTD b-204 that has active electronics.Any advice on setting bass or preamp tone controls?
Great video! Wish more bassists would go into this granular, but simple explanation of technique on the instrument. Although, gotta be honest, I totally thought the video froze from 9:00-9:07!
You’ve definitely got a lock on that affectation, Frode. I definitely respect everyone who has learned how it’s done. I also appreciate that you managed to get your hands on an economy bass that just happens to have a fretless fingerboard sans markers. I used to know someone here in the greater New York area with (what looks like) an identical J-bass. For my part, though I dig how people are actively (no pun intended) pursuing that affectation (partly out of admiration for Jaco Pastorius and also emulation of an upright timbre), I’ve tried approaching my own fretless “stylings” (on an instrument I came into just after you uploaded this video) differently. Even though everyone who plays an instrument is supposed to pursue something individualistic, I’ve attempted to draw on how Victor Wooten plays fretless when he’s holding one. He employs something of a wider vibrato (if no faster) and allows it to sing more than to growl.
Some great points here. You mentioned set-up, wouldn’t you agree the mwaa is mostly affected by action? Lower action contributes to more string buzz, until you get TOO much. But you have great observations here. Thnx for the video.
I didn't hear any comments on the whole flatwound vs. tape wound thing with the strings. Interesting that you don't use one of those types of strings. Thanks for showing another point of view.
Funny, I got this video recommended after commenting on a different video how it would be a good idea to use older flatwounds to avoid the undesireable «wah» or «growl». This is a great video from an excellent bassplayer!! Showing how to do exactly what you should avoid in the name of musicality and civility;-) The frettless growl does not fit in any arrangement, mix or musical genre unless doing a Jaco tribute album imo. That said: great explanation!
Thanks for your comment! This is the beauty of music, we are all free to travel the expressive path we see fit! And one sound doesn't fit in all settings, and this is obviously also true with this kind of fretless sound. It would get you fired from a blues gig rather quickly. But also a metal gig, a symphony orchestra, most studio gigs etc. But heck, it's fun, so why not...;-)
Thanks for very interesting video! I am not fretless. So long wou notes for me as houl a Basckerville dog at the night-very scary. For me long notes not below then violoncello.
It sounds amazing! I just got a little Cort that has been defretted, and I like it for what it is, but the sustain is pretty bad really. I wonder if the strings are too old or something. Action is pretty low.
I think there are some mistakes people make. 1 is They are afraid of fretboard damage so they get Flatwounds. I personally like tapewounds better but nothing sounds better to my ears than broken in dr highbeams 45-100.
Are you happy with the Fender Jazz Fretless? I’m looking to add another Fretless to my collection. It’s between the Ibanez SRH500F and the Fender Jazz Fretless.
Amazing sound!!! I have the same Mexican fender and I made it fretless myself, did you change the fingerboard? it looks like ebony but maybe that's just my impression, anyway you are great and I learned a lot from you playing Bach on the upright
I had my luthier go over the fingerboard and make sure it was properly dressed, which it was not at all.... He the applied a thin coat of superglue to harden the surface. This job made a big difference.
@@frodebassist I was about to ask how you hydrated your fretboard… but I see now it is not only hydrated but also coated. Thanks for the explanation! And also thanks for the great video! It’s helped me a lot to improve my sound already.
I've got a Player j bass fretless and a Sire V7 fretless both can make the Mwah sound but having the preamp on the V7 seems to help . I think to really get a more distinct mwah I would have to use roundwounds but I don't really want to do that on the V7 poly on ebony fingerboard 😬
Hi, thanks for your comment! No compression on the bass, although I did limit the sound in mastering, but only for the loudest parts, ie no compression effect on the bass itself.
Oh, and btw, yeah, the Trace is great! I actually owned this same unit in the 90's. It was my main amp for countless TV gigs and tours. I sold it, and a few months ago got my hands back on it from the guy who bough it all those years back! Sounds great as a recording preamp! For this video though, I went straight into the soundcard after a Sadowsky outboard preamp.
I have always had most success with this with roundwounds, I know many players prefer flats on their fretless basses due to fingerboard wear and tear. So far the wear on my basses seam not too big an issue. In worst case one can easily redress the board by going to a skilled luthier.
Hi, and thinaks for your comment! I just watched the video again, and please realise it's not a "complete" guide to bass setup, as I mention in the intro,it's simply a segment on setup that was left out in editing a previous video. That being said, I believe I cover the basic setup here, please let me know what you are missing, and I'll try to address this in a future video! :-) Take care, and thanks again!
Hi again, sorry, I just realised I thought your comment was to a different video, the one about setup.... I hope you found it, if not, here it is : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-CmOf4OIKAvg.html
I have an MIM jazz fretless but I can't seem to get a mwah sound on the E string on the lower register. It has a Pao Ferro fingerboard. It's ok on the A and D strings. It's a great source of frustration. It seems some basses get this sound and others just don't. Any tips? I'm looking at possibly getting an ESP LTD sm 204 fretless that's active.
I thought so, but I was corrected. Growl is apparently something else than the fretless mwah, more of the sort of things a jazz bass does on the back pickup when attacked hard and close to the bridge if I understood correctly, I stand corrected, however I am sure i will continue to use these kinds of descriptions wrongly....
@edgeofsanity9111 I agree with you. Jaco Pastorius *still* casts a very long shadow, I suppose, influencing what is mass manufactured. Luckily, there are lots of options these days.
Pedals are nice, they won't produce these effects, but they can enhance it for sure. It can sound nice with some reverb or a touch of delay. Experimenting is key to everything music in my opinon. :-)
Thanks for your comment! please feel welcome to share any wishes and requests for future videos! My channel has until now been most focused on discussing various topics bass related, and so far mostly double bass related, although videos like this one is focused on the bass guitar. RU-vid is full of jawdropping bassists, which is a niche I don't feel at home in, but I'd be more than willing to share tips and samples from my working life as a bassist. so, shoot! 😀
