Fretless Bass Guitars

Fretless Bass Guitar

The fretless bass guitar is an instrument combining the rumbling low frequency with the singing of the fretless notes beautifully. The one challenge is to learn how to play the fretless board on the guitar that is unmarked leaving the players guessing the right finger positions. Here are some tips to master the fingerboard for the fretless bass guitar.

1. Get familiar with the guitar and how it feels and sounds with each note you play. It will take time to be acquainted but with time and practice it can be easily done. If you have used a fretted guitar you are familiar with the fingering and positions to get the right sounds and cords.

2. The most obvious difference with the fretless bass in the way your fingers move on the neck of the guitar. You do not have the metal fret spacers to tell you where you are on the neck so you have to get used to mentally knowing the positions on the fret neck.

3. Use your ears to tune into the sounds of each cord. When you are able to recognize the cords you increase your playing performance.

4. Set the tuner of the fretless bass in at 440 and play some notes or cords. The tuner will read the strokes. Verify the tuner is sounding the notes you are trying to play. If it is a long “A” then the tuner should read a solid “A” that is tuned perfectly. If you are not getting the right tune check your fingering.

5. The fretless bass requires you to sometimes place your fingers differently than the standard fretted guitars. Adjust your fingers on the freeboard to get the right sound.

6. Avoid plucking or popping the guitar too much so you do not get the distorted or the chopping sounds. The fretless guitar requires less force to get the right sounds.