Fretless Bass Guitars

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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.

Fretless Guitars – Bass Guitars

To the serious bass guitarist the option of using a fretless bass guitar increases their performance and sound. They know the importance of having the ability to slide their fingers down the neck of the bass guitar without having to use the metal spacers for the perfect cord. The fretless bass guitar takes the playing experience to a new and more enjoyable level.

The bass guitarist will have to learn to adjust to not having the metal spacers on the neck of the guitar or fret. This takes time and experience yet ask any guitarist and they will proudly state they would not return to a fretted neck.

There are different types and models of the fretless bass guitar. Some of the popular models are:

1. Tanglewood Fretless Bass

2. Peavey Foundation Fretless Bass

3. v Vintage V940Fl Buginga Fretless Bass Active 4 String

4. Vintage Fender Fretless Bass

5. Squier Fretless Modified Jazz Bass

6. Yamaha Fretless Bass

7. Fender Squier Fretless Jazz Bass in Sunburst

8. Tokai TJB70J Fretless Bass

9. Aria Fretless Bass

10. Michael Kelly Dragonfly 5-string Fretless Bass

11. Overwater 5-string Fretless Bass

12. Westone Thunder I A Fretless Bass

13. Hohner five 5-string Fretless Bass

14. Vintage ICON VJ96 Fretless Bass

15. Rickenbacker 4001 FL Fretless Bass

16. MTD Michael Tobias Kingston Z 4 Fretless Bass

17. Washburn T14 Taurus 4-string P/J Fretless Bass

18. Cort Curbow 4-String Fretless Bass

19. KOPO Lina Fretless 4-String

There are many other makes and models to this list yet these models are some of widest used fretless bass guitars at reasonable prices. There are American European and Japanese models from Stagg Fender Peavey Aria Washburn Ibanez and Yamaha that all make a quality fretless bass guitar.

To find the right fretless bass guitar is to find the perfect personal fit.