5 string fretless?
Question:
>i say go for it too. >i played upright and fretless for years. >i used the Simandl fingering for upright and one finger per fret for >electric fretless. unless i was doing Rocco-style funk, then i’d use >the closed hand for root-fifth-octave stuff (good for left hand >muting). >never can have TOO many tools in the box, eh? >man, i sure miss playing. >f
Why did you stop playing? Pt
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Hey…go for it. As far as what bass to buy, I’d say it’ll depend on how much you want to spend. I personally am not a big fan of Warwicks, but I don’t know how much the Rockbass Corvette would run you. If it’s around the $1000 range, I’d check out the Lakland Skyline series. I’ve played a bunch of them and they’re great instruments. Not too far off from my American made Lakland. -Tim-
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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->i say go for it too. >i played upright and fretless for years. >i used the Simandl fingering for upright and one finger per fret for >electric fretless. unless i was doing Rocco-style funk, then i’d use >the closed hand for root-fifth-octave stuff (good for left hand >muting). >never can have TOO many tools in the box, eh? >man, i sure miss playing. >f >Why did you stop playing? >Pt
only a painful few liked my clips. 
seriously though, i’ve been so busy with bass and guitar design, that its better to leave the gear packed up and clean. i’m sooooo backlogged with design work, i barely have time for that, my day jobs and keeping my marriage intact. i’m lucky tha i’ve been able to merge engineering and music via instrument design that it doesn’t bother me so much. dry spells are actually good for me. when i get back to playing after a long time off, i have tons of musical ideas to unload. living life is a fertile compost. thanks for asking. f
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> i used the Simandl fingering for upright and one finger per fret for > electric fretless. unless i was doing Rocco-style funk, then i’d use > the closed hand for root-fifth-octave stuff (good for left hand > muting). > never can have TOO many tools in the box, eh?
Simandl fingering ? Closed Hand ? Tell me more 
— Andy BIGBEATNUT AT GO DOT TO http://go.to/bigbeatnut
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> Oh, i doubt whether i’m more experienced! I’m just an 18 year > old kid…so, don’t worry about my advice!
I’m not even 16 yet. > Actually there was an article in an old Bass Player mag about > ‘doubling’ (on electric and upright bass)…can’t remember which > one it was though… I’ve actually just been thinkning recently > of buying a double bass….but…its just one of my crazy ideas > again
Hmm… I don’t know whether I should say "go for it". I like playing the URB but it definitely isn’t particularly easy (always) and sometimes it’s just frustrating… but then again I’m a guitarist
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>Hmm… I don’t know whether I should say "go for it". I like playing >the URB but it definitely isn’t particularly easy (always) and >sometimes it’s just frustrating… but then again I’m a guitarist
Times come when we have strong desires to make music. But someone along the line told us that it ain’t cool to make music on a bass and if we must make music we should play the piano or accordian. Thus we go to AGB and ask advice from our online friends who we envy because they are doing it. We are asking their approval to allow us to play the bass. With that said….Once again I say…. Go For It! Pt
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i played double bass a lot for years, and still do when i can….but i just don’t own one! But i own 4 electrics, so….yea! — Kristoff Lajoie www.kristoff.4t.com
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Oh, i doubt whether i’m more experienced! I’m just an 18 year > old kid…so, don’t worry about my advice! > I’m not even 16 yet. > Actually there was an article in an old Bass Player mag about > ‘doubling’ (on electric and upright bass)…can’t remember which > one it was though… I’ve actually just been thinkning recently > of buying a double bass….but…its just one of my crazy ideas > again > Hmm… I don’t know whether I should say "go for it". I like playing > the URB but it definitely isn’t particularly easy (always) and > sometimes it’s just frustrating… but then again I’m a guitarist
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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->I’ve been playing double bass for a coupla months now, still probably >being primarily a guitarist. I haven’t really played electric bass >that much. Of course the double bass I play with (one borrowed from >the music school) is a four-string. I’m considering getting an >electric bass because I’ll probably finally form a band. >Now, I’ve really sort of grown away from those frets and such… I do >have a liking for bassists such as John Wetton (whose style is >very… fretted) but I’ve been thinking I’d probably be more >comfortable with a fretless. The only fretless in the few shops >around me (in a suitable price range for a first bass) would be a >five-string Warwick Rockbass Corvette. Would it make any sense to get >that? >I tend to be quite comfortable in different tunings with my guitars >and from the one time I’ve tried that particular five I don’t think >the B would be any kind of a problem. >So, any ideas? I’ll probably go try that five a coupla more times >before I make any final decisions but… do you think it would be a >sensible choice as I do have a four-string URB?
i say go for it too. i played upright and fretless for years. i used the Simandl fingering for upright and one finger per fret for electric fretless. unless i was doing Rocco-style funk, then i’d use the closed hand for root-fifth-octave stuff (good for left hand muting). never can have TOO many tools in the box, eh? man, i sure miss playing. f
Response:
Oh, i doubt whether i’m more experienced! I’m just an 18 year old kid…so, don’t worry about my advice! Actually there was an article in an old Bass Player mag about ‘doubling’ (on electric and upright bass)…can’t remember which one it was though… I’ve actually just been thinkning recently of buying a double bass….but…its just one of my crazy ideas again — Kristoff Lajoie www.kristoff.4t.com
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Fretless is going to be difficult no matter what instrument you > play…unless your URB is 34" scale length and has the same fret > and string spacing, action hight etc. > Fretless electric bass is very different to fretless electric > bass – the main thing is the scale length, so even though you > might be comfortable on fretless URB, the notes are…well, in > different places on an electric! So, it would seem to be easier > to begin learning electric bass on a fretted, and then when your > comfortable with that, move to a f’less! > I’ve tried fretlesses in stores every now and then and it seems it’s > pretty much just the same as playing double bass. I’m sort of feeling > I’ve had enough of frets for some time… And any way, I tend to get > used to different scale lengths pretty fast. From the 42" URB to a > 25" scale guitar to a mandolin in 14" or whatever it is… though I > haven’t played mandolin for ages. But any way. It’s really not that > much of a problem as it seems that changing even between two > different guitars is enough of a change to start thinking in a > different mindset. > I do appreciate your advice since you seem to be a bit more > experienced than me, though > I hope I won’t miss those extra four semitones though… Why didn’t > electric basses have 28 fret fingerboards in the first place? (Not > that I could really _use_ anything above the third position at this > point but still…)
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> place? (Not that I could really _use_ anything above the third > position at this point but still…)
(That would be the _fourth_ position, of course…)
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Go for it! Pt
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> So, any ideas? I’ll probably go try that five a coupla more times > before I make any final decisions but… do you think it would be a > sensible choice as I do have a four-string URB?
All "real" basses have five or more strings! :) The point has already been make. A fretless bass guitar and an URB are two different instruments. Each has very little to do with each other! So don’t judge one by the other. I’d go for the 5 for a number of reasons. One is that you can play more "across" the neck rather than a bunch of long jumps. This tends to make playing easier on a fretless. Also it gives you a wider range. Horn keys like Eb are not a problem. Personally I’ve got two fretless basses. One is a 5 and the other a 6. A fretless to me is a very expressive instrument, so I feel the extra strings fit right in with that extra expression. The "mwah" and slidable tones to me makes the fretless a lot like the human voice. Hence a 6 string fretless is great for bass solos etc. But practically speaking a 6 string tends to have a VERY wide neck which does offset to some extent the gains from the high C string. But fretted has a place too. That’s why one day I’d like to get a matching fretted Carvin bass to go with my fretless 5. Identical except for frets and headstock. I think that would be too cool for words…. but then I’m a gearhead. Go 5. Benj — Due to SPAM innundation above address is turned off!
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> Fretless is going to be difficult no matter what instrument you > play…unless your URB is 34" scale length and has the same fret > and string spacing, action hight etc. > Fretless electric bass is very different to fretless electric > bass – the main thing is the scale length, so even though you > might be comfortable on fretless URB, the notes are…well, in > different places on an electric! So, it would seem to be easier > to begin learning electric bass on a fretted, and then when your > comfortable with that, move to a f’less!
I’ve tried fretlesses in stores every now and then and it seems it’s pretty much just the same as playing double bass. I’m sort of feeling I’ve had enough of frets for some time… And any way, I tend to get used to different scale lengths pretty fast. From the 42" URB to a 25" scale guitar to a mandolin in 14" or whatever it is… though I haven’t played mandolin for ages. But any way. It’s really not that much of a problem as it seems that changing even between two different guitars is enough of a change to start thinking in a different mindset. I do appreciate your advice since you seem to be a bit more experienced than me, though I hope I won’t miss those extra four semitones though… Why didn’t electric basses have 28 fret fingerboards in the first place? (Not that I could really _use_ anything above the third position at this point but still…)
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I’ve been playing double bass for a coupla months now, still probably being primarily a guitarist. I haven’t really played electric bass that much. Of course the double bass I play with (one borrowed from the music school) is a four-string. I’m considering getting an electric bass because I’ll probably finally form a band. Now, I’ve really sort of grown away from those frets and such… I do have a liking for bassists such as John Wetton (whose style is very… fretted) but I’ve been thinking I’d probably be more comfortable with a fretless. The only fretless in the few shops around me (in a suitable price range for a first bass) would be a five-string Warwick Rockbass Corvette. Would it make any sense to get that? I tend to be quite comfortable in different tunings with my guitars and from the one time I’ve tried that particular five I don’t think the B would be any kind of a problem. So, any ideas? I’ll probably go try that five a coupla more times before I make any final decisions but… do you think it would be a sensible choice as I do have a four-string URB?
Response:
Fretless is going to be difficult no matter what instrument you play…unless your URB is 34" scale length and has the same fret and string spacing, action hight etc. Fretless electric bass is very different to fretless electric bass – the main thing is the scale length, so even though you might be comfortable on fretless URB, the notes are…well, in different places on an electric! So, it would seem to be easier to begin learning electric bass on a fretted, and then when your comfortable with that, move to a f’less! — Kristoff Lajoie www.kristoff.4t.com
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I’ve been playing double bass for a coupla months now, still probably > being primarily a guitarist. I haven’t really played electric bass > that much. Of course the double bass I play with (one borrowed from > the music school) is a four-string. I’m considering getting an > electric bass because I’ll probably finally form a band. > Now, I’ve really sort of grown away from those frets and such… I do > have a liking for bassists such as John Wetton (whose style is > very… fretted) but I’ve been thinking I’d probably be more > comfortable with a fretless. The only fretless in the few shops > around me (in a suitable price range for a first bass) would be a > five-string Warwick Rockbass Corvette. Would it make any sense to get > that? > I tend to be quite comfortable in different tunings with my guitars > and from the one time I’ve tried that particular five I don’t think > the B would be any kind of a problem. > So, any ideas? I’ll probably go try that five a coupla more times > before I make any final decisions but… do you think it would be a > sensible choice as I do have a four-string URB?
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