www.FretlessBass.com

Welcome to Fretless Bass Board I waited a while hoping that other users would add their experience with Elixers. First, in my opinion coated strings do help to slow down fingerboard wear (rutting). However they do not stop it entirely. My set of Elixer's were pretty good at first, the sound was abou...

Those grooves appear to be a modification done by a previous owner when he/she cut the nut string slots lower. Lots of standup basses have similar grooves, provides a better break angle and downward pressure on the nut. Also helps with eliminating kinks in the string due to sharp break angle. Nothin...

You are welcome to discuss the Upright Bass, no limitations as long as it stays a family friendly conversation. URB is a fantastic instrument, it's just that the name of this site is FretlessBass.com so that sort of points toward to the electric fretless bass and semi-acoustic versions.

Fan-Fretless-Tastic!

A really great place to share fretless info and pics.

****** DISCLAIMER ****** I am not a luthier, there may be errors or missing information in this text. Let me know if you find something. The work you do on your instrument is your own, I am not responsible for problems that may arise. Always work safely. **** End disclaimer **** This is a lengthy po...

OK, it's been a while and no input from other fretless players so here is my take on the ramp. Having a ramp in place forces one to use consistent plucking/stroke with the right hand by limiting the amount of force you can use. This results in a more even output and consistent tone. I choose to not ...

Some players like to use a ramp between the pickups ala Gary Willis.
This link...
http://www.garywillis.com/pages/bass/ba ... eramp.html
points into his site explaining his reasons for using it.

What are your experiences and/or opinions?

If you are looking for a gig post a reply here. A few words about your location, stylistic preferences and skill sets, and what you are looking for would be helpful. Such as whether you can read, travel, like Jazz vs. Steam Punk, city or area you live, etc.. Include real world contact info only if y...

Your question: how much more power to keep a 5 or 6 happy than it takes to power a 4? Is actually an important consideration for all electric bass players. Consider that a guitarist may be using a 60 watt amp and actually using 20 watts while playing two octaves above the bass line. Since one has to...

Thanks for your excellent observations and constructive input. All very useful to the fretless player. Indeed, a light bass amp can sound better than a costly heavyweight for fretless providing you don't need to play at high sound pressure levels. I had a small Yorkville 1x15 80w combo that I wish I...

Yes, I own and play Upright Bass. Although I don't consider that my primary instrument. I started playing the URB about the same time I started Fretless electric. My first URB instrument was a Gotz. These days I play a Kolstein Busetto. I studied with Ron Simon (Seattle Symphony) and later had perso...

I have found that good pickups greatly effect the high frequency response of electric bass in general. With good pickups Flats wounds can be made to sound excessively trebly, with lower quality pickups when you boost the high frequency EQ all you get is noise. The same goes for other types of string...

I hear you loud and clear on this topic. I have been through exactly the same evolution in strings from Flats to Round Wound to Half Rounds, back to Flats, Half Rounds again and now back to Round Wounds. Here is what I learned... If the sound/tone/timbre is the primary concern Round Wounds are the b...

Why is a bolt-on neck considered better for fretless than neck-through? An interesting question that is not completely resolved or in agreement among fretless players. Mainly it is tone. Players like Jaco established the commonly accepted desirable fretless tone as having a bump in the upper bass fr...

Sounds like your neck relief is adjusted too flat or even into back-bow. To have perfect action you need a perfect neck/fingerboard. This is an almost unattainable level of perfection that we fretless bassists seek but rarely achieve. First thing, press down the G string at the first position and at...