If you want to start fretless, then start fretless!
There are some nuances but coming form a fretless instrument background it's not that big of a deal.
Further on down the line you might want the sound of a fretted bass. But that's next year you's problem.
Agreed, just keep in mind it's the simplest method of learning proper pitch control. Which is far more difficult to master easily without a musical background. Even with fret markers, it's very easy to a few cents off which (later on) will be a critical understanding when you play with other musicians.
*My best, beginner recommendation for learning a fretless instrument is to play with a tuner active (chromatic spectrum). Watch it like a hawk, until you can confidently & consistently repeat notes without looking.*
Not really sure if this is the best way, however, it did help me a lot.
I had a number of years of cello under my belt when I took up upright and electric bass. I bought a fretless bass to start and didn’t get a fretted instrument until years later. It was a very smooth and natural progression for me and I still feel more at home on fretless. Get the fretless; you’ll be fine!
You already play an upright so you'll find it relatively easy. But the general answer to the question is 'yes' anyway. There's nothing innately hard about fretless and them being too tricky for the average beginner (bearing in mind that 5-6 year olds routinely take up the violin) is a meme and myth.
There are only two significant differences that matter. Firstly instead of playing right next to the fretline, you play on it. Secondly you can't string bend without scoring your instrument's neck and must use cello vibrato technique (which you'll already know).
While someone like yourself plausibly won't have issues with an unlined neck, I tend toward recommending lined fretless instruments. It's a lot easier to set the intonation on them with the visual prompting, and also the primary reason for not having fretlines on certain instruments (that they're cosmetically unattractive) doesn't apply on the electric bass.
> It's a lot easier to set the intonation on them
Picture me obsessively measuring on my unlined fretless trying to figure out if the 12th fret is before the dots, after the dots, or right in the middle. And then repeatedly sticking a line of painters tape on it trying to make sure it was perfectly perpendicular to the neck before setting the intonation.
I started with and only play a fretless bass. Before that I’ve only played fretted guitars but the fretless was my first bass. I’ve been thinking about getting one with frets but I don’t think there’s anything on a fretted bass I can’t do with my fretless.
Speaking as a 25-year fret man, frets are mostly a crutch, though they do produce a different tone. I would say play the field, try a bunch of different basses. You'll know when you find the right one; it'll just feel and sound correct.
I'd say: decide what you want your bass to sound like, what kind of tunes you enjoy, and work from there. You're already a solid badass, though: you play BASS. And double bass capabilities are much rarer, in my experience. You ROCK, Homie.
Absolutely! Especially since you already play upright bass. You’ll likely pick up the nuances faster than an electric bassist switching from fretted to fretless.
I thought you were supposed to start on frets before even thinking about fretless, but I found out through buying a fretless bass about 2 months ago that it is just different, I would say experiment and see if you can play one
I learned on a fretless. It still feels more natural to me than frets. If you're coming from upright then fretless will probably feel better than frets.
If you already play upright, you’ll be fine. It won’t be the same obviously, but you already have the ear for it. I’m sure you’ll pick it up in no time.
A beginner could play a fretless. Since you have upright experience it likely wouldn't be an issue in terms of skill. That being said it would be uncommon for a beginner bass guitar player to start on a fretless.
What type of music are you trying to play though? The sound of a fretless bass is often very distinct from a fretted bass. If you're looking to play more popular styles of music you'll probably find a fretted bass more useful. Fretless are cool but that's not often the sound people are going for in more popular styles of music.
Yes, but I personally think a total beginner would benefit more from starting on an electric bass with frets. I would put you in that category (while still factoring in your experience playing upright) just bc I’ve seen enough beginners go from upright to the bass guitar in general and have a lot of difficulties with that transition.
Some other things to consider are, despite white I said, you definitely do have an advantage from playing the upright and I think that it will ultimately help you learn the electric bass. Also, I think that maybe it’s possible the transition to electric bass won’t be that difficult for you (due to your experience on upright). Beginners start out on it, and you already do know your way around a Fretless fingerboard.
Sorry if this advice is confusing, but I’m not trying to give you one answer. It will be a personal decision. I recommend trying out a Fretless electric bass for starters and seeing if the feel and playability is better than your attempts on a fretted bass.
If had to say should a beginner get a Fretless or fretted bass, I’m voting for frets. If you’re pursuing the bass, you’ll more than likely find yourself eventually playing/owning one with frets just due to the nature and role of the instrument in modern music. Again, I’m also factoring in that the, despite a Fretless sharing that commonality with an upright, they are different instruments and I just think it’s overall easier for a beginner to learn on a bass with frets. Hopefully some of that confusing response helps!!
I think a fretless bass is a great!
The disadvantage is tone. If you want to be popping and slapping it won't get the sound your looking for. You need to play with can't really play with roundworm strings either without damaging the neck over time so you are limited to a darker tone. (There are some half-rounds that get a bit of a brighter sound).
The advantages action can be lower because there are no frets in the way which makes it so much nicer on your fretting hand. You'll be able to play faster right off the bat.
I say go for it. They're kinda cooler anyway.
If you want to start fretless, then start fretless! There are some nuances but coming form a fretless instrument background it's not that big of a deal. Further on down the line you might want the sound of a fretted bass. But that's next year you's problem.
The ideal number of basses is n+1 anyways :p
Agreed, just keep in mind it's the simplest method of learning proper pitch control. Which is far more difficult to master easily without a musical background. Even with fret markers, it's very easy to a few cents off which (later on) will be a critical understanding when you play with other musicians. *My best, beginner recommendation for learning a fretless instrument is to play with a tuner active (chromatic spectrum). Watch it like a hawk, until you can confidently & consistently repeat notes without looking.* Not really sure if this is the best way, however, it did help me a lot.
Was that for me or....?
that was for anyone it may help. sharing my own, personal, experience.
I had a number of years of cello under my belt when I took up upright and electric bass. I bought a fretless bass to start and didn’t get a fretted instrument until years later. It was a very smooth and natural progression for me and I still feel more at home on fretless. Get the fretless; you’ll be fine!
You already play an upright so you'll find it relatively easy. But the general answer to the question is 'yes' anyway. There's nothing innately hard about fretless and them being too tricky for the average beginner (bearing in mind that 5-6 year olds routinely take up the violin) is a meme and myth. There are only two significant differences that matter. Firstly instead of playing right next to the fretline, you play on it. Secondly you can't string bend without scoring your instrument's neck and must use cello vibrato technique (which you'll already know). While someone like yourself plausibly won't have issues with an unlined neck, I tend toward recommending lined fretless instruments. It's a lot easier to set the intonation on them with the visual prompting, and also the primary reason for not having fretlines on certain instruments (that they're cosmetically unattractive) doesn't apply on the electric bass.
> It's a lot easier to set the intonation on them Picture me obsessively measuring on my unlined fretless trying to figure out if the 12th fret is before the dots, after the dots, or right in the middle. And then repeatedly sticking a line of painters tape on it trying to make sure it was perfectly perpendicular to the neck before setting the intonation.
My personal opinion is that you should get the instrument that interests you
I started with and only play a fretless bass. Before that I’ve only played fretted guitars but the fretless was my first bass. I’ve been thinking about getting one with frets but I don’t think there’s anything on a fretted bass I can’t do with my fretless.
Nothing is necessary. If you have a good ear, what you should have coming from an upright, it's easily doable Imo.
Speaking as a 25-year fret man, frets are mostly a crutch, though they do produce a different tone. I would say play the field, try a bunch of different basses. You'll know when you find the right one; it'll just feel and sound correct. I'd say: decide what you want your bass to sound like, what kind of tunes you enjoy, and work from there. You're already a solid badass, though: you play BASS. And double bass capabilities are much rarer, in my experience. You ROCK, Homie.
Yes absolutely. Particularly since you're coming from upright, you have the concept of intonation and the ear for micro adjusting already developed.
Fretted and fretless bass guitars are almost the same to play.
I started on fretless, good for ear training but will slow you down, get one with lines if you can
An upright has no frets......
I've known somewhere between a few and several upright bass players who felt the same.
Yes you can. Get your ears trained and get your intonation down. But by playing fretless you'll acquire these skills. Good luck.
Absolutely! Especially since you already play upright bass. You’ll likely pick up the nuances faster than an electric bassist switching from fretted to fretless.
A lot more difficult than fretted bass. Ear training is very important.
Nope. Especially since you have a background playing a fretless instrument. There are a few differences, but nothing extreme.
Just got my first fretless with no background in fretless instruments. Only regret is putting it off so long.
Nope, I believe it’s in the terms of service agreement.
I learnt on a fretless, I think it helped in getting a feel on the board.
I don’t know, can you? Lots of folks start off with unfretted instruments successfully.
If you play upright, you're no beginner. Roll with the fretless bass. You can fiddle with frets later if ya want.
I thought you were supposed to start on frets before even thinking about fretless, but I found out through buying a fretless bass about 2 months ago that it is just different, I would say experiment and see if you can play one
You can do whatever you want to do at whatever time you choose to do it. It's just an instrument, there are no rules.
I learned on a fretless. It still feels more natural to me than frets. If you're coming from upright then fretless will probably feel better than frets.
The biggest concern is intonation ... so if you've played upright you should be all set.
If you already play upright, you’ll be fine. It won’t be the same obviously, but you already have the ear for it. I’m sure you’ll pick it up in no time.
A beginner could play a fretless. Since you have upright experience it likely wouldn't be an issue in terms of skill. That being said it would be uncommon for a beginner bass guitar player to start on a fretless. What type of music are you trying to play though? The sound of a fretless bass is often very distinct from a fretted bass. If you're looking to play more popular styles of music you'll probably find a fretted bass more useful. Fretless are cool but that's not often the sound people are going for in more popular styles of music.
Yes, but I personally think a total beginner would benefit more from starting on an electric bass with frets. I would put you in that category (while still factoring in your experience playing upright) just bc I’ve seen enough beginners go from upright to the bass guitar in general and have a lot of difficulties with that transition. Some other things to consider are, despite white I said, you definitely do have an advantage from playing the upright and I think that it will ultimately help you learn the electric bass. Also, I think that maybe it’s possible the transition to electric bass won’t be that difficult for you (due to your experience on upright). Beginners start out on it, and you already do know your way around a Fretless fingerboard. Sorry if this advice is confusing, but I’m not trying to give you one answer. It will be a personal decision. I recommend trying out a Fretless electric bass for starters and seeing if the feel and playability is better than your attempts on a fretted bass. If had to say should a beginner get a Fretless or fretted bass, I’m voting for frets. If you’re pursuing the bass, you’ll more than likely find yourself eventually playing/owning one with frets just due to the nature and role of the instrument in modern music. Again, I’m also factoring in that the, despite a Fretless sharing that commonality with an upright, they are different instruments and I just think it’s overall easier for a beginner to learn on a bass with frets. Hopefully some of that confusing response helps!!
I think a fretless bass is a great! The disadvantage is tone. If you want to be popping and slapping it won't get the sound your looking for. You need to play with can't really play with roundworm strings either without damaging the neck over time so you are limited to a darker tone. (There are some half-rounds that get a bit of a brighter sound). The advantages action can be lower because there are no frets in the way which makes it so much nicer on your fretting hand. You'll be able to play faster right off the bat. I say go for it. They're kinda cooler anyway.
How many little kids play violin?
If you played upright, you have the ear to play fretless electric bass.
If you play upright, fretless bassguitar will be a brease