chunkielad Posted September 11, 2006 Report Share Posted September 11, 2006 (edited) Anyone done it? Any ideas on why it would be a good or bad idea? I'm off on a tangent again! Edited September 11, 2006 by chunkielad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitefly SA Posted September 11, 2006 Report Share Posted September 11, 2006 some one here did a yamaha mod and took off the last....I want to say 10 frets for "experimental soloing". No good or bad really but from what I hear the fretboard needs to be precisely radius sanded, moreso than if it were fretted. I think I've also heard that it sounds like you're always playing with a slide, if that makes any sense. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted September 11, 2006 Report Share Posted September 11, 2006 There's those vids on youtube.com of the guy that has the pattent on the guitars where you can flip a switch and the frets disappear.... some really cool sounds... but personally I'd NEVER waste the amount of money needed to build a custom on this... MAYBE i'd build a bolt on and make two necks for it....??? But even that still seems a little pricey for the gimmick you get out of it. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerb Posted September 11, 2006 Report Share Posted September 11, 2006 Fretless guitars, just as fretless basses add even more creative possibilities. It's hardly a gimmick if you actually wish to take your playing to the next level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitefly SA Posted September 11, 2006 Report Share Posted September 11, 2006 Not really the "next" level. Pretty much an adjacent level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weaponepsilon Posted September 11, 2006 Report Share Posted September 11, 2006 Not really the "next" level. Pretty much an adjacent level. I agree. I have a fretless bass and I thought it was cool until I realized that I no longer knew where half the notes were. And you have to be spot on or else it sounds off. Its good if you do a lot of sliding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digideus Posted September 12, 2006 Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 Go listen to Death's "Human" and "Individual Thought Patterns", particularly a song called "The Philosopher" as it has a fretless bass solo at the end of the song which is pretty radical. I suppose you could put fret markers on the top of the neck to indicate where the frets are supposed to be. That may help with finding the fret positions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunkielad Posted September 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 I suppose you could put fret markers on the top of the neck to indicate where the frets are supposed to be. That may help with finding the fret positions. That was the plan. I just saw it as a crazy idea that might just work. I want to make sure it's not a ridiculously stupid crazy idea that's just plain dumb! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digideus Posted September 12, 2006 Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 well, thats you and me in dumbass corner then! Thinking about it, its habit to place your finger behind the fret you are playing. With a fretless guitar, your brain would interpret the fret markers in the same way and I can forsee a player fretting the string so its slightly flat because you aim to place your finger behind the fret, and in my mind, that would be slightly off key. You may need to adjust the position of any markers to compensate for the lack of frets, but then again, it may need a few attempts to get it right :$ Does that make sence? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ooten2 Posted September 12, 2006 Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 Lots of fretless info on this link if you haven't come across it yet: http://www.unfretted.com/loader.php?LINK=main Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerb Posted September 12, 2006 Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 Not really the "next" level. Pretty much an adjacent level. I would have to disagree. Playing fretless opens up so many more possibilities for creativeness, technique, etc. One can do amazing things on fretless that you couldn't dream about doing with fretted. Needless to say, anyone who says it is a bad idea is plain ignorant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted September 12, 2006 Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 Fretless guitar is probably fine as long as you stay away from chords with more than 2 notes. Some doors when you open them force you to close others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digideus Posted September 12, 2006 Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 Some doors when you open them force you to close others. MAN, Thats Deep!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doeringer Posted September 12, 2006 Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 On some the sound has more attack but less sustain, kinda more percussive sounding. Option: take a slotted fretboard, fill the slots with a solid color epoxy (like white-ish) and sand flat (or fill with a thin veneer. Then you have fret markers and it keeps the traditional look of a neck. Here is one swimming in The Bay an acoustic/electric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logical Frank Posted September 12, 2006 Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 It sounds like a good idea to me. I would love to try one. It seems like it would be a fun challenge to work out a chording style on it and you'd probably end up working out some cool, unique chord voicings to fill out you sound. At the very least, you could make one hell of a racket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radrobgray Posted September 12, 2006 Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 well, thats you and me in dumbass corner then! Thinking about it, its habit to place your finger behind the fret you are playing. With a fretless guitar, your brain would interpret the fret markers in the same way and I can forsee a player fretting the string so its slightly flat because you aim to place your finger behind the fret, and in my mind, that would be slightly off key. You may need to adjust the position of any markers to compensate for the lack of frets, but then again, it may need a few attempts to get it right :$ Does that make sence? you dont have to move the markers just compinsate with intonation. i did a fretless conversion to a friends bass, i tryed epoxy, it worked ok. it was a pain to level the board so there were no buzzes. its really fun to play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunkielad Posted September 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 Do you have to coat the fret board? Wouldn't it be OK to just leave it as you would if you had frets? I'd oil it etc but is epoxy that necessary? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radrobgray Posted September 12, 2006 Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 Do you have to coat the fret board? Wouldn't it be OK to just leave it as you would if you had frets? I'd oil it etc but is epoxy that necessary? i uesd the epoxy to fill the fret slots, the board was ebony (hard enough for fretlessness), and he used flat-wound strings to reduce the ware, so no you dont need epoxy at all you could just use veneer to fill the slots. depending on the type of wood the board is made of determines really if you could even make it fretless, if the woods too soft itll just wear divots in your board. if you do it at least use an ebony board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunkielad Posted September 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 12, 2006 I got bubinga for the fretboard so I might get away with it. I'd use the CA and baking soda filler like the dots but then again, I drilled 9mm dots so they hit the frets in places - may just fret this one and do a fretless next time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exafro Posted September 13, 2006 Report Share Posted September 13, 2006 Fretless guitar is probably fine as long as you stay away from chords with more than 2 notes. You could always use an open tuning and then barre the strings. You won't have the most diversity with chords, but its something that could work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyManAndy Posted September 13, 2006 Report Share Posted September 13, 2006 Sounds like a neato idea. I'm thinking you'll have to be pretty exact with your fingering as far as playing goes though, or it'll sound out o' tune. It's much easier to get away with on a bass because of the way our mind works with sound. CMA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerb Posted September 13, 2006 Report Share Posted September 13, 2006 It's not as easy to get away with it if you are playing in a band situation. If you are off a bit it WILL sound dissonant. Playing by yourself isn't really an issue. It won't, however, sound as dissonant on bass for the same ammount of error because of the scale length. Who said music is supposed to be easy, though? What ever happened to creating challenges for yourself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunkielad Posted September 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2006 I'm a drummer in bands anyway - Guitar playing is for me so there's no problem there. I think I'll give it a go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyManAndy Posted September 13, 2006 Report Share Posted September 13, 2006 I know it ain't easy, I play violin . A touch off and it's like nails on a chalk board, hehe. But yeh, I see what you're saying. CMA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFW Posted December 25, 2006 Report Share Posted December 25, 2006 (edited) Also realize that the frets on guitars aren't the word of God. They're not the only notes in existence. That's like saying there's only one shade of green. We see one octave of color and look at the variation, it's infinite. Imagine what's been hidden behind the frets. Probably most of the cooler noises. Edited December 25, 2006 by DFW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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