3 Big Fretless Bass Mistakes (which one’s are you making?)
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- Опубліковано 22 бер 2019
- Ok, so let's talk about fretless bass... because yes, it's awesome, but there are some extremely common mistakes that many bass players make.
You've likely heard players such as Pino Palladino, Kai Eckhardt, Michael Manring and Jaco Pastorius... and felt that you wanted to unleash your inner fretless player... if so, you're in the right place!
In this lesson you're going to learn why bass players struggle with intonation on the fretless (it's not what you think), why vibrato is a big problem area, and way more...
And... yep, there's even more...
I'm also giving away the Ibanez Gary Willis fretless signature bass I'm using in this new video... and, it's been used and set-up by Gary Willis himself!
As always, see you in the shed...
Scott :)
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Mistake #3 is exactly the reason I got a fretless. You can't take that away from me.
ha ha yeah I just bought my first fretless, and just call me a 90s TV show because I'm note sliders
I'm a cellist and well... intonation, vibrato and avoiding slides are really things that we need to work on to get it right :)
My biggest fretless mistake is playing fretless in the first place.
Oh JESUS!
LOL, I'm dying!
haha... I was thinking the same... the first mistake is to get a fretless bass
same here!
it's so frustrating when you finally realised that your technique is not ready for playing a fretless.
I definitely grabbed mine too early, but I had a bit of a leg up in that I'd (badly) played a fretted Jazz Bass off and on for a couple years and had played 4 years of trombone, so relative positioning was kinda ingrained. It's only now when I'm trying to get past a plateau of laziness and actually improve my knowledge of music theory when i want to know exact what fret I'm on......a little harder with the only fret indicator being at 12!
I plan to buy a fretted again (because I miss actual nice slap/poppin' too) postehaste!
I'd probably do them all if I had a fretless
Love fretless, I learned on upright, you memorize positions and use your ears...Some things cannot be played on fretless, other things must be played on fretless. Biggest mistake is not working at it!
Scott- I've been playing instruments for as long as I can remember. Though I get almost weekly work [mostly] playing drums at a recording studio (located in a nearby city), the good old 6-string acoustic guitar is my main instrument. I've become very lucky/blessed over the years getting to play with quite a few different local bands almost every month, usually from behind a drumset, but sometimes on keys or guitar (elec. or acous.).. but there's one group in particular who always calls me when they've got a decent sized gig in the books, just 2 guys who both play acoustic guitar, one of them plays a bass drum and snare using pedals, and they both sing. ..with them, I get to play BASS! They're both insanely talented, always have a perfect set list covering multiple genres (popular songs from Prince, Tom Petty, Clapton, Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Justin Timberlake, Sheeran, Bruno Mars, Macklemore, Stapleton, etc) and they can hold the attention of a crowd, whether there's 25 people in a bar or several thousand at a special event! Anyway.. I just want to say *Thank You* for being the reason I've been able to advance my Bass playing, even though it's unfortunately what I get the least experience/practice from! Without your lessons, tips, knowledge, etc, I wouldn't have been able to get my favorite gig! Keep doing what you do, introducing the online community to some of the greatest players out there, and making it possible for experienced musicians to find such value and importance from your hard work & massive dedication!
Peace & Love from Missouri, USA -Todd
I’ve always had pretty big hands and wondered why my range wasn’t any better than other bass players,turns out I’ve been playing with a scrunched hand the whole time. I noticed an immediate improvement when I focused on keeping my hand straight, thanks for the tip. I’m sure there’s more to come in the seminar .
A vibrato on every note is like putting ketchup on everything.
When I started playing fretless again two years ago, I went through these mistakes one by one, and after decades of being a fretted-only player, still catch myself falling into that bad fretting technique from time to time, but I work on it constantly. My first bass when I was 17 was a cheap Univox fretless which was all that my mom (being honest here; we were poor) could afford, so I made a lot of mistakes, got called on it a lot, but also learned pretty quick that keeping a steady groove and not doing a bunch of sliding and finger waggling was its own reward, because older musicians especially appreciated it, and told me so, and didn't mind asking me back to the next jam, house party, or bar gig.
I've always gotten more of a kick out of learning some deceptively simple groove from some old Stax or Atlantic recording which, after delving into actually learning it, proved to have subtleties that under cut my first impressions. I play fretless not because I want to mimic one of the undoubted masters that everybody loves, but simply because it feels right to my fingers and hands and ears, and I love playing in the pocket with it.
I am fortunate I began learning classical violin and then classical guitar, and one of the first things you learn is technique. Exactly what Scott is teaching is correct. But when I got my hands finally on a fretless bass I made the last two mistakes constantly! Another common mistake is being too busy! In saying that, biggest influence is Pino Palladino. I grew up in the 80's and can remember listening to Paul Young. I remember asking my violin teacher what that beautiful sound was I kept tuning into, and he told me it was a fretless bass guitar. Right from that moment on I wanted one! However, I did my exams on voice and classical guitar. I got my first bass several years later, a fretted Westone Thunder, the action was so high you could drive a bus under it lol, but it got me started. Several years after that in my late teens I ended up working full time in the music industry as a session bass guitarist. After work dried up I finally splashed out and got my first fretless. It was the only bass I owned. I went out gigging right away with it, not for the faint hearted! Then a few more years later I progressed to a 5 string fretless, a Warwick bass guitar. I still have that bass. It had no fret markings at all. I recently purchased the Marcus Miller 5 string fretless Jazz bass, and this thing is awesome!!! However I haven't played for 4 years, I am struggling a bit with the stretch on my left hand. I am so glad it has line markings! I am being a lot more sensible in my older age! It is possible to play in tune without, but it's when you start playing chords and stuff up the neck for instance, it becomes a lot more difficult for the reasons Scott has said. My playing at the moment sounds naff. I became very disabled 4 years ago, and am now in a wheelchair. I am struggling with the huge stretch on the bass guitar, especially it being a fretless, there's no room for error, it's frustrating for me because I know how to play bass, but it's extremely painful. Especially playing chords and octaves. Because it's a fretless bass. Mmmmmmm
I hope it gets better for you.
Have you tried out whether it’s better on a shortscale bass?
the GWB205e is one of my favorite basses, If I had to keep one that would probably be it, Gary and his bass creation with Ibanez is almost near perfection in my mind
Scott. This is one of your VERY BEST videos, wow man, this has floored me , thanks,,,,,,,,
Great lesson Scott. I always love seeing the fretless promoted as it’s such a sweet instrument.
Been studying with Gary for a while, he definitely helped me fix number 2!
I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS! they saved me SO many times in jazz bass!
I'm tasteful enough about #2 and #3, but #1 is a revelation, i'm going to check that out and keep an eye on that, thanks
To play fretless tastefully is a wonderful thing. Your tips sound obvious at first glance, but are actually quite valuable reminders. Gracias, señor
Love the tips on how to play a fretless bass, well hopefully I can win that one so I can have a chance to try out those techniques. Great knowledge as always Scott keep up the good content for us, Thanks
My man! I haven’t been following you for ever but it’s been a good while and I finally get to see you play Ibanez and its AWESOME
Signed up for the Gary Willis seminar and watched it already. Thank you so much for that. It would be awesome to win this bass and get working on the fretless skills.
Well done explanation. Love the attitude. Enjoyed watching. Keep up the great work
Damn I think I over-vibratoed my life this is why it sucks... Thanks Scott :D
Man!!! I love you. You almost make spill out my coffee through the nose when I hear your example of vibrato in singers. I going to buy a squier affinity Jazz bass fret less, inspired in you know who. And I going to follow this fret less manifiesto.
I started on violin long before i started playing fretless, and i had a teacher that would say about vibrato that every note that can be vibrated should be vibrated BUT you have to be conscious about what effect that vibrato is having. In classical bowed instrument performance, theres a huge range of different vibrato expressions, like delaying the vibrato, varying the intensity over the duration of the note, etc. you can also use a short pulse of intense vibrato to make your accents more accent-y. For every single note you play, you have to be mindful about the vibrato you choose to use, just like any other element of expression, and choosing not to vibrate can also be an expressive choice.
my biggest fretless mistake is not having one yet after absolutely loving it when I tried one in a store. It was a pretty cheap ibanez but damn that slidey stuff you can do on it is awesome
Been playing in a dark room for five years, my ear has gotten better but I havent tried playing a fretless till now, the intonation tip was very helpful.
I love the fretless, I have been playing one for around 20 years off and on. I used to do the over vibrato thing for sure. It took me a while to realize why it was an impedance.
You are 100% right about the three big problems!
This guy never gives up lol!! He is a bass fanatic 😂
I don't do any of these on a fretless...
Not like I have a fretless on the first place.
Maybe it's the fact my first bass and the majority of my basses are fretless that apart from intonation (when first learning) that I've never really fallen into those traps. Maybe if I had learned on a Fretted Bass first I would have fallen into those. Either way I think this was a fun video. It was actually hard for me to transition to fretted since I had to move all of my fingers back just that tiny bit and that was enough to throw me off (but I'm an idiot). I probably fell into traps for that type of bass.
Also: turn the chorus pedal down or off - my weakness 😁
There was a master of slides and vibrato, who seemed to put them all over the place. (And his weird middle-eastern musical style also helped). But then when you tried to learn and replicate his basslines you'd discover that those tricks were ONLY in the right places... the late Mick Karn!
Gary doesn't know it, because I never really talked to him about it, but he was one of my biggest influences as a teenager. He was a couple years ahead of me in high school, and I still remember how serious he was about music even as a high school kid. I admired him greatly. At the time he was a guitar player. I still remember his Vox amp. He didn't really play bass until a few years later at East Texas State, when they didn't have a bass player for the Jazz band, and Gary became the bass player. Unfortunately, Gary left ETSU the year I started, so I didn't get to overlap with him there. But I'm really happy for my homeboy, that he's become such an amazing musician. You can still hear the "Pine Tree" twang in his voice now and then :p
Been eyeing a GWB35 for a while. Definitely will have my crack at it.
Super cool I love the riffs and tone
that opening lick was so cool !!!!
Amazing! As always...
Bravo! Great advice...(Nice Panerai wrist watch, also.)
I got my first fretless bass in '97. It was a Guild Pilot 4 with an unlined ebony board. I started playing bass 1984-85 and I always gravitated to the one-finger-per-fret method. So when I got the Guild fretless, I wasn't at all frightened, but thrilled! I have an unlined LTD Vintage 214 4 with passive S.Duncan pj setup and lined Ibanez 375ef now. I'm somewhat restrained in my use of vibrato and harmonics. Vibrato is a lot gentler and easier to do if done subtly; lots of cats try too hard. I recommend GHS Pressurewound strings on rosewood boards; they sound like rounds for a week, then mellow out and growl nicely without fretboard damage.
Always a pleasure, Scott! I'd be thrilled to have that GWB! 😃
I've often thought that the reasons Scott outlines is why Jaco recommended and used cello exercises for developing good fretless technique. I bought one of the collections that he used and it does help a lot.
This is really helpful for big violin players like me (I think orchestra people call it a cello or something)
when i first got my hands on a fretless, after playing guitar for 20 years, sliding into notes just the last millimeter helped me a lot, to build the muscle memory for hitting the notes spot on. ..and milking that mwah a bit too much is just too much fun!
My guy Scott's technique is at a mastery level
i apreciate your input and love your vibe man, thanks a lot, i got my self in to this(Bass playing) and as a drummer it is so fabulous-to discover (New) things again, we take, at least me, a lot of things for granted when playing with talented people, and ohhh beware of making an Ooops on this instrument. The Bass is a "Unique' Wonder. When the Bassist works everyone involuntary go in to its trance. ill be more in touch with my (Brass less) friend. My Fretless J Bass from Fender it its so mistical, its voice is like "Rubber Soul" Slinky kind of deep end on my words. thanks again bro blessingns to the fam and co worker. Angel
As someone who has come to the fretless bass from trombone, damn straight I'm sliding in to every single note - it's what we trombonists do!
Late to the party, but many many singers should watch this lesson as well. knock it off with excessive slides and vibratos!
I need this bass!
Well said!
Thanks great video!
I want 4:41 to be my new ring tone
So, who‘s the big winner?
Fascinating to think about various rock musicians that have played fretless bass. The one that comes to my mind is Sting, who used several fretless bass guitars with the Police, playing them with a flat pick. Talk about opposite ends.
Beautiful bass!
Good real world practical advice...
I play both but I LOVE my fretless. SO expressive!
This bass just sounds amazing
My biggest mistake was buing Squier fretless: sounds good, but... I tried for one year to play on it, than went to luthier who spent 3 days on polishing fretboard and setting up: still action is so high, that all you can do is to jump jump with your fingers. Thanks for Your precious lessons, Scott! Instead of buing bass I should have invite You to play with me ; )
amazing video
Been watching all the Tony Franklin video's. Been itching for a fretless myself.
And Tony Franklin's hand technique is everything Scott says you shouldn't do but it obviously works for him.
Thanks Scott great advice. I know this is maybe a long shot but I'm looking for Gary's Triphasic 'Shaman' cd. I'd be grateful if you'd remember to ask him where I might be able to get a copy. I've tried everywhere. Thanks again.
I used to have a fretless without lines and it was ok, once I got one with lines my intonation got way better. We tend to bend the fingers a lot and the lines one kept me aware of my bad positioning and also correct my technique
Thanks brother...
I signed up. Man, Scott is great at bass and great at marketing.
Hey Scott, THE most important question for me now is: I'm already in the (Gary) shed before you decided to give away this mega awesome bass, so... am I in for the black monster as well?!? :-) I've met Gary in the States a couple of times when I was there for The Bass Bootcamp in Reading. Great guy, lovely wife :-) Great lessons from you as well, Scott. Cheers, Hans (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
My biggest fretless mistake was trying to use a passive fretless with an active fretted on the same gig. Too much of an impact on the mix with the gain difference so I pretty much stopped bringing my fretless until I sold it. Might need an active one.
Major plus to the vibrato and slide comments. Very true. Would you say that vibrato and slide on a fretless are the same over done thing that slap is on fretted?
Thank you.
I'd appreciate some videos on plucking hand technique.
You should play more fretless. Sounds great!
HOLY SHMOKES THAT’S A BEAUTIFUL BASS 😭😍
Nice one.
Hi Scott! Greatings for your you tube channel and sorry for my bad english!😢
I have two question, I have a Gary Willis bass natural 2005, not the expensive but the "normal".
The questions are: how i can set the bartolini electronic, rear the bass there is a little white botton to turn, and which is the better way for the great fretless tone with the bass and high knob? Thank you! Giuseppe (Italy)
I just started playing the fretless bass and I don't have any of these problems. I started playing the violin before the bass though, so that may be why. I find when I'm using a slide I have these issues a bit more, but thats because I don't have my technique down yet. Also, I rarely used a slide on my fretless instruments.
J'admire profondément votre travaille wooow j'aimerais beaucoup avoir cette fretless
I have this bass and tuned EADGC, lot of fun with the high C
Not enough 5 string players have a high C set in my opinion. What gauge string are you using from which company?
I had a Tobias 5 string that I tuned like that with a hip tuner so I could get a dropped note
@@petertrotman7708 I bought it from an online store, second hand, then I can't tell you, I'm sorry!
How wide is the fretboard at the nut and at the 12th fret?
@@milesridnell Why?? 4,5 and 6 cm
In general, don't overuse gimmicks or techniques. Always have them serve a purpose. Great example of this principle imho is the fretless bass player Forest from formerly Beyond Creation.
yea... but the seminar is not there anymore in 2022....I'd have loved to watch it
You are a great bassist. I live in Argentina, greetings. excellent your work
Realmente es un capo el tipo... Saludos del interior.
Argentina! I hope that if you get a fretless bass, try (just try) to learn the bassline of some of the songs of Serú Girán. Pedro Aznar is just so amazing in that band, and his creative genius is shown in how his bass moves the song excellently.
@@gustavovalladares5296 Yes, I would probably get a fretless bass and try Seru Giran songs, although they are pretty difficult... I'm still learning bass, you know?
Pedro Aznar Is no doubt a genius... Thanks for the recommendation though.
I used to play a lot with the lights off. I still do now and then.. not because I think I’ll be better. I just can’t stop the sun from going down. Despite my efforts. If it gets dark while I play I do find though the over all mood changes. Less accurate possiblyyyyy however significantly more free flowing. Kinda like when you begin a jam track and it’s like “ok cool, 2, 3, 4. Then like five minutes later you’re the guy from beyond creation…
My biggest fretless mistake is not owning one. I would love to but I don’t have the money to buy it myself, so I might as well give this a try
That's good advice about vibrato. Its a shame its more preached than practiced by singers (classical or pop) and UA-cam Bass influencers who just can't sit still on a note. Its hard to develop 'good taste', so hear (LOL) are a few things to think about: don't think of shifting between notes without a finger change as 'slides', because that will cause you to move your left hand 'at tempo', instead of 'snapping' it extra fast, otherwise you will create drunken glissandi, wherein the notes are ;unduly' connected by the notes 'in between', which are emphasised rather than excused! A little stop in the sound (release of right hand pressure) followed by an early articulation to the next note as you approach it (as quickly as possible) will cause an approximation of the effect you hear violinists and cellist create with the bow. Oh...and don't use it as an approach to the final note of a phrase.
Here, listen to the acknowledged master of all of these techniques on the trombone, which otherwise suffers from its mechanical method. You'll be glad you did! He is lyrically amazing. You'll hear the difference between portamento and glissandi, how an when to use them tastefully to inflect a melody, and how to bring in vibrato to 'color' a note, rather than overpower or replace it. This is L.A. studio musician Alan Kaplan, who is hands down the best ballade player in the world. Here is just one example, but there are several more on posted on UA-cam. I suggest you buy his MMO play-along volumes, and get used to playing melodies that actually warrant...'care and attention', because they are just that lyrical, and let someone else takes care of the bass duties while you 'sing' over top!
In short...STOP THINKING LIKE BASS PLAYERS WHEN YOU SOLO, by stop listening to bass players for direction; most of whom are poorly advised about melody for seldom in the course of a career being asked to play one.
ua-cam.com/video/FWXgTGF6xn0/v-deo.htmlsi=LVRQHO-AEeKasOd3
I’ve never played bass guitar before, and I’ve been wondering whether fretted or fretless is better to begin with. I guess it’s a personal preference. Ever since watching Scott’s fretless videos, I’ve been debating which one to learn. It’s just that I find the fretless cooler.
If I knew what I knew now, 20 years later, I would've started with fretless. There is nothing to Fretted, you can't fuq a note up. It's there you press and it's played. But fretless takes a lot more work, it's a different beast.
A thing that might help is explaining "note pinning", which is starting a tiny bit flat, and rolling up just a hair into the note. If you do it right, you'll get a lot more of that fretless "mwhaaahh" that many fretless consider the grail of fretless tone. Also, I'd HIGHLY recommend checking out Maestro Dann Glenn. He too was an Musicians Institute instructor, and is a WEALTH of knowledge, especially when it comes to fretless bass, but also just music and life in general. Nice playing!
And btw, most of the time, pinning is an almost instant process. Work well on upright, too.
@@N0B0DY_SP3C14L I hate "mwhaw"
The link to reserve your spot isn’t working
I got a fretless recently (mainly a guitar player) because it felt so nice to play, but I essentially try to make it not sound fretless. Any tips on doing this?
Oh man... That vibrato 😄 totally me
so basically finger well and dont overdo the sweetspots. got it.
all jokes aside great tips, im seriously considering getting into fretless and its good to know whats good whats not.
Oh Yeahh! ) that bass
my big mistake is I had to sell it. I really could use the one you give away.
how i get the giveaway bass from that link?
Great advice! I'll admit that I found a little mistake.... in the video title: "one's". Gotcha! :) Sorry, couldn't resist!
Sir Scott i'm studying fretless bass and i still get confuse where should i exactly hit the note .. some players say that should be right before the fretline and some say on the fretline . I just really wanna know which one is the proper one. Now i'm having trouble adjusting the bridge back and fort lol . Not to mention i already have a crappy fretless bass is the huge trouble. ..thank you in advance sir if you answer . Have a good day
I've thought the glove is magical in some typa way.. it just might be true...#wink
My biggest mistake playin frettless is being unsure on my fingerplacement, & start using vibrato to try to cover up what i think are mistskes. But are not.
Is this a click bait???
Lol
I dont have a fretless bass but i would sure love to own one!!
Many blessings ur way Scott!!
Never played one but.... Want to try out.....
Hi Scott - I have never ventured into the world of fretless, but watching you play for a couple of years now I wonder why you don't play MORE fretless than you do? Your approach to bass and your sort of native voice in Bass playing is very jazzy and very improvisational which would seem to want to capitalize on the benefits of fretless. The rest of us hacks who play pop and rock (and the occasional orchestra gig) need frets to keep us honest. Why don't you prefer fretless to fretted bass?
mick karn breaking all these rules and still kicked ass
3:10 notice how he doesn't mention the viola😂😂 classical musicians will understand
Nice video,nice bass,I don't do 5vers...cause if you're gonna do 5 why not 6 and if your gonna do 6 might as well play lead...I'll stay with my happy back beat boogie woogie heavy metal simple 4.