The Unique Fretless Bass Explored

Fretless basses occupy a strange corner of the bass world. Often forgotten and rarely seen in the wild, yet equally an alluring prospect we all want to try out at least once. This kind of limbo means that you won’t see many players day-to-day, but when you finally do – well you know they’re the real deal, so be sure to take note.

Fretless basses were not an intended design at first and arrived as the result of modifications made to the original fretted bass design by Leo Fender during the early 60s. Players simply removed the frets from their fretboards and filled the holes accordingly, leading to a fretless bass. Several key players have popularised the sound and style fretless basses offer, and have indelibly made their mark on bass history. Let’s dive in and uncover the magic of the fretless bass.

What Makes a Fretless Bass Unique?

Fundamentally, the only difference between a fretted and fretless bass is the fingerboard itself. When a string is pressed down on a fretless bass it makes direct contact with the fretboard instead of a fret. It follows the same principle as classical instruments such as the double bass, cello, and violin, in that it is a microtonal instrument. This means that the player has access to every established note and all the microtones that lie between.

This unique property opens up a huge array of techniques that a fretted bass cannot easily emulate. Slides are smooth and sound incredible, and small modulations, trills, and bends have more nuance than a fretted bass can offer.

With that said, all these awesome features come at a cost. Simply, they’re just much harder to play well. As most contemporary bands and instruments use standard notes of the scale – guitars, piano, etc. – the fretless player needs to have superb control of their finger placement to ensure intonation matches the rest of the band. The microtonal capabilities need to be an intentional part of playing, not an accident from poor fretting technique.

Most fretless basses will use flatwound or tapewound strings, both for the rounded tone and for the reduced wear the strings will put on the fretboard itself. Roundwounds work just fine, so if you prefer the tone don’t feel you can’t – Jaco used rounds!

Keys to a good fretless technique

Aside from just great sensibilities and creativity, there are a few steps you can take to make the most of a fretless bass.

• A proper setup

While we strongly believe everyone should have their basses set up properly for the best results, a fretless is critical – specifically, the intonation. Without pinpoint intonation, you simply don’t stand a chance of playing accurately. Get it set up!

• Slide over hammer-ons

While good technique will often advocate for a hammer-on between two notes, such as an E to F#, to keep your playing economical and reduce movement in your fretting hand, a slide might suit the sound and style of fretless playing better.

• Use vibrato liberally

Vibrato is a key technique in all bass playing but becomes a core aspect of the fretless sound. The vibrato effect from your finger has a huge impact on the overall sound of a held note, making for an engaging sound.

• Learn your fretboard inside out

Understanding where you are becomes a vital part of effective fretless playing, as you have less support from the instrument itself in orienting yourself.

In the next section, we’ll break down some pivotal tracks that could only be achieved with a fretless bass from some of the key fretless bassists to study during your journey.

Pino Palladino: Paul Young’s Wherever I Lay My Hat (1983)

Perhaps one of the most iconic bass intros to a song ever performed on a fretless bass by pioneering legend Pino Palladino. The song opens with just Pino’s fretless line – a riff on a classical Stravinsky composition – and percussion. Paul Young shortly joins for the verse where a back-and-forth conversation between Young and Palladino ensues.

The tone feels like it has chorus or modulation aplenty, but is largely the tone of the fretless itself. The microtonality lends a slightly out-of-phase sound, which is mostly what chorus effects seek to emulate. Secondly, the slides are glassy smooth and rise and fall with no interruption.

Jaco Pastorius: Weather Report’s A Remark You Made (1977)

While Jaco and Weather Report are notorious for the bombastic track Teen Town – a brilliant example of Jaco’s virtuosity itself – we’ve opted for a lesser-known but soulful track from the same album.

This slow jazz-infused instrumental number showcases the incredible voicing and tonal range of a fretless bass. Pastorius showcases several critical aspects of fretless playing – vibrato, glissando, sustained notes – and does so effortlessly. It’s a beautiful song and we highly recommend watching it through to the end.

The Bottom Line

Fretless basses will never occupy the same spotlight as their fretted brethren. The added challenge, complexity, and unique sound simply doesn’t lend itself to certain genres and types of players.

With that said, fretless basses are in so many ways an untapped well of creativity for you to explore. The unique tone and playing styles on offer open up new possibilities, and every bassist owes it to themselves to check one out sooner rather than later.

Bassbros stock a range of fretless basses. Come along and pick one up to start your fretless journey.