Fretless Guitar

[Vinny Stefanelli]

Ha Ha… You nailed it with your description of "speed bumps!" I used a guitar through a synth and when I used a violin sound, it didn't have a smooth glissando - it was hitting speed bumps.

I met Dave Fiuczynski. Nice guy. He has the double neck - fretted/unfretted which is nice to be able to access both but it's extremely heavy and he said it takes a toll on his back.

Keep playing !

Vinny Stefanelli

[SearchForMeaning]

bako, a cello player, eh? Very Cool. I think it comes from the relative position of fingertip positioning needed for guitar playing, it's not as strong a "grip" for me to reach on a guitar. Playing with a more vertical neck position, maybe like Stowell, might help some, I'll give it a try.
Honestly though, it's just the learning curve has me tackling issues one at a time and coming from a fretted world where a pinky stretching onto the corner of a fret area gives a clean note, needing to be point to point accurate to hit three notes of a chord works sometimes, and sometimes it's still a shock how wrong a note can be!
Learning to voice with consideration to reach is a different attitude. Too, finger length and hand size come into it more than the forgiving fret world. Still, it's a big priority to make at least triad chords a part of my vocabulary.
In fret world, chord choice has become a matter of sound and "reach-ability" became a low priority a while ago.

Jake, for me it was a fun novel sound (one I really wanted) for a while. The more I played it, the less I would use any fretless associated sounds. Now I've got pretty accurate intonation, finding controlled nuance can be a priority. All of this takes time. So if you want, do spend the time. The instrument changes under your fingers as you mature to it. And get some filler, epoxy or something to fill in the fret gaps, otherwise the neck will tend to warp over time like a scored piece of food in a fry pan. That air gap looks very tempting to a neck with the full pull of strings on it.

Vinny, Fuze was selling that guitar, having another made. Man! That thing's a back breaker, for me at least. And though I'd love to have access to a fretted guitar instantly, the neck position changes and the other neck is somehow in the way. He uses a smaller scale on the fretless, because many of the instruments he shares vocabulary with are short scaled fretless.
I use the low end of the frequency enough to miss that if I went that way.

Nice to be dealing with an instrument where the field is pretty open. It's like being free to play without a lot of "experts" to contend with. NO BIRDLAND!

[Vinny Stefanelli]

I now have 3 guitars that I removed the frets… all inexpensive guitars I've been experimenting with but I have to say that a smaller scale works much better for a fretless. I lower the tuning to get a low end of the frequency.
VS

[SearchForMeaning]

Has anyone any pointer to the use of fretless guitar in jazz?
I mean, a creative use, for playing something peculiar to the instrument, not (or hardly) feasible on a traditional guitar, meant as a style fingerprint, and not as a special effect to be used just to surprise the audience (whether played good or bad )

I've seen some youtube video of Dave Fiuczynski, but I think he (and his style) is not the only one...

Just curious, as at the moment I have one to experiment with...

bye
Enrico

Hey welcome to this little corner. I'm still playing fretless, and I'd found the feedback from the others here helpful. I'm putting more diadic and triadic chordal ideas into my playing now. I'm also starting to use some of the Goodchord voice leading ideas, broken into two diads. Very challenging, very interesting.

[e_del]

The fretless has also improved my fretted playing.

hi there,
that's what I'm using it for... you *have* to be precise with your left hand fingers.
(and still I am not)

having a cheap telecaster-like guitar, and a couple of old true telecaster pickup, I went to a liuthier and made it fretless, and after some refining, mainly to the nut and bridge, to adapt their heights to the fretless string action.
I painted the fretboard with epoxy varnish that solidified like glass.
Flatwound 012 string set and voilà...


Actually the sustain on high E and B is a bit lacking, but it's not really a problem.
I use the instrument to play single note melodies, and I consider the guitar as a "singer", that has the best range in the zone between 5th and 12th fret, on strings 6 to 2...
So i consider the "poor" notes above as expression, as real singers do.. you reach them, but don't stay in that range too much... just to complete some melodic phrase...

Another thing, I try not to go with distortion... it raises the sustain, but lowers the nuances that make the sound alive...

But it's only a few weeks I have it under my fingers. Maybe in a few months I'll change my mind.

good to see I'm not the only crazy one here around

[cchhrriisstt]

Hi There,
I'm a fretless guitarist for many years now, and I recorded my first album during this year. You can check out some informations on www.lesmouvements.com and listen to one of my tune here (played on fretless harp guitar) :

The instrument :

[D.G.]

In my experience, a nylon string guitar is the way to go if going fretless.

[GNAPPI]

Hmmm... I have a "custom" tele nack that sux, I might convert mine. What did those that converted to use to fill the empty fret wire slots? My neck is REALLY dark rosewood I'd think a very light filler like a bleached white maple strip would be cool for the illusion of frets.

I bet you could do some wicked glissando on such a neck, it might be worth losing sustain and never having fret buzz!

[Jahloon]

To increase sustain the fretless guitar needs setting up properly. This is So important. If you are worried about filing the nut down, just take a capo and clamp it near the nut - that will give you a taste for what it will sound and play like.

[grahambop]

FRETLESS GUITAR WORTH £400,000

Once owned by John Lennon and George Harrison apparently.

Beatles guitar valued at PS400,000 on Antiques Roadshow - BBC News

[pcjazz]

Imagine the cost if it had frets!