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The fretless guitar is a guitar without frets (including similarly configured bass guitars known as fretless bass). It operates in the same manner as most other stringed instruments and traditional guitars, but does not have any frets to act as the lower end point (node) of the vibrating string. On a fretless guitar, the vibrating string length runs from the bridge (also called chair), where the strings are attached, all the way up to the point where the fingertip presses the string down on the fingerboard.
Advantages and disadvantages
There are two often cited advantages of fretless guitar:
- Unique sound. The fingertip is relatively soft (when compared to solid and hard fret) and absorbs energy from vibrating string much faster, thus, effectively making a pizzicato (more damped) sound.
- Musical freedom. Performer has a relative freedom of positioning the hand and playing by ear, not constrained with particular musical tuning, as in case with fretted instrument. This can be viewed as a disadvantage, as playing fretless instrument usually requires much more training. It also requires much tighter coupling between ears and fingers while playing.
However, acoustic fretless guitars are very quiet and are barely used in practice. Two notable modifications are usually used instead:
- Bass guitars feature much heavier strings and bigger resonant body to amplify the sound, thus sound relatively loud even fretless.
- With an invention of electronical sound amplification, particularly electric guitars, sound can be amplified to the necessary extent.
Fretless manufacture
Most of today's fretless guitars are modification of factory made traditionally "fretted" guitars. However, there are also professional builders specialising in fretless guitars.
Fretless bass guitars are much more common than fretless guitars in modern music and commerce, with many manufacturers offering these as standardly available models.
Notable users
In alphabetic order:
- Steve Bailey has done pioneering work with the six string fretless bass guitar and artificial harmonics.
- Adrian Belew (King Crimson) has occasionally used fretless guitars.
- Jack Bruce (Cream) uses a fretless Warwick bass guitar.
- Les Claypool (Primus) has a Carl Thompson six string fretless bass named the Rainbow Bass.
- Kevin Corren uses a fretless upright string bass made from stainless steel.
- Rick Danko of The Band used a fretless bass for several years, starting from the recording of the album Stage Fright. However, he went back to using a fretted bass around the time of The Last Waltz.
- Steve DiGiorgio, one of the best bass players in Heavy Metal, plays a five string fretless bass, seldom he uses normal bass.
- Tim Donahue uses self-made fretless guitars.
- David Gilmour the guitarist for Pink Floyd uses fretless bass on several of Pink Floyd's songs.
- Marshall Jones, bassist of Ohio Players was the first known person to take out the frets of an electric bass
- Mick Karn, former bassist of Japan and avantgarde musician, uses fretless bass guitar since late 1970s.
- Pat Metheny uses either a fretless electric guitar or bass guitar on some works.
- Rick Nielsen (guitarist for Cheap Trick) has a fretless six-string as the bottom neck on his famous five-necked Hamer guitar.
- Erkan Oğur makes nearly all his music with self-made fretless guitars.
- Pino Palladino, noted session bassist, famous for his fretless bass method.
- Jeroen Paul Thesseling plays microtonal world music, uses six-string fretless Warwick basses.
- Jaco Pastorius (Weather Report) is considered the most influential on fretless bass. He is acredited for applying a boat epoxy to his fingerboard; not only to protect the fingerboard from harmful roundwound strings, but it gave him his unique sound that he is so well known for.
- Sting used a fretless bass when he was with the Police.
- Andy Summers (The Police) also used a fretless Hamer guitar.
- Steve Vai occasionally plays a three-necked guitar, featuring a fretless neck.
- Lars Norberg (Spiral Architect) uses a fretless bass.
Michael ATONAL Vick http://www.TheMichaelVickTrip.com
Unfretted - The Fretless Guitar Resource http://www.unfretted.com