Fretless bass

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A fretless bass ( English fretless = fretless) is an electric bass (or an acoustic bass) with a fingerboard without frets . The first mass-produced fretless electric bass model was launched in the United States in 1966 .

history

A four-string fretless electric bass from the German manufacturer Sandberg Guitars

In 1951, the American engineer and inventor Leo Fender invented the modern electric bass with frets with the Fender Precision Bass . Since then, the demand for bassists who played this electrically amplified "horizontal bass" in music bands and recording studios has increased. Quite a few double bass players missed orders because they had problems switching to an instrument with frets.

The exact origin of the fretless electric bass is unclear. Bill Wyman , best known as the bass player for the English rock band The Rolling Stones , can be considered one of the first fretless bass players. Wyman reported in an interview about his first electric bass, from which he removed the frets in 1961 because they caused too much background noise when playing:

"[...] He snarled at every note because the frets were so worn. I thought I'd just rip the frets out and put new ones in as soon as I can afford it. But when I ripped it out, it suddenly sounded really good! That's why I never used the frets and I think it was the first fretless bass ever. "

The first series-produced fretless electric bass was offered by the American company Ampeg : the two double bass players Everett Hull and Jess Oliver founded the Ampeg company in New York City as early as the late 1940s . The company has been manufacturing pickup systems for double basses and electric bass amplifiers since the 1950s . In 1962, the Ampeg Baby Bass, a small-format electric double bass, came onto the market.

Ampeg found out from its customers about the difficulties that double bass players had with fretted electric basses. The company founders Hull and Oliver had the idea of ​​making an electric bass without frets. In 1966, Ampeg employee Dennis Kager, electrical engineer and guitarist , designed the AUB-1 ( Ampeg Unfretted Bass ) electric bass model . Like a double bass, the model has a pegbox with a scroll and tuning mechanisms with rear wings to appeal to double bass players. This fretless fretboard electric bass went into production that same year and became a market success. For a period of almost four years, the fretless Ampeg electric bass was the only one of its kind. The model got its first competition from the Fender company , which launched a fretless version of the Precision Bass in 1970 . Ironically, the Fender model had originally got its name because of the frets, the precision of intonation easier. A fretless version of the Fender Jazz Bass , the company's second electric bass model, and fretless electric basses from other manufacturers followed. Since the 1970s, the fretless electric bass has established itself as a popular alternative to the electric bass with frets.

Essence and tone formation

The fretless fingerboard gives the instrument its characteristic sound , which can be similar to that of a double bass . He is often referred to as "woody", "growling" or "singing". This is caused by the fact that the string being picked does not have contact with the fret, as is the case with a conventional electric bass, but rests directly on the fingerboard. That's why real glissandi are also possible. A much more important criterion, however, is the possibility of differentiated tone formation, which is not available on an instrument with frets. Similar to the double bass, notes can be played with vibrato . The tone can be shaped, the depth of expression of the tones enriched.

Style of play

The fretless bass requires a different style of playing than the fretted bass. Since the frets are missing, accurate intonation by the player is required, similar to that of string instruments . This not only requires good hearing for the subtleties of a correct pitch , but also precise security in hitting the notes, combined with a well-developed playing technique of the gripping hand. The visual aids, markings on or on the side of the fingerboard, are only approximate orientation aids with the fretless bass and in no way replace careful intonation. A clean intonation on fretless fingerboards is indispensable in order to avoid beat tones in the fingered fundamental and in the overtones when playing multi-strings . One of the prerequisites for learning proper intonation on the fretless is training your hearing in order to notice your own mistakes immediately. In some teaching aids for fretless bass it is recommended as a practice goal to learn how to play the instrument "blindly".

Prominent and influential fretless bassists

Jaco Pastorius with a fretless electric bass performing on stage with the band Weather Report in 1977
The English bass player Jack Bruce with a fretless electric bass on a stage
  • The most influential fretless bassist is the American Jaco Pastorius (1951–1987), who removed the frets from the fingerboard of his Fender Jazz Bass in 1969 or 1970 . Pastorius is reported to have filled the resulting joints in the fingerboard with wood putty and then sealed the fingerboard with marine epoxy , a very hard boat varnish that is otherwise used to paint ship hulls. In an interview Pastorius self-confidently described himself as "the first fretless bassist":
“So it really boils down to being the first guy to use a fretless; because I'm the first to really play it, because the other guys can't play it cleanly [...]. "
  • Jack Bruce (1943–2014), who became known in the second half of the 1960s as the bass player for the English rock band Cream , switched to the fretless electric bass a few years after this supergroup broke up . Bruce had completed a university degree in cello and double bass in his youth , which made the change easier for him. The bassist said in an interview that he found it an “obvious plus to have played the double bass when playing fretless .” Jack Bruce later preferred to play the fretless electric bass model Thumb Bass from the German manufacturer Warwick , which he helped design was.
  • Michael Manring (* 1960) is an American fretless bassist who mostly works as a solo bassist. He became famous for his collaboration with guitarists Michael Hedges , Steve Morse and Alex de Grassi . Michael Manring lives in Oakland , California
  • Another well-known fretless bassist is the Welsh Italian Pino Palladino (* 1957), who has been playing fretless electric bass since the age of 18. At the age of 20, Palladino played in various funk and soul bands. He became known in the 1980s as a studio musician for a multitude of prominent performers, including Paul Young (for whose cover version of the Marvin Gaye hit Wherever I Lay my Hat he contributed the bass lines in 1983), as well as Phil Collins , Pete Townshend and David Gilmour . Palladino plays a fretless version of the Music Man StingRay electric bass model .
  • The American Steve Bailey (* 1960) is a virtuoso on the six-string fretless electric bass. He enriches his game with leaps in intervals with fifth chords and flageolet tones and plays his instrument with, among other things, distortion . Bailey, who plays double bass in addition to the electric bass, was the accompanist for the British rock band Jethro Tull and the jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, among others . Together with his bassist colleague Victor Wooten , Bailey created several music albums and instructional videos for bass.
  • Sting (* 1951), the bassist and singer of the English pop and new wave band The Police , often played his fretless bass, the Japanese model Musician , when the group performed live in the late 1970s and early 80s Ibanez brand .
The fingerboard of an electric bass that was subsequently converted into a fretless . In the enlargement you can see the filled slits left by the frets

Others

It is possible to remove the frets of a bass guitar with suitable pliers afterwards / have them removed and thus achieve a fretless bass. The slots that the removed frets leave behind in the fingerboard should be carefully filled with appropriate strips of wood so that dirt does not collect in them. This measure should be carried out by a guitar maker , but it can also be done by a good carpenter. However, it is not absolutely necessary to remove the frets to get a fretless bass. There are finished, brand-new fretless instruments from various manufacturers in all price ranges and in different quality.

literature

  • Adrian Ashton: The Bass Manual (history, technique, exercises). Voggenreiter Verlag, Bonn 2006. ISBN 3-8024-0563-3
  • Tony Bacon, Barry Moorhouse: The Bass Book - a complete illustrated history of bass guitars .
    German edition, Balafon Books, London 1996
  • Jim Roberts: American Basses - an illustrated history and player's guide .
    Backbeat Books, San Francisco 2003. ISBN 0-87930-721-8

Web links

Commons : Fretless Bass  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Bill Wyman, quoted from Adrian Ashton, translated by Sylkie Monoff: Das Bass Handbuch, p. 46
  2. ^ A b Tony Bacon, Barry Moorhouse: The Bass Book, p. 35
  3. ^ Tony Bacon, Barry Moorhouse: The Bass Book, p. 32
  4. ↑ Jim Roberts: American Basses, p. 58
  5. ^ A b Adrian Ashton: Das Bass Handbuch, p. 47
  6. ↑ Article with description of intonation and tone formation as well as exercise examples on justchords.de
  7. ↑ "In the 1970s, Pastorius defined the fretless sound, live and in the studio [...]." - in: Tony Bacon, Barry Moorhouse: The Bass Book, p. 29
  8. ^ Adrian Ashton: Das Bass Handbuch, p. 46
  9. ↑ Henrik Michaels on Jaco Pastorius (accessed October 22, 2012)
  10. ↑ Jaco Pastorius, quoted from Adrian Ashton, translated by Sylkie Monoff: Das Bass Handbuch, p. 46
  11. ↑ Jack Bruce, quoted from Adrian Ashton, translated by Sylkie Monoff: Das Bass Handbuch, p. 48
  12. ↑ Tony Bacon, Barry Moorhouse: The Bass Book, pp. 62/63. With a large-format image of the Warwick Thumb electric bass (built in 1993) by Jack Bruce
  13. ^ A b Adrian Ashton: Das Bass Handbuch, p. 48
  14. ^ Tony Bacon, Barry Moorhouse: The Bass Book, pp. 49-51. With a large-format image of Palladino's Music Man StingRay
  15. ^ Adrian Ashton: Das Bass Handbuch, p. 49
  16. ↑ Tony Bacon, Barry Moorhouse: The Bass Book, pp. 47/48. With a large-format image of Sting's Ibanez Fretless Bass