fretless M-85

[lungimsam]

Sounds great! Your intonation is way better than mine!!!!

 

[Westerly Wood]

So I didn't end up going in this direction In fact, I don't think I picked up my AleM-85 at all since then. Almost two and a half years! But recently I felt it calling to me...



Playing with a wood pick through a SansAmp - the Geddy Lee MP40, basically like the YYZ - it gives you fat bottom end that you can blend with the higher frequency stuff - kinda like an Alembic or Rickenbacker being run in stereo - kind of a genius pedal, it fits the way I work - and Moving Pictures is probably my favorite RUSH album

Also - these strings (LaBella flats) have been on here for quite a long time. Maybe time for some new ones? I broke down and ordered short scale Pyramid flats for the first time - hope they fit (though if not I might try them on my Gibson Les Paul Triumph) - also another LaBella set just in case (760FL-M). I was motivated to order finally because when I was getting my settings dialed in, I felt frustrated with the "deadness" of the E compared to the rest. But the next night, I felt like that didn't matter - probably because I was playing along with music rather than just listening to the bass in a vacuum. So I might not change the strings for a while...

I think it is awesome that you can play all those notes without frets. wow!

 

[hieronymous]

Sounds great! Your intonation is way better than mine!!!!

Fretless is hard! I think a lot is muscle memory - you can't be guessing where you're going to jump to! But when I do miss the note, I'm bummed and rededicate myself lol Though it is kind of cool this time picking it up to find it feel more like "familiar territory" - just gotta get used to it again and put in some work!

I think it is awesome that you can play all those notes without frets. wow!

I guess I've been playing so long that the fretboard has become more of a known territory for me - even though I still don't know the names of all the notes on the fretboard! During the pandemic I applied myself a bit more to get familiar with the notes on the fretboard - but I am still more of a "feel" player than a "knowledge" player - in other words - a slacker?!!

 

[lungimsam]

Yes fretless is not easy, but it is so much fun!!!!!

 

[hieronymous]

Yes fretless is not easy, but it is so much fun!!!!!

Whoa - what's the story with that beauty?! I must have missed it - haven't been around much during my fretless Guild hiatus...

 

[lungimsam]

Whoa - what's the story with that beauty?! I must have missed it - haven't been around much during my fretless Guild hiatus...

Making my Starfire bass fretless

Started with these nippers I got. They are utterly flat on their face so they serve the dual purpose of pinching out the frets while I push down on the fretboard to reduce wood tear out. Worked great. Clean removal and no tear out and did not have to heat or water the frets before hand. The...

letstalkguild.com

 

[chazmo]

And the big challenge - the fretless part in Close to the Edge by Yes that I never knew was fretless!

Dang!!!! I didn't know that either, hieronymous!! That's über-cool stuff.

By the way, are/were you an upright bass player originally?