http://www.essomusic.com/bass-fretless/
The character of a bass guitar string is primarily based on the winding (roundwound, flatwound, etc.) and the material used. We will explain the most common materials and windings, which probably account for 95% or more of every bass sound you have ever heard.
Roundwound strings have a bright, clear, often metallic sound with longer sustain. They are the most commonly used today, capable of producing
a wide range of tones that are distinctive to many styles of music.
Roundwound strings are critical to the clear, percussive effect of slapping and popping in players like Wooten, Marcus Miller, Larry Graham, etc. Note that roundwound strings *can* be tougher on frets and particularly on fretless, due to the textured metallic wrapping.
Roundwounds are typically made of either stainless steel or nickel. Stainless steel are the brightest, clearest strings, which also produce the most amount of “finger noise” and buzzing sound against the frets. This is desirable in many styles.
Nickel feels a little softer on the hands and has less of the metallic high end treble in the sound than steel strings. This also equates to less finger noise coming through and a smoother, mellower sound than steel while still falling on the bright/clear end of the spectrum.
Flatwound strings are very smooth, with a much darker, muted or “dead” sound, and generally more low-end “thump.”
Halfwound or groundwound strings are a nice compromise between round and flat. Halfwounds are essentially roundwounds that are partially ground-down and smoothed out, to providing a middle ground between brightness vs. deadness in sound, and metallic roughness vs. smoothness in feel.
Much less common these days than flat or roundwound, a few companies including Fender and Rotosound make a “tapewound” string out of Nylon- they are darker, warmer and softer than roundwounds. If you have ever seen black strings on a bass, that is Nylon.
More specifics, and organized lists of the various types of strings by manufacturer are available at the Bass-Strings.com Bass String Guide
|
|
Fretless Bass Noguera Fairplay 5 strings $1,700.00 |
|
|
MINISTAR BASSTAR 5 STRING FRETLESS TRAVEL BASS GUITAR $225.00 |
|
|
Lakland 5 string fretless bass $1,800.00 |
|
|
NEW SPECTOR SpectorCore Semi-Hollow 4 Stg Fretless Bass $669.00 |
|
|
Sprucetop FRETLESS KALA U BASS Ukulele Bass GUITAR $409.95 |
|
|
FRETLESS IBANEZ SDGR SOUNDGEAR BASS GUITAR 4 STRING $500.00 |
|
|
BASS GUITAR NECK LIC. FRETLESS FITS FENDER PRECISION® $97.97 |
|
|
Michael Kelly 5 string acoustic fretless bass $380.00 |
|
|
Pedulla 6 string fretless bass guitar $2,300.00 |
|
|
Steve Bailey – Fretless Bass (VHS, 1994) $0.99 |
|
|
Rogue LX200BF Fretless Series II Bass $119.99 |
|
|
1978 FENDER PRECISION BASS FRETLESS IN GOOD CONDITION $1,600.00 |
|
|
100 Fretless Bass Workouts Book CD $6.49 |
|
|
Sprucetop FRETLESS KALA U BASS Ukulele Bass GUITAR $409.95 |
|
|
BASS GUITAR NECK LIC. FRETLESS FITS FENDER PRECISION® $97.97 |
|
|
NEW NATURAL FRETLESS JUMBO BODY ACOUSTIC ELECTRIC BASS $189.99 |
|
|
COPLEY CEB-515 FRETLESS ELEC. BASS – FREE SHIPPING $359.00 |
|
|
Bass Electric Guitar, Fretless and Headless – New 2009 $188.99 |
|
|
FENDER FRETLESS JAZZ BASS MIM $199.99 |
|
|
Warwick Corvette Fretless Bass $330.00 |
|
|
WASHBURN Taurus T14FL Fretless Electric Bass Guitar T14 $229.00 |
|
|
Bass Guitar, 4 string, Headless and fretless, New $175.00 |
|
|
MTD 535 Lined Fretless bass $2,500.00 |
|
|
BASS PLAYER Presents THE FRETLESS BASS Book, Reference $19.77 |
|
|
Ibanez RD707F Fretless Bass 1989 Vintage, w/ Hard Case $137.50 |
|
|
NEW Washburn T24 Bass Guitar FRETLESS w/ Deluxe Gig Bag $359.99 |
|
|
Fender MIM Fretless Jazz Bass $250.00 |
|
|
7 STRING FRETLESS BASS ACOUSTIC ELECTRIC PEARL ENLAY $61.00 |
|
|
MTD Kingston Z5 Amber Burl Electric Fretless Bass $650.00 |
|
|
Electric 4 string Bass Guitar, Headless and fretless $195.00 |
|
|
Left handed Bass Guitar, Headless and fretless $215.00 |
|
|
MATCHED ALEMBIC SPOILER BASSES – FRETTED & FRETLESS $3,700.00 |
|
|
NEW Italia Imola Bass Guitar 5 String – FRETLESS OPTION $719.00 |
|
|
Steinberger Synapse XS-15FPA 5-String Fretless Bass $799.00 |
|
|
Fender Jaco Pastorius Signature Fretless Jazz Bass $510.00 |
|
|
ampeg DAN ARMSTRONG “ULTRA RARE” FRETLESS BASS 100% ORG $4,295.00 |
|
|
Really Cool 1972 Fretless Precision Bass $1,200.00 |
|
|
FENDER FRETLESS JAZZ BASS MIM $300.00 |
|
|
Electric Bass Guitar, Fretless, Headless, Vampire Bad $219.98 |
|
|
MINISTAR BASSTAR 4 STRING FRETLESS TRAVEL BASS GUITAR $189.00 |
|
|
WARWICK ROCKBASS FRETLESS STREAMER STD 4 STRING BASS $499.99 |
|
|
Carvin AC50F Acoustic Electric Fretless 5 String Bass! $495.00 |
|
|
BASS GUITAR NECK LIC. FRETLESS FITS FENDER PRECISION® $97.97 |
|
|
FENDER / MODULUS FRETLESS JAZZ BASS $550.00 |
|
|
Vintage bass neck…fretless, sort of $0.99 |
|
|
VINTAGE Peavey Foundation Fretless Bass Electric Guitar $199.99 |
|
|
NEW FOR FENDER FRETLESS P BASS GUITAR EBONAL NECK $97.97 |
|
|
Lakland Skyline Joe Osborne Lined Fretless Bass $999.00 |
|
|
Peavey Cirrus 5-string Fretless Electric Bass $660.00 |
|
|
TONY FRANKLIN – FRETLESS BASS – DVD NEW $12.01 |
|
|
Fretless Canvas Print – Canvas Art This is a beautiful stretched-canvas art print wrapped on 2.5″ thick stretcher bars. The print is professionally printed, assembled, and shipped within 2 – 3 business days from our production facility in North Carolina and arrives ready-to-hang on your wall. Fine Art America is home to more than 20,000 artists from all over the world who entrust us to fulfill their print orders online. We offer a … |
|
|
Fretless Bass [VHS] $49.95 … |
|
|
Fretless Bass [VHS] $19.99 … |
|
|
Fretless Bass [VHS] $49.95 … |
|
|
Fretless Bass with Bunny Brunel $25.17 Instruction and exercises for fretless bass including proper right and left hand technique, pitch and vibrato, sliding technique, including 30 minutes of exercises that can be done over and over again. Special comment, 1 hour, 16×9 widescreen. NTSC all region…. |
|
|
Bunny Brunel: Fretless Bass - $29.99 Bunny Brunel: Fretless Bass - |
|
|
Fretless Bass $19.95 A Guide to the Styles and Techniques of Fretless Bass. By Various Artists. Composed by Chris Kringel. For fretless bass guitar. Bass Method. Softcover with CD. Guitar tablature. 112 pages. Published by Hal Leonard. |
|
|
Fretless Bass $17.95 A Hands-On Guide Including Fundamentals, Techniques, Grooves and Solos. By Bunny Brunel, Josquin Des Pres. For fretless bass guitar. Bass Instruction. Softcover with CD. Guitar tablature. 40 pages. Published by Hal Leonard. |
|
|
Fretless Bass $14.98 Grammy nominee and fretless bass pioneer Bunny Brunel teams up with bestselling author and session bass player Josquin des Pres to offer the first book/CD tutorial dedicated solely to the development of skills on the fretless bass. Covers: fingering and intonation exercises; vibrato, slides, double stops, sliding harmonics and other techniques; pop, funk, Latin and fusion styles; and much more – including two complete solos! The book features standard notation and tab, and the accompanying CD includes 71 helpful demonstration tracks. |
|
|
Tony Franklin: Fretless Bass - $14.99 Tony Franklin: Fretless Bass features the respected musician offering a variety of tips on how to master that instrument. He shares lessons on right hand playing and string popping. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide |
|
|
Steve Bailey: Fretless Bass - $14.99 This instructional video features professional musician Steve Bailey offering a number of tips on how to play the fretless bass guitar. He offers lessons on a number of aspects including harmonics, thumb position, sliding, and blending. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide |
|
|
100 Fretless Bass Workouts QWIKGUIDE Sheet Music $7.95 By Chris Matheos. By Chris Matheos. For Electric Bass. Technic. Qwik Guide Series. All Styles. Level: Beginning-Intermediate. Book/CD Set. 64 pages. Published by Mel Bay Publications, Inc. |
|
|
FRETLESS BASS HAL LEONARD BASS METHOD STYLISTIC SUPPLEMENT BK/CD (Hal Leonard Bass Method) $15.98 An ideal supplement to any bass method, this book/CD pack uses 18 actual songs in various styles to teach key elements of the electric fretless bass, such as intonation; harmonics; keys, scales and intervals; and more. You’ll learn to play in the style of Jaco Pastorius, Flea, Jack Bruce, Will Lee, Sting, Gary Willis, Tony Franklin, Jeff Ament and many others via 18 great songs: Bad Love * Continuum * Even Flow * Hocus Pocus * I Could Die for You * Jelly Roll * King of Pain * Kiss of Life * Lady in Red * Tears in Heaven * Very Early * What I Am * White Room * and more. The CD features 92 full-band tracks for demo and play-along. |
|
|
The Bass Player Book (Goodwin) $17.98 This is the right-hand man for players who live and breathe bass, or for beginners who want an all-in-one guide to the instrument that "shakes the low end" of rock, pop, jazz and more. This handbook details the ins and outs of buying basses and equipment; provides set-up and electronics tips; and explores unique characteristics of landmark bass models. Chapters on technique cover bass basics, theory, fretless playing, acoustic bass, the essentials of various music styles, recording, gigging, and more. Seminal interviews with great bassists include Jeff Berlin, Stanley Clarke, John Pattitucci, Bill Wyman, and many others. 44 pages, 8 3/8 inch. x 10 7/8 inch. |
|
|
Search $13.99 Personnel: Kai Eckhardt-Karpeh (guitar, fretless bass); Kai Eckhardt (bass instrument, 5-string bass, fretless bass); Gregory James (flamenco guitar).Audio Mixer: Cookie Marenco.Recording information: OTR Studios, Belmont, CA.Photographers: Carol Bever; Loren Hammer.Arrangers: Gregory James; Kai Eckhardt-Karpeh. |