Forumite Rickenbacker Fretless Bass Guitar Count

[FretlessOnly]

I have a MID 2008 4003FL. Currently travelling, so no access to pictures.

[cassius987]

I'd like to hear some of your recordings, John, just to see the sound you get with your 4003FL. I know you don't think it sounds as good as some of your others so I'd just like to hear it for myself.

By the way John, I'm not ignoring our jazz theory PM discussion!! I've been working on a presentation for work... err, school... err, work.

[ajish4]

I'd like to hear some of your recordings, John, just to see the sound you get with your 4003FL. I know you don't think it sounds as good as some of your others so I'd just like to hear it for myself.

By the way John, I'm not ignoring our jazz theory PM discussion!! I've been working on a presentation for work... err, school... err, work.

I could use a LOT of help in this area as well.

I know NOTHING, ZILCH, NADA about Jazz & the Blues. I'm always daunted on WHERE TO START. I KNOW I can't deal with FUSION, that unresolved stuff makes me N U T S.
But Earl Klugh kind of stuff I've heard and can deal with. I've always been a huge Progressive fan, so I like when the music moves into different areas, but I also do like that smokey, slow jazz sound..I find it very relaxing. Trio kind of stuff that just chills you out would be a good place to start I THINK?

WHERE TO START, WHAT TO LISTEN TO, WHAT TO BUY, WHAT IS TOO ADVANCED (id JACO), HOW TO BEGIN?

Now taking notes!

[jps]

Tony, start your JazzJourney® with some of this:


Then continue with this


Finally:

[rickenbrother]

Hey yous guys, no derailing the thread!!

[cassius987]

Maybe a section for jazz players could be made on RRF to accommodate 4000FL users (and other Ric bassists who play jazz), jazzy Ric-tarists (I know they're out there), and discussion on jazz theory and history. John has been sending me some really quality messages regarding theory. I know the talent is here.

[cjj]

Personally, I wouldn't stick the FL section under jazz. If people want a jazz section, great, but a fretless is useful for a whole lot more than just jazz. I guess to me, music genre is one thing, instruments are something completely different. Most any instrument can fit into just about any type of music so associating one with just one genre will tend to imply limitations that just do not exist...


But, perhaps I'm not understanding what you're meaning...

[cassius987]

That's not really what I'm getting at, I know it's not a jazz-only instrument. I use mine for more than that.

I don't know. It seemed to me like Tony was hinting at making a new section. Just tossing out thoughts.

[FretlessOnly]

Being for the Benefit of Musicianship is probably the best place to discuss the jazz theory and other jazz things as well. Josh, take your time and Tony, I'd be glad to drop a few itemized recommendations your way. Travelling right now, but most of this is in my head.

Thing about the forum I mentioned above is that it is one that gets irregular postings, so topics tend to fade out moreso than topics in the bass/guitar forums, etc.

But a sub-forum in the bass section for FLs wouldn't be such a bad idea (would it?), even if they are used for much more than jazz.

And Josh; I currently have no recordings of my 4003FL, as my most recent CD was completed in March, just after the time I got it.

[ajish4]

Being for the Benefit of Musicianship is probably the best place to discuss the jazz theory and other jazz things as well. Josh, take your time and Tony, I'd be glad to drop a few itemized recommendations your way. Travelling right now, but most of this is in my head.

Thing about the forum I mentioned above is that it is one that gets irregular postings, so topics tend to fade out moreso than topics in the bass/guitar forums, etc.

But a sub-forum in the bass section for FLs wouldn't be such a bad idea (would it?), even if they are used for much more than jazz.

And Josh; I currently have no recordings of my 4003FL, as my most recent CD was completed in March, just after the time I got it.

WOOF, thanks for the VIDS JEFF!

Sorry to DRIFT, I've been doing that a lot lately....I AM HOPING to see if there is ENOUGH interest for a FRELTLESS SECTION if Peter feels there is enough interest. It is pretty specialized and there seems to be a lot of questions about fretless playing in general. It would be nice not to have to search for a thread to keep reviving.

John is dead on about the Benefit of Musicianship section for the Jazz I believe, and probably where I'll start a new thread later on today.

To me, Jazz, and the Blues for that matter is like a huge undiscovered country to me. Thank you John for your PM, I'll be replying in a bit. But what I think is so cool about this whole topic is that it brings FL players from all gneres together. I play my fretless about one Sunday a month on average. I play every Sunday, but some songs are just more ROCK driven than others so the song list has to have the proper line up for me to feel the FL will fit in.

I'd like to explore this topic is SO many areas of Fretless playing but I'll hold onto the questions for now and just try to see if we can generate enough interest and back to the topic at hand.

THANKS EVERYONE, you are all FANTASTIC...I'm really hoping this can work.

[rickenbrother]

People have been encouraged to discuss jazz in The Groove Yard forum. Rarely has that happened.
People have made there own ridiculous restrictions and rules about which instrument goes with what type of music. I can't see why a fretless bass would not work well in just about any type of music.

[jps]

Boz Burell played a fretless Ampeg with Bad Co.

[rickenbrother]

Boz Burell played a fretless Ampeg with Bad Co.

...and no one thought or told him that he shouldn't!
From The Photofeatures International website:

[cassius987]

Yup. Fretless goes with just about anything actually. The "fretless sound" people think of is just one of many of the noises you can make with them. Sometimes people use fretless in music just because it can be made to sound like the absolute best set-up fretted bass, rather than trying to make it sound obviously different by doing lots of slides and vibratos.

What causes me to prefer fretless in the end is the purity of the tone and the freedom I feel when I'm playing it compared to fretted. I have used my fretless in jazz and fusion groups of course, but also I have done country gigs with it, as well as some rock stuff a la Tony Franklin. Also, its got tons of fundamental but a well-defined upper register (sound familiar?), so it does really well in a funk setting. I also recently learned that Juan Alderete uses fretless on several Mars Volta recordings--who'd guess that on a first listen?

[rickenbrother]

I also recently learned that Juan Alderete uses fretless on several Mars Volta recordings--who'd guess that on a first listen?

The first time I ever heard "The Widow" by The Mars Volta, the bass guitar sounded like a fretless to me.