Music Music Gear, Guitars, Amps, etc.

[Gianclaudio]

I'd recommend you start with a normal fretted one before jumping to fretless..
Are you into Jazz, Funk or R&B? That's where fretless are most popular since its sound is closer to an actual acoustic double bass.

Funky-pop: Jamiroquai, Sade, George Michael. If I ver go for fretless, probably something like latin jazz or flamenco.

Is it hard to play fretless bass?
I've tried to play on fretless eletric guitar once like 7 years ago, I think it was Ibanez. But I didn't have enough skills for that time.

Unlike fretless basses, I think fretless guitars sound horrible.

 

[Jayden]

Unlike fretless basses, I think fretless guitars sound horrible.

Yep, sounds like garbage. I agree on that, but just woundering about skill level what you need to play on fretless guitar either it's bass or electric.

 

[Mark]

Is it hard to play fretless bass?

It depends, it can be super challenging or not, depending on your skill and how you approach the whole thing.
The fretless will require that you know exactly where you play your notes (and I emphasize 'exactly') since there are no frets assisting you, plus you may need to have a bit more digit strength to get the desired sounds.

My advise is if you are going to try a fretless bass for the first time, try one with lines on the fingerboard. I know they do not look as cool as the ones without lines but it will help hit the notes with precision, as you can simply look down on the fingerboard as you are playing, up until you get used to. Then, once you feel comfortable, upgrade to the one without lines. This way you will be approaching it right and save a lot of frustration.

 

[Gianclaudio]

I make fret lines on the side of the fingerboard (apart from the side dots at 3,5,7,9, etc) where the frets should be locates, when I make fretless basses. That way you can have a cool, clean looking fingerboard yet the lateral lines help you find the exact position.....

 

[sanpt7777]

Gianclaudio, those guitars are beatiful!

I've never owned great guitars, and I've never really practiced enough so I'm a bad player.

My first guitar was a starter kit and it was 3/4 size, I was a kid. Then my folks gave me a Squier Strat and a Marshall 10W amp. I still have those guitars and the amp.

After that, I bought a Dave Mustaine signature Dean in Chicago, and added new Seymour Duncan pickups.
A year ago, I bought a 100W Peavey modeling amp that I sold a couple of months ago because I wasn't using it. I also listed my Dean for sale for the same reason. The amp sold the same day I posted it, the guitar not. But a guy offered me a red Epiphone SG for the Dean and I was like what the hell, I'll accept it. I got it and it's great. I never liked SGs until recently and part of the reason for accepting it was that I wanted to go out of my comfort zone. When I got that guitar, I almost didn't knew how to play and started over again.

I already learned a couple of songs and it's fun to play in that SG, wish I still had my loud Peavey

I'll post a picture when I get home. I'll buy a Gibson eventually if I learn to use the Epi
I really love guitars, but I have a problem commiting to anything, so I don't practice often. I hope I can change that since is one of the things I dislike the most about myself

 

[Jayden]

I'll post a picture when I get home. I'll buy a Gibson eventually if I learn to use the Epi
I really love guitars, but I have a problem commiting to anything, so I don't practice often. I hope I can change that since is one of the things I dislike the most about myself

I can not say that I am a good player also, but for me it's not so important.
I learnt how to play guitar all by myself. I was sitting on the couch and had a thought "If I like music, especially guitar sound, so much, why the hell I haven't even tried to play a guitar?"
That is how I bought my first classical guitar And after some time I decided to take it to higher level and bought electric one.
I like core music myself (not with 0-0-0-0-0-0 tabs ). Something more advanced, like Parkway Drive or The Crimson Armada for example.
I have never played on stage, I have never been recorded in professional studio, I just play for myself and that is the most important thing for me. It's all about the feeling that I get when I play my guitar. I don't have the best speed and the sound can be a little bit dirty but it is not that significant

 

[sanpt7777]

As promised, a little late but this is my SG





Gianclaudio, one of these days I'll have to buy a guitar from you haha

I keep looking at them and they really are gorgeous

 

[Gianclaudio]

Gianclaudio, one of these days I'll have to buy a guitar from you haha

I keep looking at them and they really are gorgeous

Thanks, cuate. For som reson, I haven't yet being able to sell on of my instruments in Mexico. Many requests, but somehow the deal never closes....

 

[sanpt7777]

Thanks, cuate. For som reson, I haven't yet being able to sell on of my instruments in Mexico. Many requests, but somehow the deal never closes....

Never saw your answer until now. I should have gone to sleep two hours ago but I'm looking at guitars on the inernet from every site. B.C. Rich Stealth (Chuck Schuldiner tribute), Gibsons, Fender custom Shop, Suhr Guitars. I'm not getting bored haha

I came back to this thread because I said, where can one find a luthier to get a truly custom built guitar/bass? An then I came back to see the pics you posted after I remembered you had the skill.

That greyish guitar is gorgeous. I hope I can be the inaugural customer from Mexico, it's just a matter of, more than saving money for it, becoming a better player and understanding better was is it I'm looking in a guitar, because right now I can't even tell what's the best neck style for me, and buying a guitar like that is far from buying an iPod or something. I guess it's like getting married haha. You need to choose wisely. In fact, that's why I didn't bought myself a Jackson Pro Soloist a year ago when I could still afford one. I thought it still was too much guitar for me, and it's not even that expensive and far from custom.

I hope I can get into guitar lessons soon, but I'm also getting more interested everyday in singing. Hard choice.

 

[sanpt7777]

You already saw my red Epi, that Strat was my first proper guitar after the 3/4 size one I had

It's not working so now I'm thinking about building it. Updating cheap parts and replacing pickups and electronics to make it as good as a cheap Squier can be.







Sorry for the laundry, it's clean I promise haha

I'm moving tomorrow from my room to another part of the house so I just didn't care

 

[Gianclaudio]

A good sets of pickups will raise the sound quality tremendously. And you can keep them for other guitars if you ever seel it. Also look at a Graphtech nut, very cheap and yet works wonders in keeping the instrument in tune

 

[sanpt7777]

I heard about the graphtechs but never gave it much importance. I think I'll get one for my strat and one for a 3/4 size bass (it was from a friend) I have laying around. It doesn't have one and I can't put strings on it. Would be good to start playing bass

 

[sanpt7777]

Gianclaudio, I've seen the pictures of your guitars and they are truly appealing to the eye, not adulating at all.

But since I too want to build a guitar (parts-o-caster, Frankenstrat), albeit just for fun, a question arose:

How do you match the natural tone of a guitar/bass to a specific pickup or set of pickups?

Do you get special requests from your customers relating to sound? Like, for example, someone asking for a bright sounding guitar.

My guitars are alder and mahogany. Should I look for a bright sound pickup for my bright sounding alder strat and a warmer pickup for my Epi? Or am I better off doing the opposite? I would ideally want to make mine sound different from each other

 

[Gianclaudio]

It really depends on your tastes. On most cases, yes, I try to use a bright pickup in a "warm" instrument and vice versa, but there are cases of customers asking for very bright or very dark sounding instruments, so we go all bright or all very warm and dark. I do however, try to convince them to avoid those extremes. In my very humble opinion, is better to have a cleaner, less saturated instrument and the twist the sound with effects and the amp, than trying to clean up a overly dark instruments. That's why I prefer a strat/tele to a LP, in most cases (even when the LP aesthetically, is nicer to my eyes)