Defretting an electric guitar

[StratRat]

Ok my friends brother plays bass and defrettted a bass he had which was his first bass and it was a piece of junk. When he went to trade it it for the bass he currently has even the guitar shop didnt want it. So he defretted it. Now he has this crazy idea to defret and electric guitar to see what would happen. I told him that it will ruin the guitar and he says it will end up with the same tone that a fretless bass has. What you happen? I have never heard of anyone playing a fretless guitar.

[tuberattler]

Not really a good Idea unless you just want to play lead only on it as you'd have to be a uncommonly gifted to play chords w/o frets. It'll ruin any desirability for the guitar.

[telecast]

Rick Neilsen of Cheap trick had a fretless on his 5 neck. Like tube said, pretty useless for everyday use.

[curtisstetka]

I'd imagine it doesn't do wonders for sustain either.

Look around - how many companies offer fretless guitars..... uh...... noone.

[Fripperton]

Actually they're not as uncommon as you'd think. Of course it depends on the kind of music you have a tendency to listen to.

Try the simulator


Here's a killer guitarist that has just released a fretless recording.
Ed Degenero

Even the French are hip to it.

Vigier Surfretter

[Kap'n]

Zappa was the only guy I knew of with a fretless. Ed DeGenaro is a great player. Saw him ripping it up at the THD booth at NAMM last year.

[NeoFauve]

Pat Metheny has a fretless acoustic, a Linda Manzer, I think. Might a multineck thing. He actually uses it. But I don't think it's any thing most of us would consider a standard scale length.
I think Andy Summers had? a Hamer fretless. Not sure if I ever heard it.

[Kap'n]

Mmmmmm, Manzer guitars. I saw one at the Dangerous Curves exhibition at MFA.

[pc]

Metheny has a single-neck fretless in addition to others. One of his tunes that actually got quite a bit of radio play on Contemporary Jazz stations is called "Last Train Home" and features the fretless. It sounds extremely cool, but unless you're a master like Pat, hitting each note on exactly the right line for correct pitch is tough, and even he doesn't attempt too much chording with it.

Now Jaco, on the other hand...

[NeoFauve]

This might be of some interest.

http://www.unfretted.com/loader.php?LINK=main

There are samples of people playing fretless that don't sound useless at all. Defretting and conversion projects, barritones. All kinds of stuff on this site.

and dig this...

"And then there is the philosophy....

There is a transition phase,
from guitar to fretless guitar.
Its like walking all your life on Earth
and then suddenly finding you can fly.
All the fixed points
you relied upon are gone,
you are;

U N F R E T T E D"

[Fripperton]

Mmmmmm, Manzer guitars. I saw one at the Dangerous Curves exhibition at MFA.

I was at that show too. Flew in from California to see it. In fact if you have the souvenier book you'll see a very interesting name at the beginning of the last line of the Acknowledgements on page 9.

[Kap'n]

I was at that show too. Flew in from California to see it. In fact if you have the souvenier book you'll see a very interesting name at the beginning of the last line of the Acknowledgements on page 9.

I've got the book. As a side note, the pics in the book do not exactly match the guitars on exhibit. Offhand one of the D'Angelicos on exhibition had a repro guard, not present in the book, and there were several others.

How much of a geek am I to notice this stuff.

[BradKM]

Rondo occasionally stocks fretless electrics, and currently offer a fretless replacement neck.

Fretless Neck from Rondo

[NTBluesGuitar]

Pat Metheny has a fretless acoustic, a Linda Manzer, I think. Might a multineck thing. He actually uses it. But I don't think it's any thing most of us would consider a standard scale length.

Oooo...a Pat Metheny reference! Just my bag.

I got hooked on him when playing trumpet in my high school's 1st jazz ensemble; we did an arrangement of First Circle back in 1991 (alternating 12/8 and 10/8 stuff...way cool). From then, I've pretty much bought most of his stuff, and about a year ago, finally saw him live in Ft. Worth.

Point is, I saw him use the Pikasso guitar (that multi-necked thing referenced earlier). Most of his sitar sounding stuff (like on Last Train Home), is done with a fretless or his Roland-axe, too.

But...back to the subject at hand....fretless guitars ARE more common than you think. To add to the list: Steve Vai. I have a brother-in-law who's into him in a big and gave me the scoop on that after seeing him live recently.

Fretless isn't really that big of a stretch if you think about it in the large scheme of stringed instruments. Violins, violas, cellos, etc...all fretless. It's just a real warm, smooth sound, I guess, and tranlated electrically can be pretty groovy.

With a guitar, though, you'd have to be real good with your fingerboard hand, as the fret scale is smaller than many instruments, eh?

Just my 2 cents...

[Plugger]

With a guitar, though, you'd have to be real good with your fingerboard hand, as the fret scale is smaller than many instruments, eh?

You mean, like a violin?

I've played both guitar and violin. Violin is harder.

Frets are to stringed instruments kind of like learner wheels are to bicycles...

-Mark

[NTBluesGuitar]

You mean, like a violin?

Errrm...yeah...

I don't know what point I was trying to make there...I kept getting interrupted while typing, I guess.