How did you come to be a fretless 6-string player?
When Anthony Jackson was developing the Contrabass years ago, he explained that it needed the extra high and low strings because keyboard bass was putting players out of work. It made total sense. I thought it was an interesting concept, even though it really only gives you a few extra notes—the high string is mostly for more efficient phrasing. The 6-string works great in OHM because there are so many demands for bass melodies and harmonics in the trio setting. Did you start out as a fretless player? Yes. I found a fretless Fender P-Bass at Guitar Center back when I first started, and it was like a revelation. I felt like, Now I can express myself. I’ve incorporated it into everything I’ve done from rock to jazz. It’s more versatile than a fretted bass. I can get warmth, growl, harmonics, overtones, and that wah sound. And of course, there’s no fret noise when sliding from note to note.
How did you develop your intonation?
Just by playing constantly—sometimes along records or the radio, and sometimes with a tuner. When I was cutting my teeth, we’d play a flurry of notes, and when someone said, “Stop,” you’d have one second to identify your note. By stepping on the tuner, you could see if you were right on, or in a gap.
How do you use vibrato?
I’ve tried to develop every type of vibrato, and it works in conjunction with the position of my plucking hand. If I want warm, slow vibrato for a ballad, I might pluck right over the fretboard as if I were playing an upright. I might pluck right in the middle and use a fast, sloppy vibrato on a nasty song, and I might pluck right over the bridge for something more staccato. I pluck with all four fingers—primarily the first two or three—and then I use the pinkie for false harmonics and ghost-notes.
What advice to you have to a player considering going down the fretless 6-string road?
Make sure you’re motives are right. Don’t get a 6-string just to say you play one. Try an array of basses, and find something really comfortable that will escalate your confidence. It helps to play with musicians who will work with you as you hone your intonation. Record your band, and evaluate your intonation in specific regions to make sure it’s locked down across the entire fretboard.
Some musicians’ knee-jerk reaction will always be, “Oh, dude, fretless—you’re going to be out of tune!” That gives you more incentive to be spot on. You don’t want those looks, even though it’s usually the guitar player who is out of tune [laughs]. Play constantly, use a tuner, and don’t let anybody try to turn you a different direction from where you want to go.
CAN BE HEARD ON
OHM, Circus of Sound [Shrapnel, 2008]
CURRENTLY SPINNING
Jan Hammer, Oh Yeah? [Nemperor, 1976] “The record has great energy. I love Fernando Saunders’s playing on the odd-meter stuff.”
GEAR
Bass Custom fretless Yamaha 6-string
Rig EBS-1 Classic preamp, Yamaha P7000S power amp, two Ampeg BXT-410HL 4x10 cabinets
Rack BBE MaxCom, T.C. Electronic G-Force, Roland SRV-3030D Digital Reverb, ADA delay, Custom Audio 4x4 Audio Controller, Korg DTR- 1000 tuner
Pedals Morley PBA-2 Dual Bass Wah, Dunlop Crybaby 105Q Bass Wah Strings DR Strings Stainless Steel (.030–.135) “The Yamaha’s neck has a ton of girth—it’s about twice as dense as a regular 6-string neck. It feels like a 20-pound bass, but it works for everything except slap-and-pop.”