Hey Steve

AleTheSnail

New Metal Member
Sep 28, 2014
10
0
1
Just wanted to say Hi and how much of a influence you've been in making me stick with playing fretless in metal.
I got a Tony Franklin Fender P Bass in 2008, played it on and off since then, couple of recordings but not much. Even though I loved it and its a great sounding bass I just kept going back to my fretted basses. Every few months I'd listen to Sadus or certain Death albums, pick up the fretless for awhile but sooner or later commit heresy and go back. This time I've been sticking with it and its pretty much because of you! There is something about the sound of really digging in with a fretless (with stainless steel strings of course!) that really works for metal and I've just been loving that sound lately and committed to making it work. It can get kind of discouraging at times though, I always keep a eye on my tuner and sometimes my intonation is great, other times not so much... I've got a gig with a new band coming up on Oct 4th and I'm going to use my fretless no matter what! Though reading your notes in the Human reissue isn't helping too much seeing as you said you did your tracks in one take! That really is some amazing intonation because you sound so dead on! This new band though, its so fast I really doubt any intonation issues would be noticeable (at least I hope not).

I'II be seeing you at the Vancouver DTA show coming up for the first time, can't wait!
Sorry for turning this into a essay, just wanted to say thanks for kicking so much ass and being a awesome inspiration!
 
And in case you are interested in some bass geekness, heres my fretless

Fretless.jpg

http://http://s22.postimg.org/bul37o88w/Fretless.jpg

I'm a big Billy Sheehan fan and have a few of his signature Yamaha basses which are wired stereo with that neck humbucker so I had that added to my fretless and wired stereo. In case you are wondering about the funky strap, its cause I used to copy his neck bending trick so I got a strap that wouldn't stretch. Now I got a Kahler tremolo on two of my Yamaha Attitudes. The only thing I miss switching to fretless (other than being in tune ba dum tssh) is having that tremolo. Thinking about getting a fretless made with one so I don't potentially ruin my fretless putting one on.
 
Hey cool stuff man! Thanks a lot for the massive compliments. And good to hear you're keepin at it. Don't worry your intonation will come more naturally as you get used to the sweet, and not so sweet spots on your bass.
The photo link is not working. Maybe try a different link, or embedding it to your post.
Thanks, and keep the lowend of metal strong!
SDG