A fretless bass is an electric bass guitar that does not have frets on its neck. This makes the neck smooth, similar to traditional string instruments and the neck of an acoustic double bass. The fretless bass is used in many types of music, but it is most often found in pop, rock, and jazz. It became popular in the 1970s, though some musicians used it earlier.

The Fender Precision Bass was created in 1951. It had frets to help musicians play the correct notes. This design became the standard for electric bass guitars. Other companies later made similar instruments, such as the Höfner 500/1, which was used by musician Paul McCartney. This bass resembled a viol but had frets.

The first fretless electric bass guitars were made in the early 1960s by musicians modifying their own instruments. One important example is Bill Wyman, the bassist for the Rolling Stones. In 1961, he tried to fix a buzzing noise from the frets on his cheap bass guitar but did not replace the faulty frets. The first fretless electric bass made by a company was the Ampeg AUB1, released in 1965. It was the unfretted version of the AEB1, which was an electrified upright bass.

Characteristics

The absence of frets on a bass guitar allows for smooth slides between notes. However, this also means the player must be careful to place their fingers correctly, as incorrect positioning can make the instrument sound out of tune. Like fretted bass guitars, fretless basses can have four, five, six, or more strings. Some models have painted or inlaid lines on the fingerboard to show where fingers should be placed for proper tuning. Others may only have small dots or no markings at all. Many players choose flatwound or tape-wound strings because these are thought to cause less wear on the neck compared to roundwound strings. However, some musicians, such as Jaco Pastorius, are known for using roundwound strings to create a brighter sound. To protect the wood of the fingerboard when using roundwound strings, some players, including Pastorius, apply a thin layer of epoxy.

Notable players

• Jeff Ament
• Pedro Aznar
• Jack Bruce
• Boz Burrell
• Les Claypool
• Alain Caron
• Rick Danko
• John Deacon
• Steve Di Giorgio
• Mark Egan
• Tony Franklin
• Dan "Freebo" Freidberg
• John Paul Jones
• Percy Jones
• Mick Karn
• Bakithi Kumalo
• Tony Levin
• Sean Malone
• Michael Manring
• John McVie
• Patrick O'Hearn
• Pino Palladino
• Jaco Pastorius
• Tetsuo Sakurai
• Fernando Saunders
• Stanley Sheldon
• Sting
• Dave Sturt
• Jeroen Paul Thesseling
• Jah Wobble
• Bill Wyman
• Hulk Hogan