Answer for guitarists: It's a guitar without any frets
Answer for non-guitarists: Almost every guitar you have ever seen has frets,
these are fine metal strips (around 22) attached to the guitar neck directly under the strings
and when the guitarist presses a string down an adjacant fret ensures a correctly pitched
note will sound. Frets ensure accurate notes, fine sounding chords, its a system to lock
everything in tune. The fretless guitar does not have frets, its free of frets, its like
walking on ice, everything slides about a lot, nothing is fixed.
2: Why does a conventional guitar usually have 22 frets?
Answer for guitarists: Read "Catch 22"
Answer for non-guitarists: When they put frets on the guitar neck they first leave
a fair gap between the first and second one, the gap must get smaller for each fret,
up around the 22nd fret it gets too difficult for people with big fingers to fit frets
closer although 24 frets is not uncommon and some show off fretters have got up to 36,
it ain't pretty.
3: Is a fretless guitar like a violin to play?
No, you can't get it under your chin.
4: I'm thinking of taking up the guitar, should I buy a fretless?
Times will be hard and you may wish you had purchased a violin. Not any
tutorials that I know of. You will have the distinct advantage of not being
tied to frets and not having to relearn everything, but may miss out on the
unfretting experience.
5: Where can I buy a fretless guitar?
It took me five years to find one. The list of manufacturers (and its a small one)
is on our fretless links page.
6: Is a fretless like a slide guitar?
No, no, no. A slide guitar is a tameable instrument. You get the
one slide and it goes up and down the neck with precision. With the
fretless you get the four fingers and they all slide independantly.
(This is why Giraffes don't live in the arctic)
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