Howdy folks,
I am a complete newbie to 3-string CBG.
If I need to be posting these BASIC questions elsewhere....please direct me to there.
Why do I see some CBG with frets and some without?
What are the advantages to either?
Thx....
kieta
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Replies
My best answer is play both, of course! You can build one for less than $20 each.
Enjoy,
Wade
Fretted vs fretless...tomayto vs tomahto...
The differences come from styles of playing, cost, and fear. I play both, but am currently more comfortable with frets, after playing commercial 6-stringers for the last 35 years. Am still working on slide technique, but my fingerpicking has improved. Differences also come from styles of music you wanna play. Delta vs Piedmont blues, country blues vs urban, banjo fingerpicking style to more syncopated ragtime styles; they can all be played more or less effectively on fretted and / or fretless instruments. Pick your favorite old bluesmen: some played slide, some didn't much. Some were virtuosos of both styles. Fretless is cheaper to build, and leads one to different tonalities. I think fretless paradoxically requires greater technique and accuracy.
One other advantage of a fretless is that you can always add frets later... But it's more fun to have at least one of each type. Broadens your horizons.
Look at it this way: both fretted and fretless are guitars. They overlap a lot in function, but can do certain things, in the right player's hands, better than the other, and vice versa. It's kinda like having a shrimp fork and a salad fork in the same place setting, or having multiple blades on a Swiss Army knife.
Lots of good info there....I did a quick 'read-thru' and now will want to go back over what you wrote and digest it. I have a 3-string 'fretted' CBG coming to me in a couple of weeks. Will be my first attempt to play a guitar of any type. So I gots lots to learn! No doubt a boat load of practicing is required. Based on my "excitement level" thusfar, I can already see a 'fretless' CBG in my future.
Be watching for additional questions from this here 'newbie'. I am going to need some advice.
Thank you for your help.
kieta
I am fretting about this thread!
Well yer gonna want more than half a dozen guitars eventually, so.......
I made a fretless for my first because fretting seemed outside my skill set. You dont want to end up with a guitar that can't be played in tune. I have enough problems playing the guitar. The fretless came out great and isnt as hard to play as I thought it might be. I have recently bought materials to make my next guitar fretted, i.e., a fret saw. And there are plenty of people on this site who show you the 411 on how to do a fretted neck.
Thanks Brenden. I have just ordered a Fretted 3-string CBG....vamos a ver (We will see.)
I would highly recommend building a fretless first. I did'nt enjoy fretless much until I built a short scale fretless and tuned the strings down a step. A little less tension makes it more fun to play with your fingers.You can even get some bends if you get the tension just right. Lower tension also gives a little more growl and deeper tones if you ask me.
From a building standpoint, some people are intimidated by the fretting process, so they opt to go fretless on their first couple of builds. Fretting is not difficult, and I put a beginner's fretting video on my page here to help new folks out.
http://www.cigarboxnation.com/video/how-to-fret-a-neck
For someone who does not know how to play guitar already, it is my opinion that learning to play slide first does not necessarily make things easier, though lots of other people disagree with me.
Get one of each and see where that leads you.
For me, fretted guitars are easier to play and have a brighter fingered note sound. Fretless guitars, however, have a unique sound that's kinda muted by the flesh of your finger, and they are more difficult to play; I prefer fretless and can using both fingering and slide, I can do pretty much anything but blues shuffles that are not open, I can do barre chords with the slide and 3 string fingered chords if not blocked at the same position. Fretless is more challenging, but also more satisfying for me, and I constantly change my mind whether to fret my next git or not. My customers always want frets, though. Keni Lee covers both pretty well in his CD's, check with him about which to get.
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