I have been running through some songs for tomorrow morning and thinking about my bass playing. I have been playing fretless more and more lately and finally getting to the point where I almost feel comfortable with it even for sight-reading (not a big strength of mine).
I was attracted originally to fretless bass by the sound. I love the "mwahh" (that's the proper technical term amongst bassist!). And while I still love that sound, now that I've had one for about a year and a half, I am coming to appreciate other aspects as well.
Since playing a note on a fretless is more work to get in tune than a normal fretted bass, it makes you start to appreciate each note more. I doubt that listeners can hear it (especially in my haphazard playing) but it makes me feel more connected to what I am playing.
Another thing I was surprised to find is that in spite of the extra concentration it requires, playing fretless feels less strenuous in some ways. Maybe it's that I put too much finger force into normal fretting, but once I am comfortable with a song, I feel like I am somehow freer to play what I feel should be played.
Make no mistake, playing fretless is (at least for me) much harder than fretted bass. I'd never consider playing it publicly without a good monitor system - I normally play with in-ear monitors and I have plenty of piano in my mix for pitch reference. I have to pay constant attention to what I am dong and I still miss plenty of notes. But it's very rewarding for the effort.
It will never replace my fretted bass (which I love to play) but I am really enjoying my fretless now and I feel like it's bringing new dimensions to my playing. I'd highly recommend it to any bassist considering getting one.
