As you've probably read on the other blog, I acquired a fretless electric earlier in the year. My initial reactions were posted on the old blog:
The whole articulation of it, and the resultant timbral qualities that generate, is very unique. Subtle shades from across the aural spectrum linger on the fringes of consciousness, ghostly sonic subliminal imprints: bottleneck slide, reverse tape (that classic 'backwards effect'), vina, and trombone. Soundtracks from deep dreaming seem to emanate from this instrument.
The most intriguing possibility is doing beautiful glisses in melody voice leading between chords; this will be a serious challenge to nail down accurately, as you have to hold the rest of the chord stationary. It worked beautifully in a couple of spots with Nacha last night, though, and definitely an avenue worth exploring.
Many thanks are in order: to Uwe Salwender, U.S. distributor, for scoring me this on such short notice! to Jeff Berg, webmaster of unfretted.com, and all the regulars there; and of course to Patrice Vigier, luthier.
Also to my musical colleague J. A. Deane (aka Dino) for urging me to make this logical progression, and especially to my wife, who, as CFO of the house, gave the blessing for its acquisition (that in turn allows a thank you also to Brad at After Midnight guitars for selling the previous electric to make this one possible).
I still love it. It can sound elegant and somber with the Duo where I tend to go for lush, slightly chorused clean tones for thsi axe (well suited and an interesting timbral choice to try dowmn the road, a stricter classical Indian approach). That said, it 'puts out' well in a raw, full-bore rock mode - very intriguing feedback possibilities.
I've yet to come up with some satisfactory documentation, however. Jeff Berg offered me a slot on their upcoming compilation CD of fretless guitarists, but didnt have anything quite ready.
That's changed.
Recorded just 2 days ago (how's that for trying to be more timely!) with my wife's cousin Craig Sears on hand percussion, here's an excerpt from a more extended jam which seems to be developing into a full-born piece. Direct to minidisc, and added the bass via a low-tech keyboard the next day. Surprisingly little guitar tweakage needed, left the mastering EQs absolutely untouched - the rebuilt Silvertone amp sings beatifully when driven hard.
Blood In The Sand came out with a raw intense vibe, to my ears. Dubya's continuing blunder of horrors should be sufficient explanation for the title.
Brace youreself, but enjoy!
Blood In The Sand:
playlist format
download
Simply amazing is all I can say. That simple download set my off on a quest to discover more about the electric fretless guitar. Now,I'm discovering more and more about my old oud and the new instrument I'm planning on getting...
To think, all because I wanted to look for an 'electric oud' in the first place, I stumbled on to this site. Perhaps, fate?
Sorry, I'm just a random,unimportant person, Mr. Stefan but anyway... just thanks is all I can say.
Many thanks for the mention Stefan, sorry you missed the cd, will be ready in about two weeks.
Send me your physical address and I'll make sure you get a copy.
Go well,
Jeff