CBG = Frets or no frets?

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Permalink Reply by LJL on August 8, 2012 at 11:06pm

I know an old, broken down guy (well... ok... "Yours Truly") who prefers fretless because the fingers on his left hand scream in pain when when he tries to fret a guitar like he did 50-60 years ago.   : /  

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Permalink Reply by Keith Stanford on August 8, 2012 at 11:24pm

Howdy Jim - If you are really located in Tucson, then watch out amigo....I'm going to have questions for you over coffee sometime....my buy!  (I commute between Tucson and Tombstone.)

Is there much interest in CBG in Tucson?  Up until a week ago, I had never heard of a CBG.

Kind regards,

kieta

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on August 8, 2012 at 11:47pm

Keith

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.

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Permalink Reply by Keith Stanford on August 8, 2012 at 11:56pm

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

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Permalink Reply by Wade on August 9, 2012 at 4:39pm

My best answer is play both, of course! You can build one for less than $20 each. 

Enjoy,

Wade

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