opeths bassist uses them, and ryam martinie does, i think a lot do, just not all the time.

Actually (IMO) it should be fretless bass in country. It would fit well with country the slide guitar style.

Ratso

Thanks for the responses. I don't really listen to much metal, so, from the little I knew I figured it was rare, but I guess not as much as I thought.

Jason Newsted used a fretless to record Until It Sleeps, but always played it fretted live. Robbie Merrill of Godsmack used a fretless to record Serentity, their new single, and plays fretless live too. Otherwise, I haven't noticed much fretless in metal.

i cant say ive ever heard a fretless bass being played, i want to give one a try though! they look awesome...


Brad..

If you've been playing a while, they're surprisingly intimidating but very easy to play once you get a good feel for the sound.

I agree with that they look great !!
Ive heard them played and they sound great !!
I even got to try one. My mate made a six-string fretless with 36" mensur and asked me to try it...
I must confess that I was quite lost with it. It was the first time I ever hold a : six stringer, fretless, 36". It was a like totally new insturment to me...

-V

doesn't Cynic's bassplayer use them?

koen

yea there first bass player did sean malone

I've heard quite a few metal bass players with fretless basses, and I'm not a big fan. Sure, it sounds somewhat unique (or at least it did when the first guys did it), but from a "doing whats best for the song" point of view, I think fretted basses are much better suited for metal. I like Opeth a lot, but I think their music would sound better with a fretted bass.
Of course fretless basses are great for slow bridges, allowing you to throw in some smooth slides. However, I think that many fretless bassplayers, especially the ones who play metal, aren't playing fretless for the music. It seems like more of a status symbol. Of course it is much harder to master fretless technique. It also gives something to brag about to bass players who feel inferior to guitarist who get to solo - and a fretless fingerboard w/o lines looks very cool.
IMO, the best way to play metal is with a pick, on a fretted bass. For fast and agressive music, you need the sharpness of a pick, and nothing sounds heavier than a medium-tempo bassline played with all downstrokes. It's pointless to me to limit myself to fingerstyle, when I can play much faster and heavier with a pick. The warm and smooth sound of a fretless bass played fingerstyle sounds great for many styles, but not for metal. Of course this is just my opinion, and everybody is entitles to their own...

CBass

I have to disagree with that one. Alex Webster (Cannibal Corpse)probably has the best bass tone of all metal, and he doesn't even touch a pick.

Basses are meant to be played with fingers, the tone is more true to the instrument. If you must play with a pick to cover your inadequate skill, at least still practice without one so you can eventually overcome your inner guitarist and play the bass as it is really meant to be played. Trust me, it sounds better, and it is much more of a personal challenge to grind out 32nd notes with four fingers than a chunk of plastic.

I play guitar too, and I use a pick for that about 80% of the time.

To beat a dead horse since this has been discussed ad infinitum... pick playing is no easier than fingerstyle. I had a very hard time playing with a pick when I first started because I was a bassist first and had just tried it with my fingers and gotten used to it. Not until I started to play some guitar did I get to be proficient with a pick. I still find that I have much more control and am much better sounding with my fingers, but a pick is not a way to cover up inadequate skill. I really hate playing with a pick, but there are some songs that pickstyle tone is needed and so I grab a pick on those occasions.

If that was directed at me, I'd like you to know that I'm primarily a fingerstyle player. I agree that in most styles, it sounds better that way. However, I would never limit myself to one technique because I'm trying to "stay true to the instrument," whatever you mean by that. What I'm saying is that I play with both my fingers and a pick, and I think that a pick sound better for metal. I'd never choose my playing technique by how much of a "personal challenge" it is; all that matters to me is how it sounds.
BTW, playing with a pick is NOT easier than playing with your fingers. It's easier to play fast, but it's much harder to do fast string skipping.