Fretless Bass below B0?

[Pfalz]

Has anyone ever tried this? I really enjoy the tone of fretless basses in bands like Obscura, Death, and Beyond Creation but none of those bands tune lower then B0. Also, how much damage would happen to the fretboard if I used roundwound strings instead of flatwound?

 

[russtolium]

Beyond Creation's bass is actually tuned to A0 on the lowest string, they're the lowest I can think of from fretless stuff I'm aware of. Assuming your fretboard is uncoated wood, roundwounds will wear the fretboard faster but it's mostly cosmetic, it'll still be years of regular use before you'd have to get it leveled or anything.

 

[CaptainLuckeyBeard]

I have my fretless tuned to A0 and it works great. Put a coat or two of epoxy on the board will help keep it from gouging out. It bothers me to get lines cut into my fretboard so I stick with flats and semi-flat/half rounds. Just experiment with different strings too

 

[Winspear]

I have my 35" fretless in F and players like Yves Carbonne are tuning far below that I can't think of metal bands using fretless below A, though.
I am (and he is) using roundwound strings from Circle K - 190 gauge set, sounds great. I have a rosewood fretboard and I have noticed some very slight wear in only months but I'm honestly not bothered. If it gets awful after some years just sand the whole lot down, lower the action and carry on I guess
I absolutely love the sound of it. It's important to not go too light on the low end though, I find. My low string is 39lbs and I wouldn't want to go lighter. The rest progress down to 32lbs or so. Lighter strings sound and feel great on fretless as opposed to regular 42-45lbs bass strings but I'd keep that low nice and tight.

 

[Look]

Jeroen Paul Thesseling plays a 7-string fretless bass with a low F# string.

 

[ixlramp]

Ha! B0 is nothing Yves Carbonne's 12 string has a .254 tuned to B00 an octave below.

 

[Necris]

Also, how much damage would happen to the fretboard if I used roundwound strings instead of flatwound?

Far less damage would happen with roundwound strings than most people who haven't had experience with fretless instruments seem to think, even with a rosewood board the most damage I got was a few lines that could only be seen on the fingerboard, not felt, it would likely take years to get to the point where a fretboard levelling would be something to think about.

I have my 35" fretless in F and players like Yves Carbonne are tuning far below that I can't think of metal bands using fretless below A, though.

I can't remember clearly but I think Martyr have some stuff featuring a low F#.

 

[ixlramp]

Sub Contra Flatwounds
Octave 4 Plus sell big steel flatwounds, .140 to .188 and an unspecified gauge C#0. They can be made taperwound too.

 

[KhzDonut]

You could always coat the fingerboard in epoxy if you prefer to use roundwounds over flatwounds. It will definitely make it sound brighter, which may or may not be your cup of tea.

 

[carcass]

Jeroen Paul Thesseling plays a 7-string fretless bass with a low F# string.

this is what I was about to say, here is video of him playing fretless with low F#

Framus / Warwick - Meet the players - Jeroen Paul Thesseling - YouTube

 

[Udolf]

Never thought .175 F# would articulate that well on fretless. But it seems more bassists like the idea to add sub-contra in their sound. Don't have any experience with fretless basses, still using roundwounds.