Has anyone here tried a fretless mandolin family instrument?

[Jordan Mong]

I did a search whether one of this existed, and it turns out that quite a few do. Even some fretless mandocellos seem to exist (though that picture of one may have just been a bit blurry). I can't imagine what a fretless mandolin sounds like, and even doubted their existence. Has anyone here ever played one before?
Here are some pictures of some I have found:

105098
105099
105100 Although, technically an oud, I think.

[Astro]

Why ? I already suck enough with the frets on.

[Londy]

I thought about starting this thread a few weeks ago. I can't imagine how much more difficult it could be...I'm sure it's doable. I can see how smooth it could be to play though. I'd like to try it.

[usqebach]

When I want to play a fretless mandolin, I pull out my fiddle. If I'm going to make the supreme effort to play in tune, I might as well have the volume and expressiveness of the bow.

[Charlieshafer]

Yeah, for frets, I play mandocello. When I want fretless, that's what the cello is for.

[DataNick]

105108


"I need my pain (frets)" ...James T. Kirk: Star Trek V

[chuck3]

105108


"I need my pain (frets)" ...James T. Kirk: Star Trek V

that made me laugh even though I don't get it.

[TheArimathean]

I'm in the process of building a fretless resonator OM/cello at the moment... No clue when it will be finished, but will post when done! :D

[Marty Jacobson]

The Collings, BTW, was an April Fool's Joke (http://www.mandolincafe.com/news/publish/mandolins_001339.shtml).

[Jordan Mong]

That's too bad, it looks like a really cool instrument. But I didn't know it was supposed to be a bass mandolin, but I guess the uncoursed strings should have been a give away.
Does anyone have any sound clips of a fretless mandolin? I can't find any videos of one being played anywhere.

[Marty Jacobson]

I think an oud is the closest thing to a fretless mandolin. I don't believe double courses are feasible, since your fingers are rounded and it would nigh upon impossible to fret both courses accurately.

[TheArimathean]

I think an oud is the closest thing to a fretless mandolin. I don't believe double courses are feasible, since your fingers are rounded and it would nigh upon impossible to fret both courses accurately.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but don't ouds have double courses...? (no offense meant to you at all by the way, Marty)

[DataNick]

that made me laugh even though I don't get it.

In Star Trek V, Sybok (Spock's half brother) has the ability to release past emotional scarring from people by supernaturally showing them the incident(s) in their past and then in a quasi-guru endeavor works thru the experience(s) with them to release the source of emotional scarring.

When it is Capt. Kirk's turn, Sybok says "I sense in you a great deal of pain..." to which Capt. Kirk replies "I need my pain!"

Minutia, but fun nonetheless I thought...

[bolannta]

Ouds have double courses. Some have a single string for the lowest pitched course, but the other five are doubles.
105117

[Jordan Mong]

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but don't ouds have double courses...? (no offense meant to you at all by the way, Marty)

Ouds are set up in double courses, so I don't see any more difficulty in having a fretless oud than there would be in a fretless mandolin, but I could be missing something.

[catmandu2]

Why ?

Myself, mandolin led me into playing all kinds of double-course stringed instruments--for which I already had a deep affinity having played a lot of 12-stringed guitar. I like the rich and deep resonance especially of the "larger mandolins"--and a penchant for nylon from my classical & flamenco guitar days--so I arrived at oud. I also played a lot of nylon-strung banjo, as well as fretless banjo, which is probably how I initially came round to thinking about oud. IMO, oud is one of the very most lyrical and expressive stringed instruments. Oud is also a very comfortable instrument for the left hand to play: I picked up a guitar the other day and tried to play a little--having quit a few years ago; it was very uncomfortable. The oud allows me to play music from moorish and mediterranean sources that I can no longer execute on flamenco guitar

Much depends on what one wishes to play upon an instrument: for me the oud is highly idiomatic--I play tunes from late medieval period and study traditional Arabic maqam. If one's interests don't particularly trend in this direction, oud may not be the supreme instrument--while not suited to chord melody style, and an approach generally derived from western music

Fiddles and such also assuage the need to go fretless, but having played plectrum instruments for 4/5s of my life I'm generally more natural with plectrum than with bow

[little george]

I own an egyptian oud (but I don´t pretend I can play it). After undust it I have tryed to play it with the common guitar left hand angle approach, with fingers in a 90 degrees from the strings, and both sound equaly in tune, or out of tune :P Then I tried to play it with a "mandolinesque-violinesque" left hand, with the fingers coming angled to the strings. They sound significantly out of tune with each other. The finger steps over one string at one point, and at a different point at the other. So I can´t see how fretless mandolin is really a good idea, at least not with our standar left hand approach... but, I might be wrong.

[Pasha Alden]

At Data Nick - very good!

Though an oud sure sounds very interesting. Never come across one. Should try and look at our University Rhodes University music department, perhaps I my find older relatives of the mandolin?
Happy playing all!
Vanillamandolin