Trey Gunn

The Godin Glissentar. I first came across this around 2000 and I had to try it. It is modeled on the oud, which I love the sound of. And I loved the string configuration: Eleven strings in six groups. The top five strings are doubled in unison and the low string is on it's own. I had never played a fretless instrument before and felt a bit dubious about taking it on now. I had heard so many different musicians complaining about fretless bass players that played out of tune. But... screw it, I had to try this guy and ordered one. It wasn't so hard to play in tune at all. OK, I'm sure I am not perfect on it and I can totally hear when I am really out, but it is wonderfully fun to play. I tune it in fifths like a cello so the low string is a C. Oh wait, no it isn't. I tune it down a whole step from that, so the low string is a Bb. That is pretty weird for me, but it works. The thing I like most about it is that it makes me think and hear so much more melodically than any other instrument. Plus it is real ear opener to to hear what a true major 3rd or minor 7th sounds like. You can't do that on a fretted instrument