While the fretless bass is played in all styles of music, it is most common in pop, rock, and jazz.

The first fretless electric bass guitars appeared around 1961, from modifications made by players.

While some have painted or inlaid "fret lines" indicating where the players should place their fingers for correct intonation, other basses may have only inlay dots or nothing at all on the fingerboard.

While many fretless players use flatwound or tapewound strings as they are believed to not wear down on the neck as much as roundwounds, some players, such as Jaco Pastorius, are mainly known for using roundwound strings to gain a brighter tone.

Some fretless players, Pastorius included, coat the bass fingerboard in a thin protective layer of epoxy to minimize the risk of damaging the wood when using roundwound strings.