“There were no fret markers on it, so all I could do was try to keep a straight face and guess!” Fretted, fretless, double bass, eight-string – Sting is unstoppable on bass. Here’s how he developed his style

Bassist/singer Sting of the Police performs at The Agora Ballroom on April 27, 1979 in Atlanta, Georgia. .

Sting vividly recalls the first time he played a fretless bass. He'd just arrived in America with guitarist Andy Summers and drummer Stewart Copeland to promote the first Police single, Roxanne. They headed directly from the airport to the legendary music shops of 48th Street where Sting bought the first fretless bass he saw, a Fender Precision.

Then, in typical risk-taking fashion, he proceeded to play it that night at CBGB’s – without practicing beforehand. “There were no fret marks on it,” Sting told Bass Player. "So all I could do was try to keep a straight face and guess!”