Hello masters,

Would it be ok to defret a Warwick (wenge fingerboard)? I saw a guy selling one on the net in my country.

I never saw a fretless with wenge fingerboard. I know Warwick uses ebony on their models. Any problem with this wood for fretless? What would it sound like?

Thanks!

Well I'm not a expert builder but I've done my share of fret jobs before. If you turn the bass into a fretless you'll get a more natural bass tone. It will sound a little duller due to the fact that the point that the string is deadened is now your soft finger as opposed to the hard fret... It's not a real hard job to do. just pull the frets slowly, as not to splinter the edges of the slots in the fboard... Then clean in up with sone fine sanding and steel wool. I usually fill the fret slots with plastic shims. Then put a finnish on the fboard. That may be a problem on a Warwick though!

Anyway, I hope this helps.

Wenge is brittle and splintery, so it may be difficult to remove the frets cleanly. But it does make a sweet board for fretless; I used it on the instrument I just finished.

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/attachment.php?s=&postid=1127440

Thank you guys, BUT...

Sorry if I couldn't express myself clearly in English. My question was more about the TONE and DURABILITY (supposing it's unfinished) of a Wenge fingerboard.

The bass I mentioned has already been defretted, so the I don't mind the PROCESS of defretting it. The seller is from another state and I can't see the bass before buying it, so that's why I feel insecure.

Thanks. More replies are always welcome.

TimmyB:

Is it just my computer or you posted 5 replies? Thats a nice bass anyway :D

You said sweet board... How would you compare it to rosewood, ebony or maple?

Thanks

Originally posted by TimmyB
Wenge is brittle and splintery, so it may be difficult to remove the frets cleanly. But it does make a sweet board for fretless; I used it on the instrument I just finished.

Originally posted by BoogieNight
TimmyB:

Is it just my computer or you posted 5 replies? Thats a nice bass anyway :D

You said sweet board... How would you compare it to rosewood, ebony or maple?


Sorry about the multiple posts, my computer went haywire on me :D

I haven't had much chance to compare it to other woods for fretless. The bass I used it on is very warm sounding without a lot of snap or sizzle. Of course that could be the flatwound strings, too. I like it, but of course YMMV.

My fretless Warmoth has an all-wenge neck. I have it strung with nickel roundwounds and use it daily for almost a year now. I also do some slapping on it, and so far, the fretboard has held up very well..you can hardly notice that it has been played. Wenge is a good choice for a fretless IMHO.

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/attachment.php?postid=1086225

Brooks, that's a nice finish job! Do that yourself or get it prefinished?

OMG! What a nice bass!

That's a Warmoth bass with their standard bright blue finish over quilted maple.