Fretless bass question...

[ultimabass]

I own an Ibanez SR305 (ebonol neck), and the strings I currently have are D'Addario XL Chromes (flats) which give me an okay growl, but I want alot more. I've heard roundwounds are horrible for fretless basses as they scratch up the neck badly, but I've also heard that the ebonol is good for protecting the neck.

The tone I'm trying to get is that similar to Jaco Pastorius' fretless tone. I've heard he used RotoSound RS66 strings, which I intend to get. My only concern is that they are roundwounds.

My questions:

-Is it safe to use roundwounds on an ebonol fretboard?
-If it is safe, what's a good brand of varnish I can use to coat my fingerboard to make it look better and to keep it protected?

Thank you.

Silly suggestion, but I wouldn't change the bass you have by adding finish to the neck. If your fingerboard is ebony (or "fake" ebony hardwood), it would take hundreds of hours for round wounds to "dig in," and damage it.

Alternately, there are several types of round wounds that have the edges "ground" or otherwise "smoothed" over to reduce finger noise and fingerboard/fret wear. They sound like rounds, but play more like flats.

If you do decide to add a sealer, or finish to your neck, you will likely never be able to sell it. Selling a fretless is difficult enough, let alone a modified fretless.

Just food for thought. It is your instrument after all. You should set it up the way you want it!

[harmendebresser]

No, indeed - don't go changing the bass (especially if it's ebony). In my case (having a rosewood neck) it really needed to be done, but after 7 layers of boat laquer I found the sound changed but in a good way - for my taste. I believe if you want the best of both worlds, leave the neck as is & get D'Addario Halfrounds so you can more of that Jaco sound.

[pierreganseman]

strings will take AGES to dig in ur fingerboard..

[Jools4001]

Ebonol is made from paper laminates and phenolic resin, compressed together at high pressure. It has many advantages for a fretless fingerboard as it is stable and is already as hard as any coating.

Leave it alone and just put rounds on. If you've got good vibrato technique (like a cellist - linearly with the string rather than sawing from side to side like you would on a fretted) it will be years and years before you get anything more than cosmetic wear.