Defret Project. Jazz Bass.

[sgtpepper]

Alright, I recently posted this thread http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showth...1#post10259622 asking for some advice about replacing the neck of my Fender J.

In the meantime, I decided to "have some fun" and defret the original neck. This is the first time I do a MAJOR modification to any of my basses by myself since I started playing at age 15, eight years ago.

I decided to do it because I have a new neck on its way and I didn't care if I screwed the old one. I think I didn't... so far.

Here are some pictures of what I've done. It's not finished yet. I still need to do sandpapering with the "false wood", chemical wood, or whatever it is called and add the varnish.

I followed the guide I found on this TB thread ARTICLE GUIDE, Defret your bass guitar I used similar tools/materials. It's not perfect but I think I did a good job.

Here it is...
Pulling out the frets.


Sandpapering the fretboard...


Filling the fret holes with the chemical wood...




OPINIONS?

[A-Step-Towards]

Well i think you should have pulled the neck off to do it, also try heating the frets first it breaks the glue and they come out easier because it looks like you pulled up alot of chips in the rosewood around the frets, so when you fill it , those shallow spots will fill in instead of just the fret line which would leave a nice straight line.

But hey Jaco popped his out with a butter knife , i doubt it looked pretty . Plus you had the guts to do something yourself, I have wanted to defret but never have done it to a abss yet.

[WhoSeyes]

Too much chiping, as the previous poster pointed out.

If you care for aesthetics you should take some time to pull out each single fret, use apropiate tools, "mask" the fretboard with some tape, heat the frets, reglue any visible chips, etc.

If your only concern is rock'n'roll, have a nice time playing your new fretless ;-)




PD: I'll be drefreting my first bass (an epiphone EB-0) soon. So excited!

[sgtpepper]

Yes, I know... I pulled out a lot of chips... But, ¡HEY! I did this thing by myself I was so excited when I started doing it. But thanks for your comments, guys. I'll take your advices for a new project. Cheers!

[Stilettoprefer]

I did the same thing to an old ibby. Make sure to epoxy the fingerboard!!!!! Rosewood is REALLY soft and the strings will leave indentations in it!!! I know this from experience!

[WhoSeyes]

Originally Posted by Stilettoprefer

I did the same thing to an old ibby. Make sure to epoxy the fingerboard!!!!! Rosewood is REALLY soft and the strings will leave indentations in it!!! I know this from experience!

Or use flats/tapewounds...

[Stilettoprefer]

Originally Posted by WhoSeyes

Or use flats/tapewounds...

I use flatwounds on both of my basses (fretless ibby and fretted schecter).... I slide a lot when i play fretless, so there were ridges all the way up the neck under each string from them being pressed down on the unfinished wood.

And if the board is epoxied you can use any strings you want, so why not do it?

[Bromosapian]

Post new finished pics.

[sgtpepper]

I'll do. This afternoon

[alexei]

Originally Posted by Stilettoprefer

And if the board is epoxied you can use any strings you want, so why not do it?

because some may want a softer tone, like me.
I use flats with an ebony fingerboard, btw.

[Stilettoprefer]

Originally Posted by alexei

because some may want a softer tone, like me.
I use flats with an ebony fingerboard, btw.

Ebony is a lot stronger than rosewood.....

[alexei]

Originally Posted by Stilettoprefer

Ebony is a lot stronger than rosewood.....

I know!
luckily ebony FBs owners can use rounds without being afraid of hurting the FB, if we want to. But my point was that one may prefer the mellow/soft tone of the untreated wood, instead of the epoxied FB growl.
I'm sure ebony can't resist string wear forever. It will surely last longer.

[BrianS198]

Way to have balls man! I recently did a fret removal job with a friend of mine to an old off-brand bass of mine and to her Ibanez sound gear. Like the previous users said, there was a lot of chipping, but aesthetics aren't always the most important thing. I think for next time if you're concerned about that, you should definitely put masking tape on both sides of the fret, heat it up with a soldering iron to loosen the wood, and try gluing chips back in. Of course, this was already covered. :P

Chemical wood sounds interesting.. I'll have to try that next time. I used small pieces of maple veneer that fit right into the fret slots (we had rosewood necks, so it stood out as a fret marker) and then used wood glue to secure it. Definitely intrigued by the idea of using epoxy on the fingerboard though, heh.

Great job though! Can't wait to see pictures of the finished product.

[Pilgrim]

This thread needs to move to Hardware, Setup and Repair.

[Emmaporkchop]

I've de-fretted 5 other basses that I've had, I agree about heating the frets first but otherwise your doing fine. I usually just leave the neck on, lay a soldering iron across the length of the fret for about a minute, they'll come out alot easier then. Take your time. Keep us posted.

[christopherogut]

Here's some pictures of a Squier Precision Bass Special (made in Indonesia) that I defretted a few years ago... I heated the frets/neck with a 1200W heat gun and very carefully pried up one end of each fret. Then, using a pair of snippers and with the heat gun in one hand, I carefully grabbed each fret wire and slowly wiggled to work them out of the grooves. They were then filled with wood filler, I sanded the neck through a few fine grits, and lightly spray-lacquered it... I think the pictures speak for themselves -- very little chipping.

[Duplo42]

Defretting is fun, i had replace-to-be neck, i did it with screwdriver and nail-pliers, did massive damage to ebony FB, but the bass sung like never before :P I never replaced the neck, its still as-is and still is my second favorite bass

[Johnny StingRay]

I think you are awesome for doing that!! Back in the day when I was young, I used to tear apart my basses to modify them with no fear at all. I used to play that way, too. Hell, I used to play my fretless P-Bass with a bottle slide, Boss Phase Shifter, and a Mutron wah/volume pedal!......Now, I'm just old and play like an old fart.........damn I miss those days!
You may find out you like your modified "fretless" neck better than the new one you ordered.
I haven't read all the posts, but have you considered buying a used bass and putting the fretless neck on it?
If anything, you have made it your own and I admire you for that. I used to be like that when I was younger.

[Stilettoprefer]

Originally Posted by alexei

I know!
luckily ebony FBs owners can use rounds without being afraid of hurting the FB, if we want to. But my point was that one may prefer the mellow/soft tone of the untreated wood, instead of the epoxied FB growl.
I'm sure ebony can't resist string wear forever. It will surely last longer.

Well even with flatwound strings the board was damaged after playing it for 3 hours lol. Rosewood is softer than you think. Or I play extremely hard.... Either way with m experience, unless you want to sand down the neck every other time you play, it's a very good idea to coat it with something. I actually use poly because I use flats on my basses

[sgtpepper]

Originally Posted by BrianS198

Way to have balls man! I recently did a fret removal job with a friend of mine to an old off-brand bass of mine and to her Ibanez sound gear. Like the previous users said, there was a lot of chipping, but aesthetics aren't always the most important thing. I think for next time if you're concerned about that, you should definitely put masking tape on both sides of the fret, heat it up with a soldering iron to loosen the wood, and try gluing chips back in. Of course, this was already covered. :P

Chemical wood sounds interesting.. I'll have to try that next time. I used small pieces of maple veneer that fit right into the fret slots (we had rosewood necks, so it stood out as a fret marker) and then used wood glue to secure it. Definitely intrigued by the idea of using epoxy on the fingerboard though, heh.

Great job though! Can't wait to see pictures of the finished product.

Originally Posted by Johnny StingRay

I think you are awesome for doing that!! Back in the day when I was young, I used to tear apart my basses to modify them with no fear at all. I used to play that way, too. Hell, I used to play my fretless P-Bass with a bottle slide, Boss Phase Shifter, and a Mutron wah/volume pedal!......Now, I'm just old and play like an old fart.........damn I miss those days!
You may find out you like your modified "fretless" neck better than the new one you ordered.
I haven't read all the posts, but have you considered buying a used bass and putting the fretless neck on it?
If anything, you have made it your own and I admire you for that. I used to be like that when I was younger.

Wow! Thanks for your comments, guys! When I started doing it I was a little bit of scared... but once I pulled out the first fret... there was no way back. And I didn't care if I screwed it because the new neck is on its way.

Yes, I've considered buying an old bass and installing the fretless neck on it

Originally Posted by christopherogut

Here's some pictures of a Squier Precision Bass Special (made in Indonesia) that I defretted a few years ago... I heated the frets/neck with a 1200W heat gun and very carefully pried up one end of each fret. Then, using a pair of snippers and with the heat gun in one hand, I carefully grabbed each fret wire and slowly wiggled to work them out of the grooves. They were then filled with wood filler, I sanded the neck through a few fine grits, and lightly spray-lacquered it... I think the pictures speak for themselves -- very little chipping.

That's a great work, man! Of course better than mine