fretless question

Soma666 · #1 11-01-2007, 04:05 AM

ok, so i recently bought an MIJ 62RI fretless, sans pickguard (very pastorious). Anyway, i been playing it a lot and i love the sound of it, however, the fretboard feels weird to me. its unfinished, and when i move across it or bend a string it feels like its making a scraping, scratching feeling thru my fingers and the string and u can even hear it. im used to a 75 RI with a coated board (fretted) and it just feels incredibly smooth. is there anything i can do to the fretless to make it feel a bit more smooth without jeopardizing hte integrity of the bass itself?

Soma666 · #2 11-02-2007, 06:28 PM

bassteban · #3 11-02-2007, 06:35 PM

You can coat it w/epoxy, superglue or several other paint-type coatings. There are a number of threads on this- look in setup & repair maybe..?

FretlessArt · #4 11-02-2007, 08:54 PM

You can treat the neck and finger board much like you would when detailing your car paint finish. Rather then sanding, Fine compounding cream will help to smooth out the finish of the wood creating a highly polished surface after sereral applications.

Butchers wax can be applied to the fingerboard and Neck to treat the wood with essential oils after you have worked your best shine out of the compound. Apply and remove several coats to the fingerboard but be sure to remove all the residual wax before you re-string.

What type of Strings are you using?

I found heavy gauage stainless to be a mis-match for my fretless basses. They are less forgiving and may contribute to the playability issues you are discribing.

I would recommend a med - lite gauge to get your hand use to the fretless. Nickle strings will warm up the tone, give you less tention and more bend.

I have been using flat wounds recently which I now prefer but it took me years to come to that conclusion as my playing style has changed.

Let me know how this works out. I do this things to my high end Warwicks with great results.

Fretless Art

Soma666 · #5 11-03-2007, 11:16 PM

cheers guys, i bought it brand new, and i definately think im gonna coat it with some sort of epoxy or poly-urethane. i dont mind it changing the sound of the bass, coz right now it sounds very upright and organic, and i kinda want that dirty grungey jaco sound

m.oreilly · #6 11-04-2007, 12:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soma666

....now it sounds very upright and organic, and i kinda want that dirty grungey jaco sound

oh god, you prevert. you got "upright", and you want...***?

Soma666 · #7 11-06-2007, 02:54 AM

haha, yeh i want scungey, dirty...

73jbass · #8 11-06-2007, 02:59 AM

Why do you need to bend strings on a fretless?