Installing frets on ebony board: how easy is it?

Ivan R · #1 01-04-2013, 05:54 PM

Hello.

I have a Fender Tony Franklin fretless precision bass. I love the bass to death, and will never part with it, of modify it (aside from installing straplocks and replacing the D-detuner with an ordinary tuner).

I would love, though, to have the exact same bass with frets. The problem is: the fretted version of the TF do not have the ebony board I love, and are only offered in colours I dislike.

So I might consider buying a second fretless TF, to fret it (and have the nut changed, of course), if this is not too hard.

My question is: how hard is it? Who does it? For (averagely) how much?

Thanks!

Hopkins · #2 01-04-2013, 07:03 PM

It can be done, but I imagine its not all that cheap. Seems to me that slotting a board that already has the radius and taper would be more than a little bit tedious.

It would be more cost effective to make a clone from Warmoth parts.

Bruce Johnson · #3 01-04-2013, 07:53 PM

Fretting an ebony fingerboard isn't really any more difficult than any other wood. The wood is harder, so it takes a little more horsepower to saw the slots. The rest of the technique is all the same.

The main issue is that you need to take it to a Luthier who has the special fixture/machine needed to saw the slots in the right locations on a completed neck. Many of us have built our own slotting rigs. You just have to ask, and find someone who has the setup.

Yes, you can cut the slots with a hand saw and hand layout, but it is tedious. With the right slotting rig, it's not a big deal. Some guys build special miter boxes; some use sliding fixtures on tablesaws. I built mine as an overhead swinging saw with a sliding fixture bed. I built it almost 20 years ago, and I've slotted somewhere close to 1000 necks with it so far.

I'd charge you about $250 for the job. Most of that is for the labor of installing, leveling and polishing the frets. Cutting the slots on my machine would take about 15 minutes.

Ivan R · #4 01-05-2013, 05:50 AM

Thank you for the answers.

Splods · #5 01-05-2013, 07:24 AM

Also the nut might have to be replaced, most fretless basses (in my personal experience) have had a much lower action because there is no frets.

adding frets might cause a stupid amount of buzz, meaning you would have to raise the action considerably, which is not ideal for fast playing.

Ivan R · #6 01-05-2013, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Splods

Also the nut might have to be replaced, most fretless basses (in my personal experience) have had a much lower action because there is no frets.

adding frets might cause a stupid amount of buzz, meaning you would have to raise the action considerably, which is not ideal for fast playing.

Sure, that is written in my first post.