OK OK, so your sick of having your very first bass sitting there gathering dust. You've fallen in love with your new essex/fender/yamaha/alembic/bongo (
)/ whatever, but your feeling heartbroken that your original baby is just getting her neck twisted in the heat and doing nothing...solution?
DEFRET THE DARLING!
I got my Yamaha TRB, and wanted a new sound for my Ashton. The decision was sorta easy, but figuring out how to do it wasnt. When i did it, i had the assistance of my dad, a veteran woodsmith of the last 40 odd years, so he knew a thing or 7 about expotic wood, thin veeneers and very tight elegant work. This isnt a 20 minute job. You wont be playing your bass the same day or even the same week if you want it done properly. Hell, it took me over a month before i heard what she sounded like.
Take her into your woodworking area, lay her down on some nice clean rags so her back doesnt get dirty, and treat her like you would a lover. She is your pride, and your giving her a new face. Gently, slowly, and be tender with her. (i could use the idea of giving her a new voice, but pulling a womans throat out isnt too appealing to non-metalheads...sorry
) Keep ALL your sharp hard tools as far away as practical. I highly recommend masking the frets before removal. It protects the board from the tools as well as helps prevent chipping. Lift the tape slowly after pulling the fret. That way if there's a chip, drop down a spot of glue, replace the tape and the chip goes right back where it came from. Heres a photo of mine ready to go. Sure, i went overboard, but its better to be safe than sorry.
First, heat each fret with an iron. (Some say use a soldering iron) Then, CAREFULLY work the fret out of the fingerboard. I used a small
FLATHEADscrewdriver and a pair of nippers. For some, I used a fishing knife. StewMac has a special tool. Whatever works for you, but MAKE SURE YOU HEAT IT. Heat= expansion=easier to get out
It took me nearly two hours to get all of the frets out If they are glued as well as pressure fit, it may be even tougher. Again, the heating process makes it easier. Just be patient and work slowly. Don't try to pull the whole thing out at once. I practised on a few high frets (she is a 24 fret bass). If you feel yourself getting anxious, stop, take a breath and go back to some high frets. I started from the highest fret and worked my way down. the higher, less used octave is a good starting place, as when you get down to the lower, more used octave your ill skillz are usually a tad more refined.
With the frets gone the neck will feel rough. I did a very light sanding at this point with medium (120) grit paper. Enough sanding to take off the shallow indentations from the original frets is plenty. Remember...gently... BE CAREFUL!! It is still pretty easy to knock loose chips that may have started from the fret tangs.
Notice that I taped up the body of the bass. Most of those tools could make a nasty mark in the paint fairly easily.
I used a safety knife to clean all of the junk out of the fret slots. I also used a very fine tooth hacksaw blade on some of the slots. Careful using the hacksaw, you don't want to widen the slot anymore than needed.
finished the the neck with 400 grit paper After that, a nice lemon-oil soaked rag cleaned off all of the sanding residue and restored the original look of the rosewood board. THat should be the end of a day. Start fresh tomorrow.
OK, day II. Filler time. There are alot of websites claiming they used this epoxy, that bonded, rah rah rah. I went to my local bunnings (hardware store) and told the old fella behind the counter what i was doing. He gave me the same stuff that i used to bog up my chisel dents when i make cabinets. At the end of the day, your filling a hole in a wood with a fake agent. Its the same, be it a chisel dent in a drawer or a fret hole in a bass. As for color, i chose a shade that was a bit darker than that of my rosewood fretboard.
Just slap it in there. Be generous, but reasonable. If there are HUGE blobs of the stuff, its just all going to flake off and take some of the actual putting thats filling the hole with it.
Let it dry over night. End of day II
Day III
I used medium grit paper to begin replaning the board. If I did this again, I would get one of those radius sanding blocks designed for this purpose. I was simply careful and continuously trusted my feel of the board to make sure I wasn't taking off the radius. After a few years, I know what it feels like. But the block would save a great deal of time.
SEALANT!!!
I used a polyeurathane based chemical. Once again, go to the hardware store and tell the veteran bloke behind the counted what your doing, and he will tell you honestly what the right product is. I BRUSHED it on, didnt spray it on. I used a foam brush with a nice straight edge and used it sort of like a butter knife speading vegimite on my toast (im aussie remember
) Give it one generous coat, then let it set over night. This next part is the time consuming part.
Initially, i gave the first 3 coats 2 days to settle in. Then the last 2 were spaced by a day, so it'd look like this:
Sunday: Finish sanding, first coat
Wednesday: Light sand, 2nd coat
Saturday: Light Sand, 3rd coat
Monday: Light sand, 4th coat
Wednesday: Light Sand, 5th Coat
These 'Light sands' im referring to..its just enough with VERY FINE PAPER to roughen up the top surface again. After my final sand after the final coat, some nice lemon oil or whatever you usually use to clean the fretboard goes down a doozy. Let her sit over night before you dabble with her. THis is what mine looked like:
Then once you are done, you can add her to the rest of your collection and twang away. Or even take some kickass pictures like these:
I didnt do any fretboard adjustments, i didnt think it was necessary, but that was ME. Im not saying dont do it!
If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask! Im not too sure how often ill be on TB, so your more than welcome to email me at
blueflamestudio@optusnet.com.au and i will usualy reply within 24 hours.
Hope i helped a few people!
