I REALLY want to defret my bass but...

Rock-Bassman · #1 02-23-2009, 02:08 PM

will it sound at least okay compared to a fretless squir??? It's an Ibanez passive p/j and was just wondering if it was worth defretting or should I just buy a fretless? Don't have a ton to drop on a new bass anytime soon...

mebusdriver · #2 02-23-2009, 02:10 PM

Don't do it. Go to rondomusic.com and buy a fretless SX. Trust me, unless you really know what you're doing, you will screw it up. Don't do it.

Rock-Bassman · #3 02-23-2009, 02:12 PM

Well cmon now it can't be THAT hard...

jgroh · #4 02-23-2009, 02:16 PM

I was this close to defretting my old Guild bass because I wanted a fretless when my wife bought me a Squier VM. I am SO glad I didnt rip out the frets. I am sure you could get good results if you took your time and did it right, but it could also go bad. I was worried that if I took out the frets, I would chip/peel the fretboard while doing it. It was so much nicer just getting one thats already done and just playing it.

fender_funk_man · #5 02-23-2009, 02:17 PM

When you do this you have to re-set up the whole instrument from start to finish. If you dont know how to do this then for your basses sake dont do it. Not to mention you gotta fill the frets which sucks

Rock-Bassman · #6 02-23-2009, 02:19 PM

so i guess this is a BAD idea???

lethargytartare · #7 02-23-2009, 03:49 PM

From a functional standpoint -- bad idea. Only do it if you want the experience, and want to learn a bunch of skills the somewhat hard way.

If your goal is a fretless bass you can start playing soon, buy one, or buy a new neck. As was said above -- it's easy to screw up, doing it right will take a novice a lot of time and effort, and tools and materials, and you'll still have all the setup work at the end to do too.

I encourage DIYers to do it IF learning is their objective. But it's not the quickest, most economical and best quality road to getting a nice fretless player.

ltt

jsingles · #8 02-23-2009, 03:55 PM

+1 on the SX fretless, I myself will be buying one soon, instead of defretting my schecter...

I helped a friend of mine defret his peavey millenium, and lets just say, that bass has played its last note.....

The SX's are actually pretty nice though. Observe Marlowe http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT2bKBg2J-k

twisty4678 · #9 02-23-2009, 04:12 PM

To be honest, i was pretty careless about it and did it in a few days. Well, not careless, but i didn't spend too much time. I'd say i had the frets out in half an hour to an hour and the cracks filled (two coats) with in two hours. I then had six coats of polyurethane on in the next day. So three days total, with not too much work. It came out great, and sounds pretty decent. The catch is i had just gotten a new bass for Christmas, and this was a beginner yamaha 150 dollar bass. So don't do it if it's your only bass. If it's not. go for it, it was a very fun project and put some life into a bass that wouldn't be played otherwise. Edit: I have no experience in guitar making whatsoever, although i might have inherited some carpenter genes from my father

poomwah · #10 02-23-2009, 05:43 PM

there is a LOT that can go wrong. it is RELATIVELY simple, but still very labor instensive, and TIME intensive to do it right... not to mention not particularly cheap unless you have all the sanding equipment already, and the epoxy for the fretboard. add to that the potential of damage, or the fact that you may just wind up changing your mind. If you value your ibanez at all, just leave her the way she is.

LeftHandedFrog · #11 02-23-2009, 06:00 PM

If u got time and patience , go for it!
I have no experience whatsoever in that area but i read a lot in different forums and went for it on my old MIM jazz bass. All i had to buy is sandpaper and wood paste.
Result is no perfect( looks pretty amateur ) but it plays ans sounds great , not to mention that it feels so good knowing i did it myself
Once again , if its not your number one bass go for it....

Esp man Walker · #12 02-23-2009, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rock-Bassman

so i guess this is a BAD idea???

I like grape juice!

Rock-Bassman · #13 02-23-2009, 06:11 PM

well it is my first bass(I'd feel really bad if i broke it) but it's my "cheap" bass so I might just do it... but back to my first question- will it SOUND okay??

LeftHandedFrog · #14 02-23-2009, 06:13 PM

If you set it up correctly , it will sound just like itself but fretless....
You can t do much damage to the bass. But that neck will never be fretted again , that is for sure