Which color inlay stickers should I use?

[fourstringbliss]

I'm going to be defretting this bass



and I'd like to apply some inlay stickers on the fingerboard before I spray on the protective coating I'm going to use. The coating I'm using levels well so I'll have a completely smooth and flat surface when I'm finished. I've got all of the tools and materials I need to do a good job on this fretless conversion, I just want to pick an inlay sticker color.

Which color should I use?

Black


or

White

[jay440]

The Black!

[superdick2112]

On fretless basses, I've always preferred the look of no markers at all, but given your choices, its hard to go wrong with the classic look of maple & black blocks.

[fourstringbliss]

I'm sensing a 70's feel going on here...

[Ric5]

I use those stickers on several of my basses ... but didn't you know they are designed for FRETTED basses?

They will get chewed up on a fretless bass. With roundwound strings they will look bad very quickly. With flats they will last longer but again the strings will ruin those stickers.

But if you put them on a fretted bass they will last a long time because on a fretted bass the strings don't really touch the fretboard with any force.

[Darren Low]

Black

[fourstringbliss]

Originally Posted by Ric5

I use those stickers on several of my basses ... but didn't you know they are designed for FRETTED basses?

They will get chewed up on a fretless bass. With roundwound strings they will look bad very quickly. With flats they will last longer but again the strings will ruin those stickers.

But if you put them on a fretted bass they will last a long time because on a fretted bass the strings don't really touch the fretboard with any force.

I'm going to apply them and then coat the fingerboard with a tough lacquer finish, so they'll be under the lacquer top coat. I'm going to be using flats which won't chew up the lacquer.

[PipeRain]

A fretless with block markers would be a complete headscrew for a n00b like me.

Well played!

[C.Linton]

Originally Posted by fourstringbliss

I'm going to apply them and then coat the fingerboard with a tough lacquer finish, so they'll be under the lacquer top coat. I'm going to be using flats which won't chew up the lacquer.

There was a thread a while back frrom a fellow TB'er who had the same idea for his Squier fretless. It took him about a dozen coats of Lacquer with a lot of careful sanding in between to get the surface perfectly level, basically a lot more work than he figured. It did turn out good (eventually) but afterwards he said if he had known how much work it was gonna be, he wouldn't have bothered.

[Davo-London]

I feel that about marriage and kids

Davo

[fourstringbliss]

Originally Posted by C.Linton

There was a thread a while back frrom a fellow TB'er who had the same idea for his Squier fretless. It took him about a dozen coats of Lacquer with a lot of careful sanding in between to get the surface perfectly level, basically a lot more work than he figured. It did turn out good (eventually) but afterwards he said if he had known how much work it was gonna be, he wouldn't have bothered.

That is a possibility. We'll have to see.