NBD Defretted Ibanez

[GrandLowBass]

My first bass is new again! Got her defretted, the fret slots filled with maple, the board tung oiled. Muah!

[lowphatbass]

Looks like a great job! Nothing like making something old "new" again.

I'm not a fretless fingerboard expert by any means, but I've had bodies that were tung oiled and I don't remember the finish being particularly hard or durable.

[Marton]

Originally Posted by lowphatbass

Looks like a great job! Nothing like making something old "new" again.

I'm not a fretless fingerboard expert by any means, but I've had bodies that were tung oiled and I don't remember the finish being particularly hard or durable.

Tung oil isn't durable, but is really easy to touch up.

[mfbolton]

Very nice. Who did the work?

[GrandLowBass]

Originally Posted by mfbolton

Very nice. Who did the work?

I originally planned to do the work myself but since I've never defretted and I'm pretty busy, I had a local luthier take care of it. Faster and more professional. Plus, his asking price was fair for the job. But I will defret a bass on my own someday!

[bassbenj]

Originally Posted by GrandLowBass

I originally planned to do the work myself but since I've never defretted and I'm pretty busy, I had a local luthier take care of it. Faster and more professional. Plus, his asking price was fair for the job. But I will defret a bass on my own someday!

VERY NICE WORK!

I'm considering defretting my Ibby 506 as well. I think that should have some great possibilities!

Have you had much time to form an opinion of the new fretless tone compared to the original fretted tone?

[GrandLowBass]

Originally Posted by bassbenj

Have you had much time to form an opinion of the new fretless tone compared to the original fretted tone?

I've logged quite a few hours on it already and I love it. The tone has changed very little. I find the front pickup more useable now than before (although I don't know why), but still prefer the burpiness of the bridge. I think the overall tonal quality of the instrument is well-suited for fretless. I find it to be very warm and expressive, surprisingly. I'm not sure how my SRX would compare to your SR506 since your pickups are Barts (I think?) and mine are made by Ibanez. But if you like the tone of your 506 and want fretless, go for it!