Hi guys ! I got a cheap P - clone recently, and decided, after some TB reading, to do a fretless conversion. I`ve never done any instrument work, and don`t have alot of specialty tools for such. But, I do have woodworking experience, and plan to do this as cheaply as possible. I will be pulling learned techniques into my project, as well as incorporating some of my ideas as I go. I will not document the commonly available steps, as there is much better info on TB. I don`t intend this to be a tutorial, per se, but an account of a rookie`s first foray into instrument modding. Hopefully, you may learn a thing or two out of it from my successes AND failures that are sure to come. Plus, I think I have some innovative ideas I`m gonna put to the test.
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Cheap fretless P conversion
- Thread starter pnut166
- Start date
My project donor consists of a P clone. Bought it off CL for $30. It looks to be pretty old, but of cheap quality. I like cheap basses. I think they have character and personality. After a cleaning and setup, I was surprised how well it played. It has a nicely yellowed / worn body, and is light. The pup is crap, of course, but no static in the pots. The neck, however, was.... It`s straight, but curiously, has almost no finish at all. And the driest fingerboard of unknown origin ever ! And the frets were horrible. So, after some late-night TB perusing...... here we go !
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
I just got a fretless neck and it will go on one of my existing basses. I just have to decide which one.
I had this done to a similar Bass about 10 years ago, and what the luthiers did to mine was they took the old fingerboard off completely, replaced it with a fretless rosewood fingerboard of a similar thickness. What they then did was make a shim in the neck pocket to get the right action.
Are you doing it the more conventional way though, where you're going to pull out the frets and fill up the gaps with a veneer or something? I suppose your pictures will give more away
I hope it goes well!
Are you doing it the more conventional way though, where you're going to pull out the frets and fill up the gaps with a veneer or something? I suppose your pictures will give more away
I hope it goes well!
Yes - going the cheap route. The body is a nicely yellowed white, and I stained the fingerboard a rich walnut color. I wanted white fret lines, so I found some old plastic cards that were perfectly thin and seated exactly in the fret grooves. Cut them into tabs, glued them in, and trimmed them. Also going to mod pickguard in coming days, refin neck, install a new pup, and possibly do some mild inlay work. It looks fantastic so far - will post pics tomorrow. 
First up - need a fret puller. Didn`t wanna spend the bucks on a specialty tool that I may never use again, so....an old pair of wire cutters and a dremel / grinding bit and - voila ! A fret puller ! It worked better than hoped for. Did not mar the fretboard at all. The frets as they came out, however...maybe oiling the fretboard prior to pulling would have helped, I dunno. Not too bad, though.
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no longer a "fretboard" now is itAfter the cursory sanding, stained with Antique Walnut Minwax stain. BIG improvement ! Prior to staining, I attempted to drill out and refill the dot markers. This didn`t go so well - the fragments marred the fretboard as I broke them out. Subsequently, the edges were irregular after filling with white woodfiller. Stained over them - plan B for the fret markers will come later.
Prior to staining, I attempted to drill out and refill the dot markers. This didn`t go so well - the fragments marred the fretboard as I broke them out. Subsequently, the edges were irregular after filling with white woodfiller. Stained over them - plan B for the fret markers will come later.Attachments
After scraping the old woodfill endcaps from the fret slots, I used some old plastic cards I found. I wanted something solid to fill the fret slots, as I had read about the kerfing effect possible with just using woodfiller. The cards were perfectly thin for seating in the slots. Cut them into strips and glued them in.
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The cards were thin enough that they trimmed up easily with a razor scraper. Going good so far, I think ! Note: the scrapes you see in the fretboard are superficial - they rubbed out with my finger. This brings me up to date on my progress - more posts in the days ahead !
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Finished all final fretboard veneer trimming. Didn`t really like the stark white fret lines in contrast to the aged body, so I rubbed a dab of stain over them to give `em some age. I love the way the fingerboard looks. After several layers, the stain darkened the fret cuts and accentuated every little imperfection. When I glued the tabs in, the CG filled all the little chips from the defret, and when I trimmed, the high spots in the glue shaved away. Even though the fingerboard looks beat up, it feels totally smooth! Very happy with the results. Will fix the fret markers and epoxy seal later !
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Hated the pickguard. Was gonna go for a tortoise, but after close exam, Fender isn`t probably gonna fit right. So, while supply shopping @ start of project, I ran across these super thin paint chips in a shaker can ($8). Made specifically for use with epoxy coatings. PG off, lightly sanded, cleaned, edges taped. A coat of epoxy, and a generous portion of the chips. After curing, will knock off the excess, smooth it all out, and seal with an epoxy topcoat. It`ll either be super-cool or a complete disaster. Plan B is either sand it all off or buy a blank and cut a new PG. Also, installed a MIM pup (remember, going cheap here) obtained from evilbay ($12).
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