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An idea inspired by sitars

L

Lokkenjawnz

Nov 3, 2006
142
0
Santa Cruz, CA
#1
So recently I've been GASing for a fretless bass. The only issue is that learning fretless takes some time, and I'm impatient. Also I'm not sure if I want to buy a bass that I'll probably hardly use.

Then I started thinking about sitars.

A sitar, for those who don't know, is an Indian instrument with something like 18 strings, a gourd body, and movable frets.

So here's my idea: make a set of removable frets for a fretless bass. They would have to be very well secured so they dont move around while you're playing, but I think it could be done. I also think it'd make a pretty cool product if it could be mass produced.

Just think of it, a fretless AND fretted bass all in one!

Thoughts on the matter? Anyone have any ideas as to how this could be done? Should this be in the luthier section? Is this idea simply insane?

-Lokkenjawnz
 
#4
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#5
Wow, that Mikey Guitar thing looks awesome, but extremely expensive. I still think that my idea with the sitar-like movable/removable frets could be done fairly cheaply though. And it would probably work on any bass depending on how it was done.

I'm still trying to figure out how it could be done, my current thought is to have a design similar to a capo, only as a fret instead of something that holds the strings down.

If you've got an idea as to how to make this work, or why it simply won't work or something, then please chime in! I figure that people on this board know a lot more on the general subject of pseudo-luthier work than I do.

-Lokkenjawnz
 
#8
ibz said:
The only problem I see is the grooves where you pull out the frets would need temporarily filled out somehow while you're playing fretless.
Click to expand...

If the cuts in the fretboard where the frets are are flush with the finger board and there is no rough edges that stick up, I think that you wouldn't need anything to fill it. But it would look a little wierd.

The one thing with removeable frets is that you would probably need a way to take them out and put them all in at once. I would not want to deal with putting in one fret at a time.
 
#10
ibz said:
The only problem I see is the grooves where you pull out the frets would need temporarily filled out somehow while you're playing fretless.
Click to expand...

Well my idea is along the lines of a very low profile capo type thing, with some sort of fabric or padding on the underside so it doesn't scuff the fingerboard. There wouldn't be any need for grooves this way, and it would be fairly simple to take on or off, and to move around.

peekster said:
Hey kids!--seen it.

The product is/was called 'Switchboards'; it was magnetic fretboard/neck combination where you could switch from a fretted to fretless [including aluminum fingerboard, as I recall!] in seconds.

Now go do your web searches. You're welcome.
Click to expand...

Googled it, they're apparently from a company called Novatone or something. I'm not quite sure, because when I googled it I didn't get any official pages, or product pages, I mostly got forums of people talking about modifying basses, one of which was in the TB archives actually. Very cool idea though, probably wouldn't be too difficult to implement either. Hopefully continuing my search will yield some results about this device!

-Lokkenjawnz
 
#11
there's a major reason why these haven't caught on: "removing" the frets is only part of the equation. The other part: many if not most experienced fretless players would want the action lowered after "removing" the frets.

So, if a design tries to imply: "presto, flick this switch and you're in fretless mode"....well, it isn't that simple.

Also, with that design where the frets "lower" into the board, well, you'd spend less money and have a better result if you bought a fretted Fender and then bought a fretless neck.
 
#12
Lokkenjawnz said:
Well my idea is along the lines of a very low profile capo type thing, with some sort of fabric or padding on the underside so it doesn't scuff the fingerboard. There wouldn't be any need for grooves this way, and it would be fairly simple to take on or off, and to move around.
Click to expand...

A capo'd type fret would need some sort of tie or something to hold them in place. This would mean you'd have some sort of clamping/holding mechanism that would take up space on the back of the neck and probably get in your way.

At any rate I think it's a helluva lot easier to just design fretboard "plates". One plate with frets the other w/o. Then just fasten and unfasten them somehow to switch between the two. Actually this has been done before..
 
#13
I played the sitar, and I don't think sitar-style movable frets would work well on a bass guitar. The frets have a very small radius and the "fingerboard" is concave to give the 11 to 13 sympathetic strings room under the frets, so your fingers never actually touch the board. This would probably feel extremely awkward with heavy-gauge bass strings, to say the least. You also have to deal with the fret-ties across the back of the neck; talk about speed bumps. Tying and intonating the frets is a big, time-consuming job, so removing them is not something to be undertaken lightly.

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#15
Yeah I know that you wouldn't be able to do it exactly the same as the sitar, because of the concavity of the board and the radius of the frets, the sitar was just my inspiration for the idea. It does seem that this is an idea that would be very difficult to realize, at least in the way I envision it, due to the aforementioned concerns of having all kinds of bumps on the back of the neck. I'm way too stubborn to give up though, so I'm going to keep working on this idea.

One idea that just occurred to me would be to do a simpler version of the Mikey Guitar concept, without the switch that flips them all at the same time. Just have frets that you can manually flip, I assume that would be a bit more doable, and would be far less expensive.

I really need an elf taskforce that I could assign to prototyping, and thinking, and figuring this all out. Or maybe some Oompa Loompas or something.

-Lokkenjawnz
 
#17
The company was called Novatone switchboards from the early 80's,the concept consisted of a fretted and fretless fb that was interchangeable with a magnetic layer that you could place the fretted or fretless strip over.Pat Wilkins( http://www.wilkinsguitars.com/) has a fretted or fretless fb that slides right over the existing fb what ever that may be.
 
#18
Well...How about this.

For a prototype, build your own neck, and have Two Fingerboards on it.

That way, you could "scoop" out the fingerboard to make it concave, allowing...wait...damn. You want removable frets.

Nevermind :)
 
#20
The main issue with Sitar-style tie-on frets or gut/nylon lute style frets is that the bass's neck is skinnier up by the head. Sitar type frets would need to be made specially for their locations. String frets would have to be tied to the right size. If your tie-on material is slick then your frets will slide towards your headstock.
 

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