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Brighter Tone with Fretless Bass

#21
I have an Epiphone Thunderbird with an uncoated rosewood neck that I defretted. It does just fine with whatever strings go on the bass. And, since it's neck-through, the fact that it is uncoated gave me a little pause at first. It's not like I can just unbolt the neck if there's an issue. But, I haven't thought about is since.
 
#24
Like this one, made by Lefay (no association whatsoever)
Dec14_PG_CLM_Bass-Bench_photo2_clipped_WEB.jpg
 
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#29
A. L. McCaslin said:
I heard that that can damage the wood of the fretboard over time. I'd prefer not to do that if at all possible.
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Yea but it'll take years maybe even a decade until you'd need to address that issue. Imagine all the time and wonderful tone that'll be lost, just cause you're worried about something that's eventually going to happen even with flats. Go for the tone that's going to make you happy. Yea and an Ebony board wouldnt hurt either. This is my wenge neck/ebony board lined fretless from Warmoth.
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WP_20150802_17_46_34_Pro.jpg
 
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#30
Brad Johnson said:
Not necessarily. At least in my long experience. It can happen depending on the string and fret material and technique. I've yet to need fretwork on any longterm bass.
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...and some people will need fret work every couple of years. My point is strings, frets, and fingerboards are like car tires, they're all wear items (in most cases ;))
 
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#34
The issue of fingerboard wear pretty much depends on how much playing you do, what kind of playing you do, and what your technique is.

I gigged an unfinished ebony board regularly for two years at a blues open mic night. After about two years, I had definite wear issues right where you would expect: mainly at the G and A on the E string and C, D, and E on the A string. Can you say I-IV-V in guitar? I had to level that board and then I chose to put coatings of polyurethane on it; which took care of the issue for me. The coating changes the sound of the bass, and different coatings produce different sounds as well. I would be cautious with categorical comments on here. It is not a one size fits all situation. IME.
 
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#35
bucephylus said:
The issue of fingerboard wear pretty much depends on how much playing you do, what kind of playing you do, and what your technique is.

I gigged an unfinished ebony board regularly for two years at a blues open mic night. After about two years, I had definite wear issues right where you would expect: mainly at the G and A on the E string and C, D, and E on the A string. Can you say I-IV-V in guitar? I had to level that board and then I chose to put coatings of polyurethane on it; which took care of the issue for me. The coating changes the sound of the bass, and different coatings produce different sounds as well. I would be cautious with categorical comments on here. It is not a one size fits all situation. IME.
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What did you put on and what did it do to the tone?
 
#36
Rounds on my fretless.
Rounds on my fretted basses.
Rounds on EVERY bass I've ever owned.
From that day in 1979 when I borrowed my cousins fretted bass with flatwound strings and went "BLAH!Where's that Stanley Clarke zing?"

The rate and degree of wear that roundwounds cause on a fretless has been GREATLY exaggerated.
If you are not slapping,tapping and doing guitar-like sideways string bends and pushing the heel of your palm down the strings on the fingerboard(Jaco did this occasionally) you will NOT have a great amount of wear.

If you were to sit down and play a fretless with rounds with big piece of white paper under the neck in your lap,you will NOT see fingerboard dust!
I play fretless with rounds.I don't slap or tap on mine.
So there are no gouges,grooves or damage.
Just faint winding marks after a long,long while.
 
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#38
A. L. McCaslin said:
So what I'm hearing is, get an ebony fretboard?
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No.

Yes, Ebony, IMHO, is by far the brightest sounding uncoated fingerboard wood, but it does not manufacture overtones. However, with fresh strings, a flexible onboard or pedal pre amp, and a good rig, you can be as bright as you would ever want with any uncoated fingerboard wood. For real!
 
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#39
A. L. McCaslin said:
What did you put on and what did it do to the tone?
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I coated the ebony board (a Warmoth neck) with Minwax Polyurethane; 4 or 5 coats with a light sanding to take out imperfections in between. I use SS round wounds. The change in sound was night and day. The bare ebony has a dark, woody growl. The coated board had much more articulation and the notes were longer. IMO, a good bit easier to hear pitch with the coated board.

I will also say that since that time, I have played basses with epoxy, phenolic, and polyester coatings. Between those, the polyurethane has the darkest sound with the epoxy at the brighter end and the others in between. I can see cats preferring any of them for various reasons. I prefer the coated boards overall, because I can hear the instrument better in the mix. Plus, I also play upright and get plenty of the woody thing using that axe. All a matter of personal prefs and objectives.
 
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