De-fretting question

[d K A p S]

I will soon be in the process of de-fretting a bass, just wondering if instead of filling the fret gaps with woodfiller I would somehow be able to have the lines filled with the pearl inlay material. Would this be possible and how? Also where would I find this material?

Thanks

 

[Beej]

Defretting is covered in the How to Section at the top of this forum - there is a great deal of information on how to do it to be found via searching this forum. You can find mother of pearl, abalone, etc from places online like stewmac.com, allparts.com, etc. You may even find blanks and pieces at your local music shop depending on their size.

That said, you'll have to cut it very carefully to fit in those tiny fret slots, so I'd suggest cleaning them out with a fine bladed tool before attempting to fill them. MOP cuts very easily with a coping saw. Just take your time and please post the results...

 

[Vallejo]

I filled my fret gaps with 'Don Palillo' spanish flat toothpicks

 

[bassteban]

When I bought the P in my avatar it had been defretted; the slots had been filled w/some kind of plastic, maybe binding material. W/e it was, when I had it refretted, the luthier told me that it was difficult to remove the stuff because the saw tended to slip & skate across it rather than cut into it. Not a factor if you intend to never refret.

 

[noahbass]

commercially sold veneer works really well. a lot of it comes around .030" thick. you could probably get more than enough as scrap from a local furniture/cabinet shop. finding such thin shell might be difficult. although now that i think about it i feel like i've seen it. maybe at allenguitar.com.