Dean EAB fretless set-up

[Kaybo]

I just picked up one of the Dean EAB fretless guitars. For the price I tried to keep my expectations realistic, but I've been pleased with the sound and playability and the workmanship is decent. I put on a set of Rotosound 88 tape wounds and I'm really digging the feel and sound. I'm a luthier by trade, but I work mostly with violin-family instruments. I'm trying to tweak the set-up to maximize the unamplified acoustic sounds. The silks on the ball-end of the strings lie on the edge of the saddle, so I might be losing a bit of tone there. Trying to figure out a way to get the ball-end of the strings down lower, not sure if tying a knot just above the ball is a wise choice. I'm also wondering if it's worth replacing the stock plastic bridge pins (which are actually acoustic guitar endpins) with bone bridge pins will help to improve the tone as well.

I tried my best to get the satin finish model, but I was unable to track one down, looks like I'll have to settle for the lacquered model.

 

[Turnaround]

Slip a bead onto the string, but keep the bead small. As small as possible that will slip over the string. That will set the ball-end back a bit further and the silks should clear the saddle just fine.