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Defretting a bass

I

iCONICA

May 14, 2012
27
1
#1
Hi,

There's a similar thread, I know, but my situation is far too different, so a new thread is needed.

I have just bought a nice new Tobias bass, so my old cheap crappy "Encore" p-bass copy is completely redundant.

I thought, as I've never played a fret-less bass, could I just pry out the frets, fill in the space with hard wood filler, smooth over with fine car bodywork finishing sand paper (800, 1200, 1500 grit) and play away? Surely that'd work? To at least give me something to play with to see what fret-less is like...

My only question, raised by that other thread, is would the strings damage the fretboard wood?

I read this page http://www.woodwiz.com/epoxy/ , and the result in that page looks lovely! It's got the old fret grooves to mark the notes for a beginner too, but that seems far to advanced to get a that kind of finish for me, so I was hoping to just fill in the frets and leave it bare wood.

Thanks, :D
 
#4
They may not like it, but the answer to
your first question is yes you can.

The answer to your second question is
yes also, but you can use flat wound
strings or compression wound or nylon
wound strings. You can use Tru-Oil
gun stock finish. It will slow the ware
some. You can use regular strings and
repair the damage after it's done.

Defretting a bass is easy. I can defret
a bass and fill the grooves with wood
filler and finish with Tru-Oil in 3 hours,
no problem.

I even reduce the width, thickness and
radius of the neck quite easily with the
frets off.

Don't be scared to do it on a cheap bass.

Here's three I've done and my total
investment, including buying the basses
was less that $200.

2-28-3.jpg


I made a defretting tool by grinding the
face of this fencing tool,

1-8-8.jpg


There are a lot here who think I'm full
of it and you have to have a pro, or you
have to use epoxy and use wood inserts.

I say, why over do on a cheap bass?

2-25-1b.jpg


Tabdog
 
#5
Have an Encore P bass copy too! Thinking of doing it at some stage.

There would be some fretboard wear if you were playing on roundwounds but I don't think it'd be significant enough to be worrying about, not on an Encore anyway haha. Flatwounds suit fretless better anyway, IMO.

Have you made any other modifications? I'm going to use mine as a project bass of sorts and want to know your plans :D

Do you think there'd be any interest in an Encore thread? :P
 
#6
Thanks guys.

Tabdog. Thanks for the tips, i'mma do that.

SteC, after getting my new bass I've realised just how crap the Encore one is, it's value is zero to me, I'd get £20 for it or bin it. So I might as well do something with it. I'm going to do exactly what Tabdog suggested, I'd suggest you do the same.

I've always been interested in fret-less, but not enough to risk the expense of buying one, and never had the courage to pick one up in a guitar shop and play it for the first time with people about. Plus I like a Sunday afternoon project.

My plan is to remove the frets, fill the groove, sand smooth, then put flat wounds on it and have a play with it for a bit, then I want to give it another quick sand and lacquer it (I've got plenty of car clear-coat lacquer), I think 5 to 10 very thin coats will set hard enough to last a while, if not, I've lost nothing and still played it for a bit before lacquering it so the goal has still been achieved... :)
 
#9
3234718 said:
So you've never played one? Put your balls back on and play it in the guitar shop. You might hate it and you might love it, but you'll know before you take the time to defret a bass
Click to expand...

Nope, no chance. Besides, I don't have any balls. I didn't even play my current Tobias bass before I bought it. I'm not an outgoing character and everyone I hear playing in there plays better than me, I'd feel like I'm showing myself up. So I bought it based on looks and was very pleasantly surprised when I plugged it in at home. :)
 
#10
I did this with a Jay Turser neck for one of my projects. I did about ten layers of spray poly, and it's like glass now. I'd definitely recommend coating it with something.

And don't mind the wankers at the shops. They're usually too concerned with showing off to notice someone modestly trying out an instrument they might actually purchase.
 
#12
EricssonB said:
Egad, you're making me nervous with that. Try a small screwdriver-like tool to tap them out gently -- maybe even heat up the glue with a blowdryer or something.
Click to expand...

hay Ericsson,,,

There's no glue.

A sharpened screw driver is one of
the worst tools to use because it is
so prone to chip the wood.

I like to use a fret cutter to pull frets.
They cost about $30 at a guitar tool
place on the internet,

FretCutter.jpg


I hope you ain't afraid of that.

BigEyedDog.jpg


Most luthires probably use a fret puller,

FretPuller.jpg


It's also about $30. You can spend a
ton on tools, iffin ya want.

The idea is to heat up the neck some.
Not smokin hot.

Take the tool and gently rock it in different
places along the fret. The tool holds the
wood down while doing this so the wood
is less likely to chip.

With a little patients, it practically falls out
by itself.

I used a sharp tool on my first de-fret and
re-fret in the early 1970's. That was the last
time I tried that do do.

Tabdog
 
#13
EricssonB said:
OP, see if you can dig anything out of my posts on yesterday's thread, or PM me on how I did it and I'll get right back to you.
Click to expand...


hay Ericsson,,

Looks like you did good and learned a lot.

As mentioned above, a different tool plus
some heat and some patients and you
could do it with less chips of wood missing.

I have not tried anything except Tru-Oil
because Tru-Oil is faster.

I plan on trying a maple neck and using
epoxy..... mañana

Who knows,, one day I might go through
all the recommended steps and do it right
on a real nice bass.

Gotta find a real nice cheap bass first,,
BigEyedDog2.jpg


Tabdog
 
#15
I just bought a defretted Steinberger Spirit: 5-string, fretless, and headless. Once you start playing fretless, you might not want to go back. Been thinking about defretting the other bass, but still scared to try it. Still need to figure out what, if anything, to put on the rosewood fingerboard. There is some small damage from the roundwound strings it came with. Epoxy is supposed to be good, but something you don't have to mix would be easier to deal with.
 
#16
polyrhythmia said:
Epoxy is supposed to be good, but something you don't have to mix would be easier to deal with.
Click to expand...

I used that stuff that comes in the two-tube syringe. About six of them for my electric guitar (linked in my above comment) so a bass will take a lot more. Wasn't much trouble.
 
#17
I did it to a cheap Squire and actually liked how it turned out better than it was.

I used a flat head soldering iron on each fret for about 30 seconds and slowly pried them right out. It was SIMPLE.

Tool I used was a pair of dykes, or wire cutters to the electrically challenged.
Just a little goes a long way once they're heated it really doesn't take any force at all. Take your time.

I haven't coated the fret board in anything but will sooner or later. I'm using rounds on it and yes it does show lines on the board but not the end of the world.
A tiny bit of sanding very very little actually and I'll coat it soon enough.


Total cost, $0.00
 
#19
Heres a pic of my little Encore P-Bass that I de-fretted.It was a sorta rush job,and I definitely didn't take nearly enough care in refinishing the neck.I used yacht varnish which refused to dry completely for some reason,so that had to be sanded off and the whole thing started over.Still,it's entirely playable,and I've used it on a couple of gigs.D'ya like it?
 

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