defretting an acoustic

[Zenixon]

Would defretting my acoustic be a bad idea sound wise?

 

[Matt R.]

Would defretting my acoustic be a bad idea sound wise?

Only if you suck at fretless

 

[lz4005]

It will probably be quieter.

 

[Apolicious]

Depends on the bass. The best acoustic bass I've ever heard was a fretless pre-Fender Thunderbass. I wouldn't say it "nailed" that upright tone, but it had a beautiful, airy quality, and the lack of frets made it far more expressive than the fretted models. But I really guess it all depends on what kind of sound you're going for.

 

[Zenixon]

It will probably be quieter.

That's what I was worrying about. What would be a safe remedy for that? Just raising the action?

 

[lz4005]

That's what I was worrying about. What would be a safe remedy for that? Just raising the action?

You're going to be stopping the string on wood instead of metal. There's no way of changing that short of getting a metal fingerboard like on Vigier fretless guitars. You can try playing harder to compensate, but there's only so much that can do.

 

[MD]

I pulled the frets on my Takamine G series years ago with no issues. I don't think there was any loss of volume, but it was a while ago.

Action is high and it can be heard around a campfire just fine.