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Fretless advice!

Buster53

Buster53

Sep 8, 2021
330
847
#1
I’m doing a custom build with a Hofner violin bass body bought from AliExpress. The piece arrived in rough shape including sanding scratches across the grain of the fretboard. I’ve been considering a fretless so figured now is the time.

So my question. What to fill the fret slots with?

The bass will be black with tortoise shell accents. The fingerboard is rosewood. I want the fret lines to be visible but subtle. My luthier suggests maple but I think that will be too bright. I’m thinking more like ebony or something dark.

I understand the idea behind a light wood for visibility, but this will not be a gigging bass. It won’t be on stage under dodgy lighting with spinning disco balls. I’ll be playing in my office/studio that is well lighted.

At present my plan is to sample a few colors of wood veneer and see what works. So what are the pros and cons of darker fret stripes?

The pics are the body, fretboard, and a mock up of the finished product.
 

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#2
if your final product gets close to your mockup you're going to have a great looking fretless, and hey, lightweight, too!! :drool: :thumbsup: perfect!

honestly, i think you'd be able to discern lines with any fill color --- the fact that the fingerboard grain is being 'broken up' by the filler pretty well ensures that they'll be visible --- and you'll be mostly using the ax in a well-lit environment, anyway. or, to put it another way: trying to hide them is damn near impossible!

i, too, would opt for something subtle. whatever you do, i look forward to seeing your ax when it's complete --- it promises to be a stunner! good luck with your fretless, you're gonna have a ball! :thumbsup:
 
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#4
JRA said:
if your final product gets close to your mockup you're going to have a great looking fretless, and hey, lightweight, too!! :drool: :thumbsup: perfect!

honestly, i think you'd be able to discern lines with any fill color --- the fact that the fingerboard grain is being 'broken up' by the filler pretty well ensures that they'll be visible --- and you'll be mostly using the ax in a well-lit environment, anyway. or, to put it another way: trying to hide them is damn near impossible!

i, too, would opt for something subtle. whatever you do, i look forward to seeing your ax when it's complete --- it promises to be a stunner! good luck with your fretless, you're gonna have a ball! :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
Thanks! And I should add the bass has side dot markers as well.
 
#5
Buster53 said:
...the bass has side dot markers as well.
Click to expand...
i didn't think to mention that those will have to be relocated for them to do you any good: they need to be smack on the fret locations rather than in-between the frets/lines. but your luthier can take care of that for you, too!

looking forward to seeing this ax come to life!
 
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#8
You can get maple veneer and dye it somewhat to whatever wood stain color you'd like. As mentioned plastic will probably expand differently and stick out as the weather changes through the year. If you use a light color veneer distinct from the fretboard you can leave the side dots where they are and rely on the new fret lines on the side. I have seen basses where the line only extends the first 1/4" to the bass side of the fretboard while the rest is a dark color using separate veeners for a different look, though I have never tried to do that.
Don't use wood filler as the neck will forward bow like crazy with string tension on it.
Having done this a few times a contrasting light veneer looks best if you want lines, otherwise for an unlined board just plane the fingerboard off and install a new one, then radius to shape and install side dots with an appropriate scale length template
 
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#9
Dying a veneer is probably the answer.

I really dislike tort, but tying your fretlines to your pickguard would look sharp. There’s a picture of a Musicman Ray out there with tort binding and blocks. Limited run a few years back. I thought it was MM trolling TB as a joke at first, then I found it was real.

In your case… tort fret lines might get even me to say it looks good. Or tie it to your binding.
 
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#11
I've got a few defrets under my belt, and I've never used veneer. I use sanding dust, sometimes from the very neck I'm defretting. Remove the frets, force some dust into the slots, and lightly dribble in some CA glue, scraping off the excess as you go in order to reduce final sanding. I do not like lined fretlesses as I find the lines distracting, so rosewood + rosewood works best for me.
 
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#13
GretschWretch said:
I've got a few defrets under my belt, and I've never used veneer. I use sanding dust, sometimes from the very neck I'm defretting. Remove the frets, force some dust into the slots, and lightly dribble in some CA glue, scraping off the excess as you go in order to reduce final sanding. I do not like lined fretlesses as I find the lines distracting, so rosewood + rosewood works best for me.
Click to expand...
I appreciate the opinion but for this first fretless I want the lines and my luthier has worked with veneer fillers before. But as noted, I'm hoping to find a subtle color that works for me.
 
#17
singlemalt said:
Whatever you go with, extend the fillers and lines through the edge of the fretboard. That makes it easy to see the lines, and the position dots can stay where they are.

I’d go with Luminlay. It’s a soft white in bright lights but glows a very cool blue or green in dim light. Soft and easy to work with.
Click to expand...
Can I do that - extend thru the edge of the fretboard with binding?
 

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