Fretless advice!

[Goatrope]

Second person to suggest that. I don't get it. Why move the side markers?

If you have visible fret lines, it probably doesn't matter as much where the side dots are. Just play the lines, not the dots.

If you have no fret lines, the side dots must be moved to align with where the fret lines would have been. Otherwise you'd be playing out of tune when you put your finger in line with the side dots.

 

[zombywoof5050]

Second person to suggest that. I don't get it. Why move the side markers?

I‘m used to playing unlined with side dots at the fret position.

 

[singlemalt]

Here is a picture. The lines are cut through the side of the fingerboard. Makes it much easier to see from the driver’s seat. Compare to the highest frets that are not done like this.

Binding is another story, I don’t know how that would work, but I could see using a fine tip pen to mark the lines in a contrasting color. I don’t see any reason to move the position dots.

Some fretless necks are marked with dots on the fret lines, others are lined and marked as usual, like this one.

Once you have lots of hours on, you won’t need the lines as much.

This thing is super fun to play. Perfect for couch time or riffing out on the deck with no wires.

 

[Buster53]

So I’ve been looking at veneers and today found this papauk. I was immediately struck by the rich red/brown color as it reminds me of tortoiseshell. So I bought a bit of it to test. I’m hoping it will contrast enough with the rosewood to give some visibility to the fret lines but also help tie the tortoise shell coloring throughout.

The bass will have custom tortoiseshell tuning buttons that I crafted out of Bakelite plus the TS pickguard and control panel. I’m hoping to then create a sense of TS coloring through the fretboard to tie it all together.