Fretless bass and putting regular bass strings on it

[ArtechnikA]

I'm sure it's possible to put wear into a Dymondwood, phenowood, etc. fingerboard, but I've never heard of it.

My Roscoe (Dymondwood) came to me previously owned and with a lot of play on it. Not a mark... AFAIK it has always been strung with the "Roscoe Standard" D'Addario Nickel Wound.

 

[bh2]

I've always used rounds on my fretless's...(?)
Visible wear yes, after thirty or so years. No damage.

Just got a heavily lacquered maple board P... it has rounds and it sounds.... nice.

First gig with it at the weekend.

 

[SlowCode]

I've posted this on quite a few threads. I think it's important, particularly for newer players who value their equipment.

Gouges to neck from round wound strings. This is a Steinberger L2 with phenolic neck, but I have seen this happen to wood as well.

I have played fretless exclusively since 1972. Regardless of "opinions" here and elsewhere - if you use rounds, this will happen.

Varnish helps by the way.

 

[ArtechnikA]

I can see the lines - how deep are those tracks ?

 

[GMC]

As opposed to what kind of strings? Nickel round wounds will be less abrasive that stainless steel, but more abrasive than flat wounds or tape wounds. Jaco used Rotosounds, but he also had his fingerboard coated in epoxy to protect the wood.
I've had nickel round wounds on my uncoated, rosewood board for years and it has been fine. However, My fretless does not get that much playing time compared to my others.

Polished Rosewood seems to be quite resistant to round wound string ware. Ebony boards seem to ware a little quicker. Cocobolo finger boards seem even more resistant.

 

[SlowCode]

I can see the lines - how deep are those tracks ?

Thanks for the response - They aren't wicked deep, but you can very easily feel them with a fingertip. The guy did a lot of string bending apparently, because side to side there are hundreds of tiny grooves from the strings.

 

[SlowCode]

Polished Rosewood seems to be quite resistant to round wound string ware. Ebony boards seem to ware a little quicker. Cocobolo finger boards seem even more resistant.

It depends upon how the rosewood is sawn. Also, ebony is a very dense wood but it chips easily and when worn comes away like dust. I prefer it to rosewood on a bass because of its density, I think it has a bit more ring to it.