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Fretless Kinal Kompact questions

B

BassClef 2010

Oct 31, 2009
184
3
#1
Due to the influence of Lokire, I am soon going to have a Kompact built. But I have some questions for the bass playing community. I am getting a fretless 4 string. Should I get rosewood or ebony for the fingerboard/bridge? Would it cost any more to get ebony? Would it cost more to get fretless? Also I have been playing lined fretless basses for all my life, so would this be a good time to get an unlined? Or should I just play it safe and get lined? Also what kind of strings would be appropriate for said bass?
Thanks so much,
BassClef.
 
#3
Also due in large part to Lokire's influence, I'm soon to be the owner of a new fretless 4-string Kompact myself. It's probably being finished sometime this week, but I won't see it for a few weeks or months. Haven't yet worked out my travel plans, and I prefer not to have it shipped to me.

About the cost, I can say that the ebony fingerboard and bridge I requested added $100 to the price. I can't answer the "should" questions about fingerboard wood, lines, or strings, but I went with unlined ebony for mine. The side dots are enough for me, as long as they're in the right spots.

But lines are cool, too. When my Kompact arrives, my last long-scale bass (Carvin AC40F, unlined fretless) is going to find a new home, leaving me with nothing but shorties: two with frets, one with lines, and one with nothing. If I were planning to switch a lot between scale lengths, I might prefer lines. Not sure.
 
#4
I would talk to Mike Kinal about this. He really knows his stuff and can steer you in the right direction. I have a Kompact being made for me right now and I did opt for an Ebony board($100 additional cost). I believe the cost for a fretless is the same as a fretted. Mine is however a fretted 5...
 
#5
Mike Kinal rocks! I don't have a Kompact, but I do have a custom DK5 and SK5 (the latter is fairly new). I also had an MK5 that I sold. I'm a huge fan of ebony. He used a gaboon ebony on my SK5 with very tight smooth grain, and on my DK5 he used macassar (not as striped as some macassar I've seen). I really prefer the gaboon, but both are nice. The only draw back is that ebony adds weight to the neck. I suspect on the Kompact that it would make it a little neck heavy, depending on the thickness. I saw that he used "brown ebony" on one Kompact he has in his gallery. I'm not sure what that is, but it might reduce the neck heaviness.
 
#6
BassClef 2010 said:
Due to the influence of Lokire, I am soon going to have a Kompact built. But I have some questions for the bass playing community. I am getting a fretless 4 string. Should I get rosewood or ebony for the fingerboard/bridge? Would it cost any more to get ebony? Would it cost more to get fretless? Also I have been playing lined fretless basses for all my life, so would this be a good time to get an unlined? Or should I just play it safe and get lined? Also what kind of strings would be appropriate for said bass?
Thanks so much,
BassClef.
Click to expand...

ive had my kompact for a few weeks now, and its got an unlined fretless rosewood board on it.

sounds great, plays great, the rosewood really rounds out the tone. shouldnt cost more to get fretless, id opt for unlined. mine doesnt have lines and intonation for the most part is pretty easy if you take the time to sit down and practice, at a few weeks in im not having alot of difficulty, except in the higher registers but that will come with practice. and if your gonna have this instrument for a long time, id rather go with unlined cuz its alot nicer looking.

as for strings, im using hi beams on it, but im thinking of switching to TI acousticores, they seem to be the acoustic string of choice. the hi beams sound a bit bright, especially when played acoustically. if you use rounds you will notice a bit of fingerboard wear, mine has alot of little grooves across the fingerboard, i dont know how that will wear with time but i figure i can always have it sanded.

there great basses, you wont regret it!!
 
#7
I've got Ebony on my fretless and Rosewood on my fretted. I can't really compare the tones because they're such different basses, but Mike suggested I go with Rosewood on the fretted to get a warmer tone. I'm guessing ebony is more popular for fretless because it's more durable. But again, I would say go with Mike's judgment on that. I certainly have no tonal complaints with the ebony on my fretless :smug:

As for strings, I always recommend getting a set of Acousticores and letting them age. Mine are 4 years old now, and the bass has never sounded better :D

It cool to hear that I've influenced so many people towards the Kompact. Mike does truly fantastic work; glad the word is getting out!
 

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