fretless to fretted in a swipe

[Jjacks651]

No radius on that neck! I don't like it

JJ

 

[IronLung1986]

My Gary Willis bass has plastic lines. When I bought it, it had been stored in a dry environment for about a year. After a couple of months in my house the wood expanded again and it's free of bumps. But every winter I pray it doesn't become a dry winter.

Yep! Sometimes they self heal. Every time I discover a new speed bump on mine it's a debate between filing it down so I can actually play the bass right away or leaving it in its case for a few months. It's honestly quite a dumb problem and probably the most concrete reason to go unlined on fretless. I wish I had gone unlined now because these lines have doomed my bass to an eternity of maintenance.

 

[Hurricane Jimmie]

So Anyway,

• have Sterling put someone's name on it
• make it dirt cheap
• only accept orders during the current month
• ship it in 6 months....

and you'll get several thousand orders.

 

[MonetBass]

Steinberg tried it many years ago. It never saw production due to the limitations others have mentioned.
XM2 Fretted/Fretless Prototype (steinbergerworld.com)

EDIT: I found threads discussing this same concept as far back as 2006, FYI.

 

[bassbones2]

Do you really need it that fast?
The amount of work that goes into that must be ridiculous and the possible problems with the mechanics? Just switch basses man!
JB

 

[dune]

Even if one assumes that it could somehow result in acceptable setups for both states, how many potential points of failure are there going to be in this system?

 

[Drop1]

To be fair, even with the frets down, it still has a lower action than most the fenders I've seen

 

[Discount Bassy]

So one bass can provide both compromise frets and a high action fretless in one unit? Pass.

 

[nickpc]

Double necked bass - one fretted, one fretless. Moving your hands between the necks/strings is just as fast as deploying/retracting the frets. You could even have different pickups for each neck to accentuate the attributes of the fretted and fretless fingerboards!

It's a true PJ - fretted neck with a split-coil P (and fresh rounds) and fretless neck with the jazz pickups and some old flats (and a trim pot to balance the outputs).

 

[shade_1313]

Ibanez makes a part fretless , part fretted bass. It's weird.

I really want one.

 

[JRA]

here's a much simpler/cheaper solution to the nonexistent problem:
Bass Flatter
a demo using guitar:


why not just have a fretless? or 6 or 7 fretless axes? or 8?

 

[Bassamatic]

The bassist in a band we used to share bills with had built something like that, but I think it raised the fingerboard, so the tuning stayed intact. Had a switch up by the headstock. He would change between parts of a song! It was amazing.

 

[tim gueguen]

Double necked bass - one fretted, one fretless.

Other than the weight issue it seems a better solution to the problem. You can also do fancy tricks like tapping on both necks with each hand.

Of course there's also just having one bass around your neck, and your second bass on a stand in playable position in front of you. At one point Steve Howe of Yes had several instruments on a rotating contraption so he could play parts recorded on specific instruments without having to swap out stuff with a roadie.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

This would look great in a museum of design exhibit. Not so much on a gig.

 

[mambo4]

I feel like the lever might get in the way if I want to pluck near the neck

 

[MonetBass]

Problem solved:

 

[Watchootognbout]

So Anyway,

• have Sterling put someone's name on it
• make it dirt cheap
• only accept orders during the current month
• ship it in 6 months....

and you'll get several thousand orders.

Fixed that for you.

So Anyway,

• have Sterling put someone's name on it
• It will be expensive as hell!!
  
• only accept orders during the current month
• ship it in 6 months....

and you'll get several hundred orders.

 

[Bar Band Bassman]

I don't remember who had it but there was a bass with different fingerboards that were held on magnetically.

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/anyone-remember-the-interchangable-magnetic-fretboard.806658/

Novatone

BBB

 

[Killing Floor]

The best part of that OP video is they don't show the instrument being played.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Looks like the next attempt at a failed instant fretless conversion, but who knows. I'll wait for the TB review. Tough Crowd!