Fretted Fretless

[Eilif]

I've been whining for years, saying "I wish fretless necks were thicker!". I've argued that a fretless neck that's just the same manufacturer's neck, but without frets, is too thin.

What I wanted was a fretless neck that would have the same measurements as a fretted neck (measuring from the back of the neck to the top of the fret). This would add a small amount of thickness to the neck (the thickness of the fret being taken into consideration).

The best fretless neck I've played, so far, is the Warwick Corvette Standard Fretless, and I like it best because it's thicker.

You may want to try a Wishbass neck....

Seriously though, while the current trend in all things is thinner and more shallow necks, there are a number of luthiers who will be happy to make your bass in whatever neck thickness, width and shape you desire at a price that's roughly on par with an American Fender.

My personal preference is for wide-but-shallow 4 string necks and I've acquired 4 basses like that.

 

[TerribleTim68]

That could be what he looks for, but what about the pickups under the fretless ?

Pretty sure the fretless part uses a piezo.

Holy crap @Scoops, this one got out of control quick. Man, I feel for ya! I'm glad I didn't actually "follow" this thread just due to all the hate.

For everyone saying -

I'm just perennially puzzled by people who post things in public fora, then get butthurt when there's any sort of backlash. I'll never understand that.

If we're not interested in a free exchange of ideas, then what's the point of posting? Whether the OP likes it or not, the "naysayers" might actually have a point...

Again I'll remind you that this post was in the luthier's Corner, NOT "out in the open". Last time I checked, the LC was a place where luthiers share ideas, build tricks and tips and even strange build theories. Scoops never asked "the masses" a question, he asked the other luthiers a question. That's why the post was specifically in the "Luthier's Corner"! So get over yourselves!

Man, this is literally the single most amount of hate I've ever seen on TalkBass. I'm ashamed.

 

[sears]

How about, before you add the epoxy you file the frets down to almost nothing? Is that more work or less work?

 

[mcnach]

Answer me Scoops I'm asking you a question!

say please?

 

[sonojono]

I wonder how Ned Steinberger felt when he introduced the first line of headless basses...

@Scoops is onto something here

 

[Beej]

This is going to be a great experiment. I dunno about you guys, but I like to do two kinds of experiments:
1. Experiments where I wear a white coat and carry a clipboard and adhere to evidence based methodology.

2. Experiments where I wear a pink wig and everyone within 30 feet ends up covered in rainbow-coloured foam.

I have a suspicion this experiment is more like the latter.

 

[Koshchei]

So as this progresses, and I need to remind people this is an experiment, I could add scalloping to this to make it a scalloped fretless

It would be fretted then. Lutes used to be scalloped, where the tops of the scallops acted as frets. I believe that this is what inspired Yngwie to try it on one of his not-so-great necks.

 

[devnulljp]

Why did Les Paul put a big plank of wood in a perfectly good guitar?
--to stop feedback
Why did Mr Tutmarc electrify a Bass
--Because he wanted to make it smaller so the bass player wouldn't have to ride alone
Why did Edison make the light bulb?
--He didn't really, it was Joseph Swan, but that's another story
Why did man become a hunter?
--Hungry
Why did someone cover a fretted bass neck in epoxy?
--I honestly have no idea why you would do that

 

[tr4252]

We have to experiment; it must be hardwired into us, or we'd still be monkeying around in the trees.

Experimenting accepts a possibility of failure, but can still be successful in that learning takes place. Sometimes unrelated knowledge is obtained, for an overall benefit. Let Scoops do his thing, maybe he'll discover a cure for epoxy or something.

Can somebody remind me what was so bad about the trees in the first place?

Tom

 

[PennyroyalWe]

I think it's a neat idea, if it's only for $hi7s and giggles. I just imagine it coming out looking like those bugs in the acrylic blocks. Maybe take a radiused sanding beam and lower the frets down to next to nothing before laying the epoxy, to avoid an 1/8" of epoxy sitting on top.

 

[dkelley]

So a lined fretless.... since what you describe IS a lined fretless. A lined fretless is a bass with frets, just the frets are tiny (like only the part that goes into the fingerboard remains, and they might be made out of contrasting wood, although I've seen metal lines too)... and don't stick up above the wood of the fingerboard. And, like many of the world's greatest fretless necks, it's then coated with epoxy or similar so it's hard as rock.

The problem with your idea is that it'll be litererally impossible to make the epoxy harden in the shape of a fingerboard. it MUST have curve to the surface, and it MUST be COMPLETELY EVEN or you get buzzing as you move around.

It's WAY harder to make a fretless board that is smooth and perfect than a fretted board..... BY HAND.

With CNC a machine can make either just fine. but by hand? WITH LIQUID? liquid that hardens harder than wood?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

good luck wasting a lot of epoxy and destroying not only the neck (cheap or not) but also anything anywhere near where you're working on it, since that amount of epoxy is bound to leak and drip out somewhere.... probably one end or other of your encased fingerboard as it tips just enough to slowly drip one way or the other.

And it'll be uneven, flatt-ish, and ugly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh wait... you didn't ask for opinions.....

ok, I take all that back. Please disregard all of my above points and thoughts.

To answer the OP question - I've never seen a neck that was fretted fretless. With or without the description that tells us what is meant by the OP's... erm... "Riddle". (By the way, OP--- a riddle has to cleverly describe the answer in a way that makes the participant go "Oh, that's clever!"... yours might be a little too vague?? LoL).

Cheers

 

[Picton]

Again I'll remind you that this post was in the luthier's Corner, NOT "out in the open". Last time I checked, the LC was a place where luthiers share ideas, build tricks and tips and even strange build theories. Scoops never asked "the masses" a question, he asked the other luthiers a question. That's why the post was specifically in the "Luthier's Corner"! So get over yourselves!

Man, this is literally the single most amount of hate I've ever seen on TalkBass. I'm ashamed.

"This is the Luthier's Corner. And you're not a luthier, so therefore you aren't welcome to opine here."

That's what this post says to me. I hope that's not what you meant. Because if it is, I'm not the one who needs to get over myself.

 

[Nunovsky]

I say: let the man do it. It's his stuff and maybe he'll discover something new maybe he'll just ruin a neck. Who knows?
Maybe there's something to learn from this.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

This thread just reminds me to never, ever, pose a rhetorical question to TB about any ideas related to electronics - my professional expertise. Ever.

There may be (are) some highly qualified individuals who's opinions and experience I would welcome, but the masses of electronics noobs with inflated senses of understanding and no practical experience would completely ruin any possible benefit.

 

[Killing Floor]

Here's a bass playing bear. I hope this helps.

 

[sonojono]

Here's a bass playing bear. I hope this helps.
View attachment 3898983

it's so cute!

 

[TerribleTim68]

"This is the Luthier's Corner. And you're not a luthier, so therefore you aren't welcome to opine here."

That's what this post says to me. I hope that's not what you meant. Because if it is, I'm not the one who needs to get over myself.

Just like most everybody in this thread, you missed the point. The point was that the OP was asking a specific group of individuals and then everybody else started bashing. I'm disgusted by the attitudes of the people in this thread, that was my point, which again, you clearly missed. It's the continued narrow-mindedness of individuals like you who think your opinion is so important that you have to spew it everywhere regardless of how rude or insensitive it is. As far as your issues with me, f#%k off, I'm over it.

 

[Picton]

Just like most everybody in this thread, you missed the point. The point was that the OP was asking a specific group of individuals and then everybody else started bashing. I'm disgusted by the attitudes of the people in this thread, that was my point, which again, you clearly missed. It's the continued narrow-mindedness of individuals like you who think your opinion is so important that you have to spew it everywhere regardless of how rude or insensitive it is. As far as your issues with me, f#%k off, I'm over it.

Okay.

 

[Reedt2000]

Sharing opinions is one thing, and (IMHO) what an open forum like this is all about. Obviously viewpoints on this and most other subjects will vary, sometimes greatly, but that's the nature of viewpoints.

Insisting that your viewpoint is the "correct" one, and vigorously advocating that others should adopt it is quite another. That is not what places like this are about. Getting upset that people disagree and have there own views and choices is inappropriate at best...

 

[gmarcus]

say please?

Please