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Frettless w/round wounds ????'s

#7
the damaged spots become cool sounds.
i defretted my bass and use Roto-Swings on it, a lil dirt in the strings is kinda nice too.
examples Link Removed

i think if the bass didnt cost you thousands, then let it get some sweet-spots.
On my bass, the B on the A string sometimes goes "wearrrrrow"and it's awesome, the Gb on the E string makes a "wow-wow-wow" sound and the G string above the 7th fret has a hum similar to a sitar (in my mind).
 
#8
Todd Stanley said:
Most people use laquer on their fretlesses that use rounds, like Jaco did. Sand it back down and brush on a few more coats after the wear gets bad.
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:eyebrow: Um, no they don't. Jaco used a boat epoxy of some sort, but where are getting this "most" idea from? Fretless fingerboards with a finish are FAR more uncommon than those without, whether the players use rounds or not.
 
#14
I just tried out some halfwounds on my fretless to see the difference and honestly, Im going back to my local music store tomorrow to get roundwounds. The loss in brightness was just to much for me. once you get used to the maintenance of roundwounds on a fretless bass, you will never go back to half/flatwounds.



And I'm obviously very Jaco influenced.
 
#15
Don't know how the slapping and popping will affect wear, but you'll have to play a *lot* before the wear will become a problem. One thing that I've heard recommended by both Rick Turner and George Furlanetto is a gunstock finish by Birchwood Casey called Truoil. It's a penetrating oil finish that dries hard and will help protect the wood a little. You can rub it on with your fingers or a soft cloth, let it soak in for a while, wipe off the extra and let it sit overnight. The nice thing is you can recoat it easily whenever it needs a touch up. It doesn't change the look or sound of the fingerboard. I've used it to finish bodies for a nice satin oil finish too.
 
#18
00Funk said:
epoxy will make it, clickity clackity. You want the sound of wood
Click to expand...

I have a fretless bass with an epoxied fingerboard, and I certainly wouldn't characterize the tone in that way. The new hard surface allows the upper frequencies to "breathe" more, so overall it's a livelier tone with more "zing", more "mwah" and more sustain. It's not as dull a tone as it was before I had the epoxy job done. To me, that's a good thing...

MM
 
#19
To coat the fretboard or not is an individual choice, but the original poster should know that using roundwounds on a plain fingerboard isn't going to cause significant damage in any reasonable length of time.

My Warwick fretless was used for around 8 years by a professional touring musician as his main bass for performing, and he always used roundwounds. There's only the very faintest of rub-marks on the ebony, visible only to careful inspection.

Still, if you're worried about it, try some half-rounds, and, if you're really worried about it, go ahead and eboxy the board...there are some good how-to posts on talkbass. Just know that it's not absolutely necessary and you won't wreck your bass if you don't.
 

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