I doubt it. The white tapes certainly don't make my 30" scale fretless sound like that.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
I doubt it. The white tapes certainly don't make my 30" scale fretless sound like that.
I think two good datapoints on this to explore are:
- Carvin acoustic with tapewounds
- Rob Allens with tapewounds.
- Carvin acoustic with tapewounds
- Rob Allens with tapewounds.
I just checked out the Carvin acoustics on their website. These look supercool and they are not terribly expensive. I just wish they had a scale length option shorter than 34".
I sent my first GoldTone MicroBass back to Amazon but after a few days' reflection realized that it has so many things that I want: sounds awesome; comfortable and very light; looks less dorky then some of its competitors; is a great choice for a first fretless bass, since it's reasonably forgiving.
So, I ordered a second one today and it should be here tomorrow and Thursday.
I sent my first GoldTone MicroBass back to Amazon but after a few days' reflection realized that it has so many things that I want: sounds awesome; comfortable and very light; looks less dorky then some of its competitors; is a great choice for a first fretless bass, since it's reasonably forgiving.
So, I ordered a second one today and it should be here tomorrow and Thursday.
My second one just arrived and I plan to keep it.
Do you think a cable like this:
would help protect the jack on this bass?
Do you think a cable like this:
would help protect the jack on this bass?
I haven't tried it. I'd be concerned about the overall peghead width (including the keys) of the MicroBass, which is about 2 inches wider than either the little Taylor or Martin 6 string guitars. SKB doesn't provide that measurement in their specs. I'd say buy it someplace that is easy to return to, if necessary.
Hmmmm, might be a little floppy.For a second I thought you wanted to use one as a low E string...
I was thinking of an angled cable because it seems as though with a straight cable it would be very easy to bump it by accident and thereby damage something.
Has anybody else noticed a bit of "fret sprout," even on the fretless model? On both of the ones I've played (and including the one I now own), just a sharp wee bit of whatever they use to fill the frets is sticking out and causing discomfort. It's on both sides of the fingerboard.
It doesn't seem like the kind of thing I should take a fret-end file to, nor do I want to run steel wool (even 000 or 0000) along the side of the neck. So how do I remedy this problem?
It doesn't seem like the kind of thing I should take a fret-end file to, nor do I want to run steel wool (even 000 or 0000) along the side of the neck. So how do I remedy this problem?
One of the "frets" is loose, drat. Wayne at GoldTone (the owner) advised me on the phone to re-seat the "fret" by carefully scraping out any dried glue that is in the gap, then putting a tiny amount of Elmer's wood glue on the bottom of the "fret" and before sticking it back in. I'm going to try that.
As for "fret sprout," he suggests taping off the areas around each fret and running a #220 sandpaper block (or pencil wrapped in #220 sandpaper) up and down perpendicular to the the length of the fingerboard for about 15 seconds per fret. I assume that's using fairly rapid strokes. I am not very good at this kind of thing, so I'm going to proceed with caution.
As for "fret sprout," he suggests taping off the areas around each fret and running a #220 sandpaper block (or pencil wrapped in #220 sandpaper) up and down perpendicular to the the length of the fingerboard for about 15 seconds per fret. I assume that's using fairly rapid strokes. I am not very good at this kind of thing, so I'm going to proceed with caution.
Go to a store that has a good women's nail polish department and pick up a couple of emery boards in different grits. Tape off the neck under the fingerboard, tape on both sides of the fret lines and gently sand down the part of the fret line that is sticking out, take it slow and gently. I had the same problem on mine except one of my fret lines was coming up. So I used a common pin and lifted the offending fret line and drizzled CA or superglue down the pin into the opening and then clamped the fret line down. When it was dry I used the above method to clean up the offending fret lines. Interesting that the offending fret lines were only on the bottom side of the neck not on the top side.
Cool, Selowich. Thanks for the info. Others here have had this problem too. It's starting to sound like a fairly consistent issue that Gold Tone needs to address.
According to Wayne Rogers from GoldTone, these kinds of things are attributable to changes in humidity and temperature. My MicroBass sat out on my porch in cold weather (after having arrived from Amazon) for about an hour before I brought it inside.
I suspect you are correct.
I guess I have four choices:
- fix it myself;
- pay someone to fix it;
- ask Goldtone to repair or replace;
- send it back to Amazon for replacement
Maybe the fret lines of the Goldtone micro bass are indeed sensitive to changes in humidity and temperature, but I also think this is a specific problem of the fretless micro bass. Goldtone should have offered you a repair or replacement instrument (IMHO) and fix this issue for future batches.
Loose frets=not acceptable. Another reason it should be sent back is to give Gold Tone notice that they need to address this issue. Based on my experience I believe they have some QC issues.
