How would you do something like this?

[ClaytonH]

This video puzzles me...



How would you do something like this?

 

[tmsteph]

dude, that is quite an innovation if it is relieable. it looks like there is some kind of lever that lowers the frets into the wood.

 

[Son of Magni]

This has been discussed a gazillion times. IMHO it's a great innovation for people that like a ridiculous high action on a fretless.

 

[roberthabraken]

Very interesting indeed. I googled the video title and came up with the following link. It doesn't explain much, but as far as I understand the frets rotate and are flat on one side:

http://guitars101.wordpress.com/2008/07/23/the-world%E2%80%99s-first-fretted-fretless-string-instrument/

Edit: ah, and this is the luthier: Invalid Link Removed

 

[David Jayne]

I(and probably many others) 'invented' this, in my head, years ago. As pointed out, the fretless action is really high. The only really good way to do it(IMO) is to also raise/lower the nut, and bridge saddles at the same time, to retain good action. Alternatively, raise and lower the fingerboard while rotating the frets. It's too complicated to bother with(IMO).

 

[roberthabraken]

dude, that is quite an innovation if it is relieable. it looks like there is some kind of lever that lowers the frets into the wood.

I(and probably many others) 'invented' this, in my head, years ago. As pointed out, the fretless action is really high. The only really good way to do it(IMO) is to also raise/lower the nut, and bridge saddles at the same time, to retain good action. Alternatively, raise and lower the fingerboard while rotating the frets. It's too complicated to bother with(IMO).

Do you guys know that the action is very high, or do you suppose it is? Because from the pics I see from Mikey Guitar's website, the frets (in fretted mode) are very low / shallow.

 

[Son of Magni]

Again imho of course, the action is automatically high because the action is a fretted bass action plus the fret height. Since on my basses I always find fretless action can be lower than fretted to begin with, here we take a higher action with frets then make it even higher by adding the fret height.

Also I'd say that in my mind, the way to do this that would actually work would be to raise and lower the fingerboard and leave the frets where they are. This way you wouldn't be making the action so bad. But you'd have to deal with the problem of having a nasty groove in the fingerboard where the fret is...

 

[adam.beauchene]

I like this solution a little better.

 

[Dogbertday]

I think if the Frets were just extremely shallow to begin with (just enough to give an actual Fret sound) then it would be a good half way point... a compermise in both directions... kind of like all the constant "how to make my BG sound like a DB" talk... It's not about an absolute... it's about a compermise

 

[southernrocker]

It's cool, but how many songs do you need to switch from fretted to fretless immediately? It's neat but unneccesary. I would love to see how it's done.