Is this a job well done?

[micguy]

Why does one pic of the headstock show a logo at the top, but one doesn't?

Trust rod cover is different too.

Makes me think we're looking at 2 different basses. Why?

The odd sharpie marking (inspired no doubt by the Amazon arrow on a recently delivered package) is not there in some of the pictures, and is there in others - something fishy is going on with the pictures.

 

[Turnaround]

I am not disagreeing but I would like to further develop why you feel it's a poor job.

From what I am seeing, it looks like the removal of frets was pretty clean. There's not a lot of splintering or gouges. I've seen much much worse.

The filling of the fret slots I guess is the second step. Is that where you're seeing a poor job? Please educate us on what should have been done differently. ie; Maple veneer strips etc...

Also, Do you feel that a de-fret can ever be as good as a fret-less built that way from the start?

Again, no disagreement, just trying to learn.

There's not a lot of chip out as a consequence of the fret removal that I can see. It's the filling of the fret slots where the problem lies. The slots need to be filled totally flush with the surface of the fingerboard - completely flush so that you cannot even feel where the fret slots were. Anything less and the string will buzz at that point. And from what I can see the fret slots were filled with a wood filler which I have found to be inadequate in supporting the neck against the tension of the strings. Wood fillers compress or fracture under stress and that will lead to un-evenness in the fingerboard. It's bad enough with frets that aren't level, but a fretless neck needs to be dead true to play well. And in this case even if the slots were filled with an appropriate material, it is certainly not dead flush with the surface of the board.

Good options for filling the frets slots are some epoxies, plastic strips or a fine-grained hard wood. I like Maple or Ebony, but actually there are better light-coloured hardwoods than Maple - i.e. finer grained. But no matter if it's plastic or epoxy or wood veneer it needs to be dead flush. No bumps, no dips, no ridges, completely smooth.

And yes, IMO a proper built fretless board is superior to a de-fret. It can not suffer from differential reaction to environmental changes the way two different materials can. And even if you use ebony veneer strips on an ebony board, it's not the same as a solid ebony board because the veneer runs at right angles to the rest of the board. If the board expands in width with increases in humidity, the veneer will also expand in width causing it to stand proud of the surface - buzz buzz buzz.

 

[bassicmike]

Upon closer examination, my initial assessment was in error. Looking at a bunch of indicators, I'm pretty convinced that's the same bass.
The only thing that's different is that logo on the headstock, and FunkHead's right - probably just a sticker that got removed.

But. 700km is a long way to go to check out a bass.

Fixed it for me.

 

[J Posega]

If that was “professionally” done, the guy that paid for the work got scammed by a serious hack.

 

[Bass Viking]

This was a lovely bass, right up until someone took a cheap marker and drew some weird line on it. Seeing this ridiculously badly done "paint job" I highly doubt the craftmanship and care going into everything else that has been done to that poor bass. Who knows what has been done to the neck and truss rod? Have the electronics been tampered with?

I'd take a pass on this one.

+1. It looks like someone’s project bass. That black line looks like a road sign, as if there’s a bend in the road ahead.

 

[mikewalker]

As the song goes...

 

[Bassic_desires]

Why does one pic of the headstock show a logo at the top, but one doesn't?

Trust rod cover is different too.

Makes me think we're looking at 2 different basses. Why?

Well spotted!

 

[MultiScaleMale]

It may have been professionally done, it may not have been. But it wasn't well done. But don't expect an epoxy coated perfect bass for 400.

 

[neil|lien]

There's not a lot of chip out as a consequence of the fret removal that I can see. It's the filling of the fret slots where the problem lies. The slots need to be filled totally flush with the surface of the fingerboard - completely flush so that you cannot even feel where the fret slots were. Anything less and the string will buzz at that point. And from what I can see the fret slots were filled with a wood filler which I have found to be inadequate in supporting the neck against the tension of the strings. Wood fillers compress or fracture under stress and that will lead to un-evenness in the fingerboard. It's bad enough with frets that aren't level, but a fretless neck needs to be dead true to play well. And in this case even if the slots were filled with an appropriate material, it is certainly not dead flush with the surface of the board.

Good options for filling the frets slots are some epoxies, plastic strips or a fine-grained hard wood. I like Maple or Ebony, but actually there are better light-coloured hardwoods than Maple - i.e. finer grained. But no matter if it's plastic or epoxy or wood veneer it needs to be dead flush. No bumps, no dips, no ridges, completely smooth.

And yes, IMO a proper built fretless board is superior to a de-fret. It can not suffer from differential reaction to environmental changes the way two different materials can. And even if you use ebony veneer strips on an ebony board, it's not the same as a solid ebony board because the veneer runs at right angles to the rest of the board. If the board expands in width with increases in humidity, the veneer will also expand in width causing it to stand proud of the surface - buzz buzz buzz.

Oh whoa ! Thank you for that! Really informative!
I already sent a message to the guy that i wouldn't go forward with the swap.
And now i know a thing or two about defretted basses!
Thanks!!