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Just got a Douglas WEB 825 NA Fretless

R

rookie_joe

Jun 1, 2011
7
0
#1
Just got one of these budget fretless basses from Rondo Music after hearing good things about them. Mostly everything works fine after a few minor adjustments, however the B string has no sustain at all. It literally sounds like a drum when I play it. I tried putting a roundwounds on it and it seemed fine so I'm assuming the string is just dead. Anyone ever experience something like this? Any advice would be great! Thanks.
 
#2
I got one for a fathers day present, great inexpensive way into frettles bass so far sans the strings, but I resolved that and got some D'Addario ECB81-5 Chrome flatwounds that I just got in the mail today and will put on it this weekend.
 
#5
Hi!

I just bought one of these used, and while I like it so far, i do have a question.

Do the "fret" dots indicate where you should hold your fingers, or in the middle of what would be the fret?

I would think the first, but it almost appears as it is the second.

Probably just a fixable intonation error?
 
#6
Didrik said:
Hi!

I just bought one of these used, and while I like it so far, i do have a question.

Do the "fret" dots indicate where you should hold your fingers, or in the middle of what would be the fret?

I would think the first, but it almost appears as it is the second.

Probably just a fixable intonation error?
Click to expand...

You can find out pretty quickly, unless the intonation is way off, by finding the harmonic octave (pluck the string with your fretting finger testing on it (not pushing it to the fretboard) and move your finger along the string until you get a clear thumpy octave note) and seeing if the octaveside dot is under it (where your finger and the 12th fret should be) or closer to the neck (between where the 11th & 12th frets would be).
 
#7
Well, I have done that.

I suspect the intonation to be way off, so to be more precise, have you ever heard of a fretless bass where the fretmarks on top of the neck is supposed to be in a position between two notes?
 
#9
Didrik said:
Well, I have done that.

I suspect the intonation to be way off, so to be more precise, have you ever heard of a fretless bass where the fretmarks on top of the neck is supposed to be in a position between two notes?
Click to expand...

Yes. Is the board lined or blank? Typically blank boards will have the dot be where youre finger should be. Lines, the dots usually stay inbetween the two "frets". It'll probably take a decent amount of time playing on the fretless to get good at where the notes actually are. Its more about ear and less about where that dot is. Those are for reference! :bassist:
 
#12
Didrik said:
The board is blank, so I guess I'll see what I can do with intonation, but I see your point that it is more about listening than looking anyway.

Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...

I had the same bass up until 2 weeks ago. And to answer your question, no- it's not the intonation. The dots mark where the fret would be- (I don't know why they did it this way but there's several posts on the web about this!)
Practice with it for a couple of months and you won't even need to look at the dots.

Another thing you can do, make your own fret dots temporarily. get some small dot-size stickers and mark it on the neck where the dots should really be placed. Once you're used to the fretless bass, just remove the stickers.
It's a pretty decent bass otherwise- well worth the asking price.
 

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