Making a fretted into a fretless.....

[Mosstone]

It was sprayed (in a spray booth), but I don't know how many coats were used.

Pat Wilkins (who did the poly coat) is a TB member; I'm sure you could shoot him a PM with any questions you might have about the process, or you could contact him though his web site.



:edit:
I just left a message at his shop; I'll let you know what he says, once he replies.

Thanks, esa.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I had a Warmouth ebony lined fretless neck "Diamondkote" finished by Pedulla back when they still did occasional outside jobs (1987 or so), their polyester finish is bulletproof, still looks like a sheet of glass with only light wear.

 

[MMiller28]

I believe I stated 12 pound ash bodied Jazz Bass. You may take grammatical issue with my use of a probably incorrect adjective. But, I believe you know what I meant. Are we done here?

I laughed out loud at how defensive you got.

 

[bucephylus]

I laughed out loud at how defensive you got.

Well, I didn't know how to interpret your post other than as snarky. No big deal to me.

 

[bdplaid]

Here's your holy squirrels.
View attachment 931227
Photograph Copyright © Jeffrey P. Scott 2004 All rights reserved.

And, one drinking from the holy milk bottle.
View attachment 931252
Photograph Copyright © Jeffrey P. Scott 2004 All rights reserved.

You'll note that they aren't fretting at all so these are fretless squirrels.

Thanks for posting that. really put a smile on my face. dogs not so much, however.

 

[bdplaid]

I had wondered if filing down the frets was an option.
Now, I see it has been done sucessfully.

I would imagine that going back to fretted would be
near impossible, though.
Recutting slots in wood has to be way easier than
cutting through frets.

as you suggest cutting through frets is nigh on impossible, but it is also crazy hard to recut a fretboard that already has a radius on it. They are usually cut on a table saw when the board is flat, then radiused. I can't imagine having to recut fret slots on a radiused board. wow.

 

[bdplaid]

Let's say you have a half decent fretted bass guitar, and one was to make that into a fretless, could you actually hope / expect that it would be half decent?

Or is the fretless version a complete different animal?

I know makers do this but is this just a cop out, so that they don't have to pump money into making a prototype of different versions to perfect the fretless version?

Thanks for all information in advance.

What bass are you converting? If I was doing a P or a J, I'd buy a Mighty Mite fretless neck. $100, done.

 

[bdplaid]

He's Vulcan awesome. that's for sure.

Now that's funny!

 

[bdplaid]

When my father was younger he bought a Fender Jazz Bass and converted it to fretless. I just checked with him and he said that he simply used a metal file and filed the fret's down and it turned out really really well.
If you're specifically looking for a project to work on then best way to do it (according to my father) is to use a rough file and be careful. Although keep in mind that my father is a VERY well trained engineer so he is generally very good at stuff like this, but to be honest it isn't that much hard work. You just have to be very careful when the fret wires get almost level with the neck and then use a file with a small surface area and rub it down carefully.

If you're looking to do this as a project then I bid you the best of luck. How ever if you simply want your bass to be fretless and you're in the UK then my father would be more than happy to do it for you, if you like. He has recently had surgery so he is off work for a few weeks so he could do with a project to work on.

That looks cool, brass fret lines!

 

[bdplaid]

I vastly prefer a very light resonant body bass for pizz work in general; and since 99.9% of my fretless playing is pizz, I specifically look for the lightest most resonant bodies I can find for fretless. For me, one of those 12 pound ash bodied Jazz Basses, which is great for slap, would not be the bass I would think about defretting.

Best defretted bass i ever had was an Alembic that was about 11 lbs. My 9 lb Yamaha is not nearly as good. I think the added bulk adds to an upright-ish tone.

99.9% of my fretless playing is pizz

For the other .1%, how do you arco? The only thing I like about upright is when it is bowed, and I'll be darned if i go back to upright just for that.

properly filled slots are readily re-cut in the case of a later refret

No, cutting an already radiused board is beastly hard.

Which company makes a 12-pound Jazz body?

I had a Squier that was about that weight. I'll ask my shoulder if it ever forgives me.

I don't know if I said this earlier, but I recently played am Ibanez Portamento. It was so good I can't get it out of my head. I'll probably buy one, as soon as I recover from the purchase i made today! It never ends, does it?

 

[bdplaid]

Why defret a fretted neck if its a bolt-on? Wouldn't it make more sense to just get a fretless neck that would fit, or one from the same manufacturer if possible? Then you would have both options and could always swap back.

That sounds like a good option, but I did that once to a SpectorCore. Bought the neck from Spector. The problem was that the heel had changed slightly between the bass's manufacture date and when the neck was made. I got it to work, but it looked like a pig's ear. I don't expect this would be an issue with a Fender type bass.

 

[bucephylus]

Best defretted bass i ever had was an Alembic that was about 11 lbs. My 9 lb Yamaha is not nearly as good. I think the added bulk adds to an upright-ish tone.

I am glad for you.

For the other .1%, how do you arco? The only thing I like about upright is when it is bowed, and I'll be darned if i go back to upright just for that.

You can't possibly be serious?

No, cutting an already radiused board is beastly hard.

I'll take your word for it. Elderly had zero issues re-cutting the filled slots in my Alembic when they re-fretted it. Cost me $50, IIRC. But, that was 1988 or so. Maybe things have changed.

 

[bdplaid]

I am glad for you.

Thanks, me too.

You can't possibly be serious?

No, I'm putting you on.

I'll take your word for it. Elderly had zero issues re-cutting the filled slots in my Alembic when they re-fretted it. Cost me $50, IIRC. But, that was 1988 or so. Maybe things have changed.

I am glad for you.

 

[bucephylus]

No, I'm putting you on.

LOL. I think you need a gig.

 

[bdplaid]

LOL. I think you need a gig.

I think you need a sense of humor.

 

[Watchootognbout]

Let's say you have a half decent fretted bass guitar, and one was to make that into a fretless, could you actually hope / expect that it would be half decent?

Or is the fretless version a complete different animal?

I know makers do this but is this just a cop out, so that they don't have to pump money into making a prototype of different versions to perfect the fretless version?

Thanks for all information in advance.

I prefer unlined.But I have lined.
Because the bass I have wasn't offered as fretless.
So I defretted it and inlayed styrene strips.
Sanded the fingerboard smooth with a radius sanding block.

 

[bucephylus]

I think you need a sense of humor.

Oh dear. I am without humor. Woe is me.

 

[Watchootognbout]

Are those the best metal cabinets for, er, metal?

I'll have to ask my Landlord.
He's supposed to replace them in a while.

 

[JimmyThunder]

I support the "mighty mite neck for $100" contingent. It's a real nice neck for the money, and if you decide you don't like fretless you probably won't lose more than $20 on the resale market.

 

[Watchootognbout]

I had a fair bass, and de-fretted it, filled the gaps and it looks nice. It plays nicely from the feel but sounds muddy and dull. The rosewood fingerboard is now nowhere near flat anymore and the strings have rubbed it away pretty badly. I don't play it often and only when I need that dull sound. I won't do it again.

Take off the flats.
Deepen the nut slots.
Lower the action.
Use the bridge pickup.