Regret your defret?

[Flipsnake]

A couple of months ago, I defretted my bass and quickly regretted it.
After reading about lutes and other early instruments, I tried to tie some frets onto my bass.
I used 20 lbs nylon fishing line, and looked around online for instructions on how to tie frets on a lute/viola da gamba.
To my amazement, it worked.
Though it only worked to the 12th fret for me. How far up you can go depends on the contours of your particular neck.

EDIT: Forgot to mention a couple of things.
This may not work with roundwound strings. They'd probably chew up the nylon/gut real quick.
Also, these frets absorb some vibrations from the strings, giving a slight muted effect.
Try to find a harder material to use, if that doesn't sound good to you.

Here are some dark and blurry pics:

 

[adam.beauchene]

A defret is just the first half of a refret. Give it a shot!

 

[Arr MiHardies]

I played the viola from 6th grade through some college. When I started playing bass guitar, I could not understand why people needed frets at all. They bugged me. A lot. When I had the money and knew I wanted to keep playing bass, I purchased my first fretless bass. Owned nothing but fretless ever since. Still can't stand frets.

Guess that's a little beside the point though.

 

[Flipsnake]

I played the viola from 6th grade through some college. When I started playing bass guitar, I could not understand why people needed frets at all. They bugged me. A lot. When I had the money and knew I wanted to keep playing bass, I purchased my first fretless bass. Owned nothing but fretless ever since. Still can't stand frets.

Guess that's a little beside the point though.

I'm going the opposite direction. I just picked up the violin, and I'm at the point where I'm getting basic intonation down. The reason I didn't like my fretless bass is because of the practice time I'd need to get my intonation down. And yes, I am a casual bassist.
Worry-free intonation might be a reason why keyboards and guitars are so popular. You can see it as a crutch, but I (and many of us here) see it as a feature.

 

[BassCycle]

I play fretless, fretted and upright all for different situations. Its like an arsenal of instruments each with its own purpose. Versatility = more musical options = more gigs. If you you pigeonhole yourself with only one sound/look, you're miising out on so much musically. My own opinion, of course.

Back to the OP's subject. Those won't last very long, kinda cool though. IMO, keep your fretless and get another bass. Or learn how to install frets. Either way, you'll gain in the end.

 

[Arr MiHardies]

I play fretless, fretted and upright all for different situations. Its like an arsenal of instruments each with its own purpose. Versatility = more musical options = more gigs. If you you pigeonhole yourself with only one sound/look, you're miising out on so much musically. My own opinion, of course.

Back to the OP's subject. Those won't last very long, kinda cool though. IMO, keep your fretless and get another bass. Or learn how to install frets. Either way, you'll gain in the end.

I'm not saying fretted doesn't have it's own unique sound that is the desired sound for some situations. I'm just saying when I first switched over from a classical instrument that never had frets to a bass that did, I didn't understand why they were needed, and my personal preference is for fretless as a result.

 

[seanm]

I'm not saying fretted doesn't have it's own unique sound that is the desired sound for some situations. I'm just saying when I first switched over from a classical instrument that never had frets to a bass that did, I didn't understand why they were needed, and my personal preference is for fretless as a result.

I think the first time you have to play in a band where you cannot hear yourself you will understand the value of frets

 

[Arr MiHardies]

I think the first time you have to play in a band where you cannot hear yourself you will understand the value of frets

The first time I play in a band and can't hear myself I'll have to have a word with the sound guy that is filling in for me. I run sound or play. Not both simultaneously.

 

[seanm]

The first time I play in a band and can't hear myself I'll have to have a word with the sound guy that is filling in for me. I run sound or play. Not both simultaneously.

When I wrote the reply I was specifically thinking about a time I was running PA and playing at the same time in a small bar. I was having serious distortion problems with the vocals and was playing over by the PA.... which was across the room and behind the bass amp in an extension. Couldn't hear myself at all for the first set. I now *always* run the bass into the PA with the volume off so I can put some bass in the mains/monitors if I have to.

But I have been in other situations with bands where the stage volume gets way too high. I refuse to play "one up" and just go by muscle memory.

 

[Arr MiHardies]

I play only for my church. Don't have to worry about different sound arrangements. Just getting a good mix. Plus we use aviom in ears, so I can always hear myself.