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Should I convert my Lull V4 to a fretless?

#21
75Ric said:
Another vote for leaving the Lull alone. Even if you do a spectacular job at defretting, it will reduce the overall value, probably by a fair amount, unless, maybe, if it was done by Lull, but that would be a spendy penny, too, I would think?

The idea of getting a good-quality Fender or G&L makes sense to me. Look for a fretless. If a fretted comes along that is also super cheap, you can go for that and defret it. In the meantime, enjoy that Lull! :)
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The one bass that's interesting to me, and is affordable is the G&L Kiloton. That is definitely an option. I'm keeping an eye out for one.
 
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#22
akukulich said:
My parts bass has got an MJT lightweight alder body, with an All Parts fretless neck with a lined ebony fingerboard. It's got a Hipshot bridge and tuners with Nordstrand pickups.

I can live with the All Parts neck, but I don't love it. It's got a chunky profile, much more so than my CS Jazz Bass and the Lull. I've talked to a local luthier about building me a neck based on my CS, and he's willing to do it, but it's a bit of a wait. I'm living with the All Parts neck for the foreseeable future.

I started out with NJ4 single coil J-bass pickups with Alnico 3 magnets. I liked them, but they didn't have quite enough bite. I pulled them out of the fretless and put them in the Lull, and they sound amazing. I putNJ4SE pickups in the fretless next. I've wanted to try these particular pickups for years. They have a strong emphasis on the low mids, but the highs and high mids are suppressed. I think this is a part of the problem.

In fairness, the guys at Nordstrand said they probably weren't the right pickups for me, and they were right. So now I've got a set of the NJ4 single coils with Alnico 5 magnets. I think that once I get those installed, I'll be closer to the tone I'm after.
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If the bass sounds ok, I would just reshape the neck. It is not hard to do if you take your time. if this not an option I'd buy a warmoth neck. Either new or used.
 
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#23
JuanB said:
What do you not like about the fretless parts bass?
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I'd say that, so far, it just doesn't have a voice. It's not articulate. It doesn't sing.

I think there are three factors in play. The first is the electronics. The pickups that I've used so far haven't been a good match. The second is the set up. I'm waiting for my local luthier to have some time to spend on it because I think the fingerboard needs to be planed in the upper register under the D & G strings. I can't get the action right in the lower register without the upper register getting too buzzy, and I can actually feel a bit of a bump in that area of the fingerboard. And the third thing is that maybe the wood doesn't resonate in the way it needs to. Some instruments have that magic combination, and some don't.
 
#25
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#26
akukulich said:
got me thinking about converting the Lull. It plays and sounds great, and I think it'd make a great fretless.
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i'm sure you're right...and if you can find a competent luthier to do the work = you win! :bassist:

the "don't do it" chatter comes from folks who don't appreciate fretless playing the way you do. i.e., e.g., they don't know what they don't know!

folks around here seem to think it's OK to modify cheap axes, but that it's a terrible idea to modify an expensive one...but actually, in real life: it's almost always easier to make a silk purse out of silk! ;)
 
#31
akukulich said:
For a long time I played fretless almost exclusively. I had a Pedulla Buzz Bass for about 15 years, and then a fretless F Bass BNF-5 for another 15 years. It's a sound I like, and it works well in the jazz band that I'm in. I want to have that sound available to me.
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An F Bass and a Pedulla? No wonder your parts bass leaves you wanting! That said, a parts bass can be amazing.

I have a fantastic Roscoe fretless with a diamondwood fingerboard. They aren't cheap though. It sounds like you want a Fender style fretless.
 
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#32
JRA said:
i'm sure you're right...and if you can find a competent luthier to do the work = you win! :bassist:

the "don't do it" chatter comes from folks who don't appreciate fretless playing the way you do. i.e., e.g., they don't know what they don't know!

folks around here seem to think it's OK to modify cheap axes, but that it's a terrible idea to modify an expensive one...but actually, in real life: it's almost always easier to make a silk purse out of silk! ;)
Click to expand...
I still think he should buy a Warmoth fretless neck and install it on his Fender Custom Shop. Easily reversible and he can sell it if it doesn't work out.
 
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#33
I de-fretted a 66 P-bass in 1977, it turned out okay and back then you only owned one bass, but in hindsight I wouldn't do it again. I'd buy one or do the same to a parts bass. ... Leave the Lull and go shopping.
 
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#34
Bass Viking said:
I still think he should buy a Warmoth fretless neck and install it on his Fender Custom Shop. Easily reversible and he can sell it if it doesn't work out.
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:thumbsup: sure!

but the OP has an idea for a perfect/better fretless. maybe his fretless playing is more of a commitment than those folks who can't get beyond "resale" considerations.

i'm specifically blowing back on those folks who feel that just because an ax is expensive it should not be modified. pros do it all the time. ;)
 
#36
Abandon the parts bass. Sell it if you can, or if you can't part it out. If the vision is to build another parts fretless, keep what makes sense and ditch the rest. Don't consider defretting Lull any further. It will predictably go badly. It will predictably be a terrible version of what it once was if you re-fret it.
You said you "need" a fretless. How much do you need one? Is it a small need where the fretless bass you have will not be ideal, yet work ok? If so you are set. If not, and it is a real "need", maybe consider selling the Fender or the Lull to fund a good fretless. Sometimes if you can't outright afford a Lull-Grade third bass, you have to make hard choices...
 
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#37
JRA said:
:thumbsup: sure!

but the OP has an idea for a perfect/better fretless. maybe his fretless playing is more of a commitment than those folks who can't get beyond "resale" considerations.

i'm specifically blowing back on those folks who feel that just because an ax is expensive it should not be modified. pros do it all the time. ;)
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I'm not terribly concerned about resale value either and the Lull is his to do what he wants with. I just think defretting it should be a last resort.
 
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#38
JRA said:
:thumbsup: sure!

but the OP has an idea for a perfect/better fretless. maybe his fretless playing is more of a commitment than those folks who can't get beyond "resale" considerations.

i'm specifically blowing back on those folks who feel that just because an ax is expensive it should not be modified. pros do it all the time. ;)
Click to expand...

It's more the non-reversibility of this modification that generates the concern to me. When changing out the electronics you can change them back and be back where you were to started. Same with a bridge or tuners. But defretting a bass (pulling the frets, filling the slots, fixing the nut) then refretting it (replacing the nut, recutting the slots and refretting) won't have you back where you started. On a bass that you can go into any guitar store and take home that's not a big deal, but the idea of probably ruining a Lull is.

If the OP knew that he'd love the defretted Lull it wouldn't be a big deal, but this is an experiment.
 
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#39
akukulich said:
My parts bass has got an MJT lightweight alder body, with an All Parts fretless neck with a lined ebony fingerboard. It's got a Hipshot bridge and tuners with Nordstrand pickups.

I can live with the All Parts neck, but I don't love it. It's got a chunky profile, much more so than my CS Jazz Bass and the Lull. I've talked to a local luthier about building me a neck based on my CS, and he's willing to do it, but it's a bit of a wait. I'm living with the All Parts neck for the foreseeable future.

I started out with NJ4 single coil J-bass pickups with Alnico 3 magnets. I liked them, but they didn't have quite enough bite. I pulled them out of the fretless and put them in the Lull, and they sound amazing. I putNJ4SE pickups in the fretless next. I've wanted to try these particular pickups for years. They have a strong emphasis on the low mids, but the highs and high mids are suppressed. I think this is a part of the problem.

In fairness, the guys at Nordstrand said they probably weren't the right pickups for me, and they were right. So now I've got a set of the NJ4 single coils with Alnico 5 magnets. I think that once I get those installed, I'll be closer to the tone I'm after.
Click to expand...
Why not try a neck from Warmoth, instead? Great quality and prices, and it's probably cheaper/faster than having your local guy build something. Warmoth has a slim taper option that's pretty dang slim, too, if that's what you like.
 
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