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Should I have my main de-fretted?

Should I have my main de-fretted?

  • Yes!

    Votes: 6 4.0%

  • No!

    Votes: 85 56.7%

  • Buy another copy and chose which to be de-fretted and which to stay fretted...

    Votes: 44 29.3%

  • Build your own custom fretless bass out of carrots!

    Votes: 5 3.3%

  • Do you feel lucky, punk?

    Votes: 10 6.7%
  • Total voters
    150
Ritter667

Ritter667

Aug 1, 2024
2,445
2,991
Displaced
#1
So should I?

Just to get the out of the way my main is a just 28.6" scale, 5 string, lowly Ibanez GSRM25 Mikro Bass, tuned in tenor bass, A standard, tuning.


Pros:

- There are more things you can do on a fretless that you can't do on a fretted bass, than there are things you can do on a fretted that you can't do on a fretless

- This bass got a Jatoba fretboard, which is nearly as stiff and hard as Ebony

- I do already naturally fret just behind the frets, and can almost do so with closed eyes, unless I do far stretches

- Believe me, I am convinced this bass would sound absolutely beautiful as fretless

- I love the sound of fretless bass


Cons:

- There are still some things you can do on a fretted bass that you can't really do on a fretless

- Long stretches as just one example I wouldn't be able to do in tune on a fretless

- It will still take a lot of practice to get intonation just right

- And I would basically have to revisit the whole playing style I developed

- While I am pretty certain this would make a beautiful sounding fretless bass, I don't actually 100% know for absolutely certain

- I also love the sound of fretted bass, and I don't actually have any experience with playing a fretless bass


Now I could also just get another bass of the same model, and have that converted to fretless, or let that stay fretted, and have my current one de-fretted, but as this is a cheap budget instrument there is pretty far from any kind of reasonable guarantee that the next one will be as great instrument as this one genuinely is.

For one this was made on the Cort factory in Indonesia, and they since moved the production to China.


For reference this is the beast, I precent you "Mr. Growly - The Noodlemancer":
1761918713090.png
 
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#3
5StringPocket said:
I defretted a bass many moons ago and it did not end well. I’d leave the main alone and just look for a cheap used fretless.
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Pretty much absolutely zero 28.6" scale fretless basses on the market, so that what are the odds I'll find a used 28.6" scale fretless custom made bass, and if that even ever happen, what are the odds it'll be cheap, let alone 5 string?

I do appreciate you input though.

Just not really a viable solution for me.

Also just to specify, I wouldn't dare doing this procedure myself, if I'd go through with it, I would have it de-fretted by a proper professional luthier.
 
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#4
Without experience playing fretless I would absolutely not change the bass you know and love. What if it turns out fretless doesn't feel good, or sounds weird, or you find that techniques you use on the fretted bass don't apply as you thought they would? Now you are stuck with one bass you don't like anymore, and no undo button!

I'd buy a cheap fretless to experiment with, or if you are really committed to this model/scale and have cash to burn, get another one and have it de-fretted. But don't risk your #1 player on an experiment, especially when you have zero experience with the type of instrument you would be turning it into.
 
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#6
JonathanPDX said:
I'd buy a cheap fretless to experiment with, or if you are really committed to this model/scale and have cash to burn, get another one and have it de-fretted. But don't risk your #1 player on an experiment, especially when you have zero experience with the type of instrument you would be turning it into.
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I suppose this would really be the obvious answer.

Thank you for your voice of reason.

Thing is I don't have a lot of cash to burn.

So I guess I am stuck.

I have pondered on acquiring a Harley Benton fretless Beatbass (fretless version of the Beatles/Violin bass), but it would be a completely different beast, and sound completely different than this one, but I suppose it might be my best option for trying out short scale fretless bass for cheap.

If nothing else it will make a great faux upright for recordings.
 
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#10
Ritter667 said:
I suppose this would really be the obvious answer.

Thank you for your voice of reason.

Thing is I don't have a lot of cash to burn.

So I guess I am stuck.

I have pondered on acquiring a Harley Benton fretless Beatbass (fretless version of the Beatles/Violin) bass, but it would be a completely different beast, and sound completely different than this one, but I suppose it might be my best option for trying out short scale fretless bass for cheap.

If nothing else it will make a great faux upright for recordings.
Click to expand...
Why would you want your fretless to be identical to your fretted? It's a different animal with a different sound, feel, and vibe. You'll want to dial it in differently to draw out some of the qualities you like from fretless tone, which may be different than the things you like most about your #1 fretted bass.

I'd consider embracing the change and look at the fretless as a different and unique challenge. I wouldn't think of it as "my main bass only fretless" but rather a different palate with different colors to paint with.
 
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#11
Ritter667 said:
Also just to specify, I wouldn't dare doing this procedure myself, if I'd go through with it, I would have it de-fretted by a proper professional luthier.
Click to expand...
If you change anything on your main -- especially something as radical as defretting it -- it's going to sound and feel different and you'll never get that back.

A second Mikro will cost about $200 new, maybe half that used. You'll spend more than that having a pro do a proper defret. So just buy a second.
 
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#12
FWIW, my suggestion is to buy a new GSRM25 and have it defretted.

I have had 7 or 8 Ibanez Mikros over the past decade, all of them GSRM20s. While some of them have been marginally better than others, and they varied in weight by as much as a pound, they have all been roughly equivalent. They all required roughly the same touch-ups to get rid of sharp frets, the usual setups etc. And they were all great little basses. So I expect that your next GSRM25 would be much like your current one.

I had Mikro #2 (black) defretted a long time ago. It's been great. It makes a lovely little fretless. My daughter has it now. And the great advantage of having both a fretted and a fretless version of the same bass is that all the ergonomics are the same, so that moving from one to the other and back again is straightforward.

I have that now with my Acinonyx basses -- one fretted, one fretless. It's delightful!
 
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#13
Xad said:
FWIW, my suggestion is to buy a new GSRM25 and have it defretted.

I have had 7 or 8 Ibanez Mikros over the past decade, all of them GSRM20s. While some of them have been marginally better than others, and they varied in weight by as much as a pound, they have all been roughly equivalent. They all required roughly the same touch-ups to get rid of sharp frets, the usual setups etc. And they were all great little basses. So I expect that your next GSRM25 would be much like your current one.

I had Mikro #2 (black) defretted a long time ago. It's been great. It makes a lovely little fretless. My daughter has it now. And the great advantage of having both a fretted and a fretless version of the same bass is that all the ergonomics are the same, so that moving from one to the other and back again is straightforward.

I have that now with my Acinonyx basses -- one fretted, one fretless. It's delightful!
Click to expand...
I converted my #2 4 string Mikro to a slide bass, or I suppose sort of more of a 4 string baritone slide guitar, and that conversion was actually successful, and I haven't regretted one bit.

It sounds amazing!

Also I was lucky to relatively shortly after get a used 28.5" scale ESP/LTD B4JR super cheap, which after a thorough setup and a pickup swap is as great, if not greater, sounding, than my 4 string Mikro was, before I converted it to slide.

But it is rarely I am that lucky with my haphazard decisions, and have ended up ruining several great instruments this way,

Now, I don't actually like the stock pickups on the 4 string Mikros, so those I have replaced for EMG Geezer Butler P/J's, but for some odd reason I really like the tone of the J pickups on the 5 string.

I tried replacing them for active EMG JX pickups, but didn't like the result and swapped back to the stock ones.

Also unlike the 4 string Mikros, the 5 strings are surprisingly quiet, despite featuring single coil J pickups, and features shielded wiring, and the J pickups are sealed, with epoxy I assume, and seems to be shielded internally, all from stock.

I suppose you do get a bit extra than just more neck wood and an extra tuner, for the extra price of the 5 string Mikro.
 
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#16
Do you have more than one bass? I ask because you refer to this as your "main" bass. If you do have more than one, you might consider de-fretting literally any bass other than this one first to determine whether or not you actually prefer playing fretless enough that you want to make your favorite bass fretless. All of the theories in the world about why you think fretless might be better are only just theories until you try it.
 
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#17
I have defretted 2 favorite basses; one "higher" end and one mid priced. One I did myself and one I had done by a luthier. I have wood working experience.
Both turned out fine, in fact one of them is my number 1 now. One other thing - I had fretted versions of both first.

I would find another bass and have it defretted. I am primarily a fretless player but.... frets come in handy sometimes.
 
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#18
I don't think anybody but Ibanez makes a drop-in replacement neck for a Micro, so it's kinda all or nothing. Most fretted necks need a bit of leveling and dressing to play well as fretless, so this is a job for a Pro. A short scale neck is going to be pretty unforgiving in the high registers as far as intonation. If you decide to go for it, I highly recommend some kind of contrasting fret slot inlay, like maple, which will tend to expand/contract in concert with the wood fingerboard. A cheap alternative is the Squire VM Fretless, pretty much Jaco in a Box for short money.
 
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