steinberger synapse question

[birdxofxprey]

I'm considering a synapse fretless 5er from MF. mostly i'm interested in finding out how the phenolic board wears. if you put rounds on it, do they mark it up? or is it impervious to marks of all kinds?

thanks.

 

[LifeIsBass]

I don't have a fretless Synapse, but I do have a phenolic board on an old Steinberger XM-2 fretted. It's a very, very hard fingerboard. I really doubt you have much to worry about. I love phenolic boards!

 

[BassDudeSA]

I'm considering a synapse fretless 5er from MF. mostly i'm interested in finding out how the phenolic board wears. if you put rounds on it, do they mark it up? or is it impervious to marks of all kinds?

thanks.

Hi, I have one of these, a 5-string fretless Synapse in red that I bought from MF about a year ago. Great bass. I had originally bought three of these, the other two both fretted. Only sold them because the body shape was hard to get used to with my aggresive style. I play fretless alot softer so I kept that one. I love the piezo on the fretless. It really shines. Only thing that bugged me is that there is a position marker for EACH fret on the side of the neck for visual reference. I'm used to the way most fretless basses are with the side dot on the 3rd, 5th, 7th and etc. However those dots are a bit larger than the rest, you wouldn't believe how seeing all those white dots through me off. So I blacked all the extra dots out with a felt tip marker and just kept the standard dots.

Anyway, I don't play it alot since I'm primarily a fretted player, but yes it does show slight wear (from my slight use). No grooves or anything, but it is certainly not impervious to signs of wear. I only use rounds. Flats have always sounded deader than a doornail to me. I'd rather use two-year old rounds than new flats any day.

 

[lowrez]

I have several steinbergers with phenolic boards. They do show scratches or what not, but really they really don't seem to wear grooves or anything like wood. The resin almost seems to lubricate the surface between the strings and fretboard. Very smooth feeling! I would think this would wear better than most other fingerboard materials.

 

[birdxofxprey]

Only thing that bugged me is that there is a position marker for EACH fret on the side of the neck for visual reference. I'm used to the way most fretless basses are with the side dot on the 3rd, 5th, 7th and etc. However those dots are a bit larger than the rest, you wouldn't believe how seeing all those white dots through me off. So I blacked all the extra dots out with a felt tip marker and just kept the standard dots.

I was wondering about this. None of the stock photos of the Synapse show the dot markers, and I can see how it would be very confusing to have so many of them. I rather like the idea of having the dots on the board itself under the G string though.

Thanks for all the feedback, I may just give this a try...

 

[BassDudeSA]

I rather like the idea of having the dots on the board itself under the G string though.

In this case it is fine since (at least for me) I never see them when I'm playing anyway.