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The Fretless Club (Part 2!)
- Thread starter Mark Wilson
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the best bass i ever owned was a cheap hohner fretless that looked and sounded like a million bucks, everything about it was right for me the weight shape etc it was the only instrument i ever felt such a deep attachment to, but when the electronics died ca.2000 none of the scumbag shops round here would fix it they just kept saying "its a cheap instrument, not worth fixing" F***ers!
and i was young and stupid so i gave up
the neck/body was wonderful. now i try to spend more on instruments in the hope of getting a long lasting axe but you always miss your first love!
Dad doesn't help matters by getting all nostagic over my old bass tone
Yeah - I really like the tone, neck and feel of my 69 (Bartell) Hohner semi-hollow. Practically all of these basses are fretless. Not much variation with the tone pots, but the tone it has is nice.
I have had lots of fretless basses over the years. Currently my Zon is for sale (see sig.) and I just got this Martin Keith, great bass!
You might recognize it from the June 2010 Bass Player review.
You might recognize it from the June 2010 Bass Player review.
Hey all!I am the owner of a Tune TWB63 six string bass which is currently being coverted to fretless.Over the pass 30 something years I have had at least 18 basses of which 4 have been fretless.This will be my 5th.The difference with this fretless is that it will be converted by myself,not a guitar repairman.I've read so much on conversions over the years that I am quite confident that I can do it myself this time.The frets are out.Styrene plastic is being used as an insert in the fret slots.A 14"radius sanding block will be ordered.But one bit of info is needed from any and all.How low should the nut slots be deepened?I would rather sand off the needed material(brass nut)off the bottom of the nut than deepening the nut slots.I may or may not consider epoxy coating the fingerboard if I can accomplish this without ruining the fingerboard by making some catastrophic error.Any advice is appreciated.
I have had lots of fretless basses over the years. Currently my Zon is for sale (see sig.) and I just got this Martin Keith, great bass!
You might recognize it from the June 2010 Bass Player review.
VERY interested to know your impressions of this axe. Seems like you could get a wide variety of tones there.
Okay, so you can't really tell it's fretless in the first picture due to the cheater lines, but here's my Carvin B40F.
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I am no expert, but I have trimmed a few nuts. No brass ones though. I think you get a more professional look to trim most of the depth from the bottom. To minimize taking off too much, I usually rough trim the bottom, then fine trim the slots with a needle file while the nut is mounted.
Thanks!Considering that nut files cost about $25.00 each from STEWMAC,I will definitely trim the bottom of the nut.And regarding epoxy coating the fingerboard.Forget that!From what I read epoxy is some evil stuff!Plus I don't have the space needed to stash it away while it hardens.I'll go with a Tung oil treatment.
[/QUOTE]Just finished building this one this week. It's my first build and not the last.
Wow!
That fingerboard is incredible!
Is that Pale Moon Ebony?
I've always had a preference for light colored fingerboards, and that one is awesome.
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Ignore the one on the left, can I join the club? Every time I pick up the Fender I have to control my urge to defret it.
Ignore the one on the left, can I join the club? Every time I pick up the Fender I have to control my urge to defret it.
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