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The Fretless Club
- Thread starter JaySeeDoubleYou
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MF Fretless semi hollow. MF stands for Michel Fournelle who is a luthier based in Montreal, Canada. He crafted Alain Caron basses in the early years of UZEB.
I'm not a huge fan of gold hardware or hollowbodys but that is one SEXY bass.
175: Scottpro1969. Sure, tortoise would be fine. White pearl and black pearl are a couple of my favs also. Are thos just screw holes, or were there brass inserts in those?
176: Groove Injun
lebrett - very nice bass. I was trying to remember where I have seen a semi hollow cutout like that before, Jon Kammerer makes a similar design but his execution of it is different. link.
176: Groove Injun
lebrett - very nice bass. I was trying to remember where I have seen a semi hollow cutout like that before, Jon Kammerer makes a similar design but his execution of it is different. link.
- Nov 29, 2007
- 3,641
- 13
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist GENZ BENZ/HERCULES STANDS/XSonics
Thanks. I kinda scored on it, I bought it used in the classifieds section. I saw it and fell in love; luckily it plays all well as it looks. Waterstone makes a fine instrument.
Pros: Inexpensive 6-string fretless (nobody makes them but Rondo unless you get a custom-made bass), decent electronics, looks and sounds nice.
Cons: Bad QC and/or shipping on the one I got (cracked poly on the back side), strings indent the wood at the bridge (right before the places where intonation is set, as there's no metal rings like some string-thru designs have)
no pic, just open a carvin catalog and imagine an ac-50 with a cedar top and cherry burst finish, that's me.
nice bass, dig the bridge transducer sound
with a little hall verb it can sound uprightish
nice bass, dig the bridge transducer sound
with a little hall verb it can sound uprightish
A club I should have joined a long time ago. Here's my first "good" fretless, a defretted Yamaha RBX-775 that I did several years ago... with some e-mail advice from our own Hambone and Michael Tobias. 
I invested a fair amount of money into tools from Stewart-Mac so that I'd be getting the most important steps of a defretting correct (mainly the fret pulling and radius-correct sanding.) The fretboard is coated with Teak Oil, which fills in the obvious pores in the rosewood and generally hardens the fretboard without giving it an epoxy-like high-end. I highly recommend it for players who have rosewood or other softer fretboards and want to add some protection without changing the tone of your instrument:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
...and I was able to come up with a workable solution to the idea I'd wanted to try thanks to M. Tobias - I used blue-stained purfling made for acoustics as my "ghost" lines so they match the body color. A little bling never hurt anyone...
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
As proud of the job I did and the tone it produces, a surprisingly woody one considering the very "modern" design of the bass itself, she's listed for sale as I moved up to a custom Spector ReBop 5 DLX FM lined fretless I got last Fall (no decent pics yet, sorry :scowl: ) As nice as the Yamaha is as a perfect bass to move up from a starter to, or as a backup, the Spector is simply... a Spector.
I invested a fair amount of money into tools from Stewart-Mac so that I'd be getting the most important steps of a defretting correct (mainly the fret pulling and radius-correct sanding.) The fretboard is coated with Teak Oil, which fills in the obvious pores in the rosewood and generally hardens the fretboard without giving it an epoxy-like high-end. I highly recommend it for players who have rosewood or other softer fretboards and want to add some protection without changing the tone of your instrument:[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
...and I was able to come up with a workable solution to the idea I'd wanted to try thanks to M. Tobias - I used blue-stained purfling made for acoustics as my "ghost" lines so they match the body color. A little bling never hurt anyone...
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
As proud of the job I did and the tone it produces, a surprisingly woody one considering the very "modern" design of the bass itself, she's listed for sale as I moved up to a custom Spector ReBop 5 DLX FM lined fretless I got last Fall (no decent pics yet, sorry :scowl: ) As nice as the Yamaha is as a perfect bass to move up from a starter to, or as a backup, the Spector is simply... a Spector.
Nice looking bass
. I don't know if it's down to the resolution of the photos, but it looks to me as if those lines would be invisible at audience distances, giving it the look of an unlined (which can't be beat for looks so far as I'm concerned) while up close you have both nice practical lines and 'bling'
BBN,
You've hit the nail on the head! They were originally much brighter, but the Teak Oil toned down the color a fair degree (in retrospect a Very Good Thing) so that they're not visible more than a few feet away. Which is why I refer to them as "Ghost lines" as opposed to your more typical "Inlaid lines" - they're very unobtrusive yet are helpful for the player in a classy way, much like custom builders such as Rob Allen that will use a medium-shade wood for lines on an ebony 'board. Thanks for noticing the "little things" that took a good deal of my time during the defretting process!
You've hit the nail on the head! They were originally much brighter, but the Teak Oil toned down the color a fair degree (in retrospect a Very Good Thing) so that they're not visible more than a few feet away. Which is why I refer to them as "Ghost lines" as opposed to your more typical "Inlaid lines" - they're very unobtrusive yet are helpful for the player in a classy way, much like custom builders such as Rob Allen that will use a medium-shade wood for lines on an ebony 'board. Thanks for noticing the "little things" that took a good deal of my time during the defretting process!
Its my starter bass i bought a year ago and still my only bass.
And i think this is the place for this question:
Do i as 'fretless ' player need a also a fretted version?
I was thinking of buying one, because i was thinking that there where certain things i couldnt play, but after a year trying and learning im not that convinced anymore that i need fretted version. ( and save money for maybe a better fretless bass)
Wrong or right please let me know ? Message is ok we dont want to pollute this fretless sanctuary with answers to my question.
PS very nice basses i see here, to bad i cant hear them sing
And i think this is the place for this question:
Do i as 'fretless ' player need a also a fretted version?
I was thinking of buying one, because i was thinking that there where certain things i couldnt play, but after a year trying and learning im not that convinced anymore that i need fretted version. ( and save money for maybe a better fretless bass)
Wrong or right please let me know ? Message is ok we dont want to pollute this fretless sanctuary with answers to my question.
PS very nice basses i see here, to bad i cant hear them sing
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PS very nice basses i see here, to bad i cant hear them sing
Amadeeke brings up a good point. I have a server i'm paying for for the fretlessbassist.com site - i'd be more than happy to host anything music that anyone would like to send - I have plenty of space & bandwidth for streaming. You would have to own the rights. . .but - just an offer.
btw - still in Afghanistan for a bit longer, but could set this up from here. . .
180. Ian Perge. Loooving the blue lines - excellent idea and well executed.
181. Amadeeke. You can be a dedicated fretless player if it works for you and the music you are playing, it certainly has been done in the past. Might not hurt to have a fretted bass on hand in case some dastardly producer is belligerent about it.
182. mrman740.
WesW - thanks for the invite.
dano - how long is Thor's waiting list these days?
181. Amadeeke. You can be a dedicated fretless player if it works for you and the music you are playing, it certainly has been done in the past. Might not hurt to have a fretted bass on hand in case some dastardly producer is belligerent about it.
182. mrman740.
WesW - thanks for the invite.
dano - how long is Thor's waiting list these days?
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