Tought decision: Defret my bass???

[Music_for_life]

Well, I have 3 basses, the 3 of 5 strings.
Musicman Stingray 5 and Fender Roscoe Beck jazz bass. Both get much of the playing time.
Then I have a Tobias Growler that is keeping all the dust. I was thinking selling it...the only reason I will keep it is, to defret it with a great luthier. The bass sounds very nice..
Do you think the bass will lose quality and a lot of resale value.
Do you think a tobias will sound nice fretless?'
That bass have really a nice mellow tone.
What do you recomend me??

 

[Music_for_life]

Any?

 

[Denial]

I demoed a fretless Growler in the late 90s and thought it sounded good (though apparently not enough to buy it!). I was a solid plum color, so that was a bit of a put off to me. But it did play and sound nice. I think it would make a fine fretless. Who do you plan on doing the work for you?

 

[tarafran]

If you are going to defret the bass to sell it ,forget about it .

The great luthier is going to take time , and $ .

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

I say no.

Those old Growlers are good slappers - I'd sell it to someone who wants it and get you a proper fretless.

 

[fretlessguy]

That depends. If it is one of the Korean made Growlers, I'd probably do it in a heartbeat. If it is one of the American made ones, then no. It would be bad if you defretted one of the expensive ones and did not like it, because where I live you can hardly give a fretless away much less sell it.

 

[Music_for_life]

That depends. If it is one of the Korean made Growlers, I'd probably do it in a heartbeat. If it is one of the American made ones, then no. It would be bad if you defretted one of the expensive ones and did not like it, because where I live you can hardly give a fretless away much less sell it.

It is the tobias growler made in USA by Gibson. It is from 1999

 

[smcd]

It is the tobias growler made in USA by Gibson. It is from 1999

Then do NOT de-fret that bass. You'll sink a lot of money into it and it will be devalued, no matter how good the de-fret job is.

Do what Big Old Harry said - sell the Tobias and buy a nice fretless bass.

 

[FretlessDave]

If you really want a fretless,you probably should go out and find one you like.That way you'll know what you're getting into.Like another poster said,you may regret taking the frets out of the Tobias.

 

[Music_for_life]

If you really want a fretless,you probably should go out and find one you like.That way you'll know what you're getting into.Like another poster said,you may regret taking the frets out of the Tobias.

Why I may regret?

 

[chetorch]

Why I may regret?

because of what he said below:

Then do NOT de-fret that bass. You'll sink a lot of money into it and it will be devalued, no matter how good the de-fret job is.

Do what Big Old Harry said - sell the Tobias and buy a nice fretless bass.

 

[OldFenderPlayer]

While a bass is just a collection of assembled parts, defretting it is a big (and potentially expensive) decision. You might consider trying out an inexpensive fretless bass like the Squire Vintage Modified Jazz Bass. I've played a few and they are nice instruments (when set up properly) and have the desired "mmwwhhhaa" sound. I play alot of fretless on a '74 Precision with an Allparts neck, but I'd get the Squire bass if I had to replace it.

 

[harmendebresser]

No, de-fretting it would cost almost as much as just buying a fretless neck for it (wouldn't know how available those are, or otherwise a custom Warmoth replacement) so you'll know how it sounds, but also have the original instrument in case of not liking it, or even (as it seems to be an actual idea on your mind) ending up selling it anyway to some happy slapper

 

[Alex E]

It's a bolt-on, isn't it?

Why don't you get another neck that is fret-less? Swap 'em out and if and when you get tired of the Growler, put the original neck back on?

 

[Music_for_life]

It's a bolt-on, isn't it?

Why don't you get another neck that is fret-less? Swap 'em out and if and when you get tired of the Growler, put the original neck back on?

I could ask a luthier to make a new one????

 

[AnonymousInvent]

Buy a fretless you like. I agree with the above re too many $ for de-fretting.

 

[Music_for_life]

I could tell a luthier to make a new fretless neck that fits my bass??

 

[bassplayer8953]

I could tell a luthier to make a new fretless neck that fits my bass??

You could, but if you can find one that's already advertised as made for a Tobias, the cost would probably be less. And it would be available in a short time, as opposed to a craftsman taking his time to hand-produce one.

 

[Alex E]

I could ask a luthier to make a new one????

No, I would think that would be rather expensive and impractical.

My thought was possibly ordering a replacement neck from one of these catalog companies I've seen in 'Bass Player' and other magazines.

I know they produce 4 and 5 bolt necks for various style basses. I was thinking it might be worth your while to research and see if anyone makes a replacement neck (fretless, at that) for your model bass.

If you find one that's within what you want to pay, it might be a good solution to your problem. An added plus is that if/when you're done with the fretless thing, you can easily revert the bass back to original condition with the original neck.

 

[Music_for_life]

No, I would think that would be rather expensive and impractical.

My thought was possibly ordering a replacement neck from one of these catalog companies I've seen in 'Bass Player' and other magazines.

I know they produce 4 and 5 bolt necks for various style basses. I was thinking it might be worth your while to research and see if anyone makes a replacement neck (fretless, at that) for your model bass.

If you find one that's within what you want to pay, it might be a good solution to your problem. An added plus is that if/when you're done with the fretless thing, you can easily revert the bass back to original condition with the original neck.

I live in Argenitna, the only way to get another of great quality us by a luthier. Daniel Fernandez, cost 1000 usd but he is great