Tweaking a de-fretted bass guitar

[SureShot]

Hey everyone, I'm new to the forums so I'm appreciative of any advice you can give.

Recently de-fretted a bass (basic yamaha rbx170) I was given as a gift from a friend who never used it. The initial process went a lot better than I thought it would given i'd never played a fretless or de-fretted one. The fretboard is smooth as silk and I've left the lines on for reference (may sand the finish and polyurethane off later to darken the fret lines when I'm use to it.).

That's just to say it's ready to be set up, my problem is THIS:

About a minute before I jumped on the comp to ask you guys, I was about to use a dremel tool to carve down the nut slots all the way to the fretboard, then INTO the fretboard to simulate a zero fret.

Will this have any negative effects, given I will always use the same strings and will go VERY SLOWLY with the carving to ensure the slots are of appropriate size?


That's my main concern. If anyone has any extra advice for hardware/electronics I will take it into consideration and certainly show the results if used. Bass will be used for recording and hopefully gigging so want it to be of quality.


Thanks for takin the time to read!

 

[shrimpchowmein]

if lowering action at the nut is what you're after, i think it's a better idea to remove the nut from the neck and remove material from the bottom of it. nut slots are very precise things, and can easily cause a lot of nasty buzz and sounds if they aren't shaped just so. i'm sure you can do a search here and learn a lot, but my impression is you want to get this done.

take material off the bottom of the nut, don't worry about the slots or simulation a zero fret. you'll be much happier with the results.

most importantly, enjoy the process!

 

[bassist11]

I think I understand what your trying to do and you definitely don't want to go there. You need some clearance between your strings at the nut (or zero fret) and the fretboard.

Zero frets are there to simulate a fretted note when you play open strings. Since you have a fretless now, you don't need a zero fret because there are no frets period.

I guess a zero fret for a fretless would theoretically be a wooden nut??

 

[levis76]

For the nut, you might want to take it to a repair shop and have them install a nice bone nut. The reason I say this, as you'll find out, is that the stock nut is made of cheap plastic and is probably hollow. Thats not to say Yamahas are cheap, every companies entry level basses have cheap hollow plastic nuts. To make a custom nut will require some specific tools like nut files, and shaping the bottom to fit properly in the neck is a pain. The tech will have the tools to do the job right and a nut job doesn't cost much, should be <$100 including the nut, strings, and setup. You would want to do this after you finish the fretless conversion of course.

heh heh nut job.

 

[Denial]

... i think it's a better idea to remove the nut from the neck and remove material from the bottom of it.

I did just this on a Washburn AB-40 that I defretted. I've seen people make entirely new nuts, and I thought...WHY? Just take the nut off, sand down the bottom a bit to lower the action (since you no longer have frets to clear), and see how it plays. String tension will hold it in place while you figuring out how much to take off. When you have it how you like it, just glue it in place (just a little glue, so you can remove it in the future if you need to.)

Good luck, and enjoy the fretless!

 

[SureShot]

Wow, Didn't expect this good of feedback, thank you!

I Understand what bassist11 is saying (now considering a wooden rather then bone), but since I do have a plastic nut the notes I "fret", or finger (lol along with nut job), sound MUCH different than my opens. I know it wont be perfect but I'm trying to get as close to that as I can. Since the rbx170 already has a string guide for all 4 string, that would make it possible to have the right bear (i think thats the term) if the nut is just guiding the string and not holding them?

As far as buzz I have already lowered the nut almost down to the neck and still no buzz, because I did it so slowly and paranoid(ly).

I may just change the nut but thank you so much for input!