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Unlined fretless neck question...

#21
I add fingerboard dots to an unlined board. Only under the E string, which is adequate for my use.

They line up with the original side position dots.

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#23
ardgedee said:
SRF700 doesn't have marks on the fingerboard (only on the edge or ever-so-slightly over the edge), and the preamp is an Ibanez house design.

SRD900F has board markers plus low-contrast lines like @bucephylus 's Zon (and it's got 30 stops, kinda' like Michael Manring's Zon :smug: ) I like low-contrast lines the most, maybe, but they're unfortunately pretty rare. It's unusual even for custom builders to offer them. I'm at the point now where I don't have to rely on marks all that much for the first octave of the neck, but above that it's still tricky and full lines are useful there.
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Yeah, I think that's what I said about the 700? Fret lines are small white lines on top, visible when looking down at the neck.

Note the 700 also has 30 positions, like the 900. Unless they changed this in couple years, I think the 700 is using Bart's preamp. Lobster did a review on it in that time period, and that was what he reported. If they changed it since, well, then, I'm wrong about that. The 900's pre is definitely an in-house Ibanez design.

Personally, I think the 900 is the far superior bass. Almost bought one, went with the Sadowsky instead.

Interesting comment about the lines in upper register. I find them less useful up there, due to shrunken intervals and distortion of visual field when looking at fingerboard from steeper angle. Above the 15th or 17th position for me it's pretty much 80 - 90% ears. Of course everyone is different, and we don't all hang the bass in the same position while playing. What works for me might not for you.
 
#24
IMG_0316.jpeg

I recently added permanent fret position marker lines to a lined ( but very difficult to view) fretless, that had no fret position indicators atop the fingerboard. Fortunaltely the dots that came with it were were viewable. But now I wont have to deal with stickers, or tape or markers.
 
#25
BassicJazzy said:
Unless they changed this in couple years, I think the 700 is using Bart's preamp. Lobster did a review on it in that time period, and that was what he reported. If they changed it since, well, then, I'm wrong about that.
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No, the Portamentos do not and as far as I can tell have never used a Bartolini preamp. This is something I've researched. (Which sounds grandiose but what it means is I dug through the Hoshino Gakki parts site, which isn't always comprehensive but the Portamentos are very well documented there.) There is at least one prototype that escaped Ibanez and got sold to somebody and it does not have the officially-spec'd electronics, so it's possible that Ibanez was experimenting with Bartolini preamps in the Portamento before production, but they were never included in a production unit.

The SRD900 (all versions) uses the same pre as the SRF700. So does the Ashula, for whatever that's worth. Any of Ibanez's basses or guitars built since 2014 that has both pickups and bridge piezo uses this preamp (actually a multipart preamp: One board for leveling and buffering the piezos, another main board for tone and to blend all the inputs). It's gone through several revisions of varying magnitude but they're all in-house.
 
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#26
ardgedee said:
No, the Portamentos do not and as far as I can tell have never used a Bartolini preamp. This is something I've researched. (Which sounds grandiose but what it means is I dug through the Hoshino Gakki parts site, which isn't always comprehensive but the Portamentos are very well documented there.) There is at least one prototype that escaped Ibanez and got sold to somebody and it does not have the officially-spec'd electronics, so it's possible that Ibanez was experimenting with Bartolini preamps in the Portamento before production, but they were never included in a production unit.

The SRD900 (all versions) uses the same pre as the SRF700. So does the Ashula, for whatever that's worth. Any of Ibanez's basses or guitars built since 2014 that has both pickups and bridge piezo uses this preamp (actually a multipart preamp: One board for leveling and buffering the piezos, another main board for tone and to blend all the inputs). It's gone through several revisions of varying magnitude but they're all in-house.
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Yeah, you are right. It was the SR700 that used the Bart pre before 2013, not the Portamento SRD series. Lobster was wrong about that. His review was 5 years ago so he must have gotten info from looking up the SR series.

Thank you for straightening out the facts on that.
 
#29
My 2 fretless Martin Keiths got something like what I think op is asking for. One has the small position inlays with dots in the ‘regular’ position, the other has dots in the ‘on the frets’ position
 

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#34
stevensivak said:
Has anyone ever seen an UN-lined neck that had FACE dots or markers of some geometric shape in the CORRECT locations
where the frets would have been?
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No, can't say that I have. Which doesn't mean that somebody, somewhere, hasn't made one. All 4 of my fretless basses are lined - 'cause I need them. However...
The ... 3 Rickenbacker 4001 fretless basses I've had my hands on (fretless Ricks are... pretty rare) all had little red dot inlays on the edge of the fingerboard - where you could see them - where the frets would be. I'd really, really like to have one, but... left handed 4001's - with frets - are scarce enough. A lefty fretless 4001? That's unicorn territory...:rollno:
 
#37
stevensivak said:
Ric even stopped making ALL left handed basses recently...
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Does not surprise me; they've done it before - and, more than once. They stopped making left handed anythings at the end of 2005, and said that they might not ever make lefties ever again. They did, eventually, but IIRC? It was nearly 2010, before they started up again. Used lefty prices during that period went thru the roof; I paid about $5,3000 total for my '73 4001 and my '01 COY 4003 during that time. In their defense, though, they were 3 or 4 years behind in production - for right handed basses and guitars; that was the only way they could catch up. Normally? RIC accumulates orders for left handed instruments until it makes economic sense to shut the factory down and convert production to left handed instruments. RIC is still a pretty small factory, and they simply cannot make left- and right-handed instruments at the same time. It has to be one or the other, and there's a much bigger demand for right handed instruments. So, we lefties just have to be patient, and wait; and, pay the "Lefty Surcharge" when we can get one... I don't like it, but... they're not the only company that makes lefties wait - and also charges us extra... :rollno: :rollno:
 
#39
I have a Dean fretless. It has side dots. I bought a pack of sparkly star stickers and I put them on the fretboard so I can have those points of reference. Otherwise the fretboard is unlined and unmarked and makes it very difficult for me to play without the stars. I've thought about trying to figure out how to add lines but I don't want to mess with it. Maybe I can get some Thin tape and tape across. Ideally, it would have lines and dots on top.
 
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#40
VicDiesel said:
The lines of my lined fretless (see avatar picture) are very faint. But yeah, visible. Personally I don't need more than the little cheater lines on the side of the neck (I have an Ibanez that has that) but dots on the front of the neck? 1. I'm not that precise 2. Do you play hunched over the neck? I never see what's on the neck because I'm over or behind it.
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I can see my front dots if I'm standing up straight and looking down slightly. I mean, I can't see them so clearly as if I was looking at the fretboard head on, but I can see them well enough without having to be "hunched over".
 

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