whaaat is your problem man? tough day under the bridge? everyone already knew your opinion; there was no need for clarification. some of us think it's a cool idea and want to talk about the possibilities.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Wooden Frets
- Thread starter IronLung1986
- Start date
whaaat is your problem man? tough day under the bridge? everyone already knew your opinion; there was no need for clarification. some of us think it's a cool idea and want to talk about the possibilities.
the funny thing. of course, is that it had been done by a fairly well-known luthier for a fairly well-know producer—and the results seemed to be good for those people.
so, all the theory may not be as important as the results.
it may not be for everyone, but then 6-string basses were scoffed at 25+ years ago (and still are to some degree).
so, all the theory may not be as important as the results.
it may not be for everyone, but then 6-string basses were scoffed at 25+ years ago (and still are to some degree).
Aaaand....here I am. It's completely different, but for a different reason: fretting hand technique.
If you play the way I do, with deliberately fret-noisy slides, bent notes, tapping, slapping, hammer-ons etc. there's no way most of it will execute well without a hard(metal) surface to do it on, I suspect.
I suppose if you play extremely cleanly all the time, it might not make much difference.
Your initial logic is sound however, IMO.
I once plunked out a couple notes on a really strange 150+ year old instrument that was in between the size of and tuned in between a cello and a DB, and had stepped wooden frets and gut strings. It sounded beautiful. I say go for it and invent/try/build anything you want, at the very least you'll have fun and learn things in the engineering process. Hell, Bo Diddley invented his own type of guitar..
And sheesh people, relax, at least this thread is more interesting and creative than "Should i buy a 5 String??" etc
And sheesh people, relax, at least this thread is more interesting and creative than "Should i buy a 5 String??" etc
An example of the above, the pipa, which some of my classmates used to play:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Metal strings. Wooden frets.
Except for the first bit of my last post, it was not referring specifically to you. This post is directed at you, but I hope you won't consider it a flame.
Your logic here is completely ridiculous. "Since it hasn't been done in 50 years, it must be a bad idea." This, if it was true, could be applied to any innovation in any field! "If that was a good idea, someone would have done it already." Mmmm. No. I don't think so. Putting frets on a bass in the first place would be a "bad idea" by this criteria. It's not like frets were anything knew, and people had been playing double basses for a long, long time before that. This is not a perfect analogy, but I'm too lazy to think of another, and it's good enough to make the point, so don't bother.
There's a difference between revolutionary artistic technique and "revolutionary" mechanical design. Really? You bring up Jaco in a discussion about guitar design? What parallels exist between his technique and ironlung's idea for wooden frets? The thing with mechanical logistics is that they work on specific principles; artistic technique doesn't have any cut-and-dry rules for "working," it's just a means to express one's subjective creativity. So really, your comparison is a load of BS. And mentioning Leo Fender is likewise insipid since he made instruments with metal frets.
I think the words "completely missed the point" come to mind...
FWIW to the OP I say go for it, why not? Who else is to say what you can and can't do?
Give it a go and if it doesn't work then hey, put it down to experience. If it does, you've got something that very few other people have.
The World would be a much worse place if nodoby ever thought "What the hell, lets try anyway"!
Those are fret lines, not frets.Don't know if this has been posted yet
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Gah. They looked metal. Nylon-wound metal, i guess?
In any case those frets lasted quite a while, i don't think they needed replacing often.
I'd recommend using Rotosound RS66 strings. They should take care of the wooden fret question in short order.
All kidding aside, there is only one way to find out this answer. Try it. It will either work or it won't, there aren't any other possibilities. If it works, fantastic. If not, you got some experience in wood working.
ian
All kidding aside, there is only one way to find out this answer. Try it. It will either work or it won't, there aren't any other possibilities. If it works, fantastic. If not, you got some experience in wood working.
ian
Even meright...that describes everyone on here.
Although I don't really like playing walking lines.
really thats cool whats a slide
i dont know the picture says wood frets so im gonna take their word for it
Well, now that the cat's out of the bag, I'm sure we'll be seeing a plethora of wooden-fretted basses popping up from all the builders who don't want to be left blowing in the weeds. I'm sure no one has ever thought of it before.
No doubt Ebony has been mentioned somewhere along the line here. But has anyone compared the difference in hardness between Ebony and Nickel? I'm sure the 18% Nickel they use would be harder, but would it be that much harder? I'm Ebony frets would mark just as an Ebony board fret board would, but so do frets, I have also never seen Ebony fret boards wear (actual wear, not the little lines) fast. If Ebony was too soft I cant think of much else as an alternative.
Having said that I cant think of a good reason to do it, other than looks, but thats not an entirely silly reason. One reason it hasnt been done would probably be they would be a b****** to make compared to Nickel.
Having said that I cant think of a good reason to do it, other than looks, but thats not an entirely silly reason. One reason it hasnt been done would probably be they would be a b****** to make compared to Nickel.
Fretless? I'll leave you alone with the rest of your "insipid" rant.
There's a difference between revolutionary artistic technique and "revolutionary" mechanical design. Really? You bring up Jaco in a discussion about guitar design? What parallels exist between his technique and ironlung's idea for wooden frets? The thing with mechanical logistics is that they work on specific principles; artistic technique doesn't have any cut-and-dry rules for "working," it's just a means to express one's subjective creativity. So really, your comparison is a load of BS. And mentioning Leo Fender is likewise insipid since he made instruments with metal frets.
It's a matter of simple logic, not "creative inspiration that may not sit well with some other artists." And actually, I've seen quite a few in this thread who say the idea would work with nylon strings. So you must be complaining about the nay-sayers claiming it wouldn't work with metal strings, which is just putting 2 and 2 together.
Is that a question or a statement? I don't see how it applies in any way to my post, as I never said Fender doesn't sell fretless basses. You essentially said that the innovation of wooden frets is akin to the innovation of the P bass. I was saying that not only is it not a valid comparison, it is also nonsensical in the fact that the bass that Leo made to put him on the map (and what I assume is the reason you mention him in the same breath as Jaco,) the Fender Precision, was a fretted instrument. You should probably brush up on your guitar history.
I like it. I don't see it as an improvement as much as an alternate possibility and one that wouldn't be too difficult to try. I'd probably stick to tapewound strings and would use bloodwood or something bright to get some color in there.
Once you try it, see how it goes and make an improvement or two then YOU'LL be the expert and people will be asking you how instead of saying it's a bad idea.
Once you try it, see how it goes and make an improvement or two then YOU'LL be the expert and people will be asking you how instead of saying it's a bad idea.
