New Fretless...sort of.

[micgtr71]

Back in the 90s, I was a bass player in a funk band and played a Music Man Fretless almost exclusively. Though I loved the sound of the bass, the neck was super temperamental and needed a tweak more often than I was willing to do. I eventually sold it. Besides, I was more of a Fender guy anyway.

 

I quit touring and sold all basses except for my American Standard Jazz. I have recently been playing a lot of bass because I am teaching two students who are doing some pretty high level stuff (jazz and Jaco). So...I have been gunning for a fretless again.

 

A few years ago I bought my son a Mike Dirnt Squier P bass because he was showing interest in the bass. He decided that it wasn't for him and so it sat. I found it the other day and looked it over and decided that the only problem that it had was the fret job...it was pretty horrible. Cheep bass and all. The other day I defretted it and now it plays pretty well.

 

I plugged it in and put it through the paces. Teen Town, Portrait of Tracy, Continuum...It has the growl. The Harmonics don't ring out like they do on the jazz, so I may drop a new pickup in. Duncan, probably. Anyway, my search for a fretless went from looking at 500 to 1500 basses to one that cost me $20 for set of strings and a workout with my wire cutter and pliers.

Edited December 6, 2012 by micgtr71

[WIDE-ANGLE WATCHER]

Good job! I was going to attempt to de-fret my Jeff Berlin.....but got concerned about screwing it up. I might try it on an old Washburn P bass I have.

http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz77/tanhuntland/IMG_20120705_154115.jpg

 

So, instead I picked up a beautiful Fender Fretless with the fret marks, which I certainly need.

http://i815.photobucket.com/albums/zz77/tanhuntland/FretlessFender.jpg

[CygnusX-1Bk2]

You may want to fill the fret slots with something to keep the fretboard smooth. Plus if you use a light colored material it will help visually for intonation.

[micgtr71]

I was going to fill it with something like either maple strips or even wood putty but I brought it to my tech today and he suggested I leave it alone because the board was smooth. He laughed at first but said that it played well and filling in the board would be like putting a Cadillac engine in a pinto. It was a 200dollar bass. The only thing he suggested was a new pickup

[CygnusX-1Bk2]

I would be concerned about chipping the wood around the slots is all. Also because it's so cheap you aren't going to harm much by filling them. Obviously you won't be putting new frets on. "Stuff" will also collect in there. You will need to finger over where the frets were for good intonation and after a while the wood will give and cause a reverse scallop. But this is how Jaco started so I applaud the effort. Much better than filing the frets down to the fretboard.

[micgtr71]

Yes, I know what you mean. I thought about filling them for the reasons you stated but my tech and I decided that when the problems come it will be a long time. I don't play out anymore and the bass will be lucky to see a few hours a week of play. If I were to get a gig that required a fretless, I would pick up a real one.

 

As for the intonation, I started like as a violinist and a trombone player so fret less bass is fairly easy for me. If anything, lines mess me up because I see them as frets. I had to get rid of a stingray for that reason, and because the neck would never stay straight. My other fretless bass was graphite with no lines. I hated the sound of that board. I was just looking kfor an inexpensive toy. Thank you for the insight. Those were all valid points.