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Hey all,
I've been requested to take a currently fretted bass and convert it to fretless without removing the fingerboard.

My plan is to fill the fret slots with a maple veneer, then scrape level.
Does anyone have any words of wisdom on this project?

thanks

Dave

If you are comfortable with pulling frets cleanly, there is not a whole lot to go wrong. I glue the veneers with thin CA, and then give the board a good leveling and polishing to get it nice and smooth for that mwaaaaaaaa sound. You really want the board to be FLAT, because most fretless guys like super low action. The ends of the veneers are end grain, and can soak up finger grime pretty quick and look nasty, so i usually do a quick french polish over the fingerboard edge after trimming and sanding the veneers. Some people use plastic veneer, which could look nice also depending on the bass. The only other main thing is cutting the nut slots lower and readjusting the bridge.

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Jordan Aceto
Ithaca, NY

Thanks for those little bits of info.
I hadn't considered the nut before.
In theory, it could be put down to the same level any other non-fretted string instrument is at.
Maybe I'll look into fiberboard. I've got some white stuff around that would probably work bette than the maple veneer.

Great description Jordan!



and Todd, you beat me to post.... abs in my mind is black.
I didn't know they made it in white.

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

ABS???
I had to google that one.
Now that I know what it is, I'll try it's white cousin, PVC. That sounds like an even BETTER idea.

thanks

I typically use maple, though I recently did a maple board conversion where I used rosewood. Something important to keep in mind is that you will be loosing some stiffness in the neck via fret compression if you fit the filler strips too loose. I've actually "compression fretted" fretless boards before with good success, by pulling the filler strips and forcing wider ones in.

I recommend stringing it up after the frets are cleanly pulled, and before installing filler strips, just to see how well the truss rod is able to control shape with the frets out. This can help decide how tight the filler strips should fit if necessary. You can also force the neck in to backbow as you flow CA glue in to secure the strips, and this can aid straightening and stiffening quite effectively as well.

The board will of course have to be properly leveled, and the nut slots cut accordingly. You're likely to hear the rule of "half the string diameter clearance at the nut", but I think that's a rule that is somewhat mistakenly transfered from the violin world to guitars. On an electric bass you can go much lower, to within a few thousandths clearance on the treble, to maybe .010"-.015" on the bass - just enough to eliminate back buzz. Exceptions may be if the player primarily plays upright bass and crosses over to electric only on occasion. In my experience, super low action will feel terribly foreign to many of these players, and will prefer a fair height at the nut, bridge, and moderate relief. Preferences vary widely though, as I certainly have a few upright players who prefer crazy low action on their electrics.

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.