Jump to content


Please note: You can easily log in to MPN using your Facebook account!

Pimping the Palmer vs new fretless?


Recommended Posts

Okay so while PM'ing with a fellow forumite, I mentioned that I want a decent fretless. He then reminded me that the Palmer I have is, indeed, a fretless. And it is a good bass. I was going to say: "considering what I paid for it (EUR 120, including delivery from Germany)" but in truth, it is a good bass. I have played a few gigs with it and did not get any complaints (probably because no one noticed it anyway).

 

Now, the thing is: the neck is not lined NOR are there any side dot inlays. It also came with round wounds and they have been eating at the fretboard a good bit. Pick-up wise, I am still at a loss as to which knob actually does what: they ALL seem to be volume for some reason. The signal is pretty weak and I have to rely on my amp to get good tone. I know, this does not sound like a good bass, does it? But despite its very narrow string width (it is a 5 string) it has low action and a very "fast" neck.

 

So I was thinking about some modifications, more specifically having the fretboard replaced by a lined or at least side-dotted finished fretboard (or an unfinished one and buying flatwounds) and have different pick-ups installed. But then I started wondering whether all this will really make "the" difference. With Squier pumping out good quality low price basses these days, I wonder whether it would not be cheaper to simply buy a new fretless, than to tinker with the one I have.

 

Any thoughts?

"I'm a work in progress." Micky Barnes

 

The Ross Brown Shirt World Tour

Link to comment
Share on other sites



  • Replies 32
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

*Replacing* the fingerboard would be very expensive. It would be much easier to get side markers put in - in fact you cou;d do it yourself - quick tap with a hammer & punch & fill the hole with a good white enamel. Just need to get accurate measurements.

 

Go on flatwounds.

 

Sounds like your wiring needs sorted out. Know any techs?

 

If you were near here, I'd do it all for ya, but you insist on living abroad!!! :D

 

G.

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power the World will know Peace": Jimi Hendrix

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=738517&content=music

The Geoff - blame Caevan!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Actually, both of you are "abroad"...

 

I like pimping stuff myself but have come to realize that by the time I am done pimpin...hell it ain't easy.....that I could have bought what I wanted from the get go plus some strings, maybe a new book or some other gadget. That is of course if we are talking about pickups and neck replacements, not with LED side markers and of course stickers.

How do you sign a computer screen?

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Since you have nothing to lose why not try pimping your bass.

Why not? :idk If it goes bad you can try one of the other things or get that Squier.

 

Get a radiused sanding block, remove the nut and lightly sand the fingerboard smooth. Then glue the nut back on. Put some dots in. Geoff's idea sounds pretty easy so give it a try. As far as the wiring, if you're good with a soldering iron find a schematic and give it a go. Otherwise get a tech to help you out. You'll learn lots working on your bass and you'll get a lot of satisfaction when it turns out.

Lydian mode? The only mode I know has the words "pie ala" in front of it.

http://www.myspace.com/theeldoradosband

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I never think it's a good a idea to throw money at an inexpensive bass, unless you have some extra money and want to practice your woodworking and electronic skills.

 

I am actually with you on that one, Jeremy. For one, I have absolutely no woodworking or electronic skills - something I proved amply mid-nineties when I "threw away" a year in tech school, failing all tech classes and aceing all the language / history / general education classes :grin:

 

If anything, I would throw the money at it and have my dad do all the actual work. But I was looking around on the net and found that the price of 2 pick-ups to my liking would come very near to the price of a Squier VM fretless. Talk about an argument in favour of a new bass ...

"I'm a work in progress." Micky Barnes

 

The Ross Brown Shirt World Tour

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree with Jeremy, though 120 Euro is nothing to laugh off, it's not that much money, you could spend that much on new pickups alone.

 

For the neck, I'll ask the obvious question. The neck on your URB is not dotted or lined, but you still manage to find the correct notes and intonation, right? Use some stickers on the side of the neck if you must, but don't waste the time with the neck lines or dots, that's time you could better spend practicing, using your ear to tell you when your on the sweet spot. After playing fretless for a while I found myself listening rather than looking at the neck.

 

+1 for Flatwounds.

 

For the electronics, have someone check them out for you if you can't do it yourself, it could be dirty/corroded pots that are hindering the output.

 

"Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, yet you cannot play upon me.'-Hamlet

 

Guitar solos last 30 seconds, the bass line lasts for the whole song.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I never think it's a good a idea to throw money at an inexpensive bass, unless you have some extra money and want to practice your woodworking and electronic skills.

 

I am actually with you on that one, Jeremy. For one, I have absolutely no woodworking or electronic skills - something I proved amply mid-nineties when I "threw away" a year in tech school, failing all tech classes and aceing all the language / history / general education classes :grin:

 

The things I mentioned would have cost almost no money but if it's not something you're prepared to do the I would just sell it off and get that Squier you mentioned. I've tried a couple very nice fretless models that were not that expensive.

 

Lydian mode? The only mode I know has the words "pie ala" in front of it.

http://www.myspace.com/theeldoradosband

Link to comment
Share on other sites

DIY side dots: I had a thread about that, but it's over two years old. Easy to do, easier if you hunt out the appropriate size forstner bit. I got the side dots on eBay for cheap. Spring for the glow in the dark ones. I have stick-on glow in the dark side dots, but they move around when the weather gets hot and humid.

 

I don't know if you'll really have to re-plane the fretboard as it is. It sounds like you really didn't play the bass much; the wear might be acceptable. Put some flats, half wound, or nylon tapes on it and see if you can get it to play just right. If you can, then Ixnay the sanding part. Make sure the nut is cut down to the appropriate height; they all come way too high from the factory. If you can get it to play the way you want, then buy some EMG's and be done with it.

Things are just the way they are, and they're only going to get worse.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now, the thing is: the neck is not lined NOR are there any side dot inlays.

Sheesh. So just get yourself an Alembic:

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm28/nhopp/alembiclights-1.jpg

Problem solved. Duh.

 

(OK. So it's fretted in the picture. But still...)

Queen of the Quarter Note

"Think like a drummer, not like a singer, and play much less." -- Michele C.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I used to buy sheets of stick-on lettering for making band posters. One time I used the periods (dots) to mark the side of a fretless maple board. They were this size --> o <-- and made good side markers. Doing this didn't permanently alter the neck either.

Visit my band's new web site.

 

www.themojoroots.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My URB is a WAV4, it has side and neck dots :) I have odd little star shaped stickers stuck to the side of the bass for the moment to help me find positions on the neck.

 

I guess I should just buy a set of flats for this bass (still undecided about what strings I should use on the Fender) and have my dad look at the wiring of the pups (I know nothing, and I mean nothing about wiring, electricity and all that other stuff).

"I'm a work in progress." Micky Barnes

 

The Ross Brown Shirt World Tour

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sheesh. So just get yourself an Alembic

 

Well, I DO (proudly!) own an Alembic. an Epic 5. No LED's though. To add to it, it has no fretboard inlays whatsoever, and the side dots are small brass ones. Eventually, they tend to get darkened, and in some situations are VERY hard to see. In the end you have to get accustomed to not using them, or you would spend much precious time watching your fingerboard, instead.

 

OTOH, when I bought my fretless (an Alvarez), I was not totally pleased with its -passive- original electronics. Also, I disliked the sound of flatwounds on it (maybe because of the electronics). So I installed old, worn-out thin roundwounds, and loved them!. There are Epoxy coatings that can help you with the fretboard wear if you decide to keep the rounds, but be aware than switching to flats will also change the sound, in various degrees depending on the gauge and maker. I finally installed a pair of EMGs (40-J) on it, and got the sound I was after ON THAT BASS. I still want a fretless (or defretted, can also do for me) old, beaten Jazz Bass... :P

Brought to you by Juancarlin.

www.juancarlinmusic.com

http://www.youtube.com/JuanCarlinMusic

www.facebook.com/JuanCarlinMusic

Instagram: @JuanCarlinMusic

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I mentioned pimping this bass to my dad, and he was totally into the idea. So maybe we will fool around with it. At any rate, right now I do not use the bass unless for "emergency" situations or gigs where I do not want to bring my other basses. If all else fails I will still have a set of pickups that I can put to use elsewhere :) As for the side markers, I want them there just in case.

"I'm a work in progress." Micky Barnes

 

The Ross Brown Shirt World Tour

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I never think it's a good a idea to throw money at an inexpensive bass, unless you have some extra money and want to practice your woodworking and electronic skills.

I agree with Jeremy's assessment here David. Look for a Squier VM Fretless Jazz (new or used) I can all but guarantee you will be very happy with it. I've played a lot of the VM and CV Squiers and my main complaint with them was the fretwork. No worries with this one! ;)

 

http://images.miretail.com/products/optionLarge/SquierbyFender/416351jpg.jpg

Push the button Frank.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My Alembic Orion six also has side dots and they are not easy to see. When I played it regularly I use to use fluorescent paint on the dots to help when playing stages with minimal lighting. It does wear off and would need to redo it occasionally.

 

Wally

I have basses to play, places to be and good music to make!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another thing you can do is to bore very fine holes at the position-marker points, then cut down some dome-headed pins to a shaft-length of about 2-4mm & knock them in.

 

G.

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power the World will know Peace": Jimi Hendrix

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=738517&content=music

The Geoff - blame Caevan!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

dome-headed pins

 

You're a dome-headed pin.

 

But really, I like that idea a whole lot: it supplies tactile as well as visual feedback if you only countersink half way up the pin head. And no need hunting down a forstner bit, since you really do want a round bottomed hole.

 

Yes. I know....

Things are just the way they are, and they're only going to get worse.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 8 years later...

Bumping an old thread of mine! I bought a fretless Tony Franklin a while back, and love it to death. Today being Christmas, it was a family day with my ex's family (it's complicated) and I was talking with her second cousin, who is 14 and into metal. He mentioned he wanted to save up for a bass, but hadn't got far yet, budget-wise. So I told him I have a cheap fretless at home, and he's welcome to have it. So he is now the proud and enthousiastic owner of a Palmer FB05 :)

 

I told him it needs new strings and I am more than happy to help him set it up once he gets a set. It's a shame I sold my Peavey amp a few years back, or I would have thrown that in with the bass.

"I'm a work in progress." Micky Barnes

 

The Ross Brown Shirt World Tour

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...