That's right, IT HAS A ZERO FRET!

Master Luthier Dennis Galuszka of the Fender Custom Shop made 50 of these.

Has anyone played a Jazz-type instrument with a zero fret? The only zero fret bass I've ever played was from Michael Tobias (MTD) and it made an appreciable difference.

It's hard to spot a zero fret on that pic. I must admit, it wasn't the first thing to jump out at me.

Do the extra pickups make it twice as jazzy?

I see space for 2 P pickups... ummm....

In Motown, the "zero Fret" is normally called the nut.

Do they still make that color? :rolleyes:

Funniest thing I've read today.

OK, you'll have to forgive my ignorance but what the crap is a Zero Fret and where am I supposed to be seeing it?

Tenstrum, look one space down from the nut...

thier are lots of nuts out here so be more precise

Nut: the place near the headstock that hold the strings in place. Probably made of bone in this instance.

The you know where is the first fret? The second? Work backwards and you'll see a fret in the zero spot.

Dave,

Thanks man, I couldn't of done it without you!

I assume you are talking about what looks like a metal fret that is against the nut. I'm not sure what I am seeing in this picture but it does look like a metal "0" fret. You said 50 of these were made?? Do the strings touch the fret? If they do not then I can only imagine it is totally useless. If the strings do touch it, why not just use a metal nut. I'm confused, someone help me out here.
Rocky

Sorry, folks, I have been on this board for so long that I forget that not everyone has seen something like this.

A zero fret is placed just before the nut so that open strings sound the same as fretted ones. You can't use a metal nut as a substitute because the contact area within a slot is different (hence also tonally different) than that of a fret to string.

On some basses (and many guitars) it makes a huge difference. I have actually had experience on a guitar that previously did not have a zero fret. the notes, especially with overdrive, sounded VERY different in terms of open string vs. fretted. After the addition of a zero fret, the difference was negligible.

Here's a much better picture of the zero fret on that bass:

Oh, NOW I see it (It is hard getting old..)

(I was gonna comment about the tounges but everything I typed sounded nasty so..I'll leave that for another music-related board... )

I don't see what it is ya'll are talking about what I see looks like a bone nut.

If you look closely you can see a fret right next to the bone nut.

I've never understood the concept of a zero fret.

I think it is supposed to make the open strings sound more like the fretted strings.

It seems that it would make adjusting string height at the nut impossible.

OK, I see what you are tlaking about now. It was so obvious that I completely overlooked it.

So it's supposed to help open strings sound like fretted strings?????
Why?

I'm with Jeremy, as I don't see the point in it.

I would be more interested to find out if that is really his tongue. Man, that is longer than my............Nevermind.

I think that is Gene's tounge photoshoped! hehehe

That is a very long tongue...

His?? They both look like ladies to me??

Perhaps these ladies are his long lost cousins?

09,
Have you noticed an appreciable difference or all-around change to the intonation from having a perfectly level zero fret? Does it change the brightness of the open string, as it's contact point is much smaller than going thru a nut?

I've wondered about the sound of a zero-fret on an acoustic guitar, but never had the chance to try one out. This looks sweet, however.