coyote Posted December 9, 2004 Share Posted December 9, 2004 Having played around with the new Tune bass, it occurred to me that the high frets (say, 17 to 24) on the B string are basically useless. And the E string ain't all that wonderful on those frets either. So... why not have those frets flattened down to the fingerboard in that area? It would allow some fretless effect over almost an octave, without having to have a separate fretless neck. And it would take a region that's probably not used often by many players, and give them reason to use it. I'm not about to start customizing this bass. But perhaps some builder/repair guy might see this, and experiment with it... I used to think I was Libertarian. Until I saw their platform; now I know I'm no more Libertarian than I am RepubliCrat or neoCON or Liberal or Socialist. This ain't no track meet; this is football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Gollihur Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 It is something that has been done-- a quick search finds a guitar using the concept: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/leduc/img/flyin.jpg can't seem to find the basses I've seen, but they're out there. I've seen some with no frets above the octave area, and at least one with frets on the lowest strings but none above a certain point on the top strings. Certainly an interesting concept... let us know how you make out. 1000 Upright Bass Links, Luthier Directory, Teacher Directory - http://www.gollihurmusic.com/links.cfm [highlight] - Life is too short for bad tone - [/highlight] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 There have been basses built with that concept already, coyote. Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveC Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 I'm waiting for someone to have a neck that with the flip of a switch, the frets lower down to fingerboard level and - viola - fretless bass. Th efrets are no fretlines and you can "mwah" to your hearts content. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeronyne Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 Originally posted by SteveC: I'm waiting for someone to have a neck that with the flip of a switch, the frets lower down to fingerboard level and - viola - fretless bass. Th efrets are no fretlines and you can "mwah" to your hearts content.This has also been done. A big dial at the end of the (headless) neck elevated and lowered the frets. HERE http://www.steinbergerworld.com/special/xm2fl2.jpg http://www.steinbergerworld.com/special/xm2fl3.jpg http://www.steinbergerworld.com/special/xm2fl4.jpg "For instance" is not proof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLroomtempJ Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 wow. You guys seem to thwart every new idea. How about a fretless bass that has frets drawn in so that people can have a defined reference point no matter where they are. jason "master of sarcasm" atkins 2cor5:21 Soli Deo Gloria "it's the beauty of a community. it takes a village to raise a[n] [LLroomtempJ]." -robb My YouTube Channel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butcherNburn Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 Originally posted by zeronyne: Originally posted by SteveC: [qb]I'm waiting for someone to have a neck that with the flip of a switch, the frets lower down to fingerboard level and - viola - fretless bass. Th efrets are no fretlines and you can "mwah" to your hearts content.This has also been done. A big dial at the end of the (headless) neck elevated and lowered the frets. HERE Awesome concept. I haven't seen those pics in a while. My guess though, is that with every twist of that knob, you get a twist in the neck. On the original topic: I would miss those frets dearly. I use that area of the (fretted) neck all the time. I guess it's the result of not picking up a book or having anyone teach me anything the first year I played. And by the way, you can still slide your hand down the neck with frets if you desire. Not the same as fretless, agreed, but still quite musical. Playing the same notes on different strings and playing trills(?) give things a different feel and mood. If you think my playing is bad, you should hear me sing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aldena Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 Originally posted by Gospel5string: wow. You guys seem to thwart every new idea. How about a fretless bass that has frets drawn in so that people can have a defined reference point no matter where they are. jason "master of sarcasm" atkinsI tried that, but the crayon kept rubbing off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 If I was going to do a partial fretless neck, I'd rather have the frets removed up to the 12th, since the majority of your playing is done in that area. Thet way you still have your upper frets in the area of the neck where intonation becomes more and more crucial. It would mwah like a fretless, and slap like a fretted. BCR's homepage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeronyne Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 You can't have a fretless section before the fretted section. The entire area would play that first fret. "For instance" is not proof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zachg Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 Originally posted by zeronyne: You can't have a fretless section before the fretted section. The entire area would play that first fret.that's an interesting point Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 Actually, you can. If the neck is set up right, it works fine. A friend of mine has a 6-string with the first 9 frets pulled, and has no problem with it fretting out. The action is a little high for me, but he likes it. Personally, when I play fretless, I don't want any frets at all. BCR's homepage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveC Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 Damn, I had never seen that. This idea must be impractial though, or more people would be working it. I would think that the ability to go from fretted to fretless and back with the same bass would be a hot item. Look at most of us, we have a number of basses to do different things. If we could get it all in one, look at the money we would save by not buying all these basses.... I get it.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coyote Posted December 10, 2004 Author Share Posted December 10, 2004 For me, the logic was this: - unlike the ADG strings, the B string is too fat to be able to be depressed between fret22 and fret23 - that being the case, an exact intonation for that A# is not easily achieved - since that note is much more easily achievable on every other string, it's highly unlikely most folks are trying for it there. So you eliminate frets just under those two strings, under those particular fretlines. As I said in the first post, it's just an idea. And it's no surprise that it's been done already; musicians & instrument makers are quite a creative lot Originally posted by butcherNburn: I would miss those frets dearly. I use that area of the (fretted) neck all the time. I guess it's the result of not picking up a book or having anyone teach me anything the first year I played. I used to think I was Libertarian. Until I saw their platform; now I know I'm no more Libertarian than I am RepubliCrat or neoCON or Liberal or Socialist. This ain't no track meet; this is football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 Originally posted by SteveC: If we could get it all in one, look at the money we would save by not buying all these basses.... Holy S**T Steve....You just figured out a cure for G.A.S. BCR's homepage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeronyne Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 Originally posted by Raven: Actually, you can. If the neck is set up right, it works fine. A friend of mine has a 6-string with the first 9 frets pulled, and has no problem with it fretting out. The action is a little high for me, but he likes it. Personally, when I play fretless, I don't want any frets at all.Are you saying that when he plays C# on the E string, it doesn't play D? His action must be 1" off of the fretboard! "For instance" is not proof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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