abc Posted December 19, 2004 Share Posted December 19, 2004 Hi, have been reading this forum on daily basis for a while and I'm very impressed of the knowledge present here. Ok, bought a new Fender fretless in a state of confusion . Too late I have realized that fretless isn't my cup of tea and have some thoughts making it my project bass, starting with converting it to a fretted one. This would be, changing the nut and adding the frets. OR, am I missing something. I guess the neck is the same used in the MIM jazz bass.... Also, what would be the easiest way to remove the plastic fretline inserts? Best regards, abc "Your mind is writing checks your body can't cash" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTRBass Posted December 19, 2004 Share Posted December 19, 2004 My guess would be that you'd have to be a pretty good luthier to do this. If you have really good wood working skills and are knowledgeable about the scale lenght it's probably do-able. If I had those skills (I'm not a great woodworker) I'd get a fretted replacement fretboard and install it. If you totally F'd up the neck, you could get a replacement fretted neck from Warmouth that would bolt right on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butcherNburn Posted December 19, 2004 Share Posted December 19, 2004 The easiest way to go about it would be to swap the neck with a standard Fender-type fretted neck. They're not too expensive and considering "time IS money" you'll probably be very happy. Investment in the proper tools will probably be more that the neck. If you really want to learn to do fretwork that neck can be your guinea pig. Have you considered bringing it back to where you got it and possibly exchanging it? If you think my playing is bad, you should hear me sing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cup_dup1 Posted December 19, 2004 Share Posted December 19, 2004 Stick with the fretless. I take it you bought it because you wanted a fretless sound. Perfect intonation is the holy grail of any fretless player, it won't come over night, but time and effort ALWAYS brings its rewards. Grizzly Bears Don't Fear Anyone. Angry Cheetahs Emerge Growling. I reserve the right to change my opinion at any time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted December 19, 2004 Share Posted December 19, 2004 First, Welcome to the forum.... Re-fretting a neck is not something I would advise doing yourself, unless you are a skilled luthier. Replacing frets is challenging enough. Converting a fretless back to fretted would probably be more complicated, and there are a good number of highly specialized tools you need. The easiest way would be to take it to a luthier and have him do it. It will probably cost you between $100 & $200. Replacing the neck is the other option, but you still should know what you're doing or that can turn into a disaster too. As butcherNburn stated, maybe you can do an exchange where you bought it. Any way you slice it, you're going to wind up spending more money to get what you want. Best of luck.... BCR's homepage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abc Posted December 19, 2004 Author Share Posted December 19, 2004 Thanks for answering. Since the neck is lined, I guess i don't have to bother about the scale length and divisions of it, mainly a matter of yanking the plastic out of the finger board and inserting the frets. (Me think Fender use the same neck for both fretted and fretless basses) I live in Europe and bought the bass in the US so changing it back for another one is out of question. A Warmoth neck would cost me approx. the same a paid for the bass, but maybe I can find a used one. "Your mind is writing checks your body can't cash" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
butcherNburn Posted December 19, 2004 Share Posted December 19, 2004 Pulling out the lines wouldn't guarantee that's the width and depth of the fret wire needed. Chipping the surrounding wood while you remove the lines is another possibility. That's the least of the issues. Getting the right curve, bevel, and crown, to the wire will be key as well, for a quality job. I'm sure someone smashed up their bass, or did the opposite conversion as you. Check out the available auction sites for a used one. If you think my playing is bad, you should hear me sing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted December 20, 2004 Share Posted December 20, 2004 Another vote recommending against this. It's not easy. And we've heard a lot of horror stories about people's first attempt at defretting a bass. A first attempt at fretting a bass would be even worse. There are plenty of fretted necks around in the US for incredibly low prices. And also fretted basses. Just sell the one you have and buy a new one. Unless you are willing to risk not having any useable bass at all while learning some of the skills of bass building. That's ok, too. Welcome to the forum! And what country do you live in? You should put it in your profile. Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abc Posted December 20, 2004 Author Share Posted December 20, 2004 OK, guess I have to think it over. Thanks anyway. "Your mind is writing checks your body can't cash" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicklab Posted December 20, 2004 Share Posted December 20, 2004 I think one of the better options is to get yourself a fretted neck if you like this bass. That way you leave yourself with the option of changing back to the fretless neck if you so desire. In the US, a Fender neck will cost a little over $200 (last time I inquired at least). Do a search on eBay, and I'm sure you'll find a number of bass necks on the market. Obligatory Social Media Link "My concern is, and I have to, uh, check with my accountant, that this might bump me into a higher, uh, tax..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted December 20, 2004 Share Posted December 20, 2004 You could get a neck from Stewart Macdonald for $123.95. Here's a place in the UK that has them for £80.00. Here's some more necks for $84.95. Good luck! Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicklab Posted December 20, 2004 Share Posted December 20, 2004 Great link, Jeremy! I didn't think Stew-Mac sold necks that cheap. What works out great for you abc, is that the exchange rate of the Euro against the dollar makes the necks Jeremy linked to even cheaper. At today's exchange rate the Stewart-McDonald replacement neck comes to 92.27 Euros minus shipping. Not a bad deal! Obligatory Social Media Link "My concern is, and I have to, uh, check with my accountant, that this might bump me into a higher, uh, tax..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wraub Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 Originally posted by jeremy c: You could get a neck from Stewart Macdonald for $123.95. Here's some more necks for $84.95. That second link is a ridiculous deal! That should be illegal or something... I notice, though, that they make no claim as to the peghead being licensed, unlike StewMac. I guess that's worth $40.00. I'd definitely like to compare these two necks for fit and finish. I have a pointy bass I'd like to update... Peace, wraub I'm a lot more like I am now than I was when I got here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred TBP Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 Replace the neck, then sell the fretless neck on eBay. You can also keep the fretless neck in case you change your mind. You'll probably have to shim the neck, but it isn't that big of a deal to do for anyone handy with wood. And doing your own setup and intonation is more a labor of love. Refretting a neck involves some planning and some special tools. Also, do you plan on resetting the side dots? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abc Posted December 22, 2004 Author Share Posted December 22, 2004 Originally posted by Fred the bass player: Replace the neck, then sell the fretless neck on eBay. You can also keep the fretless neck in case you change your mind. Probably wise, but then I will miss all the fun. You'll probably have to shim the neck, but it isn't that big of a deal to do for anyone handy with wood. Comparing to my other jazz, the measures of the necks are identical, the radius of the fingerboard excluded. Shimming is probably not needed And doing your own setup and intonation is more a labor of love. I've done my own setups for several years . Refretting a neck involves some planning and some special tools. Also, do you plan on resetting the side dots? The side dots are placed between the frets, just like the dots on my fretted one, but it would be cool with some personal inlays on the fretboard. Nothing decided yet. I'm very glad for the nice response I've got from the forum. Maybe I should stick with it. Tested with some material together with the band and maybe.... soon... best regards/ abc "Your mind is writing checks your body can't cash" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcr Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 The way I see it, you have basically three options. 1. You leave the bass as it is, & swap either the whole bass or at least the neck. 2. You "re-fret" the bass, & then swap either the whole bass or at least the neck anyway. Because by then the neck will be ruined. 3. You learn to play fretless bass. I say give #3 a more serious look. Trust me, most people have exactly your experience: the initial longing to play fretless, followed by grave disappointment as they realize their intonation stinks. It takes a lot of work but it pays off. Failing that, I guess your best bet is #1. I know it's expensive, given your location. But #2 will be at least as expensive. Consequently, unless you have pro-level luthier skills & resources, re-fretting is almost certainly your worst option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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