Convertable bass (fretted/fretless)

[HFPBASSIST]

that bass have 8 Strings (like a 12-String guitar)?

[WaRrIoRaLeX95]

@HFPBASSIST no, this bass have 5 strings but 8 strings ( like 12 string guitar ) exist.

[21Rushisaband12]

...... mind = blown, brain functions shutting dwon, kant typ nay moer hpeleeme imaanedeeoto chynjj mah dypur sewnn....

[eMaLiO36]

AOSDASDASODAS SHUASTIHASHDIHASD WHAT THE TPASUTASTPIASIS I WANT THAT SHIT RIGHT NOW ON EVERY BASS IN THE FACE OF THE EARTH! D:<

[ApothakarY]

i caaaaaAAAAAaaammmeeeeeee

[0814NIK]

Excuse me while I go change my pants ! That's the coolest.

[VincentStefanelli]

I didn't quite ejaculate like the previous commentor BUT it's amazing and they are absolutely right... this is a money maker. I play guitar can it be done for Guitar? Acoustic guitar?

[jazzfunkbasskid]

Its a mikey guitar =)

[SuperT0r0]

ME...HAVE... NOOWWW!!!

where can I get this?

[Jaldegren]

That slap tone sounds like fart, litteraly.

[ZIDBULA]

what's the difference between fretted and fretless exactly? (obviously i don't play guitar's)

[WaRrIoRaLeX95]

.W H A T T H E F U C K.

this is fucking amazing! i want this neck man

[RLetts]

Whoa... I saw a Carl Thompson copy that had removable fingerboards that attach via magnets, but this idea is way cooler.

[Qballfph]

???????wtf??????how??????

[jcbluefunk]

does the intonation stay true when the frets are lowered?

[WoWintosh]

@jcbluefunk

Obviously. It's the same neck, after all

[Vuduman]

wow!!! that's gotta get out to the world - please!

[imakedookie]

this. needs. exposure.

[TheJayLeHol]

I would suck a billion dicks for this.

[Haroldandbob]

WAT! What kinda black magic is that

[Rizilo]

DO WANT!

[entersandman500]

press six repeadedlt for a solo

[DangerSheep]

this is the most awesome thing invented on bass since the bass itself!

[wonkeaux]

shit. where can I get one of those? I've been waiting 30 years.

[jvmc08]

Holy HELLLLLLLL!!!

[ferreira3104]

what's the song he's playing before he switches to fretless?

[cagonzalez1965]

love the sound for sure...hmm a 6 string version would be awesome....

[RationalDischarge]

That's great! I like splashes of fretless bass here and there, but too much and it starts to sound like you're making the soundtrack to a softcover porn. So, I guess all I'm tryin' to say here is that it's nice to have options.

[felporocker]

wow

[Superstitiousboy]

quite interesting. how much are those?

[mikeWaaSaawski]

hermano quiero hacer mi bajo asi como lo hiciste...

[OminousGlow]

:O holy shit when he flipped the switch.....

[davidroque]

NO WAY!!

[StinkyPeteXI]

THAT'S THE COOLEST THING EVER!!!!!

[louche1985]

I WANT on e it's totally amazing a bass revolution :)

[fuelman1975]

Pretty neat!!

[BassGrindcore]

I think this is the most amazing thing I've ever seen in my whole life as a bassist.

I'm not exaggerating.

[29573428937]

the only bad part about this is that the action on a fretted bass, even with very low action, is usually too much for any fretless.

[AdcaVideo]

Great idea! 

[lordgreegoh]

i want this bass!

[terrytickler]

i remeber seeing one on tommorrows world back in the 80s

[nassesgrasrecords]

amazing! if this was available around here i would pay (almost) anything for that neck...

[hakonsm1]

It's a Mikey Guitar.. the frets are tournable, so they are round on one side, and flat on the other side..

[Dlaybassmaster]

Wow. I'm lost with words with what I just saw.

[AdrianPE93]

OMFG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AWSOME >.< i wanna get a bass like this one perhaps i will in a loooooooooooooooong future xD

at least sb should say what bass it is or it's created by ur own?

[FouneDeCombat]

I can't believe this bass is not from the future! Anyway, I guess it is a unique one, a kind of prototype...

Maybe I should better try to find a double neck, or the Ashula from Ibanez looks interesting. But both fretted and fretless, that sounds like a dream

[JamieT0]

I wouldn't mind getting something like that, I just have one problem with the design. Since the frets aren't stationary, I would wonder how well harmonics and such would sound on such an instrument.

[gebass6]

@JamieT0 What's under the strings,(frets or no frets)does'nt affect the harmonics.If you stretch a bass string between two bed post,touch a harmonic node,and pluck the string,you would get a harmonic.

[nitsud223]

son of mom! that's freakin awesome

[philtiger22]

what is that bass?

[gillenpantera]

nice bass riff at the start!

[Tomsthumb]

Unfrecken real.

I want one.

[RoundWounds]

oh my god

0___________0

[BenZeneProject]

I have GOT to get one of those. Freakin wicked!

[varguitasdna]

@BenZeneProject Where'd you get it?! Give us the info plz!!:D:D

[BenZeneProject]

@varguitasdna I dunno. I checked the website listed and it looks like this is not for mass production...:(

I'll keep looking for it. Damn. I'd go be a giggolo to pay for one of these. That is too cool. The 2010 must have item of the century!

[Gaunc]

time for a double neck bass?

[fotodog1]

Brown's Guitar Factory invented the frettedless guitar quite a few years ago.

Not only does he build phenominal frettedless basses but he's a kickass bass player in his own right.

You can find him here on youtube or do a google search for Brown's Guitar Factory

[vyrus24]

Someone knows the brand or the luthier that build this? it's freaky!

[dartvader158]

what is he doing?? whats fretless?

[fleamanATW]

only problem is the action is probably pretty high when you are going fretless

or maybe the frets are just really really small

[guitarohman]

hell yeah that was the coolest hting i have seen all day!

[DarkRattlehead]

He would also have to lower the nut when in fretless position to make it sound perfect.

Must sound quite hollow.

[chickenandababy]

u should contact fender or musicman and strike a deal for them to sell your convertable necks. you'd make a ton of money. plenty of musicians would die for a fretted/fretless neck to put on their bass. i sure would buy one

[Dulac91]

really?

how often do you switch during a song from fretted to fretless?

;)

[brossej07]

@chickenandababy i'd love to get one for my guitar too lol that's a sweet design man i hope that you patented that!!!! jesus contact fender or something and get that shit out there!!!

[rhinoluck1]

@chickenandababy I would definetly buy one!

[thtmusicloser]

@chickenandababy you can go buy them, there called mikey basses/guitars, search it up

[Denisbassman]

I think that in fretless position, the action of strings is too high (when we remove frettes on a fretted bass, it is necessary to adjust the nut).

Having said that, the idea is good, and it's a good initiative to develop !

[etcrvfoo]

how

i cant even see though

not clear

but its cool yea: )

[metalhaze1982]

WTF!

[MrProgrock]

That bass is way too cool to exist!!

Where can I get one??

[LulJam]

hows that thing to play. the action would have to be pretty high

[DeadSoulFilms]

very creative, very useful, very cool

[PhuckHue2]

great bass but those pickups sound weak

[bbBassYo]

probably not enough gain

[Denisbassman]

I do not think that we can judge the quality of pickups by listening to a video on YouTube. Especially since we do not know how this bass is plugged

[xomenko]

plugged, everything is true

[shinjiyasuno]

HOLY MOTHER OF FUCKING SHIT!

[ItsJustVivi]

how the hell!?!? When the frets went inside the neck i began to convulse. jesus thats insane

[melhakim]

Awesome ! Next step is making it change round- to flatwounds :P

[lucas1wj]

wtf wtf wtf, when that happened i lost my mind haha

[rottingjebus]

I don't know anything anymore.

[mostizzle]

daaaang!!!! i want one!

[SuperBassPlayer420]

I ejaculated when i saw this

[cellerfullofpopcicle]

holy shit!

[steviefabulous1990]

what brand and model is this bass? and where did you get it? this is the coolest thing ever.

[gebass6]

It's A Mikey bass.

[MrGTI05]

thats awsome! coolest thing i have seen on a bass

[ARIALWHITE]

Super ! I like it )..

[Mastafly7]

I NEED ONE OF THESE!!!!!!

[sid77777]

amazing instrument

[asianinvasion95]

i. need. one.

[leannkookie]

wow.... thats awesome!

[IbanezCTB5]

it's fantastic

[lmonroy94]

ok sooo...

one fret pops up and it makes it fretted or am i blind or somethin?

[slayermik]

all the frets pop back up

[freakyteakyterrorist]

i was so ready to call bullshit. but i guess i cant

[AdamOnBass]

sounds a lot like jaco pastorius

[Mk927]

OMG thats sickk!!!!!

[8582729]

how does it switch?

[FeatherClint]

all the comments here are fucking long

[gebass6]

Only for those with short attention span.

[chrismarshall1950]

does a frettless bass sound any different  than on with fretts

[fingerboy18]

Yes, it has a "muah" tone.

[AtSwimTwoBricks]

There are a few areas where things sound a bit different with fretless.

First, the string is being pinched between flesh and wood rather than with a bend over a metal fret. That saps a bit out of the vibration of the string, reducing sustain a bit, but causing a warmer tone. Some use surface coatings to reduce that.

Second, you can do different things--microtones, alternate intonations, cool slides up and down the neck.

[gebass6]

In my opinion,playing a fretless seems to evoke a more lyrical,soulfull playing style.Especialy in quiet,open,spacious music.Example.Pat Metheny"s Cross the Heartland and Sueno con Mexico.

[barzoman2]

Where to buy this guitar from ?

[rarebasses]

Since people are talking about CNC machined basses...

Does anyone know about when CNC started? I have a '74 J-Bass Lawsuit that I'd like to know if it was CNC. I also have a '98 Warwick Streamer with the Wenge neck and I've heard that someimet in '98 they went CNC, but I think mine is not, and was built before they made the switch.

[iamsexy1212]

what are these called

[aalee13]

did u buy it like that? (if so where?), or did u modify the hell outof it?

[UK2AK]

VERY interesting.

I must say the playing impressed me about as much as the bass did!

I'm concerned about the location of the fret slide; I would think that would really bother me while slapping.

The question about the action is a good one.

I didn't see who makes the bass in the info area, I guess I'll go back through the comments to see if you mention the maker... if not, then who's the luthier?

Cheers.

[MetalLeperMessiah]

I must have this.

[LeviMan2001]

how the!!! awesome!!

[LuFFyStRuM]

Awesome O. O

[mcknifey2]

WOW I WANT THT BASS!

[Peppeblackmetal]

WOW!!!

[valverdeth]

I WANNA A BASS LIKE THAT!!

[BradEQ4]

Dude, that's an awesome bass.

[IvanovBR]

Realy cool! +S

[ChristianDavis629]

What about the action change? Considering that when there's no frets, the action is much higher unless it's adjusted.

[RUMPproductions]

I wonder what kind of strings he uses, considering that you usually use roundwounds on a fretted bass but flatwounds on a fretless, because roundwounds will eat up a fretless neck. Or perhaps the neck is specifically crafted to prevent that somehow. I bet a bass like that set him back QUITE a bit!

[marekzutano]

there are halfrounds

[gebass6]

Noone has to use flatwounds on a fretless.Unless you are a professional bassist with ONE fretless bass and are using it constantly,the wear isn't that much.If you coat the fingerboard with Tung oil it will harden the surface of the fingerboard and resist wear.

[ghostjs]

seriously?? ive heard a lot about people getting rounds dug into the fretboard. i never heard of using Tung oil... any specific way of putting it on?

[MomoTheBellyDancer]

Tung oil won't help. Polyester resin however...

[WhoKilledKenny2]

The lever changes the strings into flatwounds too!

[unopepito06]

Cool frickin idea!

[rustyhook100]

oh my god thats amazing! how much did it cost and where did you get it?

[thepapax]

awesome, but it doesn't seen to be very reliable... Maybe to play fretted and fretless but a whole song, not to switch in middle of the song... i doesn't seen like a mechasnism to trust... have you seen the gibson robot?

[memoalba]

where can i get one of these!!!!!!!

really i want it!!!

[waseok]

Very interesting idea.. but how u change frets? ;)

[louswire]

@ 0:20... he moves the lever, on the body end of the neck.

[hluso]

Wouh, great stuff. The idea is great, but I think there are many problems with fixing if mechanism brake. But no matter for that, still this is great stuff :P

[Hergiswi]

Wait, the patent is gone? Nice. I'm sure if somebody put enough effort into building their own bass, it wouldn't be too hard to implement the convertible feature.

[fboxberger]

Yes this idea was patented in 1981, inventor Martin Mouton, Patenet number 4,297,936. Since it has been 17 year since the patent, anyone can make these now...Frank

[Sara17jessica]

i wish i had a bass like that