Thanks for posting these. They're really well done, clear, and very informative.
Quick question - why is it necessary for the bottom of the fret slots to be the same radius as the top of the fretboard? Wouldn't it all be easier if they were cut flat? Then you wouldn't have to radius the bottom of the veneer shims either.
@BrotherDevious It's not necessary for them to be radiused, but using the saw I did with the depth stop creates a radiused fret slot. And while it might be easier to inlay flat bottom veneer into flat bottom fret slots, many fret slots are radiused from the factory already (this is how Fender fret slots have always been cut), how would I go about flattening them out easily and accurately?
I hadn't realised fret slots are often already radiused (I'm not a luthier, just a guitarist interested in all things guitar, and I'm considering either buying a fretless bass, or converting a fretted one).
I take it, then, that if you were converting a bass that had flat-bottomed fret slots, you wouldn't then deliberately radius the slots & veneer inlays?
@aaa2511 You mean so that I could trim them to the radius before installation? It's difficult to cut a radius on both sides of such a small thin piece of wood without breaking it.
@aaa2511 Yes, it doesn't really matter what you use. Any sharp cutting tool will have the tendency to split the wood along the grain lines instead of the the arc you're trying to follow.
@sadismminds I couldn't say not having seen the instrument. Are you saying the open string note is bad or the 1st position note. Is it on all 4 strings or just one in particular?
@sadismminds Probably the truss rod is too tight and the neck is backbowed. Did you level the fingerboard on the job? Take a straight edge and see what the neck looks like. Most fretless basses can be played with very straight necks, but if there's a backbow you'll typically get rattle and noise in the areas you mentioned. Regarding the string nut, did you cut the slots deeper to compensate for the lack of fret hight now? Probably the slots are too shallow.
let me get the slots deeper , i have another nut from old bass , just in case anything happened , am gonna get the slots deeper , and adjust the trus rod,
and btw , it's the 1st time to do similar thing .. so i know i do sound dumb !!
and am gonna post a vid after i finish everyiything ...
one last question ... do u think is it good to put an epoxy cote ? it's a rosewood fingerboard !
@sadismminds I'm not big on epoxy coatings for fretless fingerboards. It's tough to get get an even build of finish, and most of the commercially available epoxies STILL don't hold up in the long run against roundwound strings. But if you want to do it, then by all means go for it.
@pitrik I'm concerned that typical yellow wood glue is too viscous to allow me to fully seat the delicate veneer without damaging it. CA glue wicks into the tiniest spaces, filling cosmetic AND structural gaps. You could use aliphatic wood glue for this job, but CA is much better suited to this task IMO.
Hey, something i picked up in my practices, if you rub some curb wax that you'd get in a skateboard shop onto the fretboard before you glue it, it keeps the superglue from seeping into the rosewood and discoloring it. great job so far, still working on watching the series.
@unklebill Yeah, sometimes I use paste finishing wax on fingerboards when glueing frets to keep it from bleeding onto the board and sticking. I'm not concerned about this on the fretless conversion jobs because I typically have quite a lot of leveling work to do after the markers are in place and any glue that made it out onto the rosewood is removed during that process.
do you do all this stuff normally, or are you just showing what you can do? do you charge extra for all the neck-tune up? how much do you charge to make fretless?
@sobman Everything I show in this video series is exactly what I do on each fretless conversion and is included in my standard fee for the job. I'll PM you to let you know what I charge.
@smbstressfest lmao.... sorry to diminish your conversion into a total complete waste of time and money......look if u could survive on 10.00 an hour more power to you. good work too. oh well whatever
@siddiqui16 Some may choose to buy new basses, others may want to convert one they already own. It doesn't matter one way or another to me.
And I'll say the same thing to you, troll somewhere else. It's clear to everyone reading this that you're just some jerk with nothing better to do than waste your and other peoples' time.
So, if you have anything productive to add to the to this topic, or just the YouTube community in general, speak now by all means. Otherwise... just piss off.
@siddiqui16 people maybe like the sound of their bass, but feel it would sound nicer fretless, or already have a cheap bass and doesn't want to spend money on a fretless
The fingerboard is wood, so it's the logical first choice to fill the slots with wood also. It requires more time and a certain level of skill to do it the way I do, but I feel it makes for a better job. Anybody can slather woodfiller in the slots and call it a day but my one and only concern is doing the best job I can.
And to those who would say that woodfiller is adequate, I can only say that "adequate" doesn't meet my standards for a professional job.
filler would also not give the right kind of fill to the slots to help straighten the neck, correct. could it also crack and come out as the neck moves through temperature and humidity changes? plus, the lighter colored wood strips could possible help with intonation as a person gets adjusted to playing fretless.
Maple purfling material from Stewmac is 0.5mm wide which works well for most slot widths. Cleaning the slots out with a fret saw with a depth stop creates fresh slots conforming to the radius of the board and helps get even fret ends also. Sorry if this was mentioned in the other vids...kinda got the brainstorm on!
Argh, and you've got me GASing to make a fretless now ;-)
Yes, I did mean PVA type adhesives, I'm not knocking your skills, I was just curious. After all I just play guitar, I don't repair or service them. I wish I could, my poor old Gordon Smith is in desperate need of a re-fret.
Oh of course, I didn't think your comment was inflammatory at all. Superglue is the guitar repair tech best friend sometimes! I can't imagine doing what I do without it some days.
If you're in need of a refret you might find my strat refret series of videos interesting. And if you're interested I can give you some pricing information.
Fascinating stuff. I can see a whole bunch of skill and care in your work, but I am surprised you use Super Glue as opposed to traditional wood glue. I know Super Glue is much thinner and probably easier to work with, but isn't wood glue a little more "wood friendly" ?
I find the water thin super glue to be the best adhesive for this particular job. It wicks into the tiniest gaps that may be left in the fret slot and fills both structural and cosmetic gaps.
I assume by "traditional" wood glue you mean the yellow aliphatic resin PVAs like Tite-Bond?
Those glues are designed to glue together wooden parts which fit well, and can be clamped. I'm sure using carpenters glue would work but I'd expect to see substantial porosity when I was leveling the board and would probably reach for the superglue to fill it anyway.
It may be worth noting that the real traditional adhesive for a stringed instrument maker would be hot animal hide glue, but it's advantages are outweighed by the disadvantages for this application.
yeah u can its called stupidity im sorry man but gluing your fingers together wont happen if u pay attention but then again u would do a worse job giving less attentionto what your working on
if the super glue bothers your eyes you can get a painting mask (sorry i don't know what it actually is called) but basically any particle filter with eye covers do a good job and it filters out some of the fumes from super glue
I believe you're referring to an organic vapor filter. I have a half face mask with these type of cartridges for when I spray, and they do work very well. Usually I'll just turn a fan on to pull the fumes away from me while I work, but the noise it makes would have been less than ideal for the video.
cyanoacrilate (sorry I do not know the exact spelling) is the major component of superglues. It actually "cristallizes" the grain of the wood by penetrating in between the long grain, you can see in the video at .53 when the glue expands in the grain. Said that, I undestand it does its job, but i'd rather use more traditional and long time draining glues.. just my opinion, you are a really precise worker :) ps.. have you read William Cumpiano Book on Acoustics? cheers Luigi
What I used to do when I converted a neck to fretless is I would tilt the neck up a bit and put the clue on so it would flow correctly with the aid of gravity... Great video, man!
Indeed sir, you are 100% correct. You are right, and I am wrong. I would like to thank you for pointing that out. I think we can all agree that YouTube just wouldn't be the same without people like yourself going around and making snarky comments. Well played! You have clearly proven your superiority as both a user of superglue, and as a human being in general. I'll probably just go jump off a cliff now...
First off I'll say I've never used wood filler. I do know there are many different types of filler that employ different chemistries. A big red flag for me with the filler is that I might not be able to pack it down so good into the slots. When you level the board you could reveal porosity in your filler. Also depending on which type of filler you go with, it may not be as durable as the real wood. Veneer seems like the natural first choice, but filler might be fine if you use a good one.
Thanks for posting these. They're really well done, clear, and very informative.
Quick question - why is it necessary for the bottom of the fret slots to be the same radius as the top of the fretboard? Wouldn't it all be easier if they were cut flat? Then you wouldn't have to radius the bottom of the veneer shims either.
BrotherDevious 5 months ago
@BrotherDevious It's not necessary for them to be radiused, but using the saw I did with the depth stop creates a radiused fret slot. And while it might be easier to inlay flat bottom veneer into flat bottom fret slots, many fret slots are radiused from the factory already (this is how Fender fret slots have always been cut), how would I go about flattening them out easily and accurately?
smbstressfest 5 months ago
Hi @smbstressfest, thanks for the quick reply.
I hadn't realised fret slots are often already radiused (I'm not a luthier, just a guitarist interested in all things guitar, and I'm considering either buying a fretless bass, or converting a fretted one).
I take it, then, that if you were converting a bass that had flat-bottomed fret slots, you wouldn't then deliberately radius the slots & veneer inlays?
BrotherDevious 5 months ago
Why don't you use a pencil to note down the curve line before you glue it?
aaa2511 5 months ago in playlist 更多由smbstressfest提供的影片
@aaa2511 You mean so that I could trim them to the radius before installation? It's difficult to cut a radius on both sides of such a small thin piece of wood without breaking it.
smbstressfest 5 months ago
@smbstressfest Yes. Is it still hard to with a art knife? And thanks for quick answering:)
aaa2511 5 months ago
@aaa2511 Yes, it doesn't really matter what you use. Any sharp cutting tool will have the tendency to split the wood along the grain lines instead of the the arc you're trying to follow.
smbstressfest 5 months ago
is it possible the super glue won't be able to penetrate when you have strips that are too tight a fit for the fret slots?
jesterbass 5 months ago
ok .. now am done with everything but the 1st note is not playable, is tha bcuz of the nut is not sanded aswell ?! it's a Pbass !
thnxx in advance :)
sadismminds 7 months ago
@sadismminds I couldn't say not having seen the instrument. Are you saying the open string note is bad or the 1st position note. Is it on all 4 strings or just one in particular?
smbstressfest 7 months ago
@smbstressfest
it's all of them on the 1st and second frets , and open strings will sustain till the next day :D ..
so what do u think about that from ur experience ?
is it truss rod needs to be adjusted ?
or i messed up with my bass ? !
Thnx sir
sadismminds 7 months ago
@sadismminds Probably the truss rod is too tight and the neck is backbowed. Did you level the fingerboard on the job? Take a straight edge and see what the neck looks like. Most fretless basses can be played with very straight necks, but if there's a backbow you'll typically get rattle and noise in the areas you mentioned. Regarding the string nut, did you cut the slots deeper to compensate for the lack of fret hight now? Probably the slots are too shallow.
smbstressfest 7 months ago
@smbstressfest
let me get the slots deeper , i have another nut from old bass , just in case anything happened , am gonna get the slots deeper , and adjust the trus rod,
and btw , it's the 1st time to do similar thing .. so i know i do sound dumb !!
and am gonna post a vid after i finish everyiything ...
one last question ... do u think is it good to put an epoxy cote ? it's a rosewood fingerboard !
sadismminds 7 months ago
@sadismminds I'm not big on epoxy coatings for fretless fingerboards. It's tough to get get an even build of finish, and most of the commercially available epoxies STILL don't hold up in the long run against roundwound strings. But if you want to do it, then by all means go for it.
smbstressfest 7 months ago
You're gluing wood to wood - why are you not using aliphatic wood glue?
pitrik 10 months ago
@pitrik I'm concerned that typical yellow wood glue is too viscous to allow me to fully seat the delicate veneer without damaging it. CA glue wicks into the tiniest spaces, filling cosmetic AND structural gaps. You could use aliphatic wood glue for this job, but CA is much better suited to this task IMO.
smbstressfest 10 months ago
At around 1:50 you said something like gluing yer fingers to it.
I get it.. a JOKE! A Finger board!
panhead1219 1 year ago
Hey, something i picked up in my practices, if you rub some curb wax that you'd get in a skateboard shop onto the fretboard before you glue it, it keeps the superglue from seeping into the rosewood and discoloring it. great job so far, still working on watching the series.
unklebill 1 year ago
@unklebill Yeah, sometimes I use paste finishing wax on fingerboards when glueing frets to keep it from bleeding onto the board and sticking. I'm not concerned about this on the fretless conversion jobs because I typically have quite a lot of leveling work to do after the markers are in place and any glue that made it out onto the rosewood is removed during that process.
smbstressfest 1 year ago
It's like watching glue dry...
ninjabearsinc2 1 year ago
it definitely makes for one unique guitar. can you do a music man stingray 5?
PennybagDarrell 1 year ago
do you do all this stuff normally, or are you just showing what you can do? do you charge extra for all the neck-tune up? how much do you charge to make fretless?
sobman 1 year ago
@sobman Everything I show in this video series is exactly what I do on each fretless conversion and is included in my standard fee for the job. I'll PM you to let you know what I charge.
smbstressfest 1 year ago
Thank you very much for all your videos about this bro, nice work!
nestux 1 year ago
wow whats the point go get a fretless bass
smellyasss 1 year ago
@smellyasss Troll somewhere else please.
smbstressfest 1 year ago
@smbstressfest lmao.... sorry to diminish your conversion into a total complete waste of time and money......look if u could survive on 10.00 an hour more power to you. good work too. oh well whatever
smellyasss 1 year ago
@smbstressfest
that smelly ass is probably right...
why would one not go and just buy a fretless...
he is simply a troll on this channel...
you are a troll in this universe man...
siddiqui16 1 year ago
@siddiqui16 Some may choose to buy new basses, others may want to convert one they already own. It doesn't matter one way or another to me.
And I'll say the same thing to you, troll somewhere else. It's clear to everyone reading this that you're just some jerk with nothing better to do than waste your and other peoples' time.
So, if you have anything productive to add to the to this topic, or just the YouTube community in general, speak now by all means. Otherwise... just piss off.
smbstressfest 1 year ago 5
@smbstressfest
sorry mate i was just trying to be funny...
i think im shit at cracking jokes... omg...
i have a question though...
is it possible to convert a acoustic bass into a fretless?
do you have ne experience with it? does it sound good?
i like the work you did on this bass... good job man...
but i live in germany so i cant get it done by by...
but first i need to learn to play a normal bass...
im a beginner in bass...
siddiqui16 1 year ago
@siddiqui16 people maybe like the sound of their bass, but feel it would sound nicer fretless, or already have a cheap bass and doesn't want to spend money on a fretless
cameronj279 1 year ago
Why not just use woodfiller?
EuphorbusBTB 2 years ago
this question comes up a lot, so I hope my response doesn't sound pompous or like a jive answer...
smbstressfest 2 years ago
The fingerboard is wood, so it's the logical first choice to fill the slots with wood also. It requires more time and a certain level of skill to do it the way I do, but I feel it makes for a better job. Anybody can slather woodfiller in the slots and call it a day but my one and only concern is doing the best job I can.
And to those who would say that woodfiller is adequate, I can only say that "adequate" doesn't meet my standards for a professional job.
smbstressfest 2 years ago
filler would also not give the right kind of fill to the slots to help straighten the neck, correct. could it also crack and come out as the neck moves through temperature and humidity changes? plus, the lighter colored wood strips could possible help with intonation as a person gets adjusted to playing fretless.
02stanggt 2 years ago
how much do you charge for something like this?
avhcbeaver1 2 years ago
how many times have you super glued your hand to your workpiece? lol.
fusionstar916 2 years ago 2
More than a few times I'm sure.
smbstressfest 2 years ago
Great video - very well explained!
Maple purfling material from Stewmac is 0.5mm wide which works well for most slot widths. Cleaning the slots out with a fret saw with a depth stop creates fresh slots conforming to the radius of the board and helps get even fret ends also. Sorry if this was mentioned in the other vids...kinda got the brainstorm on!
Argh, and you've got me GASing to make a fretless now ;-)
Thanks Jason.
Prostheta 2 years ago
u are very skilled :)
LiquidCesium 2 years ago 8
Yes, I did mean PVA type adhesives, I'm not knocking your skills, I was just curious. After all I just play guitar, I don't repair or service them. I wish I could, my poor old Gordon Smith is in desperate need of a re-fret.
fossilisedmuso 2 years ago
Oh of course, I didn't think your comment was inflammatory at all. Superglue is the guitar repair tech best friend sometimes! I can't imagine doing what I do without it some days.
If you're in need of a refret you might find my strat refret series of videos interesting. And if you're interested I can give you some pricing information.
smbstressfest 2 years ago
Fascinating stuff. I can see a whole bunch of skill and care in your work, but I am surprised you use Super Glue as opposed to traditional wood glue. I know Super Glue is much thinner and probably easier to work with, but isn't wood glue a little more "wood friendly" ?
fossilisedmuso 2 years ago
I find the water thin super glue to be the best adhesive for this particular job. It wicks into the tiniest gaps that may be left in the fret slot and fills both structural and cosmetic gaps.
I assume by "traditional" wood glue you mean the yellow aliphatic resin PVAs like Tite-Bond?
smbstressfest 2 years ago
Those glues are designed to glue together wooden parts which fit well, and can be clamped. I'm sure using carpenters glue would work but I'd expect to see substantial porosity when I was leveling the board and would probably reach for the superglue to fill it anyway.
It may be worth noting that the real traditional adhesive for a stringed instrument maker would be hot animal hide glue, but it's advantages are outweighed by the disadvantages for this application.
smbstressfest 2 years ago
yeah u can its called stupidity im sorry man but gluing your fingers together wont happen if u pay attention but then again u would do a worse job giving less attentionto what your working on
9071freak 2 years ago
Excuse me if I'm misunderstanding here, but did you just call me stupid?
smbstressfest 2 years ago
if the super glue bothers your eyes you can get a painting mask (sorry i don't know what it actually is called) but basically any particle filter with eye covers do a good job and it filters out some of the fumes from super glue
standupbassman13 2 years ago
I believe you're referring to an organic vapor filter. I have a half face mask with these type of cartridges for when I spray, and they do work very well. Usually I'll just turn a fan on to pull the fumes away from me while I work, but the noise it makes would have been less than ideal for the video.
smbstressfest 2 years ago
superglue kills wood... :(
luigipod 2 years ago
what do you mean by that exactly?
smbstressfest 2 years ago
cyanoacrilate (sorry I do not know the exact spelling) is the major component of superglues. It actually "cristallizes" the grain of the wood by penetrating in between the long grain, you can see in the video at .53 when the glue expands in the grain. Said that, I undestand it does its job, but i'd rather use more traditional and long time draining glues.. just my opinion, you are a really precise worker :) ps.. have you read William Cumpiano Book on Acoustics? cheers Luigi
luigipod 2 years ago
So exactly what kind of super glue did you use?
thenumber81 3 years ago
It's Satellite City, the red label "original Hot Stuff"
smbstressfest 3 years ago
yeah...muchly so
j0dance 3 years ago
What I used to do when I converted a neck to fretless is I would tilt the neck up a bit and put the clue on so it would flow correctly with the aid of gravity... Great video, man!
wxb200 3 years ago
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j0dance 3 years ago
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j0dance 3 years ago
congratulations, wtaf is your point exactly then?
smbstressfest 3 years ago
Comment removed
j0dance 3 years ago
Indeed sir, you are 100% correct. You are right, and I am wrong. I would like to thank you for pointing that out. I think we can all agree that YouTube just wouldn't be the same without people like yourself going around and making snarky comments. Well played! You have clearly proven your superiority as both a user of superglue, and as a human being in general. I'll probably just go jump off a cliff now...
smbstressfest 3 years ago
lol, glad you now see my point of view.
what oil you use on the neck?
j0dance 3 years ago
Comment removed
j0dance 3 years ago
A needle in left hand to direction the glue can help too ... i dont frettless bass but i work wood a lot and i do stringed instruments and stuff ...
antiotio 3 years ago
First off I'll say I've never used wood filler. I do know there are many different types of filler that employ different chemistries. A big red flag for me with the filler is that I might not be able to pack it down so good into the slots. When you level the board you could reveal porosity in your filler. Also depending on which type of filler you go with, it may not be as durable as the real wood. Veneer seems like the natural first choice, but filler might be fine if you use a good one.
smbstressfest 3 years ago
does wood filler work just as well as the veneer? what are advantages/disadvantages of both?
eric33190 3 years ago
Awesome.
Tengent 3 years ago