fretless bass conversion(PART 4)

Jason from The Musician's Den in Evansville IN demonstrates converting a 4-string fretted bass, to a fretless. In PART 4 we'll be glueing in our maple veneer fret markers and beginning to trim them off even with the fingerboard using a flush cut saw.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• fretless bass
• fretless
• converstion
• The Musician's Den
• veneer
• guitar
• repair
• tech
• luthier
• instrument
• Ibanez
• maple
• superglue

[BrotherDevious]

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.

[smbstressfest]

@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?

[aaa2511]

Why don't you use a pencil to note down the curve line before you glue it?

[smbstressfest]

@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]

@smbstressfest Yes. Is it still hard to with a art knife? And thanks for quick answering:)

[smbstressfest]

@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.

[LiquidCesium]

u are very skilled :)

[smbstressfest]

@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.

[BrotherDevious]

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?

[jesterbass]

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?

[smbstressfest]

@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.

[sadismminds]

@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 !