alyctes Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 I have a Yamaha RBX200F factory fretless, bought used here a couple of years ago. It's a bit worn, but it's light, comfortable neck, sounds nice and plays well. It's wearing flats - not sure of make, they have blue silks. But I can't make it do anything [u]but[/u] mwah at the fifth fret position on the A string; almost a metallic rattle. It's not related to the amp or pup, because it does it unplugged as well. I've messed about with the action a bit (mostly by raising it), but without any obvious change. The same sort of sound does happen elsewhere on the board, but not as much. Does anyone have any idea what's going on here? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloodaxe Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 It's probably a dip/blemish/worn patch at that spot. Any visible 'tramlining' on the board around that point? My SB frankenfretless started squarking a couple of years ago but on the D 7th; I put it into the Gallery for a re-shoot & it came back all better. P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBus Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 As Bloodaxe says. It might also benefit from having a setup to adjust the bow of the neck. I've twweked trus rods before and that removed problems like that. Best take it to a luthier and have them look at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Could be a deadspot related issue as well. See if putting a weight of some kind on the headstock makes a difference. I sometimes brace the head against a wall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowieBass Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Try giving the neck a touch more relief - the fingerboard probably would benefit from levelling but you might find a sympathetic set-up will eliminate the sizzle. It's tempting to try for straight necks and low action with fretless basses but I was having similar issues with my Cort B4FL with the D in a similar position on the fingerboard and I ended up giving the neck the same amount of relief as my other (fretted) basses and also the same action and that pretty much eliminated the unwanted buzzing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subdude Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 [u]I had a similar issue with my fretless. in my case it turned out that the truss rod was vibrating, a very slight clockwise turn sorted it out.[/u] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyctes Posted December 15, 2014 Author Share Posted December 15, 2014 Thank you folks, much appreciated. The board does have a slight dent at the next position up - I'd say it's never had rounds on it, but it might have had a [u]lot[/u] of use with flats. So maybe that's it. I will try weights on the headstock and tweaking the trussrod. Reshooting the board sounds expensive and probably not cost-effective Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowieBass Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 Try giving it a bit more relief, it got rid of the unwanted sizzle for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloodaxe Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 [quote name='alyctes' timestamp='1418687028' post='2632440'] The board does have a slight dent at the next position up - I'd say it's never had rounds on it, but it might have had a [u]lot[/u] of use with flats. So maybe that's it.[/quote] Do you bend the strings at all? That can cause hollow spots irrespective of string choice. [quote name='alyctes' timestamp='1418687028' post='2632440']I will try weights on the headstock and tweaking the trussrod. Reshooting the board sounds expensive and probably not cost-effective [/quote] Hopefully that'll get you out of jail. I always slacken the truss about 1/4 to 1/2 a turn & up the action a tad after a re-shoot as my playing style isn't very compatible with a super-scary low action. The Gallery are currently charging £80 for a re-shoot which I view as part of the fun of owning a fretless. I'll probably have to put mine in sometime next year for a skim which will make it 3 years since it was last done. It's my main bass, I use Rotosound Pressurewounds & don't have a light touch, so that works out as roughly the same as a set of new strings per year of use. I regard the expense as an acceptable cost vs the results. If you use flats, only play it occasionally, and don't hammer it the interval ought to be a lot higher. You're still applying steel to rosewood though & that's going to cause wear sooner or later. The other thing is how accurately it was shot in at the factory. Most mass-produced fretted instruments benefit from a level, crown & polish and to my mind a fretless is no different. P. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyctes Posted December 16, 2014 Author Share Posted December 16, 2014 [quote name='Bloodaxe' timestamp='1418723444' post='2632603'] Do you bend the strings at all? That can cause hollow spots irrespective of string choice. Hopefully that'll get you out of jail. I always slacken the truss about 1/4 to 1/2 a turn & up the action a tad after a re-shoot as my playing style isn't very compatible with a super-scary low action. The Gallery are currently charging £80 for a re-shoot which I view as part of the fun of owning a fretless. I'll probably have to put mine in sometime next year for a skim which will make it 3 years since it was last done. It's my main bass, I use Rotosound Pressurewounds & don't have a light touch, so that works out as roughly the same as a set of new strings per year of use. I regard the expense as an acceptable cost vs the results. If you use flats, only play it occasionally, and don't hammer it the interval ought to be a lot higher. You're still applying steel to rosewood though & that's going to cause wear sooner or later. The other thing is how accurately it was shot in at the factory. Most mass-produced fretted instruments benefit from a level, crown & polish and to my mind a fretless is no different. P. [/quote] Points taken and info gratefully received, thank you. I'll experiment this weekend, with a bit of luck, and post the results here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyctes Posted October 18, 2015 Author Share Posted October 18, 2015 Bumping this old thread: I found the issue. The board is much more badly worn than I first thought, to the point where it should be replaced or reshot. The bass will have to go, because neither of those options is cost-effective. Thanks to all for your help and interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Sharman Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 Just so you know, I had a problem with a Westone fretless that I bought, a worn fingerboard causing rattles and deadspots and I had it re-finished by Andy Rogers (AJR1515 of this parish) and it now plays beautifully. Whilst it may not be financially viable for you to get it up to Andy for his work there may be someone local to you who could do it for you at a reasonable cost and bring life back to your old instrument... The thread is here - [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/235818-westone-thunder-3-fretless-fingerboard-refinish-help/page__hl__westone%20thunder"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/235818-westone-thunder-3-fretless-fingerboard-refinish-help/page__hl__westone%20thunder[/url] please read it through because Andy documents his work in detailed photos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckstop Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 RBX200's are lovely instruments. Maybe try banging some frets in if it can't be saved as a fretless? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 This is a bit of a cheat, but for small localised dents in a rosewood fretless fingerboard, I had good results filling them with a couple of layers of CA glue, scraping level with a single edged razor blade, then very lightly sanding with fine wet and dry to even out the surface. It could be considered a bit of a bodge, but it's quite hard to spot if done well and can buy you some more time before the next fingerboard dress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyctes Posted October 21, 2015 Author Share Posted October 21, 2015 Thank you, folks, this sort of thing is what makes BC such a great place Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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