fretting fretless in London - where?

[mr.noisy]

Hiya fellow basschatters.

I'm recently pending fretless trade but I've never played on fretless before, don't know how I'll get on with it and as the bass will be on the high end side I'm already thinking about fretting it and keeping it anyway.
Problem is very simple, I don't really know where to go with this job, I don't want to ruin expensive high end bass. The only place I know is The Gallery, I had few things on my basses done over there and I absolutely admire their solid and professional work and great customer service and I'd love to leave the bass in their workshop, but I just can't currently afford £210 for it. I hope we have someone in London who does this thing for a littlebit less. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

[Grangur]

I recon there's a chance you're thinking the job is simpler than it really is. This is a job calling for some precision cutting and fitting of the frets. If it's done badly you'll never be able to get/do a good setup ever again.
I'd pay the man for a good job, or buy a good bass that meets the need. A cheap job will probably only end in tears - "you pay peanuts; you get monkeys"

[Dingus]

If it's an expensive high end bass you want to keep then I would bite the bullet and pay to have it done at the Gallery . It's a tricky job that needs doing [u]perfectly [/u]or the bass in question will be ruined . If it's an instrument you value I would recommend going the extra yard to get Martin and crew to do the job . They know how to do it right . Chris Macintyre who used to work at the Gallery also knows how to do it properly , but I doubt he would be cheaper .

[ezbass]

Sorry no suggestions here just an endorsement of the the work The Gallery does, worth every penny.

[franzbassist]

Is it a lined fretless? If not, the marker dots on the side of the neck will probably be "on" the fret, which may or may not disorientate you once the bass is fretted. Worth factoring into the equation....

[mr.noisy]

I agree that their work is worth every penny, as I said, I had some of my basses done in The Gallery and always was very happy. The thing is that I'm a bit short on cash these days, and on the other side I don't want to ruin high end bass if I decide to keep it. If I remember correctly there was a topic here on basschat where The Gallery offered fretting Wall bass for £150, that's why I was a bit surprised when I checked price list on their website.

Edited December 29, 2012 by mr.noisy

[mr.noisy]

[quote name='walbassist' timestamp='1356815553' post='1914030']
Is it a lined fretless? If not, the marker dots on the side of the neck will probably be "on" the fret, which may or may not disorientate you once the bass is fretted. Worth factoring into the equation....
[/quote]

Bass is unlined and has dots where frets should be. Been thinking about it too but I remember how I was thinking that one extra string would do the same thing when I acquired my first fiver after few years playing on four strings, I just had to play and get used to it. From quite some time I was thinking about getting fretless anyway and maybe sell it if it turn that I can't get on with it, but this might be worth keeping after fretting.

[Dingus]

Have a word with them at the shop . The prices on the website might be a guide and each job may well be quoted for on an individual basis depending on the work involved . I know it's easy for us recommend spending money you don't have at the moment , but it's better to leave the bass fretless for now than have a less than perfect job done and regret it . That would be a waste of money that you could have put towards getting it done by the Gallery . If it was me I would wait and save up until I could get them to do the work or someone just as good , even if it took several months or even a year .

[mr.noisy]

Yep, I'll propably ask them about it anyway and we'll see. I know that in fact there is no competition in London for that kind of jobs. Or maybe there is but I don't know. Anyway it's just a research, I might fall in love with fretless, who knows.

[Chris2112]

[quote name='mr.noisy' timestamp='1356815801' post='1914034']
I agree that their work is worth every penny, as I said, I had some of my basses done in The Gallery and always was very happy. The thing is that I'm a bit short on cash these days, and on the other side I don't want to ruin high end bass if I decide to keep it.
[/quote]

The real danger here then is if you can't afford to go to the Gallery have the Sei guys do the job, you take the risk of getting it fretted somewhere else, and naturally, risk borking an expensive bass. Which will be the far greater financial loss!