Is a defretted bass , as good as a fretless ?

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

Just wondering;)

[fretmeister]

Can be!

Depends on the skill of the person doing the work!

[visog]

Are you serious? Jaco 'wrote the book' on a de-fretted bass.

Alembic claim that the tone is better on a fretless without fretlines but Jaco's tone was sublime at his best.

So as long as the work is carried out correctly, it's every bit as good.

Of course the debate rages about fret lines... but that's more to do with the player than the bass.

[xgsjx]

I think if it's a good bass that's had a good defret, then it would be much better than a crappy fretless.

Good Q, but I think if it's done well, then it would be the same as the fretless version.

[4-string-thing]

I doubt your fingers would notice any difference, but your intonation would probably be a lot better!

[SpaceChick]

+1 on the depends on the skill of the person defretting.

I had an Ibanez SR300 defretted and it's gorgeous.

[Silvia Bluejay]

Watch out for the position of the side dots on the neck - a defretted bass will have them in a different place from a bass that's fretless from the start.

[sblueplanet]

I play better on an unlined fretless than a lined one. Maybe its because the position markers on a fretless ARE the actual note. Dunno, but my vibrato is more accurate on a blank neck.

[Myke]

[quote name='sblueplanet' timestamp='1372345087' post='2124617']
I play better on an unlined fretless than a lined one. Maybe its because the position markers on a fretless ARE the actual note. Dunno, but my vibrato is more accurate on a blank neck.
[/quote]

For me I think that I would be the complete opposite. I've never actually played an unlined fretless but I really doubt that I could get the intonation as good on an unlined as I can on a lined fretless.

[4-string-thing]

I used to play my lined fretless for a few songs, so at gigs I used to tune the bass slightly higher. This meant if I placed my fingers in the same position as when playing a fretted bass, ie, behind the "fret" I wasn't playing flat. I found it saved having to adjust from one way of thinking to another.

[Panamonte]

[quote name='4-string-thing' timestamp='1372346917' post='2124665']
I used to play my lined fretless for a few songs, so at gigs I used to tune the bass slightly higher. This meant if I placed my fingers in the same position as when playing a fretted bass, ie, behind the "fret" I wasn't playing flat. I found it saved having to adjust from one way of thinking to another.
[/quote]

Cool if it works for you, but on the downside it rules out using open strings and harmonics.

[4-string-thing]

Ha ha, I didn't say it worked, just that I used to do it But thinking about it, I only used it on two songs and there were no open strings. Nobody ever noticed my bass playing being out of tune anyway, they were too distracted by my awful singing!

[Panamonte]

Good work! :-D

[ead]

I'm with bluejay. Assuming a decent quality of workmanship I think the side dots would be weird, but maybe that's just me as my fretless basses are unlined.

[sprocketflup]

I defretted an old 5 string with a shovel and angle grinder and it sounds lovely You lot must have better ears than mine

[TimR]

[quote name='sprocketflup' timestamp='1372368229' post='2125060']
I defretted an old 5 string with a shovel and angle grinder and it sounds lovely You lot must have better ears than mine
[/quote]

Indeed. I just used a big screwdriver, hammer and mole grips then filled the slots and gouges with Polyfilla. It was unplayable before and now it sounds gorgeous.

[tauzero]

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1372340338' post='2124521']
Watch out for the position of the side dots on the neck - a defretted bass will have them in a different place from a bass that's fretless from the start.
[/quote]

That depends. Lined fretlesses will probably have the markers where they are on a fretted bass, unlined fretlesses will almost certainly have the markers on the fret position, although I have owned one unlined that had the dots where they would be on a fretted. My Sei (lined fretless) had the dot markers in the fretted positions until I had them moved (and replaced by Luminlay).

[Fat Rich]

The only advantage a designed to be fretless bass might have over a de-fretted bass is the luthier may have chosen a harder or nicer sounding piece of wood for the fingerboard. Not going to make a huge difference in most cases.

[White Cloud]

[quote name='Fat Rich' timestamp='1372676591' post='2128341']
The only advantage a designed to be fretless bass might have over a de-fretted bass is the luthier may have chosen a harder or nicer sounding piece of wood for the fingerboard. Not going to make a huge difference in most cases.
[/quote]
This is a very perceptive observation. Very true!

[CHW]

I bought a very cheap acoustic bass on ebay for about £35 iirc, it was totally unplayable and rattled and buzzed everywhere despite my best efforts at an amateur set up.

Cue 45 minutes with a chisel, a hammer and a pair of pliers and it plays a hell of a lot better as a fretless.

Possibly not recommended for anything of any value.

[Damonjames]

I think the lines would throw me off. I had an unlined fretless YEARS ago, the intonation was probably a bit dodgy as it was a relatively inexpensive bass, but I found you had to know where the sweet spot was on a given string/fret to play in tune. Seldom did the sweet spot line up perfectly with the string below or above, has anyone else found this??? To the OP, I really don't think it matters, it's down to the quality of the instrument. I mean jaco ripped his out, filled in the holes with plastic wood and then sealed it with boat epoxy.... Not the most conventional method, but I don't think anyone questions his sound!

[alyctes]

If you do do a defret, remember to change the nut

[lowregisterhead]

I just had my cheap-and-cheerful Yamaha BB615 backup bass de-fretted because it was dull and not very nice to play as a fretted bass, and it's turned out beautifully. I can't put it down! Mind you, Martin Petersen at The Gallery did the work, which undoubtedly has a lot to do with the great result.

I've owned a few fretless basses over the years, a couple of which have had plain fingerboards (out of sheer vanity) but now I've realised that unless I'm going to be playing fretless a LOT, lines are the way to go. Nowadays I prefer to concentrate on the sound, not the looks...

[TimR]

[quote name='alyctes' timestamp='1372720230' post='2129235']
If you do do a defret, remember to change the nut
[/quote]

Why is that?

[Ian Savage]

What are people filling the fret slots with when de-fretting? I smell a summer project coming on...

Edited July 2, 2013 by Ian Savage