Dr.Dave Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Got chance of a rather nice Tanglewood acoustic bass for not too much coin. I had one before but , like a pillock , I sold it. Lovely instrument. Anyway , this one's fretted but I fancy having it fretless. There's a couple of suppliers on t'interweb offering fancy wood fingerboard blanks at reasonable prices so - wondering how much I should be paying to a luthier to fit one to t'other ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Good afternoon, Dave... Wouldn't a decent de-fret do the job, or do you really need to have a 'virgin' fingerboard..? A de-fret would be very much less expensive, I'm sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Dave Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 True enough , Pater , but I don't want lines , I don't need dots and my pre-CBS packet of polyfilla's gone hard ! I really fancy one of these fancy wood blanks I've seen. Black Palmwood to be precise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Dave... That's fair enough, you've passed the test. I'm not up to speed with British pricing; in France I'd expect something between the equivalent of £30-60. It's a pretty simple operation for a competent luthier. Pics of the operation, if you go ahead with it..? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Dave Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 [quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1405351192' post='2501094'] Dave... That's fair enough, you've passed the test. I'm not up to speed with British pricing; in France I'd expect something between the equivalent of £30-60. It's a pretty simple operation for a competent luthier. Pics of the operation, if you go ahead with it..? [/quote] Might be a while but pics for sure. I'm off walking the Normandy sites again in a few weeks - might bring it with me and have it done while I'm there !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 (edited) [quote name='Dr.Dave' timestamp='1405352714' post='2501116']...I'm off walking the Normandy sites again in a few weeks - might bring it with me and have it done while I'm there !! [/quote] Dave... My fellow is a touch further South (Alain Raifort, luthier, Tours, a 'top bloke'...). If you get a bit lower than Alençon, Domfront and the like, you'll be straying into my territory, and would qualify for a jar, or cuppa, so be warned..! Edited July 14, 2014 by Dad3353 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Dave Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 Hoping to be around Vire at some point. A relative was wounded by a Tiger there , while trying to recover an anti-tank gun. He was walking wounded and went off laughing - quoted in a book as saying 'I've got a blighty one , see you later lads , I'll be back in a few weeks'. He got on a hospital ship - the Amsterdam - it hit a mine and he was killed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 70 kms away (about an hour or so's drive...). They say that, when your time is up, you have to go; there's no bucking it. A sad tale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6v6 Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 [quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1405351192' post='2501094'] Dave... That's fair enough, you've passed the test. I'm not up to speed with British pricing; in France I'd expect something between the equivalent of £30-60. It's a pretty simple operation for a competent luthier. Pics of the operation, if you go ahead with it..? [/quote] Wow luthiers must be cheap in France, that's how much I'd expect to pay for a setup! Planing off the old 'board without ruining the neck, and accurately installing and finishing the new one is a fair bit of work IMO, I'd be surprised if you got much change from £200 in the UK. Pulling the frets and installing some wood strips to match the fretboard would be most likely a fair bit cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 I don't think they would plane the board off, probably apply heat and separate the glue sticking the board on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manton Customs Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 (edited) [quote name='6v6' timestamp='1405430629' post='2501818'] Wow luthiers must be cheap in France, that's how much I'd expect to pay for a setup! Planing off the old 'board without ruining the neck, and accurately installing and finishing the new one is a fair bit of work IMO, I'd be surprised if you got much change from £200 in the UK. Pulling the frets and installing some wood strips to match the fretboard would be most likely a fair bit cheaper. [/quote] I thought that too! I'm guessing he meant for the fingerboard blank? £30 to £60 sounds about right for the blank depending on species, though normally a bit cheaper. And yes, the fingerboard would be removed with heat/steam. Edited July 16, 2014 by Manton Customs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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