Owen Posted February 5, 2018 Share Posted February 5, 2018 (edited) Late night bass musings. I have this - It is not shifting. I had a 6 string Overwater. It was a 36" scale and probably the nicest bass I have ever played. I have played a lot of basses. But 6 strings made my head hurt. Just not for me. Obviously there was more about the Overwater than the scale length. But I reckon it was a pretty significant part of the equation. I fancy shifting the bridge on this back as far as possible and refretting it for the given scale length. I am lying in bed at the moment so cannot go down and measure but I could easily hit 36" if not 36.5". Would refretting the fingerboard as it is but with new slots leave it unstable? I might just have a new board on it anyway but I am just musing about possibilities. Like all late mixes which do not sound as good in the morning, I will probably wake up tomorrow and wonder what I was thinking. But this is a bass forum and where else am I going to discuss it? I know moving the bridge will leave holes. I just don't care Edited February 6, 2018 by owen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kumimajava Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 Not a luthier by any measure, but the issue of neck-stability after de/re-fretting comes often in discussion of converting fretted to fretless. The general consensus seems to be that if you fill the (old) fret-slots with something that's rigid enough (e.g. wood veneer or plastic) there should be no loss in neck stability. And then there's a bunch of people who say they've just pulled out the frets, without even filling the slots, and have no stability issues years later. So YMMV. Myself, I've recently de-fretted two (cheap) basses for fun - and "just to be safe" used a 0.5mm plastic sheet as line markers. A few weeks down the road - no problems with either. Re: changing the scale - it wouldn't be the cheapest (but probably not the most expensive) "modding project" bass that has been attempted on this forum, so if you're not too shy to try, why not? One of my basses is 36.5" inch scale (an old early 1990's Le Fay pangton), and sound-wise it's awesome - though the scale's too long for me, and hence it gets used rarely. If you do attempt the conversion, perhaps try the bass "fretless" at 36.5" scale for a few days (maybe use stickers for position markers on the side for help?) after you've removed the current frets? Then you'd know roughly how the bass sounds, and whether it's worth the extra hassle of filling old slots, putting in new ones, etc. If it still doesn't sound to your liking at the longer scale, perhaps it's then not worth the extra hassle of re-fretting. Or who knows - maybe you'll like it fretless? If you do decide to proceed - I'd for one be very curious to see how it turns out - please record some before & after clips Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 Hi Owen, my immediate thought is that PUP placement will shift, i.e., it/they will be effectively further from the bridge after the mod. Might make no difference at all, but as I'm sure you're aware, ask a few guys on here and TB and they'll tell you it's the most important factor in bass tone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulhauser Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 While what you have in mind could be a fun project if one's doing it oneself, but paying for a luthier to do it will cost some dough. I'd forgone that cost and save the up and buy a 5 string Overwater with the specs you liked on the 6 string. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted February 6, 2018 Author Share Posted February 6, 2018 6 hours ago, kumimajava said: Not a luthier by any measure, but the issue of neck-stability after de/re-fretting comes often in discussion of converting fretted to fretless. If you do decide to proceed - I'd for one be very curious to see how it turns out - please record some before & after clips Good luck! Yeah, that was what my question was about I guess. I can see how that would de-stabilise it. If I do it then I will be sure to record before and after. By this morning Paulhauser's concept is making more sense! 4 hours ago, Beedster said: Hi Owen, my immediate thought is that PUP placement will shift, i.e., it/they will be effectively further from the bridge after the mod. Might make no difference at all, but as I'm sure you're aware, ask a few guys on here and TB and they'll tell you it's the most important factor in bass tone I have thought about pickup placement. Where the pickup is in relation to the string length when you play an open E is different to where it is when you play a fretted G on the E string so I figure it is not a huge deal. 4 hours ago, Paulhauser said: While what you have in mind could be a fun project if one's doing it oneself, but paying for a luthier to do it will cost some dough. I'd forgone that cost and save the up and buy a 5 string Overwater with the specs you liked on the 6 string. My DIY skills are legendary. For the wrong reasons. I could move the bridge but I will not be re-fretting anything ever. By the time I have had it all done inc new fingerboard, I would have dumped quite a lot of money into an unknown outcome. Safer not to when all is said and done. But it was a fun musing as I drifted off to sleep last night Those Overwaters are yummy though. Thanks for humouring me y'all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therealting Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 Why not start with a fretless and go from there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 Why bother? You have a bass that you can't shift when it hasn't been messed with, what are the chances of selling it once you've made all your "improvements"? Will you recoup the cost for parts or your time? My advice would be to leave it alone and have a bit of patience - Xmas just gone - most people need two pay packets to get back to "normal" - maybe it'll sell next month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted February 7, 2018 Author Share Posted February 7, 2018 19 hours ago, therealting said: Why not start with a fretless and go from there? Oddly, for a Double Bassist, my fretless history is genuinely awful! 18 hours ago, TheGreek said: Why bother? You have a bass that you can't shift when it hasn't been messed with, what are the chances of selling it once you've made all your "improvements"? Will you recoup the cost for parts or your time? My advice would be to leave it alone and have a bit of patience - Xmas just gone - most people need two pay packets to get back to "normal" - maybe it'll sell next month. The written down thought process has encouraged me to drop the price and shift it. But it was exciting while it lasted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therealting Posted February 7, 2018 Share Posted February 7, 2018 4 hours ago, owen said: Oddly, for a Double Bassist, my fretless history is genuinely awful! What I mean is... if you’re interested in trying this, why not buy a cheap fretless and fret that instead? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted February 7, 2018 Author Share Posted February 7, 2018 Ah! I already own this and it has the neckthrough bit which has a different vibe for me (ymmv) and I was wondering how to utilise it. I have dropped the price and it will sell when it will sell. I shall enjoy using it as is until then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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