mangotango Posted July 6, 2018 Share Posted July 6, 2018 Once upon a time long ago, in a land far, far away, I had a fretless bass. A Shergold Marathon, unlined Maple neck. The bass was lovely, my playing rather less so. Then I stopped playing bass for a few decades. Now I'm back in the Low Life and have a hankering for a fretless again. Thing is, nowadays I'm mostly playing 5-string and a finding a fretless 5'er might be an expensive experiment. However, I already have a bass that I like but I'm looking to sell...so I had an idea. Would it cost more to have that bass, which I like, de-fretted and lined, rather than trading it in on a purpose-built fretless bass which I may end up selling anyway if I can't get on with it? Has anyone had a bass de-fretted, how much would such a process cost, and how successful was it? And before you ask - no, I'm not letting my Captain Caveman DIY skills loose on a bass I like and might want to play ever again; there's absolutely no chance of my trying to do the job. It'll just end in tears. And that's before any hears me play it..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manton Customs Posted July 6, 2018 Share Posted July 6, 2018 You'd be looking at approximately £80-£100 from a full time pro luthier. Obviously less from hobbyists, but you get what you pay for with a fretless conversion as the board needs to be levelled properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MoJo Posted July 6, 2018 Share Posted July 6, 2018 2 hours ago, mangotango said: Has anyone had a bass de-fretted, how much would such a process cost, and how successful was it? I did it myself. Bought some maple sheet to fashion the filler strips out of. Surprisingly easy to do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 (edited) I have both defretted a bass and had on3 done professionally. My attempt was actually quite fair, although there was a little bit of chipping here and there. The one I had done professionally was by The Gallery in Camden. Top quality job, absolutely no complaints, just praise. IIRC it cost £110 including a set LaBella flats (this was a while back though). If you like and get on with the bass you’re considering moving on, I’d definitely have that converted, rather than buy new. Edited July 8, 2018 by ezbass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cato Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 What's the fretboard on the bass made from? I looked into having a maple board defretted a while ago and after speaking to a few people on here and a local luthier, the advice, which I took, was that the poly finish on the board would make it a very difficult and expensive job. I think with it's much more straightforward with rosewood or ebony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mangotango Posted July 9, 2018 Author Share Posted July 9, 2018 20 hours ago, Cato said: What's the fretboard on the bass made from? I looked into having a maple board defretted a while ago and after speaking to a few people on here and a local luthier, the advice, which I took, was that the poly finish on the board would make it a very difficult and expensive job. I think with it's much more straightforward with rosewood or ebony. It's rosewood and it's in very good shape, so I'm loath to damage it with my inevitably ham-fisted efforts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkHeart Posted July 9, 2018 Share Posted July 9, 2018 Could you not just buy a fretless neck for what ever bass it is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mangotango Posted July 10, 2018 Author Share Posted July 10, 2018 16 hours ago, DarkHeart said: Could you not just buy a fretless neck for what ever bass it is? Possibly. It's a Fernandes Gravity 5X. Have never seen a fretless neck for those and looking at their Endorsed artists for that, I'm not convinced that fretless would be right for their target market! So I guess that it would be a special order; worth enquiring about maybe. However, in pure economic terms, it's probably going to be more viable just to trade in on a purpose-built fretless, which isn't the point of what I'm trying to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mangotango Posted July 11, 2018 Author Share Posted July 11, 2018 21 hours ago, Meddle said: If you are absolutely stuck then I would 'have a bash' at defretting for you if you ship me the neck. I've done it a few times with good results, and I might even have some photos at home somewhere. Thanks for your kind offer. Will investigate all options before I move ahead...but you never know!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mangotango Posted October 23, 2018 Author Share Posted October 23, 2018 Well, while I was getting the excellent Jerome Davies to mend my damaged EUB, I asked him how much to de-fret the bass. He quoted me a decent "all in" price, so it's done. And I'm very happy with both his work and the results, I can't recommend him highly enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 Pics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mangotango Posted October 23, 2018 Author Share Posted October 23, 2018 35 minutes ago, ped said: Pics! To follow soonest.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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