SpondonBassed Posted May 5, 2023 Share Posted May 5, 2023 (edited) My Vantage fretless is all black. It looks like the fingerboard is rosewood stained black. The only markings are the side dots. It had roundwounds from new and consequently the finish is less than perfect now. The lighter rosewood shows through in places. I wondered about restaining it but was told promptly by our Jack to leave it. I have since put black nylon tapewounds on and they suit the bass much better as well as being kinder to the fingerboard. I have to admit I prefer the worn in look now. Edited May 5, 2023 by SpondonBassed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsim Posted May 11, 2023 Author Share Posted May 11, 2023 (edited) so... a fair bit of work later and I am approaching the end to this little project! Not quite turned out how I expected, so a bit more of a lined fretless rather than an unlined board look but for now, it will be fine and I am pretty chuffed with the end result. Glued in all the veneer, chiseled flat and then rubbed smooth. I did find there was still a little bit of chip out on certain frets when they were removed which was still visible after the veneer had gone in, so I relied on the wonders of CA glue again! I stored all the sanding dust in a little pot and used a sharp edge scraper to fill any gaps with the sanding dust, a drop of CA glue and sanded and I must say - looks pretty good. I took the same approach for the side dots - drilled them out with a 1.5mm bit, packed in some sanding dust and the a drop off CA glue over the top. Sand it back and they are barely visible at all. Very happy. Just waiting for new side dot material to come so I can drill and glue new markers in place. I was originally going to add a stain to try a bit more uniformity colour wise and hide the lines, but for now, I am pretty happy with the end result. As I say, not quite what I intended but when strung up and used on stage, I think the lines with be pretty well hidden. Any feedback is most welcome - I did a bodge defret job a while back and I wanted a much more professional job with this one and I am pretty please with the outcome. I may well attempt a black stain a bit further down the line - will see how the tru oil finish wears and perhaps when it needs a refinish, I may give it a go. Will post finished pics when it has some new flats on and I have completed the side markers. Edited May 11, 2023 by carlsim 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waddo Soqable Posted May 11, 2023 Share Posted May 11, 2023 Looks bloody good to me 👍 I don't think the lines would show from a few feet away under gig conditions anyway... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted May 11, 2023 Share Posted May 11, 2023 I think that looks excellent I'd be happy to play that on any stage... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted May 11, 2023 Share Posted May 11, 2023 I wouldn't be unhappy with that. Looks genuine to me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsim Posted May 11, 2023 Author Share Posted May 11, 2023 Thanks guys… I’m still undecided on the stain… I may give it a whirl yet. See how it looks… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted July 17, 2023 Share Posted July 17, 2023 Did you decide to stain the fretboard, or leave it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsim Posted July 19, 2023 Author Share Posted July 19, 2023 On 17/07/2023 at 18:06, Richard R said: Did you decide to stain the fretboard, or leave it? I haven’t as yet… I was going to leave but I have noticed a tiny bit of localised buzzing when sliding on the G string between 8th and 9th fret. So I am going to do a bit of block levelling to hopefully smooth that out. I think I will then go over the whole fingerboard and try an ebony stain. See how it comes out. I think I will apply a little bit to the fretlines first and then go over the whole lot. Hopefully it will even out and then I can tru oil over the top. will post pics when completed. Won’t be for a few weeks as moving house very soon! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted July 19, 2023 Share Posted July 19, 2023 (edited) All the best for the house move 👍 Edited July 19, 2023 by Richard R Typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.