Defretting

[JPJ]

I’m seriously thinking about defretting my Warwick Rockbass Alien five string. I was browsing veneers online to fill the fret slots with and then I had one of my brain wave moments, why not veneer the whole fretboard for the ‘no lines’ look. Has anyone done this or am I mad to even think about it? 

[BigRedX]

43 minutes ago, JPJ said:

I’m seriously thinking about defretting my Warwick Rockbass Alien five string. I was browsing veneers online to fill the fret slots with and then I had one of my brain wave moments, why not veneer the whole fretboard for the ‘no lines’ look. Has anyone done this or am I mad to even think about it? 

 

Unless you are planning to use some sort of protective finish on your veneered fingerboard or use the smoothest of smooth flat or tape wound strings, you'll probably find yourself wearing through the thin veneer in no time.

 

Also you will still need to fill the slots and any other chips in the fingerboard left by the removal of the frets.

Edited June 20, 2024 by BigRedX

[JPJ]

44 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

 

Unless you are planning to use some sort of protective finish on your veneered fingerboard or use the smoothest of smooth flat or tape wound strings, you'll probably find yourself wearing through the thin veneer in no time.

 

Also you will still need to fill the slots and any other chips in the fingerboard left by the removal of the frets.

All true of course. I use flat wounds almost exclusively these days and the Warwick is currently strung with La Bella low tension flats that really suit this bass. The frets are in blind slots (unusual at this price point) and I was thinking of using a 1mm furniture veneer so I would hope that would last a good number of years. 

[JohnH89]

A bit more extreme but I have done a couple . The veneer was about 9mm thick . I guess you would call it a new fingerboard . 😁

[Jakester]

Why not just use matching veneer to fill the slots?

[JPJ]

1 hour ago, Jakester said:

Why not just use matching veneer to fill the slots?

That was my plan but whilst shopping for Brazilian rosewood veneer I came up with the brain wave of veneering the whole fretboard 😂

[sunfish]

I've de-fretted a couple of basses and filled the slots with a tube of plastic wood.  Sanded down . Worked great.

[Baloney Balderdash]

Jaco only needed a butter knife and some wood putty. 

[John Cribbin]

Surely if you defret and don't fill you're effectively creating a kerfed neck which will be more prone to a forward bow under tension?

[JPJ]

12 minutes ago, John Cribbin said:

Surely if you defret and don't fill you're effectively creating a kerfed neck which will be more prone to a forward bow under tension?

Hi John,

 

I would still fill the fret slots but then veneer over the whole board 

[JPJ]

Quick question to anyone who has done a defret - what thickness veneer to fill the slots?

[JohnH89]

Entirely dependent on what frets are fitted . Slots can be recut with appropriate kerf saw and made to fit the veneer . 

[Andyjr1515]

15 hours ago, JPJ said:

Quick question to anyone who has done a defret - what thickness veneer to fill the slots?

Standard 0.6mm veneer will normally work fine.

[JPJ]

10 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Standard 0.6mm veneer will normally work fine.

Thanks Andy 🙏

[JPJ]

13 hours ago, JohnH89 said:

Entirely dependent on what frets are fitted . Slots can be recut with appropriate kerf saw and made to fit the veneer . 

The neck is bound and I don’t really want to cut the slots if I can avoid it. 

[BigRedX]

That will make it a bit harder to fit veneers in the slots as you have to cut the width accurately first.

[JPJ]

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

That will make it a bit harder to fit veneers in the slots as you have to cut the width accurately first.

It certainly will - but I love a good challenge 😂

[Gwilym]

Seems like a nice bass and not inexpensive.

Why not have it done professionally rather than potentially wreck it?

[TheGreek]

On 20/06/2024 at 19:26, JPJ said:

That was my plan but whilst shopping for Brazilian rosewood veneer I came up with the brain wave of veneering the whole fretboard 😂

 

Because that's so much easier...🤔

[TheGreek]

Not sure if will work...

 

My brother works in Antiques - one of "the tricks of the trade" is to use a wax crayon to fill any dents/chips. Fill then remove any excess with a damp rag and a steam iron.

[JPJ]

32 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

 

Because that's so much easier...🤔

To quote the late John F Kennedy “we do not do these things because they are easy” 😂

[JPJ]

2 hours ago, Gwilym said:

Seems like a nice bass and not inexpensive.

Why not have it done professionally rather than potentially wreck it?

I’m confident that this is within the range of my skills otherwise it would be added to the great David Wilson’s waiting list. 

[AndyTravis]

Use veneer, I’ve done a fair few

[AndyTravis]

Veneer makes it look good - this was Indian rosewood I think. About 7/8 years ago.

used the remainder on my last defret

 

[BigRedX]

Another thing to consider if you veneer the whole fingerboard, is that the side position markers will then be in the wrong place for an unlined fretless. In my fretless playing days I could only get on with them being in the fretted positions if the fingerboard was very obviously lined. Otherwise I found myself continually playing slightly flat which isn't very good.