theosd Posted October 7, 2007 Share Posted October 7, 2007 Following my purchase of a SR5, my first attempt at a defret job on my old harley benton 5 string is a great success! Used a precision flathead screwdriver and a pair of pliers. Filled the gaps with a little bit of superglue to ensure the wood is sturdy, other that that there's nothing in em (the white bits are instrument polish). Took me about 2 hours in total, including the setting up (the black nylon strings I used have a large gauge) of trussrod & bridge saddles. I'm inpatient so yeah, I rushed it. But nothing bad has gone wrong, there's only a few little chips but nothing that looks too bad. I used tipex to make small white markings along the side where the frets would be just for reference. Just goes to show that a complete amateur (me) can do this with minimal risk, even as a rush job. I still wouldn't advise doing it to any bass you'd regret changing, though. I'll be using it for rehearsal tomorrow and a gig on thursday. I'll let you all know how it sounds! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_K Posted October 7, 2007 Share Posted October 7, 2007 Hmm - not filling the gaps is bound to throw the feel off a little, and may not allow for perfectly smooth slides... If you find yourself getting on well with the fretless playing, I'd suggest going back and finishing the fingerboard off properly. On the plus side - nice to see someone new turning over to the dark side! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theosd Posted October 7, 2007 Author Share Posted October 7, 2007 (edited) [quote name='Steve_K' post='70713' date='Oct 7 2007, 05:55 PM']Hmm - not filling the gaps is bound to throw the feel off a little, and may not allow for perfectly smooth slides... If you find yourself getting on well with the fretless playing, I'd suggest going back and finishing the fingerboard off properly. On the plus side - nice to see someone new turning over to the dark side! [/quote] I do already have a 5 string fretless acoustic bass too (which can be heard on the recordings at my band's myspace, below), but I can't use it live because of feedback. The slides are perfectly fine, probably because I am using threadwounds which aren't affected so much. If I start to find problems at higher volumes I will certainly finish the job, but I'm lazy as well as impatient so if there continues to be no problems I will probably just leave it. I've sanded the fretboard very slightly just to soften the edges where the frets were, too. Edited October 7, 2007 by theosd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machines Posted October 7, 2007 Share Posted October 7, 2007 I used my RBX at practise before filling it in - it felt a bit ropey until the filler was in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theosd Posted October 7, 2007 Author Share Posted October 7, 2007 Ok, I'll have to see how it goes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 Fill those gaps theosd, wood can do some funny things when it's left to its own devices Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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