Has anyone defretted a Yamaha RBX250

[nunnelse]

I've bought a secondhand Yamaha RBX250 that I'm thinking of having defretted as i'd like to go fretless one day and figured learning on a lined version is the way to go. I'm living in Holland and have be quoted 95 euros to have the work done. Pretty good as one chap in the UK quoted me 200 pounds! My question however is it better to buy a stock fretless than defret a fretted guitar?
sarah

[ezbass]

As you're wanting a lined fretless, defretting your Yammy seems like a good idea. I had my MM SUB defretted a good while back and I was very pleased with the results. I also had the pearloid dot markers filled in with rosewood dots for a cleaner look. Big up for the guys at The Gallery in Camden who did the work, it cost me £110 including a set of LaBella flatwounds, so £200 seems a bit steep.

[nunnelse]

what's the deal regards flatwound versus roundwound strings? I hear some say that flatwounds damage the fretboard, is that true?

[henry norton]

[quote name='nunnelse' post='692820' date='Dec 24 2009, 11:10 AM']what's the deal regards flatwound versus roundwound strings? I hear some say that flatwounds damage the fretboard, is that true?[/quote]
Well, you should use the strings you like the best. Rounds will wear any board out eventually but it takes quite a long time before the wear will affect the playability. Half rounds, flats & coated strings will all cause less wear on the board but don't use strings you don't like because you're worried about wearing the board out.

You could always go the coated route, where the fingerboard is coated with either a thick layer of polyester paint or a thinnish layer of epoxy resin. It'll cost you a fair bit more on top of the derfet price though. For 95 Euro you can't go far wrong - just bear in mind the value of the bass won't be increased by 95 Euro!