Defret or Trade

[L-mac]

Hi

With the imminent arrival of my Sandberg California JM (droool - cant wait!) my Warwick Fortress Rockbass is redundant.

I've always fancied trying fretless - so had the idea of getting a defret done on the warwick.

BUT - am I spending money on an instrument only to devalue it? (It is in "out of the box"pefect nick)

Am I better just to try to trade it for a fretless?

thoughts? experiences?

cheers

[The Burpster]

My guess is that you have done the thinking process yourself. Ideally the fretless wants a phenolic fretboard but ths not essential and some would argue doesnt give the same tone. A proper de- fret will use some funds but then how much do you "connect" with the Warwick?

If its like a glove, then maybe thats the ideal way to start fretless as it will feel very familiar to you when you try and play it. A new fretless will be a learning thing twofold.....

My opinion FWIW....

[The Funk]

[quote name='L-mac' post='81192' date='Oct 30 2007, 11:36 AM']BUT - am I spending money on an instrument only to devalue it? (It is in "out of the box"pefect nick)[/quote]

Seeing as the resale value of Warwicks is now peanuts, secondhand Rockbasses are now worth half a cashew. If you can find someone with a similar bass but fretless, then there's no harm in trading. But I'd be inclined to de-fret after a while if nothing shows up.

[lovedub]

De-freting shouldn't significantly alter the value of a bass like that, so long as it's done properly.

Although it's worth bearing in mind that fretlesses are harder to sell, should you not take to it.

Try a few in the shops first, then decide.

[7string]

I just had one of my basses de-fretted by John Shuker and I was over the moon with the quality of the work. Highly recommended.