The Real Jake

Bass players, In short, I’m having trouble with string buzzing on a Squire Precision fretless bass with an ebonal fingerboard and plastic fret marker lined inlays. Asking for advice on how to solve the problem. Brief History of the bass: As you’ll see in the pictures, my Squire is a mod, but a simple one. I purchased a fretted Squier Vintage Modified Precision Bass PJ (red) and a Squier Vintage Modified Fretless Precision Bass (sunburst) and switched the necks… I wanted the the PJ pickup formation and had a preference for the red color. Other than the color and slot for the extra J pickup, the bodies were identical, that being the case, I doubted this history was even relevant; but here there it is. Oh, and the original sunburst fretless came stock with round-wound strings, a fact that will become important later… Problem with the resulting fretless bass: Basically I’m getting buzzing on the G string toward the middle of the neck. Truss rod adjustments and setups, by myself and two guitar techs, did not solve the problem. One tech noted a possible cause: the plastic inlay fret markers rise high. He’s right, you can feel them just running your fingers up the neck. I had put flat-would strings on the bass; the E, A, and D must have enough physical volume so as to avoid the buzzing, but as a temporary fix, I switched the G String back to a round-wound string, in hopes that the wound grooves would rest over the slightly raised inlays. So far it’s kind of worked as a temporary solution and may explain why the fretless came stock with round-wounds in the first place. Possible Solutions: The temporary solution is just that; the bass is still on the fringe of buzzing and just doesn’t play with the consistency that a fretless bass should. I prefer flat wounds on a fretless; The last thing, I think, I should have to worry about on a fretless is string buzzing. So I’m considering replacing the neck; would a MIM Fender fretless neck with a Pau Ferro fingerboard and inlays work? I would prefer a fretless neck with inlays: I know Fender can do it. The best fretless bass I ever played was a 90s American Fender Precision Fretless bass (back in the 90s), it had fret maker inlays too. But the price of an American neck defeats the purpose, financially, of improving this bass and puts me in the situation of just having to get another bass. (Open to recommendations!) Do you think a Mexican Fender Inlay neck would do the trick? Or would I be better off getting a fretless neck without lined inlays, from Mighty Mite or Warmoth? Id like to learn to play upright bass someday, perhaps I could start practicing by playing a fretless electric without lines… Sanding down the lines on the neck I have isn’t preferable because the neck has a finish.... it would have to be refinished afterwards. I’m open to all advice as to how to solve this buzzing problem! -The Real Jake Fender Standard Jazz Bass, 96 Squire Fretless Precision Bass, 17, in progress…