carlsim

So the veneer is going in nicely… luckily it’s a snug fit in the slot so titebond and veneer should minimise visibility… I am quite hopeful that the lines will be minimal, will update once I have cut and sanded these 4. I will, no doubt, lose patience and do the rest! I know what I’m like…

I think I agree with the above 2 comments… I pulled out 3 frets today and cut some of the veneer to be glued in tomorrow. The veneer is a good match, but I think you are both right, the lines will be visible to some degree. I am going to try it anyway, possibly with an additional ebony stain to get some uniformity of colour which will hopefully hide them a bit more. Once a do a bit of grain filling with some tru oil, I am hoping it will look more or less unlined! if not, off it will come! I will update in the next few days…

I’m bought some rosewood veneer off eBay which arrived today so I’m going to pull a couple of frets out and test how the veneer matches to the existing rosewood. I will give the neck a bit of wire wool first and see how the match looks… possibly add an ebony stain - looks like this could be the best option… if I only pull a few frets out, I can still use the existing ones to get some heat in there if I decide to do a fretboard swap… to be honest, I bought the overwater for this purpose so would rather not try and butcher two things together. the key thing is, can I disguise a defret so it looks like an unlined board??

Yeah I did look at those, but already have the overwater aspiration not doing very much… plus I like something to tinker with! I was hoping to see what other people had done in these situation and whether any amateur ‘luthiers’ had attempted a fingerboard swap…

Hi all... My quest seems to be a fruitless one... I have been looking for an unlined 5 string fretless bass for some time now - not something I would gig a lot so I had a budget of around £300 in my head. What can i get for that? Bu**er all basically! So... what are my options? For a true unlined board, buy a cheaper fretted bass and swap the fingerboard. Or, buy a fretted bass, buy some veneer which is the same wood rather than contrasting and glue in and finish. Then, possibly add a stain with oil to finish for a bit more uniformity. so... 2 options. 1 - swap the fingerboard for an ebony board. 2 - defret and fill with matching veneer and stain a bit darker to look like ebony (it is a rosewood board). Option 1 raises many questions. 1 - can I achieve a good finish? I am pretty confident and meticulous when it comes to woodworking although sometimes my patience runs out. Main concerns are getting a flush finish around the edges when the ebony would meet the maple of the neck. Plus, also there is the issue of the radius on the board. Flat is an option (thank you to @Andyjr1515 for talking me through a few options...) or possibly a very subtle 15/17 degree radius which shouldn't be too much hassle (would need to get radius blocks as needed). I do have most of the tools to do the job and I don't mind buying tools needed... who doesn't like a nice new tool here and there! Do I have the time to do this? Could be moving house soon to a renovation property and that is going to give me plenty to do! Option 2 is obviously an easier option and something I have done before. However, I haven't tried to hide the lines before by using a matching veneer. The question is can I make it look like an unlined board? Anyone tried this route before? Feel free to post pics... So my question to you BCers is - option 1 or 2? Anyone with personal experience of either method? Time frames? Links to build threads? Pictures of finished projects? I have picked up a trans red Overwater aspiration 5 string fretted bass recently which is going to the project bass. It doesn't have dot markers on the fingerboard so if a go the defret route, I only have to worry about filling the fret lines and changing dot markers on the side. Any comments would be most welcome - am I putting myself in a world of hurt here trying to change a fingerboard? I'm no luthier by any means, never built an instrument but after my recent success in re-finishing my Xotic bass (feel free to view the build thread), confidence in projects like this is high! @Andyjr1515 was very encouraging on the fingerboard swap idea... I will post some pics of the bass when I can. Carl.

Pete bought my Headrush speaker. No issues at all and was a gent throughout the transaction. Top bass chatter!

I suppose that’s the beauty of the used marketplace… with some luck you can buy and sell without losing too much (if any) money! Unlike buying new…

Perfectly aware and perfectly happy!

I would have liked the stomp, but it’s one of those things where none were for sale, this pod go popped up and then Sod’s Law, a stomp pops up for sale…

So… finally got my rig of choice! plumped for a boss GT1B but honestly, I found that the synth bass sounds didn’t track very well at all. So that has now moved on to greener pastures and I picked up an as new line 6 pod go from the bay… I haven’t tried it yet and I was looking for a hx stomp but this, I’m sure will meet my needs. also… bought a QSC 10.2 which turned out to have a fault (this was a shame as it sounded amazing - kudos to @lemmywinks for a quick and easy solution. Saw a Headrush for sale locally, picked that up thinking - that will do… then 2 days later saw a QSC 12.2 for sale locally to me which I am now organising collection. so… that’s me sorted. Line 6 pod go into a QSC 12.2. Should be banging! first outing won’t be for a while but I shall feedback on here with the outcome for anyone else considering it…

No real budget in mind apart from under £500!

I’m not really an FX guy, never have been and most of the gigs I do require pretty standard sounds. However, I’m going FRFR and would like a good quality unit as a front end to this. my needs would be: - some good amp sims - a nice chorus (I use fretless on some stuff) - a decent synth bass sound for 80s stuff - parallel processing if possible to run a standard bass sound under the synth bass sound… - tuner (obvs) - pc interface to build stuff whatever else it comes with is a bonus. I have been looking at the obvious - hx stomp, boss gt1000 core, zoom b2 four… but still none the wiser of what to buy! the hx stomp was my initial plan… can anyone offer some solid advice?? The synth thing is quite important to me… and I hear mixed results with the stomp and gt core… I know cheaper end multi fx don’t have parallel processing… I know the zoom b2 four is quite new - anyone got any info?? thanks guys…

Just bought a Boss GT1B from Bill - excellent packaging and exactly as described with a couple of extras thrown in that I wasn't expecting! Well recommended to all is Bill!

I have an Audient ID14 - 2 ins but has the optical for ADAT connection. Great units and defo a thumbs up from me.

I have a Magni 500 which I’m selling in the classifieds… it’s pretty much the same apart from neo speakers in the 502 and a bit lighter… they are great combos… I’m just finding I need a wedge setup more now, that’s the only reason I am selling. typical EBS sound, modern sounding and can do bright and zingy or dubby and mellow. cannot recommend them enough. pricey though… over a grand at bass direct. Ouch! 😁😁

How do you find the Headrush? I have been looking at them but i find very much mixed reviews...

I am quite tempted by a https://www.thomann.de/gb/the_box_pro_dsx_112.htm - or possibly the 15" variant... for £266, you couldn't really complain! It isn't going to be an RCF or a QSC but the price is... well, a LOT cheaper. I did wonder about buying 2 - use one for small gigs - i do a fair bit of double bass jazz gigs and just need a tiny bit of reinforcement, and then for function gigs you could link 2 together to share the load... Something to consider...

The 12.2 would be my ideal choice, but at nearly a grand new, I can't believe how much they have gone up in price over the past couple of years. I had a 10.2 just before lockdown and paid around £600... now £200 dearer. Oh well... will see what I can get!

The DXR12 had piqued my attention I must admit, a guitarist I know uses one with a kemper and it sounds immense!