Darcy Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 Dont know why, but had been thinking about it for 3-4 weeks and finally gave in...... [attachment=552:DSCF1154.JPG] Fretless, never played one before. Plays great. All Squier generic parts, Tuners and bridge will have to be replaced (Badass), pickups sound fine, My playing.... you have to be sooooooooooo precise (or am I just a lazy player?), it's a real learning curve. It's got roundwounds on it, what are peoples thoughts/views Roundwound of flats??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass_ferret Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 Jaco-tastic. I use status hotwire half rounds on mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 Welcome to the fretless VM club! +1 for the Badass - just check you won't need to shim the neck first. (You'll need 12mm between the string and the body with the action set hoe you like it.) Before you change the tuners check the string retainer for sharp edges that are catching the string and causing problems. Since I filed mine off tuning has been fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 [quote name='Darcy' post='14321' date='Jun 8 2007, 05:30 PM']Dont know why, but had been thinking about it for 3-4 weeks and finally gave in...... [attachment=552:DSCF1154.JPG] Fretless, never played one before. Plays great. All Squier generic parts, Tuners and bridge will have to be replaced (Badass), pickups sound fine, My playing.... you have to be sooooooooooo precise (or am I just a lazy player?), it's a real learning curve. It's got roundwounds on it, what are peoples thoughts/views Roundwound of flats???[/quote] Ahhh - fretless. Been a while since I owned one, and missing it like mad! The left hand fingering will come - it does take a little time to get precise. Strings? - Well the basic rule is, the more textured the string, the more wear on your fretboard - especially if you have a heavy technique and do a lot of bends/vibrato etc, so steel roundwounds would be the worst for wear. However, IMHO roundwounds have more definition, whereas flat/tapewound have less definition but are much kinder to the fretboard. Hope this helps Hamster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krysbass Posted June 9, 2007 Share Posted June 9, 2007 I've only been playing fretless for about 18 months, as opposed to fretted for 20+ years. I was initially similarly disillusioned by my inability to "fret" notes accurately. It does come together with practice - one thing I found to help massively (as my fretless is totally devoid of any fret markers on the fretboard) was to set the intonation so that the dots on the side of the fretboard marked the correct finger position for the relevant notes. I have Rotosound Jazz flatwounds on my bass, which I find still seem to offer a fairly bright tone when I want it. As well as reduced wear on the fretboard, flatwounds tend to cause less "drag" and abrasion on the fingers of your fretting hand too, which helps when you want to slide notes - which, after all, is much of what fretless is all about. Hope this helps too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass_ferret Posted June 9, 2007 Share Posted June 9, 2007 See [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=660&st=20&start=20"]here[/url] for lots more on strings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassjamm Posted June 10, 2007 Share Posted June 10, 2007 The whole round/flat thing aiy!!! I recently bought a fretless, the single most expensive purchase of my life...i was very concerned about this issue. I spoke to the makers on my bass. In a nutshell they said something along the lines of, we've been making them for 15 years, we've done 2/3 fingerboard sand downs, we make them with rounds in mind, they work and sound just fine with rounds...it's personal preference. So, personally, i prefer rounds, but tastes are different...flats will definately do less harm, but don't let that put you off rounds. You'll notice little string marks after a few hours of playing, but that isn't the wood dissapearing before your eyes, it's just marks, they'll happen, can't stop that, after a few years of constant use, you'll notice blemishes to the board using rounds, but that'll take a lot of playing... I'm sticking with rounds on mine though!!! As for intonation, check out Steve Bailey's video lesson on Bass player TV, very helpful!!! I play a lot plugged into a tuner, not good your ear though. I'm also doing all of my tecnique building on the fretless, so all my exercises are done on it, and i keep a constant check on it...it's made harder in that my fretless is 35" scale, and my fretted 34.5" scales, but getting to know them both individually is helping to overcome that confusion!!! Definately suggest the Bass player TV vid though...you'll have more fretless practicing from that one vid, than and of us could suggest (i reckon so anyway!!!)!!! Thanks Jam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darcy Posted July 31, 2007 Author Share Posted July 31, 2007 Up Date......Well been playing this bass for a while (just home use) but the original strings are dead time to replace. I went with the roundwound guys, they sound a lot better. I have just taken them off to replace..and....GOSH....there is already wear on the fretboard!!! Silicone free polish nothing, always used lemon juice on rosewood boards before bit this is different and both wont shift the ...well almost groves on the D and G strings around the 5th to 10th fret HELP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tait Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 Well, at least its got lines where the frets should be... I got a fretless P Bass thats got an unlined neck, i just can't get the hang of it!!! Still fun to mess around with, especially doing harmonic slides Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass_ferret Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 [quote name='Darcy' post='39733' date='Jul 31 2007, 09:18 PM']Up Date......Well been playing this bass for a while (just home use) but the original strings are dead time to replace. I went with the roundwound guys, they sound a lot better. I have just taken them off to replace..and....GOSH....there is already wear on the fretboard!!! Silicone free polish nothing, always used lemon juice on rosewood boards before bit this is different and both wont shift the ...well almost groves on the D and G strings around the 5th to 10th fret HELP [/quote] Probably wont affect sound or playability. My GB has some marks already and my Ibanez Musician was well marked when I got it and I still played it for twenty odd years no problemo. But if you dont want it to mark any more and like the sound of rounds - do what I said before and use halfs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darcy Posted August 2, 2007 Author Share Posted August 2, 2007 Iwtait..No fretlines tried it before F##king hard, this is bad enough but you get the hang of it after a while and it improves your fingering no end (Whoo theres a comment there lol I'll ask the other half ) Bass_Ferret...Knew it would happen, seen well worn fretless necks before, but not after such a short time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass_ferret Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 Whats the board made of? Both of mine were ebony and they marked up pretty quick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darcy Posted August 2, 2007 Author Share Posted August 2, 2007 From the Squier web site "Fretless Ebonol with Inlaid White Celluloid Fretlines, 9.5” Radius (241 mm) " Plastic Ebony?? heard of it before. Photo attached doesnt look bad from this angle but it WONT polish out!! Also you can "feel" the celluliod lines when you run your finger over the board, is that normal?? [attachment=1532:DSCF1299.JPG] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 Yes, ebonol is like artificial ebony. My mighty mite neck has it (it is unlined). Its meant to last longer than the real thing. There is also Phenolic resin which is like another plastic coating - you clean that with.........................WD40! As for wearing grooves on fretless boards. it normally take years of use to mark a board enough for it to have to be sanded. the best tip you can have from me is, regardless of what type of strings you use, slide side to side as opposed to bending the string up and down - that is what makes the snail trails up and down the board worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass_ferret Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 you do the vibrato on fretless by rolling the fingertips up and down the string like a fiddle player. Dont bend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metal-Mariachi Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 I have GHS bright flats on mine right now, but I also like the Precision flats. I’ve never liked the Bad Ass bridges, Check out Hipshot’s bridges. I personally think they are a much better choice. [url="http://www.hipshotproducts.com/cart.php?m=product_list&c=3"]http://www.hipshotproducts.com/cart.php?m=...ct_list&c=3[/url] MM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass_ferret Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 [quote name='Darcy' post='40623' date='Aug 2 2007, 08:15 PM']From the Squier web site "Fretless Ebonol with Inlaid White Celluloid Fretlines, 9.5” Radius (241 mm) " Plastic Ebony?? heard of it before. Photo attached doesnt look bad from this angle but it WONT polish out!! Also you can "feel" the celluliod lines when you run your finger over the board, is that normal??[/quote] Ebanol is a synthetic used by quite a few makes and is often found on graphite necks. There may be different types of generic Ebanol - some better than others. No it is not normal to be able to fell the fretlines whatever they are made of. But then again - it is a Squier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darcy Posted August 3, 2007 Author Share Posted August 3, 2007 [quote name='bass_ferret' post='40755' date='Aug 3 2007, 08:40 AM']Ebanol is a synthetic used by quite a few makes and is often found on graphite necks. There may be different types of generic Ebanol - some better than others. No it is not normal to be able to fell the fretlines whatever they are made of. But then again - it is a Squier.[/quote] Right answer "it is a Squier" :lol:lol It will suit me fine unless I really get the fretless bug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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