Mr Thumb Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Hello all. I've always wanted to own a fretless bass, but didn't want to pay too much money on one, just I case I decided it wasn't for me. Lurking in the back of my garage, I had a old cheap Musicman copy bass that I purchased from a local pawn shop some time ago. This became my practice conversion bass, so I wasn't worried if I wrecked it. I only used filler in the slots, and left the roundwounds on. The nut and saddles both had to be filed to reduce the ultra high action. It was a bit of a Frankenstein bass, but served a purpose, and did not cost me one penny. Moving on to the subject bass, I found a Ibanez EDB550 on Gumtree for sale quite near to me that I purchased for £120. After stripping it down and giving it a general service and clean up, I proceeded to remove the frets. At this point please bear in mind that I am not a Luthier and do not pretend to be one. All tools, gauges, radius blocks etc were made or modified from existing equipment and supplies in my garage. The frets were carefully removed using a pair of modified end cutters. The usual sanding and cleaning process followed. I filed the nut and the saddles and made a slight truss rod adjustment. A good friend of mine does marquetry and has a large selection of wood veneers. We found a maple sample that was the correct thickness to occupy the slot left by the fret, so I cut strips with a very sharp scalpel and glued them in. More sanding followed. The neck was given a wipe of lemon oil and several coatings of carnauba wax, then re-strung with some flatwounds. It sounds great, and I use it for a couple of tracks at rehearsals. I hope some of you may have found this useful. I'm sure there are many more who are saying "why the hell did you do that?" Well im no expert, just trying to save a few quid. If anybody has any constructive criticism, then please reply, and thanks for looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 [quote name='Mr Thumb' timestamp='1426166518' post='2715133']...If anybody has any constructive criticism, then please reply...[/quote] Good afternoon, Mr. Thumb... Sorry, but no constructive criticism from me; in fact, no criticism at all..! Hearty congratulations, rather, on achieving a magnificent result, despite your modest claims regarding expertise. A model posting; thanks for sharing. Dare we abuse of an evident pun and declare 'Thumbs up'..? [sharedmedia=core:attachments:167485] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ticktock Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 I have one of those basses. Nice fretless conversion. (Either I got stung or you got a great bargain!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo2 Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 That looks like a pro luthier done the job, very impressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hubrad Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Looks like a nice job you've done there.. enjoy! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Looks like a very solid job to me, I've done my own before (not as good a yours) and had one done professionally, yours looks pukka. As it also sounds good, you should be proud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero9 Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Super job, brilliant! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Cloud Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 That is an exceptionally clean job...kudos! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madshadows Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Superb conversion job John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Thumb Posted March 17, 2015 Author Share Posted March 17, 2015 Thanks guys. I really appreciate the comments, makes me want to do another one now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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