fretless conversion set up

[christofloffer]

ok so i took the plunge a hauled the frets out of my old bass. it wasnt a great bass to begin with and its worth nothing really but it was my first one so i figured i had nothing to lose but potentially give it a new lease of life. i was given a rather nice yamaha which took over all duties (mostly as its far superior) with practice and recording which left the old one languishing in the corner. so i pulled the frets, which was harder to do than i expected thanks to some erratic glue use in construction, got some light coloured sawdust from the woodworking shed and filled the frets. this gave me the fret lines to use as landmarks, which is something i am glad i did. after a good sand down it feels quite nice to play.
i have been messing about with it and i am finding it quite fun. i have a set of flatwounds on it and i quite like the sound, it does things that the other one doesnt so its got potential to be useful in recording again.
i spent a while homing in the intonation, which was harder than i was expecting. then i started wondering if the neck relief or action should be any different. its not clattering around during playing so i dont think its too close or anything but unless i really smack a string or slide it doesnt have too much of that fretless sound. its there but its subtle. it was fun to slide for about five minutes but i am liking the little touches more, like just a slight vibrato or a tiny slide into the note to add some texture.

so any tips on set up, common mistakes to avoid or even interesting things to learn right off the bat would be very appreciated.

[Norris]

You might want to think about cutting the nut slots a little deeper. Now that you haven't got the height of the frets you could get the strings lower at the nut to almost touch the board - and will help with intonation too

[gary mac]

Having very little neck relief helps with that fretless sound.

[steve-bbb]

[quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1472378074' post='3120618']
Having very little neck relief helps with that fretless sound.
[/quote]
+1 agreed - set action/relief too high and you will lose a lot if not all of that distinctivve fretless growl - too little or too low and the nice fretless growl turns to definite buzzing - is just a case of adjusting until you get the tone exactly where you like it - you might find too that the fretless sound varies subtlely up and down the neck as the neck/string angle changes a small amount

[alyctes]

[quote name='Norris' timestamp='1472377554' post='3120611']
You might want to think about cutting the nut slots a little deeper. Now that you haven't got the height of the frets you could get the strings lower at the nut to almost touch the board - and will help with intonation too
[/quote]

If you've got a set of old roundwounds in your gauge of choice, they are quite useful as nut slot files

[Trueno]

Always worth having a look at Gary Willis' website for fretless stuff. Don't know how to link, but try googling Gary Willis fretless set up.

[Twincam]

One thing about setting intonation on a frestless is unless your finger is exactly in the same position then each time you will get a different result.
There obviously very sensitive to even tiny mm differences.
But you still should be able to get a high degree of intonation. You do have to be very very precise.

Setting up a fretless isn't really different to a fretted bass. You can use a bit less relief if and only if the board is well plained, no imperfections or tiny bumps etc. Most fretted basses are not good in this regard as they just level the frets and manufactures do spend a bit of extra time on a fretless board. But I read you have put time into it so it should be ok.
As someone above said you can lower the nut a little bit too.

Edited August 28, 2016 by Twincam

[HowieBass]

I set intonation on my fretless using the edge of a fingernail to stop the string for accuracy.

[Trueno]

[quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1472398467' post='3120812']
I set intonation on my fretless using the edge of a fingernail to stop the string for accuracy.
[/quote]

Good idea. The edge of a credit hard might work, but you may need three hands.

[steve-bbb]

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1472393994' post='3120764']
But you still should be able to get a high degree of intonation. You do have to be very very precise.
[/quote]
[quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1472398467' post='3120812']
I set intonation on my fretless using the edge of a fingernail to stop the string for accuracy.
[/quote]
[quote name='Trueno' timestamp='1472401447' post='3120845']
Good idea. The edge of a credit hard might work, but you may need three hands.
[/quote]

try a capo

i didnt have a capo to hand so i used this aligning the edge of the roll exactly along the twelfth fret and checking the pitch of the fretted note and comparing it to the harmonic with a tuner

Edited August 29, 2016 by steve-bbb