uk_lefty Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 Years ago I remember reading about a fretless bass with a piece of brass fitted to the fingerboard right at it's very end so that zingy slap and pops could be played on it but with the notes sliding like a fretless. Does anyone have one of these? Is it good or bad? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 Was it a Wilkes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted April 24, 2018 Author Share Posted April 24, 2018 19 minutes ago, AndyTravis said: Was it a Wilkes? Absolutely no idea I'm afraid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cato Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 (edited) I looked into it a few months ago. There used to be a company that sold the plate, it may will have been Wilkes, but I couldn't find anyone currently selling a similar item. It might be worth PMing a couple of the clever chaps on the Build Diaries thread for ideas on where or how to get something like this made. There's a few guys with more than decent engineering/machining skills hanging about there. Edited April 24, 2018 by Cato 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 I’ve never played one, but The Gallery have one at the moment https://thebassgallery.com/collections/bass/products/wilkes-bass-custom-fretless 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted April 24, 2018 Author Share Posted April 24, 2018 1 hour ago, ezbass said: I’ve never played one, but The Gallery have one at the moment https://thebassgallery.com/collections/bass/products/wilkes-bass-custom-fretless Perfect, thank you! The reason for looking in to it is that I'm toying with having a bass made and can't decide between fretted or fretless, this could be the solution if it's effective and not just a crappy gimmick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Cloud Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 9 minutes ago, uk_lefty said: Perfect, thank you! The reason for looking in to it is that I'm toying with having a bass made and can't decide between fretted or fretless, this could be the solution if it's effective and not just a crappy gimmick. In that case Doug Wilkes is your man - great luthier! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 Try this, the Mikey convertible basses : Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acebassmusic Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 (edited) I used to have a Musicman Sabre with fretted and fretless Gordon necks. The fretless had a brass slap plate at the end of the fretboard which brightened up the slap sound a little but also protected the end of the fretboard. If I was going down the fretless route again I would have one fitted. Edited April 24, 2018 by Acebassmusic 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 Or the Neuser Fretless System aka NFS : 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 Or simply use your fretless the way it's built : Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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