Convertable Fretted and fretless!

[AttitudeCastle]

Hey!

Just got sent this by my brother

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2WOOIZXNks&feature=player_embedded"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2WOOIZXNks...player_embedded[/url]

Sorry, i can't remeber how to have it as a window in the post

AC

[Badass]

[yorick]

Westone sought of did this in the eighties when they released a model that came with fretted and fretless necks in the case.

[AttitudeCastle]

[quote name='Badass' post='909326' date='Jul 29 2010, 03:15 PM']

[/quote]


[quote name='yorick' post='909350' date='Jul 29 2010, 03:40 PM']Westone sought of did this in the eighties when they released a model that came with fretted and fretless necks in the case.[/quote]

Haha Thanks,

Really?
Thats pretty cool,
i wonder how thick the neck is, and if there are small divots when the frets are in, probably thinking about how it is likely to work

[geoffbyrne]

The problem is that when you drop the frets, you end up with a fretless with a really high action (for some!).

G.

[bubinga5]

im afraid most bassist dont like change too quick....although this is a good idea but it wont catch on...great idea though...not flawless though

[Annoying Twit]

Surely a better solution would be to have an eight string neck. Strings would be in pairs, each pair tuned the same, so E E A A D D G G. The frets would not extend across the whole of the neck, but would be present-absent-present-absent-present-absent-present-absent, so that one string of a pair has a fret underneath it, while the other string of the pair doesn't. The bridge would have to allow independent string height adjustments, so that the fretless strings would be at a lower height than the fretted strings. There would be some compromises to be made in terms of bending strings. The fretted strings couldn't really be bent as they'd go off the end of the short frets, so player would have to remember to use the fretless strings when they want to bend the note, but also to use a slide combined with the bend so as to avoid bending the fretless strings over the frets. To allow flexibility, it would probably be better to have a guitar trem system (two way bends) so that the trem can be used for bends that are tricky with the frets as they are. And if anyone has read this far and thinks I'm being serious, then I fart in your general direction.

[27 frets]

[quote name='geoffbyrne' post='909686' date='Jul 29 2010, 09:49 PM']The problem is that when you drop the frets, you end up with a fretless with a really high action (for some!).

G.[/quote]
It looked to me that the fingerboard pivots up using the lever at the body end, rather than all the frets going down, - so it would keep the low action.
But the question of how level the fingerboard would be where the frets are is one to ponder, would dips/divots matter if you don't press down too hard?
The 8 string EEAADDGG neck suggestion sounds bizarre, not sure I could handle a neck that wide with up-down-up-down-up-down-up-down frets - would all feel a bit jagged! Would someone care to experiment?

Edited July 30, 2010 by 27 frets

[Annoying Twit]

[quote name='27 frets' post='909870' date='Jul 30 2010, 08:12 AM']The 8 string EEAADDGG neck suggestion sounds bizarre, not sure I could handle a neck that wide with up-down-up-down-up-down-up-down frets - would all feel a bit jagged! Would someone care to experiment?[/quote]

Are you suggesting that I would post something bizarre on a web forum? Them's fighting words.

[geoffbyrne]

[quote name='27 frets' post='909870' date='Jul 30 2010, 08:12 AM']It looked to me that the fingerboard pivots up using the lever at the body end, rather than all the frets going down, - so it would keep the low action.
But the question of how level the fingerboard would be where the frets are is one to ponder, would dips/divots matter if you don't press down too hard?
The 8 string EEAADDGG neck suggestion sounds bizarre, not sure I could handle a neck that wide with up-down-up-down-up-down-up-down frets - would all feel a bit jagged! Would someone care to experiment?[/quote]


Nope. There's a much higher quality version on Youtube & if you view that & increase the size of the picture, you'll see that it's the frets that drop, leaving quite a high action - no "Mwah" from that one!

This technique has been around quite a while - I remember seeing this solution on a bass some years ago.

G.

[machinehead]

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='909820' date='Jul 30 2010, 01:13 AM']Surely a better solution would be to have an eight string neck. Strings would be in pairs, each pair tuned the same, so E E A A D D G G. The frets would not extend across the whole of the neck, but would be present-absent-present-absent-present-absent-present-absent, so that one string of a pair has a fret underneath it, while the other string of the pair doesn't. The bridge would have to allow independent string height adjustments, so that the fretless strings would be at a lower height than the fretted strings. There would be some compromises to be made in terms of bending strings. The fretted strings couldn't really be bent as they'd go off the end of the short frets, so player would have to remember to use the fretless strings when they want to bend the note, but also to use a slide combined with the bend so as to avoid bending the fretless strings over the frets. To allow flexibility, it would probably be better to have a guitar trem system (two way bends) so that the trem can be used for bends that are tricky with the frets as they are. And if anyone has read this far and thinks I'm being serious, then I fart in your general direction.[/quote]

Good man. Farting is good. Follow throughs are much less satisfying.

Frank

[Stacker]

This idea isn't new: there was a similar system in the '80s but, surprisingly, it never caught on.

Edited August 1, 2010 by Stacker

[MoonBassAlpha]

[quote name='geoffbyrne' post='909686' date='Jul 29 2010, 09:49 PM']The problem is that when you drop the frets, you end up with a fretless with a really high action (for some!).

G.[/quote]
If you've bothered to make the frets go up and down, it's not a stretch of the imagination that the nut may do too, is it?

[geoffbyrne]

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' post='912707' date='Aug 2 2010, 12:47 PM']If you've bothered to make the frets go up and down, it's not a stretch of the imagination that the nut may do too, is it?[/quote]


Mmmm. Not impossible, but unfortunately, you can't see the nut when he changes the lever over, so impossible to say.

I'd say not, as dropping the nut would reduce downward pressure on it and therefore slacking off the strings, putting them all out of tune.

Can't have that!!!

G.