Fretless Bass Conversion: On the Bench 8

[@Shred_The_Weapon]

The fretless model I own and play was custom built for a friend (who sold it to me) by the Kiesel precursor, Carvin. My friend chose to have no markers or inlay on the fingerboard. If I ever chose to do a fretless conversion of my Fender J-bass or Squier Bass VI (as if I could or would try the latter), I would prefer to cover up the glue so I couldn’t see or feel where the markers or inlay were. I would aim for it to match my other bass that came that way. Then again, the neck on that J-bass is at an angle to the body, suggesting the truss rod is damaged. An amateur musician who picked it up a few times told me it needs a new neck. That seems “extreme”.

[@artgonewrong]

Wow! Looks great! And thank you for rescuing the cat!!

[@lanimask4314]

Dat music in the background tho

[@keithjohnston5936]

Yeah. How to mute that and keep the narration.

[@MikeDragonborn]

When Dave uses the soldering iron on the frets I always think how gross it must smell! Haha

[@raypineiro8562]

Nice tips for the conversion. 2 questions: why the leather dye instead of an ebony wood stain, and can you add epoxy on top of it if you want a glossy finish?

[@ForsytheVideo]

I'm sure you could. Rosewood is very oily and the leather dye penetrates better than stain.

[@maekong2010]

Came, saw and liked, brother. Techniques taken to heart. I don't see a fretless LP in my future, but hey, you never know, right?

[@keithjohnston5936]

Looks good, nice work.

[@s.m.butterscotch1648]

marvellous work

[@ForsytheVideo]

Thank you!

[@MeatMiddleton]

I really liked this video, since you show the steps to do this pretty well and not rapidfire like some videos I've seen. I bought an Ibanez 4-string a year ago and found out that the electronics are crappy, so since I'm changing out the pickups and such (cheap Dragonfire pickups), why not make it fretless? I have ZERO experience working on guitars, but since the bass is essentially a doorstop, no harm, no foul, right? Some questions: I've got the fret pullers and #12 sanding block, I'm ordering a fret saw (keeping it economical), I'll be using epoxy in the old frets, but I'm curious of where you got your shims, your teak plugs, and what you used as fret markers along the top. Did you use white glow powder? Was the glue/powder like a 50:50 ratio? That's all I've got for now. We'll see if I totally brick the bass. Thank you for the video and good luck with Lucina.

[@ForsytheVideo]

I got the teak plugs from Ebay, this was a couple of years ago but I think I ordered 6mm teak plugs. The shims were just pieces I cut from rosewood veneer, also easy to find on Ebay. I used glow powder, basically I filled the holes with powder and used thin viscosity CA glue to wick it's way in. No real ratio. Thank you for watching and good luck with your bass!

[@pcbullets8726]

Excellent work dude!

[@ForsytheVideo]

Thanks PC, I appreciate it!

[@terrancemason1156]

I have a converted fretless bass that I wish you could do some mod work on. 🙁

[@virtualdream_]

Would it be a big problem if I remove the frets and DON'T fill the holes left by the frets? I can remove them but I don't have access to woodworking materials and don't know what to fill them with? I am asking if the sound would be okay. ?

[@ForsytheVideo]

It wouldn't affect the sound, but may affect the playability and neck stability, and eventually crap would build up in the slots.

[@MrCCR72]

Good work

[@ForsytheVideo]

Thanks man!

[@idiotburns]

best guide to how to do it right!!!!

[@gabedestellano]

Someone needs to tell that singer not to.....

[@Ladybug_Collector123]

Do u think I can fill the empty fret slots with woodfiller and then sand it down? Ive seen some people do that and my bass is already cheap and pretty low quality so im not too hung up on the little details.

[@ForsytheVideo]

You definitely can

[@frankborgaard1959]

Nice work, 👏👏👏

[@dhanoliveraguilar1589]

This is an awesome video. Thanks!

[@ForsytheVideo]

Thanks, and thank you for watching!

[@mykijiji7278]

Just wow!!! Really good!

[@ForsytheVideo]

Thank you!

[@craig.bratcher]

Great job, bro!

[@ForsytheVideo]

Thank you!

[@lundsweden]

Why not just file the frets flat?

[@kuntakinte1303]

10:45 what song is that in the background?

[@ForsytheVideo]

That is a song by my old band Orphic called 'Far From Here'.

[@kuntakinte1303]

@@ForsytheVideo thats a sweet ass song bro, great video too. thank you for both!

[@brendon.alcantara4465]

Wich kind of wood ink did u use?

[@ForsytheVideo]

I used Feibing's alcohol based leather dye.

[@mattildahubbardo]

Cool video , i am doing the same thing . What are the names of the songs used in the video?

[@mattildahubbardo]

I really like the songs in the video! What are the songs called my freind 🙂

[@kevmac1230]

How's the fret guru working for you?

[@ForsytheVideo]

One of the best investments I've made as far as guitar tools go.

[@landmind666]

Personally Id keep the inlays

[@Nera-Red-93]

Pretty damn cool!

[@ForsytheVideo]

Thanks!

[@jamesdonaghy6758]

Did you straighten the board with truss rod before leveling?

[@ForsytheVideo]

Of course.

[@awtano]

Thanks for nice instructions! I'm looking for a fretless bass, and literally can't find any worthy of consideration in my country, so I am considering this alternative. Btw, interesting how many trolls you attracted, hehe.

[@ForsytheVideo]

Well that's the way of the internet I guess, thanks for watching!

[@Noone-of-your-Business]

Why not just fill the fret lines with epoxy?? The _straight_ wood strips don't even align properly on the edges.

[@ForsytheVideo]

The wood strips get shaved down to fit perfectly. You can fill it with epoxy if you like, but if you are staining the board with the intent of making the lines disappear(which is the case here) you need something that takes stain, epoxy does not.

[@Noone-of-your-Business]

@@ForsytheVideo You can just coat the entire fingerboard with epoxy. That would also take care of the occasional string indentations in the wood.

[@ForsytheVideo]

@@Noone-of-your-Business Thanks for your point of view and for checking out the video.

[@gabedestellano]

Oh holy shit, it only gets fucking worse. I had no idea....

[@ForsytheVideo]

Why are you here?

[@Bagusys]

Props on the No Bullshit sticker!

[@Wintermute0168]

"debriss"??? wtf does the soundtrack have to do with what yer doin'?

[@ForsytheVideo]

Man I don't know I'm not a doctor

[@nesjo7777]

OMG this is splintered fret-slots…..sorry.

[@ForsytheVideo]

It absolutely wasn't. The gentleman still plays it daily after two years with zero issues. Thanks for checking out the video.

[@miguelroldao6939]

Surely music is a subjective topic but...

[@Videohead-eq5cy]

It's pronounced debree, not debris. It's written and pronounced differently. Other than that, great video

[@ForsytheVideo]

I absolutely know how to pronounce debris, I had a student used to say deb-riss(he was quite young) and I thought it was funny so I say it that way because it's funny to me. Thanks for watching.

[@Billkwando]

Man, that background music is terrible.

[@ForsytheVideo]

It's an ancient incantation meant to annoy trolls.

[@swampnutz5201]

good video but absolutely awful music.

[@maekong2010]

And by what objective criteria, exactly, are you arriving at this grand pronouncement?

[@winstonoboogie6317]

@@maekong2010 I think it's just probably like...his opinion?

[@maekong2010]

@@winstonoboogie6317 Right. But how bereft of self-awareness do you have to be to think it is okay to voice it in a public arena and from your parents’ basement, no less? Unless, of course, letting everyone within earshot (eyeshot?) know what an utter butthole sounds like happens to be your thing. Ah, now I get it. And it sure explains a lot of what we observe in the world around us, eh? Opinions should be guarded for purposes of concealing hidden character flaws. Of course, the irony in this is that stupid people, even when informed, will never quite get this.

[@winstonoboogie6317]

@@maekong2010 You understand the irony that your response is also just your opinion, right?

[@maekong2010]

@@winstonoboogie6317 No, but it is apparent that you have some misconceptions regarding the nuances of irony and perhaps the distinctions between observations (in this case regarding norms) and opinion. I do not deal in opinion. If asked, I might occasionally give one, but generally find even my own, valueless in a world of 8-plus-billion people - so it would be rare.

[@johnhelm8395]

Didn't like the comment about weak ass freedom. It you don't like freedom go to where you don't have it and stay there.

[@ForsytheVideo]

Already there buddy, just try not paying property tax!