Getting back to it - Questions re...a fretless bass??

[Steve Sawyer]

Hey all...

It's been a while since I was on here. I've been spending an inordinate amount of time making music instead of instruments. Amazing to discover what my capabilities are now that I'm retired and have the time to practice! Plus I started playing drums almost three years ago, then acquired two Chapman Sticks - a used one last December and a new one that I'd ordered in January of 2021 finally arrived in June. THAT is an amazing rabbit-hole to go down.

Anyway, my shop has been sitting there unused, and I've been thinking that I have at least one more guitar in me. But the thing that I crave to build is a fretless bass, maybe a 5-string.

Given the history of fretless basses, I'm thinking that I can go ahead and design the guitar as I would for a fretted instrument, and simply inlay some contrasting material in place of the frets as place-markers instead of frets (I'm thinking an ebony FB with silver inlays).

Is it really that simple, or am I overlooking something?

Also - any special considerations on a 5-string? I was going to make my last build a 5-string, but being a short-scale instrument, I was advised that it was going to be tough to get that low "B" string to behave, which I think was good advice, so I stuck with the 4-string arrangement. This build is going to be a conventional 34-inch scale length.

Thanks!

[Barry Daniels]

Instead of silver inlays for fret markers, I would advise aluminum, because it won't tarnish.

[Bob Gramann]

I’ve built a couple acoustic 4 string fretless basses with no fret position markers, just the normal side dots moved up to the intonation points. I needed an electric for gig with big feedback issues, so I bought a Fender fretless Jazz Bass (cheaper than building one). It came with the fret slots filled in with a light colored wood. I thought that was neat, so I put fret position markers on the next one I built. For me, that turned out to be a mistake. The markers were a distraction. Without, I could just play and my ear would set the intonation. With them, I found myself looking at the fretboard and my fingers a lot instead of just playing. I won’t put the markers in the next time I build a bass. Whether you need them or not depends on your own playing style. (Before I played bass guitar, I played upright).

[Peter Wilcox]

I've built a couple, one acoustic and one electric. Just build it the same as a fretted one, but don't puts frets in. I too think fake frets would just be a distraction and not helpful. I agree with Bob to just use side dots, placed at the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th etc fret positions. I didn't put any markers on the acoustic, but put a small piece of masking tape at the 5th position which was adequate.

I also use flat wound strings to keep from chewing up the fingerboard.

[Steve Sawyer]

Thanks. I'm not certain of my abilities enough to go without some kind of "training wheels" to get the intonation right. Maybe some half- or quarter-"fret-fillers" that extend to the upper FB edge which would be both decorative and functional. Not sure if I'll bind the neck edges, so that will influence that decision.

[Steve Sawyer]

Still haven't started this project, but I have a set of MIMF plans and an ebony fingerboard. I also have some body blanks in the shop Still trying to decide whether to do a 4- or 5-string, but since I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on the bridge, it's decision time.

Any special considerations for 5-string construction and setup that I should be aware of? Any differences with regard to design/setup for a fretless? In other words, are the rules-of-thumb for FB relief any different than for a fretted instrument? I learned the hard way to build to the hardware, and just want to make sure the general rules still apply.

[Barry Daniels]

I don't think anything is different except, of course, the strings get lowered by the height of the frets. Also, you can set the action pretty low because fret buzz is no longer a concern. Are you going to use flat wound strings?

[Bob Gramann]

“ you can set the action pretty low because fret buzz is no longer a concern.”—One of the neat things about a fretless and low action is the growl you can get by hitting it just right. Unlike fret buzz, the string hitting on the fingerboard can make a pleasant and interesting sound. Fretless gives yiur fingers more tone control.

[Joshua Levin-Epstein]

Most of my experience is with Fender style basses:

The nut slots can almost be right down to the fingerboard. The clearance on a doublebass is usually described as the thickness of a piece of paper. If you have a Fender type nut slot, you may need to remove the nut to do the final shaping of the slots. And because the nut slots are lower, you might need to do something to increase string angle behind the nut.

I've seen people use round wound strings on unprotected ebony fingerboards for maximum growl. I never thought it was a good idea but I have been told I don't know what I'm talking about...

[Allen Hanford]

I've only built one but I copied all of my dimensions from a fretted bass and it worked out fine. I made all of it out of maple except for the cover on the back and the marker dots which were walnut. Then I sawed slots where each fret would have been and packed the slots with wood dough made of tightbond and walnut sanding dust.

[Allen Hanford]

http://nort_comm.tripod.com/other/hobbies/fretless1.jpg
http://nort_comm.tripod.com/other/hobbies/fretless3.jpg

[Barry Daniels]

Looks good, Allen. You can post photos directly on the site using the Full Editor button and Attachments.

[Steve Sawyer]

I don't think anything is different except, of course, the strings get lowered by the height of the frets. Also, you can set the action pretty low because fret buzz is no longer a concern. Are you going to use flat wound strings?

Sorry to be so late getting back to this. Missed it when first posted.

I have two basses, one I bought, one I made, and have flat wounds on both. I was planning on putting flat-wounds on the fretless too.