Defret Diary

Micahb · 10-16-2010, 07:37 PM

I joined a band yesterday and the entire time I was thinking "Man, I wish I had a fretless for this."

So I just finished ripping the frets out of one of my basses with a hunting knife.

Details and pictures tomorrow.

**slap_j** · 10-16-2010, 07:50 PM

Jaco did the same thing. You're in good company.

Rainer. · 10-16-2010, 08:03 PM

Nice. You would.

ethan_hanus · 10-16-2010, 08:26 PM

I've heard horror stories from guys who did that and didn't fill the slots where the frets used to be, typically necks that start doing half circles. I would fill those slots with rosewood and sand it down to prevent that.

JesusFreakGirl · 10-16-2010, 09:45 PM

I'd be afraid to hurt my baby! haha. But I'm tempted to buy a fretless. Really tempted.

**Giga Hertz** · 10-16-2010, 09:52 PM

My mate gave his brother-in-law an old bass that he ripped the frets out of. I think he said that he filled it in with putty, or something. Apparently it worked out pretty well, though.

Micahb · 10-17-2010, 12:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethan_hanus

I've heard horror stories from guys who did that and didn't fill the slots where the frets used to be, typically necks that start doing half circles. I would fill those slots with rosewood and sand it down to prevent that.

Really? I haven't heard of that happening, but yeah, I'll be filling it. I've heard wood putty works, like Giga Hertz said, but I'll be hitting up Home Depot or something in the next couple days to buy some 1mm veneer to fill it with.

Josey Wales · 10-17-2010, 01:22 AM

i think you should fiill the slots with hot pink color

Micahb · 10-17-2010, 01:33 AM

Don't tempt me. I was actually thinking about refinishing my Musicmaster in Shell Pink.
Also, I remember reading about a guy several years ago who went fretless and used a crazy carpet to fill it with great success... seeing as I'm fairly sure I have a pink crazy carpet in my garage, this is a very cheap way to go.

thesteve · 10-17-2010, 01:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Micahb

Really? I haven't heard of that happening, but yeah, I'll be filling it. I've heard wood putty works, like Giga Hertz said, but I'll be hitting up Home Depot or something in the next couple days to buy some 1mm veneer to fill it with.

I don't even know why it would happen. It's not like the lack of frets would mess with the truss rod.

ethan_hanus · 10-17-2010, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thesteve

I don't even know why it would happen. It's not like the lack of frets would mess with the truss rod.

No, but there's still a lot of tension on the neck, and if the frets are missing, just imagine cutting slots in a piece of re-bar under a lot of tension, eventually all those cuts compromise the strength, and it bends.

Trust me, after a while you start to notice your neck is bending a lot and those gaps where the frets used to be are no longer gaps, but are closed.

thesteve · 10-17-2010, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ethan_hanus

No, but there's still a lot of tension on the neck, and if the frets are missing, just imagine cutting slots in a piece of re-bar under a lot of tension, eventually all those cuts compromise the strength, and it bends.

Trust me, after a while you start to notice your neck is bending a lot and those gaps where the frets used to be are no longer gaps, but are closed.

I get the re-bar example, I'm just really surprised that the frets would serve that much of a purpose considering that they only fill a slot that makes up a very small percentage of the neck.

jthomas1600 · 10-17-2010, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thesteve

I get the re-bar example, I'm just really surprised that the frets would serve that much of a purpose considering that they only fill a slot that makes up a very small percentage of the neck.

Yeah, but multiply that by how ever many frets are on a bass. Even if each gap only closed by 1/32 of an inch it would add up. I don't know anything about guitar necks but I've done some metal fabrication and I know it doesn't take too much notching to make bending something much easier.

ethan_hanus · 10-17-2010, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thesteve

I get the re-bar example, I'm just really surprised that the frets would serve that much of a purpose considering that they only fill a slot that makes up a very small percentage of the neck.

I know right, but apparently they serve a greater purpose. I laughed horribly when I saw the pics on UG, and we couldn't figure it out for the longest time until a professional guitar builder guy came into the thread and explained it to us, then we were like

thesteve · 10-17-2010, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jthomas1600

Yeah, but multiply that by how ever many frets are on a bass. Even if each gap only closed by 1/32 of an inch it would add up. I don't know anything about guitar necks but I've done some metal fabrication and I know it doesn't take too much notching to make bending something much easier.

I'm not just thinking about horizontal distance but also depth. I wouldn't expect the fretboard to play that big of a role in neck flexibility, particularly when it's not hooked up to the truss rod.