# Can luthiers make fret markings on a fretless bass without any?



## DanD (Feb 6, 2011)

Brice HXB-405 Nat Spalted Fretless at RondoMusic.com


----------



## signalgrey (Feb 6, 2011)

ive re read your title like 4 times...what are you talking about?
you mean a lined fretless?


----------



## Winspear (Feb 6, 2011)

You want to buy this bass and have a luthier install fret lines on it?
I'm quite sure that's possible. I heard it's better to install inlays before the fretboard is radiused (though it doesn't actually mention a radius here..), but I guess it could be inlayed and re-radiused.


----------



## deevit (Feb 6, 2011)

Any good luthier can do this for you. But you'll have to spend almost the price of that bass on it, I'm afraid.


----------



## Thep (Feb 6, 2011)

or you could just learn how to play without the lines.

Millions of middle and high school orchestra students do, I'm sure you can too!


----------



## HaMMerHeD (Feb 6, 2011)

Unlined fretless really isn't that hard to pick up. It definitely takes a lot of practice, but the side dots on the neck are really all you need.

Now, to answer your question, yes you can have a luthier put lines on it, but like deevit said, it would probably cost as much or more than that bass does.

If you really want a lined fretless 5-string, look into the Ibanez SR35. GC, MF, and Music123 all have it. It costs about $110 more than that Brice.


----------



## Varcolac (Feb 6, 2011)

HaMMerHeD said:


> Unlined fretless really isn't that hard to pick up. It definitely takes a lot of practice, but the side dots on the neck are really all you need.
> 
> Now, to answer your question, yes you can have a luthier put lines on it, but like deevit said, it would probably cost as much or more than that bass does.
> 
> If you really want a lined fretless 5-string, look into the Ibanez SR35. GC, MF, and Music123 all have it. It costs about $110 more than that Brice.



Or pick a fretted bass and pay about $100 to have it defretted, leaving you with lines of wood filler. Seems to me you're going about this the wrong way. It's much easier and cheaper to turn a fretted bass into a lined fretless than to turn an unlined into a lined.


----------



## 7 Strings of Hate (Feb 6, 2011)

my buddy has a schecter stilleto 5 string that has the fret lines on it, but its fretless


----------



## Excalibur (Feb 6, 2011)

I love the lines.


----------



## deevit (Feb 6, 2011)

Varcolac said:


> Or pick a fretted bass and pay about $100 to have it defretted, leaving you with lines of wood filler. Seems to me you're going about this the wrong way. It's much easier and cheaper to turn a fretted bass into a lined fretless than to turn an unlined into a lined.



Don't use wood filler for that! It can work but often is too soft and/or shrinks, wich can result in a bent neck. It's a lot better to use wood veneer for filling fret slots.


----------



## troyguitar (Feb 6, 2011)

Just draw lines with pencil or something so you can get rid of them when you no longer need them.


----------



## aslsmm (Feb 6, 2011)

that is a shitty piece of spalted maple. 

ignore every one on here and get a stand up double bass and put your own lines on it. then when your the most badmuthafucka in the world, go get a job with marcellas wallace!


----------



## nephilymbass (Feb 7, 2011)

If you've never played fretless I'd recommend buying a cheap one with lines on it just to get you going and for you to see if you like it. They help a lot in my opinion. I think a MIM fender jazz is the way to go. Let me explain why. 

First off passive single coils are actually great for fretless and if you want to upgrade later the fender jazz is the most popular pickup format out there. 

I personally prefer roundwound strings which do eat up the fingerboard over time on a fretless. With the fender jazz. Its easier to just order a Fender replacement neck from Warmoth or any of the other companies that make fender replacement parts, instead of having to get the fretboard resurfaced down the road if you play a lot. If you like it enough to the point of getting a new neck, get one with an ebony fingerboard and a satin finish on the back of the neck. You can also go to a neck with no lines later if you decide to go that route. Ebony last much longer than anything else I've tried. Its also what is almost always used on upright, cello, viola, and violin. 

I would absolutely never buy a neck through fretless just because I think the maintinence would be to much of a pain to my wallet, plus with fender replacement necks you can try out how different necks feel as far as how the back of the neck is finished or different fingerboard materials. 

That being said aside from fretless I wouldn't recommend fender basses or passive electronics I think those specific things just work good for fretless.


----------



## MTech (Feb 7, 2011)

It's not very expensive to do, my friend took one of his basses and had them groove where a fret would go and inlay rosewood so he's got rosewood stripes on a maple neck and then they cleared over it...it looks great and plays extremely smooth he loves it.


----------



## xtrustisyoursx (Feb 7, 2011)

honestly, the lines aren't that big of a help. On a fretless bass, the "frets" aren't in the same place exactly for each string, and it's far more beneficial to play without lines and develop a feel for each string's fret placement and intonation quirks.


----------



## deevit (Feb 7, 2011)

xtrustisyoursx said:


> honestly, the lines aren't that big of a help. On a fretless bass, the "frets" aren't in the same place exactly for each string,



Yes they are. Otherwise a fretted one would be false as hell. Remember, you can still intonate the bridge of your fretless.


----------



## Waelstrum (Feb 7, 2011)

deevit said:


> Yes they are. Otherwise a fretted one would be false as hell. Remember, you can still intonate the bridge of your fretless.



I think he's talking about true temperament, as opposed to the equal temperament of fretted instruments.


----------



## deevit (Feb 7, 2011)

I'm talking about my ears.


----------



## SargeantVomit (Feb 7, 2011)

Just use the sidemarkers and if you want a little extra just mark them with pencil until you're more comfortable.


----------



## dpm (Feb 7, 2011)

xtrustisyoursx said:


> honestly, the lines aren't that big of a help. On a fretless bass, the "frets" aren't in the same place exactly for each string, and it's far more beneficial to play without lines and develop a feel for each string's fret placement and intonation quirks.



'tis true, and a lot of it has to do with finger pressure, the shape and firmness of each finger tip and what kind of angle it sits at. Lined fretless is initially a little easier to get your head around but then the lines cause you to focus on them and position your fingers visually rather than using your ears to intonate correctly


----------



## angus (Feb 7, 2011)

deevit said:


> Yes they are. Otherwise a fretted one would be false as hell. Remember, you can still intonate the bridge of your fretless.



No, he's correct. Frets are an approximation, so they're aren't perfectly in tune by any stretch of the imagination, particularly when far from the intonation point. Setting bridge intonation gets you closer, but it's still an approximation. The idea with his statement was that on a fretted bass, you set the intonation and that's it, and you live with it; with a fretless, you can hit the note exactly in tune, which will not always correspond with the placement of the line. This is absolutely true.


----------



## HaMMerHeD (Feb 7, 2011)

angus said:


> No, he's correct. Frets are an approximation, so they're aren't perfectly in tune by any stretch of the imagination, particularly when far from the intonation point. Setting bridge intonation gets you closer, but it's still an approximation. The idea with his statement was that on a fretted bass, you set the intonation and that's it, and you live with it; with a fretless, you can hit the note exactly in tune, which will not always correspond with the placement of the line. This is absolutely true.



Yep.


----------



## deevit (Feb 7, 2011)

I know, if you look at it the exact way, a fretted neck is one big compromise. But to our ears, it doesn't sound false, that is what I'm pointing at. If you want to make the approach that precise, every player, fretted or fretless, will not play in tune.


----------



## nephilymbass (Feb 7, 2011)

xtrustisyoursx said:


> honestly, the lines aren't that big of a help. On a fretless bass, the "frets" aren't in the same place exactly for each string, and it's far more beneficial to play without lines and develop a feel for each string's fret placement and intonation quirks.



Yeah I disagree as well, as far as them not being the same from string to string sounds like intonation at your bridge needs to be adjusted.


----------



## angus (Feb 8, 2011)

It's not from string to string- it's down the string. It gets increasingly less accurate as you move away from the point you intonated around.


----------

