Might help for next time: Put painter's tape over the slots before you kerf them with the saw. Leave the tape on when you dump the glue in and put your filler strips in. Take the tape off after you've flush cut the filler strips just before radius sanding ...no mess on the fret board. Also the water will dilute the glue and the wood will absorb it, not the biggest deal when you aren't staining or finishing the wood but sometimes it will still be visible on bare wood. Not trying to piss on anyone's methods just trying to show another way.
I fill the slots with 2 part body filler. I sand the board with 220, 400, 600, 1200 & 1500. If you tape each side of the board with electric tape and masking tape on top creating a channel for the filler to be pushed down into, you get a great result. The wood method is too time consuming and less durable. I've converted several. Never do this on an expensive bass. Just buy a replacement neck for any axe above $700.
I tried this on an acoustic bass I have but never knew heating the things up would make it a lot easier so cheers Dave. I only pulled one fret then gave up because I thought I would be there for 6 months. Lol. You are a wealth of knowledge lad. Nice one D.
When I did this to my bass back in 1994 or so, I didn't do the water thing, I just put the hot iron in the fret wires and I used wood patch to fill in the groves.
I have two of these they are now my main working basses..all my expensive gear doesnt see the lightb of day since i discovered these...and theyre cheap enough to put your stickers on and not worry About the finish.. I also achieve the lowest sweetest action of any bass i play...all round brilliant tools..☮❤
These are great little basses - once you replace the pickups. The stock pickups suck pretty badly, so I immediately installed a DiMarzio Split P and replaced the cheezy bent steel bridge with a high mass OmegaBass bridge (which solved the neck dive problem). It's now one of my go-to basses for just about any style. Of course, the pickup and bridge cost as much as the bass did (I bought mine used), but it's still a great axe for less than $400 total!
Very Helpful with the water on one side. I hope you make another video when you get the radius block. You often have great videos and something gets in the way to see the full conversion and a before and after. How much will you work on the nut, Intonation on a fretless? Action on a fretless? I'd be nice to hear you play that one. Could you do a video aboot stringtree positioning?
I reckon he left the guitar with all those woddies sticking out, since bass players are reputedly thick as shite and wouldn't even notice. [EDIT] Hey, I found the second video!
You might have had the correct scale notched straight-edge. For the regular Jaguar guitar the scale is as if Fender moved the nut up to the first fret position. So the 25.5" scale notched straight-edge worked fine when you move it over one notch. No idea if the bass is like that, or even modern Jags.
I only play med-short scale. Maple would have been nice in those slots. Would play fretless and still be on the money because you could press down on where the slot used to be. Great job Dave, as per usual! Love the cussing again, it's your old self! Thanxz
Dave you can use your 25.5"-scale notched straight edge on a 24" scale neck. Just line the 2nd fret notch of the 25.5" straight edge up with the 1st fret of the 24" scale neck.
I had one of these bass’s and they have the best neck I’ve ever played, the ‘P’ pick up was okay, but the ‘J’ was very quiet. Unfortunately though the body is too light and the neck dives, so I changed it for a modern player Jazz short scale and it’s far more substantial, and the pick ups have a far higher output. I do miss that Jag neck though!
Don't mean to pick on you Dave, but it was funny how you almost dipped the Qtip in the glue,when you were suppose to be cleaning it, not once but twice Lol !
Man, cheap guitars today are sooo much better than cheap guitars 25 yrs ago. Looks good and will probably carry quite a tune. Look forward to part deux.
I don't think that will work. When you press down on your fretless parts the string will rest on top of the fretted area. But if I'm not mistaken there are very spacy multi-scale basses that have frets just under certain strings.
when i fret the 7th fret, the 6th fret doesn't get in my way. i can see the action being high on the fretless bit between the 12th and the bridge (maybe compensate with veneer? or leave it high originally?). i can't see the frets behind interfering with the note. if there is something i'm missing let me know...my physics is weak
It might be possible to design a fretboard that is as high as the frets beyond the 12th fret. The question is why would you want to play fretless just behind the 12th fret? The change in thickness might cause problems with the truss rod adjustment. It's probably easier just to own two basses. There are double neck basses as well if you want to suffer from the weight (except if it's something like the few double neck steinbergers). Tell me, why do you want to play fretless only after the 12th fret?
Friggin Hack a Mac,those saws are expensive,maybe they'll see your video and give you another,Dave check out Wish online,they've got luthie r tools fairly cheap.🎸🎸 👍✌
What is with you goobers criticizing the owner for wanting the frets out? Get over yourselves! It's not some sacred religious relic and it's not your bass. You snowflakes with your hurt feelings don't get a vote. Anyway...nice work as always, Dave!
I wouldn't think a short scale bass would make a great fretless-- you want as much string length as possible to counteract the muting effect of the fingertip. Also, I would have chosen white plastic or bone as the filler material . You can bet the player will use the fret impressions as a guide, so you might as well make them as visible as possible.
6 ปีที่แล้ว +1
When you do it to your instrument, you're free to do it your way.
Fretless has a different tone, and without the frets in the way you can do smoother slides, slide harmonics, and play notes outside the 12 tone equal temperament system (like in Indian music for example) without bending. There's also this blossoming "mwah" sound it does, and especially combined with the slides that gives it a really expressive almost vocal sound.
That's a nice little bass. I can understand changing the pickups if you really liked that bass and didn't want buy another which is fine, but why remove the frets?
Fretless has a different tone, and without the frets in the way you can do smoother slides, slide harmonics, and play notes outside the 12 tone equal temperament system (like in Indian music for example) without bending. There's also this blossoming "mwah" sound it does, and especially combined with the slides that gives it a really expressive almost vocal sound.
When I was 13 years old in 1964, my older brother fronted me $375 so I could buy the bass player in his band bass rig-a 1962 Fender Jazz and Bassman piggyback amp. About 1969 the local bass guru told me of Jaco and how to modify my Jazz bass-yanking out the frets. Me sometimes being a dumbass was inspired by Jaco's playing and divine inspiration of local bass guru then yanked the frets out of the bass. In a dream shortly after, God kindly informed me she put frets in basses-so you can play true notes in pitch. I soon found that our when I went to play it and the notes were out of pitch-that is why the fretless players wiggle their notes. Not to get the MaaaHHH but to disguise the note is not in pitch. With that discovery, God also informed me I would be spending my afterlife where it is very warm and that I might as well have a good time until then. I urge all of you to try a fretless bass before you wreck yours.
Might help for next time: Put painter's tape over the slots before you kerf them with the saw. Leave the tape on when you dump the glue in and put your filler strips in. Take the tape off after you've flush cut the filler strips just before radius sanding ...no mess on the fret board. Also the water will dilute the glue and the wood will absorb it, not the biggest deal when you aren't staining or finishing the wood but sometimes it will still be visible on bare wood. Not trying to piss on anyone's methods just trying to show another way.
I fill the slots with 2 part body filler. I sand the board with 220, 400, 600, 1200 & 1500.
If you tape each side of the board with electric tape and masking tape on top creating a channel for the filler to be pushed down into, you get a great result.
The wood method is too time consuming and less durable. I've converted several.
Never do this on an expensive bass. Just buy a replacement neck for any axe above $700.
Had one of these once, great bass for the price. Nice and compact, perfect for playing when you’re sitting on the sofa and kicking back.
I love these lil short scale Jags. Cheers mate.
Ladies and Gentlemen,I present to you the "Jac-uar".
Your doing a great job on that Dave, Cheers
I tried this on an acoustic bass I have but never knew heating the things up would make it a lot easier so cheers Dave. I only pulled one fret then gave up because I thought I would be there for 6 months. Lol. You are a wealth of knowledge lad. Nice one D.
When I did this to my bass back in 1994 or so, I didn't do the water thing, I just put the hot iron in the fret wires and I used wood patch to fill in the groves.
I have two of these they are now my main working basses..all my expensive gear doesnt see the lightb of day since i discovered these...and theyre cheap enough to put your stickers on and not worry
About the finish..
I also achieve the lowest sweetest action of any bass i play...all round brilliant tools..☮❤
Another top movie Dave. Looking forward to seeing the end result....Brian
These are great little basses - once you replace the pickups. The stock pickups suck pretty badly, so I immediately installed a DiMarzio Split P and replaced the cheezy bent steel bridge with a high mass OmegaBass bridge (which solved the neck dive problem). It's now one of my go-to basses for just about any style. Of course, the pickup and bridge cost as much as the bass did (I bought mine used), but it's still a great axe for less than $400 total!
Stuck a pair of Bartolinis in mine (no preamp) and it rips the shit out of the competition.
I have one of those bass guitars. Amazing instrument for the money, not a high end bass of course, but you can get a nice tone of them.
Dave's World of Stunned Fluff
Love watching your vids. Your work is great and your sense of humor makes me laugh
Dave's World of Fun Stuff LOL when I first read it I thought you said sometimes irritated......hahaha
Very Helpful with the water on one side. I hope you make another video when you get the radius block. You often have great videos and something gets in the way to see the full conversion and a before and after. How much will you work on the nut, Intonation on a fretless? Action on a fretless?
I'd be nice to hear you play that one. Could you do a video aboot stringtree positioning?
I reckon he left the guitar with all those woddies sticking out, since bass players are reputedly thick as shite and wouldn't even notice. [EDIT] Hey, I found the second video!
This was great, never tried it before, thanks for the education Dave!
those squiers short scales are cheap, but awesome
Hope your feel'in better Dave. 🎵🎸
20 seconds worth of advice in 14 minutes
You might have had the correct scale notched straight-edge. For the regular Jaguar guitar the scale is as if Fender moved the nut up to the first fret position. So the 25.5" scale notched straight-edge worked fine when you move it over one notch. No idea if the bass is like that, or even modern Jags.
7:20 I see Dave's bass playing thumb! :D
I only play med-short scale. Maple would have been nice in those slots. Would play fretless and still be on the money because you could press down on where the slot used to be. Great job Dave, as per usual! Love the cussing again, it's your old self! Thanxz
Will there be a part 2 to this video?
Woah new intro DAVE
Dave you can use your 25.5"-scale notched straight edge on a 24" scale neck. Just line the 2nd fret notch of the 25.5" straight edge up with the 1st fret of the 24" scale neck.
This bass is a 30 inch scale.
Oh yeah ... I was thinking 24-inch scale Jag 6-string ... not Jag bass. Duh !
This fuckin shit looks pretty good.
I had one of these bass’s and they have the best neck I’ve ever played, the ‘P’ pick up was okay, but the ‘J’ was very quiet. Unfortunately though the body is too light and the neck dives, so I changed it for a modern player Jazz short scale and it’s far more substantial, and the pick ups have a far higher output. I do miss that Jag neck though!
Those are sweet little rigs.
I changed out the nut and modded the electronics a little and now it has a lice woody tone. They rock.
Nice Video Man.
Well , that classifies as fun stuff I guess . Hope yer doin' well Dave . PEACE
Don't mean to pick on you Dave, but it was funny how you almost dipped the Qtip in the glue,when you were suppose to be cleaning it, not once but twice Lol !
nice work
For the price that spew tac ask for gauged saws, they should supply a warranty that pays for any damages caused by poor craftsmanship of the tool.
Man, cheap guitars today are sooo much better than cheap guitars 25 yrs ago. Looks good and will probably carry quite a tune. Look forward to part deux.
Nice intro Dave.
Taking notes from this video. Im going to transform an abomination P Bass into a not-to-fret p
And a new lead.
What were those filler strips of wood he used? Where should I get some?
Thanks
Where did you buy your small removal plyers at?
It sounded good like it was.
i cant wait to see the end results of this Dave is the penny black album on Itunes?? anyway have a safe summer cheers
What about filling the fret slots with epoxy?????
I wish Dave was my neighbor.
Dave's World of Fun Stuff
😂😂😂😂
John H At least within drivin distance, id want em to work on my guitars no doubt.
This makes me want to get a bass
Did you make the filler strips or can you buy those some place?
Can you play some sound bites from penny black?
I would talk the owner into getting a better bridge for it.
it's like pullin' teeth!
New cord!
Where did you get those nice calipers?
Dave's World of Fun Stuff the store that remains nameless?
You can get calipers for cheap in US at Harbor Freight.
Mike Tylka that is what I have. They are very inaccurate.
Idea. Can we defret from the 12th fret up. Best of both worlds. Frets where you make your money, no frets down if funland.
I don't think that will work. When you press down on your fretless parts the string will rest on top of the fretted area.
But if I'm not mistaken there are very spacy multi-scale basses that have frets just under certain strings.
is that a huge tonal problem? are there other technical hurdles?
Ehh...yes. If anything is preventing the strings from vibrating freely, you can't play the damn thing.
when i fret the 7th fret, the 6th fret doesn't get in my way. i can see the action being high on the fretless bit between the 12th and the bridge (maybe compensate with veneer? or leave it high originally?). i can't see the frets behind interfering with the note. if there is something i'm missing let me know...my physics is weak
It might be possible to design a fretboard that is as high as the frets beyond the 12th fret. The question is why would you want to play fretless just behind the 12th fret? The change in thickness might cause problems with the truss rod adjustment.
It's probably easier just to own two basses. There are double neck basses as well if you want to suffer from the weight (except if it's something like the few double neck steinbergers). Tell me, why do you want to play fretless only after the 12th fret?
Friggin Hack a Mac,those saws are expensive,maybe they'll see your video and give you another,Dave check out Wish online,they've got luthie r tools fairly cheap.🎸🎸 👍✌
If it was set up properly -- Why do shops let instruments out without setting them up? It should be part of the selling price.
My local store still does/
Dave would this method work on a laquered fretboard ???? i am going to put new frets on.
the fretboard is on a squier classic vibe guitar its maple . possibly after installation as no dirt can get under the frets
thanks for the info Dave!
Oh, i own one and don’t even play bass, just liked it and it was cheap!
Stewmac strikes again!
What can go wrong. 😂😂
What is with you goobers criticizing the owner for wanting the frets out? Get over yourselves! It's not some sacred religious relic and it's not your bass. You snowflakes with your hurt feelings don't get a vote. Anyway...nice work as always, Dave!
The Devil In The Circuit Nothing wrong at all with a fretless bass. It's perfectly normal.
Wrong Dave! It's a 200 dollar guitar + Dimarzios + Fretless conversion & setup and after it's done, it's still a 200 dollar guitar. :)
A$200 Bass + $180 parts + Dave's magic blessings= Priceless! 🤑
Who cares what it's worth if the owner is looking to play it rather than sell it?
you have very young looking hands
I wouldn't think a short scale bass would make a great fretless-- you want as much string length as possible to counteract the muting effect of the fingertip. Also, I would have chosen white plastic or bone as the filler material . You can bet the player will use the fret impressions as a guide, so you might as well make them as visible as possible.
When you do it to your instrument, you're free to do it your way.
Always wondered how that was done. Now I need to understand the why...
Fretless has a different tone, and without the frets in the way you can do smoother slides, slide harmonics, and play notes outside the 12 tone equal temperament system (like in Indian music for example) without bending. There's also this blossoming "mwah" sound it does, and especially combined with the slides that gives it a really expressive almost vocal sound.
Josh Starkey lol, no, I knew that...wondering why the conversion, you can get an aftermarket one, plus the cost of the pickups....for a Squire...
some people get really attached to their instrument
You should be using transparent gloves so we can see what you are doing...
That's what guitar techs at nudist colonies wear.
That's a nice little bass. I can understand changing the pickups if you really liked that bass and didn't want buy another which is fine, but why remove the frets?
Fretless has a different tone, and without the frets in the way you can do smoother slides, slide harmonics, and play notes outside the 12 tone equal temperament system (like in Indian music for example) without bending. There's also this blossoming "mwah" sound it does, and especially combined with the slides that gives it a really expressive almost vocal sound.
IngLouisSchreurs The "Missionary Position" of Bass guitars
lolocfmjpwp0kjcxsa Haha
RagingDragonBlues Listen to Jaco Pastorius play a fretless bass on Joni Mitchell's "Hejira" album. Beautiful tonality.
IngLouisSchreurs, to whom your opinion was asked, just sayin... Thick
When I was 13 years old in 1964, my older brother fronted me $375 so I could buy the bass player in his band bass rig-a 1962 Fender Jazz and Bassman piggyback amp. About 1969 the local bass guru told me of Jaco and how to modify my Jazz bass-yanking out the frets. Me sometimes being a dumbass was inspired by Jaco's playing and divine inspiration of local bass guru then yanked the frets out of the bass. In a dream shortly after, God kindly informed me she put frets in basses-so you can play true notes in pitch. I soon found that our when I went to play it and the notes were out of pitch-that is why the fretless players wiggle their notes. Not to get the MaaaHHH but to disguise the note is not in pitch. With that discovery, God also informed me I would be spending my afterlife where it is very warm and that I might as well have a good time until then. I urge all of you to try a fretless bass before you wreck yours.
First!
LD Armstrong look again 😁