To "fret or not to fret...that is the question...

[Richard Sanabia]

Hi Friends, Here's a stand up solid body electric bass I'm making, Maple / Sycamore neck with steel truss rod, Oak "wings" on body. Ready for finger board, and I haven't decided wheather to fret it, or make it a fretless. 34" scale, and it will have a rod for standup work. I'm going to need a 3 string pickup, (Ted, you there?), I can play either fretted or fretless. All the electrics I've done so far are piezos. Rich in Tennessee.

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[Ted Crocker]

OOH OOOOH OOOOOOH !

That's a work of art Rich...

856 404 0411

[Richard Sanabia]

Hi Ted, Okay. I'll call tonight, (Monday) about 9? Thanks, Rich

[The Phrygian Kid]

(trying to start up a chant..)
part frets, part frets, part frets.....
looking good mate

[Matt Towe]

IMHO. You want an upright to sound like an upright. Go get the hardest hardwood you can and put a fingerboard on it .... no frets.


Matt

[Richard Sanabia]

I'm thinking that also, great minds think alike. I got hard Maple, Lyptus, and Ebony.

Matt Towe said:

IMHO. You want an upright to sound like an upright. Go get the hardest hardwood you can and put a fingerboard on it .... no frets.


Matt

[Richard Sanabia]

Here's a little three string fretless I just finished. EMG pickup, plays great.

[Diane in Chicago]

That is very handsome! Great shape on the body! And neck!


Richard Sanabia said:

Here's a little three string fretless I just finished. EMG pickup, plays great.

[Richard Sanabia]

I got the idea from a builder in CO. He liked a 4 string CB bass, so I traded him for the body and neck and finished it into a three string, which I prefer. The neck was too narrow for a four string. I reshaped and finished the neck and body. The EMG pickup is passive. The tone and feel is very nice. I like the violin shape very much. This one is Basswood, with Bloodwood fingerboard and Maple neck. I added a steel truss rod, and made some steel plates to provide an "industrial" look, as well as a guide for the through body string anchoring. I'm going to make another in Maple with diatonic fretting. I still got a little adding of some string guides, and action lowering.

[jim]

Thats Awesome Man!


Richard Sanabia said:

Here's a little three string fretless I just finished. EMG pickup, plays great.

[Tom Lanford]

I made a three string bass a while back. Fretless 3 string. Sounds a lot like an upright. My vote would be fretless.

[Tom Lanford]

Tom Lanford said:

I made a three string bass a while back. Fretless 3 string. Sounds a lot like an upright. My vote would be fretless.

Check out my page for photos.

[Richard Sanabia]

Hi Tom, Your bass is great. Now thats a BOX!

Tom Lanford said:

Tom Lanford said:

I made a three string bass a while back. Fretless 3 string. Sounds a lot like an upright. My vote would be fretless.

Check out my page for photos.