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Incoming Weird Guitar

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  • Incoming Weird Guitar

    I was talking to Frank Falbo about a guitar build, and asked about a fretless neck. A Vigier Surfreter has been on my dream list for over a decade, but they’re virtually nonexistent in the wild, and pretty pricey.

    Frank sent me a video of a fretless he’d built awhile back, and ended up cutting me a silly deal on it. It has a treated rosewood board, and a cool red stained maple body he built really early on. It’s loaded with PATBs, and he’s putting a partial coil split switch in.

    Pics once I’ve taken possession, but to say I’m really excited to get a fretless is an understatement. No fret lines, and no side dots, so this thing is gonna be Ear and Intonation Training 101.


    “I can play the hell out of a riff. The rest of it’s all bulls**t anyway,” Gary Holt

  • #2
    The first fretless guitar playing I ever heard was Frank Zappa on a fretless Hagstrom back in the early 70's.
    aka Chris Pile, formerly of Six String Fever

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    • #3
      sounds fun! and im glad i wont have to hear you in the first few weeks

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      • #4
        Fretless guitar? Wanna see the Falbo pics right away, but for playing demonstration, I'll wait for that 59th demo video

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        • #5
          There are a handful of well-known fretless players out there like Bumblefoot and Adrian Belew. They all make it sound so easy. My guess (I've never played one) is that it isn't as easy as it looks. I can't wait to see this instrument, though.
          Administrator of the SDUGF

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          • #6
            For the record, this guitar isn’t what Frank would consider a “Falbo” guitar. It’s kind of a partscaster that he happened to make all the parts for

            Attached Files
            “I can play the hell out of a riff. The rest of it’s all bulls**t anyway,” Gary Holt

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            • #7
              The glorious board
              Attached Files
              “I can play the hell out of a riff. The rest of it’s all bulls**t anyway,” Gary Holt

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              • #8
                Looking good, I think. Are those Trembuckers?
                aka Chris Pile, formerly of Six String Fever

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                • #9
                  patbs!

                  cool looking guitar for sure man, enjoy

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                  • #10
                    Kind of reminds me of the oldest traditional fretless banjos that were a gourd body and odd woods.

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                    • #11
                      I’m looking forward to getting it. No markers is a bit daunting, but I don’t think I look when I play my fretless Warwick all that much, and the same with slide.

                      No, I’m not gonna be playing much open chord strummy stuff on it, but I think it will be an extremely inspiring instrument. It’s basically like having six slides going simultaneously.
                      “I can play the hell out of a riff. The rest of it’s all bulls**t anyway,” Gary Holt

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by ICTGoober View Post
                        Looking good, I think. Are those Trembuckers?
                        Yes. I’m assuming PATB-1s, but he didn’t specify.

                        I love talking to Frank about a build, because he ends up having something on hand that I love, and saves me from the endless option paralysis. Seriously, every time I ask, “Can you do this crazy thing?” the answer is always yes.

                        For instance, I’m leaning heavily toward an ergo-bass he built for NAMM 2020. It’s a 5 string, the bottom 3 are fretted up to the 14th or 15th, then the top two strings are fretless. The nut and saddles are shifted up on the fretless strings so you can play it just like the fretted portion.
                        “I can play the hell out of a riff. The rest of it’s all bulls**t anyway,” Gary Holt

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                        • #13
                          That thing is sweet looking. Bet it sounds killer too. Is that bridge sunken?

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by ArtieToo View Post
                            That thing is sweet looking. Bet it sounds killer too. Is that bridge sunken?
                            Looks like it. Did you see the routed faux-tailpiece?

                            Also, the pickup height adjustment screws are accessed through 4 small holes in the back of the guitar, too. So they’re going through the mounting tabs backwards.
                            Last edited by JB_From_Hell; 01-22-2021, 03:19 PM.
                            “I can play the hell out of a riff. The rest of it’s all bulls**t anyway,” Gary Holt

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                            • #15
                              Man, that thing looks cool!

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