Fretless fingerboard leveling
- Thread starter JB_From_Hell
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JB_From_Hell
Jomo's Nimions
Re: Fretless fingerboard leveling
Back to roundwounds.
My P Bass was too bright and clanky with SIT Power Wounds, so I swapped the strings between the two. Yeah, there’s a little more buzz on the Warwick now, but the rounds sound and feel better. Plus, the P is now way more Iron Maideny. Win-win.
Back to roundwounds.
My P Bass was too bright and clanky with SIT Power Wounds, so I swapped the strings between the two. Yeah, there’s a little more buzz on the Warwick now, but the rounds sound and feel better. Plus, the P is now way more Iron Maideny. Win-win.
Demanic
PenultimateTone Member
Re: Fretless fingerboard leveling
Didn't someone used to make "pressure" wounds? They had a profile between a flat wound and a round wound.
I would probably just use flat wounds to keep from chewing up the fretboard. Unless of course it's made of some sort of synthetic. Or ironwood.
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Didn't someone used to make "pressure" wounds? They had a profile between a flat wound and a round wound.
I would probably just use flat wounds to keep from chewing up the fretboard. Unless of course it's made of some sort of synthetic. Or ironwood.
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JB_From_Hell
Jomo's Nimions
Re: Fretless fingerboard leveling
GHS makes a string called Pressure Wound, and a bunch of others make strings that are similar (D'Addario Half-Rounds, SIT Silencers, etc...). I'm a big fan of the Silencers. Smoother feel than rounds, more punch than flats.
Worrying about the wear on the board is about the same as worrying about wearing out frets. The marks on my 21 year old Warwick's board were significantly wider than the strings, and obviously the result of someone bending strings. If you play it with good left hand technique, meaning no death grips and doing vibrato/slides up and down the neck instead of across, the wear is pretty inconsequential.
All this stuff is personal preference, and I'm not saying anyone is right or wrong, but I've noticed that the same guys who say not to worry about wear are the same ones who advocate setting the action as low as possible. Makes sense to me, and the bass is stupid easy to play and sounds great that way.
GHS makes a string called Pressure Wound, and a bunch of others make strings that are similar (D'Addario Half-Rounds, SIT Silencers, etc...). I'm a big fan of the Silencers. Smoother feel than rounds, more punch than flats.
Worrying about the wear on the board is about the same as worrying about wearing out frets. The marks on my 21 year old Warwick's board were significantly wider than the strings, and obviously the result of someone bending strings. If you play it with good left hand technique, meaning no death grips and doing vibrato/slides up and down the neck instead of across, the wear is pretty inconsequential.
All this stuff is personal preference, and I'm not saying anyone is right or wrong, but I've noticed that the same guys who say not to worry about wear are the same ones who advocate setting the action as low as possible. Makes sense to me, and the bass is stupid easy to play and sounds great that way.
DavidRavenMoon
New member
Re: Fretless fingerboard leveling
Two things, when I set up a fretless I adjust the neck with no relief. You get a nicer buzz that way.
And open strings are supposed to buzz. Look at an upright bass, the strings sit on the end of the fretboard.
As far as leveling the fingerboard; I’d get a long leveling beam (you can buy them from a few places) and put some 150 grit sand paper on it. Adjust the neck dead straight. Take a pencil and scribble some graphite over the board, then take long strokes with the beam. You can see where you sanded because the pencil marks are gone.
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Two things, when I set up a fretless I adjust the neck with no relief. You get a nicer buzz that way.
And open strings are supposed to buzz. Look at an upright bass, the strings sit on the end of the fretboard.
As far as leveling the fingerboard; I’d get a long leveling beam (you can buy them from a few places) and put some 150 grit sand paper on it. Adjust the neck dead straight. Take a pencil and scribble some graphite over the board, then take long strokes with the beam. You can see where you sanded because the pencil marks are gone.
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toneking77
New member
Re: Fretless fingerboard leveling
This is a pretty easy fix. You just need a couple different tools to do it. First, make sure you neck is completely straight. Then get a leveling beam with some double-stick sandpaper on it.
Mark the fretboard with a pencil and sand across the fretboard evenly until all of the pencil marks are gone. Then repeat that until your fretboard wear disappears. It sounds like a daunting job, but it's pretty easy with the right tools.
This is a pretty easy fix. You just need a couple different tools to do it. First, make sure you neck is completely straight. Then get a leveling beam with some double-stick sandpaper on it.
Mark the fretboard with a pencil and sand across the fretboard evenly until all of the pencil marks are gone. Then repeat that until your fretboard wear disappears. It sounds like a daunting job, but it's pretty easy with the right tools.
