Incoming Weird Guitar

JB_From_Hell

JB_From_Hell

Jomo's Nimions
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.
 
The first fretless guitar playing I ever heard was Frank Zappa on a fretless Hagstrom back in the early 70's.
 
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.
 
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.
 
ICTGoober said:
Looking good, I think. Are those Trembuckers?
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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.
 
ArtieToo said:
That thing is sweet looking. Bet it sounds killer too. Is that bridge sunken?
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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.
 
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Mincer said:
Wow, what are the specs on this thing? That is beautiful.
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Body is solid maple, routed around the edge, which makes it look like multiple layers. Neck is chunky mahogany, board is rosewood with some finish added to polymerize it a bit. Frank says it still feels like wood, but it’s harder than untreated rosewood. There’s no truss rod, and he says it hasn’t moved in the 8 years since he built it. If it was anybody else, I’d have lost interest at that point, but Frank really knows what he’s doing. Also, considering the deal he offered, if the neck shifts and becomes unplayable, I won’t hesitate to have him build another one for it.

No clue on weight or anything. The hardware is kind of whatever stuff he had around at the time, pickups are obviously PATBs, 3 way, volume, tone, and he’s adding a PRS-style coil split. He asked if I wanted a push/pull or a toggle, I said whatever you have on hand is fine.

Oh yeah, one of the coolest features... a wood nut. I didn’t ask, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he did it so the open and “fretted” notes have a more similar tone.
 
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Mincer said:
I wanna hear what this thing sounds like!
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There’s a short clip of him playing it on Facebook. He using a good amount of gain in the clip, and doesn’t really get into the nuances. He sent me pics of a double neck (fretted and fretless) he’s making for someone else, and mentioned the guy sent him a Sustainer to install on the fretless side. I’m definitely buying an e-bow to use with it.
 
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The first instrument I learned how to play was a cello. No frets there.
If you were to pass that beauty to me and say "Give it a shot", I would.

Sent from my SM-A115A using Tapatalk
 
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