How to do a Fretless Guitar Conversion (Cheap Electric or Bass)
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- Опубликовано: 12 сен 2024
- Convert your acoustic, electric or bass guitar into a fretless one using Epoxy Resin or Polyurethane Spray. Step by step tutorial to teach you how to do it!
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Narrated, Directed and Produced by Ninh Ly
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"Fretless guitar ... notes barely ring out ... I guess that's why they don't make them." I spit out my drink! Haha... They both look great.
Thanks, I appreciate the comments! Be sure to share this video and subscribe :)
Ninh Ly How many times have you copied and pasted this comment?
Shell how many times have you made the mistake of calling someone out on a stupid thing?
Watch sarod we play it with nails
Fretless guitars are for people who use high distortion. And they do make them
also if u hate fret buzz with a passion
+Conner Nagy True that! Hate fret buzz? Get rid of them all! Thanks for your comment, be sure to share this video and subscribe :)
Conner Nagy 😂
I thought that was more of a bass problem
Don't we all?
Literally why I went fretless
Well, from my experience on converting a bass to fretless, leaving it uncoated(only a little oil to protect the wood) gives you a more upright bass/like sound, but you MUST use flatwounds. Epoxy coating will give you the posibility to use round wounds without destroing your fretboard and giving you that lovely Pastorius sound.
Hi Benjamin.
Thanks for the comment! Yes, I completely agree. Having it bare wood (on a bass) does give you the woody upright bass sound.
You don't have to coat your fretboard at all, but even with flatwounds - you'll notice the wear over time.
One of my guitars is an actual Yamaha Fretless Bass, and even from brand new and flatwounds on it, it wore the board away.
The epoxy/polyurethane is better for 6 string guitars.
Ninh Ly yeah, well, even upright basses need a fretboard change at a point in their life
Brb, gonna do this on my neckthrough les paul custom shop.
You monster
noooo
Gonna do this on my vintage '59 les paul
Sicarius Bladehart gonna do this on my 1954 Stratocaster. Gonna put a floyd in it while i’m at it. Might put a humbucker in the bridge while i’m at it.
I literally just screamed.
after removing the frets you have to lower the action on the nut, and raise the action on the saddles. then it should sound good.
Calvin Wendland Tried that - it becomes really hard to play then. I managed to achieve a balance, but overall on an Electric guitar, if you can bolt a thin steel plate throughout the length of the fingerboard, it sounds good then.
Thanks for stopping by, be sure to share this video and subscribe :)
Ninh Ly True it is much harder to play, however that is also the case with the cello, or even comparing an upright bass to a standard electric bass, the action is MUCH higher. Thanks for the great tutorial!
***** Anytime! I'm glad you enjoyed this video. I've been meaning to make more guitar vids, but just haven't had the time. Keep an eye out for them!
@@NinhLyUK do you have a video of the metal plate thing?
1:34 That's because you didn't heated the frets before removing, heating softens the glue and frets come off much easily, so they dont tear pieces of wood out.
The heat is not gonna make bigger the fret, isn t it?
@@albertsciarronsky2251 Fret shouldn't expand too much to deal damage to the fretboard.
@@WhiskeyTape thanks for the answer, how would you heat them?
@@albertsciarronsky2251 Most people (me included) use soldering iron for that. When it heats up just move it along a fret for a while, then you can easily pull out the fret with fine nippers. You should watch the temperature though,I suppose overheating it might burn the fretboard a little bit, my iron has temp regulator so I keep it around 100 degrees celsius and that's seems to be enough.
@@WhiskeyTape great, thanks!
For a short sustain try put your strings little higher and play with your fingertips. You can also pull the string's almost on neck, it sounds softer but sustain is great, in my converted LTD B-55 it works perfectly
Fretless guitar played with an EBow sounds fantastic, by the way!
+G L Wilson Apparently so. eBow is a pretty awesome tool! Be sure to share this video and subscribe :)
playing in d standard helps with sustain
Thanks for the tip! Be sure to share this video and subscribe :)
Hmm what about using lower gauge strings? I guess that could help.
If you mean heavier, thicker guage strings.... Absolutely! That, tuning it down a tone to D, and if you want real sustain put in a Fernandes Sustainer. An E-Bow also works although a little harder to use.
I’ve been subscribed for a while now, and I wasn’t expecting to find one of your videos after searching for fretless bass conversion. Great video and I might give it a try in the future.
Cool - if you want the best results, glue a metal fingerboard to the neck .Works great!
I yanked the frets from an old five string bass. I filled the holes with the wood putty, but I never bothered coating the board with anything. Still sounds fine, though I rarely play the thing so who knows how well it would handle wear. Certainly wouldn't help that my muscle memory always tells me to do standard bending vibrato, which I'm sure will tear apart the wood over time. It was still a fun little project, and this video just brought up memories of it for me. Fun times.
+foxtrot889 Yes indeed. My first fretless bass was just a solid wood neck - no coatings. If you use flatwounds, it's fine and doesn't wear that much. Roundwounds however ... Thanks man, I appreciate the comments. Be sure to share this video and subscribe :)
You can get the fretless guitar working in the lower end but it will require you to give-up the upper register. You will have to use some baritone tuning and file your slots to fit chunky strings.
Yes
vigier make a fretless, dude. and guthrie govan can get some great sounds out of it!
Bad Mouth Men I'm fully aware of that, and even mention 'Vigier' in my video.
There's just two differences:
1) Vigier make their fingerboards out of an alloy which is denser than the polyurethane I'm using and
2) I suck compared to Guthrie Govan!
Be sure to share this video and subscribe :)
Bad Motivator the metal fretboard on it. Doesnt dampen vibrations like polyurethane considering it is after all rubber cured and hardened. Flattened skateboard wheels as a finger board. Hahahah
HI Ninh..did my fretless in about 2 hours ..after pulling frets fill slots with bicarb of soda level off then drip superglue onto bicarb sets solid in less than 30 secs sand back with 400 grit wet and dry .. works best with rosewood neck so you get nice white markers (very helpfull when you start playing fretless)
Thanks for the comments John, my first fretless was bare wood just like yours. Be sure to share this video and subscribe :)
I took the frets out of my Ovation Breadwinner back in the 1980's and filled the slots with strips of walnut. Since the guitar has an ebony fingerboard and I use flatwound strings there was no need to epoxy or polyurethane. Still plays great today over 35 years later. I'd recommend heavier guage strings and tuning it down at least a full tone. An E-Bow would give you some nice results. Or if you're willing to spend more, install a Fernandes Sustainer. Best regards - Glenn
Yeah, I use flatwounds on bare wood on my other fretless bass. I've never tried an eBow, probably should. Thanks for stopping by.
I paid around $100CDN for my E Bow and it's given me a whole new pallet of sounds for all my guitars; but it's particularly fun to use with my fretless. Also, there's a great site on fretless guitar by Cenk Ergodan (check out his playing on youtube as well). Here's a link to the site: fretlessguitarlessons.com/en/ Happy picking!
Awesome, thanks!
You're welcome!
(Husband here) I just finish turning into fretless my old cheap bass ant it turned out great. I filled the rosewood neck frets cut with .6 mm ash tree wood and then sand it down with grain 180 till 3000, afterwards i used beewax base filler and sand it once more to a mirror finishing with steel wool 0000 once it was dry. Im using flatwound strings.
Cool, I'm glad that your guitar turned out great.
The flatwound strings are a must, otherwise they'll shred the fretboard.
I also experimented with gluing a steel fretboard and it works amazingly well!
Thanks for the comment.
It helps with pulling if you take your end nippers and grind the tip flat to you can get right down on the fret board
Check out a paper called "micro-mesh".
It's on a fabric backing which makes it very easy to use and very re-usable.
Once you use it you'll never go back to standard sand papers.
To get around the pits where the grain is open on the polyurethane I mix some wood filler with water so it gets in the cracks better ,getting a colour to match your wood is important unless you want to see the pits highlighted but anyways I just use the wood filler along the entirety of the fretboard then sand it smooth ( to 600 or so grit ) then apply multiple layers of polyurethane ,then sanding and polishing afterwards
I converted a guitar into a fretless, but with string gauges such as 9-42, you are correct: it feels as is it's barely usable. I put on some fender bass VI strings, and I appreciate it a lot more now (of course, you need to tune low). I would like to try a flatwound on the bottom though.
Yeah, putting flatwounds on will prolong the life of your fretboard. And I found it was more useable.
I also did one where I glued a thin steel plate on and it worked amazingly well!
Thanks for the comment!
Do I have to buy certain resin?
Hey bro. I generally use two stage epoxy resin, the same kind that you find in boat or marine shops.
It's pretty easy to work with and the results are good so long as you do it right.
@@NinhLyUK i ended up getting some at hobby lobby. Should I wait full cure time before I sand?
Love you vidoes man. Just for a tip. If you use a spray, apply about 6 coats and wet sand so it doesn't get those annoying pits.
Yeah, that's right. Thanks.
"Who plays with his finger nails?"
Robbie Krieger, and every flamenco guitarist: Am I a joke to you?
Right ... Flamenco. Not an electric guitar.
Using a compressor with a medium-fast attack and a slow release, like an 1176 or a DBX that has an attack/release (DBX 160 style won't work) will help to improve the sustain and give you longer notes. It may give it that very noticeable smack of a compressor but it improves the sustain. greatly.
if you use flatwound strings on frettless bass ,or guitar, it helps with sustain. and it also doesn't chip up your frettboard as quick.
Yes, I did suggest using flatwounds in the video.
Using actual metal as the fingerboard solves the sustain problem.
Wombat Sceptre Yes it does! I actually tried bonding on a very thin sheet steel after I made this video and it works. It's no Vigier Surfretter, but it does the trick! Thanks for stopping by, be sure to share this video and subscribe :)
Do you know how I'd go about doing that? I'm tempted to do this on a cheap Squier Strat.
John McLellan Find the thinnest sheet metal you can find (one that you can readily bend, i.e. a 0.2mm aluminium) and either epoxy or bond the metal fingerboard to the fretboard (clamped all the wat and curved around). Then I took a jigsaw, hacked off the rest of the sheet metal and filed the edges down so that it was smooth. Works really well. Hope that helps? Be sure to share this video and subscribe :)
young man, yall is to be commended for replying to the many questions in the comments.
Ah thanks, I appreciate the compliments.
The lack of sustain is likely from the coating he put on the neck. I sanded my neck down and only put tongue oil on it and its great!
It's still not fantastic even without coating ... and unless you're using flatwounds, your neck will be ruined in no time.
Ninh ly: “Who plays with their fingernails?”
Classical guitarists: “Allow us to introduce ourselves”
Very true.
Great walkthrough on the process. I'm deffinetely considering making a frankenguitar now.
Hi Sir! This is amazing! I might try it sometime. Just a question. Sir, does your bass have fret marks on the fretboard before the process? If yes, how did you remove them? I totally want a fretless bass without marks. Thank you sir! :)
Also, I'm confused about where did you use the poly... spray? Because it seems like you used it for the bass' fretboard at first (2:21) yet at the latter you told otherwise (5:17)? Thank you sir.:)
Fretless acoustic guitar has much more sustain with nylon strings. There are many great reasons to play beyond twelve tones.
Yes, that's right.
I also found that gluing a steel fretboard works great on electric.
You forgot to mention an important step. From the time that your frets are removed, you should make sure that your necks are straight as arrows. Then, you continue with the same steps as mentioned. Maybe, concerning the bass neck with the epoxy, I would try to make 2 thickness measurements; one at the nut and the other near the body of the guitar so I would be able to have a reference when sanding down the epoxy to an equal thickness. Thanks for the video !
Thanks bro, much appreciated.
GREAT video !! Thanks ! Answered a lot of questions.
Do not finish the fingerboard.
I've been playing fretless bass for 30+ years. I've converted many necks. Just stain the wood. Sand up to 1200 wet.
I use DR black beauty lights 40, 60, 80, 100 round wound strings. Yes round wound.
I can sound fretted and fretless. My wood of choice is ebony, Pau ferro or even rosewood are good.
The best way is to just buy a neck.
Fair enough.
Thanks for this. I was thinking of converting a cheap guitar I have. The factory put too much of a bevel on the fret ends which causes the high and low E strings to slip off the edge. But now I’ve changed my mind. Maybe I’ll try replacing the frets instead.
I have a few fretless guitars. The key to making them playable is really heavy flatwound strings.
Also I found standard tuning to be difficult- so I usually tune them in repeating fifths. My Eastwood sings with B F# B F# B F#.
A shorter scale (childrens size) I have CG....
Found pretty much the same thing. In standard tuning or even in open tunings chording will often rely on fingering the same fret position on different strings, and apart from double stops you'll never get them right. Found myself using DADGAD, which has two benefits: many voicings have notes two frets apart (much easier), and a LOT of DADGAD arrangements mix upper voicings with open strings, which helps with autocorrecting intonation.
Now have three fretless guitars and a fretless bass. They rarely leave the house but they're absolute fun to mess around on.
@@butting23 cool!! DADGAD is a great fretless tuning especially if you want to chord.... i might go back to it because the high 6 string is often an issue. Or alternately i've played the high 6th unfretted (or capo'd) like the Indian Taal (chiming reference note). Have you tried a sustainiac on a fretless?. Its really magic.
Loved the finish you got with the epoxy resin. All that hard work definitely paid off. Do you think the polyurethane was a better finish? I wonder if it's a softer texture than the epoxy. Might this be what deadened those strings. Really appreciate the time in putting together this video. I'm looking at defretting a a maple bass neck (an old 80s Hondo II P bass) so won't be trying the wood stain, but the info on the finishing is really useful. Many thanks :)
Epoxy is definitely better, but harder to work with. Poly is okay, but I found it wore out faster than epoxy.
I defretted a guitar a few years back and luckily in my case it was quite successful. I picked a 300 pound-ish guitar that had an ebony fingerboard with no inlays and I only filled the gaps left by the frets with epoxy resin I didn't cover the whole fingerboard.
Adam Howell Cool, I'm glad someone else has tried fretless-ing a guitar.
No, you don't have to cover the whole thing, I have a Yamaha Bass that's uncoated, I think that it just adds a little bit more protection that just having it bare wood.
Thanks for your input - be sure to share this video and subscribe :)
Isn't the epoxy resin harder? If so, it might have yielded better results sound-wise on the guitar.
+SteelSkin667 No, epoxy is not harder than steel! Trust me, I tried both - steel all the way!
Thank you, it was very helpful !
You're welcome Umit!
You don't "need" a soldering iron. But it helps reduce ripping the wood out as you pull the frets.
Do have to put a finish on the guitar, or can I just end the steps at the wood filler? I have a really cheap fender that I want to make fret less so that I can play it with a bow and mess around with, but I also want to be able to still play regular chords as well!
Yes, you can just fill in the wood and have it bare wood. Be sure to use flatwound strings, as normal roundwounds will eat into your wood like no tomorrow. Thanks for the comments, be sure to share this video and subscribe :)
So this question is really specific but when you put the dye on, suppose the fretboard was a lighter wood, such as the neck. Could you, in theory, dye it another color? Maybe red or blue? I'm not sure how it would turn out and I'm fairly new to woodworking and guitar building. Great video. Thanks.
Thanks. I have no idea how that comment got to this video. I commented on one of his other videos. Haha oh well. Thanks for the info
I dont know if anyone will reply to this but anyway. Great video btw. I was considering doing the epoxy method on my next bass build. Is 25ml enough to do a thin layer on the bass?
I'm doing a fretless guitar right now. It's the pawn shop special Austin. I've Grease the Frets out. Putting Maple, Bolivian Rosewood, Brazilian cherry, in Walnut. Been wanting to get a piece of Bolivian Rosewood and make a neck. Or fretboard.
Sweet, I hope it goes well!
Great instructional, although this video doesn't do justice to the fretless guitar.
When done properly, you can get decent sustain out of a fretless. If you manage to get a really hard, smooth surface and use heavy gauge flatwounds (13gauge) then you can get nice tones. Also, it works slightly better with a longer scale length.
Don't interpret this as hating - I totally get you not wanting to waste time and money on the guitar, it's a more difficult job than the bass. Thanks for the vid :)
JohnPKnuckles Yes, I find that sustain is not a problem on the bass, especially now that it's coated with epoxy. It sounds a little different, but that's a good thing. On the normal guitar though ... I think bolting a steel plate to the fingerboard would give it ultimately more sustain. And yes, it's a big job and you don't want to wreck a very good guitar by doing this.
Thanks for stopping by, be sure to share this video and subscribe :)
Will any epoxy resin do to replicate the results of the fretless bass? And where would you get it?
Got a question: Would it make a difference in sustain, attack and tone if I'm using the exopy resin on the guitar instead of the polyurethane spray? Also, would a zero fret help with the sustain and the tone of the fretless guitar?
It seems to work better than poly, for sure.
But what would really help with sustain is if you glued a thin sheet metal to the fretboard. That really works.
Thanks Ninh this helped a lot as i want to try fretless.
+Ricky Roma It's harder to play than it looks. Worth a go though. Thanks man, I appreciate the comments. Be sure to share this video and subscribe :)
i will thanks
Awesome tutorial.
Regarding the epoxy for filling the frets in, do you reckon there's a way to emulate the Pedulla style fillings? They look really bright.
+J. Collins The only way I can think of is if you put in very thin sheets of maple where the fret gaps are and painstakingly cut and sand away the excess. Then polyurethane/epoxy it as per this tutorial. Hope that helps? Be sure to share this video and subscribe :)
Thanks for your insight. Cool experiment
A way to fix sustain on a fretless guitar is actually to lower the action! You actually need the buzz of the strings to the nek. I've done this, almost sounds like a coral sitar.
Simon de rycke Yeah, it plays better with a lower action, but I didn't find that much of a gain in sustain on my guitar. Maybe with a metal plate over the metal fretboard perhaps? Thanks for the tip though, might give it another try!
Be sure to share and subscribe :)
Ninh Ly No, just with any fretboard. By lowering action the string makes less contact with your fingers, and it's your fingers that damp the strings. I got this tip from a forum where they make and mod ouds, sitars, ...
why didn’t you sand the poly urethane one with the radius block too? You can see how uneven the surface is in the reflection. On a fretless instrument any imperfections in the surface of the fingerboard are going to cause problems. So you want the surface to be as flat and even as possible.
You could plug them in for us to hear how they sound.
And believe me, a fretless guitar is very usable. Just search some examples here on RUclips.
Ivan Carlos Santiago I'm not saying that Fretless Guitars in general aren't useable, just the one I made. I've since done another guitar with a steel fingerboard and that is a HUGE improvement to coating it with polyurethane.
Thanks for stopping by, be sure to share this video and subscribe :)
Ninh Ly Would I get similar sustain problems if I made a fretless bass with polyurethane?
Not at all, I poly'd my Yamaha and it turned out great! Alternatively for that Jazzy sound, bare wood and flatwounds is good too.
heating up the frets helps to heat up the glue minimize the wood you bring out with the fret ( you can you a shirt iron)
Whilst that in theory works, I found that I didn't need to, as the frets were not held in with glue on my guitar. Heat gun does the trick as well.
So after filling in the slots you painted the fretboard and covered it with a laquer? Is it really necessary? I guess filling (with proper colour of wood fill) would be enough? Ans some matt laquer?
It's not necessary, no. Some people like or prefer bare wood (especially Jazz Bass players) but I want to protect the fingerboard from unrepeatable damage.
As for Lacquer, that'd wear away quite quickly.
@@NinhLyUK Thank you!
Great video! I've wanted a fretless guitar for some time now, and I might do It myself, thanks to you. Do you think there's any way to solve the guitar sustain issue? Like changing the pickups, or using another material??
Hi Diego.
Thanks for the comment on my video.
Solving the sustain issue is tricky, but it can be improved by raising the action (which makes it difficult to play) and using all steel fixings - steel bridge, saddles, tuners etc.
Another way that works (and I tried it) was to glue a very thin piece of sheet steel to the fretboard (i.e. less than 0.3mm thick). This made a massive difference to sustain, but if the glue ever comes away - it ruins your guitar.
I actually ruined a perfectly good guitar when I applied sheet steel onto a fretboard only for it to come away after a week ... and take most of the wood with it!
Thanks again, be sure to share and subscribe :)
You can use an EBow for more sustain. I looked up this video specifically because I want to use an EBow with a fretless guitar.
Jeff Donovan Wow, I've just looked that up as I've never heard of it. That's pretty cool! I think I might give that one a go. Cheers Jeff!
Ninh Ly Thanks. I just subscribed to your channel. Hopefully we'll see some EBow playing on your fretless guitar.
Amazing! However it seems that when applying the epoxin/polyurethane on the two fretboards (5a and 5b), the polyurethane spray was applied to the bass neck, and the epoxy resin was applied on the guitar neck... but in all the other parts of the video (including the end) it is said that polyurethane was put on the guitar, and epoxy on the bass, i'm a bit confused about that! i really want my final result to be similar to the bass neck, it seems to work well!
To be honest, both methods yields the same cosmetic result if you do it properly.
The epoxy will last longer, though the Poly spray is the cheapest way to do it.
@@NinhLyUK thank you very much!
Awesome video!
Any recommendation on a brand of epoxy? Also, advice on applying and sanding it?
Thanks
Joe Teeple Thanks Jon. To answer your questions:
1) The more reputable brand, the better (like 3M) but if not, so long as you mix it in the right quantity, it should come out okay.
2) the only other advice that I didn't put in the video is use a spirit level to make sure the fingerboard is completely horizontal BEFORE you apply epoxy. So long as you have radius blocks, you should be able to sand it to the correct radius and it will play the same. If not, you'll have a flat fingerboard, which is okay for some, but not okay for others.
Hope that helps? Be sure to share this video and subscribe :)
Ninh Ly Awesome, thank you so much. You've been very helpful
Joe Teeple Any time! :)
Useful video. How much resin did you need for the bass?
I you don't have 'nippers', you can also use a soldering iron, just heat the frets up individually, and 'push' them out, i did and it's ok. Nippers would be better though xP I've been fortunate enough that one of my friends' father works at a metal factory, so he's made an aluminum sheet for me that i'm planning on putting on the fretboard. My only concern is the aluminum. It's only experimentation, but i have this terrible feeling that the strings are going to eat away at the aluminum over time, and ruin the intonation... any ideas on this?
Hi Mad Dek.
Yes, you can use a soldering iron. But my point in the video is that it's quicker to use nippers.
I actually tried a fretless conversion with sheet aluminium and I do have a few tips.
1) Use the thinnest sheet aluminium you can find. Less than 0.3 mm should suffice. You want to be able to bend it into shape to follow the radius.
2) Bond it on with the toughest glue or epoxy you have, and make sure that you clamp it all the way along the radius.
3) The strings shouldn't eat away at it that much. Nowhere near as much as just using bare wood.
I did try this and it worked great for a while. You don't have the sustain problems of the epoxy and/or polyurethane.
However, I musn't have glued it on properly so when a little bit of it came away and I tried to reglue it, the whole thing came off, taking chunks out of the neck with it.
So this is why I say bond the whole thing with the strongest glue you can find!
Hope that helps?
Be sure to share this video and subscribe :)
Thanks a lot! :D
Anytime! :)
Can't I just stop after using wood filler? Like Jaco Pastorius did?
Yeah sure you can. Although if you don't use flatwound strings, you'll eat your fretboard away.
Good luck bro.
Jaco actually covered his in epoxy resin if I remember correctly
@@frostok yes jaco used marine epoxy which is pretty expensive but works really well
Thanks for the great tutorial. Tried the epoxy on my cheap electric guitar but couldn't get that glass mirror look. Should i put something after sanding it?
I think using finer grades of sandpaper might do the trick if you're not getting mirror finish.
If you work down the grits, 600, 1000, 2000, 5000 etc - you'll find polishing it much easier.
@@NinhLyUK Thanks!
Thanks. What a pain in the keyster. If I decide to make a guitar fretless, I think I'll buy the neck.Thanks for this video!BTW...Vietnamese (?) guy with a Texas A&M tshirt and a British accent...i chuckled a little!
+SuperGaleford Ha! close enough. From a Cantonese family, born and raised in England and ... ummm ... likes watching Aggie Football. It gets weirder, trust me! Thanks for the kudos, be sure to share this video and subscribe :)
Question: If the truss rod fluctuates, does the polyurethane crack?
No, it should bow enough without cracking.
Thanks!
Now I want to make a fretless Ibanez RG, I may paint the fret slots so I can see where the frets were.
Preamp + compressor + sustainer and it's fully usable.
Thank you sir, I think I just save my guitar and a lotta job 🙃
Can you adjust the truss rod with that epoxy resin?
Sigurd Fylling Kaarstad Only so much before the epoxy cracks. I suggest you do all your adjustments first, then layer the epoxy. Any adjustments thereafter should be minimal. Hope that helps? Be sure to share this video and subscribe :)
Thanks man, I'm researching different alternatives to epoxy, like hardened glass or metal, there are plenty of people her in Norway that could make a fingerboard like that, but wodd alone could work wth a sustainiac! CHEERS!!
Sigurd Fylling Kaarstad I actually made a guitar with a steel fingerboard and it works! the sustain is great. You'll need a thin sheet of 0.3mm sheet steel and bond it to your fingerboard. You have to wrap it around your radius, but once you do it, it's pretty cool! Thanks again for stopping by!
That's cool! I'm gonna try your method first and then work my way up :)
+Ninh Ly You should do a video about it ! That's really interesting to know it can be done at home.
Quick question: Do I leave the nut (upper bridge) orshave the notches down a bit? Cellos usually don't have a nut, the neck itself will have the notches in but the lower bridge is much higher.
+Anthony Attwood Yes, to get the action a little lower, you'll need to take off a little on the nut. But be careful when you do! Don't shave it down too far, because it then becomes unplayable. Hope that helps? Be sure to share this video and subscribe :)
Ninh Ly
already done my friend :) Thank you!
+Anthony Attwood The best way to do this is to take a fret saw and shape each slot one at a time. Another option, mostly for bass players, is to use scrap string clippings to wear the slots down.
Be careful, since you can crack your nut if it gets too thin. Also, you can still get buzzing on lower notes or open strings if you take too much off.
Did my bc rich Havoc bass and I love having a fretless bass
Awesome, glad you tried this!
Ninh Ly got it done professionally though but I love having an active bass that is fretless also I went the same way as you did having the fret lines faint
When you say car Polish, do you mean wax by chance? Just want to make sure I don't use the wrong material lol
I saw another video that says to use lemon oil.
The best is a good grade super glue, I've done other methods but super glue works great and it's really hard. It can also be polished like glass...
You'd need a lot of it though!
@@NinhLyUK about 1 once at most, maybe less
You can get rid of those pits in your finish with a grain filler.
Luke Pettit Yes you can! I completely forgot about that stuff. Thanks for the tip!
good job and great demo, Thanks! mostly when you know the price of a fretless guitar...
No worries, glad you like this video.
Damn,,seeing the blue jays shirt made me think that you lived here in Toronto,,,Considering having this done to my fretless neck like Yaco.
Toronto sports fan, but I don't reside there. My family still does though.
I ended up gluing a steel fingerboard to a neck and it worked great!
@@NinhLyUK Hmm steel...sounds like a good idea to me.
thx for the video... very instructing
good video txs for the idea
Is there a way I could use a pedal or run a program to add sustain to a modified guitar, thus eliminating the lack of sustain?
Yes, I think if you use a sustain pedal that should solve some of it.
OK I know this is some years old, but here are a couple of my own "tricks" in case anyone wants to take a stab. 1) Several thin layers of superglue is the best thing I've found to use. 2) Usually have to remove the nut, and shave it down. Hope that helps
It's funny that you choose a Yamaha guitar. I contacted Yamaha about getting a 'silent' guitar without the frets and they told me they don't do custom guitars. I found a true fretless on ebay. It's an Aram brand that i haven't be able to find any information on. You right about the sound though, i have to grow out my nails to play it.
Timothy Lee Yeah, Yamaha do few select custom guitars. Those that are custom tend to be horribly expensive. After I made this video, I solved the sustain problem by glueing on a very thin steel fingerboard ... problem solved! Although it was painful to do, it solved the sustain problem. Thanks for stopping by, be sure to share this video and subscribe :)
Ninh Ly Yes, I contacted Yamaha with the idea that they could just pull a guitar out of production before it was fretted. Made sense to me, less work and is one of the last stages of production. No No No, it just goes to show that the big boys are set up to product massive numbers guitars. Musical instrument as automobile or an other assembly line commodity. Make you what to run out and buy me one! No wonder everyone wants vintage, the new stuff has no soul. DIY all the way.
Timothy Lee I'll agree to that in some part.
The cool thing now is that you don't even need to buy a guitar and modify it. You can literally buy all the parts separately (imported from China or whatever) and put it together yourself.
In some cases, it'd cost you less money than buying a 'stock guitar'!
There's hundreds of guides on RUclips explaining what to do with 'kit guitars' and I've only scratched the surface of it. Keep an eye out for more videos!
from what i've seen of fretless guitars is that they are one giant fret, not no frets. and that where this goes wrong. see if you play a note in the middle of a fret on the wood, it goes a bit flat too. and I think the lack of sustain in the notes might be due to the properties of your cover up method. with the apoxy being harder and giving you a better sound. imo
It's actually not so bad as I stated. An effects or sustain pedal solves that issue.
I should mention that I also did one with a steel fingerboard and that worked great!
The Vigier fret less comes with hefty strings - 12s, I think. Should help the sustain.
Soo, I can buy a spare neck (probably quite cheaply) and just make a fretless neck so I can switch whenever I want?
+MadMetalheadMark You can do, but it's a pain to keep switching necks - best just buying another guitar and having one fretless. Hope that helps? Be sure to share this video and subscribe :)
Ninh Ly Thanks.
Im about to make my bass fretless. And just a question, why not the heat gun?
you can. I think he's saying you don't HAVE to use it.
How did you remove the inlay on the bass neck, or did you start out without inlays in the first place?
+Trung Ha Quang Started without inlays. Be sure to share this video and subscribe :)
I noticed your accent. Are you from Leeds or Birmingham?
Neither. Preston actually.
Ninh Ly - I'm American but my wife is from south London. Sydnam area.
I think you mean Syndenham, but yes that's cool.
Maybe the epoxy resin on the electric guitar might increase sustain?
+Afurthyclays It did, but I found that epoxying a metal fingerboard works even better. I didn't make a video of this, but I guarantee it works! Be sure to share this video and subscribe :)
Ninh Ly Wow! How did you manage to come across a metal fingerboard? Does it have a contour/radius? Would love to see a video of THAT, if you have the time.
what type of bass is that? If anyone could tell me that would be great.
It's a Yamaha BB404. A cheap one, but it sounds great! Thanks, I appreciate the comments! Be sure to share this video and subscribe :)
Awesome tutorial! I keep thinking about getting a dirt cheap small travel guitar or ukulele for this very purpose 🤓
Absolutely! It's worth trying on a cheap guitar. But it's pretty cool if you get it right.
Thanks.
Great video! I have been at 50/50 on converting my strat to fret less. Do you think a neck adjustment/shimming might raise the sustain? I doubt that much of an adjustment would be good on the neck but in theory resetting to compensate for the drop in height plus intonation resetting (or raising the bridge, or leaving on the 12th fret) might help.
Black Souled Pope Yes, I believe that a neck adustment, nut adjustment, or brdge adjustment will gain the sustain of a fretless electric guitar. I don't have the same problems on a fretless bass conversion, but definitely something needs to be on a fretless electric. The other way of doing it is to glue thin sheet steel to the fingerboard and have an all-metal fingerboard. Sustain all the way!
Thanks for stopping by, be sure to share this video and subscribe :)
Did you make a video on the steel fretboard on the yamaha?
I didn't. I probably should have done.
@@NinhLyUK dam, that would of been killer
Thanks for the tips though
awesome!!
+Kpafu Kpa Thanks man, I appreciate the comments. Be sure to share this video and subscribe :)
Or just pull put the frets, gill in the spaces with wood filler or actual wood veneer and sand to radius and resting with roundwound strings, unless you want a dead, sustainless high mid focused tone and do what upright bass players and cellist have done for centuries and sand down the string marks every couple of years and enjoy.
Why the neck of the guitar at the first scene is black ?
And Why its maple at the other scenes
Hi Onat.
I've made several fretless conversions and sometimes I paint the head of the neck with a different colour. (Like my video How to Spray Paint Your Guitar - Cheap Guitar Upgrade (Yamaha Bass) - EXPLAINED!)
In this case, I used old footage from a previous guitar conversion, as there was no point recording something twice.
The steps and procedure are the same for both.
Thanks for your comment! :)
what are the benefits of a fretless guitar/bass?
+IAM Batman Freedom of expression. You can play inbetweeny notes with relative ease. Sounds great. Search on RUclips fretless demo and you'll see what I mean. Thanks for stopping by, be sure to share this video and subscribe :)
+Ninh Ly already subscribed , thanks for uploading those videos they are really helpful
IAM Batman Any time man! Thanks again! :)
Great idea for a fretless 6 string. i wish i had guitars to experiment on. if you ever have a give away remember me.. lol
Could you do this on like a really expensive guitar? Or would it sound bad?
+Mudkip TM I'd strongly advise against doing this on a really expensive guitar, mainly because it's really easy to get wrong! If you have an expensive axe that you want converting - take it to a guitar shop that does that sort of thing. You'll thank me in the long run! But a cheap guitar? Go nuts! Thanks for stopping by, be sure to share this video and subscribe :)
Ninh Ly Ok thanks :)
Forget the spray poly.......use liquid and cut it with mineral spirits. 20% poly + 80% mineral spirits. It makes it super thin....takes about 10 coats....sanding with 0000 steel wool after each coat.....thin makes a glass like look after 7 or 8 coats....and fills in the imperfections. Apply a coat, wiping off the excess....this is how you get the glass like look....works great over paint.
Whilst that is a good substitute, I really couldn't be bothered doing 10 coats of anything.
You're not telling them how long it takes to work with epoxy rosin and what a pain in the ass it can be.
I said in the video that it's more difficult to work with.