Frettless to Fretted Fingerboard/Neck

[jutty1717]

Hello all,

I own a '96 Epic fretless 5 string.  It is the best sounding bass I've ever played.  The problem is, I'm horrible at playing fretless.  I am curious: is it possible to replace with a fretted neck/fingerboard?

[JimmyJ]

Welcome!

The Epic is a cool looking bass and I'm sure you're not horrible.  The more you play the more you improve... How did you end up with a fretless in the first place? 

To answer your question, YES, anything is possible!  Our Alembic fingerboards are usually attached with a thin veneer of wood below them making them easier to remove and replaced if necessary.  It's a big job and I don't know what it might cost but it is certainly doable.

Jimmy J

[gtrguy]

A very good luthier can add frets to your fingerboard for a price. Another option is to draw fret lines on your bass. You can use a silver metallic Sharpie and you can also draw in side markers too. It's also pretty easy to erase. A good electronic tuner can help you position the lines. The Epics I have seen don't have anything on the top of their fretboards for position markers (except 2 special runs Alembic did for Guitar Center). You can also pick up a TC HeliconCorrect/XT voice processor effect box and it will actually help correct out of tune notes while you play up to a point.

Or you could sell your bass and buy a fretted one, which I recommend.

[hammer]

Another option (since you didn't mention already having it) is to have more permanent fret lines placed on the neck of the side of the neck. A good luthier would have no problems doing that.  I have Series 1 that was changed over in the opposite direction (fretted to fretless) and they filled in the frets with a contrasting wood creating very clear fretlines.  It helped a LOT when I first started to play fretless though I can't say I really rely on the markers any longer.

[jutty1717]

Welcome!

The Epic is a cool looking bass and I'm sure you're not horrible.  The more you play the more you improve... How did you end up with a fretless in the first place? 

To answer your question, YES, anything is possible!  Our Alembic fingerboards are usually attached with a thin veneer of wood below them making them easier to remove and replaced if necessary.  It's a big job and I don't know what it might cost but it is certainly doable.

Jimmy J

Thanks for the response!  I got it because I underestimated the precision required to play in tune.  The sound is absolutely incredible, and I am still delighted with the bass, but I don't use it live because I can just hear every little intonation error so clearly.  Band mates don't complain, audiences don't complain, but to my ears, it feels like a sin.  I've had it since 1999, and I played it for the first time in a while just dubbin' around the other night, and had a long conversation with my guitarist about how great it would be if it had frets, so, here I am, just kind of thinking out loud.  I'm no luthier, in fact I'm probably in over my head even asking the question, but if I could swap out for a fretted board I would. 

[mica]

We do conversions both ways. We approach from a re-manufacturing perspective. So we would take the old fingerboard off and install a new one. It's the time to add LEDs or inlays in you want them. 

There's many guitar repair people that will slot the existing fingerboard, but we find that the labor to do that actually winds up costing more than replacing the fingerboard since one of the few areas we have automation is fingerboard slotting. When we do a conversion it's just as good as f it were made like that originally.

Since you can hear deficiencies that means you can correct them! So lots of practice will get you feeling the liberation of fretless playing - remember you get the chance to play the right note, unlike fretted instruments which use the tempered scale.

Another option is to get a fretted Epic 5 or see if someone wants to swap.