1985 Custom Distillate (fretless)

[edwardofhuncote]

To illustrate, here's what I'm seeing from a player's perspective, at both ends of the scale:

Give the Chromes a chance to mellow out...

Oh yeah, Growly... plenty of time. Besides, that's what they put that treble boost-flat-cut switch there for!   

*at risk of over-analyzing this side-marker issue... I think what would help the most is if there were just one more bronze dot at the first 'fret' position. Just that alone would sure help 'spot the landing' on 8  notes that I use a LOT.  Hmmm...

[hieronymous]

Can't say I didn't think of this before- but I didn't fully realize how dependent I am on side markers. This bass has bronze dots where the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 12th frets (and so on) would be. "Chain-Links" has white holly fret sidelines all the way down and bronze dots between them at those same places. It's a bit of a head-game. 

I may eventually have some more bronze dot side markers installed at each 'fret' in addition to the intervals, but for now, I'm just going to practice more. 

Congrats on the new bass! (I know I said it at Talkbass but wanted to say it here too)

My Guild M-85 has dots that sound similar to your new one - I like it - the doubleneck sounds like Chains, except instead of lines for each fret there are tiny dots, plus the "regular" dots. I've never played out with it, but I think it would be hard to see since lighting is often less than ideal. My first-ever fretless was a Fender Japan '62 Jazz Bass reissue that had an unlined fretboard, and only dots where they would be on a fretted bass!!! It was so hard (plus I didn't practice anywhere near enough) and turned me off to fretless until I got the doubleneck.

I bet you will get used to the dots-only-on-certain-frets!

[rv_bass]

I have dots only marking fret locations on my fretless and have no problem playing it. 

I have a fretted bass with LEDs at the frets, no dots in between, and it scrambled my brain.  I couldn’t play it until I added dots in between the frets.  Odd the way the brain works.

[CaseyVancouver]

The key to unlined fretless is practise ...and willpower!

I try to practise my fretless every day just like I bow my upright every day.
Some prefer unlined fretless. It works rather well for uprights, cellos & violins etc!

You may need to make a decision which of your awesome basses to take to a gig depends on the gig requirements. A sight reading gig on unlined fretless could be terrifying if you are not comfortable with intonation. The same bass on an easy jazz casual or acoustic country gig with no charts might be perfect.

Always good to have bass choices for your gigs. Super nice bass by the way.

[edwardofhuncote]

I almost don't want to post this, 'cause I don't want you guys to think I'm crazy, but here goes. After some experimentation with a little sticker where the 1st fret would be, I realized that was all I needed. Maybe because I am hard-headed, but I needed some reference point other than the nut to land those notes correctly. Even I can't believe how much easier it got. So what to do for a permanent fix? Turned out I had some tiny brass tacks in shop that were precisely the right diameter. I ground the head off a couple, and tried them in some scrap wood... perfect match.

Here's where it gets scary... 

I measured from the front of the nut to the top/center of the 1st fret on both of my other 32" scale Alembics, then compared that to the 1st fret sideline on my Custom fretless, also a 32" scale. Finding less than 1/64" difference, I figured that was close enough. Using a set of calipers, I marked where the marker needed to be, and... well... I put an extra bronze side dot in this bass. Trust me, you don't want to know the details of how. It involved a tiny drill bit, an equally tiny tack-hammer, a block of wood, a dab of super-glue, and nerves of freakin' steel. 

I'm home... at least where playing in the first position is concerned! I'm off to do some more bonding. Like Casey says- "PRACTICE". 

Before I go, here's a couple quick-n-dirty pics of the finished job. Can you tell the difference? 

[hieronymous]

Could be worse - I was afraid you might have hammered the whole tack into the neck!

[growlypants]

Oh, MAN!  (Time for some Jack...[Daniels, that is!])

[edwardofhuncote]

I spent the rest of the evening at play. That one little thing solved the issue... can't believe something so simple could make that much difference but playing this one is effortless now. 

I seem to remember one time Mica said something about the advantage of having that first dot there, just because it was such a lot of blank space there without it - I sure see why now. 

Yeah guys, I definitely wouldn't recommend that DIY job to the faint-of-heart, but to make full disclosure, I mark the notes on upright basses all the time using this very same procedure. It's one of the more common options people ask for when I set up a bass. Mostly I was concerned with having the right size dot. 

[elwoodblue]

... ...... ...... ......

[charles_holmes]

Yummers! That's a really nice axe! But I'm biased!! Hee! Hee!

[edwardofhuncote]

It was a nice day for Distillates on a gig this afternoon... caught this picture of Custom fretless "Doc" while HGB was on set break. 

[elwoodblue]

What a sweetie ! 

[edwardofhuncote]

Two Birthdays... Barbara Eden is 87 years old today, and my Custom fretless Distillate is 33. Perhaps it's fate they share August 23rd. When I found out, I thought about naming the bass "Barbara-Jean" after her, but instead settled on keeping a connection to the original owner, Doc. (y'all know that was incredibly hard for me to pass up, right?) But Doc took really good care of this one all those years, so "Doc" it is. Since I got this one last Fall, it's gone into regular rotation, and I really enjoy keeping the 4-string model in my head. Distillate controls to me at least, are very easy to dial-up what I use at gigs... (I suppose the modern-day equivalent would be Rogue/Europa) but a single Master Volume, Filter, Q-switch, plus the Bass and Treble eq toggles... it's just hard to go wrong. I do find myself using the 4-position pickup selector switch more often than I thought... oddly, this is my only Alembic bass with one... all three of the others have a Pan function.


Took a few pictures last night trying to capture the beauty of the bubinga in this one... you have to get the light just right for the figuring to 'pop', but what really strikes you is the colors... oranges, browns, even brick-reds suddenly show up. Even the maple and purpleheart in the neck layup is spectacular. Somebody smiled when the first coats of finish hit this one, for sure. Though the body pattern on this one is a variation on the Standard Point, with an extended upper horn, it is surprisingly light (and because of the upper horn) balances very well too. I love how the bubinga melds right into the mahogany body core too... very old-school cool. I've thought a couple times about sending the bridge, bird tailpiece, logo, and brass plates out to have them chrome-plated to match the tuning machines, but shoot... they're still like new. Still might do that some day... I think it would look sharp.


I haven't decided yet how best to celebrate the occasion this evening... I'm leaning towards binge-watching the entire first couple seasons of "I Dream of Jeannie", then attempting playback on all of of McVie's bass parts from the 1975 Fleetwood Mac "White" Album through "Tusk" on fretless. Then calling in sick tomorrow. (legitimately)

[growlypants]

Beautiful.  Just beautiful.  A couple quick questions, though - One:  Are those individual bridge pieces turned around backwards?  I'm sure it doesn't matter one bit if they are, just curious.  And Two:  How did you ever find such an immaculate condition 33 year old ANYthing?!!!

[edwin]

The bridge saddles look right to me. You want the slope to be pointing at the tailpiece so that the sharp drop off provides the cleanest witness point to the part of the string you play. It also provides the most accurate intonation.