Author Topic: Defretting to Ghost Frets (Read 492 times)

waggaboy · « **on:** March 19, 2004, 02:15:38 AM »

Hi There, I have a new Custom Rogue on order and am wondering if I could send my current '96 rogue back home to the factory to get the fingerboard made fretless?

I am wondering what options there would be -- can ghost frets by retrofitted or is there a way to replace the fingerboard laminate?

I am also wondering if I can get the hardware plated or whether it needs to be replaced? My new custom is having gold plating done.

Kind Regards,
Sean.

wayne · « **Reply #1 on:** March 19, 2004, 11:05:43 AM »

Sean-

Yes you could get a good luthier to inlay ghost frets. If you send it back home to Santa Rosa, they will re-construct the bass to fretless - they'll remove the old fretboard and replace it with a new, beautiful, clean piece of ebony.

They actually consider this a minor job, so it is relatively inexpensive. I'll let Mica or Val post the current rate. Though, if your bass had side LEDs they cannot be salvaged, so that's an automatic $1200-$1500 to replace them on top of the conversion cost.

I had my Series I converted and it is perfect. My only problem occurred when UPS got their hands on my bass.....but that's another story in another thread.......

C-Ya............wayne

mica · « **Reply #2 on:** March 19, 2004, 11:57:31 AM »

Hi Sean,

I agree with Wayne that it's probably better to have a good local luthier (like David's associate Jeff) do the work. If you've got inlays, the very best thing would be to replace the fingerboard, as sliding over different materials produces different sounds.

I've seen plenty of times where folks will inlay ghost frets on a board and leave the original inlays. It doesn't bother everyone, but I think it's more likely to bother an Alembic player since the sound is so clear to begin with.

FYI it's $550 to replace the fingerboard. You can elect to have unlined, lined, or sidelines. If things go well, we'll need it for about 2-3 weeks. If it turns out to need some finish work, it's another month on that.

cdf · « **Reply #3 on:** March 19, 2004, 01:14:08 PM »

Probably an ignorant question, but what are ghost frets?

dnburgess · « **Reply #4 on:** March 19, 2004, 01:25:16 PM »

Sean

I have taken the liberty of asking Jeff Mallia for a quote on the work. Jeff is a fine luthier with whom I entrust all my Alembics.

cdf, ghost frets are strips of wood inlaid where the fret would have been - to show the position. My question is how can this be done without getting sound changes when you slide over them? Does anyone have playing experience with ghost frets?

mica · « **Reply #5 on:** March 19, 2004, 01:32:55 PM »

It's always better sound-wise to have blank board like an acoustic instrument. Over time, the board will need to be relevelled as the glue-rich strips won't shrink at the same rate as the Ebony.

effclef · « **Reply #6 on:** March 19, 2004, 02:03:42 PM »

Mica, how about going the other way, fretting a bass which started life as a fretless? What's the cost, and would it necessitate removing the fingerboard? (I.E. you can't use a fretsaw when the fingerboard is on a finished bass.)

EffClef

cdf · « **Reply #7 on:** March 19, 2004, 02:21:46 PM »

thanks for the clarification

mica · « **Reply #8 on:** March 19, 2004, 03:18:41 PM »

Since we're really making focused and less modification focused, it's harder for us to fret a fretless than let's say a repair shop. We use a CNC to slot the fingerboards before they are even glued to the neck. I'm sure we could slot the board by hand, but it would likely be an expensive enterprise. I usually think it's best to leave reapirs to repair experts.

effclef · « **Reply #9 on:** March 23, 2004, 10:52:42 AM »

Great answer, Mica. I wouldn't want to sign Alembic up to do something that would come out less than perfect.

Looks like the $550 or more route would be the way to go for replacement - but at the same time, a fretless bass is a rarity and I think just finding a fretted one would be better than modifying one which started life as fretless.

Is the sidelines option new, by the way? I was going to comment on it a couple of days ago when I first noticed it in the Custom Quote Generator.
Great idea!

EffClef

mica · « **Reply #10 on:** March 23, 2004, 11:24:26 AM »

Sidelines are pretty new. I think Kent got them originally on the Growling Tiger, at least I don't remember us doing them earlier than that. Of course any inlaid lines are only suggestions, even changing the relief will slightly change where you should be aiming. But it's nice to have some sort of a roadmap until you can totally do it by ear.

waggaboy · « **Reply #11 on:** April 28, 2004, 07:33:01 PM »

Growling Tiger Link:

http://www.alembic.com/info/FC_tiger.html