Oh my God! I de-fretted my Wick! (Sound clips ADDED!)

[Casey]

And it's turning out awesome

Maybe I went crazy, But I did it... And with very littlechipping

So I taped everything off, gently pulled the frets up, sanded it all down threw the strings on to test it and it sounds great

I'm using a mixture of wenge and epoxy to fill the fret lines. The frets are now black, And from 5 feet away or so theyre invisible. I'm applying a couple coats of slow set epoxy and I figure I should be done with it in a couple of days.

I'm sure a few of you are going to freak out But I'm really happy with the results so far. I can still slap and tap on it, Although the slapping isn't as bright and the tapping isn't as clean. Although I figure after I setup the action and all that good stuff It will sound just how I want.

Pictures to come along with a sound clip a little later.

And yes, I have lost my mind!

 

[Eberbachl]

Good on you Casey!

Sounds like a great fun project

I can't wait to see some pics and sound clips!



Tell us about the process - what did you use to pull the frets? Did you heat them at all before pulling?

 

[Andrew O]

good to see smiling faces! as long as it makes the sound you want, who cares? and you'll just be even more like les claypool. :twisted:

 

[maddrakkett]

Awesome! Can't wait to see the finished results.

When I bought my Thumb Dirty Blonde, it had been professionally de-fretted and the lines were filled to match the color of the body and headstock.

The thing I really like is that even though it's now fretless, it still gets a good slap and pop! I can get Bakithi Kumalo (Paul Simon, Graceland) and Pino Paladino fretless funk sounds with my de-fretted bass. I think you're gonna LOVE the sound and feel of the finished results!

Here's how mine looks (also, note the "spread eagle wings" the wood pattern creates across the center of the body):

 

[Casey]

Awesome! Can't wait to see the finished results.

When I bought my Thumb Dirty Blonde, it had been professionally de-fretted and the lines were filled to match the color of the body and headstock.

The thing I really like is that even though it's now fretless, it still gets a good slap and pop! I can get Bakithi Kumalo (Paul Simon, Graceland) and Pino Paladino fretless funk sounds with my de-fretted bass. I think you're gonna LOVE the sound and feel of the finished results!

Here's how mine looks (also, note the "spread eagle wings" the wood pattern creates across the center of the body):

That looks great The slap tone on mine isn't as bright... It's more thuddy, It sounds REALLY similar to the tone on my name is mud. The thing that really got me motivated to de-fret it was this youtube video... One of the best fretless players I've ever seen

 

[JHbass]

awesome man! its good to see youre taking steps to get your mind off things!

 

[Casey]

Yeah, I have quite a bit more work to do on it. I noticed after I put the epoxy on that a few fret slots needed to be fixed a bit more... But with all the time I have on my hands now, It will keep me busy.

I'm in a great mood right now for some reason

Just wanted to tell you guys thanks for all the support through all of this, The Warwick family is great

 

[JHbass]

perhaps the mood is do to the epoxy fumes? haha i dont even know if epoxy has fumes. Anyway its good to see you happy man!

 

[Casey]

Epoxy is very smelly And really messy to work with sometimes. This time around I used the slow set epoxy so I have more time to work with it, Considering my fretboard is so big.

I'm working with the bass outside and sitting it on a towel while doing it, It slid off of the town and the back of the body got all scratched up. Another reason for me to clean the body up really good and oil it again

I'm also going to round off the edges of the fretboard a bit, so everything is a little easier/smoother to play. It should be pretty fun to play once I'm done. Then comes the fun part of trying to find a band that wants a bassist who plays a 6 string fretless

 

[Eberbachl]

That looks great The slap tone on mine isn't as bright... It's more thuddy, It sounds REALLY similar to the tone on my name is mud. The thing that really got me motivated to de-fret it was this youtube video... One of the best fretless players I've ever seen

Wow!

He's got some seriously bright fretless tone going on!

 

[naetog]

you're crazy casey!! I don't have the cajones to undertake such a task.

no pics = still fretted

 

[Grgzilla]

That looks great The slap tone on mine isn't as bright... It's more thuddy, It sounds REALLY similar to the tone on my name is mud. The thing that really got me motivated to de-fret it was this youtube video... One of the best fretless players I've ever seen

Wow!

He's got some seriously bright fretless tone going on!

It's a picollo bass,with picollo strings.Whatever they are,I have no idea.

 

[Eberbachl]

That looks great The slap tone on mine isn't as bright... It's more thuddy, It sounds REALLY similar to the tone on my name is mud. The thing that really got me motivated to de-fret it was this youtube video... One of the best fretless players I've ever seen

Wow!

He's got some seriously bright fretless tone going on!

It's a picollo bass,with picollo strings.Whatever they are,I have no idea.

Ahh!

Looks like with an epoxy board too.

Bright city!

 

[Grgzilla]

That looks great The slap tone on mine isn't as bright... It's more thuddy, It sounds REALLY similar to the tone on my name is mud. The thing that really got me motivated to de-fret it was this youtube video... One of the best fretless players I've ever seen

Wow!

He's got some seriously bright fretless tone going on!

It's a picollo bass,with picollo strings.Whatever they are,I have no idea.

Ahh!

Looks like with an epoxy board too.

Bright city!

Pedulla coat there fingerboards in a clear laquer that's supposed to be as hard as glass.This one's ebony. :wink:
with maple fret lines.

 

[Eberbachl]

What can I say Greg?

You're a wealth of information!

 

[jester]

Defretting a wenge board is quite a task, I hear wenge splinters very easily. Once you 're done you 'll need to carefully set up the instrument so that you have an even fretless sound all over your huge board. Thankfully Warwicks are easily and totally adjustable. (I think the adjustable nut will help a lot here). Also Warwick flat radiused boards work great for a fretless. We need pics and clips when your done!

 

[CaryTheLabelGuy]

Casey, to get a brighter tone out of your new found fretless, use a very light gauge steel string, like D'Addario Prosteels.

The epoxy on the fingerboard of that Pedulla is also helping get that bright tone. Maybe epoxy the Wenge fretboard? Wenge is a lot softer than say ebony. I'm not sure how well it would work as a fingerboard without hardening the fingerboard with epoxy. Oh, and watch out for splinters when your playing that beast! Wenge splinters BAD if not sanded really good.

 

[Callum]

Was wondering what you were gonna be doing next (in a good way i love hearing about your projects!)

Sounds awesome all thats left for me to say is....

PICS PICS PICS PICS PICS PICS PICS!

and maybe a soundclip!

 

[trujo777]

WOW!! my hat's off to you Mr. Thumbin !! I would have never dared to do this to my only Warwick. I hope it pays off. I would not do it myself because I ahve never owned a fretless bass and I have heard they are not everybody's cup of tea so i would have bought a RB fretless and once I am proficient in it then go ahead and do a Wic.


congrats seems you're enjoying this and take step by step pics to develop a how to thread.

thanks mate.

glad to see you're feeling better.

 

[trujo777]

you're crazy casey!! I don't have the cajones to undertake such a task.

no pics = still fretted

"cajones" in Spanish are the drawers (like the ones in your chest drawer). I know what you mean and i would never have had the guts to do it myself either.