Hippo Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 I'm finally starting to get my parts list and the like all together for my fretless design (based largely on my LP Studio). As such, I've been reading about neck angles, bridge angles (difference in scale length on strings 1/6), etc. I realize that these are done for intonation purposes, but I'm not planning on having any fret markers at all. So I was wondering if you guys think that I should intonate the my fretless (via all of those fun angles and adjustments) as one would a normal fretted guitar? Anyone have experience with this sort of thing? Would I likely adapt? Is Santa real? cheers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 In general I think it is a good idea to have at least side dots on a fretless...except that the dots are placed on the fret positions instead of centered between the fret positions. Or, you could have side dots between the fret positions and lines ON the fret positions...whatever, its your call. With that in mind, my inclination would be to try to intonate it as closely as possible, as if the instrument were to actually have frets. Part of the reason for intonation is the extra tension that comes from pressing a stretched string onto the fretboard, and this happens even when you have no frets. This will allow you to have (fictive, or virtual) fret positions that are as close to straight and parallel as possible. All the same, with a fretless it will be your ear that ultimately tells you where to press your fingers. It should also be said that fretless guitar is a far cry from fretless bass, mainly because guitar is much more a chordal instrument than bass. Think of trying to finger first-position Bbmaj7th or F with correct finger positions with standard tuning on a fretless guitar, and you'll see what I mean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hippo Posted July 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 Hmm, I definitely see the disadvantages of having no markers with your point on it being a chordal instrument. Fret markers of any sort sound like a really good idea now Do you think painted lines for each fret would hold up well? Thanks for the advice! I think I'll set it up more or less like a fretted guitar now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j. pierce Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 I don't think painted fret markers would work well, I'd go with fret slots filled with hardwood veneer. (Make sure your fret slots are sized appropriately for the veneer you choose - practice on scrap!) I second the ideas on bridge angles though - while your ear will ultimately decide where "in tune" is, and as such, you probably still want a fifth up the string or an octave up the string to be in relatively the same place. As far as neck angles go (which you also mention) this is going to be the same approach as for a fretted instrument - to have consistent action along the length of the whole neck. As is often mentioned here, simply draw it out and determine your angle. You obviously don't need to add the height of the frets into figuring things out. Of course, to me a fretless instrument implies a less aggressive style of playing, and you may find what works well is no neck angle with the fretboard surface simply raised off the body to accomodate the height of the bridge. I don't like this when I'm banging stuff out, but I had an old fireird knock off with a tuneomatic and no neck angle, and for finger-style stuff, the added height of the strings off the body felt real nice for playing on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 +1 on the fret markers. My gut feeling is that guitar strings will be a lot harsher on the fretboard than bass strings, so go for a wood that is hellaciously hard and polish it up a storm! Perhaps some acrylised wood or an epoxy sealer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hippo Posted July 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 Veneer for the "frets" sounds like a great plan; I'll definitely spend many, many hours with scrap wood before messing with the good stuff. My gut feeling is that guitar strings will be a lot harsher on the fretboard than bass strings, so go for a wood that is hellaciously hard and polish it up a storm! Perhaps some acrylised wood or an epoxy sealer? Yeah, from what I've read, typical guitar strings (roundwound) really eat away at the fretboard. Unfretted.com recommends using flatwounds to minimize fretboard damage, so I think I'll go with that. As for the wood, I'm planning on ebony with an epoxy sealer. Hopefully that would be enough to deter the wear for some time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 Sounds good to me. Ebony can take a great polish so prepare to spend lots of money on sandpaper! Another wood I would consider would be (wood wood wood) bloodwood. It seems as resilient as ebony and just looks that little bit different. Let us know how you get on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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