3,457 posts
|
Post by LeoThunder on Nov 7, 2019 11:58:19 GMT
I have an old B-400FL which has side dots in the wrong place: in between fret positions as they would be on a fretted bass. They're not even centred properly. The position marks on the side of the fingerboard are pieces of stickers I added. Could anyone tell if this persists on recent models like the B-450FL and others?
|
|
|
3,457 posts
|
Post by LeoThunder on Nov 7, 2019 15:44:56 GMT
No, I haven't. The bass is set-up for 34" and came with etched fret markers on the side that fit this, except one The previous owner who did this messed up the 13th fret position and stopped there. I finished it with removable sticky bits. But anyway, the octave dots were placed before the 17" point from the nut, which implies centred positioning, inherited from the fretted version, just like the depth of the nut slots (good joke). Now, I guess I could have checked if the dots were fitting a slightly shorter scale (I'm sure they don't) but even if they did, learning fretless on a funny scale is hardly a good idea. However, intonation was completely off when I got it, saddles all much closer to the nut, so maybe that's what someone before me tried to do.
|
|
3,457 posts
|
Post by LeoThunder on Nov 7, 2019 16:23:29 GMT
This is what I would expect on an unlined fretless neck, here made clear by the presence of dots on the fingerboard: It seems the octave double dot surrounds the accurate position of the octave, which is another funny question. It could also have ended on it with the 2nd dot or been a broader dot… Anyway, I can't find a picture of the side of an unlined fretless Harley Benton. And if I did, it wouldn't really tell me anything. I'll have to buy one to find out
|
|
3,457 posts
|
Post by LeoThunder on Nov 7, 2019 17:26:38 GMT
I did find hints in the customer reviews that the dots are now positioned as they should (which doesn't exactly say how the writer thought they should be) and I found pictures I could use for a comparison that does confirm it: dots now appear to be on the fret positions: Larger, more precise image:
|
|
|
|
3,457 posts
|
Post by LeoThunder on Nov 7, 2019 18:12:48 GMT
By the time you're looking at the neck from the playing position it can be pretty hard to figure out what the parallax effect is doing to any alignment with your fingers anyway. Little partial fret lines seem similarly unhelpful. I got quite used to the small markers in spite of the parallax issue. Somehow, something does some correction. Or maybe I just got used to the instrument. Now that I have a lined one, I still find the other one easier because it is home, familiar. I can play it without looking but I have to look at the lined fingerboard. There is something to that "muscle memory" idea.
|
|
|
3,457 posts
|
Post by LeoThunder on Nov 7, 2019 18:56:04 GMT
I can type without looking much but I can't do it in the dark. I need an anchor of some sort or everything shifts. Playing fretless is an interesting thing. I was afraid of it and ended up liking it more, I can't say why. I just had a closer look at both instruments and they are very similar but they rest differently on the leg. The neck is shifted by about 1cm and it seems to be enough to throw me off.
That one man, one instrument thing has value. I'm going to sell everything and just keep the one. And my first guitar of course. And the 7 string. Both of them, the 7 string bass too. And the fanfret. And the 5 string with tapewound, because tapewound. And the one I saved from the stench because of history. And the Les Paul so I can bitch about it. And all the Ibanez because I love them…
I still need a 6 string. Fretless…
|
|
DefJef
THBC Moderator
Due to musical differences I've decided I can't work with myself any more.
|
Post by DefJef on Nov 7, 2019 22:15:48 GMT
|
|
3,457 posts
|
Post by LeoThunder on Nov 8, 2019 4:10:08 GMT
Hey, that's interesting. A Jazz Bass with a Strat' attitude And a headstock that doesn't look like it's tryihg to lever the world. Batracian green is the rarest guitar colour. I'd want it just for this reason… And it has a reasonable lookimg bridge. Same design as that on the B-400FL. Sold, though. It was probably too expensive.
|
|
|
Post by JAC on Nov 8, 2019 7:59:20 GMT
I haven't owned an HB fretless but Indo seen to remember that they used to all come with centered dots, basically the same necks as the fretted but without the frets installed.
I have no idea if (and when) this was fixed.
|
|