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| Some Ebony Macasssar, earlier tonight |
And the think-of-the-day, is that I am definitely going to go for a fretless neck.
I've been researching such matters diligently, and I think it could be good fun. Though whether I'd manage to play the thing, I don't really know.
For the neck then I have to decide whether to fill the existing yet empty fret slots.
Apparently I don't need to, but some recommend filling them with wax, so I don't know yet. The marker might be handy, of course, when I come to play the thing.
Alternatively I could cover it with something flat, which might be fun, just not sure what.
Some people use glass or metal or, well, whatever is flat, I guess.
Edit: As it happens I've just been reading that you can veneer the fretboard, and as I've got a beautiful bit of Ebony Macassar veneer (whatever that is) on the way at the moment, that might be fun.
Well, heart-stoppingly-fraught, perhaps, but that is still more challenging than filling the gaps with a selection of Crayola colours.
As for the rest, I am definitely going for a single pickup at the bridge with my current fave idea being a Jaguar one - assuming I can route it out - or a hot Strat bridge pickup. Maybe even a lipstick if I can find a nice one somewhere, they would up the jangly ante.
We'll see how brave I am.
As for the finish, I'm not sure yet, though I think I may Gun Stock the rest of the neck as it feels great on the Gordo. Ah, tis the simple things.
So in summary, that is probably it: I'll put an ebony veneer on the 'board of a fretless guitar, with a Jaguar pickup, a new scratchplate, a hardtail bridge that I know nothing about, will Gunstock the neck and do something groovy to the body.
Sounds like a plan.
(You may notice that I spit on my comfort-zone and then start climbing upto a wildly optimistic peak high, higher than I should even dream about. And then reach for the ladder, and still can't find a metaphor to cover the stupidity.)
5 comments:
Don,t forget you,ll have to put the new markers where the frets used to be(on account of the string length making the note)Youv,e either taken this into account and laughed or you,ll be very restless tonight.....either way,g/night,matey
Cheers Ken, I must admit I'd thought of it and then hidden it somewhere so I didn't have to think it thru.
A lot of the fretless ones I've seen on-line don't have the helpful lines, so I was more inclined to go for markers on the side of the neck.
I guess not having them is one of the 'challenges' of learning to play one, like a violin or err, something else, like.
OK, I might need to think this thru after all :)
You could always put the side markers where the frets used to be.I have a Custom made Tele(pear tree body)with dark neck binding and dark grey MOP side markings and it,s a bugger to play without reference points.
Bold, mate, bold. I've also heard (not that you don't have enough to be getting on with) that if you use a wooden nut instead of plastic, brass, whatever, it means that when you "fret" your strings, there's less tonal difference between your open strings and your "fretted" notes.
And while you're being so bold as to veneer the face of the neck, what about cutting shallow wee corresponding notches with a fretsaw on the top (facing) edge of the neck where the fret channels would be if they continued off the board and round the neck, then filling with something dark, then lacquering or sealing it in to create your fretline markers?
I dread to think how these violin and cello playing freaks do it. I'm bad enough with good intonation, frets and a Boss tuner.
Hmm, cheers both - lots of 'food for thought' or 'reasons to lose sleep', whichever way I'm feeling at any given moment.
I was thinking magic marker, but heh, I guess I could try something grown up.
I can tune a guitar by ear these days, unless I pick up an out-of-tune guitar in a shop where I have to pretend I'm playing something by Ravi Shankar. Lots of nodding and drone notes..
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