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Our old message board had quite a bit of info regarding the removal of frets and different ways to finish the fingerboard. We are hoping that his new message board will provide a better forum for topics like this. Please post your experiences and techniques to help out the fretless community on thier conversion projects.

I am new to both this forum, and to the world of fretless bass. About a month ago, I had finally decided to take the plunge and "de-fret" an old Squier II P-bass that I had collecting dust.

This monster was my second bass (been playing for about 15 years on fretted instruments), and was just taking up space. Unable to bear the idea of throwing it or giving it away, I took off the strings and pondered how to go about getting the frets out.

My first idea was to grind the frets down with my Dremel. Halfway through my first one, I came to the conclusion that this was more tedious than I cared for. Additionally, I had scorched the fretboard (which is maple) a time or two. I then decided that extracting the frets would be a better option.

I remembered reading somewhere about a technique where you take a soldering iron and heat the fret up, making it easier to pull out. Guess what.... didn't work for me. I then decided to just pry those puppies out.

Using a small awl and a flathead screwdriver, I was able to remove all of the frets in a short amount of time. I took the awl and pushed it into the bottom side of the fretboard, just underneath the fret. When the fret began to pop up, I then took the screwdriver to pry it out. This did leave some damage, so it is not a technique that I recommend on anything you care about.

I proceeded to sand the top and sides of the fretboard to eradicate any splintering. I did not fill in the gaps left by the frets yet. Nor did I finish the neck any more after the sanding. It is ugly, a tad rough on the fingers, and obviously amateurish... I love the thing to death!

Eventually, I will purchase a true fretless bass. In the meantime, however, this monster is certainly serving it's purpose.

I found some places on Ebay that supply constructional veneer, meaning thicker and much more robust than normal - i.e. 1 mm. I have had success doing fretless conversions by gluing this in place on the fretboard after fret removal (I find soldering iron works for me, but because I am covering up the original, a bit of damage doesn't matter.)

The veneer is housed using iron-on glue, and is quite secure in my experience. Then trimmed and sanded flush with the neck. Dot markers added as and where you want. I have been able to procure both maple and ebony veneers, depending on preference with the job in hand.

The neat thing about this is that it also works as a rare semi-fretless, keeping say the top octave of frets, as the veneer matches the frets, height wise.

The only other detail is that you normally need to pop a small strip of veneer under the nut to raise it slightly, as the fretboard is raised by the same degree.

Endless fun bringing new life to tired, worn out old basses found chep on Ebay!

Do you have any pictures Fret Not? be interesting to see what you've done.

More information on this topic:
Defretting for dummies like me

http://fretlessbass.com/viewtopic.php?t=110

www.bassdefret.com

This is a tutorial a friend and I put together for how to do a fretless conversion. This is a tried and true method which has worked well every time I've done it.

The article is free to download. Check it out!