This week we’ve been taking a fretless Fender Jazz Bass to the next level. Our friend Scott had defretted this instrument and filled the slots, but he wanted to protect the fingerboard and improve the tone. We discussed a few options with him and he decided to have the fingerboard coated with thin protective layer of cyanoacrylate (super glue). Cyanoacrylate works really well on fretless fingerboards – it is strong, resists wear, and sounds great. (Our own Shop Manager Benjamin did this on his own fretless bass years ago and it has held up extremely well.) This effectively hardens the fingerboard and brightens the tone, and brings out a more singing sustain from the strings. It looks damn good, too. Check it out:
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We’re glad you dig it, Scott. Although, for the record – Aaron did the work. It was a labor of love, and he deserves all the credit for that one.
THANK YOU BENJAMIN! The difference in clarity and sustain (even the timbre of the growl) was obvious even acoustically at the shop just now, and is even more pronounced and beautiful when amplified. Love the overall boost in clarity, and I’ve not noticed much of a tactile difference (my finger is usually square on the string, not the wood) to match the serious gain in clarity/low-end definition (which could also be due to the brass nut you also added, but either way the cumulative effect is amazing). It’ll be nice to not have to worry about sanding the wood over time, and simply resurface the cyanoacrylate layer when the strings start digging in. My sincere thanks for such an awesome job!
::back to the tracks::
And do you expect that to change how the wood ages, since now it doesn’t have that much surface to transpire. Thanks.
It doesn’t change the feel very much – your fingers mostly are touching the string, not the wood underneath. Either way, the fretboard feels smooth to the touch, even when your fingers glide across it.
Looks good, but how does that change the playability of the bass? That is, moving your fingers over a glossy surface instead of wood. Thanks.