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NOTHING BUT BASS

VOL. 1
From cheap wiring mods to DIY fretless jobs,
faux-synth strategies, and amp-shopping tips—8 gems
just for low-end lovers.

Digital Press
ON BASS
The String with the Most Bass
BY VICTOR BRODÉN
M
usic is such a fiercely individual thing,
and how you get to the sound you
hear in your head should really only
be your business. No matter what kind of advice
people give you, it is ultimately your job to
figure out exactly how you want to make your
musical expression. I make mine 99 percent of
the time playing a 5-string bass.
When I was in my teens, I purchased an
octave pedal to cover the lower notes of the
synth-bass parts for the Top 40 bands I played
in. I would also tune my 4-string down for the
hard rock and metal bands I played in, to take
care of all my extended-range needs. I was —I
am embarrassed to admit—sort of a 4-string
purist. I’m not sure what’s in the air lately, but
the resistance to extended-range instruments and
the snobbery regarding the 4-string bass seem to
be at an all-time high.
I started playing 5-string bass when I moved
to Nashville at the age of 27. I had been a
4-string player for 15 years, and my 5-string
purchase was strictly business-related. Because
late-’90s pop-country albums used 5-string
basses almost exclusively, I figured I had better
not show up in Nashville without one. When
the Sadowsky I ordered arrived a couple months
after my move, however, it quickly changed my
preconceived notion that the low B on a 5-string
somehow felt different than the other strings
and that it wasn’t really a natural part of the
instrument in terms of sound or feel. In fact, I
Some 4-string players go through great lengths to
avoid being seen with a 5-string, even when they’re
more than capable of playing one well.
2 PREMIER GUITAR - DIGITAL PRESS NOTHING BUT BASS VOL. 1
tried playing one of my trusty 4-strings after a
few weeks of woodshedding with the Sadowsky,
but it just didn’t quite feel right. And I had
many thousands of hours more experience as a
4-string player! For me, the transition was that
quick and natural.
I recall taking the new bass to rehearsals for
the first band I joined after moving to Nashville.
The band was being produced by a well-known
member of a classic-rock band and the style
of music was very much in the vein of the
Black Crowes. After the first few weeks, I was
told by the manager that it was brought to his
attention I shouldn’t play a 5-string bass. I was
dumbfounded. There was no mention of my
playing ability: It was strictly a visual request.
It’s funny, because the bass I was playing had
a 3-tone sunburst finish, a J-style body, and a
light-colored rosewood neck that could easily be
confused with a ’60s Fender Jazz if you squinted
hard enough. And it sounded vintage as well,
thanks to its passive electronics.
My second taste of 4-string snobbery came a
few years later. I was in rehearsals for a recording
artist, and the musical director (a sax player)
asked me to “maybe try a P bass instead.” The
interesting thing is that I was already playing an
actual P bass, but—you guessed it—the bass had
five strings. Again, vintage 3-tone sunburst and
passive pickups, but apparently that one extra
tuner somehow miraculously made it not a P
bass in his mind.
premierguitar.com
 Some 4-string players go to any length It should be noted that in other areas of This bruised
and scratched
to avoid being seen with a 5-string, even today’s music industry, things are (thankfully) 1999
when they’re more than capable of playing the opposite. If you work in the pop, gospel, Sadowsky is
one well. For example: I was backstage at an metal, or contemporary R&B genres, you had the instrument
that
amphitheater show, where I was playing with better show up to a gig with a 5-string bass. The started our
one of the opening acts, when I saw that the sound is imperative to those genres. columnist’s
bassist for the main attraction (one of the So many classic albums were made using a 4-string 5-string
journey,
biggest names in pop country) had nine Fender bass, and players like Jaco and Jamerson only needed and while it
Jazz 4-strings in his tech’s area. There were four strings, but here is my honest, simple view looks like a
six different tunings. The band’s material is on the matter: The low B adds more bass! vintage bass
and sounds
very similar song-to-song, so the bassist was I’m absolutely in love with bass, so it’s beyond like a vintage
obviously trying to maintain tonal consistency. my comprehension how more bass could not be bass, it’s not
That said, I played one 5-string that day. Yes, seen as a good thing. I’ve had other musicians an acceptable
bass
I am well aware that when bassists double the turn around and smile so many times over the according to
guitar riffs (often in rock music), sometimes years when I hit a very low note, but have never some players.
relying on open strings like the guitarists do is had someone turn around and scowl after I
sonically imperative. That definitely wasn’t the provide a small earthquake. (They only do that
case here, however, and I’ve seen people go to when I hit a wrong note.) I think this proves that
similar lengths to avoid playing a 5-string at the aversion is only visual, right?
other levels of the industry as well. My advice to 5-string naysayers: Get over it.

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ON BASS

How to Impersonate a Synth Bass

BY VICTOR BRODÉN

Electric
bassists can
benefit greatly
from learning
keyboard bass
parts because
they challenge
our
status-quo
patterns and
playing habits.

E
ver since playing bass in my first cover
bands as a teen, I’ve been infatuated
with the sound and feel of synth bass.
Keyboard players often create parts that are not
contained in normal fingering patterns or within
normal hand placements for us electric bassists.
And realizing this can be extremely useful for
expanding our creative horizons to create bass
parts that come from a place of musicality—not
just writing within the limits of our normal
playing style or technical ability.
Keyboard bass parts also tend to be mixed louder
than electric bass, making the significance of each
note that much greater. Perhaps most important,
synth bass sounds are often bigger, fatter, or thicker,
which means they are taking up more of the
frequency spectrum.
Let me explain. Certain bass sounds contain
stunning amounts of sub-low frequencies and
bright, sweeping filter top-end—all layered within
the same sound. This decreases the need for many
other instruments because so much of the sonic
space has already been occupied by the bass sound.
I listen to a lot of ’90s R&B for this very reason.
Several hits from that era are prime examples of
the synth bass taking up a lot of space and the
other instruments providing subtle flavors around
it, rather than adding big parts to the foundation
of the song. The challenge for electric bassists is to
somewhat truthfully replicate parts like this, or at
least give the illusion of a synth bass with an analog
pedalboard and electric bass.
The first and most important tool is an octave
pedal. With that said, you always need to keep the
type of room you are playing and the challenges
it can present in mind. If you set the volume of
the octave below the played note to a level where
it sounds big and fat coming out of your personal

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4 PREMIER GUITAR - DIGITAL PRESS NOTHING BUT BASS VOL. 1
premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR - DIGITAL PRESS NOTHING BUT BASS VOL. 1 V
 A modern
envelope
filter, synth
bass pedal,
octave pedal,
and vintage
envelope filter
make a great
starting point
for an electric
bassist to be
able to handle
most songs
where the line
was originally
recorded with
keyboard bass.
The challenge for electric bassists
is to somewhat truthfully replicate
parts like this, or at least give the
illusion of a synth bass with an
analog pedalboard and a bass.
rig, it’s probably too loud and muddy sounding for a
PA system (which will effectively amplify that lower
octave, to a large degree). I prefer to use an octave
pedal where the lower octave has separate volume
controls for the sub-frequency lows and the low mids.
It makes a big difference when playing through a large
system or in a rehearsal room with sound dampening
that’s anything less than great. Tip: If you are using
an octave pedal all night, it’s a good idea to boost
the mids on your amp so your tone doesn’t become
unclear once the rest of the band comes in.
I purposely try to use the sound of my fingers
sliding over the fret into the note, usually from a
half-step below. I do this quickly enough so you
don’t actually hearthe approach, but instead feel
something slippery happening around the note.
(Using a fretless bass can make this feel even more
6 PREMIER GUITAR - DIGITAL PRESS NOTHING BUT BASS VOL. 1
authentic to a synth sound, especially on modern
R&B ballads.) Yet another trick with the octave
pedal is the “dub” effect, where the volume of the
played note is dialed completely off and only the
very round-sounding artificial octave can be heard.
You’ll lose some punch and definition, but this
setting can deliver a great feeling to modern reggae
or any other song where you want to be felt more
than heard.
To emulate the filters on the top end of synth
bass sounds, the solution can be as simple as using
an envelope filter or auto-wah. Rolling off the
tone on your bass and playing through one of
these pedals alone will allow you to create sounds
that don’t convey traditional electric bass, but
incorporating an octave pedal as well will deliver
the most synth-like tones. Don’t forget that an
octave pedal needs a very clean signal to track your
playing accurately, so running an envelope filter
later in your signal chain is crucial. And because
the octave pedal pushes an envelope filter harder,
I find that I have to use different settings on my
envelope filter when using the two pedals together.
There are a number of synth bass pedals on the
market that provide both the filter and the low-end
goodness of an octave pedal in one enclosure. Most
of them are great for really making a statement, but
I’m careful when I use one because the filter sweep
in the high end can sometimes reach too high in the
frequency range. If you are like me and play cabinets
with tweeters, you might get more than what you
bargained for sonically.
Personal preference is key here and experimentation
is the mother of all things good. When it comes
to synth bass impersonation, this is especially true.
Being able to double as a synth-bass player with a
keyboard onstage is a huge asset to have as a bassist,
but the ability to create a similar feel and effect with
traditional stompboxes and playing techniques is a
skill the musicians around you will really appreciate.
premierguitar.com
 BASS BENCH

Cold Facts About Strings

BY HEIKO HOEPFINGER

I
n a 1999 New York Times article titled “For the Although
the change
Musical Alchemist, a New Tack: Cryogenics,” is invisible,
author Terry H. Schwadron describes a trend there’s
among brass and woodwind makers to offer deep evidence that
bass strings
freezing of trumpets and flutes as a way to improve benefit from
their sound. The article cites both makers and cryogenic
scientists looking for evidence that this technology treatment.

actually works, and their opinions could hardly be

further apart. This debate has raged for years and
continues today—at least in the world of brass
instruments—while the process of deep freezing
has spread to other areas, including bass.
What is it? Cryoscopy is an experimental method
in analytic chemistry used to determine the
molecular weight or amount of a dissolvable or
mixable substance in a solvent. Meaning “freezing
measurement,” the term comes from Greek.
The related term cryogenic treatment means
something is exposed to very low temperatures.
The most popular coolant is liquid nitrogen at
its freezing point of 63 Kelvin (corresponding to
-210 degrees Celsius or -346 degrees Fahrenheit),
but for various reasons the practical temperature
is slightly higher at 77 Kelvin. Some systems even
use helium at temperatures of about 4 Kelvin.
Simply put, cryogenically treated instruments
or parts are exposed to these low temperatures
for about 30 hours. The claim is that when these making something cold—radically reducing the
objects are brought back to room temperature, vibrational movement of the molecules—will alter
“something” has changed. Companies offer the the chemical structure ... except in a few special
treatment for strings, pickups, bridges, and even cases. And stainless steel is one of them.
complete instruments, with strings being the most In certain steels, the changes during a
successful product when it comes to market share. cryogenic treatment happen via a diffusionless
The cold, hard truth. Because strings are transformation of atoms, which form different
relatively simple in terms of material and crystal structures that remain stable at room
construction, they offer a useful way to see if this temperature. This process yields higher strength
Photo courtesy of cooltech.at

process can offer any real-world advantages or and hardness, and thus reduces wear, so it’s widely
whether it’s all voodoo. For bass strings, we’re most used for tools, bearings, and engine parts. No
often dealing with stainless steel in both the core similar transformations are known to take place in
and outer windings. One certainly can’t expect that copper or silver.

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 Cryogenically treated instruments or parts are exposed to
low temperatures for about 30 hours. The claim is that when
these objects are brought back to room temperature,
“something” has changed.

This So even though we start to smell marketing
disassembled
T-style guitar
B.S. when statements like “every major
and a batch NASCAR team treats their engine components
of strings are for added horsepower” are used as an argument
about to take a
cold bath.
for buying a set of strings, the underlying
process isn’t voodoo.
Whenever a new technology creeps into our
world of instruments, there’s usually not much
further evidence to support marketing claims,
but one elusive study on acoustic guitar strings
finds increased stiffness of around 30 percent
and a modulus of elasticity (Young’s modulus)
treatment of music wire,” 2004, National
University of Singapore).
The implications. So what does this mean for
bass strings? Hardened strings provide some real-
world advantages, starting with improved tuning
stability and increased longevity. In addition, the
tone—especially the upper end—will not decay as
fast as the strings start to age. This will be especially
welcome news if you play slap-style because that
technique is particularly hard on standard bass
strings. The only possible downside to hardened
strings could be increased fret wear and, of course,
Photo courtesy of cooltech.at

of about 20 to 80 percent. Additionally, the the higher cost of a cryogenically treated set.
researchers measured an increased amount of Next time we’ll look at some hardware—and even
upper harmonics, although often at the cost instruments—to discover what might happen when
of the low end (Chen Jer Ming, “Cryogenic these items get thrown into the cold.

premierguitar.com
8 PREMIER GUITAR - DIGITAL PRESS NOTHING BUT BASS VOL. 1
 With a reputation for innovation, design
and superior craftsmanship, the Spector
name has become a legend amongst
bassists. Today, Spector’s Euro Series
continues the legacy of quality began by
Stuart Spector over 40 years ago.
www.spectorbass.com

premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR - DIGITAL PRESS NOTHING BUT BASS VOL. 1 9

ON BASS

Low-End Life Hacks

BY VICTOR BRODÉN

W
Not exactly hen I look back on my career in this 1
standard
procedure,
business, there is a trend of me staying
but I’ve been with a project for about two years
recording all before I start looking for a different touring project
my bass for
a national
to keep myself inspired and fresh on my main gig.
TV show and Maybe I’m a restless soul, a vagabond, or even
other sessions non-committal to a certain degree. All I know
using the DI
from my main
is that I am always looking for any way possible
touring rig to make playing bass new and interesting at all
(a relatively times—even if it includes non-traditional changes
inexpensive,
small class-D
in my equipment. This month, I’d like to share
amp), and two of my “bassist life hacks” that I’ve found to be tone, like distortion. So what could I do to bump
using just a very helpful over the past few years. up my game?
little bit of EQ.
Bringing stage to studio. In addition to On tour this past year, I’ve been using a small,
incorporating non-Fender-style instruments into relatively inexpensive class-D amplifier. And I use
my regular rotation [“Get Over Your Tone,” the DI (Photo 1) in the back of the amp post-
October 2016], the most major thing I have EQ instead of pre-EQ, in spite of FOH engineers
changed lately is the way I record bass. I’ve generally preferring pre-EQ for the most control
enjoyed many years of working in studios and over the sound. I’ve been using the EQ sparingly,
playing on albums I really love between tours, but but enough to where I don’t feel like I am playing
I have never enjoyed recording as much as playing through a DI only. As a result of this live experience,
live. I’ve just never felt like I was able to get the I’ve also been using this small amp’s DI in the studio
tone and the feel in the studio that I can achieve instead of the high-end units my colleagues are using.
while playing live. I’ll tell the engineers and fellow musicians to avoid
When I moved to Nashville many years ago, judgment until they hear it, and the result is often
I was told to get an Avalon U5 direct box, and I overwhelmingly positive comments like, “I am not
did. Many studio house engineers love them and doing anything to your signal.”
it’s what I’ve mainly used for recording sessions. There is a reason why certain units are classics,
In spite of its large headroom and clear tone, and I fully realize that records have been made
however, I never felt truly inspired recording with using said units for decades, but music is art and
it. I also try not to use too many pedals when individual expression. So, if bypassing the use of
recording unless I need an obvious effect to the products with a reputation of admittedly proven

I’ve enjoyed many years of working in studios and

playing on albums I really love between tours, but I
have never enjoyed recording as much as playing live.

premierguitar.com
10 PREMIER GUITAR - DIGITAL PRESS NOTHING BUT BASS VOL. 1
 Rather than
2
relying too
heavily on
compression
to correct
imbalances,
the steep
angle of
this bridge
pickup helps
ensure that
the volume
and attack
stays even
between the
heavier-mass
strings and
the thinner
strings.

excellence is what it takes for me to be truly
excited about playing sessions, then that is what I
am going to do.
Breaking rules for tone’s sake. In a column
about three years ago [“Dont Get Mad, Get Even,”
September 2013], I talked about the importance
of note-to-note evenness when deciding on what
bass to purchase. The issue of the lower strings
overpowering the thinner strings often gets more
pronounced on extended-range instruments, so it’s
a concern since I primarily play 5-string basses. And
while I consider the basses I own to be fairly even,
I’ve started to break the rules of many world-class
guitar techs regarding pickup height.
What I do is position a pickup as close as
humanly possible to the 1st string without
the string actually hitting it (Photo 2). On
the opposite end, I make sure the part of the
pickup that rests under the 4th and 5th strings is
positioned significantly lower than the part of the
pickup under the thinner strings.
I do this by ear and by feel, notby
measurement. I won’t even look at an input
meter until I first listen carefully to each string
and determine that I hear the same volume and
feel almost the same amount of rumble through
an amplifier. Not a single bass I’ve purchased in
a store or received from a custom builder has
arrived with the pickups adjusted to actual string
mass. Even some of the greatest setup guys here
in Nashville—and I think we have the best ones
in the world—don’t really adjust for volume
imbalance completely to my liking.
In conclusion, I’m not saying that I am right
and the people who are legitimately more skilled
than me in their respective fields (in this case,
engineers and luthiers) are wrong. What I am
saying is that to hear what I want to hear and to
feel inspired, I’m going to do whatever is needed
with my equipment.

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ON BASS
Cheap and Easy Bass Mods
BY HEIKO HOEPFINGER
B
ass Mods: When, Where, and Why?,”
April 2012]. Having weighed those
considerations, let’s now look at two cheap
and non-destructive mods that add functionality
and tonal variety to your instrument.
We’ll begin our modding adventure by working
with passive electronics. The advantage is that
passive wiring is pretty easy to follow and we only
have to deal with a few parts—pickups and volume
or tone pots. If you decide later that digging into
the more complex world of pickup construction
and design is the way you want to experience tonal
nirvana, these mods will still remain useful.
For starters, we’ll focus on the everpopular
Fender Precision and Jazz basses. Remember
that even spin-offs made by other companies
often mimic the original P and J bass pickup
and wiring schemes.
Pickup wiring basics. Typically, pickup
coils are wired either individually (a singlecoil
pickup) or together. When you add another coil
to a single-coil pickup, the second coil is wired
either in series or parallel to the first, and can
also be configured in or out of phase with it.
Parallel mode is the standard configuration,
whether you use a 3-way pickup selector switch
or two volume controls, as on a J-style bass.
Switching these coils to series mode results in a
more powerful low end and more lower-mids,
while losing some higher frequencies. Both series
and parallel wiring require either two pickups
Out-of-phase wiring is not a very useful
option for bass, as it cancels out your low end
and thus rarely makes musical sense.
12 PREMIER GUITAR - DIGITAL PRESS NOTHING BUT BASS VOL. 1
or one humbucker with 4-conductor wiring that
provides access to both the beginning and end
of each coil. Many P-style pickup replacements
offer 4-conductor wiring, so you can explore
series mode on these instruments too.
Out-of-phase wiring is not a very useful
option for bass, as it cancels out your low end
and thus rarely makes musical sense. (Hey,
give it a try if you’re a closet soloist with no
bandmates to upset.)
Series/parallel switching. The most popular
mod for the J-style bass is to add series/parallel
switching to the two singlecoil pickups. This
expands the instrument’s sonic spectrum with
an almost P-like humbucking sound and has no
real downside.
Usually the J-style bass comes with two parallel
volumes and a treble blend. Simply adding a
2-way DPDT (double-pole/double- throw)
switch does the whole job. So exactly what are we
going to do? Glad you asked! See Fig. 1.
Instead of using a separate DPDT switch, I’d
recommend replacing the neck pickup volume
pot with a combined potentiometer and push/
pull or push/push switch. Doing this eliminates
the need to drill any holes, so returning your
bass to its original state is a no-brainer.
With this wiring scheme, once you switch
into serial mode, the neck volume acts as a
master volume—totally bypassing the bridge
volume. (Some other series/ parallel wirings
premierguitar.com

Fig. 1
keep the bridge volume pot in the circuit, which
requires you to have the pot fully on to get in
serial mode. Not very useful.)
The balance pot mod. Sometimes you want
your instrument to simply be quiet. In that
instance, the two volume-pot design requires
more effort—you have to roll both knobs
off—and this is especially true when you have
a particular pickup mix that you want to recall.
One way to avoid this is to wire up a volume-
plus-balance-pot configuration (Fig. 2). A
balance (or blend) pot retains your pickup mix
while giving you one master volume to dial in.
A balance pot consists of two logarithmic
volume pots that work in reverse to each other.
With the logarithmic scale in mind, its easy to
see that these pots are normally not at 0 Ω when
both are in their mid position, where you’d expect
and want to have both pickups at full volume.
So, depending on balance pot manufacturer and
build tolerances, the overall volume can be a bit
less than 100 percent. (If you find it’s a lot less,
you’ve probably wired the scale upside down and
premierguitar.com
ON BASS
Fig. 2
everything needs to be swapped.)
Adding a kill switch. Another way to
avoid having to turn down two volume knobs
to achieve silence is to wire up a mute (aka
“kill”) switch. A kill switch can be very handy,
especially onstage. If you’ve already managed
to install a DPDT switch for the series mode,
you can use a second one for a full mute. Cut
the hot wire on its way to the output jack and
solder both ends to one of the middle pins.
Then bridge each of the two outer pins and
attach a separate ground to one of the bridges.
Now one position will bridge both “hot” ones,
while the other one connects both to ground. If
you’re using a push/pull DPDT, it’s a good idea
to wire the “kill” in the up position.
In our wiring diagrams, white is hot and
black is ground. Color codes from other pickup
manufacturers will differ, but if you visit their
websites, you should be able to determine what
colors they use for hot and ground. Thanks for
reading and stay tuned for more cheap and easy
mods in upcoming issues.
PREMIER GUITAR - DIGITAL PRESS NOTHING BUT BASS VOL. 1 13
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- DIGITAL
BASS BENCH
DIY Fretless Conversion
BY HEIKO HOEPFINGER
Before you
1
yank out any
frets: Will the
bridge permit
a lower action?
H
ave you always wanted a fretless bass but
never had the cash to buy a new one?
Good news: Assuming you have a spare
bass in your arsenal—preferably an inexpensive one
you rarely use—it’s an easy mod to convert it from
fretted to fretless. There are many descriptions of
DIY fretless conversions on the web, but I’d like to
add yet another one that focuses on the reasons and
alternatives behind each step.
One might argue that it can’t be too tough a
job. After all, Jaco wasn’t a luthier and he managed
it on his own—even without YouTube. But his
conversion had to be revised by one or two luthiers
because the marine epoxy (probably Pettit’s
Polypoxy) he used peeled off the fretboard. We
want to avoid such do-overs, right?
Before you start! Going fretless is a reversible
mod, but the way back isn’t as easy and it’s not
cheap. To reverse it, the fretboard first has to be
16 PREMIER GUITAR - DIGITAL PRESS NOTHING BUT BASS VOL. 1
cleaned from all paints, then the fret slots have to
be sawn, and finally you have to re-fret the neck—
not as easy as pulling frets out.
So, in case you’re not sure if fretless is for you
and your spare bass has a bolt-on neck, consider
simply getting a fretless replacement neck. Yes,
that’s expensive, but if you’re not able to re-fret the
neck on your own, bringing it back to its initial
state can easily cost as much as a new neck.
Another crucial consideration: Removing the frets
also means you’ll need a lower action to compensate
for that missing fret height. Check that before
you start (Photo 1). Will the bridge and saddles
accommodate a fret’s worth of height reduction?
Tools and materials. In addition to having a
Photos courtesy of basslab.de
gripping tool to pull out the frets (more about that
in a moment), you need a cutter knife, several grades
of sandpaper, a sanding block (possibly a radiused
one, available from luthier suppliers like stewmac.
premierguitar.com
 BASS BENCH

com), some superglue, a paintbrush, and either clear 2 Possible fillers

include wood
coat or some oil for the finish. Frets are often glued putty, veneers,
in and heating them with a soldering iron helps to and plastic.
loosen them, so maybe add that to the list.
Pulling the frets. In lutherie, there’s always a
specialized tool for every job. You can get a fret puller,
but that’s kind of over the top for a one-time job. A
side cutter (aka diagonal pliers) should be enough to
get under the fret. Use one that’s as small as possible.
Try to pull out one fret end and then slowly
work your way across the fretboard. Once you’ve
managed to work the first inch of a fret out, you
should be able to see whether it was glued in or
not. If the frets were glued, it helps to use the
cutter knife to cut around them and loosen their
sides to reduce the risk of chipping the fretboard.
Some DIY tutorials recommend taping the
fretboard around the frets to further hold down
any possible chips. I’m not sure if that works. The
most probable outcome is that the chips go with
the tape instead of the fret.
Filling the fret slots. Not surprisingly, the determines the rigidity of the whole ensemble. If you
destructive part is the easiest, while deciding what feel unsure of the lacquer, get rid of it!
to use to fill the slots is a bit more complex. Photo 2 Remove the nut before you start—you’ll have to
shows a few of the possible materials. In the top do that anyway. If your filler material sticks out,
image, from left to right, we have wood putty, two start sanding parallel to the fret slots, so you don’t
different veneers, and a plastic strip. The bottom rip out the filler. Sanding can take time, especially
image shows the result of using each material. with a lacquer finish, so be patient. Sanding is
The color you choose will determine whether boring, but crucial for a good result. And “good”
you end up with a lined or unlined fretless means a very even surface, including maintaining
fingerboard. A lined fingerboard might sound the fingerboard’s radius. Even if you get bored,
appealing, as it seems potentially easier to navigate, don’t reach for a lower grade of sandpaper.
but many experienced players—including the late Tweaking the new setup. Once you’ve sanded
fretless master Jack Bruce—consider it confusing the fingerboard silky smooth, add your choice of
and prefer to only trust their ears. finish, and then put the nut back in. Finally, do a
Once all the frets are removed, clean the slots careful setup. This includes adjusting the saddles
with the cutter knife before you fill or glue and nut slots to accommodate a lower action,
anything in there. After the glue or putty has and possibly lowering your pickup height a tad.
dried, use the cutter to remove any protrusions. As you settle into playing your new fretless bass,
Sanding. Next, the complete fingerboard needs be prepared to revisit the setup a few times until
to be leveled using the sanding block to remove all you’ve dialed in the action and feel.
dirt, glue, oil, and sometimes lacquer. There are a few Note: If you need more help with the setup and
instances where the lacquer can remain, but only if it reassembly process, I’ll cover this in greater detail in
has no cracks or dings. In the end, the weakest part my next column, so stay tuned.

premierguitar.com PREMIER GUITAR - DIGITAL PRESS NOTHING BUT BASS VOL. 1 17

BASS BENCH

DIY Fretless Conversion, Pt. 2

BY HEIKO HOEPFINGER

I
A dusty 2k n my previous column [“DIY Fretless 1
(aka “two-
component”)
Conversion,” February 2015], I described
acrylic clear the process for carefully removing frets
coat has been from a standard bass to convert it into a fretless
applied (top),
then sanded
instrument. Some of you have asked for more
(middle), details on reassembly and setup, so let’s take
and finally a closer look at what’s required to get your
polished
(bottom).
converted fretless into top playing condition
after you’ve done the heavy lifting of fret
removal. (If you missed the previous installment,
take a moment to read it before diving into the
following material.)
Installing the nut. Once you’ve sanded and
leveled the fretboard, it’s time to reinstall the
nut. With the frets removed, you’ll want to lower
the string height at the nut. Instead of filing
down each individual string slot, it’s far easier to
sand down the nut’s base. If the previous setup
was good—in other words, the open strings sat
as low as possible without rattling on the first
fret—you should sand off the exact height of the
fret from the bottom of the nut.
This isn’t as easy as it sounds. For one thing, if
you have a curved nut slot, you need to maintain
the fretboard radius. Conversely, if the slot is
flat, you need to keep the nut bottom dead
level as you sand it. Also, you’ll want to be very
careful not to sand too much off the base. The
operation takes time and patience, and you’ll
probably need to restring, retune, and check the
action of the two outer strings several times. The key is to use enough glue to impregnate
Yikes! What happens if you end up just a tiny the paper and not so much that the nut adheres
bit too low? An easy way to incrementally regain to the workbench. (Tip: acetone works well
height is to use paper and superglue (this also for removing superglue.) Once you’ve found
works when adjusting a nut on a fretted bass). the ideal height for the nut, use a lighter glue
Here’s the trick: Apply superglue to the base of to attach the nut to the neck. Any all-purpose
Photos courtesy of basslab.de

the nut and press it onto the paper. Once the adhesive will do the job.
glue has dried, use a cutter knife to trim off the Finishing the fingerboard. Once the nut is
paper surrounding the nut. The superglue soaks installed, it’s time to choose a finish for your
into the paper, stabilizing it so it won’t compress. fingerboard. You shouldn’t leave the fingerboard

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 You shouldn’t leave the fingerboard without any
treatment or protective coating because any change
in humidity will cause it to shrink or swell.
without any treatment or protective coating
because any change in humidity will cause it to
shrink or swell. Thus the neck with its glued-
on fingerboard and oiled or lacquered back
will behave much like bimetal. That’s not what
you want on a stringed instrument that’s so
dependent on setup for its tone.
Here you have two choices: You can use oil
that soaks into the wood or a hard sealant that
stays on top of it. Your decision also depends
on your skills, tools, and how you want to use
your new fretless. Another consideration is your
preferred tone, and whether you’re going to
string up with flatwounds or the more popular
roundwound strings.
If you opt for flats, then oiling the fingerboard
is the easiest and fastest way to go, but even
though these strings offer reduced wear, they’ll
ultimately eat up your fingerboard. Sonically,
choosing flats means your fretless tone will be
closer to an upright. Furthermore, the softer
oiled surface will suck up even more of the
higher frequencies and upper harmonics. Of
course, this also depends on the hardness of the
fingerboard wood. The softer and less dense, the
muddier the tone. That’s not a judgment—some
songs require a darker sound, but that effect is
often easier to get with EQ.
But over time roundwounds will nibble even
the harder woods and create little trenches at your
favorite positions. This negatively impacts the
characteristic “mwah” sound that comes from the
strings gently buzzing against the fingerboard.
20 PREMIER GUITAR - DIGITAL PRESS NOTHING BUT BASS VOL. 1
To protect the playing surface, you can follow
Jaco’s lead and use a marine sealer or another
lacquer finish. A hard surface also preserves the
trebly parts of your tone. The downside? Any
lacquer finish requires more effort to apply than
simply pouring some oil over the fingerboard. It’s
also more expensive. So this goes back to your
original plan, i.e., whether you converted a cheap
instrument to tentatively explore the fretless
world, or if you know what to expect and are
serious about taking the plunge.
One more thought: The huge amount of
available epoxies, polyesters, glues, and one-
or two-component polyurethane- or acrylic-
based lacquers can be confusing. The options
outnumber the available wood species! The
easiest sealants to apply start with brushing
several layers of superglue onto the fingerboard
and then sanding it again, while the elaborate
ones require a spray gun for a two-component
clear coat.
Photo 1 illustrates an interim clear coat
solution that almost anyone can manage at home.
Carefully tape all around the fretboard area to
build up a small basin to hold the clear coat.
Beware: Basins leak easily and clear coat loves to
seep. It’s safer to first brush a thin layer of clear
coat into the edges of the tape and fretboard, and
then let that dry to seal these areas before you
add the final amount. After that, it’s time to get
back to sanding and finally polishing! Even with
a lot of dust in the initial clear coat, the final
result can look almost professional.
premierguitar.com
 Let's Go Amp Shopping
BY STEVE COOK
M
y first bass amplifier cost me about two
bucks. With my pawnshop bass already
secured, I went to the local electronics
store and bought a 1/4" Y-adapter to plug into the
input section of my parents’ stereo (AKA “my new
amp”). I could monitor my signal by activating
record and pause at the same time on the tape deck.
But I quickly realized that I couldn’t count on a
tape-deck-equipped stereo to be at every venue, and
that I’d need to buy an actual freestanding bass amp.
With little money and even less knowledge, I
started hanging out at the local music store. I was
that kid: 13 years old, observing, occasionally playing,
but dreaming more than anything else. Thankfully,
my lawn mowing eventually paid off, and I went
home with a 12-watt Fender Musicmaster.
It wasn’t long before I knew I needed more
power and more gear to play out. I went
completely overboard and bought a Peavey Mark
IV head and a pair of 2x15 cabs for all those
stadium shows I was planning for at age 16. I was
driving the family station wagon at the time, so
my gear fit, but hauling it all back and forth from
my bedroom wasn’t such a fun task. Over the next
several years I tried various makes of combo amps,
heads, speakers, and even some keyboard amps
before finding a rig I liked tonally.
With all of today’s tonal options, buying an amp
can be an overwhelming task. So this month, I’d like
to suggest some things to think about if you’re in the
market for a new rig.
What’s Your Goal?
You should probably figure out exactly why you’re
shopping in the first place. Maybe your current
amp isn’t reliable, and having it serviced would cost
more than a new replacement. Reliability is a huge
consideration when buying an amp. I’ve had rigs
crap out mid-show, pre-show, and between shows.
Your amp is every bit as important as your car. And
premierguitar.com
The features
and power
getting packed
into today’s
micro heads
are pretty
astounding.
like your car, keeping it tuned up helps—but a
day will come when you’ll probably trade it in for
something more dependable.
Another reason you might be looking into new
gear is a little more delicate. I often hear from fellow
bassists that their guitarist just bought a newer,
louder rig. So to balance things out, a new bass rig
is needed, right? This is troubling on several fronts.
First of all, unless you are playing through a 5-watt
practice amp, you shouldn’t be playing a game of
decibel catch-up. It’s a vicious cycle: The guitar
player turns up, so you turn up. The drummer hits
harder, and in an hour, you’re all worse off. The first
thing a guitarist wants to do with a new rig is turn
it up and show it off, and I get that. But musical
sensibility needs to rule the day, not egos. You can
have intensity without ear-splitting volume.
Maybe you’re just throwing practicality out the
window and getting a new amp simply because
you want one. You’ve been playing a bunch of gigs
PREMIER GUITAR - DIGITAL PRESS NOTHING BUT BASS VOL. 1 21
 and working hard, so this is your equivalent of a
very expensive ice cream cone. I have no problem
with this—you probably deserve it! But I’ll let you
explain it to your spouse, since the “I need it for
Now with my job” line doesn’t fly in my house anymore.

3 Practicality Sets In
Is this your first amp? If so, I know you’re excited,
but let’s not get carried away and put the SVT on
layaway just yet. Yes, there are even more questions
you need to ask yourself before jumping in.
Transcriptions Where will the amp be used? This question may
sound silly at first, but are you looking to play

in Every Issue! live, just in your house, or both? Will you play
jazz gigs, rock gigs, or acoustic gigs? Maybe you
need something for all three. Then we have to look
at getting to the gig. Are you riding the subway,
Get $10 Off driving a car, or driving a van?
Luckily, in this wonderful age of progressive
Subscriptions with code: amp design, there are many options. I personally
like the beefiness of big amps, but the new wave
PG10OFF of micro heads is pretty exciting. Our egos might
take a little hit not having a monstrous bass amp
behind us, but the smaller heads are nothing
to scoff at, and many boast features like DIs,
compression, and auxiliary jacks, which used to be
Subscribe Now associated with larger amps.
Bass cabs are also getting downsized. Lighter
materials and innovative speaker designs have
lightened the weight while maintaining most
tonal properties. It can be a tough fight getting
us bassists to downsize our cabinets because we
love to move air. But again, go back to your list of
needs and wants, and match the cabinet to your
situation. Purchasing bigger cabinets is not always
the best route without regular large-venue gigs on
the books, but choosing a rig that can be expanded
later by adding a 1x15 on bottom or a 2x10 on
top might make a world of difference.
As with any major purchase, do your
homework. Read reviews, watch demos, and talk
with other bassists. Don’t exceed your budget, try
to pay cash, and by all means, have fun shopping.
Good luck—and don’t forget those earplugs!

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22 PREMIER GUITAR - DIGITAL PRESS NOTHING BUT BASS VOL. 1
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