H's JBA-4 Fretless

[stan]

i like the bridge covers, but i think you are right about leaving the pup ones off

[wazkelly]

Great score with this kit H as the block fret markers are rare and look the biz.

Are you sure you want to go ebony timber mate to fill the empty fret slots on a dark rosewood Fret board? Could be a bit hard to see the lines if playing in a poorly lit spot as seems to happen in most venues.

Bridge covers look cool but impractical if not easily removed to assist with restringing. As for the PUP cover, similar thing on my Riccy and was the first bit removed as that is precisely where the sweet spot is to play, particularly so if a finger player.

I had the same gripe about the oversized neck PUP rout and nearly ran with a clear scratch plate but cheaped out and stuck with the stock white one. Did buy a mirror Trem Cover for a Strat that I was going to cut down to fit but it all seemed like too much work and ended up on my Son's Strat copy.

For the timber mate on the body best to give it a sand to take out the machine marks/lines/edges and then maybe go up to 180 as mentioned. The timber mate goes on quite messy and has a plasticky stink to it and usually dries overnight. Need to be outside when sanding off as it creates a lot of yucky dust and definitely wear a mask too otherwise you will be snorting out weird stuff for days. The TM should also help fill those couple of cracks and join lines.

Good luck buddy and will keenly watch your progress.

[UpperCaseH]

Yeah, I think I'll go with lighter timbermate on the fretboard, maybe even maple. Maybe walnut rather than ebony on the body too. Gonna take my time deciding, I think. Still trying to figure out exactly what colour for the body and neck too, and tossing up between a natural or aged/yellowed neck or doing it body colour. I'll probably work on the fretboard first and then figure the rest out once that's well underway.

I've ordered a $6 ebay pick guard in black/white/black 3-ply and I'm gonna try to cut a pickup ring out of it and see how that looks, and if it works well I'll use it as a template to cut a matching one out for the bridge pup too. I understand the bridge and neck pickups are different sizes, but I should be able to make two rings that match in outer sizes. Dunno if it'll look good, but I can try and see.

I'm keeping the pickguard that came with the kit as a fallback option if I mess up.

[wazkelly]

These ones from hyperlink in a prior post look like they would do the trick and save you a lot of hassle?

[UpperCaseH]

I'm not sure if those are actually gonna cover the neck pickup hole, they don't really look wide enough.

I'll have a go at making them first and then think about ordering some if it doesn't work.

[wazkelly]

Worst part might be that the neck PUP may not be located in the centre of the hole if trying to line up with a scratch plate. Not as big a deal if you never intend to fit the original shaped scratch plate.

[UpperCaseH]

If I'm popping the grain with a black colour, is there an existing Dingotone that will give me a rich dark brown similar to what Andrew's achieved with his fretless build here http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...?t=3985&page=9

Or maybe I'll shamelessly rip that method off, because that's an amazing looking bass...

[wazkelly]

Possibly Nullabor Ochre or you could always email DB for a custom DT colour.

[UpperCaseH]

Is dingobass at pitbullguitars dot com the right address? I emailed him a while back and haven't heard back - I understand he's messed his back up so I'm not gonna hassle him, but if it's the wrong address I'll try again.

I'm still a way off starting this one yet, but since I'm at the stage of getting all the stuff together, is there a specific kind of epoxy that's best for the fretboard? Brand/type/whatever, I've got no idea what to get.

[wokkaboy]

Hi H, no that's an old address for DB, it is now db at pitbullguitars dot com.

Flick a PM to Robin he used epoxy resin for his fretless MMB.

I've used clear epoxy resin for a bar top to cover beer caps and I used a fairly high marine grade and that worked well. It comes in separate containers in the mixing ratio epoxy and hardener. I guess 500ml may be enough but you may need a litre, depending how much you need to sand it down to the shape of the radius.
I'd get in touch with a local marine shop or maybe a good paint shop may supply the resin. It's worth paying for the higher grade resin as it will be much clearer. Not sure after a while it will get all scratched up I guess but use flatwound strings on a fretless