I need ideas on how to mark the frets on a blank fretless fretboard

J

JDan

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Apr 21, 2018
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#1
Hi I recently purchased a cheap Rogue Fret-less bass at musiciansfriend.com so I could try to learn to play the fretless bass. But the 26 inch fret-board is blank except for the small dots on the edge of the neck binding at 3/5/7 etc.
So I wanted to find a way to accurately mark the fret positions myself somehow until I can get the proper tones programmed into my brain.
In other words I need a cheat sheet for my fretboard neck until I can get used to playing it.
So if anyone has any ideas please let me know.
Many thanks for whatever help you can give me.
 
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#2
Go here it will give you exact measurements for each fret (put in the scale, probably 34"). When I build a fretless I always put lines on the side of the fretboard, but not on the front, I find that gives me enough to fake it on a fretless. I haven't worked hard enough at it to be any good on an unlined board.

All that said, I'm not sure how to mark your board and have it removable. If it's really temporary, then you can use tape, that's what the Suzuki kids do.

If you want to do it permanently, you could take an exacto knife and cut a slot in the side of the board and fill it in with some wood, plastic or putty. It would be painful, slow work to do all your frets, but it's possible.
 
#4
I have little bits of tape on the edge of my DB fingerboard. Thought I was past them, but found that to be only true sometimes, so they are back. I only have the first 4 marked, I don't tend to scoot any further up the neck than that. I started with a full strip of tape across the board, but that's overkill and also changes how the string/board interface feels/sounds, (and can get peeled off though use) so they are just little bits on the edge. If you wanted a fancier look but removable you could chop up some of those "stick-on inlay" stickers.

For a non-removable solution, sawing a slot on the edge and gluing in veneer is effective and fairly minimalist, based on a few examples here.
 
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#5
Jisch said:
Go here it will give you exact measurements for each fret (put in the scale, probably 34"). When I build a fretless I always put lines on the side of the fretboard, but not on the front, I find that gives me enough to fake it on a fretless. I haven't worked hard enough at it to be any good on an unlined board.

All that said, I'm not sure how to mark your board and have it removable. If it's really temporary, then you can use tape, that's what the Suzuki kids do.

If you want to do it permanently, you could take an exacto knife and cut a slot in the side of the board and fill it in with some wood, plastic or putty. It would be painful, slow work to do all your frets, but it's possible.
Click to expand...
Hey thanks Hammerhed, that is a great idea! I tried to follow your "here" hyperlink but it returned an error that is the other thing I really needed to know is how to measure out the spacing of the frets.
 
#8
StewMac's fret position calculator is probably an easier to use/read tool.

Fret Position Calculator | stewmac.com

Also, I went this route vis-a-vis fret markers.

1bd51b40.jpg
 
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#12
I concur with the idea of using removable tape as an interim place to mark positions. I've used blue painter's tape. As an alternative to measuring, you can use a tuner to accurately mark positions on the tape. Just select a note and then move your fingering until the tuner shows you've dialed that note in. Mark the tape to save that position. This may actually be better thanmeasurement in that it reflects how you actually play.
 
#13
I play fretless since about a year. I wonder how/why I could ever play with frets--after all they are limiting you a lot. My fretless has the same three does at the edge of the neck. What I did is: I played the notes by ear (eg with playalong music) and the ones where I was not sure I used a tuner to search out the right positions and tried to remember them. This works faster than you may expect. The absence of frets is actually a non issue.
 
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#14
I used regular ol' craft store yellow paint pen on the side of my fretboard putting a thin line where each fret would be.

No worries on it being permanent... between the oil.in my fingers and the oil in the rosewood, the paint comes off with enough effort.
 
#15
Using tape is a great temporary solution. Your fingers will learn where they need to go over time. It's just my opinion, but I think sight reading while practicing aids in developing finger placement accuracy by lessening visual dependence and improving aural cues.

Be sure to set intonation before adding markers. (Scale length/2, measure that from the nut and mark it off, then set intonation.) If you ever decide to change strings, relief, or action in the future, check intonation again and adjust if needed. This will help lessen tiny adjustments in finger position (might not even notice it actually).
 
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#16
JDan said:
Hi I recently purchased a cheap Rogue Fret-less bass at musiciansfriend.com so I could try to learn to play the fretless bass. But the 26 inch fret-board is blank except for the small dots on the edge of the neck binding at 3/5/7 etc.
So I wanted to find a way to accurately mark the fret positions myself somehow until I can get the proper tones programmed into my brain.
In other words I need a cheat sheet for my fretboard neck until I can get used to playing it.
So if anyone has any ideas please let me know.
Many thanks for whatever help you can give me.
Click to expand...
Ears are your best marker
 
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#18
Yeah, playing by ear is great. But if you've only ever played fretted, you may need some training wheels for fretless while you develop that intonation sense.

Hence, markers. There's nothing wrong with them. People have been using them to help them learn fretless fingerboards for a long time.
 
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