TRIGGER WARNING: Fretless apologists might take umbrage at the defacing of a beautiful, unmarked ebony board 
First, the pictorial evidence (please don't be mad, Pete!):
Before
After
I've had this Skjold fretless for over three years and love everything about it. It's super-light and comfy, the controls are flexible yet simple, the fit and finish are unparalleled. The only reason why I would ever consider letting it go is because fretless just doesn't work as my main ax, so I only play it periodically. I contacted Pete to see what the cost and wait time would be for making an "identical" fretted neck and while the cost was of course reasonable for the amount of work, the wait was just too long for me (since he's a rightfully busy guy). So instead I took it to Mike Lull, having heard that the Plek was capable of cutting fret slots. As it turns out, Mike hadn't used that functionality yet (!), but he was excited about the opportunity and I trusted him to get it right.
And did he ever! I'm so happy to report that this bass is now a lifer - I can't stop picking it up and playing it! It plays like a friggin' dream (it ought to - it went on the Plek three times!) and sounds just like it did before but with the attack and consistency of frets. I left my TI Jazz Flats on there and it has this great P-bass character in the neck pickup, but also has a really cranky J thing coming out of the bridge pickup.
I'm just unbelievably pleased at the outcome and wanted to share my joy a little. It sure wasn't cheap, but it was absolutely worth it. Thanks Mike!
TL;DR:
-> 
-> 
-> 
-> -> 
EDIT: I know someone's going to come along and say, "You should have just traded it," but I've been doing exactly that for the last few years hunting for that perfect fretted bass. I knew this bass was everything I'd ever want except without frets, so I took the risk and it paid off big time.
First, the pictorial evidence (please don't be mad, Pete!):
Before
After
I've had this Skjold fretless for over three years and love everything about it. It's super-light and comfy, the controls are flexible yet simple, the fit and finish are unparalleled. The only reason why I would ever consider letting it go is because fretless just doesn't work as my main ax, so I only play it periodically. I contacted Pete to see what the cost and wait time would be for making an "identical" fretted neck and while the cost was of course reasonable for the amount of work, the wait was just too long for me (since he's a rightfully busy guy). So instead I took it to Mike Lull, having heard that the Plek was capable of cutting fret slots. As it turns out, Mike hadn't used that functionality yet (!), but he was excited about the opportunity and I trusted him to get it right.
And did he ever! I'm so happy to report that this bass is now a lifer - I can't stop picking it up and playing it! It plays like a friggin' dream (it ought to - it went on the Plek three times!) and sounds just like it did before but with the attack and consistency of frets. I left my TI Jazz Flats on there and it has this great P-bass character in the neck pickup, but also has a really cranky J thing coming out of the bridge pickup.
I'm just unbelievably pleased at the outcome and wanted to share my joy a little. It sure wasn't cheap, but it was absolutely worth it. Thanks Mike!
TL;DR:
-> -> -> -> -> EDIT: I know someone's going to come along and say, "You should have just traded it," but I've been doing exactly that for the last few years hunting for that perfect fretted bass. I knew this bass was everything I'd ever want except without frets, so I took the risk and it paid off big time.
Last edited:
