I have fretless basses with ebony (Lakland, my upright), pink ivory
(Elrick), and "Diamondwood" (Roscoe) fretboards.
Based on the type of sound I prefer now (a little lees midrangy, more
bottom end, but "woody"), I tend to run different brand nickel
roundwounds on all 3 basses.
The ebony fretboard on the Lakland is really nice and has a lot of
flexibility on tone with the on-board electronics they provide. There
are a few dead spots, which are just to be expected with real wood
fretboards. With the roundwonds, I have to give the fretboard a slight
clean-up job every year just to keep the radius clean. I haven't
treated this fingerboard with anything either. (FWIW, my fretted
Lakland is also ebony, which I really like)
The pink ivory fretboard on the Elrick seems slightly more dense, but
I also put a few coats of Stewarts MacDonalds oil based fretboard
treatment on as well last year. It still has a warm "woody" tone to
it, and Rob Elrick puts a nice mid-EQ switch on his basses which is
flexible for use with the fretless.
The reality with wood fretboards and roundwounds is that you have to
do a little maintenance every year or so, unless you treat the
fretboard.
The Diamondwood fretboard on the Roscoe is the best if you want no
deadspots, no maintenance option for a fretboard. It also has a
different tone than the real wood options, so hopefully that is what
you are looking for. I would say it tends to be more midrangy with a
little more pronounced "MWAH" sound.
One of the reasons I chose the Roscoe is that they use maple for their
necks. Personally, I highly prefer wood necks.
Part of the sound of a fretless is the string articulated against the
fretboard, so choice of wood vs. something else will change the
overall sound. A string plucked against something drenched in resin or
poly-somethingorother will always be more "bright" than real wood.
Right now, my favorite bass is my Elrick.
As always, the best thing to do is try as many basses as you can until
you feel and hear what you like.
Post by Andy_VHi fretless players,
Just wondered what you thought made for the best fretless fingerboard?
- Maple just doesn't seem to work - it doesn't 'take' the string.
- Rosewood is the most common but is it hard wearing?
- Ebony is more expensive but is it better?
- And what about artificial materials like ebonol? How does that
feel, sound and last?
Over to you guys. What do you think? I'm in the market for a fretless
but need the benefit of your advice/experience...
