I did this to my EB-0 but only 1/4 of it. I just removed the frets from the octave dots to the bridge but but them in half so the fretless is only on the D and G strings on the high octave. The idea was fretless leads. I was young and stupid and seldom use them since I got the Ashbory but it did work.DubRules wrote:If you dont care about looks, just dig the frets out of a cheap bass. Its not as hard as you think and the results are the same thing you would pay a lot more for. Alternately, just buy a new fretless neck for a bass you already own. Fretless is fun, but Im glad I didnt invest heavily in it. I use mine for a buzzy sliding bass noise and it works well..!
As for the string thing - I use round rounds on my EB-0 (Roto Sound)and they are digging into the frets so I imagine that the neck would be trashes pretty easily by them. On the Ashbory the strings are silicon. After you talc them they are pretty slippery but I am used to the rubber band feeling of them anyway. I found a company that makes silicon gaskets that are mechanically the same as the stings and come in all the diameters needed - in 100foot rolls!
