Defretting my Charvel Fusion V

[varador]

Hey guys

So I play bass in this metal band Morgulian

www.myspace.com/morgulianband

and for our sound I'm strongly considering getting a fretless.

Now instead of just buying a new bass I was thinking of defretting my current Charvel Fusion V (it's my only bass). It was a nice score, but I'm not too attached to the bass, it's not perfect... the pickups are fairly weak... we tune in D and the strings are a bit less tight than I'd like them (I use a 130 - 45 set too!), must be mainly due to the 34" scale. Still, I like the bass enough to not want to sell it.

So I was thinking of getting an ESP LTD F 5E as my main fretted bass and then defret the Charvel and have it around for my fretless experiments... What do you think? Should I defret it? I would let a professional do this, of course....

[varador]

BTW I'm worried that defretting the Fusion won't give it as much of a "fretless" sound as a true fretless... Is this something worth worrying about?

[Chowderboots]

A defretted bass and a bass made fretless shouldn't have any differences in tone or playability. If you think that it'll be right for you, I say go for it!! Talk to your band mates about it and try out some fretless 5s, if you haven't already.

If you aren't happy with the pickups (if that is indeed the issue--Jackson pickups from back then can sound pretty killer), you can always swap them out for other P+J pickups...a DiMarzio Split P and a 5 string Ultra Jazz would liven it up!

You live in Bremen? My dad's family is from there. I lived in the Saarland (Saarbruecken) for a year and a half. I'm going back there in less than a week to visit my dad and my old friends. And hopefully see Satyricon there!

Your bass playing sounds killer. I like the sound a lot. Is that using your Charvel? The vocals sound like one of the dudes from Trivium swallowed Chuck Schuldiner As do the guitars. Coincidence? hahahaha

If the strings are too floppy, try mucking around with the bridge setup--that's probably where your problem is.

You also kinda look like my friend Sean, who is also from Northern Germany. Although he is a guitarist, I believe he is a bassist at heart....that's probably part of why he insists on playing in drop B!

[varador]

Yep I live in Bremen, I'm studying chemistry here at Jacobs University

I'm glad you like my bass playing Yep, it was recorded using the Charvel through an audio interface into our vocalist / guitarist's computer, he has V-amp or some kind of guitar amp modeling software. I pretty much went with the first bass amp modeling setup that he found, I think it was an Ampeg SVT setup. For our demo I was more interested in providing interesting bass lines rather than getting a killer tone, hence the "less is more" approach.

The vocals + guitars being a cross between Trivium and Death is a very kind compliment, I never saw it in that way but its a good description. The guitarists in the band are fairly influenced by Trivium, me, I'm just a big fan of Death and Steve DiGiorgio heh

I think I'll leave the pickups in the Fusion as they are, simply because, if nothing else, they're rare, hence giving me a more unique voicing.

Enjoy Satyricon in Saarbrucken, hope you can make it to their gig alright I'm not much of a black metaller but I haven't been to a metal gig since October so I would actually go see Satyricon myself if I wasn't slap bam in the middle of finals... UGH.

[Chowderboots]

Yep I live in Bremen, I'm studying chemistry here at Jacobs University

I'm glad you like my bass playing Yep, it was recorded using the Charvel through an audio interface into our vocalist / guitarist's computer, he has V-amp or some kind of guitar amp modeling software. I pretty much went with the first bass amp modeling setup that he found, I think it was an Ampeg SVT setup. For our demo I was more interested in providing interesting bass lines rather than getting a killer tone, hence the "less is more" approach.

The vocals + guitars being a cross between Trivium and Death is a very kind compliment, I never saw it in that way but its a good description. The guitarists in the band are fairly influenced by Trivium, me, I'm just a big fan of Death and Steve DiGiorgio heh

I think I'll leave the pickups in the Fusion as they are, simply because, if nothing else, they're rare, hence giving me a more unique voicing.

Enjoy Satyricon in Saarbrucken, hope you can make it to their gig alright I'm not much of a black metaller but I haven't been to a metal gig since October so I would actually go see Satyricon myself if I wasn't slap bam in the middle of finals... UGH.

Oh sweet...I attended Gymnasium while I lived there. Don't know if I'll go into college and if I do what I'd study. I still have some time yet and a well-paying job to cover me in the meantime. I'm looking into a career in theatre (I'm currently a stage tech), so looks like I'm in the right place! haha

Yeah I dig the bass a lot. Wish I could play like that. I have a lot of trouble finding a way to accent what my guitarist is doing when we jam. He comes up with killer stuff, but I can never keep up with him and I can't think of a way to make it better. We're both big fans of Nile, Krisiun, Marduk, and 1349...that kinda stuff. We love Death, too!

Well...bizarre fretless 5 string...Steve DiGiorgio was the first thing that came to mind

I agree with you about the Fusion's pickups. They'd probably work well with the Fusion defretted because they do have such a distinct timbre.

I'm looking forward to being back over there. I just got done with finals yesterday (I'm taking my high school classes at a community college) so right now, I'm working as much as possible so I can have some dough while I'm on vacation.

One of the gayest things--when I was looking at the schedule for the venue in Saarbruecken where Satyricon will be playing, I noticed that on November 27th, Morbid Angel, Marduk, Keep of Kalessin, and Arsis were all going to be playing a show. I was pissed off! Three of my favorite bands...but they were there about a month too early! haha

[missionguitars1]

If you have a rosewood fretboard, round wound strings will eat that up pretty quick. You could go the Jaco route and layer 2 part epoxy on it, which will require some sanding with a radius block to smooth it out.

Or, you could just switch to flatwounds, but then you might be confused for a smooth-jazzer, as you'll lose a lot of attack.

To be honest, I'd keep the Charvel stock and retain what resale value you have, and get a cheap Squier fretless on ebay or through your local classified ads, in addition to the other bass you're getting...

[Chowderboots]

I'm inclined to agree with missionguitarist, man. You might regret it if you don't like it. That Charvel is for our intents and purposes irreplaceable.

[metalchurch79]

My buddy Dave had a Charvel bass, but I'm unsure of the model. It was a Root Beer color,bolt on, and it had a Jackson style pointy headstock, with the small Charvel logo, that's all I know.

He de-fretted it and made it into a fretless with great results.
He filled in the fret slots with wood to get rid of the gap left behind, and to make it look nicer.
It played great too, so I know it's possible.

I'll see if his brother Paul can email me some pics, because Dave was murdered 3 years ago. (rip brother)

[Chowderboots]

Sounds like Dave had a 2B, MC79 (by the way--I LOVE Metal Church...great Washingtonian metal band! ). It definitely can be defretted to awesome results, no doubt. I would be very afraid to defret one of my basses, although I'm sure my 3B would be sick fretless...it loves low action!

[metalchurch79]

Sounds like Dave had a 2B, MC79 (by the way--I LOVE Metal Church...great Washingtonian metal band! ). It definitely can be defretted to awesome results, no doubt. I would be very afraid to defret one of my basses, although I'm sure my 3B would be sick fretless...it loves low action!

It might have been a 2B, but I'll try to get some pictures and post them, cause it has been a while since I've seen it myself.

Yeah I love Metal Church's first 3 albums, and I got my name from them.
Ironically, David Wayne, the singer for Metal Church was my friend Dave's first and middle name. That's kinda neat.

[Chowderboots]

And that's fucked up about your friend. My condolences, man...

[metalchurch79]

And that's fucked up about your friend. My condolences, man...

Thank you very much, I appreciate that. It is a fucked up story too.
The guy who shot him @ point blank was the brother of the Sherriff in Dave's town.
The guy got into an argument with Dave, they fought a little bit, Dave pulled out a knife,and they wrestled around a little bit and the guy got cut on his hand, then the guy left, came back with a shotgun and shot him.

They ruled it as self defense!! That's pre-meditated man!! Dave's family fought it, the guy plead it down to something, but he still only got 8 years I believe.

I lost my best friend in my life, and this motherfucker gets 8 years!
Sorry for the rant fellows, I did not mean to hi-jack, just got carried away with typing.

...But yeah the de-fretting can be done, and I'll try to get some pics of his Charvel bass, and hopefully get some nice up close photos of the neck for you guys.

[Chowderboots]

Christ on a stick that's perverted....only 8 years...fucking crazy!

I'd love to see his root beer 2B! Sounds like an awesome piece of him still around for you to enjoy.