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Post subject: Do Fender make fretless strats? or telecasters?
Posted: Tue Aug 27, 2013 11:15 pm
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Hi all !
This is kind of a double-post, I don't know if that's really rude.
I left an alternate message in the Telecaster forums.

Do Fender make fretless strats? [or telecasters? I'd prefer a telecaster, but either would be great.]
An American Standard tele would be in my [fairly low] price range.
I'd like 2 or 3 humbuckers, but a single-coil on there wouldn't be bad either.

I'm in Australia, might be helpful to know about overseas ordering if anyone knows anything about this.
I haven't seen a fretless fender in my search around shops here.

If Fender does not make something like this, is there any other manufacturers that anyone know about who might make something similar?

My first posting here; these forums look like a great resource.
Thanks in advance for any help!
:D


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Post subject: Re: Do Fender make fretless strats? or telecasters?
Posted: Tue Aug 27, 2013 11:47 pm
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Quote:
If Fender does not make something like this, is there any other manufacturers that anyone know about who might make something similar?


Fretless electric guitars are very uncommon as opposed to basses.

Yep, Patrice Vigier makes fretless Strat-style guitars, the Excalibur Surfretters.

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No, Fender never make fretless guitars, only basses.

The only way to get a fretless guitar neck is the Warmoth route.


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Post subject: Re: Do Fender make fretless strats? or telecasters?
Posted: Wed Aug 28, 2013 12:00 am
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Hi Chromey!
Awesome, thanks for your help. :D
I'm sorry to hear this. I would have thought there would be at least some market for fretless electric guitars.

I don't suppose it is possible to somehow order them custom from fender?

EDIT
That Warmoth site looks really great!
I don't suppose it's very hard to put a new neck on a fender, is it?
Is it mostly a "screw in" sort of thing? Maybe some kind of glue? Sorry to bother with that.

I'd really like a fender tele, but whatever I get, I want it to be fretless even more than I want it to be a fender (:


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Post subject: Re: Do Fender make fretless strats? or telecasters?
Posted: Wed Aug 28, 2013 4:38 am
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Everything is possible if you choose the Custom Shop route. Just contact your local Showcase Dealer and place your inquiry.

Bear in mind that CS guitars and basses (especially Masterbuilts) are extremely expensive and you must fill your pockets with enough bucks to purchase them.


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Post subject: Re: Do Fender make fretless strats? or telecasters?
Posted: Wed Aug 28, 2013 4:32 pm
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I understand the Vigier guitars have a brass (or some other alloy) fingerboard. Other fretless guitars (Ned Evett's in particular) have a glass fingerboard. I'd guess that a plain wood fingerboard wouldn't sustain so well and would be prone to severe wear over time. Not sure that Fender Custom Shop is equipped to make those in house but hey, keep throwing money at them and you never know what they will say.

There's a good video on youtube where Guthrie Govan demos a Vigier, apparently they come fitted with 12 gauge strings as standard.

I'm fascinated by fretless guitar but at the moment the lack of demand isn't really doing anything to drive prices down.

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Post subject: Re: Do Fender make fretless strats? or telecasters?
Posted: Wed Aug 28, 2013 4:39 pm
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Cheers again Mr. Chrome.
I guess I can't afford to go the extremely expensive route.

I'm looking at spending less than US$2000 total, and hopefully less than US$1500 ,
but maybe I am hopelessly dreaming there.

So it looks like I will be going the Warmoth route!
I've just emailed them with an inquiry.

I watched a few youtube vids on how to replace a neck.
Looks pretty damn easy really. Just screws out and in!

....so in light of the fact it doesn't appear to be a tricky art,
it seems very pointless to pay somebody to do it for me.

Thank you very much again.


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Post subject: Re: Do Fender make fretless strats? or telecasters?
Posted: Wed Aug 28, 2013 4:57 pm
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Hi GilgaFrank! [or Frank Gilga?] :D

I have seen that very video on Guthrie Govan demo-ing the Vigier fretless with the alloy fingerboard.
....and from memory, I seem to remember Vigier being fairly or very expensive.
Though the sound was awesome!!

Thank you for the suggestion. If I had a bit more cash it might be the go.
....but I really hope I can get a fretless tele even more though.

[caffeinated rant to no one in particular]
Yeah, fretless is way more interesting to me.
I really can't much see the point of frets, apart from making it maybe easier to play only in western / equal temperament tunings.
I love equal temperament, but I don't want my guitar forcing me into one or limited method and style of tuning because of the bumps on the fingerboard.
What's the point of limiting the possibilities of an instrument that is so easily tuned?
Chopping up the frequency spectrum and throwing so many good parts away, because the bumps won't allow it?
I can draw my own frets on (:
Rant over.....
I hope other people maybe wish for this sometime ; increase demand a little.


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Post subject: Re: Do Fender make fretless strats? or telecasters?
Posted: Wed Aug 28, 2013 5:00 pm
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I stand to be corrected, but I very much doubt the Custom Shop would do a fretless Strat, regardless of price. They tend to have fairly fixed feelings about what is and is not a Fender guitar.

However, if a guy was determined to have one, and with a genuine Fender neck, then much cheaper than ordering a Warmoth replacement would be simply to take the guitar to a luthier and ask him to remove the frets and then fill the slots with thin strips of wood. Generally people choose strips of a wood that contrasts with that of the fingerboard, so maple strips in a rosewood 'board, or whatever. Since the whole job is only about half the work of a refret it should be charged accordingly, and any halfway decent luthier will not blink at the request.

Though he probably won't think it's a good idea: the majority of people who try a fretless electric guitar quickly decide they don't like it, and we've seen more than one on this Forum go back and have the frets reinstalled again. There's a reason Fender don't sell fretless guitars...

Cheers - C

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Post subject: Re: Do Fender make fretless strats? or telecasters?
Posted: Wed Aug 28, 2013 5:18 pm
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Cheers Ceri. :)
That is a very good point re. the luthier fix !
I've seen a youtube vid of some dude doing just that, but it looked a bit beyond my abilities and "workshop" and tools which I don't have.
Hadn't really thought of paying a luthier to do it, but when you put it like that, it might be worth me just asking.

I kind of assumed going that route might be super-pricey [although maybe it will still cost a chunk], but when I think of it being possibly easier than a refretting for a luthier, maybe it will be within my money-limits.

Thanks for the suggestion! :D


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Post subject: Re: Do Fender make fretless strats? or telecasters?
Posted: Wed Aug 28, 2013 5:32 pm
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BuffaloBill wrote:
I kind of assumed going that route might be super-pricey [although maybe it will still cost a chunk], but when I think of it being possibly easier than a refretting for a luthier, maybe it will be within my money-limits.

Thanks for the suggestion! :D

It's pretty much the standard way that this thing is done. And since you can choose to do it to a Strat or Tele model that matches your pocket it is a far cheaper route than either Custom Shop or Warmoth.

And if you find you actually like a fretless neck please come back and tell us about it. I'd be interested.

Good luck - C

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Post subject: Re: Do Fender make fretless strats? or telecasters?
Posted: Wed Aug 28, 2013 6:03 pm
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Hey Ceri, thank you again for that extra piece of information! :D
In light of that;
This looks to be the route I will probably go down then
[plus it seems it will still have the original fretting and inlays still visible, which is actually nice]

[continuing caffeine rant (: ] :
As far as liking it, I am determined to like it ! There is too much great music done outside of equal temp. to have a guitar that has limits.

Funny that electric basses should be easier to get fretless, isn't it?
That seems to rest on the strange assumption that bassists should be able to handle fretless, but not guitarists. :?: :!:

And there are enough double bassists and cellists etc. out there to demonstrate that this is not some impossible learning curve.
Why so much harder to get a fretless guitar?

Guitar is difficult enough to learn anyway, so a bit of added difficulty towards the beginning for a bigger payoff in potential freedom is very worth it I think.

Anyway, I could be wrong about all that!
We'll see a few months down the line I suppose!


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Post subject: Re: Do Fender make fretless strats? or telecasters?
Posted: Wed Aug 28, 2013 9:42 pm
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Quote:
bassists should be able to handle fretless, but not guitarists.


Jaco Pastorius was one of the first bassists who popularized the fretless bass legacy. He pulled out the frets from his '62 Jazz Bass and clear-coated the rosewood fingerboard with a layer of epoxy.

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Steve Bailey is another fretless bass legend.

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Steve started playing fretless bass after he ran over his fretted Stuart Spector with his car. He doesn't only play electric bass, but he also plays double bass; he started playing upright after hearing Stanley Clarke playing with Return to Forever.


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Post subject: Re: Do Fender make fretless strats? or telecasters?
Posted: Thu Aug 29, 2013 5:47 am
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BuffaloBill wrote:
[continuing caffeine rant (: ] :
As far as liking it, I am determined to like it ! There is too much great music done outside of equal temp. to have a guitar that has limits.

Funny that electric basses should be easier to get fretless, isn't it?
That seems to rest on the strange assumption that bassists should be able to handle fretless, but not guitarists. :?: :!:

And there are enough double bassists and cellists etc. out there to demonstrate that this is not some impossible learning curve.

Hey BuffaloBill: it's all about chords. Things like violins, cellos and electric basses tend most of the time to be used for one-note-at-a-time passagework. Frets were invented centuries ago on the guitar's ancestors, such as citerns and lutes, to help with chordal playing, which is a big part of what we do to this day on guitars.

Of course, you can play chords on a fretless fingerboard, and violin playing in particular sometimes features double and even triple and quadruple stopping. Still, on non-fretted instruments that sort of thing is the exception rather than the rule. If we want to play chords then frets make it a heck of a lot easier and more achievable.

As you say, it is also true that the placement of frets is a mathematical compromise. If we want perfect intonation we either have to learn to manipulate the strings a tiny bit with the fingertips, which is what most of us do, or go fretless. If our intonation and technique are good enough then it's perfectly do-able - millions of fiddle players manage just fine, after all.

But you are unlikely to be playing many chords on your fretless guitar.

In the end, it all depends what we want from an instrument.

Cheers - C

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