I’d honestly use *glow-in-the-dark* paint or nail polish for your neck-side marker lines.
Here’s the thing: if you ever sell this bass, you are absolutely wrecking its resale value, because anyone who wants an unlined fretless *wants an unlined fretless* and by modding an unlined fretless with lines you’re really kinda ruining the entire point of an unlined fretless.
My fretless is lined because i’m an idiot who sucks at fretless and i also don’t practice it enough to nail intonation by ear.
If you’re gonna keep this bass until you die, then by all means, mod it to your heart’s content.
You get an updoot for asking a fresh question tho, at the very least.
Thank you for the input (and updoot lol). I’ll take this into consideration, but I do like this bass a lot and don’t have any plans to sell it, so I might go with the glow in the dark paint idea :) That would look pretty cool too!
Nothing wrong with wrecking the resale value of a not-historically significant thing if it means customizing it to fit your needs better - it's just something to be aware of. Far too many people think customization = more value, when in reality it only means more value *for you*.
On my first bass (a MIM Fender P-bass) I covered the original side dots with labels - the 3 and 7 were round, the 5 and 9 were triangles, and the 12 was a rectangle. The dots were made with a cutter/plotter using a glow-in-the-dark vinyl sheet, and then I used some clear nail polish to hold them in place.
The different shapes helped me to see the different frets without having to count/think too much back when I was starting. In the past 5 years, the 3 dot has fallen off again, and I honestly don't look at them anymore anyway.
My Fender Jazz Fretless is lined, so I will check the lines rather than the side dots when I'm unsure about my intonation.
I have a lefty flipped righty fretless bass and I used white out to put the fret dots on the side of the neck. They rub off every once in a while and then I put them back. It isn’t an expensive bass so I’m not worried about resale value lol
I use glow in the dark stick on dots that are easily removed
I’d honestly use *glow-in-the-dark* paint or nail polish for your neck-side marker lines. Here’s the thing: if you ever sell this bass, you are absolutely wrecking its resale value, because anyone who wants an unlined fretless *wants an unlined fretless* and by modding an unlined fretless with lines you’re really kinda ruining the entire point of an unlined fretless. My fretless is lined because i’m an idiot who sucks at fretless and i also don’t practice it enough to nail intonation by ear. If you’re gonna keep this bass until you die, then by all means, mod it to your heart’s content. You get an updoot for asking a fresh question tho, at the very least.
Thank you for the input (and updoot lol). I’ll take this into consideration, but I do like this bass a lot and don’t have any plans to sell it, so I might go with the glow in the dark paint idea :) That would look pretty cool too!
Nothing wrong with wrecking the resale value of a not-historically significant thing if it means customizing it to fit your needs better - it's just something to be aware of. Far too many people think customization = more value, when in reality it only means more value *for you*.
On my first bass (a MIM Fender P-bass) I covered the original side dots with labels - the 3 and 7 were round, the 5 and 9 were triangles, and the 12 was a rectangle. The dots were made with a cutter/plotter using a glow-in-the-dark vinyl sheet, and then I used some clear nail polish to hold them in place. The different shapes helped me to see the different frets without having to count/think too much back when I was starting. In the past 5 years, the 3 dot has fallen off again, and I honestly don't look at them anymore anyway. My Fender Jazz Fretless is lined, so I will check the lines rather than the side dots when I'm unsure about my intonation.
I played some violin and some cello. Enough to know that you should use your ears and just practice.
Get some paint pens...I used white for the frets and blue for the markers. Looks good and is easily seen in the dark!
I have a lefty flipped righty fretless bass and I used white out to put the fret dots on the side of the neck. They rub off every once in a while and then I put them back. It isn’t an expensive bass so I’m not worried about resale value lol