Dirk wrote: I can't really tell but my guess is they are in the between fret location like a bass that had been de-fretted.
Hi,
Regarding the side dots on the fretboard, there are two variations used on a Rickenbacker bass. I just looked at my 73-4001 and my Fretless 73-4001 to re-confirm.
1: On any normally fretted neck the side Dots are in the center on the space between any two frets, in line with the fretboard marker, this is the same on both the Shark fin inlays and the round fretboard dot markers used on the S and v63's, the dots start at the 3rd fret
2: On a factory fretless neck the side dots will be in line with the location where the fret would be if the frets had been installed, it may indeed look a little strange, but is there (I believe ) to allow you to locate the correct position to hold down the string. The dots on the fretboard surface will be in the normal location. Another thing to note on a factory fretless neck the
dots begin at the location of the first fret so there are more dots than a normal neck
If you've played Rickenbakers for any length of time then muscle memory should help with neck/fretting positioning, if you're used to playing either without looking down at the neck or in darker on stage settings this helps as well.
Stevie,
Always nice to see a fellow Scot here, I bought my first Ric (my 73) from McCormacks Music, still have her too.