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@howard do you know if there is a how to video how to do that ?
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@MonsieurFahrenheit , Ummm… you’re a guy… you’ve known since puberty 
Gently, lengthwise and with the grain. You should get a slightly dusty but satiny surface which you can then wipe down with a slightly damp cloth, and you’re golden. The trick is to do it evenly along the whole length.
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There are a few with many differing techniques.
Next on my list is doing this to my Squire neck. Hoping to get to it this weekend. If I do I’ll make a video. I did buy the “other grit” 3M pads from stew Mac to use as they are not as abrasive as the typical green ones. Could be overkill but until I know what I’m doing I’ll go gentle first.
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Could also use #0000 steel wool.
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If you do this, tape over your pickups first.
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Here is a video of Billy Sheehan on how to do that, and more:
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And wipe the tape off with an alcohol-damp paper towel or cloth, before removing it. That way, any possible shmoo from the steel wool won’t pour onto the pickup when removing the tape.
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I’m only on lesson 6, but my biggest problem is finding the frets I need. Maybe I ought to put sticky numbers on the side so I can find them easier.
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That’s a thought, but trust me, it will come to you in time (and practice).
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Oh I know, but it’s a struggle to try to play the notes quick enough and have to guess where the right frets are right now.
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The single dots on the 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th frets should help you; as well as the double dots on the 12th fret. You’ll be amazed a couple months from now when it is all second nature. Again, this is something that comes with time and practice. Be patient. 
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My best advice here is…don’t.
These are a crutch which will slow your learning over time vs. it coming to you naturally.
Your brain and fingers will catch up, be patient grasshopper.
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Won’t be noticed much with a very relaxed grip.
I don’t grip very hard, and I don’t find that my thumb sticks to it,
BUT
I still don’t like the glossy necks.
UNLESS
It is the SHEEN you create on the neck from playing. So most of my Ray4’s neck almost looks glossy, but it didn’t start that way, and I created a really SHINY finish to it from playing alot, so it really doesn’t look artificially glossed, but you wouldn’t think it was a bare neck if you saw it.
I do find the USED / Played necks feel best.
And I still don’t care much for glossy necks, did I say that already?
I tend to agree.
I also am not the best at knowing notes on the fretboard at the drop of a hat, but I think I am further ahead then I would have been had I used colored notes, because, like patterns, and shapes, etc… I tend to rely on things like that, AND with patterns and shapes, I actually have to PRACTICE to say and memorize the notes related to the shapes, otherwise, I would just rely on them.
So, if you get used to dots, you may not relate the location as much as you would the color, and if you take them off, you will then have to PRACTICE to say the notes when you fret them.
PLUS,
if you are ever somewhere and a jam breaks out and you have to borrow a bass, and it doesn’t have the dots… You know.
The part about UNLEARNING bad habits is the main reason I would suggest to NOT do that.
BUT
Your goals might differ from mine, and they might work for you, I am just offering you my point of view.
Also, learning Shapes and patterns is not bad either, we all do it. It is when you get to point of relying on the shape, without knowing the notes, it can be troublesome.
Also, if you know the notes of the shapes of arpeggios, you know not only the notes on the fretboard, but you are getting into music theory, and you will know how to construct chords, and what scales or chords the notes you ARE playing are from, etc…
Lots of benefits to just stick with it and you will progress, at your rate.
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Taxman.
I don’t use a pick and am fine for the main riff with just my index finger. However, the middle section gets me - If you drive to work… - do I bar the first three strings and do the hammer-ons, or give up and use a pick?
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Nothing wrong with using a pick at all.
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Agreed, but I thought it might be a technical thing I could improve, or something…
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I have to disagree a little on this. I had my Schecter a few weeks, and for fret markers it had Roman numerals, and it made finding the frets earlier, and for me carried over to other basses. I think its more like training wheels than a crutch
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Thats whats great about humanity and democracy.
You can,
AND
It is OK.
I am glad this works for you, but would that really be the same thing as placing colored dots on every fret location to mark the notes, or even every natural note location (bypassing the accidentals).
So, every G gets a pink dot
Every A gets a yellow dot
every B gets a green dot
etc… (colors are examples)
That is a bit more then just marking frets 3-5-7-9-12, etc…
I can sort of see where your example could be beneficial, but then again, it is just training wheels, not a full 3rd wheel, and every bass I have has fret markers, which are the same, cuz I perceive them as a 3-5-7-9-12, etc…
There are even those electronic systems that lay across the frets, and light up when you are supposed to play the note, to play along to real songs.
Again
That is OK, but not something I think would interest me for all the reasons stated.
But it is all personal preference, and anybody should do what aligns with their own goals.
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Did anyone else have trouble on the Running With the Devil on the slide? I know @JoshFossgreen mentioned that any finger on the E would do, but I’d like to do it properly and use my index, but it’s too short…I have to use my middle.
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