Fretless presence?

[kipsus]

Uncoated rosewood fingerboard + steel flats medium tension + Dimarzio model p/j pickups

The resulting sound is very smooth with lots of harmonics and stuff. And with a bit of EQing (Boss GEB7) I can get a punchy sound/burpy/pretty much whatever.

But what I miss is presence. A well defined BAMMMM tone. Ya know, like roundwounds on a fretted, like a piano etc. A well defined set of harmonics or something.

Is there any way to add a bit of this to my existing setup? Jaco sound is pretty much OK but I want something different, less muddy and not that burpy.

So I was thinking about an exciter or a synth of some sort, it just has to be quite subtle, I mean the last thing I want is to sound like sawtooth lead from the 80's

Thanks

[johans]

aphex exciter?

bbe sonic?

play with some reverby effect maybe?

[bongomania]

I would recommend experimenting with a compressor, especially one that has control over the "attack" of the compression.

[Swimming Bird]

How do you mean "BAMMM"? My fretless growls, but doesn't bammm.

What does the curve on your GEB-7 look like?

[paradigm_shift]

Exciter is my pick.Or compression.Or chorus.If you understand how each works it will change how you use it.I think all will do it , just depends what you seek.Correct me if im wrong but...

Exciter adds harmonics then adds distortion to them.Its enough to make it come alive, but your kinda not sure why.

Compression compressors a signal above a certain frequency at a ratio, so can make for a very strong, smoothed out tone

And a chorus will add tones cents off the current pitch to give a thicker sound to it (when used subtley).I personally love a chorus sound on fretless, but have had trouble finding a chorus that is warm enough to my ear.

My opinion on all of these would be use it so you can barely notice them.It will make a difference.Of course you can use them drastically for effect...

[Sean S]

try a pick and use left hand muting. If it's a tradition P/J setup, turn down/off the jazz pickup, as you get a more middy "mwah" sound closer to the bridge. Also, a cranked tube amp helps

[kipsus]

Johans: I'm definitely going to check out that aphex exciter some day. It's just that the store that sells it is 100km away and I'm lazy

Bongomania: Compressor.. Yeah, that sorta works. I think a multiband compressor would do the job even better!

Swimming Bird: BAMMM vs POOMMM, it's all in the harmonics.

paradigm_shift: +1 on that slight chorusing. Never tried that until now and well it rocks. But just the right amount, any more and the sound gets blurry

Sean S: actually I did try that and in fact it worked quite well. But I hate picks

[Sean S]

Originally Posted by kipsus

actually I did try that and in fact it worked quite well. But I hate picks

physically or on principle?

also, did you try just the P pickup?

[BillytheBassist]

Have you tried half rounds yet?

[Swimming Bird]

I still don't get it

Seriously though, tweak with your EQ some more.

[dannybuoy]

Try putting some GHS Brite Flats on your bass, I love em. Ground down roundwounds, silky smooth but with more bite than flats. Lots of mwaah when you wiggle your finger for a bit of vibrato!

[Dirk Diggler]

OK I'll make it simple, lose the flats.
Dirk

[CraigG]

Ken Smith Compression Wounds

[Swift713]

I've always used rounds on my fretless.
I used to use a whisker of delay as a chorus on my fretless, a little vibrato=depth. Sounds very natural, more controllable.