What basses 'Mwaaahh' that aren't a Wish bass?

[VitalSigns]

Originally Posted by MaddAnthony_59

MWah! WishBasses just can't take a Good Slapping!

And the D-Strings are Kinda Weak...

Disclaimer - No WishBasses were actually Harmed in the making of this Post!

Damaged WishBass provided by UPS Ground-n-Pound

No way......

[speak2planets]

My passive fretless Modulus definately gives a good mwaah...

[unclejane]

Originally Posted by Orangeclawhamme

Two questions:

1. Would a maple neck be hard enough?

2. Is applying epoxy to a neck a DIY job?

I've heard that unfinished Maple wears quickly, so it's probably not a good idea unless you have some kind of hard finish over it. That's usually why FL fingerboards are usually ebony or even rosewood, they can stand up to the wear better.

As for a DIY epoxy job, it's not as easy as you'd think. If I do another one myself (I don't plan to) I'd suggest:
- a good stiff radius block of the desired radius for your fingerboard. _don't_ use a simple sanding block here...
- a high quality slow-cure epoxy. It needs to be slow cure so it'll really soak into the wood, but needs to finally harden completely and not stop at a big slab of rubber on your bass. Don't ask me why I know this. An aircraft grade resin is probably a good idea there.
- other luthier tools like nut files (to clear out any epoxy in the nut if you didn't actually just take the nut off) and a good masking tape, etc.

I've done 2 DIY epoxy jobs and not having the radius block and using crappy epoxy is why mine failed. Otherwise, I think it would have come out ok.

LS

[fourstringbliss]

Originally Posted by Orangeclawhamme

Two questions:

1. Would a maple neck be hard enough?

2. Is applying epoxy to a neck a DIY job?

Maple on it's own isn't hard enough and will get discolored from the metal strings.

Applying epoxy can be a DIY job - it just takes knowledge and patience to sand it down enough.

I just finished defretting a maple fretboard jazz and am going to be applying polyester surfboard resin instead of epoxy. It's my understanding from a TB'er here that polyester resin works just as well as epoxy, and I can get small quantities cheaply.

I'm going to be using a product called Sun Cure which is a liquid until it's exposed to UV light and then it starts to harden. Supposedly it's fully cured in 30 minutes max, but I'm going to give it more time than that before I sand it. I'll let you know how it works out!

[IronLung1986]

Originally Posted by Baird6869

I find Wishbasses kinda "moo", not mwah.

+1 haha that gloriously demented "wishbass demo" video has been taken down from youtube that was one of the funniest things i've seen and it really showcased the MOO.

[SactoBass]

Originally Posted by Pet Sounds

Pedulla Buzz basses are Mwaaah City.

^^^THIS!!!

[Orangeclawhamme]

Originally Posted by unclejane

I've heard that unfinished Maple wears quickly, so it's probably not a good idea unless you have some kind of hard finish over it. That's usually why FL fingerboards are usually ebony or even rosewood, they can stand up to the wear better.


LS

Given what you have said, would this http://www.rondomusic.com/ursa4jrrnfl3ts.html be a better instrument for one who wants to try fretless on the cheap than this one http://www.rondomusic.com/ursa2jrmnfl3ts.html because it has a rosewood neck?

[bmc]

I've had a 1975 freteless precision with the stock fretless maple neck for the past 20 years. It was my main gigging bass for ten years. I've had flats, rounds, half rounds, elixirs on it. Not big on mwah and frankly, I didn't want a mwah sound from it. I was in cover bands and the mwah thing was not desirable to me for that kind of music. As for wear and tear on the fretboard, I must be lucky because after 20 years, the fretboard looks fine.

I picked up a MIJ unlined fretless Jazz about 10 years ago from BassNW. Gorgeous bass, strung with round wounds. It came with very low action and mwah for days. Completely different beast. It too saw different strings and at one point slightly raised action. I found mwah to be a one trick pony that only sounded good with appropriate musical styles and annoying with others.

As great as that bass was, I had to make room for the Sadowsky and the MIJ Jazz fretless (and a fretted 62 reissue) left the herd. The Precision is still there as it was a loyal bass for ten years of gigging and more versatile to different styles.

In short, action + strings gave me mwah. I never saw the value in the boat epoxy trick. I never had to go to such extremes to achieve that sound. It never appealed to me to butcher a bass for whatever reason as it affects resale value.

[jphovercraft]

Steinberger fretless ... plenty of mwaah there ...

[JayfromDeeKay]

Look at your setup and playing technique first, before looking at fretboard materials and strings.

I get LOTS of mwah on my P/J-bass with flatwound fender-strings and a rosewood, non-epoxied board.


SETUP:
You need a fretless bass, of course. The Mwah sound we desire is actually the sound of the note being choked out slowly by contacting the fretboard wood; i.e.: had this been a fretted bass, it would equal fret-buzz, but now it is "wood-buzz". So we actually seek buzz, something you would normally try to minimize when setting up a fretted bass. This means that you need to set up your fretless bass for very low action. If you want the mwah effect all over the fretboard, you also need to set the neck pretty straight.

Playing techniques that contribute to more mwah:
1. Pick over the fretboard, around the spot where the fretboard meets the body of the bass.
2. Finger notes with the fleshy/flat part of your frettinghand fingers (the underside of the finger), instead of the very tip of the fingers. This will make a huge difference in mwah.

Also, if you're playing a J-style bass, solo the bridge pickup and turn up treble.

On your amp, turn down treble and bass slightly and crank up the middle (use a mid-boost, if you got that on your amp).

All of the above will give you more mwah than you need, and for free.

[MrSandman]

you need:

1. fretless bas
2. tehnicque adjustment
3. hard fingerboard: ebony/graphite
4. strait neck with low action setup

From my experience neck through basses mwaah more.. But it's not a rule (maybe it's because more resonance delivery?), yust from my experience.

[49sfine]

Originally Posted by MaddAnthony_59

MWah! WishBasses just can't take a Good Slapping!

And the D-Strings are Kinda Weak...

Disclaimer - No WishBasses were actually Harmed in the making of this Post!

Damaged WishBass provided by UPS Ground-n-Pound

Have you decided to repair it?

[cfsporn]

My Rickenbacker 4003FL mwahs like crazy. Especially with the bridge pup soloed and the Vintage cap enabled.

[MaddAnthony_59]

Originally Posted by 49sfine

Have you decided to repair it?

No, I used it at a BonFire...