Chorus/Flange for fretless

[Bassist30]

My suggestion would be the Source Audio Gemini. It is surprisingly cheap for what it does, around 149.99
You can download as well as program Chorus, Flange and phase. There is even a area where you can try others who downloaded their adjustments. There is a attachment from your phone to the pedal which there is an app where you can do all this. You can program one of your own and save it I believe 3 separate saving. Some say you can do 6. I have not used this feature, yet. Its really a fun pedal. As a chorus it has a switch with 3 separate modes Classic (single voice), Dual, and Quad. Check it out here, some of it on fretless.

 

[Inconnu]

I’m surprised nobody mentioned the EHX Bass Clone yet, love mine. The Zoom suggestion is also good. I prefer the B1on, cheaper and has different options such as up and down switch to go through your patches, but made of plastic (solid, I assure you).

 

[Eric Swaim]

No pedal is going to mask intonation issues on a fretless or there would be a lot of players using them. Only practice, good technique and ear training will help that.
However, I would suggest listening to "Black Velvet" recorded in the 1990's if memory serves me correctly and you should hear a chorus being used with the bass track. I obviously wasn't in the recording session but that appears to be the effect used on the bass.
I dont use any effects when I play live, but they are fun to mess around with at home.

 

[basscapes]

I hear you (at least regarding a chorus sound for bass).

While I don't play fretless (unless you like "atonal" or "non-western scale" playing! LOL), I too have been on the search for that elusive chorus sound- my plight has taken me back to the late 70's/early 80's Gary Numan sound (bassist; the late Paul Gardiner)- a P-bass with some weird chorus or flanger on it. i even like the Roger Waters sound (my General Guitar Gadgets P-45 works pretty well at that!).

In the past, I have used (to great "effect"! LOL) a Boss Bass Chorus (the first brown one, ending in 2B, IIRC), an early TC chorus (late 80's early 90's vintage) and a Digitech RDS 2000 digital delay (in studio, I always ran it in stereo!).

Maybe give us a list of players you like who use chorus. Some of the more learned guys here will chime in...

 

[Nunovsky]

My favourite chorus that I have is the Fultone Choral-Flange. It's a great sounding chorus and flanger unit, but it's out of production and it's not a cheap pedal. I also have a Line 6 M5 that I use a lot (it's my swiss army pedal) and I really like the chorus sounds that I can take from it. Besides that I have the Boss MD-500 that is an amazing modulation unit and the chorus are awesome, but it's an expensive pedal and it doesn't fit your budget goals.

Some of the best sounding bass chorus lines that I've heard were recorded using a Boss CE-2 pedal, and I think you can get some of these used for afordable prices. You also have the Valeton CH-10 that is a great clone of the CE-2 and is really affordable and small so it fits anywhere. I've heard some demos of the Ampeg Liquifier that sounded really great and it sits in your price range. Also, I've always enjoyed the sound of the Dimension Chorus units and TC Electronics has a quite affordable pedal clone of that chorus that's called the 3rd Dimension Chorus.

I have to try one of the sugestions that were made here about using a modulated delay with a fretless. It sounded really good and I never thought about it before. Thanks for the sugestion!

 

[FrenchBassQC]

Chef, my personal preference is to use either combined or by them self a delay and a chorus. I am not a fan of the flanger effect. I use the TC Electronic Flashback mini (the delay) and change the toneprint to the taste of the moment and the same with the Corona mini. I love them for the flexibility that the toneprint offers and because of the foot print they use on the pedal board being both mini frames.

 

[JustSomeDude]

The Alexander F13 NEO is exceptionally good. Gives you four internal presets, expression control if you want it.

A MIX KNOB

It is a Flanger crosses over into Chorus.
Reeves Gabrells (Bowie, Tin Machine) is using it on tour with The Cure

 

[Nickweissmusic]

1) I know ZERO about effects and what's available
2) I have a fretless Fender Precision, and fretless Fender Jaco, and a fretless Rob Allen MB2-5.
It seems to me as those many fretless players use just a tad bit of chorus/flange (am I even using the right term?!?!) both for color, and, perhaps, to mask intonation being not dead-on perfect....

Whats a good, cost efficient pedal device for this?

thanks

I feel like digital choruses can be just about as good as analog. My old Bass Pod Pro NAILS the Jaco tone. I’m selling it for $150+shipping if you’re interested in a rackmount processor but trying something like a Zoom or TC pedal could easily give you the results you need. Amazon prime or some other easily returnable retailer is a good place to try.

 

[Flamingo21]

Chorus is (to me) just a little too busy and thick for bass most times. I think if you like the chorus sound you might do better investigating multi-octaver or overtone devices like the Pog, Sub & Up, Luxe, or the BOSS MO-2.

Thanks for the suggestion! Never thought of using my octaver for this purpose. I just tried it, and I like the result: a richer, "broader" sound without losing any low-end stability.

I use a TC Sub&Up Mini. I maximize the dry signal, Up at noon, Sub is off.

Edit - depending on the rest of the signal chain, sometimes the Up must be at about 10:00.

 

[basscapes]

No pedal is going to mask intonation issues on a fretless or there would be a lot of players using them. Only practice, good technique and ear training will help that.
However, I would suggest listening to "Black Velvet" recorded in the 1990's if memory serves me correctly and you should hear a chorus being used with the bass track. I obviously wasn't in the recording session but that appears to be the effect used on the bass.
I dont use any effects when I play live, but they are fun to mess around with at home.

"Black Velvet" by Alannah Myles has an awesome fretless for a "rock song", IMHO. Not sure if it is a chorus on it, but if it is, it's very slight.

We used to do that song, and the only way I could get my fretted bass to even remotely come close was lots of vibrato and an envelope filter (Boss FT-2 Dynamic filter).

 

[Chef]

sweetwater has demo vids for may of these.
for my simple needs, probably any of the decent simple ones like boss, mxr, or hartke would do.
didn't know aguilar made one, it seems nice but is pricier than other simple options.

 

[BurningSkies]

Alan, I've recently added a Iron Ether Polytope to my board. I don't think it's probably beatable for chorus. Everything from super mild to wicked obtuse and it has both standard chorus and LFO settings.

 

[Chef]

That's cool, but google can't find where to buy it, and it does a lot more than the one simple thing I need...

 

[40Hz]

Thanks for the suggestion! Never thought of using my octaver for this purpose. I just tried it, and I like the result: a richer, "broader" sound without losing any low-end stability.

I use a TC Sub&Up Mini. I maximize the dry signal, Up at noon, Sub is off.

Yeah. Sometimes less is more. The Digitech Luxe is interesting in that regard too. They were calling it an antichorus for awhile. But officially it’s a “polyphonic detuner.” Basically it’s a chorus type delay but without the LFO to modulate it. I think of it more like the detune option you’d find on synths with multiple sync-abke (is that an actual word?) oscillators.

Only problem with the Luxe is it isn’t overly kind to the lows. Shame there isn’t a blend on it. But for $49 (if you shop) for an otherwise high quality pedal, you can’t be too fussy.

 

[Stempelloos]

I have a Boss BF-2 Flanger that I bought in 1984 from a guy who also wanted to sell his fretless Ibanez Musician with it. Unfortunately I didn't had the cash for it then. I used the flanger more with my MS20 synthesizer than with fretless bass.
Later I also bought a cheap Yamaha CH-10M Chorus, which sound pretty good with fretless, considering the price i paid for it. I use it with an Ibanez DE7 Echo/Delay and a Mooer Shimverb. Those pedals chained tend to take some bass off the sound, I use a Boss GEB-7 Bass Equalizer to compensate for that.

In the end I play more fretless without than with pedals.

 

[Altitude]

I have an ancient Boss CE-2 that you're welcome to, though it hasn't had a signal through it in maybe 20 years.

Outside chance I'll be in a meeting in Jeff City next week and could drop it off; otherwise I can send it.

 

[Chef]

Thanks for the offer, I’ll message you

 

[ElGoodo]

Hey Chef, I was in the same place you are a couple months ago. I wanted that something extra special for my tone on my fretless. I found the MXR Bass Chorus Deluxe to be my best fit for my style.
BASS CHORUS DELUXE  

I love the crossover switch and you can dial up the low tones or highs depending on the room and how it is cutting through (or not). I tried a bunch of different ones in the stores but this one seemed to do exactly what was looking for. It has a lot of flexibility and yet can be very transparent. Then I got lucky and found one on Craigslist in near new condition.

I dial it in so you can barely hear any wobble but there is that something extra special in my tone now that you cannot quite put your finger on to make it unique. It doesn't "fit" for every single song, but if I forget to punch it off, it doesn't twist the tone so much that it ruins the song.

I hope you find one that fits you. Good luck on your quest!

 

[bholder]

Another oldie but goodie that can sometimes be found cheap on Reverb or eBay: the Peavey BAC-2 Bi-amp Bass Chorus - still with a triangle LFO but fairly subtle with the depth set low and the separate bi amp low out is a nice feature.

 

[-Asdfgh-]

1) I know ZERO about effects and what's available
2) I have a fretless Fender Precision, and fretless Fender Jaco, and a fretless Rob Allen MB2-5.
It seems to me as those many fretless players use just a tad bit of chorus/flange (am I even using the right term?!?!) both for color, and, perhaps, to mask intonation being not dead-on perfect....

Whats a good, cost efficient pedal device for this?

thanks

I'd suggest getting something like a Zoom B1on or MS60B. They are cheap and have a number of chorus, flange, univibe and reverb models. Even if you end up with a dedicated pedal, it would allow you to experiment with a number of options to get a feel for what you want.