Chorus/Flange for fretless

[DavidG]

I think Jaco used a rack delay to get his chorus-y sound. There are lots of not expensive delay pedals these days that will get you there.
If you are thinking more of the 80's Cure sound then any of the older cheap choruses mentioned here will do it.
A nice phaser will get you a cool sound. Almost like the sweet spot between a chorus and envelope filter. Really cool.
I always loved John Giblin's fretless sound on those Kate Bush albums and John Martyn's "Grace & Danger." Have no idea what he was using. Probably some studio stuff.

 

[ERIC31]

 

[brianrost]

Sorry I'm 5 pages late... Boss CE-anything, or CH-1 Super Chorus. For me, chorus = Roland. Cheap, indestructible, sounds great.

BTW, the original CH-1 is analog but in 2001 Boss switched to a digital design (probably because of supply issues with the BBD chip). Just in case you have digitalphobia.

 

[Chef]

I’m all for whatever works ;—)

 

[Bassist30]

As I mentioned before the Audio Source Gemini is extremely versatile, but, nothing is as lush as the old TC Electronic SCF Stereo Chorus + Pitch Modulator and Flanger. Although not specifically made for bass, it still works.

 

[Frenchy-Lefty]

Thank you, that’s helpful
Does LFO stand for something?

Low Frequency Oscillator. You can often hear LFO's on synthetizers where it creates a tremolo modulation effect. For the technical aspect of it LFO's can be affecting the envelop, the filter, the pitch.

 

[Tom Winstead]

I have an Aguilar chorus that I really like. But all of them....a little goes a long way.

 

[Kilgore777]

My wife got me one of these for Christmas and I rather enjoy it. Pretty versatile.

 

[Jim C]

This thread has peaked my interest.
In my few attempts with a chorus on bass, I found that the basss tone had to be heavy on the treble end to hear much chorus in the mix (Boss CE-2). Great for those that use a pick or have a bright tone, but not so great for pocket players that are holding down the groove.

But I want to believe!

Did I need to experiment more, or, are the bass specific models better at a chorus effect without an overly bright bass tone, and, not adding any mud to the mix?

 

[Bassist30]

This thread has peaked my interest.
In my few attempts with a chorus on bass, I found that the basss tone had to be heavy on the treble end to hear much chorus in the mix (Boss CE-2). Great for those that use a pick or have a bright tone, but not so great for pocket players that are holding down the groove.

But I want to believe!

Did I need to experiment more, or, are the bass specific models better at a chorus effect without an overly bright bass tone, and, not adding any mud to the mix?

I know what you mean. Bass specific will sound better …..on bass. But those you can adjust like the Gemini can be adjusted to your likening. Others that I like are the older TC SCF ( which isn't bass specific) , Waterfall (Has a bass model) , for the money the bass clone, and the anadime bass chorus.... The bass clone for the money is outstanding. Cheap enough to just have around.

 

[bass12]

Of the ones I've tried the MXR Analog Chorus has been my favourite, but effects are such a personal thing that I find it difficult to make a recommendation based on sound.

 

[ofajen]

Thats far from here. I bought two motorcycles from Grassroots bmw, that's been some years ago now.

I’m close by in CoMo. I have Korg chorus, flange, phaser and both analog and digital delay pedals you can tinker with along with an MXR time delay, which has a lot of versatility to do all of those, including the modulated delay and vibrato mentioned earlier in the thread. Let me know.

Otto

 

[Chef]

Thanks, I may take you up on that

 

[winterburn69]

I’d hope to gig with them if they work well.
I’m not lookin for a big dramatic effect.
Sting and Jaco both used a touch of something, and that’s kinda my goal.

Jaco used a very short digital delay to achieve a chorus sound. An analog chorus works for this.

Sting double tracked a lot of bass parts on Synchronicity, so it creates a chorus sound. Easily doable with an analog chorus. He also used a MXR Phase 90 live with The Police as well. The Phase 90 sounds great with fretless. To my knowledge Sting has never used a flanger, and personally I don't like the way flangers mix with a fretless.

For chorus I'd recommend the Boss CE-2W, Boss CE-3 or MXR Bass Chorus Deluxe. They're all great chorus pedals and won't steer you wrong.

 

[/\/\3phist0]

get a danelectro fab chorus

Dig mine! And at 15.00 what's not to like?

 

[foal30]

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.

I had one of those years back, like late '90s
I traded it for a Boss

 

[foal30]

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.

If you mean "Black Velvet" by Alana Myles (?) that is synth bass. Not an actual bass guitar.

 

[Eric Swaim]

If you mean "Black Velvet" by Alana Myles (?) that is synth bass. Not an actual bass guitar.

Your positive of that?

 

[foal30]

Your positive of that?

If you mean the A. Myles track then yes.

The same song was cut by a country singer around the same time, I don't know about that version.

 

[Eric Swaim]

If you mean the A. Myles track then yes.

The same song was cut by a country singer around the same time, I don't know about that version.

Either way, it's still a good bass line, and I still hate synthesizers moving in on our turf.