Effects for fretless basses

[El Spearo]

Good suggestions. I liked that ultra vibrato, I'll check it out. That dubsteppy hothand thing looks like fun, but can't stand dubstep

 

[SteveC]

All you need is technique.

 

[Max Blasto]

All you need is technique.

Here come the no-effects trolls.

 

[40Hz]

Here come the no-effects trolls.

Yep. Followed by a mod with yet another reminder.

 

[El Spearo]

What is the correct technique to achieve a nice fuzzy sound? or filter-like wah?

 

[Feral Feline]

Yeah there's been a few sniffin' around in the thread already. "RELEASE the Hounds!"

Show me your Mutron technique, mate.

... Me myself likes a long delay with modulation so the chorus is only heard in the background on the feedback of the delays.

Regarding compressors and sustainers, I think on a fretless bass, I still would love to (see other thread about sustainiac) have a pedal or effect to KILL THE DECAY of the string on a fretless. Especially when playing high up to mimick an upright properly. When playing high up on an upright, it's just a percussive instrument with a short thud, and no decay/sustain at all.

Yeah, I love modulated delay! My upright has a fair amount of decay/sustain. Granted not as much as an EBG, but far more than what you suggest here. Ebow or sustainiac would be fun to play with. For killing the decay... there's gotta be some Noise Gatey type device that does a quick taper below a certain threshold of signal. Maybe try some of the MFX that have an upright emulator? I've seen comments in other threads about which upright emulator sounds best, but can't recall any models (my fretless is my upright, until I get around to yanking frets on my Squier Jag).

That's a pretty cool idea, I should try it sometime. What pedal do you use for it and when do you use it?

Echo-Puss for me, but a Supa-Puss can do it, too, and with Tap Tempo! Plus the Supa's Chase mode is pretty freakin' cool. Hit a false harmonic, slide it and have the repeats chase it... (I don't have the Supa yet, just the Echo-Puss).


For myself, anything goes.

For example: When I don't want my hand vibrato masked by a modulation effect, I turn off the effect, SIMPLE!

Reverb thoughts...
For those who want reverb, but having trouble with it – try a "Bass" reverb, ie one that bypasses your clean low end and only affects the high-end of your signal. In fact, passing clean lows probably would clear up a lot of perceived FX "problems".


As for FX masking poor technique and bad intonation, there's no effect on the planet that could mask my random intonation and sloppy technique!

 

[El Spearo]

Yep. Followed by a mod with yet another reminder.

Awesome sig!

 

[40Hz]

What is the correct technique to achieve a nice fuzzy sound? or filter-like wah?

Use the appropriate pedal(s).

 

[Deleted member 165050]

All you need is technique.

Ok I'll bite I'd be extremely surprised if Jaco didn't use compression on Portrait of Tracy...

 

[Nephilymbass]

What effects do you use to bring out the "fretlessness" of your fretless bass? I usually add some chorus and maybe reverb. Feel free to post videos, pics of your fretless basses, pedalboards, cats, carrots, et al.

Ces

Honestly in my opinion your best bet for an answer to this question is to check out Juan from Mars Volta/pedals and effects on YouTube as well as many other projects. His baby is a fretless and he's pretty knowledgable about what effects work well for fretless. One effect I like a lot that he doesn't usually use is reverb.

Here's an example of him messing with reverbs and fretless




Here's his old rig rundown video

 

[SteveC]

What effects do you use to bring out the "fretlessness" of your fretless bass?

I am not a troll. I don't use effects but that's not my point. In my experience, you don't need effects to bring out the fretlessness. It's there simply by using good technique.

I have a little compression on all the time - fretted or fretless - although I don't honk it's essential to making my fretless sound fretless.

Use all the effects you want.

 

[grrg63]

Im playing in an R&B group so I use an envelope filter or synth wah for most funky stuff.
I keep it clean for slow stuff.

 

[Max Blasto]

I am not a troll. I don't use effects but that's not my point. In my experience, you don't need effects to bring out the fretlessness. It's there simply by using good technique.

I have a little compression on all the time - fretted or fretless - although I don't honk it's essential to making my fretless sound fretless.

Use all the effects you want.

You posted in the effects forum that effects aren't needed.
That's the definition of a troll. Doesn't matter that you don't think you're a troll. You're a troll.
It doesn't matter that _you_ don't use effects. The question was posed to people who do. And you replied. Cuz you're a troll.
Your comment speaks to technique. This is applicable to the Technique forum, but you didn't post there, you posted to Effects. Cuz you're a troll.

Nixon said he wasn't a crook.
You say you're not a troll.

I think we're done paying that toll here....

 

[Crystalman85]

Yeah, I read about your lofi in another thread. I've got a GT-10B and Gumtown's GUI for it so I can try different things relatively easy.

My brother gave that pedal for christmas. I tried it out and it had some pretty cool sounds. it even sounded pretty cool with some of my other effects.

 

[Nic.]

Find it peculiar no one mentioned Nathan Navarro as of yet. He is flagship sponsor for Source Audio pedals, and he gets a lot of mileage out of their weird wireless HAND controlled FX. It makes his fretless sounds like a Roland TR-303 bass synth sequencer. Envelope/Distortion/Bit crusher in one. Mostly useful in dub/dubstep and electronica. You know, Skrillex type stuff. He has his intonation down alright though... the first one I've seen in quite some time that has brought something new to effects combined with fretless.

Although the actual music may very well not be to your liking at all. But so be it.

That dubsteppy hothand thing looks like fun, but can't stand dubstep

I played around with that stuff for a while! It's really fun and yes it works great with fretless, but it's hard to make it work in a generic band setting. I find it works best with a smaller band where you've more space to express, and you and your bandmates really need to know how to sit in the mix right.

Echo-Puss for me, but a Supa-Puss can do it, too, and with Tap Tempo! Plus the Supa's Chase mode is pretty freakin' cool. Hit a false harmonic, slide it and have the repeats chase it... (I don't have the Supa yet, just the Echo-Puss).

Thanks for the recomendation!

 

[El Spearo]

I am not a troll. I don't use effects but that's not my point. In my experience, you don't need effects to bring out the fretlessness. It's there simply by using good technique.

I have a little compression on all the time - fretted or fretless - although I don't honk it's essential to making my fretless sound fretless.

Use all the effects you want.

Thanks! I do and will continue to

 

[Honch]

What about using a really aggressive noise gate, which only permits the loudest part of the signal to come through?

nope, you have to have the air from the body surrounding it on the stops. It goes like this: The lower notes have longer decays and sustain, and up the fretboard it is short, but still a decay, you can't use a gate (any) for those things. The one instrument that made me realise this was the MOOG guitar. Yes, the one with infinite endless POLYPHONIC sustain. Magnets in the fretwire or whatever. However, that guitar had a switch which reversed the endless sustain, and voila, all of a sudden that guitar sounded like a banjo. Without effects. Short stopped notes... and I though "what's that good for". Then the "aha" moment came up, and thought that "skip that polyphony thing, just go with the reverse sustain on bass!". THEN it occured to me that you should add something else on top too, the bass equivalent of a FISHMAN AURA pedal, but instead for acoustic guitar chambers sampled, as it is made for today, make it sampled upright basses bodies. It's a major chore, and too hard at the moment according to mr Fishman himself who's an accomplished upright player. I think the knick WIZMOON around here, is working on it at the moment, on another thread. I urged him to get a proper patent down first before going public.

Of course, a reverse switch should be used too, so you can soar with endless sustain solos on your fretless. Giving you lactic acid in the pinky fingerpads, and small biceps protruding out from the rest of the fingers, eventually. Nice workout at the fretboard gym.

 

[SteveC]

You posted in the effects forum that effects aren't needed.
That's the definition of a troll. Doesn't matter that you don't think you're a troll. You're a troll.
It doesn't matter that _you_ don't use effects. The question was posed to people who do. And you replied. Cuz you're a troll.
Your comment speaks to technique. This is applicable to the Technique forum, but you didn't post there, you posted to Effects. Cuz you're a troll.

Nixon said he wasn't a crook.
You say you're not a troll.

I think we're done paying that toll here....

I guess I always thought a troll was someone who posted in a thread to be troublesome or intending to cause trouble or a fight. I guess after all these years on TB I didn't know there was a specific definition and this is the first time I recall be called a troll.

Now I know I guess.

 

[Deleted member 165050]

I am not a troll. I don't use effects but that's not my point. In my experience, you don't need effects to bring out the fretlessness. It's there simply by using good technique.

I have a little compression on all the time - fretted or fretless - although I don't honk it's essential to making my fretless sound fretless.

Use all the effects you want.

Begs the question is compression an effect or not... I use effects including compression, but both my fretless basses sound fretless plugged straight into an amp with flat eq. I can't imagine a fretless bass that doesn't sound like a fretless bass, although the Wal certainly has more of that Jaco tone than the Guild but that's probably down to pickup placement.

ficelles

 

[D.A.R.K.]

I believe that compression is an effect, when used at settings that are more extreme in order to lengthen sustain or imprint it's own tonality on the instrument.
Different compressors have different sounds to them based upon their components.