Effects for fretless basses

[SteveC]

...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.

ficelles

That was my point. I wasn't bashing effects, just that you don't need a specific effect to maximize or bring out the "fretlessness" of a fretless bass. It's "built in" if you will.

 

[Nic.]

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.

Oh that's exciting news! I've heard of the idea of the sustainer being reversed, but I didn't know there was already something that had that feature that's already being sold. Gotta check out the MOOG guitar soon.

That was my point. I wasn't bashing effects, just that you don't need a specific effect to maximize or bring out the "fretlessness" of a fretless bass. It's "built in" if you will.

It's true that fretless can be pretty hard to mistake for non-fretless... but I imagine in the context of the question, it means 'how to you get even more of it'? I guess this is like people asking "what strings do I use for more mwah" or "what fingerboard is best for fretless mwah"... and I would believe that, for example, some ODs are better than others at bringing out the mwah since the baked-in EQ curve has peaks where the mwah and bloom might reside more in.

 

[Honch]

Mind you the MOOG guitar is an expensive toy. Very. To say the least. There's some signature name to it who's left the company and started another that makes other effects that are out of this world. I think his name was Paul Vo but I am not sure. I asked him in a mail a few years ago, about this idea, if he would puruse it, but didn't get a reply.

 

[Les Ismoor]

For the last 20 years, pretty much all I've used was a compressor- a dbx 163x. About a month ago I picked up a new TCE Alter Ego delay/looper, and have been able to add a touch of delay (almost like reverb) that expands the mwah a bit. Other than that, at times I've used a phaser (old MXR 100), a chorus (DOD I think), and even tried an EHX Bass Synth; dumped 'em all and kept the dbx.

EDIT: I did use a BBE 462 for a while to fine-tweek my GK head, but it's gone now too since I got the MB Fusion 800.

 

[Marial]

I dig reverb and vibrato. Neunaber's Seraphim currently has my attention, and the Empress Nebulus does as well.

 

[Dr. Octabass]

Dispatch Master sounds amazing on a fretless. It does reverb and delay. I also like to fire up my MXR compressor, Octave Deluxe, and Chorus Deluxe for my semi-hollow body fretless. Really adds to the unmistakable sound of a fretless. I have also used everything but the Octave Deluxe on an upright.

 

[El Spearo]

It's true that fretless can be pretty hard to mistake for non-fretless... but I imagine in the context of the question, it means 'how to you get even more of it'? I guess this is like people asking "what strings do I use for more mwah" or "what fingerboard is best for fretless mwah"... and I would believe that, for example, some ODs are better than others at bringing out the mwah since the baked-in EQ curve has peaks where the mwah and bloom might reside more in.

That is exactly what I meant, how can you make it even more pronounced.
Sometimes I bring the fretless only to rehearsal and my bandmates don't even notice I'm playing it until I do something like a long slow slide or when I get extra mwah-y
I know some people plug in straight and love it, I do that sometimes and it's cool, but in an effects forum most people would consider the replies along the lines of "no effects needed" and the likes sound a bit troll like.
Cheers!

 

[HeebHammer70]

I like playing through a rotary effect sometimes. It's not necessarily the best effect for fretless, but it's something different from the norm.

 

[Feral Feline]

EQ can be used to great effect...

...but the BCA-MTF crowd don't see their amps as being an effect.​

Nor do they stop to think that all those great recorded tones they've been listening to their whole lives are basses run through Neve console strips or similar with tweaked EQ and then on into compressors and then EQ'd-compressed during mix-down and then EQ-d-compressed again at the cutting stage, then EQ'd on their phonograph through their multi-$$$ tube audio-defile amplifier...

So maybe figure out what freqs the "Mwah" occurs at and boost those a bit with some lazer-like Parametric EQ.

@El Spearo : That is a wonderful thing to be able to "hide" the fact that you're on fretless and then make it known at will, just through your playing!

Like HeebHammer70, I love some rotary action. I've said it before, I'm sayin' it again – I often want to sound like Jimmy the Cat Smith's feet or Jack McDuff's, Doug Riley's or Barbera Dennerlein's! She's an amazing bass player, Hammond or otherwise. Okay, so there's nothing remotely fretless about a set of B3 pedals, but all the more reason to rotor up your fretless for some crazy new sounds –

pinch harmonics glissed up the neck in time with the ramping-up speed of the Leslie! ​

Now that's an effect I want! ​

 

[El Spearo]

@El Spearo : That is a wonderful thing to be able to "hide" the fact that you're on fretless and then make it known at will, just through your playing!

I'd love to say that it's a result of my amazing technique, but it's got more to do wit the fact that they play so bloody loud! And they only listen to themselves... Guitar players...