Fretless pickups

[junior421]

I have a custom passive p bass style fret less with a fender deluxe style pickup set up (1 pbass split coil and 1 j pickup).

What are the quintessential fret less pickups if i were to replace them? I want to get that fret less "mwah" sound... Right now it's kind of heavy.

 

[wvbass]

All my pickups are fretless.

Really, the rules are the same as for fretted instruments. You want a pickup with a good midrange character, not something mid scooped. Stay away from quarter pounders and you should be fine.

 

[SGD Lutherie]

What strings are you using? And how is the action set? You need a dead straight neck, low action, and fairly bright stings help.

That mwah tone is mostly from the bridge pickup. I Played a fretless P/J for a while, and the P gets a different fretless vibe.

 

[tylerwylie]

Mwah comes from setup and where you play. Nearly straight neck, low action, pluck near the neck and the notes will bloom. My Clement fretless has mwaah all over the place, I love it.

My Ibanez GWB35(with new pickup from the poster above me) came back with a straight neck but I adjusted to give it a slight amount of relief as I was looking for a different sound out of this bass. This bass is harder to get mwaah out of, and I love it.

*Edit* More mwah also means less bottom end out of your bass, so I'm trying to strike a balance with my Ibanez.

 

[basszillla]

Maybe you might consider a piezo bride - my bongo has one, as well as my LaSiDo(Godin Z-1).
Dont know if that would improve the sound you are searching for, but will give you one more added dimension/choice to your sound/tone capability .

 

[junior421]

I use daddario flat wounds. The neck is great and action feels pretty good but I need to go get it set up overall. I hear a lot about pickups that don't come standard so I just wondered if I were to mess with it and replace them if there was a preferred standard.

 

[danomite64]

All my pickups are fretless.

Really, the rules are the same as for fretted instruments. You want a pickup with a good midrange character, not something mid scooped. Stay away from quarter pounders and you should be fine.

My fretless has QPs in it and it sounds wonderful.

 

[eddododo]

it's sort of ended up my rule of thumb that the mwah on fretless come from pick up placement (near bridge) first and foremost.

Ive always loved a PJ for fretless. Super colorful / versatile

 

[tylerwylie]

I use daddario flat wounds. The neck is great and action feels pretty good but I need to go get it set up overall. I hear a lot about pickups that don't come standard so I just wondered if I were to mess with it and replace them if there was a preferred standard.

For mwaah going to roundwounds will help a ton. Pressurewounds will work better too.

 

[junior421]

Excuse my ignorance guys, but what are quarter pounders, QP, and PJ?

Also, I would think roundwounds would dent up the fingerboard, no? I like flatwounds in general, but especially with fretless, I thought it was the way to go.

Bottom line, I see stuff about Bartolini's, Seymour Duncans, etc but the only pickups I have experience with are the ones that come standard. I have an American P and J bass, a 70's Hofner and this custom fretless and since the custom is a project to begin with, I thought I'd learn to be a little more bass-geek by asking about that one.

 

[Matthijs]

There are lots of different versions of mwah. It helps to find out what kind you like. Do you want Pastorius or Pino Paladino? To a lot of us the pickup we associate with mwah is a single coil old school jazz bass bridge pickup, combined with no matter what. But there are lots of other options out there. Personaly I agree with wvbass in that the midrange quality is really important.

Flats are absolutely not the only way to go for fretless. My only electric bass is a fretless strung with nickel rounds. Only in the first few years did I experience some wear, for the last 10 years it was perfectly O.K. You just have to learn to move you finger lengthwise for vibrato.

 

[junior421]

Versatility is important, but off the top of my head, the Paul Simon Graceland fretless sound is what I consider "the mwah". I wouldn't necessarily play that way all the time...there is a band called The Slip and I was really impressed with their bassists tone.

What makes strings have different character? I played roundwounds for a long time and saw that John Stirrat from Wilco uses a lot of flats, so I tried it and LOVE the feel. While they are warm, some times they are a little dead.

 

[Matthijs]

Do a search for Baktithi Khumalo. I think he did play a cheap bass with pj pickups. That tone really is in his hands.

Nothing wrong with flats, as long as you don't believe they are mandatory for fretless.

 

[Matthijs]

Oops, I meant Bakithi Kumalo

 

[SGD Lutherie]

What makes strings have different character? I played roundwounds for a long time and saw that John Stirrat from Wilco uses a lot of flats, so I tried it and LOVE the feel. While they are warm, some times they are a little dead.

It's how they are made. Flats have the flat wide wrap on the top, and that tends to make them stiffer.

If you want to try some flats that don't sound dead and are pretty bright, try the LaBella Stainless Steel Deep Talkin' Bass 760FL set.

 

[David Jayne]

Some basses do mwaahhh better than others. It's really not about the pickups- it's the bass itself, and how you have it setup. The above comments about low action and neck relief are spot-on.
Now, some basses just won't do it. I once owned a bass made by a company famous for the 'buzz' their basses have that wouldn't 'buzz' at all. Complete mystery as to why. Never could make it work and sold it.