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I have a fretless Fender Jazz. To compensate for the thin sound of a solo'ed bridge pickup, I never solo it completely. I have the neck pickup at about 50% - this adds a little thickness. And to avoid losing some of the frequency response of the neck pickup when at 50%, I installed a treble bleed kit on the volume knob.
Regarding EQ, I have a slight bump in the mids around 800k. That's it.
When I played fretless, I used about 75% bridge and 25% neck for the pickup balance. I also boosted mids maybe 50% and bass 25%. Helps you gain a little sharpness to poke through the mix but also thickens a bit. That was my experience anyway.
- Jul 7, 2010
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- Endorsing Artist for: Duncan Pickups; Line6, Hipshot, GHS Strings, Somnium Guitars
Well I actually use the same settings as my fretted basses.
I have gone through a few pickups that I like and found a tone that really works for me.
Also I "have learned" how to play slightly different in my technique to also help get the sound I like.
So answer is NO change of EQ for me.
I have gone through a few pickups that I like and found a tone that really works for me.
Also I "have learned" how to play slightly different in my technique to also help get the sound I like.
So answer is NO change of EQ for me.
Relative newb to fretless, but I'm finding I do the exact opposite of my fretted PJ. With that, I go mostly P and dial in the J to taste. With the fretless, I'll go mostly bridge and dial in the neck pickup. The J in my fretless holds its own just fine, while the J in my PJ is tremendously weak by itself.
Hi n1as
The sound is in my fingers!
may the bass be with you
Wise(b)ass
i gig with the same axe, fretless J passive, amp eq is at 12 o'clock,.... vol on the bridge pup's wide open, tone is wide open, vol on the neck pup's bet 40% ~ 70%, depending,......i move my plucking placement around to get the desired tone
... hope this helps...... listen, feel and enjoy the ride 
I use a BBE Sonic Maximizer to fatten the tone when I favor the bridge pickup.
But, my Roscoe Classic has active or passive mode with a P/J pickup arrangement. I just set the active mode to boost lows, when I favor the bridge pickup. I play normally in passive mode. With the Roscoe Classic bass, you pull the volume knob up for passive or press down for active. I had mine made so the passive tone control is out of the circuit when I switch to active mode. So I have two separate tone profiles, one for active and one for passive.
But, my Roscoe Classic has active or passive mode with a P/J pickup arrangement. I just set the active mode to boost lows, when I favor the bridge pickup. I play normally in passive mode. With the Roscoe Classic bass, you pull the volume knob up for passive or press down for active. I had mine made so the passive tone control is out of the circuit when I switch to active mode. So I have two separate tone profiles, one for active and one for passive.
