My Carvin is going back

what is "mwha"?

 

it's mwah but you were close

 

UHmm, sometimes things like that happen.

Does it have any mwah Acoustically (Unplugged?)

Have you tried lowering the action?
My Cort Curbow Fretless 5 String didnt have any mwah when It came, only thump.
So I did a setup and after all that the Mwah came in!

YMMV

 

nothing a little finger rolling wouldn't cure

 

I believe the "mwah" is caused by the height of the strings. Did you try adjusting the action?

As far as I'm concerned there is no such thing as a new bass that is "properly" setup. Every new bass needs to be tweaked before it will sound and feel like you want it too.

I own a Carvin and the quality of my bass is very high. However, when I first got it the action was terrible. I had to lower it over a period of several days before it felt right.

 

Good point. The sound in my fretless is part bass, but also a large part my right-hand technique.

 

thanks so much for your wounderful help

 

Thanks for your sarcasm.

"Mwah" is that certain special fretless sound, that you can't acheive with frets. It's an onomatopoeia. When you play the note, you hear that thick "mwah" hanging with the note. Listen to a good fretless recording versus a fretted, and you'll hear it.

 

Try putting your ear against the bass as you play a few notes, or at least rest your chin on it. That will help you hear what it sounds like acoustically. If the sound ain't there, it ain't there. And pickups are not the problem.

Before you give up on Carvin, you might try getting another one with different woods.

 

Maybe, as you found, the Carvins just don't have it, (I don't know, mine is fretted). In the "Mwah Fest 2000" article in Bass Player's last "Bass Gear" issue, they rated the Carvin LB-70F as high for sound as the Top Tone winner, the Yamaha BBV4F III, and higher than the other Top Tone winner, a taco Fender Jazz.

BUT, their comments about the Carvin didn't say anything about "mwah", just that they liked its sounds.

 

A hard coating on the fretboard should make it easier to get.

What kind of strings are you using?
I get my best results with roundwounds and prefer Nickel over SS.

Is the neck straight?
My fretless necks are usually very close to being straight.

Have you tried soloing the bridge pickup?
Soloing the bridge pickup removes some of the mud that a neck pickup might add, which can obscure the sound.

How high are the strings?
Low action, parallel to the neck, helps.

How high is the nut?
If the nut is cut too high, this can make it harder to achieve.

Technique?
Jaco mwah can be accomplished by playing close to the bridge. Play near the neck with the pads of your plucking finger for a more expansive sound.

You may want top consider these prior to sending it back. Could be something as simple as a fretted height nut on a fretless bass causing the problem.
I've never come across a wood combination that would prohibit mwah. From Ash to Zebrawood... I've played lots of fretlesses and can't recall any that could not get it by addressing one of the above issues.

 

My Carvin LB-20 F mwahs, but is a 4 string.

My Carvin LB-75 fretted stunk when I got it. I kept it, thinking I could make it work, but it still stinks. If after a reasonable amount of tinkering, you still don't like it, ship it back. A dog is a dog.

The pedulla buzz is a real mwah-machine. I tried one, but got a 79 P fretless, because I wanted the string bass sound.

 

He has the Buzz-like coating on his neck. I'd bet money his mwah problem is fixable... but I wouldn't recommend keeping it past the trial period while trying to find it.

 

tanks jazzbo

 

Hi,

Could it be the strings?When strung with new strings,my Yamaha BBN4F doesn't have much mwaa.
As it gets older(1 mth+ at least),the mwaa gets more and more obvious.My Sansamp accoustic DI helps a lot,too.

 

Consider giving them a call and asking for an extension. They're very flexible with sincere people, IME. My 9 month old Carvin is in their repair shop as we speak, all at their expense.

I'm convinced that the 10-day thing is to protect them from people who imagined their cosmetics would turn out differently than they actually did or people who ordered on impulse and later decided some other woods/options were better.