Too Much Mwah?

[devnulljp]

Sounds like action is too low. Raise saddles a fraction or check neck relief

 

[smokinjoe]

Pressurewounds and the right set up.

 

[Killing Floor]

While objectively, @bholder is right, if you want to tame the awesome try some more mellow strings. LaBella DTF are well rounded, rich tone but not bright. Very good option for fretless if you want a lot of control over the sound. Worth a try.

 

[Sid Fang]

Indeed. Raise the action and/or add more relief to the neck.

Shouldn't that be raise the action and/or *less* relief, i.e. nut further forward?

 

[Deleted member 165050]

While objectively, @bholder is right, if you want to tame the awesome try some more mellow strings. LaBella DTF are well rounded, rich tone but not bright. Very good option for fretless if you want a lot of control over the sound. Worth a try.

Slightly off-topic but I'm trusting TB opinion on DTFs and have ordered an LB760FS-XL set to try on my Takamine TB10.

 

[BaileyMan]

I think that's part of it. The strings are oxidized and need replacing anyway, and I planned on having my guy do a setup when I do get new strings.

Looking forward to the update once you get it restrung and set up.

 

[Thumpin6string]

No such thing as too much mwah on a fretless IMHO. The best way to get rid of the mwah is to get a fretted.

 

[Killing Floor]

Slightly off-topic but I'm trusting TB opinion on DTFs and have ordered an LB760FS-XL set to try on my Takamine TB10.

Good luck. The are bright sounding when they are very new but settle in quickly. They are higher tension than a TI, for comparison, but more mellow tone. Very balanced tone.

 

[blowinblue]

Mwhaaat? How can you have too much mwah?

M. M.

 

[sunbeast]

Shouldn't that be raise the action and/or *less* relief, i.e. nut further forward?

Relief=neck bow in this case, so *more* relief means less buzz

 

[Chrisk-K]

Strings don't make mwha. It is the too low action and too little relief of your Spector that make mwha.

 

[Fernando Costa]

Indeed. Raise the action and/or add more relief to the neck.

This, and play near the bridge.

 

[dkelley]

Hey now.... MWAH.... that's from your SOUL, people.... it's from your HEART and SOUL...

that and a very flat board and very low action. Even Jaco said that in a long interview with a bunch of GIT or BIT or similar type of "college students asking him questions" kinda thing... and the man invented his own fretless bass and pretty much invented mwah as a major thing.

 

[coy garcia]

I would say the mwah is mostly from your left hand technique. I find chrome flats of a thicker gage give me more control over having or not having mwah in my playing. I do play with lower action though.

 

[Abner]

Shouldn't that be raise the action and/or *less* relief, i.e. nut further forward?

Relief is the curve in the neck. More relief = more forward curvature. Loosen that truss rod a little.

 

[Gothic]

Mwah comes from the strings "licking" the fretboard as they vibrate. It's pretty much the sitar bloom effect you get on a fretted when you lower the action and the strings touch on adjacent frets during the cycle of their vibrations, but since on a fretless the surface is not metal, it creates a different effect - the mwah!

Mwah also can be "found" in the mids. Therefore, if you want to decrease your mwah, cut some mids and raise your action. String choice plays a role, as well. Lower tension strings will be able to vibrate more "freely", so to speak, with the same force applied and therefore will have more "encounters" with the fretboard during their vibrations. Coupled with lower action, of course.
Higher tension strings will help you get lower action without too much mwah.

Speaking of applied force, you can also try a lighter touch. Just like playing with very low action on a fretted, where you can reduce the clank/buzz by playing with a lighter touch (so the string doesn't vibrate as violently), the same principle applies to the fretless. Not completely, since we're talking about a board here but it does apply.

Roundwound strings are also said to get more mwah because, compared to the smooth, even surface of the flats, rounds have "peaks and divots" and therefore, more "pronounced" spots where the string can vibrate against the board.

Honestly, I wouldn't touch the relief if I were happy with the way the bass plays. It can certainly affect the mwah effect since you're effectively raising the action (mostly in the middle of the board) but it can throw a wrench in your overall setup and you may find yourself tinkering and tinkering, only to go back to the original settings.

So, summarizing, to get less mwah:
Higher tension flats (preferably not the overly bright kind)
Higher action
Lighter touch

Try one at a time and see where it gets you. Adjust accordingly.

 

[Funky40]

alert, a mwah noob chimes in:
can somebody point me please to a YT video where i get to see what a mwah-ey bass sounds like ?
( since the original topic seems answered)

i have here an old very cheap fretless from my first bassist live,
and have strung it with the black (plastic) LaBella flats 3months back.
The sound with (cheap) steel strings was never doing it for me.
I read the thread, i understand the "physics" now,.......but not the sound as such.
( i play very rarely a fretless, if ever)

 

[Gothic]

alert, a mwah noob chimes in:
can somebody point me please to a YT video where i get to see what a mwah-ey bass sounds like ?
( since the original topic seems answered)

i have here an old very cheap fretless from my first bassist live,
and have strung it with the black (plastic) LaBella flats 3months back.
The sound with (cheap) steel strings was never doing it for me.
I read the thread, i understand the "physics" now,.......but not the sound as such.
( i play very rarely a fretless, if ever)

 

[andare]

Will do when I get new strings and a setup. Thanks

Adding relief IS the setup. That and then string action and then intonation. Cheap and easy to do and you set it up the way you want it.

 

[Bassinga]

I keep reading "mwah" as the chef's kiss sound