thisnameistaken Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I don't get this. I've got this Stingray fretless, it doesn't do the 'mwah' thing at all. Every other fretless I've had (including the US Jazz I de-fretted myself) has done it, but this one doesn't, despite being more expensive than all the others! I've had Rotos '66 rounds on it (as I have with all the other fretlesses) and recently strung it with Ernie Balls, still nothing. The action is pretty low and the neck pretty straight. The nut is cut so low the strings are almost on the fingerboard at that end. Is this a setup issue? I've Googled and Googled, but there seems to be no consensus on what creates that bloom effect on fretless. Hopefully some of you will be able to agree and give me some advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan_Nailed Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Try putting a little relief in the neck and lowering the action further to create "buzz" - this is what I do do add mwah. Failing that it could be the finish on the fingerboard, but I doubt it. Also 800hz boost on an EQ will accentuate mwah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted March 9, 2009 Author Share Posted March 9, 2009 I should mention it's a pau ferro board, I've never had any issues with rosewood boards before but this is the first pau ferro one I've had. It's definitely not an EQ or technique thing either, the sound just isn't there. I'll try a neck adjustment tonight if I can find an hour to fettle... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass_ferret Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Are you getting Mwah un-amplified? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowdown Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 my fretless is a Stingray 5, [a pau ferro board] I have a really high action and use DR highbeams... And i get a nice growl... But when i first got it [ 5 years ago ] It had a silly no action and buzzing, but had plenty of mwah... if you like that. So i dont think its the board. Try getting the action right down with a flat neck. Also as someone above said 800hz gets some where near that sound. But i must admit i find that type of set up sh*t sounding and sloppy and loose to play. But hey... we all play different. Garry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted March 9, 2009 Author Share Posted March 9, 2009 [quote name='bass_ferret' post='429541' date='Mar 9 2009, 05:03 PM']Are you getting Mwah un-amplified?[/quote] No, very little. I'm not convinced lower action / straighter neck is necessarily the way to go. I had an absolute dog of a 6-string fretless last year (for a few days!) which had higher action and it had that classic fretless sound in buckets. Weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARGH Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 It could just be a dud...Some instruments just are! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted March 9, 2009 Author Share Posted March 9, 2009 [quote name='ARGH' post='429560' date='Mar 9 2009, 05:17 PM']It could just be a dud...Some instruments just are![/quote] Heh. Well, I was hoping for something with a bit more science behind it to be honest. It plays well enough, neck's nice and stable, structurally everything's fine. I'm just trying to figure out what exactly creates that bloom effect so I can establish why it's missing from this bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelk27 Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 [quote name='thisnameistaken' post='429532' date='Mar 9 2009, 04:50 PM']I should mention it's a pau ferro board, I've never had any issues with rosewood boards before but this is the first pau ferro one I've had.[/quote] Pau ferro is a rosewood, so that won't be the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepurpleblob Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 With some trepidation I'm going to suggest it's a technique thing too. I'm not a particularly good fretless player but I find that to get that sound you have to "fret" very lightly and pluck quite strongly. If you have a death like grip with your fretting hand you don't get the classic fretless noise. This is certainly the case on my 70s Fender (with flatwound strings). I guess you are basically pulling the string out of tune. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted March 9, 2009 Author Share Posted March 9, 2009 [quote name='thepurpleblob' post='429754' date='Mar 9 2009, 08:11 PM']With some trepidation I'm going to suggest it's a technique thing too. I'm not a particularly good fretless player but I find that to get that sound you have to "fret" very lightly and pluck quite strongly. If you have a death like grip with your fretting hand you don't get the classic fretless noise. This is certainly the case on my 70s Fender (with flatwound strings). I guess you are basically pulling the string out of tune.[/quote] I honestly don't think that's it. I've been playing fretless on and off for the best part of 20 years and never NOT got that sound out of one before. And I had two fretlesses last year, one of which did the mwawww noise and the other (this one) didn't. If we're not careful we might end up concluding here that nobody knows what produces that sound. This would be embarrassing for the forum as a whole! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatboter Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Well, I have owned a lot of fretless basses but in couple of cases I just had to conclude the mwah wasn't there also... I had bought a nice Wal MKI fretless a couple of years ago, took it to the studio and I was surprised that the sound didn't vibrate at all...I tried everything, but in vain and sold it. Same thing with a 2500 euro Ken Smith... had it fretted and then it sounded ok. Funny enough I got plenty of sustain and a killer sound out of a cheapish Mexican Fender Jazz... I think some basses just don't have it, can't explain why though.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass_ferret Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Yes I tend to agree - nobody knows what makes a good mwah. You could try varnishing the fingerboard - it worked for Jaco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrenochrome Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 A bit of idle speculation here - could it be that the Ray is actually [i]too[/i] solid (neck joint, bridge etc)? Is there any chance that a thin 'bent tin' bridge actually flexes more when a string is plucked and then returns the energy to the string as the bridge flexes back (causing the note to bloom) ? I honestly don't know, the above is just a guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass_ferret Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 Thats an interesting theory and I shall shortly be putting to the test. My fretless has the Schaller 2000 bridge that I really dont rate so its getting replaced by a Hipshot model A in ali that will make up for loss of mass with through body stringing. Before it had Mwah for England Find out soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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