Pickups for fretless

[ossie]

Hi guys,
Have just got hold of a beautiful MIM Fretless Jazz Bass which feels and sounds great. Has a Gotoh 201 bridge fitted. when I plug it in I don't seem to be able to get as much of the freless 'Mwaah' that I hoped for. Sounds great when not plugged in! Playing through a Phil Jones Briefcase. I'm thinking of different pickups as these are standard MIM ones. Any thoughts. I wanted to keep the tone of the bass (which is awesome), so was thinking that active PUP's were out. will be playing mainly Jazz/Soul. Any suggestions? will the pickups make the difference? I'm a PUP numpty I'm afraid. Budget is tight so can't spend fortunes.
Advice much appreciated.

[d-basser]

Wizard Pickups are pretty damn good and not too expensive. Drop em an email explaining the kinda thing you are looking for and I am sure they can point you in the right direction or wind something to your needs.

[janmaat]

technique?

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmKP6AiT9UI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmKP6AiT9UI[/url]

[Kiwi]

I don't believe its possible to design pickups for fretless, the laws of physics don't allow the mid frequencies to be targeted without losing other things as well. Just get a set of pickups that are as neutral as possible, they will allow the mids to come through. Also look at getting a flexible eq with mid sweep so you can manage the mids easily if you suspect you will need an upright sound for one song and something parpy for another.

[Vibrating G String]

[quote name='ossie' post='1339968' date='Aug 14 2011, 12:06 PM']I wanted to keep the tone of the bass (which is awesome)[/quote]
Then don't change the pickups Learn to use the EQ on your amp. Trying to buy tone is a never ending and futile journey that takes away the time you could be using playing music.

The stock MIM pickups are just fine, try to get your bass in the hands of a great fretless player and you'll see. Current MIM pickups are made to a higher standard than pre CBS pickups and those worked for Jaco.

[risingson]

[quote name='Vibrating G String' post='1340166' date='Aug 14 2011, 11:07 PM']Trying to buy tone is a never ending and futile journey that takes away the time you could be using playing music.[/quote]

I'm going to have this put on my gravestone (or most likely in my sig actually).

[Vibrating G String]

[ossie]

Cheers guys, I liked the technique video. Getting lots of Mwah when not plugged in so I will tinker with my amp, see if I can tease it out there. I'm still looking for a Carl Martin Parametric Eq, at the mo I'm using a EWS trilogic pre-amp to add punch, I'll mess with that as well. As allways, you've all been a great help. Let you know how it goes.

[Chris2112]

IMO setup has always been the most critical factor in getting 'mwah' on a fretless bass. Too low and you'll choke it out, too high and you'll have too much tension for the strings to make that noise. Technique is a big factor too, playing nearing the neck and using a softer, more pliant vibrato with the left hand will bring that 'mwah' right to life.

[bassatnight]

Your bass is not Sage Green is it? I sold one a while ago and added a Gotoh 201 Bridge?

I find a bit of Chorus and some lovely flats helps the mwwhha sound..[quote name='ossie' post='1339968' date='Aug 14 2011, 08:06 PM']Hi guys,
Have just got hold of a beautiful MIM Fretless Jazz Bass which feels and sounds great. Has a Gotoh 201 bridge fitted. when I plug it in I don't seem to be able to get as much of the freless 'Mwaah' that I hoped for. Sounds great when not plugged in! Playing through a Phil Jones Briefcase. I'm thinking of different pickups as these are standard MIM ones. Any thoughts. I wanted to keep the tone of the bass (which is awesome), so was thinking that active PUP's were out. will be playing mainly Jazz/Soul. Any suggestions? will the pickups make the difference? I'm a PUP numpty I'm afraid. Budget is tight so can't spend fortunes.
Advice much appreciated. [/quote]

[noelk27]

I'd be tempted to try an outboard preamp (Sadowsky's is a good one) and/or a parametric EQ (Yamaha's NE1 is a good one) and/or upgrade the internal wiring before swapping out pickups.

[Vibrating G String]

The Sadowsky is a bass & treble boost only, I would try something with a mid boost if anything preferably with a sweepable frequency center as the mids are what I like in fretless.

[ossie]

Guys,

You were all spot on, put on a set of flats, adjusted the action a bit, tweaked the eq and there she was, nearly sounded like a proper bass player. Will have to work on technique a bit before I gig with it though. Got a great female vocalist for my soul band so this will come in really useful for the slow soulful ballad stuff. Cant wait

Hi bassatnight, no sunburst, got it from GAK in brighton £370 - 2 years old and never used - totaly immaculate - I changed the bridge because I don't like fender stock bridges (flimsy and imprecise) - got the 201 on e-bay for £37 (couldn't afford a Badass, but got to say I really like the 201, straight swap with no mods).

Cheers again Guys.

Edited August 17, 2011 by ossie