Fretless effects

[TheGreek]

Recently discovered the joy of playing fretless but what effects do you use?? I have been trying it with an EBS Envelope Filter but I can't seem to find a tone I'm happy with.

Trying to avoid imitating [s]God[/s] Mick Karn...any suggestions?

[bassbora]

Chorus or octaver spring to mind. But I personally prefer no effects. What do you feel is missing?

[TheGreek]

TBH I don't really know...I was expecting a phaser as a recommendation. I have an Octaver, again doesn't do anything for me...maybe I need to unpack the J Station and see what I can do with that.

[Panamonte]

I've experimented with a dash of chorus and reverb in the past, but like bassbora I prefer my fretless ungarnished. Just a bit of a boost to the mids and some subtle compression does it for me.

[RhysP]

Chorus is to be avoided at all costs unless you want everything you do to sound like the theme music from Bergerac.

Colin Edwin from Porcupine Tree used to use a phaser on his Wal fretless but it sounded sh*t.

[bassbora]

Funnily enough I just sold my only effect pedal I have ever bought for bass and that was an octaver. It's been said so many times but it is all in the fingers. Skip the effects and explore the bass

[ezbass]

I use a chorus and an octaver. Given that my premier fretless influence is the '80s work of Pino Palladino and Tony Levin, my choice of effects can't come as a surprise.

[paul_5]

Octave gets the priority, but occasionally I'll add some chorus. A little bit of valve grit for me too.

[Rich]

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1480969111' post='3188588']
unless you want everything you do to sound like the theme music from Bergerac.
[/quote]
If all my fretless playing sounded like Mo Foster, I would be happier than a pig in sh*t.

[Grangur]

For inspiration you can try looking out for Steve Lawson.

[uk_lefty]

Looper maybe? So you can do some finger funk soloing over a nice repeating drone (meant in the good way) of notes providing a foundation.
Chorus, octave, reverb... Compression.

[ead]

A bit of mild compression is nice with a fretless bass.

[neilp]

Little bit of compression, sometimes a little bit of chorus. I tend to kick the chorus in and out for different bits of a song

[Yank]

Sometimes at home I'll run through a chorus pedal for that classic "Jaco" tone, or break out an Ebow, but it would sound contrived, live, as it doesn't fit with the style of the band I play with. I much prefer the tone of the fretless straight into the amp. It can be fun, though, using effects as home toys.

[BigRedX]

If you want to thicken up the sound and accentuate some of the fretless nuances, try a good compressor - that's one with at least Threshold, Attack, Release and Gain controls, and instead of chorus which can make the sound too swirly and indistinct, try a pitch shifter set to unison with a very slight detune of a few cents. IMO older models work better since they have a noticeable processing lag which adds enormously to the sound. For that you can't beat the original rack mount MXR Pitch Transposer.

IIRC much of Mick Karn's studio sound was created by selectively double tracking his bass lines.

[paul_5]

I reckon the almost ubiquitous use of chorus during the 80s was to mask 'tonal variation' on some recordings...

[Roger2611]

The old industry standard Yamaha SPX90 has a wonderful Harmoniser effect that sounds more Pino than Pino.....I love it!

[spectoremg]

[quote name='uk_lefty' timestamp='1481011368' post='3188866']
Looper maybe? So you can do some finger funk soloing over a nice repeating drone (meant in the good way) of notes providing a foundation.
Chorus, octave, reverb... Compression.
[/quote]Soloing?

[spectoremg]

[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1480981239' post='3188798']
If all my fretless playing sounded like Mo Foster, I would be happier than a pig in sh*t.
[/quote]Why the snobby downer on chorus?
Chorus and octave, learn Sledgehammer and have a blast.

[Rich]

[quote name='spectoremg' timestamp='1481059415' post='3189433']
Why the snobby downer on chorus?
Chorus and octave, learn Sledgehammer and have a blast.
[/quote]
?
I have no downer on chorus. Quite the opposite.

[spectoremg]

[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1481065838' post='3189513']
?
I have no downer on chorus. Quite the opposite.
[/quote]Sorry I was supporting your comment - it just didn't come out right