Fretless Tone: Upright vs. Modern Mwah?
Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 5:55 pm
Hey guys, I'm new here and I was wondering what tone ya'll prefer? The modern mwah or the classic upright growl? 
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Fretless Tone: Upright vs. Modern Mwah?
http://fretlessbass.com/board/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=189
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Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2009 4:50 pm
Modern mwah (Jaco) for me. I want my bass to growl, snarl, bite, and purr.
Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2009 5:18 pm
Welcome FretlessC, to FretlessBass.com
For me it depends with whom, and what, I am playing. If it is with my Jazz buddies I go for a simulated upright sound using a piezo P/U bass so Growl is the goal.
For popular music I usually use a Yamaha TRB plank with mag P/U's and a coated fingerboard. This bass likes to mwah.
If I am playing a ballad behind a female vocalist using the TRB I will back off the treble so that the mwah upper frequencies do not compete with her voice. Thus more growly than mwah.
If it is a bass solo or melody such as "A Remark You Made" then I want the full mwah sound.
All in all, opportunities to use the full mwah are greatly reduced due to the importance of playing appropriately for the music. Often it's the "Vintage" sound that prevents me from using mwah. Other times it might be a tune where I use the fretted bass so no opportunity to mwah there.
Mwah or growl, it's two words for a very similar phenomenon of the fretless bass. Your instruments sound and set-up define how much mwah you have.
To me, on the fretless bass mwah is growl with an added upper frequency tone. So a bass that growls may not mwah if it has bassy P/Us, a mellow tone, or an uncoated fingerboard. But a bass that mwahs can usually growl by backing off the treble (or mids).
For me it depends with whom, and what, I am playing. If it is with my Jazz buddies I go for a simulated upright sound using a piezo P/U bass so Growl is the goal.
For popular music I usually use a Yamaha TRB plank with mag P/U's and a coated fingerboard. This bass likes to mwah.
If I am playing a ballad behind a female vocalist using the TRB I will back off the treble so that the mwah upper frequencies do not compete with her voice. Thus more growly than mwah.
If it is a bass solo or melody such as "A Remark You Made" then I want the full mwah sound.
All in all, opportunities to use the full mwah are greatly reduced due to the importance of playing appropriately for the music. Often it's the "Vintage" sound that prevents me from using mwah. Other times it might be a tune where I use the fretted bass so no opportunity to mwah there.
Mwah or growl, it's two words for a very similar phenomenon of the fretless bass. Your instruments sound and set-up define how much mwah you have.
To me, on the fretless bass mwah is growl with an added upper frequency tone. So a bass that growls may not mwah if it has bassy P/Us, a mellow tone, or an uncoated fingerboard. But a bass that mwahs can usually growl by backing off the treble (or mids).
Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 3:51 pm
For me it depends of the situation, the song...
Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 3:07 pm
Honestly, I think tone is a matter of taste but functionally when you are soloing, the tone you pick needs to be heard.
That always seems to be the challenge behind fretted or fretless tone for me. To be up out of the mix is job 1 first when soloing so I would say you need to pick a tone that is going to get the job done.
That being said, some upright tones when done well can stand out wonderfully when the right amplification is applied.
Any other thoughts on this?
C
That always seems to be the challenge behind fretted or fretless tone for me. To be up out of the mix is job 1 first when soloing so I would say you need to pick a tone that is going to get the job done.
That being said, some upright tones when done well can stand out wonderfully when the right amplification is applied.
Any other thoughts on this?
C
Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 9:15 am
Usally, I try to choose the tone that works the best for the music I'm playing, accepting also suggestions from m ypals...that said, on fretless, I love to use a middle rangy but somehow "fat" sound...à la Marcus Miller or Percy Jones (Wal epoca...)...
Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 12:16 pm
I like really these two worlds, Upright Bass and Electric Bass !
I played during 10 years Upright Bass and this sound is... UNIQUE !
To play Jazz music it's ideal... The big bottom sound !
Elecrtic bass is more a guitar's approach with a tight and precise sound !
I played during 10 years Upright Bass and this sound is... UNIQUE !
To play Jazz music it's ideal... The big bottom sound !
Elecrtic bass is more a guitar's approach with a tight and precise sound !