How well does this work with Fretless

[joenoone]

Hi,
How well does the B2M work with fretless basses? What about tracking vibrato and slides?

[james]

The B2M works well with fretless, though it is constrained within the limits of MIDI. Vibrato works well -- much like pitch bend on a fretted instrument. Slides are ok, but the B2M uses +/-2 semitones as the pitch bend range so it you slide outside this range it will trigger a new note, not a smooth slide. This retriggering can be quite noticeable, or almost imperceptible depending on the MIDI sound you are using.

This video from Winter NAMM 2010 has some examples of a fretless bass with the B2M (from about 40s into the video).

[StickPlayer]

I just got the B2M Monday (5/10). After a couple days of playing with it I am satisfied. It doesn't work 100% of the time, but what does?

I have tried it on my Steinberger NXT EUB and depending on the synth patch - slow attack (I am using the Moog taurus 3 Pedals) it works pretty well. Yes, it will only slide/pitch bend +/- 2 semi-tones, but it works well with vibrato and slides/glisses within this range. If the the synth patch has a slow attack, the retrigerring is not too noticable.

I even tried the B2M with a bowed EUB.

In addition, I have tried it with a Chapman Alto Stick (bass side) and electric bass (Yamaha BB5000).

The B2M will make a useable addition to my bass rig.

My fretless bass is in the shop and I will report on its use with the B2M, soon.

[StickPlayer]

The B2M works with my fretless.