Does Bacteria Have A Smell?

As some of you may know, i have just come through 45 day fishles cycling of tank and still not sure to what extent it is sucessfull, but as of today i have three fish (one not planned). Throughout most of the cycling the tank has had a strange but not altogether unpleasant smell, not an ammonia smell a bit like my LFS smells, i have had no algae or bloom or anything in the tank, so wondered, does bacteria have its own distinct smell 

Mm maybe, well it's a "pre fish in tank" smell and not acrid like Ammonia so maybe that's it, as long as it doesn't get any stronger lol