Liminal - Outstanding

[Vakmere]

Liminal has to be one of the better CD's out today. I had it playing on my work computer when I turned up The Good Foot. My desk top has an Altec Lansing speaker system with sub woofer. Turned some heads, also turned some folks on to Adam Nitti. Hope they get this CD to. I also have Evidence and Balance. Great stuff.
Wondering what basses you were using on Liminal and how you achieved the sound you got and with what amplification. I love that sound you get.
I try to use some your techinques in my playing and yes, I use some of your rifs when aplicable. (only a few of them). It's not just the fingerings and technical stuff, it's more the groove that gets me going. Yep.....
May I add I met you at Gerald's Bass Boot Camp in 2008 and wanted to thank you for allowing me to sit and chat with you. (No, that's not David Brenner with Adam).
All the instructors there were very approachable and generous with their knowledge.

[ethompson2]

I have Liminal as well, it is a very good album. I love "The Good Foot" and really I love the sound you get on the actual track "Liminal".

[adamnitti]

Originally Posted by Vakmere

Liminal has to be one of the better CD's out today. I had it playing on my work computer when I turned up The Good Foot. My desk top has an Altec Lansing speaker system with sub woofer. Turned some heads, also turned some folks on to Adam Nitti. Hope they get this CD to. I also have Evidence and Balance. Great stuff.
Wondering what basses you were using on Liminal and how you achieved the sound you got and with what amplification. I love that sound you get.
I try to use some your techinques in my playing and yes, I use some of your rifs when aplicable. (only a few of them). It's not just the fingerings and technical stuff, it's more the groove that gets me going. Yep.....
May I add I met you at Gerald's Bass Boot Camp in 2008 and wanted to thank you for allowing me to sit and chat with you. (No, that's not David Brenner with Adam).
All the instructors there were very approachable and generous with their knowledge.

hi vakmere! thank you so much for your kind words and positivity! i'm so glad you are diggin the bass tones. i spent a lot of time trying to get them.

i used 3 main basses on the 'liminal' record: my curbow prototype retro II 5 string, my signature warrior 6 string, and my yamaha trbII-p 5 string. nearly all of the bass tracks were recorded using 3 parallel lines: 2 were d.i. lines and the third was a mic'ed amp line. the 3 tracks were blended together in differing proportions for the mixes.

the first d.i. line incorporated this basic signal path:

bass -> tl audio tube compressor -> evil twin tube bass d.i. -> audio interface

the second d.i. line signal path:

bass -> tl audio tube compressor -> aguilar tone hammer preamp or swr interstellar overdrive -> avalon u5 d.i. -> audio interface

the amp line was recorded using either an aguilar ag500 connected to a db112 or an aguilar db750 connected to a db410, mic'ed using an audio technica atm250 microphone -> mic pre -> audio interface

thanks again for the support,

adam

[theNoseBleedKid]

It is easily my favorite 'bass' album!

[theNoseBleedKid]

Also why did you want 3 blended signals, how did this contribute to the sound?

Did you blend each one for each track, or was it more "pick the best"?

Does this differ completely from the recording methods for Balance?

[Vakmere]

http://www.aguilaramp.com/new_artist_adamnitti.htm

This is some good info here. It's not who makes it but what you make it.

[adamnitti]

Originally Posted by theNoseBleedKid

Also why did you want 3 blended signals, how did this contribute to the sound?

Did you blend each one for each track, or was it more "pick the best"?

Does this differ completely from the recording methods for Balance?

hi!

i blended each track. in most cases, about 60% of the signal was d.i.... however, there were some instances in which i blended things differently. the benefit is that you can still maintain the integrity of the d.i. signal but still hear the 'air' from a mic'ed cabinet.

on the balance cd, almost all the bass tracks were d.i. only... i don't think i blended any amp signal at all on that album. i only used some mixdown compression and e.q.

[christoph h.]

Hi Adam!

I just wanted to know how much of a commitment to a certain sound do you make
while tracking? Ie, how much EQ do you apply at the amp or the tone hammer/mic pre or even the onboard bass EQ. Do you go for a "standard" setting on the tl compressor and then do additional "tone compression" while mixing, or just the other way around.

I guess I could also ask: Where in the chain will you most often make the changes to adapt to the context?

Thanks,
-Christoph

[adamnitti]

Originally Posted by christoph h.

Hi Adam!

I just wanted to know how much of a commitment to a certain sound do you make
while tracking? Ie, how much EQ do you apply at the amp or the tone hammer/mic pre or even the onboard bass EQ. Do you go for a "standard" setting on the tl compressor and then do additional "tone compression" while mixing, or just the other way around.

I guess I could also ask: Where in the chain will you most often make the changes to adapt to the context?

Thanks,
-Christoph

hi christoph!

in most cases, i will only make eq adjustments on the bass, itself. the tone i am going for will almost always be satisfied by the choice of instrument coupled with my hand technique, so i will only make fine tuning adjustments on the instrument, itself if i need to. i try to keep everything else flat as much as possible. i use the same philosophy in live settings. my amps are almost always set flat, unless i need to accommodate significant acoustical differences from room to room. sometimes you have to fill voids due to construction of the stage, etc, etc... i'll generally set the compressor to a mild ratio, but at a large enough threshold so that it maintains some sensitivity. occasionally i will use a compressor to help model my tone, but i find that i mostly do that in rock and pop sessions...

[phillm47]

Recently purchased "Liminal", mainly due to this thread.

What a fantastic album! Thank Adam.

Glad you are selling a download through CD Baby for those of us who need "instant gratification"

[adamnitti]

thanks, phillm47!

[phillm47]

Originally Posted by adamnitti

thanks, phillm47!

Your welcome - but seriously, thanks for an inspirational album, and all the teaching/learning resources you provide!

I had the privilege to take a private lesson from you at Veasely's BBC '08 in regards to being root dependent. I got lost in the motel and was late for the lesson, but a great lesson it was.

Applying the sequences you taught in the group class at BBC, and working through your Jazz Improv I & II classes at Musicdojo, have really helped me grow as a musician. I'm still working the classes, but you know how it is:

A journey of a thousand miles starts with......a road map!

[adamnitti]

thanks again, phillm47. i remember our lesson well. hope to see ya at the next camp-

[Emre Hanli]

Hi all! First time poster

Adam, I don't know if CD Baby allows this but, do you ever consider releasing the scores too? I think Kai Eckhardt was planning to do it (not sure if he did). I've downloaded just one tune through his website and it came with lyrics as a pdf file.

Downloading your album was easy and I enjoy it a lot too but if only it came with the score sheets you know...

It's been a month I guess, and the mp3 files will break down if I don't get them out of my playlist anytime soon. Time to get your other albums I guess

[adamnitti]

hi emre-

yes, i would love to eventually offer the charts with the music. that's a great idea. i will add that to the 'to do' list. thanks so much for your support of the music!