ever had one of those nights...

[fingers]

...where every note sounds out of tune?

[christ andronis]

Originally Posted by fingers

...where every note sounds out of tune?

Yep....I actually think it's because my hands aren't as stretched out as they should be cause of the cold. Once I warm up a little it seems to get better but yeah, it sucks some nights.

Do you feel that your bass sounds better (maybe resonates is a better word) in this arctic weather we've been having? I swear that last weekend for the first time my bass was projecting better than ever in a fairly good sized room with no amplification. I was stunned.

[fingers]

My bass does sound better though this past Saturday I left my main bass at home and took by plywood backup. The gig was in a bar and when I left it was -10 according to a bank sign I saw. Thankfully the weather didn't seem to curb society's alcohol consumption. The place was packed.

If I bring my carved bass I try to get there an hour before the hit to let it acclimate to the room. Then the only tuning problems are mine and not the bass's.

[Chris Fitzgerald]

I go through periods where I feel my entire musical life is a series of those nights, then through other periods where intonation seems much better. I have a phobia about playing flat, so I try to never do that. When I'm able to physically cope with my strings being up nice and high, my intonation is always better because the strings speak quicker and (due to the increased tension, I guess?) don't seem to go sharp and then settle back down as much when I really dig in. *

I've always hated low tension strings because they always seem to have that sharpness-on-the-initial-attack-sinking-to-flatness-on-the-sustain thing going, and it fluctuates depending on how hard you're digging. I love the sound of guts but hate playing them because I can't hear pitch quickly enough to intonate well. On the detour about colder weather....YES! My bass roars when it's dry and gets a bit soggy and muffled sounding when it's humid.


*Techies/Lluthiers/smart science dudes: is there any physical justification for this last bit, or is this psycho acoustics on my part?

[christ andronis]

Originally Posted by Chris Fitzgerald

I go through periods where I feel my entire musical life is a series of those nights, then through other periods where intonation seems much better. I have a phobia about playing flat, so I try to never do that. When I'm able to physically cope with my strings being up nice and high, my intonation is always better because the strings speak quicker and (due to the increased tension, I guess?) don't seem to go sharp and then settle back down as much when I really dig in. *

I've always hated low tension strings because they always seem to have that sharpness-on-the-initial-attack-sinking-to-flatness-on-the-sustain thing going, and it fluctuates depending on how hard you're digging. I love the sound of guts but hate playing them because I can't hear pitch quickly enough to intonate well. On the detour about colder weather....YES! My bass roars when it's dry and gets a bit soggy and muffled sounding when it's humid.


*Techies/Lluthiers/smart science dudes: is there any physical justification for this last bit, or is this psycho acoustics on my part?

I am by no means a science dude/techie but I think I read in one of the posts on this forum that because of the cold, the body contracts and tightens the sound post thereby letting the whole bass resonate more. I'm paraphrasing here but it made sense to me and I definitely can hear a difference which is ultimately what i go by.

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Christ - I agree about the cold weather; I meant for the little question for the smart dudes to refer to the increased tensin lessening the "sharp-on-attack-then-settling-flat" syndrome in the first paragraph. I've always wondered if this was a real phenomenon or just my imagination.

[christ andronis]

Originally Posted by Chris Fitzgerald

Christ - I agree about the cold weather; I meant for the little question for the smart dudes to refer to the increased tensin lessening the "sharp-on-attack-then-settling-flat" syndrome in the first paragraph. I've always wondered if this was a real phenomenon or just my imagination.

I don't think it's your imagination. I've spoken to other players who've experienced the same thing. Do you think that varying degrees of how hard you're pulling the string might also affect it? I've noticed that with the Dominants. A lighter touch gives me a better all around tone (pitch wise) but it seems I sacrifice a little bit of body by doing so. There is a happy medium, just hard to do it consistently. i guess this is just one of the reasons practice is important, eh?

[Damon Rondeau]

Originally Posted by Chris Fitzgerald

I meant for the little question for the smart dudes to refer to the increased tensin lessening the "sharp-on-attack-then-settling-flat" syndrome in the first paragraph. I've always wondered if this was a real phenomenon or just my imagination.

Yesterday I spent 4 hours with some multi-tracked country stuff, going through it doing intonation corrections (not just on my tracks!) and I think this is a very interesting question. I can definitely see the pitch moving from sharp to flat on a lot of my notes. Some notes seem more likely to suffer this fate than others -- for example, it's almost impossible for me to play a clean low F# on the E string right now. The sound that comes out just isn't cleanly intonated at all. There's something going on there with the strings that I don't understand.

[mje]

Originally Posted by fingers

...where every note sounds out of tune?

Yeah, Saturday night was like that. And I was playing drums ;-)

[fingers]

Originally Posted by mje

Yeah, Saturday night was like that. And I was playing drums ;-)

Ha!!!

It is an interesting phenomenon. The last time it happened was about two weeks ago. It doesn't mean that I haven't been out of tune since, quite to the contrary, but that night almost every note sounded off. I even broke down and got out my electric tuner to check my tuning which I rarely do. It was driving me nuts. The gig was four hours with short breaks too. Needless to say I had a big headache by the end.

[mje]

Seriously, having a little fluid in your sinuses seems to really throw off your pitch perception- maybe DRURB has some data on this. If I have a slight cold, I can't hear anything right. Drives me nuts.

[TimoMetzemakers]

Originally Posted by Chris Fitzgerald

Techies/Lluthiers/smart science dudes: is there any physical justification for this last bit, or is this psycho acoustics on my part?

I'm by no means one of those enlightened people but I have the same feeling.

I have a tendency to play a bit sharp, especially in half/first position and when I'm tired. I suspect that it's gravity at work, but there are days where I notice it more than others, and it really gets on my nerves. Speaking of which, gotta go practice.

[arto alho]

I think the place where I´m playing has a huge influence to my hearing
and intonation. There are bad nights of course, but there are also bad venues.

[kurtsnyder]

I experience this from time to time myself, and I think it happens more to me than you guys. I have only been studying for about 6 months. Sometimes when I practice I get so pissed off because my intonation sucks. I keep getting more and more frustrated and sometime quit practincing all together. My teacher said all musicians have off times. That made me feel better and also knowing you guys have the same problems.

[fingers]

I remember I was taking lessons from a first call pro here in Chicago and he asked me...

"What do you feel you need to work on the most?"

I answered, "My intonation"

He responded, "Don't we all"

Good intonation on DB is hard. Simple as that.

[christ andronis]

Originally Posted by fingers

I remember I was taking lessons from a first call pro here in Chicago and he asked me...

"What do you feel you need to work on the most?"

I answered, "My intonation"

He responded, "Don't we all"

Good intonation on DB is hard. Simple as that.

yep!

[Mike Goodbar]

Originally Posted by fingers

I remember I was taking lessons from a first call pro here in Chicago...

Larry G?

[fingers]

Nope, but he's a great player. I hope to study with him someday soon.

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Originally Posted by fingers

I remember I was taking lessons from a first call pro here in Chicago and he asked me...

"What do you feel you need to work on the most?"

I answered, "My intonation"

He responded, "Don't we all"

Good intonation on DB is hard. Simple as that.

Amen. It's the issue for me on DB. If I'm hearing well and playing in tune, anything is possible. If not, it's gonna be a long night. Having that little Edirol unit has been a real kick in the backside for helping me understand the kinds of situations and styles that really make me struggle the most with the intonation monster. If a cut has out of tune bass on it, it almost always ruins it for me.

[christ andronis]

Originally Posted by Mike Goodbar

Larry G?

I've had a few lessons with him and I'm getting ready to start up again. He lives about 6 blocks from me which makes it darn convenient.