a change in set up is as good as a holiday!!!

Working to a sound for home studio practice

So last week I went to flatwounds....all good....nothing against round wounds....just felt like going back to flats for a while...

reading lots of TB forums and got to figuring I spend a lot of time practicing my bass but have been very slack on developing my amp settings and tone....

rearranged the room and turned the markbass 112 traveller on its end and moved it a bit further away from the wall

pointed it an an angle across the room (the room is approx 3 metres square)

Turned the cab on its other end so the speaker is actually not at ground level....

mmm...still not happy......got my fender cloth...cut if off at the end and once twice three attempts and I had a mute...

mm...things starting to take shape....but not there yet....

pick, pick, pick...I have this insistence on using the pick...I always use to play fingers, for years, but got obsessed with having to improve my picking......

put the pick down....fingers....oh yeagh...that sounds sweeter...

mmm...fiddle fiddle...eq....keep it simple.....stand close, move away...fiddle fiddle, tweak tweak....oh finally...now that sounds more like what I am happy with....,

So this little story is how I finally decided to work at using my gear to find a sound that I am happy with for the room I spend most of my time practicing my bass in....

Yes yes it will all change when I walk outside and go somewhere else to rehearse or gig....

As for the felt mute....I use to think such a thing was ridiculous...until I discovered Carol Kaye.....and a few threads around TB.

I read somewhere she explained the early chrome covers had a felt insert back in the 60;s....

But a bit of fiddling and the mute with the flats, I think is really good but even better now I reverted to fingers.....

even more, I went onto Ebay and have the J bass chrome covers ordered and that will tidy up the mute so the guitar looks good...

I have no idea what my current set up will sound like in a recording situation but as far as the satisfaction factor for practice i am now very happy and with little outlay outside of some trial and effort.... Certainly beats contemplating more and more financial outlay for the sake of not paying enough attention as to what can be achieved with what I actually have...

Just one other little thing too....I use to always use really long leads and they always tangled up and it use to frustrate me...

Until one day I thought...why don't I go and buy a shorter lead...keeping in mind this is for a home practice and playing situation.....stupid as it sounds...the shorter lead never tangles...is long enough to move around the room and it offers one less hassle....

I seriously must be insane at times ...

Rossa

 

Momark 600 w frame (ss) and settings looking for a decent round bottom end fundamental in a 3 metre square home studio room without the fuzz, flat wound strings and finger style...