Ambient/Post-Rock/Textural bass playing thread

[dukeorock]

Since I took this anyway for other reasons, I figure why not post it here. I mean, we all like gear photos right?

Qu-Bit Nebulae and Surface are on the way from that deal they ran. After that, my 2023 limitations begin.

Very nice setup! mine is fairly humble.

and a way to say goodbye to 2022:

Fantastic!

Really digging this:

Good work!

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

Since I took this anyway for other reasons, I figure why not post it here. I mean, we all like gear photos right?

Qu-Bit Nebulae and Surface are on the way from that deal they ran. After that, my 2023 limitations begin.

View attachment 4919389 Just got a new light for “the array” and my wife snapped a photo. The only reason it’s orderly is because it’s freshly rearranged. It will soon be chaos again.

Speaking of her, tonight we finished solid draft mixes of our record. Now to check it out on some other systems.

We have been on winter break, which has most involved rest and sleep for me. Also a lot of cooking, eating, and puttering. We went to the “Basquiat and Music” exhibit at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts this week. I was super sceptical, but that meant I was pleasantly surprised. It really captured a sense of the New York scene at the time. And it was cool to see some of his work up close. I was disappointed that they sort of whitewashed the effects of addiction on him and others around him, but that’s another story.

I haven’t listed favs for this year. It’s been a weird year for me musically. I have been spending about an hour a day, usually in the middle of the night, listening to drones, ambient music, and other related stuff. A bunch are things I’ve probably in this thread already mentioned: Insomniac Hotel Zazen, Keith Fullerton Whitman STS, Elaine Radigue Feedback Works, Eleh, Lawrence English, Loscil, Zimoun Guitar Studies, Monolake Gobi. And @Starthief ’s feedback record has made it into that rotation.

In the daytime, I also liked Russian Circles Gnosis. Elder’s last two records. Jeff Parker Forfolks. Blessed Circuitous. Mizmor and Thou Myopia. Hannah Peel. Lots of Malaya McCraven. Rachel Eckroth the Garden. My wife’s favourite record right now is Failure Wild Type Droid so I hear that a lot. There’s a ton more but I am out of gas.

I hear the “I don’t listen to music when I’m composing” from a lot of musician friends, but my first art is writing, where it’s all about reading others. And that carries over to my music, though I seem to finish far fewer records than @steubig and others, so make of that what you will. Two EPS from the dad rock band and a full length record with my wife isn’t a bad harvest for 2022.

I definitely need more gear……wow those set ups are awesome

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

Very nice setup! mine is fairly humble.
View attachment 4919727



Fantastic!


Good work!

sick set up, seems very efficient.

 

[lucas303]

Very nice setup! mine is fairly humble.
View attachment 4919727

Is that four Nano modules in a row? Which ones?

 

[steubig]

View attachment 4919389 Just got a new light for “the array” and my wife snapped a photo. The only reason it’s orderly is because it’s freshly rearranged. It will soon be chaos again.

Speaking of her, tonight we finished solid draft mixes of our record. Now to check it out on some other systems.

We have been on winter break, which has most involved rest and sleep for me. Also a lot of cooking, eating, and puttering. We went to the “Basquiat and Music” exhibit at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts this week. I was super sceptical, but that meant I was pleasantly surprised. It really captured a sense of the New York scene at the time. And it was cool to see some of his work up close. I was disappointed that they sort of whitewashed the effects of addiction on him and others around him, but that’s another story.

I haven’t listed favs for this year. It’s been a weird year for me musically. I have been spending about an hour a day, usually in the middle of the night, listening to drones, ambient music, and other related stuff. A bunch are things I’ve probably in this thread already mentioned: Insomniac Hotel Zazen, Keith Fullerton Whitman STS, Elaine Radigue Feedback Works, Eleh, Lawrence English, Loscil, Zimoun Guitar Studies, Monolake Gobi. And @Starthief ’s feedback record has made it into that rotation.

In the daytime, I also liked Russian Circles Gnosis. Elder’s last two records. Jeff Parker Forfolks. Blessed Circuitous. Mizmor and Thou Myopia. Hannah Peel. Lots of Malaya McCraven. Rachel Eckroth the Garden. My wife’s favourite record right now is Failure Wild Type Droid so I hear that a lot. There’s a ton more but I am out of gas.

I hear the “I don’t listen to music when I’m composing” from a lot of musician friends, but my first art is writing, where it’s all about reading others. And that carries over to my music, though I seem to finish far fewer records than @steubig and others, so make of that what you will. Two EPS from the dad rock band and a full length record with my wife isn’t a bad harvest for 2022.

pretty setup. too neat.

congrats on the (draft?) mixes. hope they bring you closer to the finals>

sometimes it's just nice to see art. makes me conceive of things in my practice differently.

you've got some output to show for the last year. plus you have a serious and useful job. i've designed my life so the job is a means to the "art life" and is not something i care too much about.

i'm been committed to creating output the last few years. seemed like a good survival strategy. (but i've always been what a friend called "quietly prolific" . . . not to say "good").

part of my thing is that i probably listened to different sections of that last piece hundreds of times and the whole thing dozens of times and then i need to let things gestate. there's not enough bandwidth left for serious listening (car listening, etc., is different).

 

[steubig]

Three interesting things happened today:

1. My new roof started leaking in the morning. Fortunately the company was really responsive and did a quick fix that worked - good thing, because it is raining pretty hard through the night here in the SF Bay Area.

2. For some reason ended up listening to some Tetsu Inoue - World Receiver - was reminded that he had disappeared after his last album in 2007 - Pete Namlook was trying to find him to give him money from album sales, but then he (Namlook) died in 2012. Kind of eerie... (Story told at the bottom of this page)



3. Then a tree fell outside - not a huge one, but big enough to shake the ground a little bit and make some noise. Turns out it's a neighbor's tree but fell on my property. Doesn't look like anything of mine was damaged (neighbor's new fence got trashed though). We need the rain, but it has its downsides...

Throughout it all, I'm enjoying people's music, gear shots, and aspirations for 2023!

sorry about the roof, etc.. i'm seeing a lot of that from my friends up north.

thanks for the music/story link.

 

[steubig]

Very nice setup! mine is fairly humble.
View attachment 4919727



Fantastic!


Good work!

i recall that you get some good things out of that "humble setup."

thanks for listening and kind words.

 

[dukeorock]

sick set up, seems very efficient.

it is reasonably efficient, I think

Is that four Nano modules in a row? Which ones?

2x Ona VCO’s. They sound great, look nice and are very affordable.

1x Font. VCF. Super clean, nothing fancy. Sounds reasonably thick, but I nearly always use either my L-1 DDVCF or ThreeTom MS-22 instead

1x Quart(?) - I think that’s what it’s called. 4 channel envelope or LFO. Again, works very well, but I still tend to use a Doepfer ADSR for more control and for modulation I have Just Friends (amazing), Noise Tools and that DivKid/Instruo LFO. I sometimes use Just Friends as a VCO and may use the Quart for modulation.

All in all, I think the Nano stuff is well built, works well and I got all four modules for like $500. One of the best ‘values’ in eurorack.

 

[lucas303]

it is reasonably efficient, I think



2x Ona VCO’s. They sound great, look nice and are very affordable.

1x Font. VCF. Super clean, nothing fancy. Sounds reasonably thick, but I nearly always use either my L-1 DDVCF or ThreeTom MS-22 instead

1x Quart(?) - I think that’s what it’s called. 4 channel envelope or LFO. Again, works very well, but I still tend to use a Doepfer ADSR for more control and for modulation I have Just Friends (amazing), Noise Tools and that DivKid/Instruo LFO. I sometimes use Just Friends as a VCO and may use the Quart for modulation.

All in all, I think the Nano stuff is well built, works well and I got all four modules for like $500. One of the best ‘values’ in eurorack.

I only have the Font but I agree about the value. I like the Font a lot when I want a "soft" filter.

 

[dukeorock]

How about a cheesy “Best Gear Purchases of 2022?”

1. Elektron Syntakt- it’s like a ‘best of Elektron’ piece. Sounds great, the sequencer is fantastic, lots of cool live possibilities. I think it’s amazing.

2. Oxi One- it’s now my master clock and eurorack/EssenceFM sequencer. I really need to learn it better, but it’s terrific.

3. Instruo Arbhar- adds tons of stereo interest and can be either super weird, or just a nice bit of fairy dust underneath a part.

4. Bergantino Forte’ HD- sounds great, tons of power and super light.

5. Nano Modules- great bang for the buck and they look kind of awesome too.

6. ThreeTom Steve’s MS-22 Filter- absolutely bonkers, I love it.

7. Bastl Pizza VCO- found one on sale and decided to try it out. Very digital, but super responsive and I love the sound

 

[steubig]

How about a cheesy “Best Gear Purchases of 2022?”

1. Elektron Syntakt- it’s like a ‘best of Elektron’ piece. Sounds great, the sequencer is fantastic, lots of cool live possibilities. I think it’s amazing.

2. Oxi One- it’s now my master clock and eurorack/EssenceFM sequencer. I really need to learn it better, but it’s terrific.

3. Instruo Arbhar- adds tons of stereo interest and can be either super weird, or just a nice bit of fairy dust underneath a part.

4. Bergantino Forte’ HD- sounds great, tons of power and super light.

5. Nano Modules- great bang for the buck and they look kind of awesome too.

6. ThreeTom Steve’s MS-22 Filter- absolutely bonkers, I love it.

7. Bastl Pizza VCO- found one on sale and decided to try it out. Very digital, but super responsive and I love the sound

the arbhar is great. wish it were stereo i/o.

i'm interested in the forte, but would need to hear myself through it, sell some (!) gear and have some gigs to play it on . . .

i have bought too much crap this year. ugh.

 

[steubig]

mashing up the too much gear bought plus synth setup pics mini threads:

more gear than sense.

 

[dukeorock]

I only have the Font but I agree about the value. I like the Font a lot when I want a "soft" filter.

Same!

mashing up the too much gear bought plus synth setup pics mini threads:

View attachment 4919885

more gear than sense.

Whoah…nice setup!

 

[lucas303]

mashing up the too much gear bought plus synth setup pics mini threads:

View attachment 4919885

more gear than sense.

Nice! But dust off those Hydras

 

[steubig]

entropy is my middle name

 

[dukeorock]

entropy is my middle name

I don’t think that’s true

 

[steubig]

I don’t think that’s true

metaphorically.

my true middle name almost rhymes with it. does that count?

 

[dukeorock]

metaphorically.

my true middle name almost rhymes with it. does that count?

Judges?

 

[steubig]

Judges?

lol

 

[Spectrum]

Since we are showing off our rigs, I guess I'll show off my spare bedroom janky mix of amateur and pro gear arranged in an amateur manner. Some of these things get swapped in and out often, of course.

Everyone else's setup always looks so much better put together than mine, even when yours is just a bunch of stuff on a table. What do we call that? Rig anxiety?

The star of the show here is the Minimoog Voyager on the right, of which I am the caretaker, and have recently been using more often since it sounds like a real Moog. I still haven't decoded the patching system, yet, since it's integrated with the preset menu and I have the smooth brain.