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Ambient/Post-Rock/Textural bass playing thread

#23,181
The other night I was in a Zoom meeting that was kind of boring and one of the board members was being particularly annoying. Sometimes he can really get to me, but I decided to just pull out my Grone and mess around - and record. I had the volume set pretty low - my mic was muted but didn't want to bother my wife either - so couldn't precisely hear what I was doing. But I went back and listened and there are a couple of things I kind of like - here's one:



I still need to experiment with putting something else through the Clouds module, but I'm slowly figuring it out. It's kind of cool how it works with a mono source and outputs stereo manipulations.
 
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#23,183
Played a gig last night, brought out the synths and bass w/pedals, all spacey and ambient stuff. Managed to play for a full hour and a half, first time I've ever had a set that long. I didn't realize I had that much material but as the set went on I just remembered one tune after another, sequences that were stored on my synths for a long time. Audience seemed to like it, so it was fun.

Then came the post-show blues, schlepping all that gear back to my truck and up the stairs in my house. Takes the better part of an hour to break it all down and load the truck, and another 15 minutes with multiple trips between the house and truck to unload. At the end of one of these nights I'm dead tired. Price I pay for going all hardware I guess.
 
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#23,185
Spectrum said:
Played a gig last night, brought out the synths and bass w/pedals, all spacey and ambient stuff. Managed to play for a full hour and a half, first time I've ever had a set that long. I didn't realize I had that much material but as the set went on I just remembered one tune after another, sequences that were stored on my synths for a long time. Audience seemed to like it, so it was fun.

Then came the post-show blues, schlepping all that gear back to my truck and up the stairs in my house. Takes the better part of an hour to break it all down and load the truck, and another 15 minutes with multiple trips between the house and truck to unload. At the end of one of these nights I'm dead tired. Price I pay for going all hardware I guess.
Click to expand...

This is part of why I’m hesitant about my next gig offer. My gut says BRING ALL THE GEAR but my brain says NO. I don’t feel like lugging my rig to DTLA and setting it up and hoping to replicate my home sounds. I’m inclined to bring the Maschine controller and a laptop and call that good enough.
 
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#23,188
monsterthompson said:
This is part of why I’m hesitant about my next gig offer. My gut says BRING ALL THE GEAR but my brain says NO. I don’t feel like lugging my rig to DTLA and setting it up and hoping to replicate my home sounds. I’m inclined to bring the Maschine controller and a laptop and call that good enough.
Click to expand...

The thought had occurred to me that since my PA has Bluetooth I could just play one of my recorded tracks off my phone and mime it on a simple rig. Who'd know the difference, right?

I mean, I feel like a poser no matter what I do, so I may as well go all out and enjoy the benefits of posing. If all those signed bands can get away with tons of backing tracks getting paid way more than I do, I figure I ought to be happy just bring a tape deck and stand off to the side of the stage picking my nose while my tracks play, right?

Oh, sorry, is my cynical face showing?

Besides, I paid for all this gear, I spent time learning how to play it, so I'm going to play it live even if I suck, dammit. (This is my stubborn face now.)

ETA: Don't be afraid to ask a buddy for help with your back issues. If I were there I'd lend a hand.
 
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#23,190
ugly_bassplayer said:
1h to pack up.
You’re a patient man.
Click to expand...

It's a lot of stuff, some of it quite heavy, and if I just toss it all in some milk crates it'll never get unf***ed when I get it home. I am thinking of ways to simplify it and make it easier to set up, take down, and transport but for now this is what I got.

Funny thing is when I started this electroic stuff I never planned to do shows or drag it outside my house. It was just a side hobby thing. Now I no longer have a band and this is what I do live. Weird.
 
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#23,191
Spectrum said:
The thought had occurred to me that since my PA has Bluetooth I could just play one of my recorded tracks off my phone and mime it on a simple rig. Who'd know the difference, right?

I mean, I feel like a poser no matter what I do, so I may as well go all out and enjoy the benefits of posing. If all those signed bands can get away with tons of backing tracks getting paid way more than I do, I figure I ought to be happy just bring a tape deck and stand off to the side of the stage picking my nose while my tracks play, right?

Oh, sorry, is my cynical face showing?

Besides, I paid for all this gear, I spent time learning how to play it, so I'm going to play it live even if I suck, dammit. (This is my stubborn face now.)

ETA: Don't be afraid to ask a buddy for help with your back issues. If I were there I'd lend a hand.
Click to expand...

Saw a great short IG Reel where a beat maker/producer said you need to think about your gigs as products or performances. Making a beat (or canned performance) is a product. You make it once and then produce copies for sale. Nothing says you can’t use you best tools to create that product. On the other hand producing a track (or live show) is a service and you need to put more time into creating unique occurrences. Neither is better or worse, but smart folks are aware of which they are engaged in at all times.

I’m sure there’s nuance but the big picture perspective is helpful.
 
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#23,192
Spectrum said:
Played a gig last night, brought out the synths and bass w/pedals, all spacey and ambient stuff. Managed to play for a full hour and a half, first time I've ever had a set that long. I didn't realize I had that much material but as the set went on I just remembered one tune after another, sequences that were stored on my synths for a long time. Audience seemed to like it, so it was fun.

Then came the post-show blues, schlepping all that gear back to my truck and up the stairs in my house. Takes the better part of an hour to break it all down and load the truck, and another 15 minutes with multiple trips between the house and truck to unload. At the end of one of these nights I'm dead tired. Price I pay for going all hardware I guess.
Click to expand...
I'm enjoying hearing about the experience. Great to hear that you had a successful gig - let's not forget that! A gig that's not a disaster can be considered "successful" but one where people appeared to enjoy it is definitely a success! I watched dj's perform recently and while I can appreciate what they do to a certain extent, the live creation of music is much more important to me.

I would think a balance could be reached between playing "pre-recorded" stuff and truly performing live. I've been making bass cover videos lately, and tried doing it in front of an audience - I would never have even considered such a thing pre-pandemic - it was a very supportive audience, but it still felt a bit like cheating! I should have worked more of my own electronic stuff into it but hindsight is 20/20...
 
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#23,193
hieronymous said:
I'm enjoying hearing about the experience. Great to hear that you had a successful gig - let's not forget that! A gig that's not a disaster can be considered "successful" but one where people appeared to enjoy it is definitely a success! I watched dj's perform recently and while I can appreciate what they do to a certain extent, the live creation of music is much more important to me.

I would think a balance could be reached between playing "pre-recorded" stuff and truly performing live. I've been making bass cover videos lately, and tried doing it in front of an audience - I would never have even considered such a thing pre-pandemic - it was a very supportive audience, but it still felt a bit like cheating! I should have worked more of my own electronic stuff into it but hindsight is 20/20...
Click to expand...

It was a great gig. The venue is a space-themed brewery whose owner is a huge Pink Floyd fan and likes the spacey stuff. I think I (or "we" when my thereminist bandmate is there, the owner and audience really like her) am building a small following.

And while I gripe about things, the fact is that the experience gained is a good thing. So I guess I should shut up and bask in it for a little while.
 
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#23,194
Spectrum said:
It was a great gig. The venue is a space-themed brewery whose owner is a huge Pink Floyd fan and likes the spacey stuff. I think I (or "we" when my thereminist bandmate is there, the owner and audience really like her) am building a small following.

And while I gripe about things, the fact is that the experience gained is a good thing. So I guess I should shut up and bask in it for a little while.
Click to expand...
Hey, this is the place to complain if you want! Where else can you address people who have loaded in and out, waited for soundcheck, waited for showtime, lugged gear, etc. sounds like a great gig! Definitely worth lugging the “expanded” setup.
 
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