Ambient/Post-Rock/Textural bass playing thread

[monsterthompson]

i love telling other people how to pend their money.

I find that being disconnected from the money (as in it isn’t your money being spent) can wildly shift how you think about certain transactions. I wish I could partition my brain so that I could give myself the feedback I’d get from someone else when I’m contemplating certain purchases. I’m notorious for dragging out decisions and telling many friends about my frivolous potential purchases. I think I do that to gather external perspective and somehow get comfortable with a purchase before I make it. It helps hearing “that sounds like fun” or “you’re being ridiculous” but I often find that hearing how others view a purchase can solidify why I want a thing (or why I don’t).

 

[lordradish]

View attachment 5010186

Aw, man. Good way to stay single.

 

[lordradish]

This coffee table ships today.

 

[JES]

Started writing some new music after a break. This track probably needs a good bit carved out of it. There’s probably too much going on.
I find after a break you’ve loads of ideas coming to throw at a track and they get a little more subdued (tasteful) as you go on.

I used the Count to Five pedal a bit in this one with the bass chords.

Other bass parts were played on Serum.

feedback welcome.
It’s not nearly finished

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And another.

Loving the IDM vibes in these two. The beats are especially pleasing to me. Beyond that it's hard to know what to recommend because it's your aesthetic, not mine. As @steubig would say, what's the intention?

 

[JES]

This coffee table ships today.
View attachment 5012564

Nice! Who made it?

build it and you will play.

I call this rack "2014" even though there are some newer modules. The Freak shift is way too deep for any modern case but it's an analog frequency shifter. Clouds and Peaks have states where the knobs don't match what's happening, and Linix has trimmers but they're not to close together. Whatever, this is a first shot. I spent some time with it Sat and Sun and forgot how much I love the sound of the Atlantis. I just wish it was, well, bigger for more throw on the sliders. With the Ultrafold on the sine, the variety is quite something. For extra realism I broke out my old QuNexus, which is actually a ton of fun; it's just no Linnstrument.

I'm actually going to use the Atlantis for a recording session in early May, so this isn't all theoretical.

I also moved some stuff around on my other rack, but I'm awaiting a couple modules for that transformation to be complete.

Fortunately/unfortunately for me, an Easel Command is for sale in the suburbs for a relatively good price. Though I'm noticing they can be hard to move on if you don't want them. I may offer the guy $50 to sit with it for a couple hours to try it out with my stuff and see if I actually like it better.

 

[Bob_Ross]

i love telling other people how to spend their money.

[QUOTE="monsterthompson, post: 27347995, member: 131803"]I find that being disconnected from the money (as in it isn’t your money being spent) can wildly shift how you think about certain transactions. [/QUOTE]

steubig's comment reminds me of a quote by Arthor Weinstein on why he enjoys being a composer: "Telling people what to do is its own reward." :)

To me the whole idea of making gear recommendations absent a budget is almost as ludicrous as making gear recommendations [I]with[/I] a budget. It just seems like Damned If Ya Do, Damned If Ya Don't:

Invariable there are thirty bazillion internet posts on forums such as this one asking What's The Best Blah-De-Blah-Blah [insert name of any gizmo] To Get This Type Of Sound? and then 3 or 12 posts into the thread the OP says "oh, yeah, but my budget is only $100" and I punch a wall and wonder why I bothered even reading the thread. Seriously kids, INCLUDE THAT INFO IN THE OP! PREFERABLY IN THE THREAD TITLE!!!

But the flip side is, I have a hard time keeping the money aspect in mind when thinking about and/or recommending gear. I realize that's because I may take for granted that I'm in an enviable position with my personal finances and not everyone can drop twenty gazillabucks on a stompbox at the drop of a hat...but I also think the budget issue might pollute or corrupt the purity (!) of the discussion. Hey, you wanted to know What's The Best Blah-De-Blah-Blah To Get This Type Of Sound? [I]Here's the answer.[/I] Whether or not you can [I]afford[/I] the The Best Blah-De-Blah-Blah is a totally separate issue.

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

steubig's comment reminds me of a quote by Arthor Weinstein on why he enjoys being a composer: "Telling people what to do is its own reward." :)

To me the whole idea of making gear recommendations absent a budget is almost as ludicrous as making gear recommendations [I]with[/I] a budget. It just seems like Damned If Ya Do, Damned If Ya Don't:

Invariable there are thirty bazillion internet posts on forums such as this one asking What's The Best Blah-De-Blah-Blah [insert name of any gizmo] To Get This Type Of Sound? and then 3 or 12 posts into the thread the OP says "oh, yeah, but my budget is only $100" and I punch a wall and wonder why I bothered even reading the thread. Seriously kids, INCLUDE THAT INFO IN THE OP! PREFERABLY IN THE THREAD TITLE!!!

But the flip side is, I have a hard time keeping the money aspect in mind when thinking about and/or recommending gear. I realize that's because I may take for granted that I'm in an enviable position with my personal finances and not everyone can drop twenty gazillabucks on a stompbox at the drop of a hat...but I also think the budget issue might pollute or corrupt the purity (!) of the discussion. Hey, you wanted to know What's The Best Blah-De-Blah-Blah To Get This Type Of Sound? [I]Here's the answer.[/I] Whether or not you can [I]afford[/I] the The Best Blah-De-Blah-Blah is a totally separate issue.

Step 1: Buy Gear
Step 2:……..
Step 3: Profit

 

[Bob_Ross]

Step 2 is "punch wall" no?

 

[lordradish]

Nice! Who made it?

Cliff Bordwell, the same guy who made my 6 in my avatar.

 

[lordradish]

steubig's comment reminds me of a quote by Arthor Weinstein on why he enjoys being a composer: "Telling people what to do is its own reward." :)

To me the whole idea of making gear recommendations absent a budget is almost as ludicrous as making gear recommendations [I]with[/I] a budget. It just seems like Damned If Ya Do, Damned If Ya Don't:

Invariable there are thirty bazillion internet posts on forums such as this one asking What's The Best Blah-De-Blah-Blah [insert name of any gizmo] To Get This Type Of Sound? and then 3 or 12 posts into the thread the OP says "oh, yeah, but my budget is only $100" and I punch a wall and wonder why I bothered even reading the thread. Seriously kids, INCLUDE THAT INFO IN THE OP! PREFERABLY IN THE THREAD TITLE!!!

But the flip side is, I have a hard time keeping the money aspect in mind when thinking about and/or recommending gear. I realize that's because I may take for granted that I'm in an enviable position with my personal finances and not everyone can drop twenty gazillabucks on a stompbox at the drop of a hat...but I also think the budget issue might pollute or corrupt the purity (!) of the discussion. Hey, you wanted to know What's The Best Blah-De-Blah-Blah To Get This Type Of Sound? [I]Here's the answer.[/I] Whether or not you can [I]afford[/I] the The Best Blah-De-Blah-Blah is a totally separate issue.

I love it when someone's asking what's good, I tell em a Wal or something else ridiculous and they are on a budget for a used Squier. Makes me look like an ass.

 

[steubig]

a quote by Arthor Weinstein on why he enjoys being a composer: "Telling people what to do is its own reward." :)

reminds me of a conversation i had with a friend recently.

i said that composers seemed like an emperor.

he said that what i was doing with these long-form pieces was also like being an emperor, which didn't seem quite right to me.

a few weeks passed and i saw him again.

i told that what i was doing didn't make me an emperor . . . it made me a god.

 

[monsterthompson]

steubig's comment reminds me of a quote by Arthor Weinstein on why he enjoys being a composer: "Telling people what to do is its own reward." :)

To me the whole idea of making gear recommendations absent a budget is almost as ludicrous as making gear recommendations [I]with[/I] a budget. It just seems like Damned If Ya Do, Damned If Ya Don't:

Invariable there are thirty bazillion internet posts on forums such as this one asking What's The Best Blah-De-Blah-Blah [insert name of any gizmo] To Get This Type Of Sound? and then 3 or 12 posts into the thread the OP says "oh, yeah, but my budget is only $100" and I punch a wall and wonder why I bothered even reading the thread. Seriously kids, INCLUDE THAT INFO IN THE OP! PREFERABLY IN THE THREAD TITLE!!!

But the flip side is, I have a hard time keeping the money aspect in mind when thinking about and/or recommending gear. I realize that's because I may take for granted that I'm in an enviable position with my personal finances and not everyone can drop twenty gazillabucks on a stompbox at the drop of a hat...but I also think the budget issue might pollute or corrupt the purity (!) of the discussion. Hey, you wanted to know What's The Best Blah-De-Blah-Blah To Get This Type Of Sound? [I]Here's the answer.[/I] Whether or not you can [I]afford[/I] the The Best Blah-De-Blah-Blah is a totally separate issue.

I find threads on TB often boil down to a few arguments which oversimplify the situation. Generally it is something like:

• That item is overpriced and you should buy a cheaper alternative.
• That item is overpriced and you should buy used.
• If you have the money you should buy what you want.
• That item is worth its weight in gold and you should get it at all costs.

What I find interesting is the additional personal friction points which can't easily be captured in a post/thread and are unique to each individual. I'm going through this now, and if it was as simple as "I have the money and the thing exists so I will buy the thing" then I'd have a new thing now. What often gets missed are issues like:

• That thing isn't available in my region.
• For that price I want to play the thing first, but there are no local shops around with that inventory.
• I don't have storage space for the thing.
• If I buy a new thing I then I need a new accessory (new pedal = new power supply, new bass = new case, etc.)
• To buy the thing I need to sell another thing and that's a headache.
• I might've had a large personal expense recently (car, vacation, medical).
• If I add the new thing to my collection then I have to make choices about which things I want to use (can't play 2 basses at once).
• Various other internal/personal struggles.

 

[Colum]

Loving the IDM vibes in these two. The beats are especially pleasing to me. Beyond that it's hard to know what to recommend because it's your aesthetic, not mine. As @steubig would say, what's the intention?

Thanks.
I suppose the intention is always to do something different than I've done before and still have soul.
Aside from that the intention is the process and once it's finished I'm done with it.

Does anyone here have any experience with these?
There's one available near me 2nd hand.
I don't want to get dragged down a eurorack rabbit hole though!

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[hieronymous]

@hieronymous

4 days! hard in our society. we had one that last 14 hours and it really brought home how much we rely on this stuff.

6-string fretless is the sh!t. get it. you might be surprised about how expressive a high c can be.

on long loop: hydrasynth. their new firmware has some great stuff and they update quite a bit.

i love telling other people how to pend their money.

Well, I totally missed this post too, despite having power! I will say that having a comfortable office with power, internet, etc. made it infinitely more bearable - I am very fortunate.

My G.A.S. for the 6-string fretless has already been assuaged - your post actually helps because reading it doesn't reawaken the G.A.S. which to me shows that it truly has left me, if that makes sense. I had an Ibanez SR506 for a long time - even had my Alembic 5-string tuned EADGC - both showed me that I'm happy with the G string being my highest string!

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

Thanks.
I suppose the intention is always to do something different than I've done before and still have soul.
Aside from that the intention is the process and once it's finished I'm done with it.

Does anyone here have any experience with these?
There's one available near me 2nd hand.
I don't want to get dragged down a eurorack rabbit hole though!

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Down you go Alice.

 

[monsterthompson]

Thanks.
I suppose the intention is always to do something different than I've done before and still have soul.
Aside from that the intention is the process and once it's finished I'm done with it.

Does anyone here have any experience with these?
There's one available near me 2nd hand.
I don't want to get dragged down a eurorack rabbit hole though!

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I had one, which @steubig bought, so we can speak on the topic. Any specific questions?

 

[steubig]

Thanks.
I suppose the intention is always to do something different than I've done before and still have soul.
Aside from that the intention is the process and once it's finished I'm done with it.

Does anyone here have any experience with these?
There's one available near me 2nd hand.
I don't want to get dragged down a eurorack rabbit hole though!

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total gateway drug. i went from a puff to full-on addiction about two months.

i like mine.

i think it depends on what you’re looking for. polyphony? no. interesting sounds with some good cv control? yes. the fact that you may want other stuff to interact with? most likely. midi? yes, from din to trs adaptor (not something i use).

 

[Colum]

I had one, which @steubig bought, so we can speak on the topic. Any specific questions?

No specific questions really. I’ve looked at all the specs.
More a general opinion or if there’s anything better now?
I figure it would be great for the experimental stuff but tone wise is it a good monosynth for tracking?
Bass sounds, melodies etc

 

[Colum]

total gateway drug. i went from a puff to full-on addiction about two months.

i like mine.

i think it depends on what you’re looking for. polyphony? no. interesting sounds with some good cv control? yes. the fact that you may want other stuff to interact with? most likely. midi? yes, from din to trs adaptor (not something i use).

It will be mostly interacting with the computer. I would like it to do a few things well aside from the experimental stuff. Space is at more of a premium for me than cash (which still is obviously) so I like any hardware I add to be somewhat utilitarian and cover a bit of ground sonically. It’s why I mostly work in the box. I do design work in the same space as music and I need a clear headspace for it. The cables always start taking over and stressing me out without realizing.

My workspace at its tidiest:

 

[Starthief]

Clouds and Peaks have states where the knobs don't match what's happening

That drove me crazy about Peaks. It pushed me to switch to Ornament & Crime. That one drove me crazy after a while for other reasons and I wound up with analog function generators instead, but didn't learn my lesson about knob-per-function until many mistakes later.

I never had an OG Clouds -- I felt like I'd had enough of granular in VST-land I guess, and I let the stupid meme about "Rings into Clouds" convince me I shouldn't get one. By the time I changed my mind, I wound up with a Supercell instead, found it was kind of overkill, and was about to switch to a Typhoon when Emilie invited me to the Beads beta.

Thanks.
Does anyone here have any experience with these?

I had an 0-Coast for a while. It's a very neat little synth in a fun package. I'd have kept it, but I was picky about the wavefolder and LPG which were less to my tastes than some other options out there, and I was otherwise duplicating its features in my Eurorack case anyway. On the other hand, the Strega and 0-Ctrl are nearly perfect for me.