Ambient/Post-Rock/Textural bass playing thread

[hieronymous]

In recording news, I think I'm coming to grips with Reaper - did end up doing some bass overdub on the DFAM/Subharmonicon thing I did last week. The Alembic didn't work as well as I'd hoped, and rather than experiment, I switched to my 1976 Rick 4001 in glorious Rick-O-Sound! Managed to get a couple of clips out of it - audio & video - messed with the sounds in Reaper, mostly with the Moogerfooger plug-ins. Fed the mix out through Strymon BlueSky for reverb into H6 to make an mp3. This first take though is without reverb - I accidentally used the dry track (still with the Moog stuff tho). I've only put it on Instagram so far, plan to do a couple of YouTube shorts later this week. (Can't share here because it's a "reel" instead of a regular post - catch up TB lol)

Which brings me to social media news - YouTube shorts - I think I got kinda addicted - I could pretty easily put up a couple of bass cover videos a week and get consistent results - almost 100 views of a regular videos, 1000+ of shorts. But this past week, I did some Geezer Butler/Sabbath covers, and they bombed - successively worse each time! So I think that was a sign to do something else - balance out the covers with original music, etc. I've been letting that side slide - not that I want to get on a regular schedule, but the bass covers were sapping my creativity.

I learned a lot from this past week or so - as much as I was trying to be "compositional" in my improvised performance with the DFAM/SubH, it didn't necessarily work with the bass. I backed off too much on the highs with the DFAM for example and lost my place occasionally. Would still love to be able to manipulate the filter frequency on the DFAM with an external LFO. Maybe need to play it through an outboard filter as well? Hey, I've got a Frostwave Resonator with the MS20 filter design - maybe try that next, more for a "live" performance.

Sorry for the wall of text!

i would update.

imo, the hydra is a lot of fun to program and has lots of potential in it.

Thanks for the encouragement - I updated it today! Was nice to dig up that MIDI cable - discovered I had a forgotten adaptor on it! Was wondering where that went...

 

[monsterthompson]

Off topic
I was going PM @steubig about this, but figured the rest of the class might be interested.

I just found Tim’s Vermeer on Hulu and started watching it. It’s one man’s attempt to recreate The Music Room by Vermeer and figure out how Vermeer might’ve used optics technology to create his art.

In a broader sense, it’s interesting to see how someone approaches and deconstructs an artistic and creative process.

 

[monsterthompson]

Just keep plugging away.

 

[steubig]

Off topic
I was going PM @steubig about this, but figured the rest of the class might be interested.

I just found Tim’s Vermeer on Hulu and started watching it. It’s one man’s attempt to recreate The Music Room by Vermeer and figure out how Vermeer might’ve used optics technology to create his art.

In a broader sense, it’s interesting to see how someone approaches and deconstructs an artistic and creative process.

re deconstruction and reassembling. at times i’ve been really intrigued by the idea of repurposing of old forms.

one of my fave examples is “las meninas” on the left velasquez’s original, on the right picasso’s reimagining.

 

[steubig]

But I've got things going. I won't inundate you with experiments but this is one direction I'm heading with this project. I have @steubig 's "what's the intention?" in my mind, and the answer is some kind of minimalish melody + ostinato, depart and return thing, as a contrast to the group of drones I'll be releasing as soon as I choose an artist name (very hard!).

circling back to this . . .

sometimes my "intention" of late has been to screw around and hope for the best.

so... a series of experimentations with a common core and then layering crap on top of it.

and . . . i've foolishly decided to do a solo bass gig in a few weeks (no pedals), so my intention in my practicing for that is to get my chops and idea up to not suck too badly.

 

[steubig]

and i'm pretty much convinced that this i most likely (for good or bad) the wackiest thread on this site.

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

i've foolishly decided to do a solo bass gig in a few weeks (no pedals), so my intention in my practicing for that is to get my chops and idea up to not suck too badly.

Ok, now this takes major b@llz of steel.
Props for just saying yes to that gig
Keep us posted

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

and i'm pretty much convinced that this i most likely (for good or bad) the wackiest thread on this site.

Most of TB has been the “usual” depressing thing
Still dig this thread
Why wacky?

 

[steubig]

Most of TB has been the “usual” depressing thing
Still dig this thread
Why wacky?

look over the last few pages.

 

[steubig]

Ok, now this takes major b@llz of steel.
Props for just saying yes to that gig
Keep us posted

or brains of tin.

i didn’t say yes, i instigated.

 

[monsterthompson]

and . . . i've foolishly decided to do a solo bass gig in a few weeks (no pedals), so my intention in my practicing for that is to get my chops and idea up to not suck too badly.

You doing this in the Los Angeles area?

 

[steubig]

You doing this in the Los Angeles area?

yes. east end of chinatown. 31 july. first me solo, then playing in a 4tet.

 

[monsterthompson]

yes. east end of chinatown. 31 july. first me solo, then playing in a 4tet.

I'll keep an eye out for the gig announcement

 

[lordradish]

circling back to this . . .

sometimes my "intention" of late has been to fu¢k around and hope for the best.

so... a series of experimentations with a common core and then layering crap on top of it.

Sometimes that's where the best magic happens.

 

[JES]

Well, I went and did it.

 

[steubig]

@JES

that is way above my pay grade

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

@JES

that is way above my pay grade

208c seems to in the same range as the big Make Noise unit you have?
or am i mistaken?

 

[steubig]

208c seems to in the same range as the big Make Noise unit you have?
or am i mistaken?

it’s all the routing and platforms.

 

[JES]

It’s just AUM, an audio interface and a USB hub.

On cost, I already made a muted horn sound with it today so I’m totally set with @steubig ’s brass instruments schtick. A 208c is cheaper than a Shared System and does a lot less. In my case I did some math: 10% off + no taxes + free shipping = less than a used one from reverb (I did make some offers) and probably about $800-900 less than buying in Canada.

Also I had a rough June and wanted a treat.

 

[hieronymous]

If you would indulge me - I finally posted my first original piece in months - probably almost 5 months, and the previous thing was on a different channel. Anyway, here it is, Rickenbacker bass played over a Moog DFAM/Subharmonicon background:



The bass part is actually 2 sections of a single take, badly stitched together, but hopefully musically consistent. There's actually a lot going on - learning how to use Reaper more (reverb on the 1st half was my seat-of-the-pants style, taking audio out from reverb/Mac into Strymon BlueSky into H6 to make mp3 - 2nd half is in-the-box reverb within Reaper. So I'm learning! Easy stuff but I'm getting old and stubborn and don't want to stay that way.