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Ambient/Post-Rock/Textural bass playing thread

I saw this show in Boston a few weeks ago, it was pretty amazing. I like some of the i/o material, some of it's a bit uninteresting to me but some of it's amazing (like Road to Joy and Four Kinds of Horses). But I think it was awesome that Pete had over half the show be the new stuff instead of the greatest hits stuff that 99 percent of concertgoers seem to demand from older acts. The visuals were pretty amazing, especially on Growing Up, which is one of my fave PG tunes.

And the band was top notch, of course.
It's funny, my regimen of listening to the new material every day leading up to the concert resulted in me liking at least part of every song, which I did not expect. And a couple of songs I really love - i/o is one of my favorites, I love how the chorus is in 15! (7+8) And the ideas similar to some of the stuff I've been reading about re: consciousness & complexity theory.

I published my review of the show too: Peter Gabriel live review – SF, 10/11/23
 
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It's funny, my regimen of listening to the new material every day leading up to the concert resulted in me liking at least part of every song, which I did not expect. And a couple of songs I really love - i/o is one of my favorites, I love how the chorus is in 15! (7+8) And the ideas similar to some of the stuff I've been reading about re: consciousness & complexity theory.

I published my review of the show too: Peter Gabriel live review – SF, 10/11/23
I was somewhat familiar with most of the new stuff. Liked Panopticon a lot. But there was one tune that almost sounded like it coulda been a Randy Newman tune, and that's a no-go for me. But the visuals were so good that it still made the less-likable songs tolerable.

I wasn't looking for a greatest hit package either, but I woulda liked a bit more from the edgier 70's albums.
 
I was somewhat familiar with most of the new stuff. Liked Panopticon a lot. But there was one tune that almost sounded like it coulda been a Randy Newman tune, and that's a no-go for me. But the visuals were so good that it still made the less-likable songs tolerable.

I wasn't looking for a greatest hit package either, but I woulda liked a bit more from the edgier 70's albums.
Lol - I wonder which one was the Randy Newman tune? One of the melodies in Road to Joy makes me think of Purple Haze, but then it changes and I still like it. My wife thinks the Panopticom line sounds like The Boxer (lai lai lai) and does the "kshhhh" sound now if we are listening to it. I should make a mashup of the two :D

Agreed re: more varied earlier stuff - I was kind of surprised how much stuff came from Us, maybe because that was his best selling? I was happy because So had a big impact on me, though I was watching a live concert video from 1983 and was surprised how many songs I knew really well. But I listened to Security a lot, so it makes sense - I just haven't listened to that album in decades! I know what I'm listening to in the car tomorrow!



This is actually an amazing video - I think it's stitched together fan footage over a high quality audio recording - the Plays Live album?

Sorry for all the PG spam, but I think it fits partly because Tony Levin is a very textural player, also the sound of the music was never taken for granted - he created sound-worlds - I don't think that ever stopped with him, this concert definitely inspired me to dig back into his music. I actually never actually owned the first three albums - not sure if I borrowed the records or what, I don't remember having that stuff on tape, must have borrowed something. I had all the Genesis stuff, I think I was more into that! lol

Listening to D.I.Y. - it's so much poppier than I imagined, but the chorus is perfect in 5 - that's another link to the song i/o with the odd-time chorus - who dares do that these days?!![/PG glorification fanboi mode]
 
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@Bob_Ross
You’re a fan of the mbd-2 of im not mistaken?
Looking for an articulate drive that responds to nuances, how does this one fare?

MBD-1, not -2. (Though I think they're the same circuit? Maybe?)

On the one hand, yes, I am a huge fan of the MBD-1. If I could only ever own one fuzz/overdrive/distortion gizmo for bass, that would be the one hands down. It is the only one I've ever used that doesn't screw up/sacrifice low end when engaged, so that no matter how much (or how little) raging caterwauling "RRZZZZZZZZZZ!!!" is going on on top of your sound, it still sounds like a bass down on the bottom.

On the other hand, I honestly don't know what I think of it in terms of its being "articulate" ...I'm guessing it fares well, because I'd like to think I would notice if it wasn't; any stompboxes that obfuscate the clarity of the lines or gestures I'm playing don't last on my pedalboard very long.

Frankly, I rarely step on any fuzz/overdrive/distortion when I'm looking for "nuance". That's the footswitch when I'm looking for raging caterwauling "RRZZZZZZZZZZ!!!" But again, I'm guessing it does respond well to nuance simply because I like to think musical nuance is important to me regardless of what sort of tone I'm using at any given moment, and the MBD-1 has made the cut.

Maybe I'm giving myself too much credit. :)
 
MBD-1, not -2. (Though I think they're the same circuit? Maybe?)

On the one hand, yes, I am a huge fan of the MBD-1. If I could only ever own one fuzz/overdrive/distortion gizmo for bass, that would be the one hands down. It is the only one I've ever used that doesn't screw up/sacrifice low end when engaged, so that no matter how much (or how little) raging caterwauling "RRZZZZZZZZZZ!!!" is going on on top of your sound, it still sounds like a bass down on the bottom.

On the other hand, I honestly don't know what I think of it in terms of its being "articulate" ...I'm guessing it fares well, because I'd like to think I would notice if it wasn't; any stompboxes that obfuscate the clarity of the lines or gestures I'm playing don't last on my pedalboard very long.

Frankly, I rarely step on any fuzz/overdrive/distortion when I'm looking for "nuance". That's the footswitch when I'm looking for raging caterwauling "RRZZZZZZZZZZ!!!" But again, I'm guessing it does respond well to nuance simply because I like to think musical nuance is important to me regardless of what sort of tone I'm using at any given moment, and the MBD-1 has made the cut.

Maybe I'm giving myself too much credit. :)
Thank you for the info, very much appreciated
Sorry, by articulate I meant responsive to plucking hand finger style.
Hearing clear fast attacks and responsive to « digging in » harder.
 
I finally have something to share from my koto collab - no bass, hope to incorporate that later, but definitely ambient & drone:



I kind of liked the jams we did last week better - it was the first time we ever played together, so it had some of that magic - but I like this one too - the first time we played in front of an audience!

I only used the Grone for the drone throughout, and the Sirin (and the floor tom). I recorded everything direct also (synths into Blue Box, koto & drum into Zoom H6), but didn't arm the track for the drum, so I might do a different audio mix. Fun fun fun!!!
 
More on the Microcosm.
After having a great few nights on the couch with just the pedal, I put it on the big board last night, and my enjoyment of it dropped immensely. I have it at after the tone generators (Enzo, C4, Mel 9) and before all the mods and time stuff. First off, for some reason, it doesn't seem to be as responsive, even when it's the only one in the chain (I have a 10 channel bypass looper). I don't know why.

I didn't seem nearly as inspired as I was when it was in front of me, alone. I think it's because this is a tweaking pedal, it's best when you're manipulating the knobs continuously. And that's a real pain in the ass to do on a floorboard. I'm thinking about taking it off, just using it by itself and then adding any additional processing after. I can also use it on the synths, too. But I'm still not convinced that I just spent way too much money on something I'm not gonna use all that much.

How much time y'all give a device before deciding whether to let it go when you're not sure about it?

I'm also wondering if I just dove deeper into my Particle 2 and maybe added another kind of reverb if I could do the same thing. I wish there was a really good arp/seq pedal out there. Everything I've seen is lacking in some way.
 
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More on the Microcosm.
After having a great few nights on the couch with just the pedal, I put it on the big board last night, and my enjoyment of it dropped immensely. I have it at after the tone generators (Enzo, C4, Mel 9) and before all the mods and time stuff. First off, for some reason, it doesn't seem to be as responsive, even when it's the only one in the chain (I have a 10 channel bypass looper). I don't know why.

I didn't seem nearly as inspired as I was when it was in front of me, alone. I think it's because this is a tweaking pedal, it's best when you're manipulating the knobs continuously. And that's a real pain in the ass to do on a floorboard. I'm thinking about taking it off, just using it by itself and then adding any additional processing after. I can also use it on the synths, too. But I'm still not convinced that I just spent way too much money on something I'm not gonna use all that much.

How much time y'all give a device before deciding whether to let it go when you're not sure about it?

I'm also wondering if I just dove deeper into my Particle 2 and maybe added another kind of reverb if I could do the same thing. I wish there was a really good arp/seq pedal out there. Everything I've seen is lacking in some way.

sounds like the synth board might be the next step/solution.

i tend to take a while with things before i jettison them—sometimes too long.
 
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sounds like the synth board might be the next step/solution.

i tend to take a while with things before i jettison them—sometimes too long.
Yeah, might just take it off the big board and throw it on the Iridium or the Hydra.

I don't think I've ever been so conflicted about a pedal. The ridiculous price may have something to do with it.
 
Yeah, might just take it off the big board and throw it on the Iridium or the Hydra.

I don't think I've ever been so conflicted about a pedal. The ridiculous price may have something to do with it.
I’m probably the only one here but I tend towards minimalism.
So if a piece of gear isn’t used or has collected dust for about 6 months to a year out it goes.
(Yes there are some exceptions like the Lyra, haven’t used it quite a while but it was a gift so I can’t sell it)
Unless it’s utter crap then it’s less than 24hours
sounds like the synth board might be the next step/solution.

i tend to take a while with things before i jettison them—sometimes too long.

Yeah, might just take it off the big board and throw it on the Iridium or the Hydra.

I don't think I've ever been so conflicted about a pedal. The ridiculous price may have something to do with it.
 
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I’m probably the only one here but I tend towards minimalism.
So if a piece of gear isn’t used or has collected dust for about 6 months to a year out it goes.
(Yes there are some exceptions like the Lyra, haven’t used it quite a while but it was a gift so I can’t sell it)
Unless it’s utter crap then it’s less than 24hours
Even though I have a big board and a room full of synths, I still take that approach (which is why the Hydrasynth is getting nervous, as it doesn't get nearly the use that the Iridium and Wavestate do).

I'll give it a bit and see how it goes. I am thinking of rigging some sort of thing with a mixer so I can have a dedicated effects board for the synths, but I'm trying to figure out how to do it so I can have all of the synths have access to it as well as still have their own outputs. Like, if I want the Hydra to go through the board, I can. Then switch over to put the Iridium through the board. I just need to figure out how to do it so they don't only come out to the same output.

Is that doable? Anyone?