Ambient/Post-Rock/Textural bass playing thread

[remcult]

Ok, that is freakin awesome
(If I had one other Fuzz to get it would be the JAM Red Muck Bass version...holy crap it sounds freakin awesome.....but it is on the very $$$$$$$ side.)

yeah, none of their stuff is cheap for sure, but they sound so good

 

[monsterthompson]

Just saw NAMM coverage of Dreadbox and their new color units. The 3 stage delay looks nice. This is not a NAMM video but it covers all the modules.


I’ve been home with a cold for a few days, so I’m just tapping my screen and then sleeping. Rinse repeat.

 

[monsterthompson]

So it looks like Zoia can send MIDI CC via the MIDI Out TRS cable to another Empress pedal without any "midi box" in the middle to boost the signal. I just patched a standard 1/8" TRS cable from the Zoia to the EchoSystem with a 1/4" adapter to route it to the EchoSystem's Control Port.

This got me thinking about various signal routing options. I started looking at Boredbrain's Splix, which is a passive split/mix unit. It is fairly cheap. It seems like if you had a 1/4 to 1/8 adapters then you could have a nifty passive manual A/B crossfader with a small form factor.
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Thinking I could use this with the Patchulator to cross-fade between effects (say two different delays) without using the Transmutron's crossfade function. That would free up some space, assuming I wanted to crossfade instead of crossover...

 

[Spectrum]

I'd like to find a device that puts out a MIDI clock signal as well as a simple sync pulse. Or something that converts one to the other at least. Then I could sync everything up right. Right now I have an EHX Clockworks which puts out sync signals and a Digitech Sdrum drum machine pedal that puts out MIDI clock but no way to sync them together.

 

[monsterthompson]

I'd like to find a device that puts out a MIDI clock signal as well as a simple sync pulse. Or something that converts one to the other at least. Then I could sync everything up right. Right now I have an EHX Clockworks which puts out sync signals and a Digitech Sdrum drum machine pedal that puts out MIDI clock but no way to sync them together.

I’d look at this. If it won’t work, ping the company. They seem pretty savvy and probably have a solution.
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[Spectrum]

I’d look at this. If it won’t work, ping the company. They seem pretty savvy and probably have a solution.
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Not sure if that's quite what I'm looking for, but it's a cool link to browse, thanks.

 

[dukeorock]

That’s what awesome about music, we can all have different tastes and preferences. Would be boring as $%^& if we liked all the same stuff.

Dang hippies, celebrating diversity!
Obviously, I couldn’t agree more

So it looks like Zoia can send MIDI CC via the MIDI Out TRS cable to another Empress pedal without any "midi box" in the middle to boost the signal. I just patched a standard 1/8" TRS cable from the Zoia to the EchoSystem with a 1/4" adapter to route it to the EchoSystem's Control Port.

This got me thinking about various signal routing options. I started looking at Boredbrain's Splix, which is a passive split/mix unit. It is fairly cheap. It seems like if you had a 1/4 to 1/8 adapters then you could have a nifty passive manual A/B crossfader with a small form factor.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
View attachment 3677118

Thinking I could use this with the Patchulator to cross-fade between effects (say two different delays) without using the Transmutron's crossfade function. That would free up some space, assuming I wanted to crossfade instead of crossover...

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

Dang hippies, celebrating diversity!
Obviously, I couldn’t agree more



View attachment 3677609

Ok, that made me laugh out loud for real......



Side note: IME....etc.....

About fuzz and dirt used live in a band setting....do you know who notices you the bass player changing dirt sounds 5 times during the set?

That”s right, NO ONE....not even the sound guy he”s busy tweaking the kick for 15 minutes.

(In certain instances, I know this does not apply and the change of tone can be used to great effect ....pun intended)

My 2 cents

 

[HotelX]

Ok, that made me laugh out loud for real......



Side note: IME....etc.....

About fuzz and dirt used live in a band setting....do you know who notices you the bass player changing dirt sounds 5 times during the set?

That”s right, NO ONE....not even the sound guy he”s busy tweaking the kick for 15 minutes.

(In certain instances, I know this does not apply and the change of tone can be used to great effect ....pun intended)

My 2 cents

IME that applies for most bass related things. Nobody notices but you. If it makes you happy that is good but...

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

IME that applies for most bass related things. Nobody notices but you. If it makes you happy that is good but...

How about compressors...?

 

[dukeorock]

Ok, that made me laugh out loud for real......



Side note: IME....etc.....

About fuzz and dirt used live in a band setting....do you know who notices you the bass player changing dirt sounds 5 times during the set?

That”s right, NO ONE....not even the sound guy he”s busy tweaking the kick for 15 minutes.

(In certain instances, I know this does not apply and the change of tone can be used to great effect ....pun intended)

My 2 cents

I’ve watched so many bass players show up with huge pedalboards, even Americana gigs. I’m listening because I want to hear something that improves the song. Typically within the full mix, if I notice anything at all when these dudes stomp a pedal, it’s a decrease in volume and low end and that’s pretty much it. There are exceptions, of course, but most of the time the results are not good

How about compressors...?

sigh

 

[lordradish]

Have you seen the Chase Bliss video where Torn takes his whole rig out by the pool on a rolling cart and starts screwing around with an early Blooper prototype while one of the CBA guys is floating around on an innertube drinking beers?

Torn+CBA=awesomeness

Torn could be running his guitar through a banana and would still be awesome.

 

[lordradish]

I’d look at this. If it won’t work, ping the company. They seem pretty savvy and probably have a solution.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

They don't. I have that pedal as the main clock for my board. It's awesome, but no MTC.
The clock and sync thing is still apparently a dilemma to overcome, because they're completely different. I'm trying to resolve this, myself, as my DAW and MPC live do MTC. The synths are all clock. The MPC also does clock, and since that's the brain of my synths, I go with clock, which means no DAW sync.

There is a company that is supposedly working on a device to address this, but the product's still in development. Can't remember the company, though.

 

[lordradish]

They don't.

I’ve watched so many bass players show up with huge pedalboards, even Americana gigs. I’m listening because I want to hear something that improves the song. Typically within the full mix, if I notice anything at all when these dudes stomp a pedal, it’s a decrease in volume and low end and that’s pretty much it. There are exceptions, of course, but most of the time the results are not good


sigh

Thing is, the sounds one gets out of a huge pedalboard generally aren't the sounds that often fit well in and stand out in a normal band-type setting. I never even think of bringing my big board to band gigs. Maybe I'll throw the MD-500 and a verb on a small board, or bring the Mel-9 if I'm feeling frisky, but that's it.

 

[remcult]

Ok, that made me laugh out loud for real......



Side note: IME....etc.....

About fuzz and dirt used live in a band setting....do you know who notices you the bass player changing dirt sounds 5 times during the set?

That”s right, NO ONE....not even the sound guy he”s busy tweaking the kick for 15 minutes.

(In certain instances, I know this does not apply and the change of tone can be used to great effect ....pun intended)

My 2 cents

I was at a jam a few weeks ago and a guitarist came over and said “I’m gonna give you the biggest compliment I can for a bass player: I barely knew you were there!”

I mostly thought it was funny that a compliment for bass players would be an insult to just about anyone else

(And this is a jam where I played through pedals and changed my tone, I thought pretty substantially, based on the song)

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

Thing is, the sounds one gets out of a huge pedalboard generally aren't the sounds that often fit well in and stand out in a normal band-type setting. I never even think of bringing my big board to band gigs. Maybe I'll throw the MD-500 and a verb on a small board, or bring the Mel-9 if I'm feeling frisky, but that's it.

$%^&* YEAH!!!
MO pedals MO problems IMO
But do whatever makes you happy I guess if you want I huge board......go for it.

But unless you do intense pre prod with a sound guy and a Live PA to test everything out, outcome will be always unpredictable. But that costs a ton of $$.

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

I was at a jam a few weeks ago and a guitarist came over and said “I’m gonna give you the biggest compliment I can for a bass player: I barely knew you were there!”

I mostly thought it was funny that a compliment for bass players would be an insult to just about anyone else

(And this is a jam where I played through pedals and changed my tone, I thought pretty substantially, based on the song)

Yep, sometimes we think we have a drastic impact on the overall sound but often (not always) it doesn’t translate well in a band mix. Like previous people here mentioned, loss of low end, phase issues, EQ and all sorts of things can happen when stomping on 5 pedals.

IMO

Edit, from experience. Once on a gig I kicked on the classic OC-2 synth tone and the onstage EQ sucked, so everyone onstage lost the bass “definition” and the time of the overall band went south fast, came back when I noticed and turned off the pedal for the rest of the gig.

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

Thing is, the sounds one gets out of a huge pedalboard generally aren't the sounds that often fit well in and stand out in a normal band-type setting. I never even think of bringing my big board to band gigs. Maybe I'll throw the MD-500 and a verb on a small board, or bring the Mel-9 if I'm feeling frisky, but that's it.

That's why you get the call for the gig.

 

[lordradish]

That's why you get the call for the gig.

Sho' nuff.

 

[HotelX]

Yeah I stopped bothering to bring pedals for bass. Too much trouble for nothing.

I do love pedals in my synth though.