Ambient/Post-Rock/Textural bass playing thread

[steubig]

Ok, this was f#^$^ dope!!!!

(Tips hat)

I like the harshness mixed in with nice textures.

we live to serve

How did you build those distortion type noise drones???....Looper???

no loops on this.

it's all multitracked live snippets. some of these have eight bass tracks.

for the fuzz textures, i was using three dr. scientist elements with different eq curves (super low, mids, breaking-glass highs). they're all on exp pedals, so i can morph the different frequencies in and out, which gives things a sense of movement, spikes of color and different feedback.

for example, on one of those pieces (from memory), there's one section where i'm playing one track with a diad F and G on the B/E strings and another track with F# and A with heavy low fuzz with some mids, probably futzing with the exp pedals. those are panned left and right (i was hoping for low beating). then there's another track with higher stuff with mostly the mids (and maybe highs) that i mixed lower to get an interesting texture.

I should grow some b@llz and try something like this with bass as the main source.

well, yeah, you should. i mean, we're all sitting waiting for the end of the end of the world, might as well make some sound and share it.

and, really, why not do it anyway?

 

[steubig]

YES!!!! Oh man...sooo good.

Steuart, and anyone else, when you record with dirt or octave up effects, do you roll off the high end in post production? I'm finding that I'm using a l+hpf on my solo effects recordings these days, and I'm really liking the result.

I'm listening to this as I type...soooo vibey and dark. Totally love it

thanks. it is kinda dark . . . fits my emotions for right now.

in this, i'm not using a octave pedal. it's 12-string basses, and they're going through live cabs that inexpertly miced (dig the amp nose for texture).

in general, i tend to roll off high end anyway. and octave up effects don't really float my boat this days. sounds like you have a good solution.

 

[Spectrum]

I can share my awesome little collection if someone is interested......

This being Talk Bass I think it's kind of mandatory.

I have 3 basses.

Rickenbacker 4003, my main player for rock band duties.

Westone Spectrum GT, made in Matsumoku factory in Japan 1985. This was a gift to me when I was in high school and will always be the One. Gets used for everything, lately it's been used for electronic/ambient stuff.

Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar. Bought this one as a backup right before the Rickenbacker was found on sale. My only Fender, solid P/J which serves as an all-purpose backup to everything else.

This is an old photo from 2011, when the Ric and the Jag were new. No new basses since then.

 

[steubig]

Funny story about 'collecting'... I am still baffled by some of the TB'ers on here that have 20 basses, especially the ones that will have 5 of the same kind (I mean, seriously, how different do 5 EBMM's sound?). I don't know if I'm a collector, but I now have 5, but each serves a different purpose:

Wal MkII 5 string - my main bass for the last 20 years, and my top recording bass, as it has an XLR out and engineers love the sound it gets right into the board - I will get buried with this bass, and I'd even cling to it if I was homeless
Stambaugh fretless 5 - well, gotta have fretless, right?
Cliff Bordwell 6 - got tired of going back and forth tween gtr and bass for the pedalboard, this solves the prob, plus I love playing Phil Lesh style stuff on it
EBMM 5H - because the Wal is getting too damn heavy, and tonally, this is similar, and just a tad lighter, and also, sometimes I don't wanna take a 7000 dollar bass somewhere.
Fender J MIM - for when I just don't wanna take an expensive bass somewhere, although, with those other basses, this one pretty much doesn't get used. Might throw flats on it for some old school sound

If you told me 2 years ago I woulda had 5 basses, I woulda laughed. I can't see getting any more, but who the hell knows. I got my sounds covered. I wouldn't say no to a nice P bass, but not about to go blow the dough on it, especially since I likely won't be gigging anywhere in the next year.

nice.

i'm one of those guys who basically has nine of the same bass. all 6-strings.

maple fingerboard fretted/fretless pair: old flatwounds
rosewood fingerboard fretted/fretless pair: roundwounds
ebony fingerboard fretted/fretless pair: roundwounds, tuned up a minor third
maple fingerboard fretted: flatwounds, tuned down a major second
12-string fingerboard fretted/fretless pair

then i have my headless fretted/fretless pair with rounds, which are the same neck profile, but very different otherwise

so dunno. makes sense to me. (and i really want a fretless tuned down a whole step and two more headless basses)

edit: just for clarification, the 12-strings are double-course

 

[theunknowndude]

Funny I went through a few basses (never more than keeping two at a time though!)
Stingray copy
Yamaha rbx375
Ibanez k5
Squire Jazz fretless
Ibanez gwb35 fretless

I kept the k5 as my main player for ages and then switched to gwb35 for a while... but my band I’m in now since 2013 doesn’t fit fretless tones and I slap occasionally... sold the gwb35 a year ago... it was such a beautiful / smooth / yummy bass but it just wasn’t being played ( originally played the heck out of it in my old thrash metal band... Steve do gorgio influences anyone?)

I have to say my k5 despite fieldys reputation is one of the best basses for me that I’ve ever touched... 16.5 mm string spacing, can play quick yet also just wide enough to pop and slap. And despite his usually “kill the mids” it has a variable mids frequency sweep as well as usual bass mid treble active eq... I set it for a bass / low mid boost for my metal band but can easily pull of tones close enough to a jazz or p and despite my first “I don’t want to bring a 1500 bass everywhere” - it never goes wildly out of tune and after a few sings and scratches from live use well *shrug*

mmm I really need to get an interface soon so can do stuff that’s not just messing around with plugins in reaper!

 

[monsterthompson]

I’ve got
- P - because P
- Ric 4003 - What else sounds like it? And FireGlo is lovely
- Spector Euro 5 w EMG
- Fretless J/MM
- Dingwall D Bird tuned BEAD - It’s got a bit of J, MM, and P sounds in the pickup options. Probably a little redundant.

I just added a PJ Mustang. I really didn’t need it, but the price was good and I wanted to try a short scale to see if it would help with my reach issues.

No more room at the inn.

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

I got only 4 bass. all 4 string fretted.

All have back of the neck sanded to the wood and treated with oil (I can't play any other neck, this is so important for me)

- Fender Precision Bass.....2007 I think.
Ultralight tuners, EMG GZR pickup. Rosewood neck
Tuned C standard

- First year G&L JB-2 jazz.
Stock except for sanded neck and fender custom shop 60s pickups
Tuned E Standard

-70s Yamaha pulsar lawsuit Pbass
(basically a well made 70s pbass, wayyyyy better than some 70s P ive heard and tried.
Maple neck, Lindy Fralin pup. 17 year old dead Chromes
Tuned E standard

- Green Monster Frankenstein bass.
This one has had so many parts changed and so many stuff done to it I wont even start on that....but now it is:

Musicman Stingray Neck, rosewood board
Wormoth PJ body, jazz shapped
Only the P in istalled, EMG GZR, the bridge J is a hole.

Tuned C standard.

Edit: All are road tested tanks. They have gigged hard and spend nights out freezing Quebec winters outside in car trunks.

 

[lordradish]

I love the idea of a Rick, as two of my faves (Macca/Squire) play them, but I can't think of how that sound fits into anything I do. One of those "I love the way it sounds when other people play it, but no way in hell, for me."
This is the CB (same as my profile pic)

Here's the Stammie, I'm gonna assume y'all know what a Wal and a Stingray look like.

 

[lordradish]

I
- Dingwall D Bird tuned BEAD - .

What's your thoughts on the whole fanned fret thing?

 

[theunknowndude]

Mmm love stained wood basses!

not sure mine shows up in a pic properly but my k5 is a stained black... looks ok up close and can also reflect stage lighting too!

This is about as good I have sorry for the bass face / me part!!

 

[lordradish]

View attachment 3818287 Mmm love stained wood basses!

not sure mine shows up in a pic properly but my k5 is a stained black... looks ok up close and can also reflect stage lighting too!

This is about as good I have sorry for the bass face / me part!!

That's a pretty tame bass face. Nice Jaco thumbs!

Mine looks like a guy who wants to take a dump while punching someone at the same time, something I've not had to do, yet.

 

[monsterthompson]

What's your thoughts on the whole fanned fret thing?

It’s my second Ding, and I like the playability for most of the neck. It actually makes some positions easier to play in, though it makes others harder. The closer you get to the 1st position the longer the reach, which can be managed.

My biggest gripe is the bridge, but some of that is my technique. If you flat pick and anchor your palm on the lowest string for palm muting, you (well, I) tend to rotate the picking hand clockwise to reach the higher strings which puts the pick attack closer to the bridge on higher strings. I think it sounds better and more consistent to pick farther from the bridge on the higher strings, relative to the lower ones. To do that, you need to be mindful of moving your hand position when string skipping.

My D bird has a pretty shallow cutout (the new design is deeper) so I can’t really easily get up far above the 12th fret. I really bought it to string BEAD so I could play the 5th position E (well, 6th F) instead of dealing with a longer reach on an EADG tuning.

 

[lordradish]

It’s my second Ding, and I like the playability for most of the neck. It actually makes some positions easier to play in, though it makes others harder. The closer you get to the 1st position the longer the reach, which can be managed.

My biggest gripe is the bridge, but some of that is my technique. If you flat pick and anchor your palm on the lowest string for palm muting, you (well, I) tend to rotate the picking hand clockwise to reach the higher strings which puts the pick attack closer to the bridge on higher strings. I think it sounds better and more consistent to pick farther from the bridge on the higher strings, relative to the lower ones. To do that, you need to be mindful of moving your hand position when string skipping.

My D bird has a pretty shallow cutout (the new design is deeper) so I can’t really easily get up far above the 12th fret. I really bought it to string BEAD so I could play the 5th position E (well, 6th F) instead of dealing with a longer reach on an EADG tuning.

Any distinct advantage, though, over the conventional, as it sounds like a mixed bag? Worth the money, cuz they ain't cheap?

 

[monsterthompson]

Any distinct advantage, though, over the convention onal, as it sounds like a mixed bag? Worth the money, cuz they ain't cheap?

I’m gonna say it’s too hard to disaggregate the fanning from other Dingwall characteristics. That’s my polite way of saying probably not worth it just for that feature, for most players. My ABZ 5 just sounded so wimpy with my rig and technique that no playability was going to sway me. I tried it but in the end a Nash PB 63 got my attention. I tried a Dingwall P and also couldn’t be swayed. That said, the electronics on the D Bird changed things up for me. I’ve been quite fortunate that a gem of a TB member let me play his D Bird before I ordered mine, and that experience sealed the deal.

I’d say if you already had a solid bass, the margin of improvement to go fanned would be slim for most players. If you were making your initial run at an expensive bass then it’d be worth looking at as an option. All IMHO YMMV. Everyone has a different budget threshold and different technique. If you’ve got a bass that struggles with low B, then the extra scale length is a possible solution, but there are plenty of 35” B strings people love.

Bottom line:
It’s nice but it’s not magic.

 

[emjazz]

thanks. it is kinda dark . . . fits my emotions for right now.

in this, i'm not using a octave pedal. it's 12-string basses, and they're going through live cabs that inexpertly miced (dig the amp nose for texture).

in general, i tend to roll off high end anyway. and octave up effects don't really float my boat this days. sounds like you have a good solution.

Yeah, sorry...wasn't being perfectly clear. Have been creating some sounds with the Tensor. It has glitched out random modes that bring in an octave and 2 octaves up. It can get bright, even with flats and the tone pulled back. Have been able to control it with an lpf post production for sure.

Yeah man...trying to stay positive, but feeling pretty dark as well. This is all bringing up the reality of our society. Your pieces are definitely speaking to that.

 

[lordradish]

It’s nice but it’s not magic.

I had a feeling you were going to write that, based on your first post you replied with.

 

[Flabzilla]

It’s fun seeing/reading about people’s basses.

Current lot:

Ric 4003 ‘97
Fender P fretless’72
MM Stingray 5
Marleaux Diva 5
LTD semi acoustic 5
Dingwall ABHS 6
Dingwall ABII fretless 6
Dingwall ABZ 6
Dingwall ABI 5
Dingwall Super J 5

and...

Kala U bass.

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

Ok, did this one tonight.
All JMT noise synths, SP404sx sampler and 4 track recorder.
Improvised. Wanting to start an emcee beatmaker type thing only with noise and harsh vocals.
Hence the “short” 2 mins.

Enjoy\cringe.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[monsterthompson]

I had a feeling you were going to write that, based on your first post you replied with.

It's been enough of a point of interest that I keep coming back to the design.
Even if the design itself isn't magic, it speaks to a builder's design mentality. It indicates someone willing to take chances with a less conventional approach, which might be indicative of a bigger picture. Look at the Strandberg designs; they went for several unconventional things, including the fan.

 

[Flabzilla]

Ok, did this one tonight.
All JMT noise synths, SP404sx sampler and 4 track recorder.
Improvised. Wanting to start an emcee beatmaker type thing only with noise and harsh vocals.
Hence the “short” 2 mins.

Enjoy\cringe.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Nice.

 

[steubig]

Ok, did this one tonight.
All JMT noise synths, SP404sx sampler and 4 track recorder.
Improvised. Wanting to start an emcee beatmaker type thing only with noise and harsh vocals.
Hence the “short” 2 mins.

Enjoy\cringe.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

yeah. i liked that quite a bit.

lots of interesting movement/variation. those little falling sounds (not sure what exactly you did to create those) are cool.