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Ambient/Post-Rock/Textural bass playing thread

#7,401
steubig said:
or fred frith . . .
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Yeah, Fred's use of "prepared" guitar is pretty comprehensive...I saw him live with Tom Cora and you could barely see the guitar underneath all the alligator clips, molly bolts, keychains, and whatnot!

I've on a few rare occasions embraced Frith's approach to the Steinberger String Console [sic] ...treat the instrument as an oscillator, and then figure out how to shape & filter it's sound via mechanical implements. Watching Denman Maroney play prepared piano with Marc Dresser's group was also pretty inspiring in terms of thinking about how materials and surface shapes can impact a vibrating string.
 
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#7,402
monsterthompson said:
Proof of concept on the Zoia.
This is a feedback machine that takes the hum from a cable plugged in one input, then feeds it back on itself. Pitch shifting and pass filtering get in the mix, and it all routes through the Ghost Reverb on Zoia.

I'd like to get the granular module involved and some stereo panning. But for now, this is what I've got.

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I didn't even blow out my speakers in the development process.
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Nice.

Spectrum said:
Nice bit of Lovecraftian soundscape there.
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That comment made me go back and listen.
 
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#7,403
Bob_Ross said:
Yeah, Fred's use of "prepared" guitar is pretty comprehensive...I saw him live with Tom Cora and you could barely see the guitar underneath all the alligator clips, molly bolts, keychains, and whatnot!

I've on a few rare occasions embraced Frith's approach to the Steinberger String Console [sic] ...treat the instrument as an oscillator, and then figure out how to shape & filter it's sound via mechanical implements. Watching Denman Maroney play prepared piano with Marc Dresser's group was also pretty inspiring in terms of thinking about how materials and surface shapes can impact a vibrating string.
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Steinberg string console??


Side note : I diffinitly need to explore more with contact mics on my bass and split into multiple channels.

Thanks for sparking some ideas
 
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#7,404
Bob_Ross said:
Yeah, Fred's use of "prepared" guitar is pretty comprehensive...I saw him live with Tom Cora and you could barely see the guitar underneath all the alligator clips, molly bolts, keychains, and whatnot!

I've on a few rare occasions embraced Frith's approach to the Steinberger String Console [sic] ...treat the instrument as an oscillator, and then figure out how to shape & filter it's sound via mechanical implements. Watching Denman Maroney play prepared piano with Marc Dresser's group was also pretty inspiring in terms of thinking about how materials and surface shapes can impact a vibrating string.
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yep. lots of ways to deal with these things.

denman’s hyperpiano thing is pretty crazy.

dresser does some interesting things with different attacks and devices playing the strings.

he also has done interesting things with microphones and pickups near the nut on his upright basses. the giffus was mic that attached over the nut so it would get all these interesting harmonics behind where you were fingering. he’s mix it in using a volume pedal. he then graduated to two four-pole pickups underneath the fingerboard. it’s an amazing sound.

a fave with mark with denman and mattias ziegler:



mark on a piece i wrote for him:

 
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#7,405
steubig said:
yep. lots of ways to deal with these things.

denman’s hyperpiano thing is pretty crazy.

dresser does some interesting things with different attacks and devices playing the strings.

he also has done interesting things with microphones and pickups near the nut on his upright basses. the giffus was mic that attached over the nut so it would get all these interesting harmonics behind where you were fingering. he’s mix it in using a volume pedal. he then graduated to two four-pole pickups underneath the fingerboard. it’s an amazing sound.

a fave with mark with denman and mattias ziegler:



mark on a piece i wrote for him:

Click to expand...


Enjoyed both of those!
 
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#7,407
Bob_Ross said:
Oh, man, have you seen Zeigler's sub-contrabass flute with the built-in mechanical fuzzbox (aka, a kazoo key)? Freakin' incredible sounding instrument! That trio definitely knows how to get some extreme textures with a surprising minimum of electronics.
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no, but i'm interested in that.

my friend wilfrido terrazas does something similar (i think) with some wax paper or something under a key on standard flutes amazing sound.

that trio's extended sonics pieces are amazing. i'm not as enthused when they play more "normal" stuff.
 
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#7,408
steubig said:
do you have an ipad? if so there are some apps that are more gesture oriented than keyboard oriented.
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I'm not wild about using an iPad or a computer. I've always felt that I want to create live, never use pre-recorded stuff or use a computer/tablet to do things. Something about the appearance of just hitting play on an mp3 instead of creating live. Even for looping, I'd much rather build the loop live than have a canned loop that I trigger. To me, that's kind of the dividing line between making music and just hitting play. I know that's just my own hangups, but I need to twist the knob to make it squeal, not tap an ipad (even if the ipad has a digitial representation of the noisebox, it's not the same - kinda like eating the icecream cone from the freezer instead of getting it from the icecream man - it's the same damn ice cream cone, but something feels different about it).
 
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#7,409
cosmicevan said:
I'm not wild about using an iPad or a computer. I've always felt that I want to create live, never use pre-recorded stuff or use a computer/tablet to do things. Something about the appearance of just hitting play on an mp3 instead of creating live. Even for looping, I'd much rather build the loop live than have a canned loop that I trigger. To me, that's kind of the dividing line between making music and just hitting play. I know that's just my own hangups, but I need to twist the knob to make it squeal, not tap an ipad (even if the ipad has a digitial representation of the noisebox, it's not the same - kinda like eating the icecream cone from the freezer instead of getting it from the icecream man - it's the same damn ice cream cone, but something feels different about it).
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for the most part, i don’t use prerecorded stuff. and i hate the play along with prerecorded loop song thing. a lot.

samplr can record from the ipad mic into the buffer and then you can play the audio file with your fingers. you can automate gestures if you want. you can layer six things like that. all live.

you can do similar things with borderlands granular.

tc-11 is a synth you can program that, because there are no keys, can be completely microtonal. you can also use the accelerometer to create modulation changes. (which i think gets to your not wanting synth keys.)

i mention these because they can all be very in the moment. consider that 100% of my live usage with these is completely improv.

anyway, this is all just to say that the ipad is not just clicking a button to “trigger an mp3.”
 
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#7,410
steubig said:
for the most part, i don’t use prerecorded stuff. and i hate the play along with prerecorded loop song thing. a lot.

samplr can record from the ipad mic into the buffer and then you can play the audio file with your fingers. you can automate gestures if you want. you can layer six things like that. all live.

you can do similar things with borderlands granular.

tc-11 is a synth you can program that, because there are no keys, can be completely microtonal. you can also use the accelerometer to create modulation changes. (which i think gets to your not wanting synth keys.)

i mention these because they can all be very in the moment. consider that 100% of my live usage with these is completely improv.

anyway, this is all just to say that the ipad is not just clicking a button to “trigger an mp3.”
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Steuart...when this nonsense is all over and safe I'm flying out to visit you. It's been way too long we've chatted and I've admired your vision and playing.....I really need a hang, and I would love to see how you use effects, and your non effected playing in the flesh. Hope that you're well, brother.
 
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#7,411
emjazz said:
Steuart...when this nonsense is all over and safe I'm flying out to visit you. It's been way too long we've chatted and I've admired your vision and playing.....I really need a hang, and I would love to see how you use effects, and your non effected playing in the flesh. Hope that you're well, brother.
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yeah. well. *that*. many plans went up in smoke this year.

hope we can do that.
 
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#7,415
Anyone here have any hands on experience with the ehx oceans and mod 11.

Looking to get some reverb amd modulation fx for my mini studio set up without breaking the bank. Ideally id lile the entire boss 200 or 500 series......I might pull the trigger on those but not just yet....my budget puts food first on the list. :)

Looking at different options, also very open to any suggestions and/or experiences.

Thanks for your input.

I can route everything through my daw but I'd like some solid harware options.
 
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#7,418
cosmicevan said:
Traditional synths meaning ones w keys that correlate to specific notes. I keep getting deeper and deeper down this rabbit hole of these kinds of sounds and when I poke my head up to take stock on next steps I am finding I am more drawn to devices that fall into the synth category (drone synths, desktop synths, noise gardens, etc) that dont have the traditional keys to play notes...but rather knobs that let me squeak through all nuances of pitch and sound, not just half step increments that land on tuned notes.

I think I am more after exploring and crafting music from instruments in the synth family instead of just a synth. Its a ton of fun to create a weird nose, capture it in a delay or looper and then transform it...a synth seems like your one stop shop to work w the sound...not sure if thats where my head is at. I really love that moffenzeef msg noisemaker and the drone synths Ive been playing w. That might be enough for me? That said, I am sure if I raise enough to bring a hydrasynth home that will be the plan.
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I love this tangent and the stuff @steubig has referenced recently. A zillion years ago I was an ARP factory tech and a few of us used to torture Al Pearlman and the other poor souls who had to work late by going nuts in the extensive employee studio after our shift was done. There's so much fun available outside of diatonic tuning.

And on that note (ouch) I have been whipping up a DSP based feedbacker/modulator appliance for my slide bass this week. News at 11, or thereabouts.
 
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#7,420
steubig said:
anyway, this is all just to say that the ipad is not just clicking a button to “trigger an mp3.”
Click to expand...

Thanks for all that. As a total newb to the iPad it's great to find some new directions to take on, and prerecorded anything is just not where I want to go.
 
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