Ambient/Post-Rock/Textural bass playing thread

[lordradish]

The double win is passive works much better with pedals as well.

Sometimes this is true, sometimes it's not, and I can't make heads or tails out of it, either way. I have a passive switch on my CB six string and on my Stambaugh fretless. Depending on what effects are on, sometimes passive really makes it sound clearer, other times, it makes it disappear, completely.

My Wal is active, all the way, and that's fine with me, because it sounds so f***ing awesome, every time. It has an xlr out, and when I record, sometimes I just plug straight in the console. Engineers love it.

 

[emjazz]

Sometimes this is true, sometimes it's not, and I can't make heads or tails out of it, either way. I have a passive switch on my CB six string and on my Stambaugh fretless. Depending on what effects are on, sometimes passive really makes it sound clearer, other times, it makes it disappear, completely.

My Wal is active, all the way, and that's fine with me, because it sounds so f***ing awesome, every time. It has an xlr out, and when I record, sometimes I just plug straight in the console. Engineers love it.

Wal is it's own beast all the way. I feel like they were really made to be a studio bass. (Mick Karn!!!!!)

 

[monsterthompson]

I’ve never had any issues with the active Spector I have with EMGs. I’ve certainly heard folks talk about issues with active and preamp rigs.

 

[steubig]

+1 on passive. G&L's pickups are hot enough that I'm not sure they count, but I've never loved the sound of an onboard preamp (as opposed to the sound of pedal or amp), and I often forget and leave instruments plugged in.....

the pickups being hot is something that is reallg important to me. mostmof
my stuff is *severely* overwound.

 

[steubig]

I’ve never had any issues with the active Spector I have with EMGs. I’ve certainly heard folks talk about issues with active and preamp rigs.

for me, it’s a sound thing. every preamp i’ve heard sounds colored and compressed, even if it’s in bypass mode. it’s not a sound i want. i have had batteries die in the middle of a gig and that was no fun.

of course, if it’s a sound you like, then it’s on.

 

[emjazz]

the pickups being hot is something that is reallg important to me. mostmof
my stuff is *severely* overwound.

Being over wound makes them have more output? My standard Nordstrand pickups are already louder than most pickups....well especially my BigRigs in series. Lots of output.

 

[emjazz]

for me, it’s a sound thing. every preamp i’ve heard sounds colored and compressed, even if it’s in bypass mode. it’s not a sound i want. i have had batteries die in the middle of a gig and that was no fun.

of course, if it’s a sound you like, then it’s on.

Agreed. And as you had also told me, just having a cavity stuffed with a preamp, extra pots and wires changes the sound. A cavity with the bare minimum adds air to the sound of your bass because it turns into more of a chamber. Very cool. I can't wait to have my Ristola back to fully passive. Right now it still has the preamp inside but inactive.

 

[arbitrary]

Agreed. And as you had also told me, just having a cavity stuffed with a preamp, extra pots and wires changes the sound. A cavity with the bare minimum adds air to the sound of your bass because it turns into more of a chamber. Very cool. I can't wait to have my Ristola back to fully passive. Right now it still has the preamp inside but inactive.

years ago, shoving a diaper into the empty control cavity of my flea bass yielded better results; 100% serious.

 

[steubig]

oh oh.

now we’re into areas where i’ve been flamed on tb.

diaper in the control cavity changed the sound? you bet. totally believe that.

i also have found that pickguards change the sound and think that the type/amount of finish will change the sound.

(piece of plastic screwed to body will dampen vibrations; so will really thick paint.)

also a one-piece body has a different sound than a two-piece body.

most of this stuff i found by accident, with no pre-thought-out theories.

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

oh oh.

now we’re into areas where i’ve been flamed on tb.

diaper in the control cavity changed the sound? you bet. totally believe that.

i also have found that pickguards change the sound and think that the type/amount of finish will change the sound.

(piece of plastic screwed to body will dampen vibrations; so will really thick paint.)

also a one-piece body has a different sound than a two-piece body.

most of this stuff i found by accident, with no pre-thought-out theories.

What about vintage Fender markers made with floor tiles???
They sound crazy good.

 

[steubig]

What about vintage Fender markers made with floor tiles???
They sound crazy good.

yeah. sure. i’ve gotten that sort of thing too.

i don’t worrk about vintage wire too much either.

 

[steubig]

most of the flaming came from people who never tried to make the comparison; they just “knew” it wouldn’t make a difference.

 

[emjazz]

oh oh.

now we’re into areas where i’ve been flamed on tb.

diaper in the control cavity changed the sound? you bet. totally believe that.

i also have found that pickguards change the sound and think that the type/amount of finish will change the sound.

(piece of plastic screwed to body will dampen vibrations; so will really thick paint.)

also a one-piece body has a different sound than a two-piece body.

most of this stuff i found by accident, with no pre-thought-out theories.

100%!! There's a builder in Europe that understands all of this and does some incredible things. He adds weights to the inside of the control cavity for sound, and he'll usually give the owner a couple of choices of weights to change the sound to their liking. He winds the pickups to each bass to suit each bass. Every bass is it's own entity with hardware, pickups, finish and the like all chosen for each individual bass. That's so incredible. Tom Stenbeck.

Edit: thank goodness he doesn't build 6 string basses!!

 

[lordradish]

Wal is it's own beast all the way. I feel like they were really made to be a studio bass. (Mick Karn!!!!!)

Karn's one of my favorites. I think he was one of the really original one ones.

The thing about my Wal that bums me out is it's so damn heavy, like 13 pounds (which is why McCartney stopped using his, too). I have back issues now and it makes long gigs a bit of a chore. So I got the Stingray, which only weighs about 2 or 3 pounds less, unfortunately, but out of all of the mainstream production basses, I think it's probably the closest, in terms of not a radical departure in tone.

When I had my fretless built, I had him build it with the exact same neck profile as the Wal, which was a great idea.

 

[lordradish]

most of the flaming came from people who never tried to make the comparison; they just “knew” it wouldn’t make a difference.

Are these the same people who post most of the idiotic trending threads you see when you first log in to TB? My god, those are bad. 500 post thread talking about a Squier P-Bass or a 200 dollar Ibanez.

 

[Passinwind]

100%!! There's a builder in Europe that understands all of this and does some incredible things. He adds weights to the inside of the control cavity for sound, and he'll usually give the owner a couple of choices of weights to change the sound to their liking. He winds the pickups to each bass to suit each bass. Every bass is it's own entity with hardware, pickups, finish and the like all chosen for each individual bass. That's so incredible. Tom Stenbeck.

Edit: thank goodness he doesn't build 6 string basses!!

My friend Marco Cortes has a similar design approach when left to his own devices. But the vast majority of his customers just want FSOs with a few little tweaks.

 

[emjazz]

My friend Marco Cortes has a similar design approach when left to his own devices. But the vast majority of his customers just want FSOs with a few little tweaks.

One thing I've learned is to give your specs and then let the builder do what they do. Not easy for me!!! Hahaha...but always yields better results. (Martin Keith is going to be building me a fretless...takes everything I have not to micro manage it all. Gotta have faith in your builder.)

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

Are these the same people who post most of the idiotic trending threads you see when you first log in to TB? My god, those are bad. 500 post thread talking about a Squier P-Bass or a 200 dollar Ibanez.

 

[monsterthompson]

View attachment 3960779

I might need a new avatar...

 

[Passinwind]

One thing I've learned is to give your specs and then let the builder do what they do. Not easy for me!!! Hahaha...but always yields better results. (Martin Keith is going to be building me a fretless...takes everything I have not to micro manage it all. Gotta have faith in your builder.)

Yep, I went through quite the song and dance with my last fretless build, and then Marco just mostly did what he felt like anyway, thankfully. But he did respect a couple of lines in the sand that I insisted on, and beyond the pickups he had no say at all in the electronics package. Personally, I've never bonded with any passive bass, but never loved any commercial onboard preamps all that much either. Still a work in progress, but rolling my own has been really rewarding in many ways...just not financially!