Ambient/Post-Rock/Textural bass playing thread

[cosmicevan]

@cosmicevan

i did a project that was a series of bandcamp releases that i called improv diaries. i’d do them once a month. put them up, warts and all. let them go for free.

imo, there are worse things than sharing one’s work.

I'm sure you've posted it and I probably even follow you, but what's your soundcloud? I like putting on long music when I'm just doing things...I'd love to check out more (I listen to most of what's posted in these threads). I am really into recording a lot of everything with all the hits and misses. I have this weird thing where in live situations I tend to go bigger than anywhere else with risks and have been known to throw curve balls to the bands I play in during shows...which has lead to my best and worst performances. I listen back to lots of it. As an improv focused player, it's great to hear the good ideas that were just for the moment and also to hear how my voice evolves. I'm better at appreciating what I have done in the past v what I'm doing now, which is always a good reminder to do things, and move on to the next things.

Having dealt with both C's, they both do great work, but in terms of communication, no comparison... Cliff Bordwell always got back to me ASAP, no matter how many times I contacted him, and you know how it is when you're first figuring out a custom bass, lots of questions, changed minds, etc. Chris just often took a long time to get back to me on certain things. I think he's overstretched, I'm glad I had mine before he got involved with Wish Bass, because from what I've heard, he's even less communicative, now.

Yearlong waits suck! I think it was about 6 months or so for the Stammie, and the CB was over a year. I remember, it arrived THE DAY BEFORE I LEFT FOR BELIZE AND GUATEMALA for a few weeks. That was some bad timing.
But hey, the waiting list for a Wal is over 2 years now, and you can't get one for under 7 grand. Got mine for 2500, used, about 20 years ago, sight unseen, from a guy in Toronto on ebay.

The thing I love and hate about the Carl Thompson experience is the black hole. It's just how he does it. Kind of like going to eat a dinner at a michellen chef where you don't get a menu, you just get what they make (after letting them know about minimal dietary restrictions). Becoming a fan of Carl's work has taught me a lot about perception and some of the smoke and mirrors about the details of life that we like to obsess about.

as a side note, I'm having an incredible time getting lost in this setup. The Vongon is kinda Moog level (yeah, I said it)...

 

[steubig]

I will say, after hearing your stuff, I have no idea why you'd be nervous. You slay. Is it just the big gigs? Get nervous in a small coffee house gig?

all the time. most of my gigs are small at this point.

adrenaline: fight or flight?

but there’s also *my expectations*. i want to be as good as i can be, ya know?

and thanks for the kind words.

 

[steubig]

I'm sure you've posted it and I probably even follow you, but what's your soundcloud? I like putting on long music when I'm just doing things...I'd love to check out more (I listen to most of what's posted in these threads). I am really into recording a lot of everything with all the hits and misses. I have this weird thing where in live situations I tend to go bigger than anywhere else with risks and have been known to throw curve balls to the bands I play in during shows...which has lead to my best and worst performances. I listen back to lots of it. As an improv focused player, it's great to hear the good ideas that were just for the moment and also to hear how my voice evolves. I'm better at appreciating what I have done in the past v what I'm doing now, which is always a good reminder to do things, and move on to the next things.



The thing I love and hate about the Carl Thompson experience is the black hole. It's just how he does it. Kind of like going to eat a dinner at a michellen chef where you don't get a menu, you just get what they make (after letting them know about minimal dietary restrictions). Becoming a fan of Carl's work has taught me a lot about perception and some of the smoke and mirrors about the details of life that we like to obsess about.

as a side note, I'm having an incredible time getting lost in this setup. The Vongon is kinda Moog level (yeah, I said it)...

View attachment 3962943

i only use soundcloud for interim things. bandcamp for "complete projects" and actually do physical discs fro certain projects.

i have so many bc projects it's stupid (literally). it might be easier to ask what interests you. (steuart liebig)

what's the vongon and what's the big pink thing?

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

i’m always nervous
before gigs. especially when there are other players i respect in the room.

and i know that any bass player in the room knows what a fraud i am.


re pretentious: it’s pretentious just to get on stage, so might as well go for it and enjoy it.

Same. I always get nervous.

By far the worst for me was playing public exams in university. Either for my exams or accompanying others. Felt like every micro note was under the microscope. Terrible feeling.

Way worse than when I played for over 15 000 people when my old band opened for Megadeth. Once I played 10 secs.....it was on. Savor this moment cuz this will never happen again bud.

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

@steubig
Ya...I get that "fraud" feeling also.
Very weird and hard to describe.

Like some sort of "I don't deserve this"
.....vibe kinda

Till I say to myself ....
F this .....go for it.....!!!

 

[lordradish]

Well, put the deposit on the Miezo, today. Going with pretty basic stock options, raintree body, 6 string, I'm gonna have him do the same 16.5 mm spacing as my CB. So, three months.

More info for those that are interested, about the custom string thing. Basically, you can't go back and forth... if you're going with the custom low octave set, he has to build it a certain way, and you still won't have the low B, so I'm just gonnna get standard and use this primarily to practice my chords...

"Raintree is in many ways similar to African mahogany tone wise. Its tone is warm and well balanced. In acoustic instruments it shines for its even response across the tonal range. Unlike mahogany however it does not sound dark and it sports a pleasing sweet voice at the top end which makes it just right for up the board soloing and chordal work.

About custom strings. This is a bit tricky. The Miezo is by design an instrument tuned to the higher octave of a standard 34" bass. Wanting to go one octave lower is quite a feat and it requires both modifications and the will to adapt to string gauge that is quite unlike anything we have played on a standard bass. The mods required will make it tricky to fit standard strings later on. In my humble opinion, unless you know for sure you will like playing on a huge .210/.180/.150.... string gauge, you should consider using the Miezo for what it is good at - upper register soloing. In its territory an entry level Miezo can put to shame many standard 34" scale basses. Its bell-like clarity, resonance, articulation, string tightness in the upper octave is something I have only experienced on a 36" or 37" scale bass. Custom strings for a low E on 16" scale will cost around $120. I would not consider going even lower to a B0."​

 

[lordradish]

This is with the regular strings.

 

[Spectrum]

Ugh that video gives me a headache. Hold the camera still and stop the autofocusing madness!

Seems like an interesting instrument, I would probably try to use it for chordal stuff.

 

[lordradish]

Ugh that video gives me a headache. Hold the camera still and stop the autofocusing madness!

Seems like an interesting instrument, I would probably try to use it for chordal stuff.

Yeah, the video quality was certainly less than optimal. But even with the crappy recording, it does sound like it's gonna sound nice.
These sound a lot better...

 

[emjazz]

Didn't he basically rip off Wing Bass?...Using the super heavy strings to tune it as a normal bass is the only change. Other than that, isn't it a Wing Bass?

 

[steubig]

Didn't he basically rip off Wing Bass?...Using the super heavy strings to tune it as a normal bass is the only change. Other than that, isn't it a Wing Bass?

who hasn’t been ripping off fender for decades?

 

[emjazz]

I used to have panic attacks on stage. I would be in full panic attack mode in a full room of people thinking to myself "when will this be over??"......I lost gigs because it was effecting my playing. This is with many hundreds of gigs under my belt. I felt completely inadequate. I was self taught, basically playing by ear for many years. Learning more about music helped a great deal. Learning to not hate myself with every "wrong" note helped even more. Being in NY for 2 1/2 years was the best thing that I ever did for myself, because I realized that so many of my heroes also struggled with self worth and being "good enough". I still get nervous, and it can still effect my playing, but at my best, when the voices aren't there and all I'm doing is reacting to what is happening around me, I am elated...and I get to experience something that feels like real life magic in a very complicated world.

I can see why so many musicians find their thing and stick to that. It's comfortable. When you do something that involves improvisation heavily, you're taking a chance every time. I've seen some heroes crash and burn in front of an audience, and I respect them even more, because they took a chance, and because they'll get back up and do it again.

 

[monsterthompson]

Didn't he basically rip off Wing Bass?...Using the super heavy strings to tune it as a normal bass is the only change. Other than that, isn't it a Wing Bass?

If you consider using the half-scale idea a rip off, then I suppose you could say that. Though, I don't think anything else about it is similar enough to say anything disparaging. I certainly think Miezo looks significantly better, but YMMV.

 

[emjazz]

who hasn’t been ripping off fender for decades?

Fair point, but others have taken the model and done it better. I'm genuinely curious if they've at least improved on the idea.

 

[monsterthompson]

Fair point, but others have taken the model and done it better. I'm genuinely curious if they've at least improved on the idea.

I don't think Wing offers an aux-in and headphone amp out, or an octave-down circuit to be built in. I think the Miezo looks like it would be easier and more comfortable to hold.

Edit - Build time for the Miezo is about 12 weeks vs. 32 for the Wing. Yikes.

 

[steubig]

Fair point, but others have taken the model and done it better. I'm genuinely curious if they've at least improved on the idea.

sure. but improve is an interesting word here, there are so many people trying to basically reinvent vintage fender instruments it’s kind of ridiculous. hell, fender is doing that.

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

I used to have panic attacks on stage. I would be in full panic attack mode in a full room of people thinking to myself "when will this be over??"......I lost gigs because it was effecting my playing. This is with many hundreds of gigs under my belt. I felt completely inadequate. I was self taught, basically playing by ear for many years. Learning more about music helped a great deal. Learning to not hate myself with every "wrong" note helped even more. Being in NY for 2 1/2 years was the best thing that I ever did for myself, because I realized that so many of my heroes also struggled with self worth and being "good enough". I still get nervous, and it can still effect my playing, but at my best, when the voices aren't there and all I'm doing is reacting to what is happening around me, I am elated...and I get to experience something that feels like real life magic in a very complicated world.

I can see why so many musicians find their thing and stick to that. It's comfortable. When you do something that involves improvisation heavily, you're taking a chance every time. I've seen some heroes crash and burn in front of an audience, and I respect them even more, because they took a chance, and because they'll get back up and do it again.

I also share this feeling of inadequacy.
Got better when I accepted that a perfect performance is impossible.....
I still consider myself a very limited talent that put in a stupid amount of hours.

Brings to mind something I read a while back.

Was about Charlie Haden when he was roomates with Scott LaFaro.
Charlie said Scott would practice constantly because he always felt like he couldn't get the right sounds he heard in his head through his bass playing.

 

[steubig]

I realized that so many of my heroes also struggled with self worth and being "good enough". I still get nervous, and it can still effect my playing, but at my best, when the voices aren't there and all I'm doing is reacting to what is happening around me, I am elated...and I get to experience something that feels like real life magic in a very complicated world.

yeah. the amount of great players/writers who are not satisfied with what they do is comforting (lol). (i always cite the old john lennon playboy interview in this [they ask him about classic beatles tunes and he maybe gives a B+ to one or two]; there’s also a more recent sonny rollins interview that touches on this [he basically said he played maybe five gigs he thought were good!].)

the struggle is half the fun, right?

being in the moment—and both reacting and instigating at the same time—is an interesting thing.

I can see why so many musicians find their thing and stick to that. It's comfortable. When you do something that involves improvisation heavily, you're taking a chance every time. I've seen some heroes crash and burn in front of an audience, and I respect them even more, because they took a chance, and because they'll get back up and do it again.

interesting subject. we all have our own way of hearing “what works.” i think that tends to create one’s style and can also be a trap.

i’ve also seen very successful guys who are so busy gigging that they don’t have time to really work up new stuff.

 

[emjazz]

I don't think Wing offers an aux-in and headphone amp out, or an octave-down circuit to be built in. I think the Miezo looks like it would be easier and more comfortable to hold.

Edit - Build time for the Miezo is about 12 weeks vs. 32 for the Wing. Yikes.

Wing does offer those things, but the wait time is a fair point.

 

[monsterthompson]

Wing does offer those things, but the wait time is a fair point.

The other big thing is the lower horn. I think it could make it easier to position when seated. That’s part of what attracts me.