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Ambient/Post-Rock/Textural bass playing thread

#11,263
Spectrum said:
the FMeron is not like that; it's very, very monophonic and doesn't like to see anything more than one single note coming out of your bass. You need to be precise with your fingers and it helps to turn the tone knob all the way down on the bass to get rid of overtones that confuse the pedal.
Click to expand...
steubig said:
sometimes that flaw can be a feature.
Click to expand...

My favorite part of the FMeron's owner's manual -- and quite possibly the thing that convinced me to buy one -- is under "Tracking" where it says

>>FMeron is a monophonic synthesizer, so it can only track and play a single note at a time, although interesting results can come from “confusing” its pitch detector by playing arpeggios and multiple notes simultaneously. The pedal will track most consistently from a signal with a strong fundamental and few harmonics.
Here are some suggestions for getting the best tracking:
• Turn the tone or treble knob on your instrument down, and use the neck pickup rather than the bridge.
• Pluck the strings cleanly close to the neck, with fingers rather than a pick or slapping.
• Place the FMeron at or near the beginning of your effects chain, and avoid placing it after anything that adds harmonics, like distortion.
Try doing the exact opposite of everything above to intentionally introduce glitches and octave-shifting into your playing.<<

(emphasis added)
 
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#11,266
monsterthompson said:
The hardware instrument (midi instruments) is actually pretty good for handling the issue. it's that stupid first note...
I'll try recording in Logic then moving the audio file over.
Click to expand...

Logic's External Instrument crushes the Ableton device. I mean, the headache factor is zero in Logic. I just googled how to use a hardware synth and it hit me with answers including how to AUTO adjust for hardware latency.

Let me say, it is mind opening to play the hardware synth sequence in real time and manipulate it with plugin effects that sync to the host tempo. I knew it could be done, but it still feels like wizardry.
 
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#11,267
Spectrum said:
I'm glad you like it. I have a tough time being satisfied with it. The rhythmic part I looped isn't timed as well I would've liked, and taming the FMeron to make the sound I want is tough. Some of the newer generation of synth pedals like the Boss SY family and the EHX Dash 9 series are polyphonic and track amazingly well, but the FMeron is not like that; it's very, very monophonic and doesn't like to see anything more than one single note coming out of your bass. You need to be precise with your fingers and it helps to turn the tone knob all the way down on the bass to get rid of overtones that confuse the pedal.
Click to expand...

In my journey, one thing that always stuck out to me was an OpEd I read in the magazine TapeOp (if you aren't aware of TapeOp, google it, get your free subscription and read every damn word that is delivered to your doorstep - I assume 90%+ in this thread know of TapeOp)...but I digress...the OpEd was all about the performance. It was about how some of the most legendary and historical records were recorded in the worst of conditions and the worst of gear, but the performance will always shine through.

This thread is full of perfectionists (duh) and it's although it may not be hard to hit record, it can be hard to hit save or share because of our perfectionist tendencies, but share your work...share your gifts. I watched that video and it was smooth, well transitioned...felt improv'ed and rehearsed at the same time (which to me, is the ultimate achievement) but at the end of the day, to me...it was pro-level. You may look at it and find 9 problems that I never noticed and that's the point. The 9 problems today could turn into 5 moments of genius and 4 clams to you next year or maybe 9 annoyances that you can never look at again, but the point is that it is captured as a point in time. I find that I appreciate the music that I make usually a few years after it was made. I'm my biggest fan of me a few years ago, but at the time I was absolute garbage. Maybe I am alone in that, but even things like lyrics I wrote that felt so trite at the time now hold such significant meaning as they have evolved in their meaning...maybe just 3 drinks in?
 
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#11,268
cosmicevan said:
In my journey, one thing that always stuck out to me was an OpEd I read in the magazine TapeOp (if you aren't aware of TapeOp, google it, get your free subscription and read every damn word that is delivered to your doorstep - I assume 90%+ in this thread know of TapeOp)...but I digress...the OpEd was all about the performance. It was about how some of the most legendary and historical records were recorded in the worst of conditions and the worst of gear, but the performance will always shine through.

This thread is full of perfectionists (duh) and it's although it may not be hard to hit record, it can be hard to hit save or share because of our perfectionist tendencies, but share your work...share your gifts. I watched that video and it was smooth, well transitioned...felt improv'ed and rehearsed at the same time (which to me, is the ultimate achievement) but at the end of the day, to me...it was pro-level. You may look at it and find 9 problems that I never noticed and that's the point. The 9 problems today could turn into 5 moments of genius and 4 clams to you next year or maybe 9 annoyances that you can never look at again, but the point is that it is captured as a point in time. I find that I appreciate the music that I make usually a few years after it was made. I'm my biggest fan of me a few years ago, but at the time I was absolute garbage. Maybe I am alone in that, but even things like lyrics I wrote that felt so trite at the time now hold such significant meaning as they have evolved in their meaning...maybe just 3 drinks in?
Click to expand...

I appreciate the encouragement, sir.

And since I am not working tomorrow, I shall have another helping of Woodford Reserve bourbon to catch up with you.
 
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#11,269
monsterthompson said:
Logic's External Instrument crushes the Ableton device. I mean, the headache factor is zero in Logic. I just googled how to use a hardware synth and it hit me with answers including how to AUTO adjust for hardware latency.

Let me say, it is mind opening to play the hardware synth sequence in real time and manipulate it with plugin effects that sync to the host tempo. I knew it could be done, but it still feels like wizardry.
Click to expand...

Spoke too soon. Now I've got logic messed up. Gotta be user error. Time to RTFM.
 
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#11,271
JES said:
i do find that with the same exact settings, Logic has less latency than Live. I cannot explain why.
Click to expand...

I don’t care about the amount of latency (well not much) but I’m annoyed that the first note latency isn’t the same as all the subsequent notes. I will probably need to just roll a dummy note in the sequence before anything I record, and then line things up after that.
 
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#11,273
Amid all this talk of just getting over yourself and putting stuff out there, I decided to upload this. I may get some CDs made or something at some point so I have something to bring to shows, if there are ever live shows ever again. Ever....

Some of this may be familiar to some of you, but some of it hasn't been released in any form before. Most or all of it is from the past few months.

 
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#11,275
steubig said:
i spent a number of hours last night trying to play the perfect feedback sound for 8 bars of music. you would think that would be simple.
Click to expand...

Also, I feel like feedback, distortion, and resonance have all these subtle complexities. "Cork sniffing" is usually used in a derogatory way but to me it is a little bit like wine (and I like feedback, distortion, and filter resonance better than I like wine).
 
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#11,276
ugly_bassplayer said:
I have zero doubt it was quite the task.

Controlling such a complex acoustic phenomenon is like trying to control nature itself.

Did you succeed?
Click to expand...

what i have might suffice, but it's not what i was hearing/wanted.

it's complicated and keep it going for 30 seconds or so (it's a slow 8 or so bars) makes is worse.

JES said:
Also, I feel like feedback, distortion, and resonance have all these subtle complexities. "Cork sniffing" is usually used in a derogatory way but to me it is a little bit like wine (and I like feedback, distortion, and filter resonance better than I like wine).
Click to expand...

i like all pretty much.
 
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