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Ambient/Post-Rock/Textural bass playing thread
- Thread starter ttasselm
- Start date
I like it to be warm and sustainy. That's about it. I pretty much use it for ebow.
Hah. I guess the table in the middle is a 'desk', as it has a laptop stand and can be sat at, but I think the 'desk' left the station a long time ago. On it is the VESA for the Iridium, the Hydra, and a few pedals. Bass rigs are over in the corner, obscured.
OMG. I love dirt. It's my "wine" in the sense of subtle flavours and notes. I also almost never play totally clean. My main amps are an Orange TB-500 and a Quilter TB202, both of which have a lot of gain so the sound is already a little hairy. On my board, I like stacking pedals for gain changes in a band context: an overdrive for more push, sear, and sustain but not much volume increase, a distortion for even more sustain with tons of grind on lower notes and a sort of singing sound on higher notes, and a fuzz for total obliteration/square wave conversion. I can run them individually, or stack OD<--Dist<--Fuzz. For OD, I like the Xotic BB Bass because it still sounds like me only grindier, for distortion I like the Idiot Box Blower Box (Rat based but made for bass and not totally Rat-like); for fuzz, I've come to really like the VFE Woodchipper because of its nasty octave up sound and huge low end. It's the part of my sound that often gets a lot of comments at shows from bassists and non-bassists alike.
I also have an love a Dr Scientist The Elements, possibly on @steubig's recommendation, which can do anything. That's the one I use at home.
I will say what I don't like about the Aftershock is you notice the 'digital' when it cuts off as it fades out. I'm not a big fan of that, so I definitely could use something better. I just don't use it enough to put the effort into finding something different. Are there any versatile non-digital ones that any can recommend? I like having OD, Dist, and fuzz, but I could probably live without the fuzz.
Anyone use the Way Huge Pork and Pickle OD/Fuzz? Been thinking about that one.
Anyone use the Way Huge Pork and Pickle OD/Fuzz? Been thinking about that one.
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Never tried it but dont forget its either pork or pickle, one foot switch.
There’s a toggle in the middle to go from OD to Fuzz. So going from one to another is a major pain in the @$$
My 2 cents.
I know, but again, it's not something I'm all that concerned about. With the amount I use it, I generally know what sound I want when I start off. On the board, I have room for one double pedal. I can't see using that one on a 2 switch dirt pedal, when I'd rather have some strange tone generator or another delay.
I know how much dirt is a part of your vibe, so hearing me go on like this must drive ya' nuts.
Speaking of delays, WHERE THE HELL ARE ALL THE STEREO ANALOG DELAYS out there? Walrus Bellwether, and maybe one or two others is all I seem to be able to find. I used to have a Way Huge Supa-puss, which I loved cuz it could get really dirty or you could do some interesting things with it. I wish they made a stereo version, as I'd be all over that.
I think @JES is the the biggest dirt fan here?? Way more in the know than me for current stuff.
I and can inquire how I use it on bass, synths mixes etc when the kids go-to bed later.
And no i don't mind at all you asking all this.Better asking questions than buying crap you don't like.
Re : dirt part of my vibe. I dunno...maybe...never thought about that.
I just use what serves the song best.
I don't mind going clean if it works.
I do lots of soul funk and hip hop and dirt pedals rarely get use when I play those.
Maybe just a tiny bit but for added harmonic "thicknes" ....??!? You can't hear it driven in the mix.
I guess I said that because from what I've heard of your stuff, you're into the dark/aggressive/noise thing, and dirt is certainly a key part of that, no?
As I sit here and listen to a serene 40 minute Steve Roach piece, I sometimes feel like the weirdo around here.
And yes, new age sucks.
And yes, new age sucks.
Yep, i guess your right on that point.
Trying new approches ATM, avoiding repeating the same old « recipe » again.
Work in progress, I got some cool things recorded. Damn I put too much time in this stuff, we must be completely nuts.
I should bang out a crappy Lo FI hip SoundCloud mixtape and make some C.R.E.A.M
Weirdo......
I think we all are around here, yesterday I was non stop listening to John Cage prepared solo piano.
Édit:
My new approach stuff, once ready I’ll need to test those on some poor victims.
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Hardly. Locking myself up in my studio for 4 hours a night is one of the things that makes life worth living, just like tacos, mountain biking, x-c skiing and hot sex.
Man. So much variety.
Germ Warfare is currently being used for a touch of hair and EQ on the Aux signal going into my delay and reverb to make the effects pop more. I should try the “insert” functions on those pedals so the dirt is only on the wet signal that they send back to the mixer.
For just a bass tone:
I want something chunky and crunchy. Not too much low distortion, not too much fizz. The Sol Invictus (Beta clone) is pretty good for that. The Pessimiser is a lot of gain and I wish it could go a bit softer, but overall it responds well. The Damnation MBD-1 was a pretty nice device and I’ve considered repurchasing it.
Big picture - each dirt is just another color in my crayon box. What I like depends on what I’m trying to draw.
If you want a smallish pedal that can do it all, but only one thing at a time, Dr Scientist The Elements is what you are after. It is a little complicated but there's no app or anything. It's what I use at home since I only ever want one distortion at a time at home.
@JES the elements thing is probably my fault. i have three that i chain in a row, with different eq slots emphasized. all with exp pedal, so i can get overlapping, morphing, call and response. sometimes singing, sometimes overtone/feedback manipulations, sometimes subtle eq bumps, sometimes breaking glass.
i've never really been into the "svt od on steroids" thing. might be age-related.
@ugly_bassplayer thickness is something that i like to do as well. it's not raging, but it's good for a bit of intensity. (why eq in a fuzz/od pedal is super important to me—as is the ability to blend clean and dirty.)
@lordradish been running stereo off and on since the 90s (in one band, the guitar player and i both went stereo—i dubbed us "the band with more gear than sense." if you don't already do it, a panning pedal (i use the old ibanez vl-10) is great for throwing things left or right and having loops placed in different part of the stereo field—"instant counterpoint" . . . the elements is all analog. the eq is very effective.
btw, i think you're hearing a gate closing on aftershock. i really hate fuzzes that area always gated. no good feedback trails or dying out—oops, no sound!
i'm almost 65 and have been married for almost 35 years with almost grown children, sadly, hot sex is not something that happens much anymore. tacos are more certain. you young folks have all the luck.
i've never really been into the "svt od on steroids" thing. might be age-related.
@ugly_bassplayer thickness is something that i like to do as well. it's not raging, but it's good for a bit of intensity. (why eq in a fuzz/od pedal is super important to me—as is the ability to blend clean and dirty.)
@lordradish been running stereo off and on since the 90s (in one band, the guitar player and i both went stereo—i dubbed us "the band with more gear than sense." if you don't already do it, a panning pedal (i use the old ibanez vl-10) is great for throwing things left or right and having loops placed in different part of the stereo field—"instant counterpoint" . . . the elements is all analog. the eq is very effective.
btw, i think you're hearing a gate closing on aftershock. i really hate fuzzes that area always gated. no good feedback trails or dying out—oops, no sound!
i'm almost 65 and have been married for almost 35 years with almost grown children, sadly, hot sex is not something that happens much anymore. tacos are more certain. you young folks have all the luck.
Can the Elements work on line level inputs???
Will give my opinion\use\ and stuff on the dirt thing, but I don’t want to wander on too long and ramble. My take might be very different from the others on certain aspects, maybe I should focus on that??
Any specifics you might want to know??
On bass?? Synths?? Mixes??
Live?? Studio??........DAW....pedals......????
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no idea about line level. i guess a web search would be more useful than me, as it's not a feature i need.
tbh, i always see people talk about the best dirt pedals and i'm just interested what people are looking for in a sound/use. more idle information than me learning how to use one, ya know?
no agenda beyond that.
