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Ambient/Post-Rock/Textural bass playing thread
- Thread starter ttasselm
- Start date
I have a couple versions of their P pickups. The vintage version and the angled vintage version. Haven't played the angled on a gig yet. The vintage version is definitely softer and less aggressive by design. Sounds great for what it is. Sounded great on gigs. In the end I wanted similar but "more"....hence the angled version.
Can't go wrong with Fralins. Had some years ago...both J's and a P. Incredible pickups.
Can't go wrong with Fralins. Had some years ago...both J's and a P. Incredible pickups.
imo? more agro, they hit the amp a bit harder. a little more touch-sensitive, sometimes verging on microphonic. people are surprised that i don’t use a preamp. don’t think it makes them darker.
probably just a mania or mine.
from Lindy Fralin's page on over-/under-winding pickups:
I have no experience w/ Nordstrand pickups, and the only Fralin I have is a "Stock Wind" P-bass pu in my Warmoth P. It sounds like an archetypal P-bass, which is exactly what I wanted it for...given my tenuous love/hate relationship with archetypal P-bass sounds, I can't imagine ever wanting something with a thicker midrange.
- For an era-authentic 50’s tone, use our “Stock Wind”, or, choose “N/A” under output preference
- For a thicker midrange and fewer highs, choose +5%. This will reduce the highs by 5%, and increase the lows and mids by 5%.
- For an even thicker tone than the +5%, you can opt for +10%. This is perfect for anyone looking for an aggressively strong midrange and dark tone. Perfect for balancing out a bright sounding bass.
- If you’re looking for a little cleaner tone, use our -5% wind. This will increase the highs by 5%, and decrease the mids by 5%.
I have no experience w/ Nordstrand pickups, and the only Fralin I have is a "Stock Wind" P-bass pu in my Warmoth P. It sounds like an archetypal P-bass, which is exactly what I wanted it for...given my tenuous love/hate relationship with archetypal P-bass sounds, I can't imagine ever wanting something with a thicker midrange.
Really cool. If money were no object I'd try some BigRigs over wound. Those sound like definite benefits.
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I've been thinking about getting a 6 string fretless and stringing it that way. Did you have to adjust the nut? I'd still like to be able to string it BEADGC, too, but wondering if I need to commit to one or the other.
If the nut is set up for B to G then you shouldn't have any problem switching back and forth. I certainly haven't.
Just now getting around to watching this, holy cow that's freaking amazing footage, looks like it was shot yesterday!
cool. funny thing is that my stuff has plenty of high end for me (maybe not for others). the mids thing sound about right. the more lows thing doesn’t bother me (but isn’t really something i feel i’ve noticed).
must be the way i set stuff up or play, i always feel like i have more high end than i want.
Why the love/hate with the precision bass sound? If remember well you really like the sound of your old steinberger??
No right or wrong here, I'm just curious with your experience.
I say just play what makes you smile....and gets the job done.
There is absolutely nothing about the sound of my Steinberger that resembles a Fender Precision Bass in any way, shape, or form. Zero.
Now, I don't know if other Steinbergers sound more like a P; I'd imagine that based on their construction & design, Steinberger L-2s are very consistent from unit to unit, but tbh I don't think I've ever spent more than 30 seconds playing any other L-2 besides the one I've owned since 1982. But a P Bass? Chalk and Cheese.
My love/hate relationship with the archetypal P Bass sound stems from a number of factors.
- The very first decent bass I played when I was a relative newb was an early 70s Fender Precision that a friend loaned me for long-term use. That was my only instrument from about 1976 through '78. Strung up with flatwounds. I was young, had only been playing bass for ~2 years at the time, it felt solid, it sounded like what a bass was supposed to sound like, it definitely sounded better than the Gibson EB-0, Fender Mustang, or no-name Korean knock-off of a Hofner Beatle Bass that I'd used previously, so I was fine with it. But around 1978, when I A) had to give it back to its owner, and B) went off to music college and started getting exposed to a lot of other music, I started to hear qualities in the recordings I'd made with that P Bass that bugged me. It had no twang, no zing, no sparkle, no presence...just dull thud. In short, my ear was getting more attracted to roundwound strings (and, to a lesser extent, active electronics) and so I associated that old P with the antithesis of what was becoming the platonic ideal of bass tone in my head.
- As this ideal bass tone was forming in my head, and as I was discovering new musics, and as I was a student in music school taking classes such as Listening Analysis where you'd do deep dives into recordings and identify structural and spectral components that contribute to their sound, I began to identify a specific quality to all Fender Precision Basses that really bugged me: There's a "throatiness", an almost vocal-like resonant formant, that pervades the sound produced by P Basses, as as soon as my ear latches on to that aspect of the tone it causes an instant negative reaction, an almost revulsion. It's visceral.
- an odd experience shortly after I finished undergrad: A coworker happened to own a 1964 Fender Precision and he let me play it one afternoon. It was the most awesome bass sound I had ever experienced in my life! And yet, it was still all "dull thud" and throaty vocal formants...but it was also magical! So now I was just conflicted, LOL!
- and then fast-forward 40 years, everyone and their uncle on TalkBass is raving about "a P Bass with flats" as the archetypal Holy Grail bass sound, and I thought to myself "Hmm, maybe I've been unfair, I should give the P another chance" and so I built up a Warmoth P Bass strung up with flatwounds so I could come to terms with that sound. Y'know what? I still hate it. It's a fabulous alternative to all the other colors I have in my palette, because none of my other basses sound remotely like it...but there is nothing about that tone that allows me to express my musical ideas. Between the "dull thud" and the throaty vocal formant, it's everything in a bass sound that I try to avoid.
I was in no way comparing the P-bass to the steinberger, I just remembered that you really liked that bass.
Thank you for sharing, makes perfect sense to me.
If you don't like it, hey you just dont. Nuff said.
What's your main one these days??
And I haven't forgotten about heckling you for some MOOD BLOOPER action.
Presuming by "these days" you mean the last time I played with other humans (it's been 13 months, two weeks, and two days, but who's counting? otoh the fully-vaccinated trio is finally getting together next Wednesday, yay!) my main bass is a Modulus Graphite fretted 6-string. One of two, actually: a 1988 Quantum-6 SPX and a 1996 Quantum-6 TBX
Sweeeeeet!!!!!
I almost got a modulus jazz about 20 years ago but the sticky gloss neck was the deal breaker.
Nice cabs, those old late 90s eden cabs are my favorites. (I have two old 4x10s)
Interestingly, I had to send the SPX back to Modulus for a neck repair maybe 10 years ago (back before they went out of business and then were reincarnated, so this was still under the lifetime warranty for original owners deal) and when I got the bass back they'd changed the gloss finish to a satin finish...without my asking for it, and without them even mentioning it! But it's definitely an improvement.
Wait ....what.....wait up....!?!?!?!?!
Are you telling me they can do a satin finish on those thing!??!?!?!?
Like, as an option.....????
Edit: i indeed seem to be the résident 4 string dude around here.
I'm greatly impressed by you guys with those huge 6ers, i could never get the hang of it.
Even the 5er was a gig only bass.
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I don't know whether it was ever offered as an option or alternative from the factory, but since both the clear-coat and the outermost layer of carbon fiber are purely cosmetic (non-structural) it can be easily DIY'd with some ultra-fine grit sandpaper.
I have no idea why they took it upon themselves to refinish the back of my neck, since all the damage/repair work had to do with the front side.
