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Ambient/Post-Rock/Textural bass playing thread

Okay just one more. This one really gets me. I don't know much about sampling and have no experience, so I can't imagine how the BoC guys did this. About half way through the track there is this weird sample of a human voice that is kind of whispering and stuttering which is remarkable. It's another great example of how BoC manages to sound happy and creepy AF at the same time.


Played the album in the car on the way to work. Was afraid I'd have to crank it, but seems like the beats are heavier than Tomorrow's Harvest - I still had the Spotify eq on (for listening on headphones - massive bass, way-cut mids) and I have my car stereo at like +3 bass, so my car was boomin! It was fun, I was on the highway, at one point I realized I could barely hear anything besides the drums! So I turned the eq off when I finally had the chance.

I think I heard the voice thing you were talking about - listening again - and again, I missed it dang it! Isn't there a lot of sampled voice throughout the track? But really staccato at first, then phrases start to emerge... But then it doesn't do what I thought I heard - maybe on another track? Something like a voice saying "I love you"? OK, this is what makes music fascinating - I'm buying on Bandcamp!
 
What speakers did you get? I have a pair of Focal Alpha 80’s and a pair of Focal ShapeTwins. Big fan of that company

some guys i know who sell audio suggested some polk stuff. probably not sexy, bu a decent price for my budget and a huge improvement over the garage sale stuff i had before.

the boc alb i was listening to has some crazily flanged voice stuff.
 
Gonna listen today!



I'm going to try and record some demo stuff with it (whether I release or not is another story) - is there anything in particular you're interested in? I'm basically happy with the mild overdrive with a nice healthy dose of clean.



I read "new module" as "nodule" - struck me as funny, not sure why...
Just general thoughts. Do you use an e-bow? Curious about how it sounds with that, as well as how sustains it is. Thanks.
 
On to random synth thing has anyone ever played a behringer td3? Seem cheap as chips abs I like it has distortion inbuilt but if I can’t play it unless needing a keyboard then I’d likely not purchase… I figure my bass synth pedals and vst on my laptop are enough (too much in they’re still not explored hah) without going into something like a bass station 2 but a cheap hardware that can do acid filter and distortion is well… enticing!
 
@dukeorock - I'm thinking about that Erica Black Hole DSP 2 again. A while back, you said you didn't get along with it. Would you advise against a purchase? PC does have a return policy, so I'm tempted.

I was rifling through a ton of modules at the time and didn’t always give some stuff much of a chance, so consider that. The cool part is there’s a lot of very good fx, but to me they all had the same ‘color.’ I didn’t especially care for the color. Then again, I’m still over the moon for my Mimeophon, and you didn’t care for it, so different strokes. If you’re tempted and can return it if you don’t like it, then why not try it?!
 
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Just general thoughts. Do you use an e-bow? Curious about how it sounds with that, as well as how sustains it is. Thanks.
I have actually never used an e-bow! In high school in the 80s I had a friend that was totally into the Edge so he got one, I may have fiddled but don't have any clear memory, and certainly not on bass.

I experimented with some recording yesterday, need to see how it came out and maybe try again today.
 
On to random synth thing has anyone ever played a behringer td3? Seem cheap as chips abs I like it has distortion inbuilt but if I can’t play it unless needing a keyboard then I’d likely not purchase… I figure my bass synth pedals and vst on my laptop are enough (too much in they’re still not explored hah) without going into something like a bass station 2 but a cheap hardware that can do acid filter and distortion is well… enticing!

I have a TD3, and I think it's well worth its modest price. It's basically a 303 clone (or maybe knock-off is more correct) and it sounds great. I play it through an EBS Billy Sheehan and my bass rig. A thing to remember about 303:s (the real deal as well as the clones) is that they sound best with not only distortion but also a good compressor. And a good bass speaker.

You will not need a keyboard, the whole point with a 303 is the built-in sequencer. Which is much easier to program than people tend to think. You will probably have to watch a tutorial to learn it, but it's in no way hard. Just a little awkward compared to the usual 909 style grid programming on almost any other sequencer.
 
Okay, Big Blade is in. It certainly looks cool. Definitely LOTS more midrange and oomph and has that familiar ceramic "note leaps off the board" vibe. Feels good to play. Love the bass notes. The notes on the plain steels (top 4 strings) are a little "steelier" than with the original pickup.

So I just did a quick sloppy noodle in Logic. Direct in, no compression, no EQ. But delay, because why not? First part is just the clean tone into the delay, then I turn on some overdrive for a sound more like I'd use. The 60hz hum is definitely audible. Do I care? IDK. Taking it to practice to see what it's like in a room with distortion pedals and an amp. Obviously generations of jazz bass (the instrument, not the genre) have lived with this.

OTOH, since it's a touch instrument, a little less attack would be ok. So maybe I will try the Zen Blade too.

 
Okay, Big Blade is in. It certainly looks cool. Definitely LOTS more midrange and oomph and has that familiar ceramic "note leaps off the board" vibe. Feels good to play. Love the bass notes. The notes on the plain steels (top 4 strings) are a little "steelier" than with the original pickup.

So I just did a quick sloppy noodle in Logic. Direct in, no compression, no EQ. But delay, because why not? First part is just the clean tone into the delay, then I turn on some overdrive for a sound more like I'd use. The 60hz hum is definitely audible. Do I care? IDK. Taking it to practice to see what it's like in a room with distortion pedals and an amp. Obviously generations of jazz bass (the instrument, not the genre) have lived with this.

OTOH, since it's a touch instrument, a little less attack would be ok. So maybe I will try the Zen Blade too.


Does your touch instrument have one or two pickups??
 
Okay, Big Blade is in. It certainly looks cool. Definitely LOTS more midrange and oomph and has that familiar ceramic "note leaps off the board" vibe. Feels good to play. Love the bass notes. The notes on the plain steels (top 4 strings) are a little "steelier" than with the original pickup.

So I just did a quick sloppy noodle in Logic. Direct in, no compression, no EQ. But delay, because why not? First part is just the clean tone into the delay, then I turn on some overdrive for a sound more like I'd use. The 60hz hum is definitely audible. Do I care? IDK. Taking it to practice to see what it's like in a room with distortion pedals and an amp. Obviously generations of jazz bass (the instrument, not the genre) have lived with this.

OTOH, since it's a touch instrument, a little less attack would be ok. So maybe I will try the Zen Blade too.


I think that sounds spectacular! From your comments, I have a feeling you'll end up loving the Zen blade. This definitely makes me want to put some Zen blades in my own bass.

What's the overdrive coming from? Is it just something from Logic?

Edit...man...really loving this sound.
 
since it's a touch instrument
do you have a link to such ? i´m interested to know more.

i like the sound. it reminds me of what my Bass with the Big Blades is doing.
Yet, you play tame, and that might be the nature of that instrument ......?
While i think that the big blades shine, especially also vs. a different hardness of playing.
But the EQ/pre plays then a role too.

But i have more and more a problem with the side-noises when i record.
even just coming closer to my screen is allready not good. We talk here 4-5 foot. 5´ is "doable", 4´ is not.
 
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do you have a link to such ? i´m interested to know more.

i like the sound. it reminds me of what my Bass with the Big Blades is doing.
Yet, you play tame, and that might be the nature of that instrument ......?
While i think that the big blades shine, especially also vs. a different hardness of playing.
But the EQ/pre plays then a role too.

But i have more and more a problem with the side-noises when i record.
even just coming closer to my screen is allready not good. We talk here 4-5 foot. 5´ is "doable", 4´ is not.
What you're talking about is definitely the issue with single coils.
 
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What you're talking about is definitely the issue with single coils.
yeah, now i know.
i had NO clue about pickups in general when i ordered these a few months back !

i have a shortscale multiscale, so the blades were the only option to take something from stock. ( ibanez ehb1005sms, 5 string / had to take the 6 string version pups)

There is a chance that i forgot to connect the shielding foil in the pickups cavern with the main electronics cavern. I need to check that, finally
 
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Okay, Big Blade is in. It certainly looks cool. Definitely LOTS more midrange and oomph and has that familiar ceramic "note leaps off the board" vibe. Feels good to play. Love the bass notes. The notes on the plain steels (top 4 strings) are a little "steelier" than with the original pickup.

So I just did a quick sloppy noodle in Logic. Direct in, no compression, no EQ. But delay, because why not? First part is just the clean tone into the delay, then I turn on some overdrive for a sound more like I'd use. The 60hz hum is definitely audible. Do I care? IDK. Taking it to practice to see what it's like in a room with distortion pedals and an amp. Obviously generations of jazz bass (the instrument, not the genre) have lived with this.

OTOH, since it's a touch instrument, a little less attack would be ok. So maybe I will try the Zen Blade too.



sounds good to me.

tbh, i wish you didn’t have the delay cause it clouds other aspects of to sound (for me).

and i think the high strings sound great.

my biggest complaint is that you can’t get the blades in a 19mm 6-string bass.
 
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sounds good to me.

tbh, i wish you didn’t have the delay cause it clouds other aspects of to sound (for me).

and i think the high strings sound great.

my biggest complaint is that you can’t get the blades in a 19mm 6-string bass.

i think you can. Mine are for 6 string basses.

I can do an edit with no delay if you want to hear it.
 
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I think that sounds spectacular! From your comments, I have a feeling you'll end up loving the Zen blade. This definitely makes me want to put some Zen blades in my own bass.

What's the overdrive coming from? Is it just something from Logic?

Edit...man...really loving this sound.

thanks! I really like the sound too. Going to live with this one for a bit. Where I record has a lot of electrical noise — the computer, the monitor, the overhead light with a fan and dimmer, and the modular. But maybe it won’t be a thing.

the distortion is my secret sauce in the box: SoundToys Decapitator. I usually prefer it to amp sims. I can post a screenshot of the settings. Delay is ValhallaDelay on ghost setting.
 
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