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Ambient/Post-Rock/Textural bass playing thread

Pardon the redundancy, but I made a new version of my recent DFAM/Subharmonicon/8-string bass sketch. The main thing is I re-recorded the bass, following up on ideas that were improvised in the earlier version. Still not all the way, but I feel like I showed myself that there is potential. I'm not at the peak of my powers - if I'm going to redo the bass part again, I need to explore the possibilities more and warm-up and hope I hit it! I do like the energy in certain sections here, and I don't rush quite as bad as in the first one.



Another reason I'm posting here is because I finally figured out my old MFB-503 Drumcomputer - I've had it sitting around gathering dust for close to 15 years, for now I just want to use it for the kick sound to supplement the DFAM. Here too, I feel like I was able to ride the time smears between the DFAM & bass, I think it gels a little better than the previous version. I'm triggering it with a keyboard, might be nice to get something with pad triggers, but I need something with its own power, so many things are powered via the USB MIDI.

I'm happy though, the Subharmonicon is doing what I was hoping it would do - give me an interesting background with enough harmonic complexity yet minimal effort and knowledge on my part! I added some Sirin bass pedal parts too - on my original demo, I was overplaying on that - this time I just tried to play basically what I would play with my feet instead of getting too clever. Finally, there are some ambient sounds from the original video, mostly birds but there's an airplane in there too which I like.
 
The Charlie Foxtrot has been on my "to try" list for quite a while.
Discontinued and way overpriced now.

interesting. i decided to move mine. imo, the tensor can do a lot of the stuff, and is also more controllable and predictable. the exp pedal functionality is an added boost.
 
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Well thanks.
That's one less thing to try. The Tensor is freakin awesome.
But I use it 99%of the time with my sampler.
:)

and i always use it to bring in little artifacts with the exp pedal. that 12-string thing i shared a while had a lot of that. all the little fluctuations were my brining rhe tensor while i was playing.

one of my fave things about it is getting it confused by putting a reverb and/or delay in front of it and feeding it repeats/reflections. little glitches.
 
and i always use it to bring in little artifacts with the exp pedal. that 12-string thing i shared a while had a lot of that. all the little fluctuations were my brining rhe tensor while i was playing.

one of my fave things about it is getting it confused by putting a reverb and/or delay in front of it and feeding it repeats/reflections. little glitches.
I really like how everyone uses that pedal sooooo differently.
I get confused and lost too easily playing and using loopers.
May give it a try but I have a feeling it's going to be a train wreck as usual.
I can't even use a simple ditto live without making a fool of myself.
 
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I think it gels a little better than the previous version.
i like it *way* better.
Dig it.

Not shure if it was me, my submixer running over some cheap DI-box which can overdrive ( i have that usually under control),......but your first version had (listening here) some unpleasant "attacky" sound to it. That made the Bass, iirc, sound harsh*, and was not a match. ( * just in its attack portion of the sound)
 
i like it *way* better.
Dig it.

Not shure if it was me, my submixer running over some cheap DI-box which can overdrive ( i have that usually under control),......but your first version had (listening here) some unpleasant "attacky" sound to it. That made the Bass, iirc, sound harsh*, and was not a match. ( * just in its attack portion of the sound)
Thanks for listening! That's interesting, I did re-record the bass with a touch more gain on the Pork & Pickle and my Boss EQ in the signal chain, plus I put more work into the mix.

I think I'm done with this one, for now at least - time to make something new!
 
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i like it *way* better.
Dig it.

Not shure if it was me, my submixer running over some cheap DI-box which can overdrive ( i have that usually under control),......but your first version had (listening here) some unpleasant "attacky" sound to it. That made the Bass, iirc, sound harsh*, and was not a match. ( * just in its attack portion of the sound)
OK, I think I figured it out! The first video was definitely a demo - a couple of takes of the bass, knew it wasn't perfect, slapped the Sirin on there, quick mix down. Then, knowing it was far from perfect, I converted it to an mp3 on my old computer (11 year old Mac), and used that mp3 in iMovie for the video. The second one still not perfect, but for the extra effort I put into mixing it, I also forgot to convert it on my old computer (trying to save space on this current one, a MacBook Air from early 2020), so used the original WAV file for the video in iMovie - so the audio is that much better. Not 100% on this, but it seems like the likely reason the first video doesn't sound as good. Not sure if it's just because I used an mp3 or because the mp3 the old version of iTunes made is inferior - I should try and test that!
 
I really like how everyone uses that pedal sooooo differently.
I get confused and lost too easily playing and using loopers.
May give it a try but I have a feeling it's going to be a train wreck as usual.
I can't even use a simple ditto live without making a fool of myself.
@Bob_Ross
thanks for supporting my incompetence with loop pedals
;)
 
If it's any consolation, I've heard 12-year-olds who can do the Build A Self-Accompanying Pop Tune In Real-Time With Nothing But A Ditto & A Guitar better than I will ever be able to. And believe me, it's not for lack of trying.
When I lived in the Pacific NW (US), I was in a community photographer group. My 8 year old daughter joined in, and my only rules were that she didn’t have to take photos like an adult, and that if it wasn’t fun for her she didn’t have to go. With her smaller stature and open mind, she took photos that adults wouldn’t take, and were often well composed and fun. So, reading this, and knowing my own lack of looper success, I think it’s often because the 12 year old is *playing* music, and I am *making* music.
 
If it's any consolation, I've heard 12-year-olds who can do the Build A Self-Accompanying Pop Tune In Real-Time With Nothing But A Ditto & A Guitar better than I will ever be able to. And believe me, it's not for lack of trying.

tbh, the self-accompanying pop song style of looping is absolutely my least favorite style of looping.

(sorry if this offends)
 
Speaking of looping, I just got an email from Soma. Coincidentally, I just got paid for something in Euros. So I have, for only the second time in my life, just ordered something from the very first production run. Fingers crossed.

I've been keeping up reading but have been real quiet. Busy time at work, some bad dentistry, and The Drugs were really messing with me, so I have been off them for a few days now (with in consultation with oncologist). I am pooping like a normal person now for the first time in months. I also have a TON of energy (=normal amount of energy for other people; chemical fatigue is real!). Which gives me perspective and also a chance to do something for my past and future self. My synth setup and recording setup at home required too much effort before. If I was feeling like butt, I wasn't going to set anything up, so I've been using some of my energy to reorganize everything to a mise-en-place setup. I tried and failed once before but I think I know why I failed: no central hub that's not the computer.

So I took a chance on a 1010 Bluebox as a mixer/recorder/hub and it is exceeding my expectations. It's tiny so I need some extra-small cables, which should arrive today and tomorrow. By the time my stomach fully settles and I go back on The Drugs (probably later this week or weekend) I should be all set up to flip a switch and start making music. In the meantime, it's like I'm on stimulants or something. Kind of fun.