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Biggest Bass String EVER

#21
Now, my computer at work has a pretty crappy speaker system but it does have a sub and when i'm listening to rehearsals on Reaper I can get the kick pretty bottom-end-beefy...... and yet on that video I could barely hear the low notes. Very few amps or PA's can put out those kind of frequencies with any clarity.

Can't
See
The
Point
of
it.
 
#22
You'd need to take one of these (below) to each gig just to hear those frequencies.

We used two of them at a big product launch in the late 80's to make the sound of a UFO landing. It was set up under the seating in the stands and when we cranked it everybody stood up to avoid the immense low frequency vibrations coming through their plastic seats. Some people even commented that they thought they were going to lose control of their bowels.


Capture.JPG
 
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#23
BAG said:
Can't
See
The
Point
of
it.
Click to expand...
If you don't see the point of low notes perhaps you chose the wrong instrument.

I have tuned down to D0 while playing at church. It's an effect to add a feel to the music you can't get on the "standard" octaves. If musicians had not pushed the limits back in the 1700's we wouldn't have the "standard E-string" today.
The bottom line is: it is music, that's the point.
 
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#28
Jensby design said:
If you don't see the point of low notes perhaps you chose the wrong instrument.

I have tuned down to D0 while playing at church. It's an effect to add a feel to the music you can't get on the "standard" octaves. If musicians had not pushed the limits back in the 1700's we wouldn't have the "standard E-string" today.
The bottom line is: it is music, that's the point.
Click to expand...

I see your point about pushing boundaries however as I stated, the vast majority of PA's and amps out there can't reproduce the sound with enough power or clarity to actually hear the sound. Even with systems that can get that low, it is a waste of time and power as human hearing bottoms out at around 20hz so anything under E0 is not actually audible to the human ear. Sure you might be able to feel the rumble, but it ain't music.
 
#34
BAG said:
human hearing bottoms out at around 20hz so anything under E0 is not actually audible to the human ear. Sure you might be able to feel the rumble, but it ain't music.
Click to expand...
A string tuned to the E0 fundamental also produces an E1, B1, E2, G#2, B2, D2 (sorta), E3, F#3 and so on, all of which (minus the first two depending on the cabinet) are audible enough, as well as in no way present in one note other than the aforementioned E0.
I do not, nor do I have any desire to tune that low, but if somebody else does more power to him or her.
 
#35
Somebody brought a bass line this to the Seattle Talk Bass gathering, a couple years ago. I got to play it. The strings were massive. The lowest notes were more like a defined low booming rumble. It was cool, but something I have no use for with the gigs I play. It seems like a tool that would be used as a special weapon, rather than playing a 45 minute set with. But I can see metal players getting into it.
 
#37
HaphAsSard said:
A string tuned to the E0 fundamental also produces an E1, B1, E2, G#2, B2, D2 (sorta), E3, F#3 and so on, all of which (minus the first two depending on the cabinet) are audible enough, as well as in no way present in one note other than the aforementioned E0.
I do not, nor do I have any desire to tune that low, but if somebody else does more power to him or her.
Click to expand...
I'm with you here. I don't even like tuning a half step down. I like the setup of standard tuning. I can never get the same feel or tone, even if I get heavier strings, when I tune down.
 
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#38
The bass in the first post is, i think, in EBEAD and uses a .200 for E0, so that will have similar tension to a .100 E1. The tension depends on the pitch and gauge and is not necessarily high for a huge string. Sub-B strings tend to have roughly the same tension as a typical B or E, around 30-40lbs.
And yes, the fundamental frequency is not necessary to reproduce, it has a much lower amplitude than the 2nd harmonic. For such low notes it is the harmonics from the 2nd up that create the tone, as with a B string.
 
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#39
All of this extreme tuning down low, doesn't even sound like notes or chords...just has that muddy metally sound that is disorted and heavy for the sake of being distorted and heavy. Reminds me of when I tried a "beer" that was 17% ABV. It tasted like crap, so I asked one of the counter people why it's so alcoholic. "Oh, we just wanted to make a powerful beer." Yay.
 

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