Carol Kaye tidbit

[TRichardsbass]

Last chime for me here.

I still put a light piece of foam under the strings near the bridge on my basses. I have an extensive collection of Kramers and Vaccaros, so while they sustain and sound like pianos often the "undertones" (or for me, evil tones that continue to ring well after I'm off on another note and riff) kill my sound. I have a live recording of me on a night where I left the foam off and my bass sounds like crap. The foam really doesn't kill sustain, at least that much. Actually, a little fooam will help you highlight and find dead spots on the neck (maybe not a plus.) But you are more distinct in the mix with a little foam. Leo Fender actually understood that well, which is why his inventions had it.

My Dano sounds about the same with or without foam, probably because the rosewood bridge damps a lot of the sound naturally.

As for intonation, I did an experiment in the studio on Monday. I raised the strings until the 5th fret notes were all sharp by about a quarter step. I recorded the bass, and in the mix even the engineer couldn't really say it was bad. Then we set it up and made it a half step out. Damn near impossible to play, but did the same thing again. In the raw mix it was just audible that there was an issue. In the compressed mix, sounded in tune.

Yes, I intonate my basses personally and very carefully, and try to get them damn near perfect. But after this I won't be so anal about it.

tom richards

P.S. - Look for my first release in 10 years soon...

 

[THand]

There's only 2 or 3 people in the whole world that find it funny, but how can you top that sort of thing, hey.

I'm #4 !

I imagine that sort of thing happens alot to celebrities.

 

[peterpalmieri]

Last chime for me here.

I still put a light piece of foam under the strings near the bridge on my basses. I have an extensive collection of Kramers and Vaccaros, so while they sustain and sound like pianos often the "undertones" (or for me, evil tones that continue to ring well after I'm off on another note and riff) kill my sound. I have a live recording of me on a night where I left the foam off and my bass sounds like crap. The foam really doesn't kill sustain, at least that much. Actually, a little fooam will help you highlight and find dead spots on the neck (maybe not a plus.) But you are more distinct in the mix with a little foam. Leo Fender actually understood that well, which is why his inventions had it.

My Dano sounds about the same with or without foam, probably because the rosewood bridge damps a lot of the sound naturally.

As for intonation, I did an experiment in the studio on Monday. I raised the strings until the 5th fret notes were all sharp by about a quarter step. I recorded the bass, and in the mix even the engineer couldn't really say it was bad. Then we set it up and made it a half step out. Damn near impossible to play, but did the same thing again. In the raw mix it was just audible that there was an issue. In the compressed mix, sounded in tune.

Yes, I intonate my basses personally and very carefully, and try to get them damn near perfect. But after this I won't be so anal about it.

tom richards

P.S. - Look for my first release in 10 years soon...

Very interesting, I have never done that "intentionally"!

 

[EADG mx]

The problem is, overtones physically exist, whereas missing fundamentals are a psychoacoustical phenomenon that occurs in the translation from your ear to your brain...so a mute isn't going to help.

Cheers.

 

[THand]

Last chime for me here.

I still put a light piece of foam under the strings near the bridge on my basses. I have an extensive collection of Kramers and Vaccaros, so while they sustain and sound like pianos often the "undertones" (or for me, evil tones that continue to ring well after I'm off on another note and riff) kill my sound. I have a live recording of me on a night where I left the foam off and my bass sounds like crap. The foam really doesn't kill sustain, at least that much. Actually, a little fooam will help you highlight and find dead spots on the neck (maybe not a plus.) But you are more distinct in the mix with a little foam. Leo Fender actually understood that well, which is why his inventions had it.

My Dano sounds about the same with or without foam, probably because the rosewood bridge damps a lot of the sound naturally.

As for intonation, I did an experiment in the studio on Monday. I raised the strings until the 5th fret notes were all sharp by about a quarter step. I recorded the bass, and in the mix even the engineer couldn't really say it was bad. Then we set it up and made it a half step out. Damn near impossible to play, but did the same thing again. In the raw mix it was just audible that there was an issue. In the compressed mix, sounded in tune.

Yes, I intonate my basses personally and very carefully, and try to get them damn near perfect. But after this I won't be so anal about it.

tom richards

P.S. - Look for my first release in 10 years soon...

Interesting experiment...

Out of curiousity, were you playing higher on the fretboard than the 5th fret, or was that the limits of your test?

 

[zenrad]

There's only 2 or 3 people in the whole world that find it funny, but how can you top that sort of thing, hey.

Make that 5

 

[pbass888]

i really enjoy this thread esp comments by jimmy m and i think carol is great...she has taught me so much about the craft and art of playing jazz

 

[Mike19]

This was a very educational thread.

The OP was about CK's tiff with Marvin Hamlish. From there we went on to muting strings, intonation, picks, PMS, old Fender basses, no time to put on new strings, not being a door mat for angry old ladies, the submission of Flea to the Money God and I don't know what else.

When Tiger Woods' wife discovered he'd been cheating on her during their entire marraige, she slaped him upside the head with one of his golf clubs. Does this make Tiger any less of a great golfer (possibly the greatest ever)?

Carol Kay gets nasty with people on occasion but most of the time she's nice (and has a reputatioin for both behaviors). Does this change the fact that she is The Godmother of playing the electric bass guitar?