Nothing clacky about those clips at all. They sound wonderful, and Levin is a world class player who uses that tone (and MUCH brighter often) on more records than can be counted. That's just what solo bass sounds like, unless you're one of those flat-wound-playing-Precision-with-the-tone-rolled-half-way-off kind of guys.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Firefly or Reddi
- Thread starter diglo
- Start date
Eublet said:
I was in a bad mood when I checked them out, but.. Ew
The tone is fine, though im not partial to stingrays, I just felt like alot of it was borderline punkrock bassturd fingersmacks.
all of that being said it is important for me to keep in mind that he leans more towards a live-base-in-the-mix sound obviously, and the isolated bass track from almost any live recording is going to sound a little on the clackyside, AND I love that he didn't use a di feed to his own monitor. This is all good; even if I respect all of that in approach, it doesn't mean I want to listen to it alone
.(or, more reasonably, it makes it harder for me to judge towards playing with more touch/finesse)
Im opening a can of worms I didn't intend on opening, and I don't tend to derail threads, but I stand by my statements
now.... about the firefly..
Well at the risk of sounding like Bongo when I did my little test a couple weeks ago the one thing I'd have done differently is throw in a single passive pickup bass in there as well. Jazz bass pickups on full have phasing issues that, while they sound excellent for many things, tend to phase out some of the frequencies that allow the differences between boxes to shine. I still heard differences, but the difference with a Precision going through the Countryman vs the REDDI is a lot more astonishing than it was here.
And the clicky clacks don't bother me in the least. That's what bass sounds like. Bass is noisy.
the one thing I'd have done differently is throw in a single passive pickup bass in there as well. Jazz bass pickups on full have phasing issues that, while they sound excellent for many things, tend to phase out some of the frequencies that allow the differences between boxes to shine. I still heard differences, but the difference with a Precision going through the Countryman vs the REDDI is a lot more astonishing than it was here. And the clicky clacks don't bother me in the least. That's what bass sounds like. Bass is noisy.
You'll be surprised how much treble seems to roll off in a full band mix, those clips are a good example of what a quality recorded direct bass tone sounds like.
bongomania
Commercial User
Yeah plus a large portion of what we hear as "tone" is in the upper harmonic content, so in order to judge differences in tone, they needed to record all the high-frequency content of the signals, including the clack etc. that we might normally turn down.
bass is a full range instrument, most non bass players seem to only expect to hear us from 100hz down 
fact of the matter is the actual character/tone of a bass sits from 100hz upwards
fact of the matter is the actual character/tone of a bass sits from 100hz upwardsThat little bit of fret noise on a solo track translates to lots of character and growl in a band mix. Whenever you really hear clank in a mix, usually it's poor technique, or someone who is trying to dial up way to much treble or upper mids to compensate for the fact that they dialed up way to much bottom also. Tony Levin is about as good a player as there is, and the playing here sounds wonderful to me and would fit perfect in a mix, with the caveat that these tones weren't really EQ'ed for any kind of song-specific mix. Levin has used a bunch of different tones over the years, and while many have been quite bright and full of rage, some of the tones he's gotten have been quite dark and round, such as can be heard on a lot of those Peter Gabriel albums.
I find that if I run the same signal to an amp and to my IEM, the IEM's are way too bright, but the sound coming from the amp is just perfect, obviously the cab is rolling off those high frequencies or the IEM is rolling off the lows (or a combination of both) but that is the same signal that I send to FOH and I'm sure that system reproduces it differently as well...
I've heard many professional recordings where soloing the bass sounds bad, but once in the mix it sounds great. Sometimes there is even a bit of slight overdrive on the bass that I couldn't even hear in the mix but it jumps out when solo'd. It's all about how the mix is shelved and how the different instruments overlap with each other.
I've heard many professional recordings where soloing the bass sounds bad, but once in the mix it sounds great. Sometimes there is even a bit of slight overdrive on the bass that I couldn't even hear in the mix but it jumps out when solo'd. It's all about how the mix is shelved and how the different instruments overlap with each other.
popgadget
Commercial User
- Sep 4, 2005
- 1,233
- 942
- Disclosures
- Authorized Greenboy Designs Builder, Scabbey Road
I'm not
My usual rig of late has been fEARful/Streamliner. However, I have played two sessions lately where a 60's vintage B15 was provided. I was very pleasantly surprised at the tone. I didn't like it so much when it was driven hard, but at lower volumes everyone in the room commented on how good it sounded. This would seem consistent with what Jimmy is saying.
I don't think thats what they did. I have heard nothing but good things about the firefly. Also The JDV but I don't think they stuck a tube in the JDV. Thats a false statement.
You got to give the firefly its correct do. The sound tracks make it very interesting to try.
Yeah, so the problem to responding to early posts in an old thread is you might not see later posts where I said the Firefly came off well in Tony Levin's DI tests.
I listened to the passive Radial JDI, Firefly, Reddi and Avalon. The spot about 50 seconds in was where I heard a difference. I liked all of them. The JDI holds it's own very well. The Avalon is great, but the REDDI sounded so nice in that upper register...I don't know. It doesn't sound a B15'ish either - to me - just nice.
I'm no pro. I don't record much. I play at church and use IEM's and the tone of the REDDI thru IEM's would be pretty sweet - not to mention FOH. I had myself convinced a JDI would be fine - and it would - and fit nicely on my little IEM board with my tuner and Rolls PM50, but wow, the REDDI is pretty sweet.
Do I need a DI that costs as much as the bass I'm using?? I'm sure my Geddy Lee would sound amazing but...
I'm no pro. I don't record much. I play at church and use IEM's and the tone of the REDDI thru IEM's would be pretty sweet - not to mention FOH. I had myself convinced a JDI would be fine - and it would - and fit nicely on my little IEM board with my tuner and Rolls PM50, but wow, the REDDI is pretty sweet.
Do I need a DI that costs as much as the bass I'm using?? I'm sure my Geddy Lee would sound amazing but...
By its name, I would've thought the Avalon V5 would be a tube version of the U5. Random, I know, but somebody mentioned the V5 in the early part of the thread, and it's been bugging me since March.
IS there such a thing as the V5? I know of the M5, along with the U5.
Okay, I went to check out the V5......eh, seems to be just a love child of the M5 and U5, no big deal. I'd take a Universal Audio Solo 610 over that any day.
Okay, I went to check out the V5......eh, seems to be just a love child of the M5 and U5, no big deal. I'd take a Universal Audio Solo 610 over that any day.
I agree. I can bet that a good engineer can make it pretty impossible for you to pick the right DI. Not saying all DI sound exactly the same, but all the countryman on up would be a nice game to have you pick the right DI.
Steve, you don't need anything except your talent and your current gear. You've been doing fine with it so far, and you'll likely do fine in the future. But I just did the first gig without the REDDI since I got it earlier this year because I thought we were going to be rained out for sure (outdoor gig) and we weren't. I brought my Countryman instead. It's a place I play all the time and I can hear the PA pretty decently from where I stand. Gone was the heft on the high notes that I love. Gave me that banjo tone that's always made me not care for DI's. Nobody complained and we had a good big crowd and a lot of fun, and you know I'm not a fan of throwing money at tone, but sometimes it does pay off
Easy for me to say since I already took the plunge on a REDDI but I won't be doing another gig without it if I can help it. What does that mean to you? I don't know
Just my thoughts about it.I prefer the tone of all 26 tracks stacked up together myself. This is definitely how I'm recording bass on everything I do from now on. Kind of a sinister Geezer sort of a thing going on...
Steve, you don't need anything except your talent and your current gear. You've been doing fine with it so far, and you'll likely do fine in the future. But I just did the first gig without the REDDI since I got it earlier this year because I thought we were going to be rained out for sure (outdoor gig) and we weren't. I brought my Countryman instead. It's a place I play all the time and I can hear the PA pretty decently from where I stand. Gone was the heft on the high notes that I love. Gave me that banjo tone that's always made me not care for DI's. Nobody complained and we had a good big crowd and a lot of fun, and you know I'm not a fan of throwing money at tone, but sometimes it does pay off
What does that mean to you? I don't know
I have had the chance to use/hear my Geddy Lee in a number of settings recently. Church, jazz gigs and now recording some really cheesy arrangements of standards. I have also been going strictly IEM (nothing fancy, just a Rolls box and Yamaha buds - but it sounds pretty darn good) and man is that nice.
Anyway, I have been pretty happy with how much I can do with my Geddy, some volume/tone knob tweaks and my right hand placement. Been sounding pretty good lately if I do say so myself. The best DI I've used lately has been the Radial JDI - and yes, there is a difference between it and say a "insert brand" basic $40 DI - especially with IEM's.
Because a majority of my playing is at church (IEM) these days, and all my tone is coming from my fingers, bass and DI, I have given thought to getting a really good DI - even more than getting a new Roscoe 5 string bass.
I know it sounds fine to everyone - even me - but even other guys I play with can tell when the DI is good, and I'm hearing better and playing better. I may be changing my mind on the "no one notices or cares" debate.
Still not sure about a DI that costs almost as much as my bass.
