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Just messing around...

Nov 14, 2007
2,652
27
45
Carlisle, PA
www.myspace.com
Disclosures
Atypical, not a typical...
So the other night, while retracing my takes for my bands four song EP in our home studio, we decided we wanted to have the most ridiculous bass tone for this one song part.

The guitars and vocals will be in a higher register, almost like a solo for both at the same time. Anyway, I had a lot of sonic space to cover up, and I think it worked.

Anyway, here is the video of that tone. Unfortunately, my real camera was not there, but we recorded the aftermath on my iPhone 4. It was initially intended to go to our singer, so some of the commentary has been cut, but you get the idea.

Insane Bass Tone - YouTube
 
Okay, I gave it to a listen to, twice. I dig it. The notes you play are very muddy sounding and pretty hard to distinguish. I find that it does work in that part of the song. You setup a pretty nice drone effect for the background which can be very cool.

You mentioned the singer and guitar player going off into a higher register at this point. Did you scrap that idea or 1) this was just a bass and drum track. 2) I could not really hear the upper register since it was recorded through an iphone.

Also, how does the overall quality of the sound in real life compare to the recorded version of the phone?

EDIT: I listened again, I do not know if I actually heard the guitar or not. It seemed like something was there, but it also seemed like feedback. Perhaps if the guitar was distorted and followed the same flow of bass, it made it harder to notice. Perhaps it was a recording issue.
 
Well, to be honest, it wasn't mixed, compressed or eq'ed in any way. The guitar and vocals are not there, as they are not tracked.

Some of the mud is from the OC-2 tweaking out. The tone is very sharp live. It is very thick and rich, but will be tweaked to sound correct in the mix.

It was an experiment really. Not sure if we are keeping it or not. But the combination of dirt, octaves, synths and what not, mixed with outboard mixing and still able to be musical was interesting to me. In some ways it sounds like noise, but in the context could be cool.

Again, we were just messing around. This part of the song is able to be redone with little effort as the rest of the song is very upbeat (around 102 bpm) and this slows WAYYYYY down. A little fun fact for you guys. The drummer and I played to a click, the whole way through. The click was consistent even through the slow part. He recorded his tracks while I played with him to give him reference and get a "feeling" into the tracks. In the end, when we sped back up... We were right on the 1 of the click, and continued as we did before the slow down. It was slick.
 
ah okay. Makes more sense now. I think you found something pretty cool. Adding a slow drone type of playing to an up beat song can possibly make it memorable, and catchy. Maybe have the crowd throw the lighters into the air lol It is definitely worth investigating the possibilities that can be done with this sound. If you decide to work with it, I would be interested in a hearing a finalized piece within the context of the song. It this kind of experimenting that can really shape a bands sound. Just take Tool and Rage for example.
 
Send me an email: [email protected]

I'll send you the original song (from 4 years ago) that we never got a chance to record. Also, search youtube for my channel (or look at the other videos) and you will start to understand some of the context of our playing.


I typically do not use a computer unless I am at work. I am pretty much all mobile, so I do not know if my phone will receive and play the song. I can definitely check youtube for your stuff though.
 
Yea, working hard at some new stuff. If you check out the youtube channel, two of the tracks are on there. The first release was "Running out of time" which is undergoing some changes (minimal tone changes) and Breathe which I think is probably one of the best songs we have ever written.

The EP will be for sale on iTunes, but I might make a special for talk bass members... Kind of a "promote your way to free stuff" kinda thing.
 
I just got word from the guitarist (My brother). He has put a ton of guitar work into the song today at the studio, and will be sending me the audio for a listen.

I will post a "snippet" on you tube for your viewing pleasure shortly. I think you will start to see how the bass tone translates when listening. He said 30 minutes till he sends it, and give me an hour or so to put the video together. I promise to not disappoint.

I'll keep everyone posted.