Michael Hedge's Aerial Boundaries

[PRUNEFACE]

What kind of bass was used during the recording of this album (particularly After the Gold Rush)? Also, if the brand or type of strings is known that'd be great too.

Thanks

 

[Michael Manring]

That was an old J-bass style instrument I made myself out of parts. I don't recall the strings -- either D'Addario XL's or GHS Boomers.

 

[vin97]

Sorry to dig up this old thread but were there any special setup things or effects used to achieve that incredibly smooth sound?
I have no idea how you would get such a singing overtone-rich sound but at the same time have absolutely zero string buzz. To my ears, it actually sounds closer to a "fake fretless" than to any recording of an actual fretless I have ever listened to.

 

[Michael Manring]

Thanks for the kind words, vin97! I'm sorry to say I don't think there's any real secret in this. I listened again this morning to jog my memory and I can hear they applied some chorus in the mix -- likely an old rack unit such as the Dytonics Tri-chorus or maybe the TC 2290 (this was the 80's!), but it's not that big a part of the sound. I hear a bit of string buzzing there, but my old do-it-yourself bass was passive and had a pretty dark tone so that helps mask it. Also, it sounds like my strings are a bit past their prime; it's likely I didn't have a chance to change them as this was a spur of the moment session! I hope that helps...

 

[vin97]

Wow, didn't expect such a quick answer.
Alright, rolling the tone down quite a bit and using some delay already got me closer, the rest is technique I guess.
Thanks a lot!
...Hope to see you play one day.