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Stoner/Doom Bassists Thread, Part 90: Maxed Out

I think Ampeg's SVT Suite is a much better VST option than the Helix or Amplitube if you're looking for the SVT sound. I use mine with IRs instead of the cabinets included with the software. It also takes pedals well. I use a SF 300, Sovtek Deluxe and a Landphil running into the computer and they all sound like they should. The one thing the software is lacking is available pedals within the suite as there's only 5 Ampeg effects included.
 
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Beholden To The Riff





Beholden is a really cool channel, just be aware that his lessons are not always 100% correct. High on Fire "10,000 Years" is one of my favorite riffs, and he gets it totally wrong.

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Also, do you guys have any recommendations of stoner/doom specific Youtube content for bass? For me, Doom Tones has been a cool channel to watch. The guy really understands the genre and finds good nasty tones with digital stuff. It's a shame he doesn't play bass.



This guy is not playing "10,000 Years" right either! If you watch HoF live, you can clearly see (and hear) that they slide up to the C# on the 13th fret of the low C string.
 
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IMO there's not a lot of doomy bass content on YouTube because the bass sucks hind tit to the guitar(s) in most doom bands. (Yes there are exceptions.)

Well, you're not wrong, but thank god there are bands where the bass has a role besides being incoherent rumble in the 50-150hz region. Would love to see someone properly cover Slabdragger, Belzebong, Zozobra, Sleep etc and nail those tones.

I think Ampeg's SVT Suite is a much better VST option than the Helix or Amplitube if you're looking for the SVT sound. I use mine with IRs instead of the cabinets included with the software. It also takes pedals well. I use a SF 300, Sovtek Deluxe and a Landphil running into the computer and they all sound like they should. The one thing the software is lacking is available pedals within the suite as there's only 5 Ampeg effects included.

Which suite are you referring to? Would love to try it out. I've tried SVX but it didn't really convince me. It's a shame there are not more bass sims that are able to replicate slamming tubes hard. I've tried the Orange AD200 sim on Amplitube and you can get great sounds out of it but when you drive it hard, it doesn't sound anything like the real thing being pushed.
 
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Which suite are you referring to? Would love to try it out. I've tried SVX but it didn't really convince me. It's a shame there are not more bass sims that are able to replicate slamming tubes hard. I've tried the Orange AD200 sim on Amplitube and you can get great sounds out of it but when you drive it hard, it doesn't sound anything like the real thing being pushed.
It's the SVT Suite by Ampeg. https://ampeg.com/svt-suite/

The Amplitube AD200 does sound pretty decent. VSTs don't do the pushed tube amp very well. I use my VT Bass or Master 300 into my interface instead of a VST if I'm going for a more tubey thing. I do think the SVT Suite gets the closest.
 
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Well, I've been fooling around with this since Saturday. Even though I barely knew what I was doing half the time, I've been having so much fun I didn't even start to read the manual until last night.
View attachment 4616453

But yeah, it's a beast, and reading even just a little of the manual has explained a lot. For instance, one of the patches in the pic is totally redundant.

i'd love to get one of those. in terms of practicality, i think my sub 37 is hard to beat, but for pure tone and a true synth experience, the grandmother/matriarch are miles ahead.
 
The Muff collection grows... Found some sweet deals on both a Grey Stache and small enclosure Supercollider. Stoked to add them to the stable. Spent a good deal of time today tweaking my Musket and Swollen Pickle after giving the Musket a good run. As much as I want to like it, it always has this rough grunt/squeaky texture to the attack I can't gel with. Maybe it's a Russian Muff thing, as I remember that being my main concern with the otherwise excellent Russian Pickle.

Swollen Pickle is back on top for board #2, though it has once again been tweaked like mad. Pickle pro tip - don't be afraid to go to the extremes with this thing. The current favorite tone has 5 of 7 knobs at or within "30 minutes" of one extreme end of the knob's turn (i.e. almost maximum or minimum). The only two that aren't are the filter and volume (and yes, this includes internal trim pots). Right now it's a nice girthy, throaty fuzzstortion with plenty of bass response and articulation to keep in the mix.

Also tried my Supercollider '71 on bass again, and was pleasantly surprised. Hence my acquisition of the tiny normal Supercollider. It and the Grey Stache were screaming deals I just happened to search for and get lucky with.

Anyway, that's what I've done bass-wise the last few weeks. I've dropped off the wagon slightly in learning new tunes, but am still practicing the old ones far more than I used to. Gotta get back to it in a few weeks. The last weekend was furniture shopping/planning home remodeling, this weekend was implementing last weekend's plan, and next weekend I'm out of town. Busy, but still loving and making sure to make time for bass.

Hope all is well with you fellow doomers. Until next time!
 
i'd love to get one of those. in terms of practicality, i think my sub 37 is hard to beat, but for pure tone and a true synth experience, the grandmother/matriarch are miles ahead.

Yeah, the Sub 37 was one of the ones that I felt a bit of a pang for once I started researching after my purchase. It's got a much sturdier case, for starters. I've got to get a bag for this synth before I play any shows with it, at least. I still haven't finished the Matriarch's manual. It's slow going. I'll read two pages and go "oooo, that sounds neato!" and will fool with that suggested patch for an hour or so and come back to reading the manual again. I've got a long time friend that's been doing modular synths since the early 2000s. I never got it before. Now I do.

On top of that, the Sub 37's interface seems a little more easy to control, at first glance. I've come up with several sounds that I love, but reproducing them *exactly* on the Matriarch can be a task. You're performing live on this thing in a deeper sense than I have with any synth I've fooled with other than the Werkstatt-01, and that one was a revelation compared to the other synths such as my Roland SH-201. That was completely manageable, by comparison.

But in the end, I regret nothing about this. I may have to curb my "oooo, let's patch this into that!" urges to make it work in a band context, and I've still got a lot to learn, but I loves it. And heh, after further experiments and patches, I figured out that the patch I thought was redundant wasn't. This is one of my favorite patches today, and I am really wanting to use its sequencer to feed it and the Werkstatt-01 simultaneously. I just haven't gotten to the point where I'll find an end to what I can do with the Matriarch and need the Werkstatt-01. It'll happen, but I don't know when.

Moog_patch.jpg



In the world of nearly bass related perversion, I've been eyeing 4/6 doublenecks. Why? I don't really have a solid idea. I just looks at them and desire them. The Eastwood 4/6 isn't too insanely dear, and is very pretty in black (but what isn't?)

okau86pefgwmr7erd24h.jpg
 
That's a sick double neck!

I've been limited on playing anything, but yeah synths have this tactile something (especially analog ones) that is just so much fun. Outside of a drum machine, the matriarch is highest on my want list for synths. The lil Erebus is another for whatever reason.

The Muff collection grows... Found some sweet deals on both a Grey Stache and small enclosure Supercollider. Stoked to add them to the stable. Spent a good deal of time today tweaking my Musket and Swollen Pickle after giving the Musket a good run. As much as I want to like it, it always has this rough grunt/squeaky texture to the attack I can't gel with. Maybe it's a Russian Muff thing, as I remember that being my main concern with the otherwise excellent Russian Pickle.

Swollen Pickle is back on top for board #2, though it has once again been tweaked like mad. Pickle pro tip - don't be afraid to go to the extremes with this thing. The current favorite tone has 5 of 7 knobs at or within "30 minutes" of one extreme end of the knob's turn (i.e. almost maximum or minimum). The only two that aren't are the filter and volume (and yes, this includes internal trim pots). Right now it's a nice girthy, throaty fuzzstortion with plenty of bass response and articulation to keep in the mix.

Also tried my Supercollider '71 on bass again, and was pleasantly surprised. Hence my acquisition of the tiny normal Supercollider. It and the Grey Stache were screaming deals I just happened to search for and get lucky with.

Anyway, that's what I've done bass-wise the last few weeks. I've dropped off the wagon slightly in learning new tunes, but am still practicing the old ones far more than I used to. Gotta get back to it in a few weeks. The last weekend was furniture shopping/planning home remodeling, this weekend was implementing last weekend's plan, and next weekend I'm out of town. Busy, but still loving and making sure to make time for bass.

Hope all is well with you fellow doomers. Until next time!

I fully echo that comment about the knob positions and stretch that to any pedal or even amp. I've found so many unique and interesting tones by setting knobs at or near min/max on just about anything...can't recommend that to anyone enough.
 
Yeah, the Sub 37 was one of the ones that I felt a bit of a pang for once I started researching after my purchase. It's got a much sturdier case, for starters. I've got to get a bag for this synth before I play any shows with it, at least. I still haven't finished the Matriarch's manual. It's slow going. I'll read two pages and go "oooo, that sounds neato!" and will fool with that suggested patch for an hour or so and come back to reading the manual again. I've got a long time friend that's been doing modular synths since the early 2000s. I never got it before. Now I do.

On top of that, the Sub 37's interface seems a little more easy to control, at first glance. I've come up with several sounds that I love, but reproducing them *exactly* on the Matriarch can be a task. You're performing live on this thing in a deeper sense than I have with any synth I've fooled with other than the Werkstatt-01, and that one was a revelation compared to the other synths such as my Roland SH-201. That was completely manageable, by comparison.

But in the end, I regret nothing about this. I may have to curb my "oooo, let's patch this into that!" urges to make it work in a band context, and I've still got a lot to learn, but I loves it. And heh, after further experiments and patches, I figured out that the patch I thought was redundant wasn't. This is one of my favorite patches today, and I am really wanting to use its sequencer to feed it and the Werkstatt-01 simultaneously. I just haven't gotten to the point where I'll find an end to what I can do with the Matriarch and need the Werkstatt-01. It'll happen, but I don't know when.

View attachment 4620369


In the world of nearly bass related perversion, I've been eyeing 4/6 doublenecks. Why? I don't really have a solid idea. I just looks at them and desire them. The Eastwood 4/6 isn't too insanely dear, and is very pretty in black (but what isn't?)

View attachment 4620374


the ability to access presets and minimal menu diving is what really drew my attention to the 37. It can do all the convenient digital stuff but you're not dependent on having to hook it up to a computer to access all the features. my collection is growing, make noise strega is next on the list. hope to have it in the next few weeks.


20220314_132340.jpg



found a new use for the tascam portastudio, lo-fi tape loops and some grungy tape distortion.
20220314_132332.jpg
 
Kindly stop posting synthesisers. This is TalkBass and I'm spending enough on music gear as is :P

In other news I'm working a patchbay into my pedalboard. It's eating away at my sanity, but the results shall be glorious. Maybe. Seriously miss playing with my rig, but I hope this will more or less settle its state for a very long time forward. The room for improvement is shrinking and shrinking. Project log:

Discovered Messa recently, also. Mostly listened to Feast for Water, despite Close being their most recent release. The vocal performance on Leah is absolutely stunning. The guitar solos are... not metal. They feel very much improvised, a bit jazz-y to my ears. It's a nice contrast and change of pace. Nothing but admiration for this band. Guess my tastes are shifting towards the more ambient stuff with the years, it's not just riffs anymore.
 
Kindly stop posting synthesisers. This is TalkBass and I'm spending enough on music gear as is :p

In other news I'm working a patchbay into my pedalboard. It's eating away at my sanity, but the results shall be glorious. Maybe. Seriously miss playing with my rig, but I hope this will more or less settle its state for a very long time forward. The room for improvement is shrinking and shrinking. Project log:

Discovered Messa recently, also. Mostly listened to Feast for Water, despite Close being their most recent release. The vocal performance on Leah is absolutely stunning. The guitar solos are... not metal. They feel very much improvised, a bit jazz-y to my ears. It's a nice contrast and change of pace. Nothing but admiration for this band. Guess my tastes are shifting towards the more ambient stuff with the years, it's not just riffs anymore.

No matter what, do not venture into the Ambient bass players thread. That stuff will eat as much money as you can throw at it and then demand more. Money is to synth/ambient stuff as blood is to the plant in Little Shop of Horrors ;)