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Stoner/Doom Bassists Thread, Part 90: Maxed Out

#59,021
socialleper said:
Thoughts on how I can find a B string for this bass that is clear and has a little grind on the attack?
Click to expand...

I can't really help except to say that my 135 B string sounds amazing. Chromes, so not SS or anything. But I love it.

On another note, I actually played bass today! Sure, it was only five minutes, but it was something. Felt like I've been running a marathon every day the past few weeks, so I'll take what I can get. Hopefully the last leg of the marathon starts Monday, and it will be over in a few weeks.

I know we excel at digression here, so I'll do that for a bit. This past week, I spent a few days restoring my Grandma's old cast iron skillet. It looks pretty much brand new (minus some minor usage marks), and the decades of crud are gone. I can actually see the logo and other engravings now, whereas before they were all totally covered in crud. And come to find out, it wasn't actually my Grandma's (well, it was...), but it was also my GREAT-grandma's! Been in the family four generations now. Apparently it was made sometime between 1935-1959, and my 66 year old father remembers HIS grandma using it in her kitchen when he was a kid. I think that's pretty cool.
 
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#59,022
socialleper said:
Question for Doom\Stoner players since we live in a down tuned world.
I recently picked up a Dunable R2. It has the typical 35" scale and a pair of Baphomet pickups that can be split. I am trying to find the right string balance for a BEAD tuning and am having trouble with the B string (surprise surprise.)
Using a set of regular 125 105 85 60 DR Hi Beams the EAD sound pretty good. Nice amount of clarity and meat. Maybe a little tight, but workable. The 125 B just isn't as clear as I would like it to be. The EAD have a clear tone to the articulation that the B doesn't have. I know the obvious answer should be to use a 130 or 135. Based on most tension graphs, a 135 would be the right way to go. I've always been a little concerned with thicker strings because while they add tension, which should help their clarity, the additional mass means they require more power to move, and won't necessarily sound sharper because there is that much more string.
There also aren't a lot of SS .135 round core strings on the market for me to try this with.

Thoughts on how I can find a B string for this bass that is clear and has a little grind on the attack?
Click to expand...
I'm certainly no expert, but with 35" scale and just tuning to B0 I don't think anything bigger than .130 should be necessary. That said, I think I have lighter touch than many so maybe I'm an anomaly...? I'd actually try different types of strings before I'd go as high as .135. Have you tried anything other than Hi Beams?
 
#59,023
kleinenenten said:
I know we excel at digression here, so I'll do that for a bit. This past week, I spent a few days restoring my Grandma's old cast iron skillet. It looks pretty much brand new (minus some minor usage marks), and the decades of crud are gone. I can actually see the logo and other engravings now, whereas before they were all totally covered in crud. And come to find out, it wasn't actually my Grandma's (well, it was...), but it was also my GREAT-grandma's! Been in the family four generations now. Apparently it was made sometime between 1935-1959, and my 66 year old father remembers HIS grandma using it in her kitchen when he was a kid. I think that's pretty cool.
Click to expand...
Now you have to go through the process of seasoning it again...but I'm sure the grandmas would be proud. Also good on you for putting in the effort to give something new life rather than just tossing it and buying a new one.
 
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#59,024
lucas303 said:
Now you have to go through the process of seasoning it again...but I'm sure the grandmas would be proud. Also good on you for putting in the effort to give something new life rather than just tossing it and buying a new one.
Click to expand...
Already done that too! Spent Thursday night putting it in and out of the oven and oiling it etc. Been using it the last two days and it's amazing. Food just slides out. This also translates to pretty much ALL of my gear. I rarely buy anything new, except maybe cables? Regardless, I hate letting things go to waste. So much can be saved, and I get great joy out of breathing new life into things, regardless of what those things are.
 
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#59,025
kleinenenten said:
I know we excel at digression here, so I'll do that for a bit. This past week, I spent a few days restoring my Grandma's old cast iron skillet. It looks pretty much brand new (minus some minor usage marks), and the decades of crud are gone. I can actually see the logo and other engravings now, whereas before they were all totally covered in crud. And come to find out, it wasn't actually my Grandma's (well, it was...), but it was also my GREAT-grandma's! Been in the family four generations now. Apparently it was made sometime between 1935-1959, and my 66 year old father remembers HIS grandma using it in her kitchen when he was a kid. I think that's pretty cool.
Click to expand...

Hehehe, I have my mother's old 10" cast iron skillet. It still has most of the armor of crud on the outside and trailing into the inside rim. I've scrubbed the inside hard with a metal scrubber to get rid of the worst of the buildup, but I've never removed the season it had when it came to me. I can see all the markings, it's some no-name skillet, and I'm pretty sure my mom got it second hand long before I was born. It's still probably the best skillet I have for a lot of jobs, and there's some nice enameled cast iron in the kitchen.

Similar to an old, functioning guitar, bass, amp, effect pedal, or kazoo; a piece of cookware that you can still use after the ages is something to treasure. If nothing else, it's an example of the make that has survived other people deciding "nope, still usable and useful!"

I finally did a setup on the 3/4 scale SX Ursa I picked up from a friend, fell in love with it more, and used it at practice tonight. Good god, that thing is sweet. Between setting it up, fooling with it afterward, and practice; my fingertips are more raw than they've been since I was a teenager. I will keep an eye out for another copy of the same at a good price. This one has what I think is a knock-off of a SD quarter pounder pickup in it (looks exactly like a SD QP, but the remaining writing that hasn't been rubbed off just reads "Lines"). I double checked with my friend, and he says it's a SD quarter pounder. I'm going to grab one and swap it into another one of my basses with a P route, maybe the Mustang. That thing is thumpy, it sings, it is beautiful.

Apropos of nothing: It's hard to sing and play bass at the same time when you didn't write either the bass line or the vocal line. I have so much practicing in my future. Any advice is appreciated.
 
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#59,026
lucas303 said:
I'm certainly no expert, but with 35" scale and just tuning to B0 I don't think anything bigger than .130 should be necessary. That said, I think I have lighter touch than many so maybe I'm an anomaly...? I'd actually try different types of strings before I'd go as high as .135. Have you tried anything other than Hi Beams?
Click to expand...
I just bought the bass, so I haven't had a lot of chances. Before the Hi Beams I tried some nickel Lo Riders. Too dark. It is a naturally dark bass to start with, so the nickel wrap on a hex core made it a little too thuddy for me.
DR makes a DDT .135, but I don't like those. Again, they are a little dull. D'Addario makes a .135 but I just don't care for D'Addario.
 
#59,027
kleinenenten said:
I can't really help except to say that my 135 B string sounds amazing. Chromes, so not SS or anything. But I love it.

On another note, I actually played bass today! Sure, it was only five minutes, but it was something. Felt like I've been running a marathon every day the past few weeks, so I'll take what I can get. Hopefully the last leg of the marathon starts Monday, and it will be over in a few weeks.

I know we excel at digression here, so I'll do that for a bit. This past week, I spent a few days restoring my Grandma's old cast iron skillet. It looks pretty much brand new (minus some minor usage marks), and the decades of crud are gone. I can actually see the logo and other engravings now, whereas before they were all totally covered in crud. And come to find out, it wasn't actually my Grandma's (well, it was...), but it was also my GREAT-grandma's! Been in the family four generations now. Apparently it was made sometime between 1935-1959, and my 66 year old father remembers HIS grandma using it in her kitchen when he was a kid. I think that's pretty cool.
Click to expand...
I'm not after the sound of flats for this bass. I am looking for something with some attack.
 
#59,028
Just this

F5804C2E-8536-483A-BF95-DFCEF4706885.jpeg
 
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#59,031
Nekomata said:
Let's give her another one, to accommodate:

MNTTfwn.jpg


(Why one would freak out over a picture like this is beyond me. But it's not often that I get a response to my pictures, let alone an emotional one. So, thanks to your ex, I guess. :thumbsup:)
Click to expand...
do you have pictures of the entire cello. It looks more massive than it needs to be and I'm intrigued
 
#59,032
socialleper said:
I just bought the bass, so I haven't had a lot of chances. Before the Hi Beams I tried some nickel Lo Riders. Too dark. It is a naturally dark bass to start with, so the nickel wrap on a hex core made it a little too thuddy for me.
DR makes a DDT .135, but I don't like those. Again, they are a little dull. D'Addario makes a .135 but I just don't care for D'Addario.
Click to expand...
There's a guy that used to be around here that had a Dunable...shame he seems to be MIA because I bet he could give you some good advice.

I tried some sort of EB Slinkys recently for the first time and was impressed with them. They seem on the bright side of the spectrum which might give you the definition you're looking for...?
 
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#59,036
socialleper said:
Thoughts on how I can find a B string for this bass that is clear and has a little grind on the attack?
Click to expand...
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]. I've heard the guy that runs Fret Nation is good with string questions if you email him.

I have Baphomets in BEAD tuning too, but in a 30.5" scale bass. Currently running a 130 nickel B string, but I'm going with SS next, which may have to be 125 since the short scale B is a bit of a unicorn.

Let us know what you find. Also, I play a riff from an ancient video of yours all the time
 
#59,037
NNNN said:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]. I've heard the guy that runs Fret Nation is good with string questions if you email him.

I have Baphomets in BEAD tuning too, but in a 30.5" scale bass. Currently running a 130 nickel B string, but I'm going with SS next, which may have to be 125 since the short scale B is a bit of a unicorn.

Let us know what you find. Also, I play a riff from an ancient video of yours all the time
Click to expand...
A video of mine?
 

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