Thunderbird Club

[dukeorock]

Nice! Is that her wireless she's wearing on an armband? I haven't seen that before.

That’s what it looked like to me as well

 

[BklynKen]

That’s what it looked like to me as well

Confusing, since it also looks like she's got a regular cable coming from the bass down to the floor.

 

[MCF]

IEM receiver. Wired to her board.

 

[fasterpussycat]

I bet it's better than those clip-ons.

If you prefer nickels, I'd check out the Powerwounds, not Power Steels. Unless you want to try steels, of course.

I have what is supposed to be a top quality clip-on for 'bass and cable only' scenarios, and I find it doesn't track the E string very well at all. I'd go for a full sized tuner every time.

 

[BklynKen]

I have what is supposed to be a top quality clip-on for 'bass and cable only' scenarios, and I find it doesn't track the E string very well at all. I'd go for a full sized tuner every time.

Yeah, my Sonic Research Turbo Tuner is pretty excellent.

 

[GonePlaid]

I have what is supposed to be a top quality clip-on for 'bass and cable only' scenarios, and I find it doesn't track the E string very well at all. I'd go for a full sized tuner every time.

I'd say 9.5 outta 10 of our gigs I have no room for even my 1 pedal. I use the D'Addario NS Micro clip-ons. Unobtrusive and they track pretty well. I don't tune to open strings since I rarely use open notes; I tune C on G, G on D, D on A, A on E and E on B. The little micros do fine except the E on B is iffy.

 

[fasterpussycat]

Based on the conventional wisdom, I was not real keen on trying flats (despite my fingers begging like kids wanting ice cream. "Pleeeeeeeassssse, Daddy?!? (wistful eyes)). But enough people here suggested the cobalts that I tried them. Plenty of tonal range and very touch sensitive.

One of my basses came with flats. The tension and relief was so great I could have taken it down to the butts for archery practice. It sounded like it was being played in the next room. Stringing with KSs flattened the action right out and now it's in the room with me.

 

[dukeorock]

Yeah, my Sonic Research Turbo Tuner is pretty excellent.

Pretty transparent if you run it inline? I’d only ever use a Boss tuner if I was using a dedicated tuner out on the amp. Inline, it colors the sound a lot. Super noticeable on upright. These days I’ve had pretty good luck with the TC PolyTune, but even though it’s fairly transparent, I don’t run it inline

 

[BklynKen]

Pretty transparent if you run it inline? I’d only ever use a Boss tuner if I was using a dedicated tuner out on the amp. Inline, it colors the sound a lot. Super noticeable on upright. These days I’ve had pretty good luck with the TC PolyTune, but even though it’s fairly transparent, I don’t run it inline

They say true bypass. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Strobe Tuners by Sonic Research - Turbo Tuner Home Page

 

[fasterpussycat]

I haven't personally tried them, but it's sounds to me like the sound you're after may be a good match for Ken Smith Rockmasters (stainless) or Bassburners (nickel). @Dadagoboi or @fasterpussycat pretty much swear by those strings IIRC. They can weigh in with more info.

@green3101 -- the thing with the Ken Smith Bass Burners is they sound like a Roto, but they don't 'go away' after a few days, they just keep on keeping on. I can't tell you anything about the Rockmasters as I only play nickels these days.

 

[dieselman]

He Duke! Is that the Michael Rhoades that plays with Bonamassa? Saw him in November. Played a Lull Bird a few songs.

 

[Engle]

I still have the price tag on my 1510 too! Mine is to remind me of the incredible price I paid for it. What an awesome cab!

That cab is at a rehearsal space, so not mine, but I agree they are awesome cabs.

 

[JJR58]

If we are going for the kimono look, I'll have to find something like this.
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Ok, i just got a tooth pulled, and now i see this, only hurts when i laugh.

 

[Gaolee]

Long, but super fun day yesterday. Two recording sessions and two gigs. Not quite as tough as it sounds, but not easy.
First session at 10:00am. At a House of Blues studio called The Cave. The tracking room is a recreation of the original Sun studio. Exact same dimensions and damping materials. The only difference was the addition of 5 iso rooms. The control room is another story. Very modern and state of the art meets some cool vintage stuff. David Leonard engineered and Kenny Greenberg produced and played guitar. Look those guys up if you’re a recording nerd. These dudes are very serious.
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That’s a rare 1977 API console. Ocean Way monitors that were close to 8ft tall and 4ft wide. Sounded AMAZING. Nearfields were Genelecs
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Also this Neve sidecar. The outboard gear was insane. Pultec eq’s, TubeTech, Vintage Urie, Burl converters...basically everything the mic collection was jaw dropping.
The artist is Mark Collie. The first session was his live band (myself, Steve Latanation on drums, Jesse Isley on guitar) plus Kenny Greenberg on additional guitar.
first song was straight up rockabilly, so I used my 1948 Epiphone B4 upright.
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I told the engineer I much prefer certain ribbons for ‘that’ sound I like, but he said he always starts with condensers like a U87 or U67. Lovely mics, but I’d never use em on upright. He’s a very famous engineer, so I kept my mouth shut! After about 20 minutes, he switched to an AEA R84 ribbon (the same mic I always use on that upright) and it sounded great. I’m sure he was used to carved top, darker sounding uprights. All the classic rockabilly stuff was done on brighter, plywood basses.
The next song was on electric, but was still kinda vintage sounding, so I grabbed my 1967 Hofner 500/1. I was a tad apprehensive about using it since the engineer produced a Paul McCartney record (!), but he hooked it up through a Demeter tube DI, had me play a few minutes, then got on the talkback and said “dude, that bass is fvcking amazing!” That felt good
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More random shots of the session...
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After we cut 3 songs, Mark’s band got sent home so they could set up for the evening session. All A List top tier musicians...and me, for some inexplicable reason. Kenny normally uses Michael Rhoades on bass, so it was intimidating to say the least. They asked me to stick with the Hofner since it sounded so good earlier, but it quickly became obvious that wasn’t the right bass for the more modern material. I switched to my MusicMan Sabre, cranked the lows, pulled back the highs and it worked perfectly. That was a fun day!
After that, I quickly packed up and headed across town to play with Derek Hoke, followed by a set with Mike Lynch (thankfully) at the same venue. Back on my T Bird for the live stuff and all was right with the world
Sorry for the long winded post. Just figured the recording nerds like myself would find it interesting!
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That's quite the day. Thanks for bringing us along!

 

[Gaolee]

Pretty transparent if you run it inline? I’d only ever use a Boss tuner if I was using a dedicated tuner out on the amp. Inline, it colors the sound a lot. Super noticeable on upright. These days I’ve had pretty good luck with the TC PolyTune, but even though it’s fairly transparent, I don’t run it inline

My tuner is part of the wireless. It may color the sound a bit, but I don't notice so much. The wireless, that is. Some days things sound better than other days, even though everything is supposedly the same. There's no explaining that rationally.

 

[PillO]

I have what is supposed to be a top quality clip-on for 'bass and cable only' scenarios, and I find it doesn't track the E string very well at all. I'd go for a full sized tuner every time.

I have a little Korg chromatic tuner.

Korg - CA-2 Chromatic Tuner

It is very precise but I have no good call on it's accuracy. However as they are all based on the same quartz timer circuit, it should be as accurate as any other tuner. It has no trouble tracking B0 unlike many others.

If it had Hatsune Miku on it, I would have paid up to $2 more for it.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Sorry for the long winded post. Just figured the recording nerds like myself would find it interesting!
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Dude, I LOVE this stuff. Thanks for sharing.

No need to apologize. Sheesh! You could have kept going and I'd have been thrilled the whole way.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

My tuner is part of the wireless. It may color the sound a bit, but I don't notice so much. The wireless, that is. Some days things sound better than other days, even though everything is supposedly the same. There's no explaining that rationally.

Really happy with my Korg Pitchblack. It's got true bypass, so no sound issues.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

That’s what it looked like to me as well

Quite possibly her in-ears.

 

[dukeorock]

He Duke! Is that the Michael Rhoades that plays with Bonamassa? Saw him in November. Played a Lull Bird a few songs.

Same guy! He’s a monster bass player. Possibly the highest paid bassist in Nashville