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Totally Blind Multi-Bass Shootout

Which one did you prefer in context?

  • Betsy

    Votes: 3 7.7%

  • Delilah

    Votes: 7 17.9%

  • Fran

    Votes: 8 20.5%

  • Georgina

    Votes: 1 2.6%

  • Julia

    Votes: 2 5.1%

  • Laurie

    Votes: 2 5.1%

  • Melissa

    Votes: 4 10.3%

  • Nikki

    Votes: 6 15.4%

  • Shawna

    Votes: 4 10.3%

  • Susanna

    Votes: 2 5.1%
  • Total voters
    39
Rickplaysbass

Rickplaysbass

Feb 11, 2024
1,079
4,064
Houston, TX
#1
So I recently had a guitar playing friend of mine decide he wanted to get a bass but he didn't really know what kind of bass he wanted tonally. I told him, obviously you know feel is gonna matter a ton, but as for tone, I have a decent selection of basses to choose from so how about I help you hear them all in context?

I used AI to split the bass off of a song similar to what he plays frequently and learned it in one take. I then loaded up an Arkham Oracle Profile and ran through every bass I was trying to play something similar in one take. It's not the best playing I've ever done, but it worked for him and I thought some of y'all might enjoy it.

The MSRP on these basses range from $170 - $7k new so let's see what Talkbass votes on.

Take the track over to your DAW and they should drag right in.

Tempo is 92.5 and the bass tracks are trimmed to insert 2 beats before they start playing.

MultiBass Shootout
 
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#3
shojii said:
Haha, you're the Steven Spurrier/Patricia Gallagher of bass: Judgment of Paris (wine) - Wikipedia
Click to expand...
That's pretty cool. I had never heard of that. I was just trying to give my friend an idea of what he might like without letting his eyes fool him. He actually picked a high dollar bass and the $170 bass as his #1 & #2. The style he was originally considering was his least favorite of the bunch.

It was actually pretty fun to do. If people seem to care I'd probably try it out in different styles and find ways to make more of these more relevant.
 
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#6
Thanks for doing this. My i9 Mac crashed, so I rebuilt it and forced to update to Sonoma and Logic got updated. It is the first project

upload_2024-6-2_22-57-14.png
 
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#11
I should clarify that I turned each bass track 6 db down, to sit where I'd like them to be, so with the original volume the differences may have stand out more. But with the mix there, even though I could tell that there were differences, none of the tracks really stood out, either in a good or bad way. Gun to the head, I'd pick Betsy for this track, but all of them would work. I see some of the basses with a more defined attack, like Melissa, working better in a more aggressive song, though.
 
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#13
logdrum said:
I chose Nikki. More open - more high end. Did you have a compressor on these tracks? I know maybe I should deep dive more. I also put a drum track just to make sure sure I know how it sounds in context .

I like Julia as well
Click to expand...

There's some light compression on the Kemper before the Oracle but it's pretty chill.

All the stems are there for the entire song if you want to hear it in context. The goal for him was to listen to all of them in the context of a song similar to what he typically plays.
 
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#14
Topkat13 said:
I can’t see where this thread is going.
Click to expand...

This was something I put together to help a friend choose what type of bass he wanted to buy for himself. He had a good budget (~$2500) but wasn't sure what to go with. I told him listen to the different basses soloed within the song and pick the ones he liked. From there he could use that info to guide his choice.

For us here on TB, there was a threat about gear snobbery that made me think about this. If you had to pick one of these bases as your favorite completely blind would you pick the $170 bass, the $7k bass, or one in the middle? Now, if I told you what they were, would your predisposition match your choice?
 
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#15
Cool idea, but flawed. The question is, how will your friend sound with any of these? Invite him over and let him play. Send him to guitar stores to try stuff. As you probably know, the sound is an interaction between the instrument and the player. And many decisions, big and small (technique, setup, strings, settings, etc).

also, the old Lakland audio library was interesring for such comparisons. Not sure if they still have it, but it is accessible via Wayback Machine. Lots of bass designs, different genres, flats and rounds, multiple pickup combos.
 
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#16
Wito said:
I should clarify that I turned each bass track 6 db down, to sit where I'd like them to be, so with the original volume the differences may have stand out more. But with the mix there, even though I could tell that there were differences, none of the tracks really stood out, either in a good or bad way. Gun to the head, I'd pick Betsy for this track, but all of them would work. I see some of the basses with a more defined attack, like Melissa, working better in a more aggressive song, though.
Click to expand...

That's probably closer to where the level would be on a proper mix for release, I left these at the basic level as they came in with just a touch of gain adjustments to roughly match levels.

LadyLoveStingRay5 said:
I thought for sure Delilah was going to be my pick but Melissa came in at the last minute with all of that throaty growl and won the spot.
Click to expand...

Interesting comments from both of y'all about Melissa. Both having similar descriptions, but different choices tonally.
LightForce104 said:
Honestly, in the mix the differences between them are negligible.
Click to expand...
Yeah, to be perfectly honest, I could make any of these basses work if I was mixing the track. There's a few that I'd prefer to use, and a couple I'd prefer not to, but they could all totally fulfill the role if needed.
 
#17
sikamikanico said:
Cool idea, but flawed. The question is, how will your friend sound with any of these? Invite him over and let him play. Send him to guitar stores to try stuff. As you probably know, the sound is an interaction between the instrument and the player. And many decisions, big and small (technique, setup, strings, settings, etc).

also, the old Lakland audio library was interesring for such comparisons. Not sure if they still have it, but it is accessible via Wayback Machine. Lots of bass designs, different genres, flats and rounds, multiple pickup combos.
Click to expand...

Yeah, not a scientifically correct experiment for sure. But, I'm in Houston and he's in Nashville, so he's not likely to come over for a couple cold ones and a demo night. But he does a good deal of mixing and he's had me play on several tracks before. We go back like 20 years musically, so he's got a good idea of my style.

Man, I used to listen to that Lakland library and the Warrior audio samples a LOT.
 
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#18
Rickplaysbass said:
Yeah, not a scientifically correct experiment for sure. But, I'm in Houston and he's in Nashville, so he's not likely to come over for a couple cold ones and a demo night. But he does a good deal of mixing and he's had me play on several tracks before. We go back like 20 years musically, so he's got a good idea of my style.

Man, I used to listen to that Lakland library and the Warrior audio samples a LOT.
Click to expand...

he’s in Nashville? He has many great stores to visit and try a bunch of stuff… gotta make sure to visit the Low End Shop too!
 
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#20
Rickplaysbass said:
But, I'm in Houston and he's in Nashville, so he's not likely to come over for a couple cold ones and a demo night.
Click to expand...
Dude, it's 2024. Just tell him to strap on his jetpack and zip down there.

But seriously, this is an extremely interesting post about a nice thing you did for your friend and it's very cool that you've posted it here.
I'd say it's "scientific" enough given that any "results" are purely subjective. Perhaps more "social" experiment than "scientific". It addresses an idea I've seen here a few times and happen to agree with - that it's very difficult to say with certainty what bass is on a recording when it's sitting appropriately in the mix. Even with the ability to solo the bass track, it can still be a shot in the dark. I would hesitate to go as far as calling it impossible though. I've worked with a couple people who have had some pretty amazing "golden ears". I mean, no one who could ID the brand of 9V in their wah-wah pedal, but...
 
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