Baloney Balderdash

They are great, and very fun, instruments, for sure. If you are going cheap Harley Benton's take on it, the GuitarBass, is pretty freaking awesome, I got one, though while the stock Strat style pickups do sound genuinely great, they are way too noisy, so expect a pickup upgrade being necessary. Otherwise mine was pretty much perfect from stock, even with perfectly leveled frets right from factory. One thing you need to be aware of though, regardless of which Bass VI like instrument you end up buying, the really narrow, guitar like, string spacing will take some practice to get used to, to not stumble over the strings, both on your fretting and picking hand, constantly. Using a pick does make it a bit easier to handle though. Also be aware that the stock low E string is crap on most of these instruments, usually gauge .084, which is way too floppy to work properly, I would recommend a set with a gauge .095 low E string. Newtone makes amazing affordable custom sets: https://newtonestrings.com/ They do sell a readymade custom Bass VI set, but personally I prefer to put together my own, with my own preference in gauges, via their custom string set creator/specificator (or whatever such a thing is called, online app?).

I would definitely be partial to the Hagtröm Swede bass, I think that is more versatile, and honestly in my opinion sounds better. So unless you really love that specific thuddy Höfner hollowbody sound, I would without hesitation go for the Hagström.

It sounds very much like real played bass, but really heavily processed, produced and polished, like the rest of the track, and as is the custom nowadays, and not just with pop and mainstream music. Kind of like in the 80's, were just about everything would be overprocessed, just that production has become much more streamlined and polished, at least when we are talking mainstream music. A lot of of more alternative music will still be overprocessed nowadays, but used in a less streamlined and polished, and more creative way, more as an effect, rather than to create an over polished sound. Well, I suppose except for most modern metal, which tends to be really streamlined and over polished as well, but again I suppose to an effect of sounding cold and mechanical, rather than to be overprocessed for the sake of accessibility and easier digestion. Standard sampled bass usually does sound somewhat similar to the bass in this track, but is not as dynamically varied and lively. It would be extremely hard to replicate this bass midi programming it from samples and make it sound the same, to the point where it would be much easier to just hire a real bass player.

Simply click the "Copy Link" button under the track on Soundcloud and paste it in here. And in my opinion it is a shame you don't take the track serious... It deserves it.

What the hell are you talking about? This is freaking awesome. ❤️ Perhaps could have been mixed better, and perhaps it drags out for a bit too long, but otherwise this is an amazing track! I suppose this might not be your usual style, but trust me this works great! Noisy post-rock. Do copy/paste the proper link for the track though, so people don't have to click a link to hear it.

Poop Ship Destroyer - Ween

A somewhat diametrically different take on the subject than mine, at least as far as goes pace and energy, though still rather filthy. I like it a lot! You indeed hit the car chase theme right on the spot!

Is it allowed to swap out the track I contributed with with another recording? Same track, just a different recording. Edit!: Never mind, decided to keep the original first take anyway. But might still be worth knowing for another time. Also while I am flattered that I apparently managed to scare all competitors away, it would be nice to hear other people's take on it still.

Yes, if you use the right settings, just use your ears. Probably will easily get mushy and thin, but if you like what you achieve then that is all that really matters. Just do it!

Yeah, pitching up your signal a whole octave, with a regular octaver, without any more complex synthesising going on, it is always going to sound rather artificial, no matter how great the octaver otherwise is. And to my knowledge there isn't really any viable solutions on the market that would do this convincingly. It's another matter when you mix the octave signal with the original signal, and add some overdrive and EQ to the pitched up signal, then you can get something somewhat passable out of it. But for your use I would assume the result would not be satisfactory, and frankly waste of money. You would end up with something that would sound somewhat more like a synth than a bass. Now this can of course be used as an effect, but I got the impression that is not what you had in mind.

No, and you won't find an octave pedal that is.

Well, I can beat the offer: For just 1000£ you can get the unique opportunity to clean up my apartment... How about that? *Transport back and forth not included in the price!

Then benefits increase considerably if you happen to be a colorblind bassist...

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There you got you answer OP! On a different note, perhaps I should have used the word "frequency response" instead of "EQ" (though both words are commonly used for the same term/concept), which was what I meant. Again a discussion about semantics though. But I do I think it was obvious what I meant from the context, unless you insist on misinterpreting it. I mean, from the context, what did you even imagine I meant by EQ @Hellzero, it doesn't even make sense in other sense of the word? Did you imagine I meant EQ settings, how do you imagine that would even be possible from capturing sound alone?

I think that would be discussion about semantics, which never leads to anything productive, but whatever. Can you give a better simple basic one sentence explanation?

It's basically an advanced and very detailed EQ snap shot, that also reacts somewhat dynamically because it is also a snap shot of the EQ over a, albeit ultra short, time window span.

This one (random Google image): The Laney Laney 50th Anniversary IRT Studio SE Amplifier, at a really good price used, under half the price of what it costs from new, and appears to be in mint condition. I suppose it is guitar oriented, but perfect for my needs. It is only 15W, but has a build in speaker dummy load that allows you to use it as a poweramp/transformer out DI, which is how I am primarily planning to use it. It comes with 3 channels (Clean, Rhythm, and Lead, and then an additional switchable Boost), running with brand new and biased 3 12AX7 JJ preamp tubes, and 2 JJ EL84 poweramp tubes. And allegedly with a high quality digital reverb build in as well. And footswitch is included, to be able to switch between channels and engage/disingage reverb. For sure this is going to beat the socks off my ART Tube MP Project Series tube preamp and DI I use currently as DI last in the chain of my amp-less setup. And only weight 5.5Kg (12lbs).

Well, won't be this time, anyway, found an amazing deal on a used amp that I spend my money on instead. Not quite a pedal, but the way I will be using it will be as a tube preamp. This one (random Google photos): The Laney Laney 50th Anniversary IRT Studio SE Amplifier, at a really good price used, under half the price of what it costs from new, and appears to be in mint condition. I suppose it is guitar oriented, but perfect for my needs. It is only 15W, but has a build in speaker dummy load that allows you to use it as a poweramp/transformer out DI, which is how I am primarily planning to use it. It comes with 3 channels (Clean, Rhythm, and Lead, and then an additional switchable Boost), running with brand new and biased 3 12AX7 JJ preamp tubes, and 2 JJ EL84 poweramp tubes. And allegedly with a high quality digital reverb build in as well. And footswitch is included, to be able to switch between channels and engage/disingage reverb. For sure this is going to beat the socks off my ART Tube MP Project Series tube preamp and DI I use currently as DI last in the chain of my amp-less setup. And only weight 5.5Kg (12lbs).

I haven't actually bought it yet, but I am strongly considering ordering the Gamechanger Audio Bigsby, that simulates a Bigsby wammy arm, but does so much more (Vibrato or Chorus for one). I always wanted a wammy bar on my bass, but getting even the cheapest option installed would end me up costing at very least the double of this pedal. And before you get started, my main bass, which is a 5 string short scale, is tuned in G# standard tuning, that is like the upper 4 strings of a 6 string bass in regular B standard tuning, plus a high E string, that is really more of a low baritone tuning, or as the common term is tenor bass tuning, and I use it more melodically, and for solo bass work. The demos I have watched of this are really impressive, it actually sounds realistic. And the advanced polyphonic pitch shifting algorithm they wrote for this runs on the SHARC processor that this pedal features. And yes, that is a genuine Bigsby mechanism sitting on the pedal.

Just recorded this: As last time recorded through this setup (bar the added Orange Juice overdrive in place of clean blend with the Turbo RAT distortion) : 5 string 28.6" scale Ibanez GSRM25 Mikro Bass (strung with Elixir Nanoweb guitar strings, of the gauges .080 - .062 - .046 - .036 - .026, tuned in G# standard tuning, that is one half step bellow the upper 5 strings of a 7 string bass in regular B standard tuning) -> ->> XVive Undulator (tremolo pedal, but never actually engaged and used exclusively for its great buffer) ->> EHX Black Finger (tube driven optical compressor, with 2 preamp tubes operating at proper high 300V plate voltage, primarily functioning as a tube preamp stage, driven to just at the edge of the tubes's breakup point, but with some very subtle compression dialed in as well) ->> TC Electronic Sub'N'Up Mini (for adding a 1 octave up, mimicking an effect somewhat similar to that of an 8 string bass, using a custom made Toneprint) ->> DigiTech FreqOut (feedback generator) ->> Boss LS-2 [A+B Mix <-> Bypass] (parallel effect loops mixer/switch) ={ [Loop A Send] ->> Mosky Black Rat (RAT clone, in Turbo RAT, LED diode clipping, mode, quite raunchy, high gain distortion, always used blended with the Orange Juice overdrive from parallel effects [Loop B]) ->> [Loop A Return] ->|+|<- [Loop B Send] ->> Orange Juice (Orange amp like medium gain overdrive, always blended with the Black Rat distortion from parallel effects [Loop A]) ->> [Loop B Return] ([Loop A] + [Loop B] mixed at an approximate 70/30 ratio) => [LS-2 Output] }=>->> Boss LS-2 [A+B Mix <-> Bypass] (parallel effect loops mixer/switch) ={ [Loop A Send] ->> Joyo Oxford Sound (clone of the Tech 21 Oxford, which is an all analog emulation of an Orange Amp type preamp, dialed in to deliver a high gain overdrive, always used blended with "clean" signal from parallel effects [Loop B]) ->> [Loop A Return] ->|+|<- [Loop B Send] ->> ([Loops B] empty, used to blend in "clean" signal) ->> [Loop B Return] ([Loop A] + [Loop B] mixed at an approximate 50/50 ratio) => [LS-2 Output] }=>->> Zoom B1Xon (used predominantly as reverb and delay unit, including my always on {very subtle Plate Reverb -> subtle Spring Reverb} subtle reverb patch) ->> Mosky XP Booster (Xotic EP Booster V.1 clone) ->> NUX Tape Core Deluxe (amazing digital emulation of the legendary Roland RE-201 Space Echo tape delay, most of the time dialed in to deliver a lush reverb like effect) ->> NUX (NBP-5) Melvin Lee Davis Bass Preamp + DI (loaded with a digitally emulated Aguilar Tone Hammer amp, and an Ampeg SVT-212AV IR cab simulation, with HPF @40Hz, LPF @14kHz, and a subtle low gain overdrive blended in at a 50/50 clean/drive ratio) -> ->> ART Tube MP Project Series (tube preamp and DI, with build in HPF, fixed @40Hz, engaged, tube driven to just on the verge of breakup point) -> Zoom H4n (handheld recorder) With all units being engaged through the entire recording (bar the tremolo at the very start of the signal chain, used exclusively as a buffer). Sunn O))) -esque feedback-laden (thanks to the Digitech FreqOut) drony solo bass doom sludge. And as last time a first take. Exactly as recorded, with no post-production whatsoever.

And so I made a musical project called "Dud Bottomfeeder", named after my 4 string Ibanez GSRM20B Mirko Bass, though most of this was actually played on my 5 String Ibanez GSRM25 Mikro Bass, that I named "Mr. Growly - The Noodlemancer", and it is all up for free download and listening at Bandcamp here: https://dudbottomfeeder.bandcamp.com/ 1 full length album so far, featuring a damn fine noodle blend of 8 freely improvised, as well a precomposed, pieces. But the plan is to make more...

Forbidden Beat - Bad Religion

As amazing as it looks, this one was a dud, and I send it back. It didn't resonate properly and had no sustain, and what's even worse it was impossible to get the hex key down in the truss rod nut to adjust neck relief, which had absolutely no relief from stock, even with the greater tension strings I put on. There was no issues however with getting my money back, with shipping paid and all, from Thomann. But also I got the Harley Benton GuitarBass, their take on the Bass VI concept, and that one is absolutely perfect, even sounds amazing, bar the stock single coil pickups being quite noisy. So I don't doubt these guitars usually and generally are an amazing buy, I just happened to be unlucky and get a dud, which I suppose is what can happen, when you buy a dirt cheap budget instrument without playing it first. But I don't plan to take another chance with it, I think if I find I need a guitar at some point, I will just upgrade the pickups of my actually quite amazing Epiphone Standard, which was is also budget instrument. For now though I'll stick to my 5 string Ibanez GSRM25 Mikro Bass, tuned to G# standard tuning (that is as one half step bellow the upper 4 strings of a 6 string bass in regular B standard tuning, + a high E): Which sounds and plays absolutely killer, a really snappy and punchy, growly and clear tone, with sustain for days, and literally perfect fretwork form stock (it's from 2019, back when these basses were still build in Indonesia by Cort), and surprisingly quiet pickups, despite being single coil, which I contribute to the fact that at this point they used proper shielded wiring.

Also, actually the full title to my track is: "Dud Bottomfeeder - Revenge of the Noodles IV - The Final Stand (an avant-garde epilogue)" from the album "Live at The Noodle Factory - There's Light at the End of the Tunnel, and I Think I Am Going to Die" But SoundCloud doesn't allow such long titles.