EMG456

Well it's been years but I actually still prefer my own take on it - we're all different eh?

Everybody needs an LS-2! I've now got two of them.

Aye @upside downer - what I mean is I'm liking a lot of what I'm hearing here but not sure if a. it will be useful to me or b. why they are doing it. (Not that that matters)

Also still not sure what logic there is (if any) to all of it. For example, both the chap playing the headless instrument with Babazula and every guitarist in the King Gizzard band have intermediate frets only between certain frets on the fingerboard. This then implies a different microtonal "Key" for every string tuned differently and so also for each note of a fretted chord so can they play in any key or are they confined to one key? Or is the point just to be far enough out of tune to challenge our western even temperament ears?

Likewise @Woodwind, that christmas microtonal hip hop thing was interesting too but he was playing alternate tunings one after the other rather than mixing them together. And anyway, his choice of chord sustitutions would have driven most "average listeners" away even if they were all played using even temperament!

Every day's a schoolday! 

4 minutes ago, upside downer said:

'Abdulcanbaz' was probably not the best song to show off the microtones but I just really like that tune! The band play a combination of traditional Turkish folk music mixed with electronica and other influences from around the world. The saz has 17 notes to the octave (the microtones come after the sharps) and they now have an oud player from Greece with them too which gives them quite a unique frontline. Maybe the microtones are more 'subtle' as it's just another piece of their musical jigsaw?

Mmm... I don't know but I am finding this topic an interesting diversion.

3 hours ago, Ricky Rioli said:

 

Tick tick tick tick

Except if you're looking for 24 frets it's presumably because you want to play them which looks pretty difficult on that bass.

I really enjoyed all three of those - should I be worried?

However... anybody care to explain to me what microtonalities are being used in either the Planet Microjam or the BabaZula clips?

I didn't detect anything untowards with Dave Fiuczynski other than he likes to play with a sound that has a lot of deep pitch modulation going on. Or the fretless which he handles rather well considering the tight spacing up at the top end. No real messing with scale temperament there, just a nice kind of vibe reminiscent of Charlie Hunter, I thought.

Babazula - nothing at all - straight down the middle. ??

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard on the other hand - some serious investment in microtonality there.

Or is there something going on that's too subtle for me?

On 20/02/2021 at 22:34, StickyDBRmf said:

Of course he does...

Stan's also has 25 frets.

124 - just a bit of fun.

I have to say that I actually disagreed with some of the examples on beat alignment, and on the tuning examples, most didn't have one performance which was perfectly in tune all the way so I wonder if there is a degree of subjectivity involved?

In the UK very impressed by Rob Mullarky - excellent and inventive playing and/or producing for the likes of Natalie Williams (his other half), Roisin Murphy, Jacob Collier etc.

I see it’s sold. Presumably a piezo bridge as well although the listing didn’t mention that. 

1 hour ago, Geddys nose said:

https://www.richtonemusic.co.uk/product/yamaha-b-1x-bass-guitar-black-w-hard-case-2nd-hand-yyamaha104967/
 

One just appeared on RichTone.

Looks like a stunner condition- wise too. 

Some interesting takes on here. 

Mine for the OP is take heart! It's quite difficult to be the best you can be once the red light goes on.

Record more often- you'll get better at it.

While recording, make sure that you have correct mix you need to hear in your headphones - this is crucial to being able to play accurately and with the correct feel. Also, I don't know what your recording situation is but are all the other performances spot on? On quite a few occasions in the studio I've been asked to fix a wee fill or something which sounded out on the listen back but the problem has been on an existing track which hadn't been noticed before. As you up your game everyone else has to as well.

Finally, enjoy. If a couple of bits need fixed either by overdubbing or by studio manipulation, so what? That's all part of the art of recording. And be happy for the end result to be as smooth or as rough as you and your colleagues want.

On 01/02/2021 at 19:50, chris_b said:

Listening to your playing can be enlightening. When minidiscs came out I recorded everything and used them as a learning tool. Sadly the recorder broke and I can't play them anymore. It would be interesting (maybe not!) to go back 20 years and compare.

Should your curiosity become insatiable, I still have a minidisc deck here and would be happy to transfer some stuff for you.

Something is definitely not right here - the B3 is part of my live setup and I've not had issues like this at all.

Is your power supply good? What happens when you back off the volume on the bass to halfway? Do you  have the B3 XLR output set to pre or post?

What does the headphone output on the B3 sound like when you just plug a pair of headphones in to it? That is to say bass into B3 input, headphones into L/Mono Phones output.

How long have you been using the B3 for and did you buy it new? You could try a factory reset on the unit to see if that clears it. If you have a load of your own patches then you would probably want to save them first - this can be done using the Zoom Edit and Share software.

This sort of problem can only be solved by logical process of elimination.

Just flipped over here following a wee Joe Dart theme - fantastic work from all concerned.

Really enjoyed that - thanks!

On 31/01/2021 at 01:18, dudewheresmybass said:

they’re very underrated as instruments, and unfortunately seem to have been easy targets for people that like to attack basses with chisels and stuff. 😳

 

Haha- indeed.

I notoriously took a jigsaw to a Track 4 bass and the equivalent guitar model to create a demountable double neck. This was sometime in the early 80s and unfortunately I have no photographic evidence of it whatsoever. In fact the topic came up with an old friend of mine recently and I’m afraid that I can’t even remember what happened to it/ them in the end. I only know that I no longer have them. 
it was a good bass with that favourite pickup configuration of mine, the double P. 

6 hours ago, mark_ir said:

Hi 
I'm very interested in this Status one. Forgive me if you've been asked before, but can't see it..
how does it compare? 
I love the size and shape and practicality of Steinbergers, but just don't get on with the string spacing and neck profile to some extent. I love Status and have had a few, the necks are more me, though a smaller fretboard radius would nail it. This hybrid really appeals. 
Did Rob take much convincing?  
Intrigued if there's much difference sound wise, which pre amp is in there and where the strap attaches - boomerang or other arrangement? 

cheers 

Mark

PS the L2 in the Facebook group post mentioned on P6 of this thread is still for sale  

Well, it's definitely more Status than Steinberger in character. How much of that is down to construction and how much to pickups I don't know. The Steinberger L series basses are very punchy and warm and the Status is I would say, a bit more "polite" sounding. Closer to an XL2 than an L2 if you've had experience of both. That said, it sounds great and a guitarist friend of mine who I work with a lot tells me it's his favourite out of all my basses.

It came from Status with a 2 band EQ preamp but I have changed that for an ACG/John East filter based pre.

It also has a stealthy Roland Hex pickup on there for use with a Vbass unit or synths - pictures on this post Variax Bass Electronics in a Non Variax Bass - Page 3 - Bass Guitars - Basschat

Rob supplied the bass without strap buttons as it was always my intention to fit a Steinberger pivot plate to it. I also had a spare fold out leg rest which I installed although I tend to just use the strap on my Steinies whether sitting or standing. You could certainly use an NS Boomerang if you don't like the way Hohners or Steinberger Spirit basses sit on the strap.

It's a great bass really- ultra stable- the neck has a truss rod that I've never actually touched in the 14 years that I've had it.

Rob was fine about doing the bass but this was pre Streamline days- when I enquired he mentioned that he had been thinking about doing a compact bodied model and I guess that's what then happened. If you're interested give him a call and ask - he and Dawn are very nice and super helpful.

This one has been a long time fav of mine. Made even better by Greg Philinganes' amazing Moog bass going briefly out of tune around 1:57!

We Can Work It Out - Chaka Khan - YouTube

Liked that @WalMan- definitely shows it's lineage too. Good work!

I traditionally hate basses like this but even I like this one! Beautiful!

13 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

Thats always the dream. I keep having phases of trying to nail the stick, and sometimes I get slightly close!

Keep going- stubbornness and persistence will get you there!

A few of my favourites already quoted but I always liked this one. At the time there were loads of rumours that it was McCartney under a pseudonym!

Keeping the dream alive - Freiheit 1988 - YouTube

Nice one(s) @Happy Jack.

Not sure if the upload to vimeo might have mangled your footage as well but as @EBS_freak says HD 1080p is a good target to aim for. If you shoot in 4k for example then you can crop and pan your shots whilst still retaining the target resolution in the output.

Good work!

6 hours ago, Bigwan said:

Aren't all carbon fiber basses/necks a skin over a core? Isn't the core usually a foam just to provide the base shape?

No, not necessarily. Original Steinbergers were moulded in the traditional glass/ carbon fibre way. 
A mould was first treated with a release agent and the gel coat was sprayed into it. Then carbon and glass fibres were layer in the mould in a very specific way and the phenolic fingerboard placed on top. The mould was then vacuum injected with the resin/ hardener mix. When that had all cured the neck or neck/ body was prised out of the mould. No wood or foam core.

I could be wrong but I suspect that the original GMT Status basses ie the ones where you couldn’t see the carbon weave on the neck were the same. I think the German Basslab instruments had fully hollow necks. 
 

So, many different construction methods.

Late to this as usual- do all you guys not do anything else? 😀

Joni fan since the 1970s here- my all time favourite artist.

The Guardian falling into all the usual time-honoured traps with JM - a nostalgia for the "simpler" times when Joni was a west coast acoustic guitar playing singer songwriter in the mould of Dylan, James Taylor etc.

My all time favourite Joni Album is... Chalkmark in a Rainstorm! Heresy, I know but it has everything - great storytelling, performances, collaborations, arrangements, production. 

Truth is, whatever album Joni released over most of her career is likely to have been one of the best released in that year. An amazing career and portfolio of work.