Mornats Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Did this one fairly quickly last night: http://soundcloud.com/mornats/mystery-and-magic I was trying to get a nice double bass sound out of my fretless Bass Collection SB320 (I've got Rotosound Trubass 88 nylon strings on it). How double-bassey does it sound to you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 What Mingus are you comparing this to, Mornats? I'd like to be helpful but I can't hear what you are trying for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daz Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 Using you picking hand high up on the neck sometimes (IE above the neck pickup) gives a DB like sound. or at least it does with me. But my style is probably so inconsistent this means little. Give it a go though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prosebass Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 Its very difficult to try and emulate the double bass sound. I would suggest detuning to C or B and playing (as has been suggested) well up onto the board. Also put your action right up to over 10mm at the 12th as this will allow you to 'dig' in and get the strings moving. Best I achieved was with a mini 27" scale EUB that I built with a single coil telecaster pup, semi hollow body and fitted with Tru-bass strings. This is what it sounded like [url="http://soundcloud.com/prosebass/27-inch-meub"]http://soundcloud.com/prosebass/27-inch-meub[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mornats Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 [quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1331500189' post='1573883'] What Mingus are you comparing this to, Mornats? I'd like to be helpful but I can't hear what you are trying for? [/quote] The Mingus reference is probably a red herring in terms of the sound I was going for. It was Skol's remix of Haitian Fight Song (http://soundcloud.com/skollob/haitian-fight-song-youtube) that was going around my head as I did this one. In terms of sound, I was really just after opinions on whether it's a passable double bass sound. Charles Mingus can be put down as "inspiration" rather than being something distinct that I was going for. I'd never get close anyway! [quote name='daz' timestamp='1331500846' post='1573896'] Using you picking hand high up on the neck sometimes (IE above the neck pickup) gives a DB like sound. or at least it does with me. But my style is probably so inconsistent this means little. Give it a go though. [/quote] My SB320 is a P/J config and I tend to play over the P pup but it may be interesting to try and play in between the P and the neck, or maybe right on the end of the neck perhaps? I can give it a try... [quote name='Prosebass' timestamp='1331503342' post='1573963'] Its very difficult to try and emulate the double bass sound. I would suggest detuning to C or B and playing (as has been suggested) well up onto the board. Also put your action right up to over 10mm at the 12th as this will allow you to 'dig' in and get the strings moving. Best I achieved was with a mini 27" scale EUB that I built with a single coil telecaster pup, semi hollow body and fitted with Tru-bass strings. This is what it sounded like [url="http://soundcloud.com/prosebass/27-inch-meub"]http://soundcloud.co...ss/27-inch-meub[/url] [/quote] I do have the action set fairly high on this bass but maybe not as high as 10mm on the 12th fret. That's a nice sound you got form your EUB. It's got a lot more resonance (if that's the word I'm looking for) than my fretless. i.e. it sounds like it's coming from a big hollow-bodied instrument rather than a solid bit of wood. Although I didn't use it on this track, I picked up a felt pick from my local music shop a few weeks ago. I wasn't sure what instrument they'd be useful on and the guy in the shop said he'd never sold one so couldn't advise. I tried it on my fretless and it added a nice bright attack but in a subtle way. Just enough to add a bit of double bass attack sound. If that makes sense at all. Cheers for the feedback, I'm torn between putting flatwounds on my fretless and giving a double bass (or EUB more likely) a go but GAS is GAS and I need to stop buying instruments and playing them more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daz Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 [quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1331556124' post='1574615'] My SB320 is a P/J config and I tend to play over the P pup but it may be interesting to try and play in between the P and the neck, or maybe right on the end of the neck perhaps? I can give it a try... [/quote] The higher the better. When I said 'Above the neck pick up' I didn't mean on top of the pick up. I meant [i]beyond[/i] the pickup, onto the fretboard. Give it a try I think you will be surprised how much it has an effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skol303 Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 [quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1331556124' post='1574615'] The Mingus reference is probably a red herring in terms of the sound I was going for. It was Skol's remix of Haitian Fight Song (http://soundcloud.com/skollob/haitian-fight-song-youtube) that was going around my head as I did this one. [/quote] Ha ha, good to hear that particular Mingus classic got stuck in somebody else's head as well as mine! I can 't say I did it justice but I tried. For this track I used a cheap 'home made' fretless (a converted Hohner Rockwood) strung with flatwounds and recorded using an iPhone app... so if that's a tone you're wanting then the 'secret' is to use as cheap and shoddy equipment as you can lay hands on. And play as badly as I do ;-) I love the sound of an upright bass myself so keen to follow any tips on emulating this that people can offer. I'm planning on buying one someday, just as soon as I have a little more time, money, space and no 9-month olds crawling around place... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheG Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 (edited) Another idea could be to play using your thumb like a pick (down strokes only) which uses a larger softer skin surface area. It will give a softer sound but you can adjust the attack of how hard you play to taste. Possibly similar idea to the felt pick but you've got more control. Another could be to put some felt/foam under the strings at the bridge end to dampen the sound again you may have to adjust playing technique like above. This is a similar set up to the Music Man Stingray which had bits of foam on the bridge that can be screwed up in place or back down out of the way. (Not sure of their official reasons for putting bits of foam there - maybe someone can tell me?) A double bass has a natural long tail off of its sound and a softer attack (rather like a tear drop) than a electric. Thats what would need to be recreated here in a subtle way. An electric has a lot more of a precise sound which is better for most circumstances but its the very thing you are up against when trying to create a double bass sound. I play double bass but I really enjoy playing fretless electric on a jazz standard trying to create a double bass sound/feel just for a different angle on things. Incidentally I also love playing double bass on a track with an jazz organist and trying to recreate a Hammond foot pedal sound which is a completely different sound/feel/technique again. Edited March 15, 2012 by TheG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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