mcnach Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 [quote name='NJE' timestamp='1366476094' post='2053076'] Firstly that thumb needs looking at by a doctor, its not right at all, he's hyperextending it and will probably get really bad problems in later life. Apart from that, awesome playing and the sound is superb. The growler had a MM pickup in basically so a Stingray should get very close to that, to be honest my old Stingray 5 sounded very similar to that.....god I miss it. [/quote] some people have very bendy thumbs without forcing it whatsoever. Mine is not quite as bendy as the one in the video, but not far off, and has been like that forever. It really depends on the person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.I. Joe Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 [quote name='paulbass' timestamp='1366562155' post='2054065'] This guy is a top bassist. To get that punchy tone he uses a tc electronic impact twin,which is an interface that you plug into when recording.They are great bits of kit and they sell for around £250. Hope this answers your question. [/quote] Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnnyc Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 How does compression make your tone more punchy? I'm rather ignorant on the matter of compression I'm afraid =/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesBass Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 Compression can remove all dynamics, so the signal will seem to be all one volume, then with some EQing you can make the signal seem very large and punchy as there is no dynamics, hope that helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJE Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 [quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1366564804' post='2054140'] some people have very bendy thumbs without forcing it whatsoever. Mine is not quite as bendy as the one in the video, but not far off, and has been like that forever. It really depends on the person. [/quote] Oh yeah I know some people have it naturally, I didn't mean to sound like I was saying he forced his thumb to do that. I have exactly the same thing but with my wrists and ankles, had it since I was a kid but I have been advised by several people that whilst it does give you a nifty party trick, its really not good for you to keep doing it and can cause issues later on. I just don't want the poor chap to get arthritis or joint issues, he's a damn good player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.I. Joe Posted April 21, 2013 Share Posted April 21, 2013 [quote name='JamesBass' timestamp='1366574440' post='2054390'] Compression <b>can</b> remove all dynamics, so the signal will seem to be all one volume, then with some EQing you can make the signal seem very large and punchy as there is no dynamics, hope that helps [/quote] While this is true, it depends how you set it up. I use mine just to level off harsh peaks and even out the sound sonewhat, but not as to squash it and eliminate dynamics completely. That would be silly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gstirrat Posted April 21, 2013 Author Share Posted April 21, 2013 [quote name='paulbass' timestamp='1366562155' post='2054065'] This guy is a top bassist. To get that punchy tone he uses a tc electronic impact twin,which is an interface that you plug into when recording.They are great bits of kit and they sell for around £250. Hope this answers your question. [/quote] Ah, thank you sir! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMG456 Posted April 22, 2013 Share Posted April 22, 2013 [quote name='JamesBass' timestamp='1366574440' post='2054390'] Compression can remove all dynamics, so the signal will seem to be all one volume, then with some EQing you can make the signal seem very large and punchy as there is no dynamics, hope that helps [/quote] [quote name='D.I. Joe' timestamp='1366583779' post='2054611'] While this is true, it depends how you set it up. I use mine just to level off harsh peaks and even out the sound sonewhat, but not as to squash it and eliminate dynamics completely. That would be silly [/quote] Some of us don't find that compression in the signal chain gives a more "punchy" sound. It will certainly give you a more even sound in terns of levels and do things like simulate longer sustain from your bass but I prefer to have the original dynamics in my playing preserved as much as possible. With strong consistent technique, you can eliminate the use of compression from your live playing altogether and reduce it's use in the recording environment to a bare minimum - after all, the less gubbins between you and the speaker which will finally reproduce what you're playing, the better, no? The use of compression as an effect is of course something different. (Runs for cover) I see he plays mostly fingerstyle but throws in a bit of slap for effect - some basses (yes even high end ones) do not produce consistent volumes between fingerstyle and slap techniques so he may have used the compression to help mitigate this. Anyway, at least part of what makes this a nice punchy sound is the cleanness of the playing and in particular regard to note lengths and dampening. Not only is the start of each note nicely judged and executed but also the end of each note - gives that nice contrast between note and space and helps give great definition to the rhythm and groove. My tuppence worth! Ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesBass Posted April 22, 2013 Share Posted April 22, 2013 [quote name='D.I. Joe' timestamp='1366583779' post='2054611'] While this is true, it depends how you set it up. I use mine just to level off harsh peaks and even out the sound sonewhat, but not as to squash it and eliminate dynamics completely. That would be silly [/quote] That's what I meant, bloody brain getting ahead of what was on the actual page! [quote name='EMG456' timestamp='1366627917' post='2054959'] Some of us don't find that compression in the signal chain gives a more "punchy" sound. It will certainly give you a more even sound in terns of levels and do things like simulate longer sustain from your bass but I prefer to have the original dynamics in my playing preserved as much as possible. With strong consistent technique, you can eliminate the use of compression from your live playing altogether and reduce it's use in the recording environment to a bare minimum - after all, the less gubbins between you and the speaker which will finally reproduce what you're playing, the better, no? The use of compression as an effect is of course something different. (Runs for cover) I see he plays mostly fingerstyle but throws in a bit of slap for effect - some basses (yes even high end ones) do not produce consistent volumes between fingerstyle and slap techniques so he may have used the compression to help mitigate this. Anyway, at least part of what makes this a nice punchy sound is the cleanness of the playing and in particular regard to note lengths and dampening. Not only is the start of each note nicely judged and executed but also the end of each note - gives that nice contrast between note and space and helps give great definition to the rhythm and groove. My tuppence worth! Ed [/quote] Don't get me wrong Ed, compression isn't the only thing in there, a lot of clever EQing has been doing on that track as well, yes the technique plays a part but not quite that much in terms of the tone and punch. Personally I don't actually use compression live at all, I like dynamics and that very raw feel you can get from not using compression, in the studio I ONLY allow light compression on the bass, it doesn't need much on any instrument in my opinion, drums yeah fair enough, guitar, bass, vocals and whatever else people use in my opinion and experience just doesn't need anywhere near the amount of compression on modern recordings, I am generalising there but compression isn't needed if you're just going to re-compress everything so you can send an MP3 about!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost_Bass Posted April 22, 2013 Share Posted April 22, 2013 I see from your sig that you have two TRB's, that's all the punch you need right there, just a mather of getting a nice compressor to help a bit (the MXR is a great choice). You could also try and adjust the internal trim pots on your TRB preamp, it can give your bass a little bit of extra punch. Everything else can be achieved with EQ. ...but are you really looking for an excuse to buy a new bass? If that's the case i would say, yeah go ahead, you really need a Tobias to sound like that and just in case get a Stingray too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GremlinAndy Posted April 22, 2013 Share Posted April 22, 2013 (edited) [quote name='EMG456' timestamp='1366627917' post='2054959'] Some of us don't find that compression in the signal chain gives a more "punchy" sound. It will certainly give you a more even sound in terns of levels and do things like simulate longer sustain from your bass but I prefer to have the original dynamics in my playing preserved as much as possible. With strong consistent technique, you can eliminate the use of compression from your live playing altogether and reduce it's use in the recording environment to a bare minimum - after all, the less gubbins between you and the speaker which will finally reproduce what you're playing, the better, no? The use of compression as an effect is of course something different. (Runs for cover) I see he plays mostly fingerstyle but throws in a bit of slap for effect - some basses (yes even high end ones) do not produce consistent volumes between fingerstyle and slap techniques so he may have used the compression to help mitigate this. Anyway, at least part of what makes this a nice punchy sound is the cleanness of the playing and in particular regard to note lengths and dampening. Not only is the start of each note nicely judged and executed but also the end of each note - gives that nice contrast between note and space and helps give great definition to the rhythm and groove. My tuppence worth! Ed [/quote] I'm with you... compressors arent always desireable... However you cant make it sound like you squashed the crap outta a non compressed bass with any amount of technique... Whether it's *everyones* description of punchy or not is debatable, but it's definitely got compression on there... My penneth... Edited April 22, 2013 by GremlinAndy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skol303 Posted April 22, 2013 Share Posted April 22, 2013 Compression doesn't have to be applied like a sledgehammer... it can be very gentle and 'musical', depending on how the dials are tweaked. Personally I always apply compression to basslines, just in varying degrees depending on the source material and genre in question. There's way too much variation between between the low and high frequency energy of a bass guitar [i]not[/i] to apply at least some compression - at least when mixing. But each to his or her own Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gstirrat Posted April 22, 2013 Author Share Posted April 22, 2013 [quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1366637193' post='2055215'] I see from your sig that you have two TRB's, that's all the punch you need right there, just a mather of getting a nice compressor to help a bit (the MXR is a great choice). You could also try and adjust the internal trim pots on your TRB preamp, it can give your bass a little bit of extra punch. Everything else can be achieved with EQ. ...but are you really looking for an excuse to buy a new bass? If that's the case i would say, yeah go ahead, you really need a Tobias to sound like that and just in case get a Stingray too! [/quote] Haha, this made me laugh! Yes, and excuse for a new bass is always lovely, but your right, the TRBs are hefty punchy. I'm actually selling my old one just now as I really don't need 2 TRBs (Shameless plug! http://basschat.co.uk/topic/184881-fs-1988-yamaha-trb-6p-l1100/page__hl__trb%206p ). I've never played around with compression outside of the studio, so I'm quite keen on experimenting with it a bit live. I like the look of the MXR bass compressor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1366462962' post='2052895'] I'd say the biggest factor in the punch will be the compressor he's got in the signal chain to allow him to sound even over the track he's playing along with. [/quote] This, I think, mainly. It's not that the bass sounds good [i]per se[/i], just listen to the 'Locked out of heaven' video, it sounds dump there! Rather he has put a lot more time into getting the sound right for the Daft Punk video. In the Daft Punk video, you've got that obvious compression to even out his playing and really push it to the front of the mix. And the track volume and EQ will be adjust to suit too; this is after all a bass video he has made so obviously he wants to be right up front in the mix so we can hear what he is doing! And as mentioned, his keeps his playing tight with good damping on the notes and smooth, consistent attack on each string aided by the compression. It's not so much about the bass, OP, as my Warwick Thumb will easily mimic that sound if I'd fiddling round with my Pandora unit. Obviously, the Thumb will tend to a little bit of a 'burpy' sound and has more low mid growl, but with the right processing it shouldn't be too difficult to get most humbucker/soapbar basses sounding like that. Also, there is nothing wrong with his thumb and he won't end up having problems. I've been playing for 13 years with a similarly double jointed thumb (albeit not quite as dramatic as that!) and I've had no problems. Come to think of it, I've had no problems with either thumb for a quarter of a century so I think I will be ok! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 [quote name='GremlinAndy' timestamp='1366640192' post='2055283'] Whether it's *everyones* description of punchy or not is debatable.....[/quote] At least it wasn't just me then that thought then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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