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Newbie Question: Vintage vs 'Hi-Fi' sound


Naetharu
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[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1441453559' post='2858998']
Vintage: Proper hefty bass sound with bass played as it should be, as part of a rhythm section. Rugged and manly.
Hi-Fi: Widdly-widdly twangy cutlery-drawer-down-the-stairs in your face inappropriate slappy solo nipple-rub for gaylords.

I await the backlash with pleasure. :lol:
[/quote]Praise be - thou speaketh the truth :-)

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[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1441531904' post='2859479']
Very apply named. Assume he doesn't play like that all the time..??
[/quote]

As a mate of Nige's, I have to say that's a parlour piece which sells a lot of strings (he works for Rotosound), and he's a great player fingerstyle or, earlier this year, on a G&L 2000 with a pick on tour with Dare. Without Brian C this time... :D

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[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1441618806' post='2860199']


Vintage: muffled muddy indistinct sound, where not only can you not tell what type of bass is being played, you can't tell what note is being played either. Think "hippopotamus farting underwater" and you're there.

Hi-fi: Unforgivingly distinct sound, where every single wrong note and string noise is amplified a thousandfold. Useful for discovering exactly how inaccurate a tab is.
[/quote]

Now this is much more like it!!

I do recall seeing bands in the 70s and sometimes coming away thinking the bass sound rather like indistinct elephant noises, but Tauzero, you've summed it up magnificently "hippopotamus farting underwater" - flappy farty speaker sounds also help, although not obligatory if the bass is truly vintage. Duff hearing from years of playing can also assist (especially guitarists and drummers) who sometimes seem to have a view on what a 'vintage bass sound' should be. Mr Squire RIPs live sound in the 70s did, however at times (though certainly not always) conjure up Discreet's "cutlery drawer down the stairs" imagery.

Goodness, this sounds like a wonderful GCSE English question - describe vintage v modern bass guitar sound!!

Edited by drTStingray
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[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1441453559' post='2858998']
Vintage: Proper hefty bass sound with bass played as it should be, as part of a rhythm section. Rugged and manly.
Hi-Fi: Widdly-widdly twangy cutlery-drawer-down-the-stairs in your face inappropriate slappy solo nipple-rub for gaylords.

I await the backlash with pleasure. :lol:
[/quote]

***APPLAUSE**

:D

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I'd rather had a Hi-Fi rig which I can use to make any sound possible, including a "vintage" sound. Controversial I know, but in the studio I like to record as full a range signal as possible so that I have as many options open to me as possible. This applies to everything, not just bass.

Obviously some people are convinced that to get X sound you need Y rig... fair enough :)

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[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1441453559' post='2858998']
Vintage: Proper hefty bass sound with bass played as it should be, as part of a rhythm section. Rugged and manly.
Hi-Fi: Widdly-widdly twangy cutlery-drawer-down-the-stairs in your face inappropriate slappy solo nipple-rub for gaylords.

I await the backlash with pleasure. :lol:
[/quote]

Haha 😂

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Guest bassman7755

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1441801619' post='2861871']
I'd rather had a Hi-Fi rig which I can use to make any sound possible, including a "vintage" sound. Controversial I know,
[/quote]

Same here, you can dirty up a clean sound but you cant do the reverse.

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[quote name='TrevorR' timestamp='1441971185' post='2863360']
I'm not sure which I prefer and the reasons for that preference... Why-Fi
[/quote]
[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1441976800' post='2863449']
There's a lady down the road whose opinion I would value - MIL-Fi.
[/quote]

These comments have made me curious - Bi-Fi.

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