| Current mood: | working |
| Current music: | na naaaa... |
| Entry tags: | bass |
the new time-sink
I have had it for three weeks, so I guess I had better post about ****MY NEW BASS****.
The NS Design CR4M (in front of my half stack). I will not tell the (long) story of getting a working one in my hands. I have it now, and that is sufficient.
For those less familliar, about the bass... It is an electric upright bass (EUB) designed by Ned Steinberger, the same guy who made the headless Steinberger basses and guitars. The string/fingerboard geometry is just like a doublebass (41.5" scale length), but no heel on the neck, and... no body.
(specs and such)
There are three separate pickups really. First the magnetics. They sound pretty much like an electric bass. There are also two different piezos in the bridge, a set for pizzicato, and a single one for arco. In the mp3, the bass line is magnetic, the melody is the pizz piezo, and the arco is with the, well, the arco piezo. And yes, oh yes there are disclaimers about the recording. I just made it this morning, and wanted to get something at all recorded. I am trying to get some lessons for my arco playing, as it is taking the longest of my doublebass technique to come back.
a sample mp3, 3 voices (you might recognize the tune)
In listening to the bass direct without an amp or a room, the piezo sound direly needs help. The recording has tiny amounts of all sorts of effects (compression, reverb/delay, chorus). It may take a while for me to find what exact combination really brings it out of hiding, but just these tiny amounts help significantly. Played through an amp, the room provides much of what is needed thankfully, or I would be on the quest for the perfect chorus, compressor, and reverb.
The bass comes with a set of strings installed that are a lot like electric bass guitar strings. Once I put on the hybrid helicore strings it was a whole new burrito to deal with. I am still working on developing the stamina to play this. The strings are monstrous ropes. The left hand strength and the callouses are coming though. I rehearsed with a trio last weekend, and it wore me out pretty well. They are still emailing me, so I am guessing I am close enough to par that they will keep me, but I will still be looking for some other groups to try out (them and me). So, if you happen to notice me being _even more_ of a shut in, this is probably why.
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gurzil) wrote,
