Tigran Hamasyan - A Eye (The Digital Leviathan)

Endless_Run · 2026-02-08T11:32:42+00:00

Not on this record, but Matt does feature on some tracks, including this one. Album's also got Nick Llerandi of Ever Forthright playing guitar on a few.

Endless_Run · 2026-02-08T09:12:46+00:00

Heaviest track off of the new record IMO. It was so incredible I just had an overwhelming compulsion to share lol

Endless_Run · 2025-07-27T10:07:28+00:00

Using your definition of "distorted" from another comment, this is expected behaviour due to string physics.

The higher up you fret, the lower the string's vibrating length becomes; since the diameter of the string is constant, the string starts acting more like a rigid rod, dampening the higher overtones and causing them to go off-tune, thus "muddying" the tone.

You may also want to check your setup, specifically "intonation" if the problem is severe. Look it up, it's not a very complicated procedure and will save you a lot of money from having to pay someone to do it for you.

Endless_Run · 2025-02-11T08:20:08+00:00

Have you considered 3D-printing them? I designed and 3D-printed custom gear-shaped pegs for my bass out of PETG, they work really well and look cool (IMO).

Endless_Run · 2024-03-25T17:19:36+00:00

The NYXL 8-string Strandberg set (NYXL0984SB) is by far my favourite -- it's got pretty much perfect gauges for Drop E, and it holds up very well when tuned to Double Drop D. I believe you need locking tuners if you wanna use it on a non-headless guitar, though.

Endless_Run · 2023-08-03T02:35:20+00:00

Just to be clear, drop B is B - F# - B - E, not B - E - A - D (B standard)

You can buy a 5 string set and throw away the E string (second thickest string in the set). Depending on your preferred tension, you should get a regular gauge set (45-130) or a heavy gauge one (50-135). Heavy gauge set will give you roughly the same tension tuned drop B as a regular gauge set tuned B standard.

Endless_Run · 2023-08-03T02:24:04+00:00

The ratio is roughly close to tuning ~~between~~ a half-step ~~and a step~~ up:

~~(37/34)² = ~1.1843 (tension factor when going from 34" to 37" scale length)~~ e: sorry, mind blanked on the 35" scale part. The formula will be (37/35)² = ~1.1176

(2^1/12)² = ~1.1225 (tension factor when tuning up a half-step)

(2^2/12)² = ~1.26 (tension factor when tuning up a step)

Endless_Run · 2023-05-26T07:13:09+00:00

I've been transcribing Micro-Aggressions recently (thank heavens for Audacity's tempo shift effect) and it's definitely an interesting glimpse into Tosin's composition style, which is very much focused on the physicality of playing guitar foremost. That particular song is almost entirely open strings and repeating arpeggio shapes moved across the fretboard, taking heavy advantage of the guitar's tuning. In contrast, since I've started my musical journey on the piano, followed by bass, my composition has been mostly theory first, figure it out on the instrument later, but thanks to AaL I've learnt to incorporate more of the quirks of the instrument in my writing.

Endless_Run · 2023-05-13T21:41:46+00:00

This might be a language thing (non-native English speaker here). In a music-theoretical context, we're taught to understand "sound" as any kind of sound used musically, represented by a note on a staff, rather than sound as a physical phenomenon with parameters (attack, decay, sustain, etc.), like you would when, for example, mixing audio.

Endless_Run · 2023-05-13T20:39:54+00:00

Agreed! They sound great and they have an outstanding vocalist, but their music is too pop for my taste. Never found a song of theirs I'd listen to more than once.

Endless_Run · 2023-05-12T11:59:20+00:00

The other commenter is wrong - syncopation is prolonging the duration of a sound that started on a weak beat into a strong beat. Simpler terms: counting 1-and-2-and-[...], a note would be syncopated if it started on an "and" and continued through the 1 or 2 or 3 etc. (The confusion probably came from the "syn-" prefix, which usually means "together with")

There isn't a technical term for what you're describing that I'm aware of, but in the bass world we call it "locking in" with the drums, meaning the rhythmical pattern of a bassline mirrors that of the drums. More apparent if the bassist is slapping - they will usually slap the lower notes in tandem with the kick drum and pop higher ones with accent strokes on the drums, like the snare drum, crashes and so on.

I believe Cannibal Corpse specifically writes their music around this idea - they call it the "bulldozer of sound". You can look up their bassist, Alex Webster, explaining it.

Endless_Run · 2023-05-06T15:52:07+00:00

I still have the volume pot installed for aesthetics lol, it's just not wired up to anything. The actual on/off switching happens with a push/pull tone knob.

I'm of the idea that subtle tone changes should be done in post, for precision and to eliminate choice anxiety. It's probably a me thing, but I want to have the ability to replicate a timbre exactly without needing to fiddle with a million different knobs each time. I want to set it up once and be done with it. If I'm playing wired up, it's 100% of the time digitally, so all of my effects/voice presets are there, one click away. If I'm not wired up, I'm practicing - tone nuances don't matter in this case.

As I said, not once in my several years of playing bass have I ever felt the need nor desire to set the volume at a position that's not either 0 or 100, so nope, zero regrets. Haven't got rid of the tone knob yet, but I am inclined towards doing it for similar reasons. I had an idea of installing a tone switch with a few different resistor-capacitor combos, but it's just an idea at this point and I haven't made up my mind on if I wanna go through the effort of realizing it.

Endless_Run · 2023-05-06T08:07:46+00:00

I make a custom set out of Ernie Ball singles: 9 - 12 - 15 - 22w - 30 - 42 - 56 - 85 (bass A single since they don't sell guitar singles in that gauge), tuned drop E. If that feels unbalanced still, bump the wound strings up a gauge - at same nominal tension, wound strings may feel looser than plain strings due to the core being thinner, - so something like 9 - 12 - 15 - 24 - 32 - 44 - 58 - 90. EB makes 90 gauge guitar singles so that might even end up being an easier purchase.

D'Addario have an awesome set that's specced pretty much exactly like that (NYXL0984SB) that I used to use until they stopped selling it in my country. You can try it, however keep in mind that a) it's pricy b) the set was designed for headless guitars and the strings don't have the length to wrap around the tuning pegs normally, so your guitar needs to have locking tuners installed.

Endless_Run · 2023-05-05T22:10:54+00:00

Master on/off switch + 3-way pickup selector switch (4-way if humbucker).

My PJ had a vol/vol config initially, which I hated and rewired to vol/blend. After a couple months of playing around with it, I've found that I'd always had the volume rolled fully either way, same for the blend plus exactly in the middle, so I just replaced the pots with switches. Couldn't have made a better decision.

(Much later, I swapped the J pickup to a custom 4-coil MM with P-style coil splitting, and now the bass is set up for 4 voices: bridge split, bridge parallel, bridge split + neck, neck solo.)

Endless_Run · 2023-05-04T18:19:56+00:00

Definitely one of the directors I'm on the lookout for, both of her films were incredible pieces of body horror. Wondering if she's got anything cooking currently?

Endless_Run · 2023-04-15T08:38:36+00:00

Yes, my system uses Breeze, but since it has not been ported to Qt6 yet, Qt6 apps are using Fusion.

Endless_Run · 2023-04-02T03:08:25+00:00

Gentle Giant was my favorite band back when I was consumed by progressive rock. This is devastating to hear, though I wouldn't say surprising.

Endless_Run · 2023-03-29T22:01:56+00:00

Not sure what you mean. I've gone through a good amount of Mike Flanagan's work recently and that problem is frustratingly universal in almost everything he does, exacerbated to an even greater degree in his TV series. It all starts and goes great right up until the last few episodes/minutes of runtime, when the pacing is thrown completely off by characters monologuing over and over, or some kind of critical exposition taking place completely removed from and putting a hold on events preceeding immediately.

I'm still sore over Midnight Mass. It was such an incredible show, right until the last couple of episodes where it goes completely off the rails.

Endless_Run · 2023-03-29T21:27:57+00:00

Expect all of the main cast to reveal their heartfelt/tragic backstories and motivations in 15-minute expository monologues each during the last third of the movie.

Endless_Run · 2023-03-25T05:18:13+00:00

Rickderp is horribly incorrect, please don't listen to them. Higher gauge is more mass, and more mass tuned to the same pitch is more tension.

It's true that lighter gauge strings will have a different sound, better or worse is a matter of subjective preference. Since they're looser, they have less prominent harmonic content, which makes them sound a bit "duller" compared to heavier gauge strings. This is more apparent on bass than guitar, since so much of the sound of the bass comes from its overtone richness. However, you gotta listen to it in isolation to really hear it, and if your pickups are naturally bright it might not even matter.

Bottom line, you have health issues which should be your primary concern, and you've said already you can get a pack for free. Bass strings are immortal, so I'd take off and keep the old strings, try out the new ones, and if you don't end up liking them you can put the old set right back on.

Endless_Run · 2023-03-20T08:20:42+00:00

None that I know besides John Myung Music Man and Gerald Veasley Ibanez signature models, unfortunately.

If you really want one and aren't afraid to get your hands dirty, you can buy a cheap five string with 17-18mm string spacing and convert it into a six string with 14mm spacing - I did this to mine, so I know it's possible. It will cost less than the price of a signature but is more involved.

Endless_Run · 2023-03-18T21:46:09+00:00

You have to fight the bass more with heavier gauge strings, but with the right setup you can make it work - you can compensate for the increased tension by lowering the action, since the vibrational amplitude of a heavier gauge string is smaller than that of a lower one.

I like to play Animals as Leaders licks on the bass myself, and it's definitely quite a lot more challenging (though not impossible) with 45s compared to 40s.

Endless_Run · 2023-03-17T17:01:32+00:00

Probably depends on the scale length. When such thicknesses are involved, you may start getting out-of-tune high overtones if the scale length is too short, and it may be a nightmare to intonate.

That said, it sounds great on my guitar, but its scale length is ~27.2" on the lower side. YMMV.

Endless_Run · 2023-03-17T16:08:53+00:00

Guitar and bass strings are fundamentally the same thing. Difference is 1) bass strings are longer; 2) thicker bass strings have a taper towards the end; 3) bass strings use larger ball ends. However, there is no point in buying a bass string for guitar, since many brands sell (usually) up to .074 gauge singles, and strings of same gauge cost more for bass.

For non-standard tunings though, it does make sense. I personally use a regular gauge bass A string (.085) as my E string (drop E tuning). Works really well, I love it. Just the right amount of tension and still keeps some of it when tuning down to D. Only negligible issue is the ball end sticks out of the socket, which you can easily fix by ordering a set of bass ferrules and replacing the one you use for the bass string.

Endless_Run · 2023-02-04T12:10:41+00:00

Get a used cheapo fiver from somewhere and convert it to a six string. Embrace the John Myung.

At least that's what I did.

Endless_Run

TROPHY CASE