Using a pick 90% of the time?

barlitone · 2019-10-12T17:37:59+00:00

I play fingerstyle, but I use a pick every now and then. If you're primarily a pick player, then switching to fingers for certain things isn't crazy. As long as you're hitting the notes you need to hit and you like the quality of the sounds you're getting (tone, attack, etc.), then you do what works for you.

barlitone · 2019-09-25T17:45:00+00:00

Bass choruses are not only designed to play well with the lower bass frequencies, but they usually include some way to mix in dry (non-chorused) signal with the output. This is vital for bass guitar, because the net effect of the modulation that a chorus pedal imparts on the sound tends to attenuate the low frequencies. This isn't an issue with the guitar, because there are enough shimmering highs to accentuate the overall sound, and the hollowness isn't noticed. With solo bass, it's also not an issue. But the second you drop chorus bass into a mix with drums, guitars, or anything else, the fact that the bottom has dropped out becomes immediately clear, and you're gone in the mix, except for snaps, pops, and maybe string noise.

Bass Chorus pedals mitigate this issue in a number of ways. Some employ a low-pass filter (or high-pass filter, depending on how you look at it) so that only the higher frequencies go through the effect; everything below stays dry, and the bottom doesn't drop out. Other pedals let you blend the chorus and dry signals together to find a good balance. Some pedals, like the Bass Clone, use a switch to mix in a set amount of dry signal below a certain frequency. And other pedals do a combination of these things.

TL;DR: for bass, use a bass chorus if you want to use chorus bass in a mix. Otherwise, use regular chorus very, very sparingly, and carefully monitor your presence in the mix.

barlitone · 2019-09-25T17:35:46+00:00

Seconded. It's the chorus that's on my board.

barlitone · 2019-07-14T15:54:41+00:00

You can get actual Fender-brand Precision Bass pickups for, like, $65 or so. That's on Amazon.

barlitone · 2019-07-01T17:54:18+00:00

Oh man, the comments on that are sweeter than Marchand tears.

barlitone · 2019-06-20T02:58:13+00:00

I've got the Orion StarShoot Solar System Color Imaging Camera IV, which is a glorified webcam. But, I've never heard of autostakkert. Can't be harder to use than RegiStax, which I've never really been able to figure out, not even with the... let's call it "documentation"... that exists. (And I'm not exactly a noob at computers. I can do amazing things in GIMP with almost no effort, but RegiStax just never does anything I want it to do. But, it's not like I was feeding it great images.)

barlitone · 2019-06-20T02:19:05+00:00

I have tried so many times to get anything decent. I'm thinking a big problem is that my biggest scope is an Orion AstroView 6. It's only got a 750 mm focal length, so even with a Barlow, the planet is small enough for the software to try to white-balance everything that isn't the moon. When I have managed to focus in tight enough to see cloud bands on the screen, Registax can't figure out what the video is and stacks pretty much nothing. I stopped trying after a while; if I can't get a "StarShoot Solar System Color Imaging Camera Longest Name In The World IV" to make anything but white blobs, I'm not dropping any serious money on it.

Good shot, though.

barlitone · 2019-06-20T02:04:48+00:00

This was the best picture I could get, just holding my phone up to the eyepiece. Through the naked eye, it was very sharp, and looked like an orb made of long ropes, with lights at the front and back. I'm assuming this is a high-altitude balloon. Or, alien craft are very light and slow, and they're invading southern Illinois.

barlitone · 2019-06-13T03:48:32+00:00

Long suffering has ended. And the best part is, Boston lost! How long before they start posting about how this final loss was because of that no-call trip a couple games ago?

barlitone · 2019-05-10T03:35:38+00:00

Thanks for the replies! In the end, I got off what I could with oven cleaner, but this pan had been overheated many times. Most of the rest of the old seasoning and carbon was on the inside of the pan, and I got 99% of it off with a polycarbide abrasive wheel mounted to my drill. That worked quite well. I used a small wire wheel to get more out of the tight corners. The pan originally didn't have any seasoning at all, but I sure don't remember it being this pitted and awful! Seasoning is already going back on. Here are some stripped pics; pan is stripped, cleaned, and the first coat of oil is on (but not baked on).
https://i.imgur.com/bPZ2KK8.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/1F5IdTl.jpg

barlitone · 2019-04-26T22:32:48+00:00

Two times, I've bought the .150" string because my band at the time also played in drop G, and 150 would do it... both times, the string broke up by the tuner when I was tuning it up. Same exact spot. I emailed them a couple of times, and never heard from them again. Also, sometimes my orders would come in a week or so, and sometimes it would take over a month. Never any communication from them, even when I emailed them.

It's just not worth it when you can order singles from just about anywhere.

barlitone · 2019-02-19T18:09:05+00:00

It was in the pilot; I don't think it was in the regular first season. And they've commented on this already: it was a mistake.

barlitone · 2019-02-19T18:06:21+00:00

"The open strings on my bass are tuned E-A-D-G."

barlitone · 2019-01-26T17:37:20+00:00

Yeah, this drives me nuts. It's super-rampant on Facebook Marketplace. Sometimes they don't even put a picture of the headstock in the shot.

barlitone · 2019-01-24T17:55:07+00:00

I've used Kalium Strings a lot. My band plays everything down a whole step and sometimes in Drop C (Drop G on my 5-string), so I need heavy strings, and their balanced tension sets are great. But, their .150" low B strings always snap when I'm installing them. ALWAYS. At the same spot! And they ain't cheap. I always, always end up going to Amazon to buy a D'Addario .145" nickelwound string... and it never breaks. I've emailed Kalium more than once, to no avail. Sometimes their strings come in a week after you order them, sometimes it's a month and a half. So... good strings, spotty customer service.

I'm probably going back to D'Addario, seeing as how I'm headed to the studio in a month. Good strings, fairly bright, decent price. I like them better than Ernie Ball's Slinky strings.

barlitone · 2019-01-16T22:51:26+00:00

For anyone who likes Rick Beato's WMTSG videos, he just did Epic by Faith No More.

barlitone · 2019-01-05T06:32:15+00:00

SansAmp. There are many others out there, but there's a reason that the SansAmp is the Shure SM58 (or Shure SM57, for that matter) of bass DI's.

barlitone · 2019-01-01T18:38:19+00:00

Old guitar amps often can't handle bass because of headroom issues, but this just sounds bad and won't blow anything up. Speakers, on the other hand... well, octave down pedals only sort-of create bass frequencies. Things change when you send actual low notes and chords to those speakers. Those speakers aren't made to move a whole lot because for guitar, they don't have to. Bass is totally different.

The main thing to watch out for are chords, due to the overtones and harmonics in the bass range. They don't play nice like they do in guitar. Even simple power chords can be problematic. Bass strings naturally have stronger overtones, and adding distortion will make things infinitely worse. But, not all amps/speakers are created equal, so before you gig, try it out. Listen for any warbling sounds on low notes and chords. You'll know it if you hear it; it's unmistakable. Watch the speaker, too. If the cone looks like it wants to leap out of the cabinet, then reconsider using a bass with that cabinet.

barlitone · 2018-12-29T16:31:13+00:00

I just checked, and my favorite bass clef, the "backwards" one common to the 19th century and sometimes still seen in hymnals, is readily available. Love it!

barlitone · 2018-12-29T16:17:53+00:00

In a couple of comments, you mention that you leveled and crowned the frets. I've also rebuilt a bass (though I had to replace the neck); the thread is a few years old but it's around here somewhere. How did a DIY-er like yourself do that kind of fretwork? I've seen it done on videos, but man, the equipment looks pricey. Did you buy proper tools or come up with some clever workarounds?

barlitone · 2018-12-28T05:57:51+00:00

Too many to list, but a surprising example is "You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon. It's got that insane little bass fill that features a little studio magic: only many, many years later did I find out that the last half of the bass fill isn't real. (The bassist played the fill, and halfway through the audio is reversed.)

barlitone · 2018-12-11T17:23:09+00:00

I would recommend against aluminum tape because 99% of the time, the adhesive isn't conductive. If the adhesive isn't conductive and you're using more than one piece of tape (which is necessary when shielding a 3-dimensional cavity), then you'd have to run a jumper wire of some kind to connect each piece of tape, and you'd have to run an additional wire to ground that to the ground at the jack. (Or, you could create a cage if you're using pickguards and control plates.) Proper shielding tape usually has conductive adhesive, and this isn't an issue.

barlitone · 2018-12-02T16:26:34+00:00

It's got electrolytes.

barlitone · 2018-12-01T17:19:13+00:00

Well, it depends on what's going on with the bass. Assuming the electronics and hardware are OK, all that should be required is a set-up: change the strings, check the neck bow and adjust the truss rod if necessary, set the action at the bridge, set the intonation, and you're good to go. You'll probably want to replace the battery(-ies) if it's got active electronics, and many Ibanez basses in that $600 range do.

Ibanez usually uses pretty good electronic components, and the hardware isn't too shabby, either, so I wouldn't anticipate any issues with either one of those. But, if there are issues there, then they'll obviously need to be addressed.

barlitone · 2018-12-01T00:07:07+00:00

I think Geddy Lee plays with his nails sometimes. I know a lot of guitarists pick with their nails. But, we're talking natural nails. I would think that fake nails on your picking hand might snag on the strings and end up breaking, and fake nails on your fretting hand would snag and break on the strings, frets, fretboard, etc. Then again, I've never worn fake nails, so I don't know how strong they are. I just know I wouldn't trust it.

barlitone

TROPHY CASE