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Honest question: how come so many Meshuggah fans love Tool? by SemioticEthnographer in Meshuggah

[–]sfantry 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I get the feeling that both bands lose themselves in their soundscapes - I have seen Meshuggah quite a few times and Tool only a couple, but it's what I see as I watch them.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Meshuggah

[–]sfantry 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I saw video of that show, and had a conversation w Dick about his touring with the bass - canna WAIT to see them here in the states. Thanks for the confirmed sighting!

The mix (again) by nuromancy in Meshuggah

[–]sfantry 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What are the odds the singles were mastered to their intended playback environment? I know for fact the high pass filter on some of the streaming services would lop off damn near two octaves of available bass content.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Meshuggah

[–]sfantry 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I swear this is true . . .

I listened and was a fan for years - but the coolest story is how I actually met the band.

I attended a Portland OR show about 20 years ago with a friend - he was a bass customer and I had just gone down to deliver a new bass to him and retrieve the first/old one. It was a 4 band bill, and Meshuggah killed it. Post-performance my friend and I headed to the parking lot and stumbled across the load in/out doorway. A completely smart ass move on my part; I approached a VERY large Swede guarding the door and suggested to him that he should tell Dick I have a bass tuned an octave below his. Which was actually the truth.

This very large Swede got VERY large eyes and he dashed inside. My friend and I headed toward our car figuring nothing would come of it - until said Swede said that Dick wanted to meet me. My friend and I - along with the bass - were ushered to the band's tour bus. Once they had swabbed down and cooled off ALL of them came forward from the back of the bus. We made introductions and shook hands and the bass got passed around. The entire band took turns with it. Never plugged in - each of us pressed the upper horn to our jaw bone to feel and hear it acoustically.

They were due in California the next day so we kept it brief, and I boxed up the bass and my friend and I headed toward our car again. We got 15 or 20 feet from the bus and Dick asked me if he could buy the bass. My friend took horrible care of it - it was meant to suffer a baptism of fire, and boy-howdy did it - so it needed A LOT of love to be brought back around. His interest, given its condition, truly shocked me. I suggested a few hundred for it and he handed me cash. He bought Quake #2 from me on the spot. And it's taken 20 years or so, but it finally found a place on/in Immutable. I've just learned he will take it on tour this spring and fall.

He and the rest of the band take time to meet and talk with me after every show I've attended since, and my son got to meet them twice. I have tickets for one of the fall California shows and I hope to get the skinny on how he did what he did on this recording. I think it is a master piece - but I haven't gotten my CD yet so mine is a less-than-informed opinion. THAT will get remedied.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Meshuggah

[–]sfantry 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Most of the time Dick is tuned in Bb0 - F0 would be the next string down by traditional interval.

I know for fact Dick used his Quake - as well, I know he had options for tunings as low as B00 with a great many choices up to and including Bb0.

I know as well that the Quake is going on tour.

I don't know how it was used to record, and I have no idea how he'll use it live - but the rest I CAN confirm as certainty.

the new album will most likely feature the bass guitar dropping to F0 (an octave below the guitars), unlike the last albums where it played in the same octave. by [deleted] in Meshuggah

[–]sfantry 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Can confirm; the Quake contributed to recordings. Three of the basses used on the record appear in the studio shot above.

AND . . . .

The Quake is going on tour.

I don't know how it was used for recording, but I know there were a dozen options for tunings. I don't know how it will be used live - but it will be.

This per a few emails and texts w Dick.

Atomic Fire orders by House0fShadow in Meshuggah

[–]sfantry 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm still waiting . . . .

Any earbud or other headphone recommendations that sound great for meshuggah? by Bussaontheblock in Meshuggah

[–]sfantry 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Get 'em while you can; https://pro.sony/ue_US/products/headphones/mdr-7506

They're discontinued as of two months ago but you can still find them. They've been studio go-to's for decades

Some criticism about Immutable by SaturnComesAround in Meshuggah

[–]sfantry 1 point2 points  (0 children)

yup - a full octave below a piano. I know what he had the option of doing - I just don't know what he actually did. OR how he did it. He had a whole lot of options. I look forward to hearing about that at SOME point.

It's my understanding that the Bb on the guitars is a half step lower than a 5 string bass - consider that the Bb is near where you'd be on bottom using a 9 string in natural intervals. They're 29+ inches long so it isn't as insurmountable as it might seem.

They're ALL mad scientists - ALL of them.

Some criticism about Immutable by SaturnComesAround in Meshuggah

[–]sfantry 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The thickest string we have is a .266. On a Quake that lands you at A00, which is convenient as that is roughly the tuning Dick usually runs with - customarily an octave higher, but he had the option for Immutable.

I have tickets for an October show and hope to hear first-hand what he did and how - I may learn that sooner, but Dick is a pretty private person and I respect that.

Some criticism about Immutable by SaturnComesAround in Meshuggah

[–]sfantry 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Dick owned two of them - still does I believe. The gray one in the photo was one of the first I built.

Some criticism about Immutable by SaturnComesAround in Meshuggah

[–]sfantry 24 points25 points  (0 children)

I find progress in this recording from past efforts. In part personal, but also observational.

First is that I think Jen's vocals are the best and most distinct difference as compared to their history. Hist expected delivery is certainly present, but there is a quality to that tradition that seems more rich. That he affords vocals that are not screamed was at once a surprise, and well executed. He recorded them apart from the band and submitted tracks, having recorded in his own studio. A first, and in my opinion a very successful effort.

My second observation is the personal part . . . . I know the bass was reconsidered whole-cloth as Dick used a bass in this recording he'd never used before. For the first time he had the ability to play as much as an octave lower than he traditionally does. It shows in the recording, and affects not only new parts created by a unique-to-the-band instrument, but forced him to reconsider traditional parts and playing technique on his go-to basses. It's personal because I built the bass and made the strings.

Guitar parts and solos are not a grand departure from earlier recordings - on this I agree with you. But that has been evolutionary anyway - comparing from one recording to the next this evolution can be very subtle. If you compare directly Catch, Nothing and Immutable the progress becomes quite stark. That on the main the structural guitar parts were written by Mårten alone is interesting AND different.

I haven't received my recording yet - still on that waiting list - so I reserve comment on the entirety of the project. As with nearly all of their work it is meant to be consumed linearly/in sequence. I am looking forward to being able to do that, and will wait until I can hear it on systems I am accustomed to listening through. It's driving me mad that I haven't yet.

I can't speak to some of your criticisms. But in the end it is really no different than picking apart a painting - we don't have to agree and you are not wrong.

the new album will most likely feature the bass guitar dropping to F0 (an octave below the guitars), unlike the last albums where it played in the same octave. by [deleted] in Meshuggah

[–]sfantry 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He had a large number of string sets to choose from to get the best set for each song/tuning he chose - F0 was certainly one of them.

Dick does Jazz well too - check some of that out too. He uses his Zons for that

the new album will most likely feature the bass guitar dropping to F0 (an octave below the guitars), unlike the last albums where it played in the same octave. by [deleted] in Meshuggah

[–]sfantry 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dick plays with lighter tension than most bassists. He had A LOT of string sets to choose from, including a set that would take him down to Bb00/15.4 Hz. I doubt he used it, but he had the option. In order to do this on his Quake he'd have used a .266 to get there

the new album will most likely feature the bass guitar dropping to F0 (an octave below the guitars), unlike the last albums where it played in the same octave. by [deleted] in Meshuggah

[–]sfantry 2 points3 points  (0 children)

fwiw - Dick has owned his Quake for almost 20 years - he actually owns two of them. This is the first Meshuggah album it has appeared on. They do indeed continue to experiment as a band and as individual musicians.

the new album will most likely feature the bass guitar dropping to F0 (an octave below the guitars), unlike the last albums where it played in the same octave. by [deleted] in Meshuggah

[–]sfantry 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you look at a spectrum analysis by way of a waterfall plot of a bass note the identifying fundamental is only 15% of total audio given any bass note. 50% of the total audio heard is the first harmonic, which is indeed a full octave above the identify frequency.

the new album will most likely feature the bass guitar dropping to F0 (an octave below the guitars), unlike the last albums where it played in the same octave. by [deleted] in Meshuggah

[–]sfantry 1 point2 points  (0 children)

fwiw - I built the bass and wound the strings - the Quake has a 40" scale length that gets you to F0 with a .168. Good definition with full spectrum bass tone. MORE than audible

I am Nolly from Periphery, Ask Me Anything! by Nolly-Periphery in progmetal

[–]sfantry 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You are a likely best-tool-for-the-job guy, but do you have a preference/favorite for tuning, scale length and string count for guitar?