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Connecting => Community => Gigs => Topic started by: David Houck on January 24, 2009, 12:23:16 PM

Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on January 24, 2009, 12:23:16 PM
After numerous takes, I finally recorded a half decent version of one of the things I've been working on.  Recorded on a Zoom H4 as a wave; uploaded as an mp3 here (see my post 8393 below for update).  While I am relieved to have finally recorded a take without gross errors, this is not the final version, as it's still a bit sloppy.  The process of recording this one simple tune has shown me just how imprecise my playing is.  Of course the bass itself sounds, to me, amazing.  I'm sure you will notice that I'm using a lot of effects on this song; but I think the sound of the bass itself is evident in abundance.
 
I've only played this back on my laptop, which runs through my home stereo.  The overall sound seems balanced through the frequency range to me on my system.
 
Please let me know your reactions to the sound, balance, etc as it sounds on your systems.
 
This take is up temporarily.  If I can get a good enough take recorded, I'll see if I can set something up on Bandcamp at some point.
 
 
 
(Message edited by davehouck on July 19, 2009)
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: grateful on January 26, 2009, 06:56:02 AM
Nice, though I've only listened on my computer.  It's not all bass is it Dave?  Surely that's a Strat there as well.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: eflat on January 26, 2009, 07:04:45 AM
Very nice work Dave!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on January 26, 2009, 07:15:24 AM
Thanks guys!  Mark; it's a single take on an Alembic six string bass.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: grateful on January 26, 2009, 07:28:45 AM
Wow Dave, I'm even more impressed:  great playing.  I'm amazed a bass (even an Alembic) can sound like that, but then I am a hi-sixer (guitarist).
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: spose on January 26, 2009, 07:30:39 AM
nice work..very melodic
solo playing you stand naked and Dave you do a super job!!
 
keep em coming!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on January 26, 2009, 07:55:48 AM
Thanks!!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: bassfingers on January 26, 2009, 03:57:32 PM
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/65124/60498.gif)
 
Such a gorgeous tone,I don't hear any sloppiness,just honest,lyrical playing .
 
Beautiful Dave,would love to hear more.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: olieoliver on January 26, 2009, 05:00:04 PM
VERY nice Dave. Single take too?!  
Made me think a little of SRV's or Hendrix' softer side.
 
Did you use a click(?), your time is very good on this.  
 
OO
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on January 26, 2009, 05:22:58 PM
Thanks again guys.  It was a single take in that there are no overdubs and that it's one take start to finish; but it took numerous failed attempts before I finally got this one good take.  No, I didn't use a click; trying to keep good time was one of the things I was focusing on, and is one of the things that this whole exercise has shown needs practice.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: 811952 on January 26, 2009, 06:01:56 PM
Nice.  Elegantly understated.  Very fluid!
 
John
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: tbrannon on January 26, 2009, 06:03:31 PM
Really nice Dave- I couldn't pull that off with 4 takes, much less 1.  
 
I'm thoroughly impressed.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on January 26, 2009, 07:34:59 PM
Thanks!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: georgie_boy on January 27, 2009, 05:39:55 AM
VERY nice David!!!
The new sixer sounds wonderful!!
 
G
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: artswork99 on January 27, 2009, 07:23:30 AM
David,
I'm glad to hear Karma giving you the pleasure of making music.  The recording flows very nicely while leaving room for others to join you in this new project.  I'm just around the corner if you want another low end to accompany you (anytime Dave).  I look forward to hearing you express yourself again. Wishing you all the best with this new adventure.  
Art
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: jacko on January 27, 2009, 02:38:59 PM
Sweet.
 
Graeme
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on January 27, 2009, 05:45:33 PM
Thanks guys!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: kenbass4 on January 27, 2009, 07:30:44 PM
I really liked this! Very tasteful and understated.
 
Ken (TEO)
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: lbpesq on January 28, 2009, 07:23:55 AM
Lead, melodic bass????  Jeeeeezzz, Dave, where do you get these ideas?  lol!  Seriously, very very sweet.  Great tone and execution.  I hope we get to jam together, someday.
 
Bill, tgo
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: lembic76450 on January 28, 2009, 02:34:06 PM
Dave,
Very nice,  what fx/eq are you using? I keep waiting for the harmonic after the last note, you know, the one that bends up right out of sight, lol.  Love the melodic stuff.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on January 28, 2009, 03:11:12 PM
Thanks again guys!  Kenn; for effects there is a good bit of reverb, a little chorus, a touch of delay and some vibrato.  If I recall correctly, on this song the neck pickup filter is completely closed with no Q, and the bridge filter is completely open with full Q, and there is a good bit more bridge pickup than neck.  On the F-2B, the neck pickup is something like Bass 4.75, Mid 4.25, Treble 4.5 (but with the neck filter closed down, the EQ on the neck channel of the F-2B isn't doing much), while the bridge pickup is approximately Bass 4.25, Mid 5.5, Treble 5.25.  On the SF-2 the low pass filter has a gain of 3, frequency around 120Hz, and damping ratio of 3; the high pass filter has a gain of 6, frequency of about 680Hz, and damping ratio of about 4.25; and the non-filter direct gain is at 6.  The speaker cab is an Acme Low B-2.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: mica on January 28, 2009, 04:14:35 PM
Love it!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: 2400wattman on January 28, 2009, 07:01:39 PM
Good stuff Dave!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on January 28, 2009, 07:02:46 PM
Thanks!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: chalie_holmes on April 28, 2009, 10:23:22 AM
Hey Dave,
That was a beautiful tune. What type of strings are you using? I think I'll try them on my 4 string because I want to tune it CGDA.That Zoom records very well. Well done indeed!
 
Chalie Holmes
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on April 28, 2009, 10:30:50 AM
Thanks Chalie!
 
I use TI Jazz Rounds.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: charles_holmes on April 28, 2009, 04:20:37 PM
yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You spelled my name right!!!!!
You must be a bass player....you have an eye for details! Who makes TI Jazz Rounds?...I guess TI huh?
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on April 28, 2009, 07:25:41 PM
Hee hee !!
 
Thomastik-Infeld (http://www.thomastik-infeld.com/index2.htm)
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: chalie_holmes on April 29, 2009, 08:58:36 AM
Merci!!!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: chrisalembic on May 01, 2009, 01:28:04 PM
Very nice playing and sound, Dave. Out of curiosity, what is the string spacing (mm) on your custom six string?
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: kimberly on May 01, 2009, 05:24:44 PM
Hi David,  
 
Very nice!  Great tone (of course) and great feel!  
 
Best Regards,
 
Kimberly  
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on May 01, 2009, 06:55:58 PM
Thanks Kimberly!!!
 
Chris; I have the classic neck taper, which is 2 at the nut, and 3.125 at the 24th fret.  In millimeters that's 50.8 and 79.375.  As for string to string spacing, where do you want me to measure it (nut, bridge), and do you want center to center or inside to inside.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: chrisalembic on May 02, 2009, 12:55:07 PM
Hi Dave,
 
I guess what I am interested in, is what the string spacing from string center to center is at the bridge (with the classic neck taper)..narrow string spacing on a sixer is what I would probably choose too (aah one day).... you got a good handle on that sixer and it sounds so alive!!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: chrisalembic on May 02, 2009, 12:58:15 PM
I just noticed, you had (or still have) an essence six string with the wide spacing... how do you like the different spacings in comparrison?
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on May 02, 2009, 01:34:59 PM
I much prefer the classic taper over the comfort taper, given my playing style, for six string.  On four string however, I apparently like both.
 
approximately
B to E - 17
E to A - 16.5
A to D - 16
D to G - 15.5
G to C - 15
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: rklisme on May 25, 2009, 10:27:30 PM
Dave
 
Bravo!
 
Rory
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on May 26, 2009, 08:01:27 AM
Thanks Rory!!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: serialnumber12 on May 26, 2009, 09:16:07 AM
Dave get yourself a ticket to the chicago meeting and let us see this good bassplayin up close as well as sign some alembics!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on May 26, 2009, 12:43:11 PM
Keavin; I just made my decision and booked a room.  I don't know that I can provide any good bassplayin', but it will certainly be a pleasure to meet you!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: serialnumber12 on May 27, 2009, 01:06:48 PM
Come on down ......the price is rite!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on July 19, 2009, 09:08:34 PM
Well, I've been looking for a guitar player to collaborate with, but nothing's come up on Craiglist; so I'm wanting to put another ad up.  But before I do, I want a little more than the one tune I had up, so people can listen to what I'm doing and get an idea of whether it's worth it to them to respond to my listing.
 
So today I turned on the amp, turned on the Zoom H4, and just played for a while.  I made a ton of mistakes, crashed and burned on several songs, and just made stuff up from time to time.  I didn't go back and try to get any of the songs right.  I was hoping to just get enough usable samples of my playing to give interested guitar players an idea of my playing.  When I turned the amp off, I didn't really think any of it was salvageable.
 
But when I played it back, yes it was sloppy and yes there were mistakes, and yes some crash and burns; but a lot of it did seem useful for a Craigslist demo.  So I cut out the crash and burn tunes, and did a few fade outs; and what's left is in the order I played it.
 
There are some fairly complete versions of some of my tunes, and a few pieces of tunes, and some improvised stuff.  I originally recorded in MP3 format, which I'm now wishing I had recorded in wave format.  Before uploading, I had to convert to wave, and Bandcamp then converts it back to MP3; so there is some loss of fidelity that is quite noticeable.  But still, I think these recordings give a fairly good idea of what my bass and rig sound like at the moment.
 
I still can't play these tunes consistently enough to make finished recordings or to take them out in public to a coffee shop.  But that's ok, I like practicing.
 
So, for those of you that might like to hear them, my Sunday afternoon playing session is here (http://davehouck.bandcamp.com/).
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: jacko on July 20, 2009, 04:20:21 AM
Beautiful playing Dave!. I love the tone. (listening on my computer through decent headphones.
Does this mean Montford Park are no more?
 
Graeme
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on July 20, 2009, 05:52:39 AM
Thanks Graeme!  I feel like I've made some progress with my tone over the last few weeks.  And yes, the drummer moved to Atlanta to study recording, and the guitar player is involved with several jazz projects in town; so the band dissolved over a year ago, which is fine since that's when I got the six string and I've really needed to spend my time woodshedding.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: olieoliver on July 20, 2009, 07:21:39 AM
Dave, this is some nice music. I love the sound of your bass. Very pleasing to listen too.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on July 20, 2009, 07:34:10 AM
Thanks Olie!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: jalevinemd on July 20, 2009, 07:53:39 AM
Dave...I gotta be honest. I wasn't even sure what instrument you were playing. I thought it was an amplified nylon string guitar at times. I admit that I'm not very familiar with bass outside of a rock setting. The tone simply was amazing! I had no idea a bass could sound like that. I would buy that CD in a second.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on July 20, 2009, 08:09:50 AM
Jonathan; I greatly appreciate your comments!  I've been trying to get a tone that would stand alone as a solo instrument, and your comments suggest that it passes that test.  And in my quite subjective and limited view, my guess is that not just any bass can sound like that; it is after all an Alembic.  Oh, and the strings, they've been on the bass for about seven months now, so they're a bit dead.
 
The site does have an option to allow higher quality downloads; but I need to set up a paypal account for that purpose.  And I'm not sure whether these tunes are worth doing that; but I'll look into it.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: sonicus on July 20, 2009, 09:47:20 AM
CONGRATULATIONS  Dave   It sounds to me that you have found your voice  as a Artist ._______  I  can hear the majesty and soul of the very tress that your Alembic was made from. A very pleasing pleasing holistic sound that to my ears emanates an earthly resonance. I would buy that CD .
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: pauldo on July 20, 2009, 09:52:10 AM
yyyyyeeeeeaaaaahhhhh! :-)
Those are some rightous tunes, lifting melodies that could easily drift one through a Sunday afternoon....
 
Dave - how about another bassist instead of a guitarist???
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on July 20, 2009, 10:07:05 AM
Thanks guys!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: kimberly on July 20, 2009, 12:42:43 PM
David Houck!  
 
  Dude, your music is really, really good and is just absolutely cool!  No, make that *Waaaay Cool*!  Kudos!  
 
  Ummm....would you mind if I use some for 'inspirational purposes'?  Seriously.  
 
  Best Wishes and Best Regards!
 
  Kimberly  
 
  PS.  Another bassist would be an interesting direction for you to try.  I've only played live with another bassist a couple of times.  One time sucked, the other time worked beautifully.  It's all a matter of mutual understanding/agreement of what it is you're trying to say, making/leaving space and staying out of the same octave.  ;D
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: keith_h on July 20, 2009, 12:50:29 PM
Kimberly glad you showed up. With what I have heard I've suggested to Dave he try the solo bassist thing. Being one yourself maybe you can give him a little nudge. ;-)
 
Keith
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on July 20, 2009, 02:15:39 PM
Thanks Kimberly!  It's hard to wrap my mind around the concept of a second bassist; but I'll try to keep an open mind about it.
 
Keith; I still can't seem to make it all the way through most of the songs.  But I'll try to keep an open mind about that too.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: dadabass2001 on July 20, 2009, 05:19:15 PM
I really enjoyed your demos, Dave.
I heard a little Pink Floyd flavor on demo 9. the effects were nicely done and the playing is sweet throughout! Keep it up.
Mike
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on July 20, 2009, 10:01:02 PM
Thanks Mike!  One of the covers I'm working on is Pink Floyd's Breathe; it doesn't sound like them, but it's a nice progression.  And yes, on number 9 I kinda fell into that Pink Floyd thing.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: lbpesq on July 21, 2009, 02:03:44 AM
Dave:
 
effing AWESOME!!!!  What a tone!  I would have guessed a baritone guitar rather than a bass.  You really have an original and expressive voice.  I don't even know if adding a guitar would improve it any - it sounds great solo - maybe just a tasty drummer and piano, perhaps.  It really is bass as lead instrument!  Love it.
 
Bill, tgo
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on July 21, 2009, 08:41:54 AM
Thanks Bill!  Everyone has given me a lot to think about.  I did put an ad up on Craigslist Monday morning for a guitar player, so I'll see what happens with that.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: kimberly on July 21, 2009, 12:11:37 PM
Hey David,  
 
Just to insure there's no misunderstanding.  
 
Your music is perfectly capable of standing on it's own.  You *don't need anybody or anything else*.   My reference to another bassist was to open the door to the option.  Not that there's anything wrong with guitarists mind you, ;) it's two different directions.  One more 'conventional' than the other, but when you talking solo bass, you've already broken the 'norm' when it comes to convention.  Speaking of breaking convention, think SMV.  ;)
 
Best Regards,
 
Kimberly  
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on July 21, 2009, 01:39:46 PM
Thanks Kimberly!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: olieoliver on July 21, 2009, 01:56:20 PM
Agreed Kimberly, I'm looking forward to the Dave Houck Project world = tour. (Ok maybe the US tour). :-)
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: artswork99 on July 21, 2009, 02:30:30 PM
I had the opportunity and pleasure of having an impromptu session with Dave again last night.  I really enjoy making music with him as he carries the improvisational skills way out on the limb that I cannot obtain.  
He even sounds better live than on the recordings.  Great playing with you again Dave!
Art
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: olieoliver on July 21, 2009, 02:45:11 PM
I bet it would be cool to jam with Dave. Get together & turn it up so = loud it makes your TEETH rattle.  
You up for that Dave?
 
 
 
OO
 
(A little inside humor there) ;)
 
(Message edited by olieoliver on July 21, 2009)
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on July 21, 2009, 02:57:26 PM
Olie; I'm NUMB to your teeth rattling suggestions!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on July 21, 2009, 03:01:08 PM
Art; we must have played for five hours last night!  It was indeed a lot of fun!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on June 05, 2010, 09:29:59 AM
Last night I was outside a bar (where apparently Art was trying to sneak us in to see Jeff Sipe and Ike Stubblefield), and one of the patrons hanging around outside recognized me from Montford Park.  He told me he had shot a video (http://www.youtube.com/user/scccott#p/u/16/jPIQsfIUWi4) of one of the tunes we played at our last gig two years ago, and that he had put it up on youtube.  So this morning I checked it out; it's a nice video with some great shots of, and great playing from, Jon.  Jon's got some great tone here, and the bass sounds good on the video as well.  The tune is our take on Jeff Beck's take on the Beatles' She's A Woman.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: artswork99 on June 05, 2010, 10:19:42 AM
Hey!  I walked in and nobody stopped me...  when I waved you in they stopped you.  Ha!  
 
Nice video BTW.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: lbpesq on June 05, 2010, 10:44:49 AM
Dave:
 
Very nice!!!!  An inspired take on one of my favorites from the early Beatles.  Looks like you guys had some cute groupies at the beginning, or at least two out of three.  There's always a critic!  lol
 
Bill, tgo
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on June 05, 2010, 11:41:10 AM
Thanks Bill!  Yeah, I didn't notice that until you mentioned it; walked right up to the edge of the stage with fingers planted in both ears!
 
Art; I guess you looked nice and friendly, and I must have looked like trouble.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: otis on June 05, 2010, 12:50:46 PM
Dave,  
 
The tune sounds great!  Great tone on that Alembic.  Is that a SC Signature, or a Series I or II?
 
Peace;)
 
Frank
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: crobbins on June 05, 2010, 12:56:43 PM
Dave, sounds great. But the youtube link says you guys are playing Freeway Jam???
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on June 05, 2010, 03:59:17 PM
Frank; thanks, it's a Series I.
 
Craig; yeah, he misidentified it. I'm glad it wasn't Freeway Jam; I usually crashed and burned on that tune.  Thanks!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: sonicus on June 05, 2010, 06:48:22 PM
I like it Dave , Both,  your  own material and working in an  ensemble .
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on June 05, 2010, 07:06:28 PM
Thanks Wolf!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on September 29, 2010, 07:38:01 AM
After having discussed with a dear friend the disquieting effects that recording can have on the mind, I took my laptop downstairs, aimed the webcam at my bass rig, and turned it on.
 
I think the little webcam did I decent job; the overall quality of the picture seems pretty good.  I hooked my Zoom H4 to the laptop as well, and used it as a mic.
 
Next I tried to two different editors to trim the beginning and end of the recording.  The first one trimmed ok, and let me add a picture at the beginning, and very basic fade in and fade out.  But it crashed when I tried to save.  So I downloaded another editor but the sound and picture would not sync on that editor.  So I went back to the first editor, and it recovered the work I had done when it crashed, and then it let me continue the save process.  Not many options there, but it did save something.
 
The next task was uploading, which took a while.  Then it took about five hours before the video was available.  But it's there now; and the conversion worked, and the video and audio are still synced.
 
The playing is still rough.  It turns out that learning this style of playing is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be when I got the bass in June two years ago.  I still need a lot more practice.  Fortunately, I enjoy practicing.
 
So, I still have some work to do before the quality of my playing will be good enough to record a CD.  However, I did want to share this with you guys here and maybe a few other friends.  So, for those of you who want to check it out, the video can be found vimeo.com/15380744[/vimeo]]here (http://www.[vimeo).  I did not want to make it available to the public; so the way it is supposed to work is that you'll need a password.  The password is alembic.
 
So, if anyone tries it, let me know if the password thing works; and let me know what you think of the video and audio quality.  In other words, in the future if I want to try to get a gig at a coffee shop, would this type of video be a good demo.
 
Oh, and there's a really pretty bass in the video!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: adriaan on September 29, 2010, 07:46:28 AM
Dave - the password thing is working OK. Need to use Firefox rather than IE, but that's how things are with IE right now.
 
Can't listen to the video right now, will certainly do so later.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on September 29, 2010, 07:51:57 AM
Thanks Adriaan.  Is the IE problem related to the password, or with Vimeo in general?
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: adriaan on September 29, 2010, 07:56:03 AM
More to IE in general - certainly in tabbed mode, it can't seem to remember you've already logged in somewhere. For Vimeo it's a little extreme.
 
At least that's what's happening for me - YMMV - can't wait to see how bad IE 9 will be in this respect ...
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: sonicus on September 29, 2010, 07:59:19 AM
HI  Dave, The password worked for me . Both the video and audio were functional.  
 
           I really like the concepts that you are working on .   I like your right hand technique . All in all the piece sounds enlightened and soothing . Music to my ears _______
 Thanks for sharing that with us .
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: cozmik_cowboy on September 29, 2010, 08:00:12 AM
Very tasty playing, Dave.  And while I seriously doubt my computer speakers gave me the full effect of your rig, great tone as well.  thank you for sharing.
 
Peter
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: hammer on September 29, 2010, 08:13:40 AM
Just took a gander at your video/audio and unless that bass is playing itself you are far too modest in your assessment of your mastery of this style of playing. I loved it! Played it through the new system I just set up in my study - Onkyo Integrated amp and Arx A3 towers - and the sound was wonderful.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on September 29, 2010, 08:40:49 AM
Thanks for the kind words; they are much appreciated.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: mikedm on September 29, 2010, 01:01:23 PM
Very nice, Dave.
 
On other forums this style of playing will eventually illicit the Why don't you just play guitar? commentary. Personally, I think the bass (esp your bass) sounds superb in this sonic range.
Am I mistaken, or do I hear a little Steve Howe at about 1 min and then a few more times?
 
Mike
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: mica on September 29, 2010, 01:07:55 PM
I love it and I'm pretty sure that my son is your biggest fan! good song! good song!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on September 29, 2010, 01:20:10 PM
I hadn't noticed that before, but now that you mention it, the progression that begins at the one minute mark does sound similar to something Steve Howe might do.
 
And yes, I think this instrument has a beautiful voice for this type of music.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on September 29, 2010, 01:21:41 PM
Thanks Mica and Erik!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: artswork99 on September 29, 2010, 01:25:16 PM
I like the swinging foot for meter ;)  Nice as always.  Worked fine in IE here for me.  I miss our Tuesday sessions.  Thanks for sharing!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on September 29, 2010, 01:40:28 PM
Hah!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: adriaan on September 29, 2010, 02:44:50 PM
Love the flowing rhythm and the continuing melody. Sure I can hear the small slip-ups, but the music stands!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on September 29, 2010, 03:14:53 PM
Thanks Adriaan!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: lbpesq on September 29, 2010, 03:59:16 PM
Dave:
 
Classical bass!!!!  Very tasty.  Big thumb's up!  
 
Bill, tgo
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on September 29, 2010, 04:19:12 PM
Thanks Bill!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: hieronymous on September 29, 2010, 04:52:03 PM
Yay! That was awesome. My favorite part is the couple of times when you hit the lower strings (A & E?).
 
The high end was a little mp3-ish, if that makes sense, but that's a compromise with video. Looking forward to future recordings!!!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on September 29, 2010, 05:11:28 PM
Hah!  Yes, I did manage to get in a couple of bass notes on my bass!
 
As for the mp3-ish, maybe I had my Q rolled back a little too much on the bridge pickup.  This evening I noticed that it needed to be opened up some more when I was practicing.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: dadabass2001 on September 30, 2010, 07:30:33 AM
Good job Dave!
Your playing was smooth and quite tasty, and the rig sounds great. The tone is sweet throughout.
Mike
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on September 30, 2010, 07:51:42 AM
Thanks Mike!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: 811952 on September 30, 2010, 12:36:39 PM
Very nice!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on October 04, 2010, 02:25:41 PM
Thanks John!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: hb3 on October 08, 2010, 07:35:26 AM
Sounds good, Dave. As far as you not being ready for a coffee shop gig, well, the hell you're not, man. You'd stand way out in such environs.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: sonicus on October 08, 2010, 09:37:43 AM
From Coffee shop gig to high end restaurant dinner venue for the next gig as the gig offers start to pile up !  It will happen _____.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on October 08, 2010, 06:38:37 PM
Thanks guys!  I do appreciate it.  From my perspective it seems pretty rough; but all of you guys here in the club are musicians, and your perspectives are much valued and appreciated.  Thanks.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: chrisalembic on October 09, 2010, 11:52:13 AM
Dave, thats some great music and a unique interpretation of playing the bass guitar. Looking forward to hearing more.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on October 09, 2010, 01:02:16 PM
Thanks Chris!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: jacko on October 20, 2010, 12:15:01 PM
Very nice Dave.Sorrry it's taken so long to watch this; I can only view things like this at home and I've been pretty busy of late. Your fingerstyle is excellent. In fact, there's a little run down that you play a few times (there's one at 3'19) that is very reminiscent of Steve Howe's 'Clap' and as that's one of my favourite guitar peices you can take that as a compliment ;-)
 
Graeme
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on October 20, 2010, 12:44:28 PM
Thanks Graeme!  I didn't realize I was borrowing from Steve Howe, that section was an exercise that developed over time; but I'm sure the Howe piece was lodged somewhere in memory as The Yes Album was a favorite.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: slawie on October 24, 2010, 02:37:07 PM
Winner Dave!!
 
That was a really beautiful piece.
Congratulations on a fine composition and your playing was a benefit to the music.
I really like the sound you are getting.
Can you expand on a description of your rig/effects.
 
I could easily see that as a sound track to a great movie. The kind of stuff wonderful memories are made of.
 
Keep 'em coming
 
slawie
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on October 24, 2010, 07:12:53 PM
Thanks Slawie!  I'm glad you like the song, and the sound track comment is encouraging in that I'm hoping the songs tell a story, and are not heard as just fingering exercises.  Of course I still need to do the fingering exercises!
 
To answer your request for a description of the rig, here is the signal path as it stands at the moment, always subject to slight adjustments.
 
On the SII, the volume on the bridge pickup is a good bit higher than the neck pickup; maybe 8 and 6 respectively.  The filter on the bridge pickup is generally somewhere between 10 (fully open) and 8, and the Q also between 10 and 8; generally.  The neck filter is generally rolled back to somewhere around 3, and the Q at 0; generally.  Recently, I've rolled back my master volume to about 8 so that I'm not overdriving my gain structure (more on that below).
 
From the SII stereo out to the DS-5R.
 
From the DS-5R stereo out to the F-2B.  The neck pickup's signal goes to channel 1 and the bridge pickup to channel 2; each pickup's signal gets further shaping to arrive at the desired overall curve.  Neither pickup gets soloed, so the tone of either pickup by itself is not a consideration.  The neck pickup channel's settings are bright switch off, volume 4, bass 4, mid 6, treble 5.5.  The treble pickup channel's settings are currently bright switch on, volume 4, bass 5.5, mid 8, treble 6.
 
Mono out to the SF-2.  The SF-2 is setup as a three channel mixer, one channel being a low pass filter, one being a high pass filter, and the third being an unfiltered signal.  The gain on the low pass filter is around 2, the frequency is set at around 110Hz, and the Q at around 1.8.  The gain on the high pass filter is around 6.5, the filter around 600Hz(? hard to tell), and the Q around 5.  The gain on the unfiltered channel is about 9.
 
SF-2 mono out to the Sans Amp Tech 21 Preamp.  It's kinda difficult to describe the settings since, unless you have one, the descriptions would be fairly meaningless.  There are essentially five different types of gain structures which are combined to produce the desired overdrive tone.  I have three settings that I have worked up which introduce a somewhat subtle amount of overdrive at this stage, and a couple which add a bit more overdrive for one or two of the tunes; one or the other of these overdriven settings is always on.  These settings are midi selected with footswitches on the pedal board.
 
From the effects loop out on the Tech 21 to the T.C. Electronic M-One XL.  (There's also a Lexicon MPX1 right before the T.C., but it's currently not being used and may soon be removed from the rig.)  Here the signal is split into stereo.  All of the effects are settings I worked up over time.
 
The first effect is tremolo, which is always on but very subtle.  There is a midi switch on the pedal board to cut this on and off, and one to change the mix of wet and dry signals in the effect from subtle to noticeable.
 
Next is chorus, and this too is always on, but also has an on/off footswitch if ever needed.  The mix of wet and dry signals in the chorus effect is controlled by an expression pedal.  This effect is very subtle on some songs, a bit more noticeable on others, and very noticeable on a few.
 
Next is reverb, again always on, on/off footswitch, with the effect level controlled by an expression pedal.  The effect is generally quite noticeable.
 
Next is delay, and again always on, on/off switch, with the effect level controlled by an expression pedal.  This effect too is generally quite noticeable.
 
Next in the path is volume, controlled by an expression pedal.
 
From the T.C. Electronic stereo out to the BBE Sonic Maximizer 422A.  Both channels are setup the same with the Lo-Contour set to +1, and the Definition currently set to +2.
 
From the BBE stereo out to the effects return of the Tech 21.  Here there are direct outs for each channel if needed.
 
From the Tech 21 stereo out to the QSC PLX 2402, setup in stereo mode.  The overall frequency curve is setup to work well when the volume levels on the PLX are set at 3.  When the volume levels are set to 1 or 2, adjustments to the settings on the SII and switching Tech 21 settings usually works adequately.  Each channel of the PLX drives a Bag End D10BX-D.
 
The rig is really a bit big for just going down to a coffee shop for a solo gig.  But it's where I'm at for the moment.  Of course at the heart of the whole thing is the Alembic.  There are times at 2:00 in the morning when I'm practicing where it just sounds amazingly beautiful, despite my inability to put my fingers where they're supposed to be.  The tone it creates and the frequency range that it provides are, again, just amazingly beautiful.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: artswork99 on October 25, 2010, 05:44:42 AM
More than I could handle...  a great sounding rig with lots of available variations.  Nice explanation!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: slawie on October 25, 2010, 03:43:12 PM
Thanks for the rig set up Dave amazing.
 
The tune had me walking around the Redwoods in Santa Cruz and a little North.
The mood was set wonderfully as if you were sitting
on that porch (in your profile) playing the tune.
Actually your next vid may be set looking into  that spot with yourself seated,  
Alembic and a cable running off to the side.
 
Please don't take this as a criticism.
I sensed in your playing a little disconnect between the rhythmic centre your foot and your hands.  
I think that your concentration particularly of your fingers seems a little tight kind of  
choking the interaction of rhythm and movement.
Let the rhythm, that drives your foot, up through your body piece by piece  (like filling up a container)  
when you get to where you are full of the motion/rhythm up to your hands let go of the theory/exercises  
and be consumed by the whole body experience.  
 
Please don't think i am an ass just an observation.
 
Let me know when the next Davideo comes out.
 
BTW Kids don't smoke dope and go on the internet!  
 
slawie
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on October 25, 2010, 06:53:33 PM
Slawie; this is quite helpful, and it's actually something that I do 'practice' with.  It's helpful to know that you see it, as it's something I 'see' and 'practice' with as well.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: oddmetersam on November 06, 2010, 10:39:29 PM
Dave,
I'm struck by the delicate, crystal quality of your sound. It makes me lean forward as though I'll miss something if I'm not careful. Your vid plays perfectly on my Mac running snow leopard, btw.
 
Your fingerpicking technique has motivated me to learn  more about that style and to incorporate more sophisticated chords with my left hand.
 
And this is not meant as a criticism, just an observation as far as a demo goes: While the wider camera angle does effectively show your very cool rack and Bag Ends, what about a much tighter shot that focuses on you and your bass in more detail? Both the beauty of your hand work and the beauty of Alembic's handiwork would be even more obvious and compelling.
 
But I'm just rambling. You sound Great!
 
-Sam
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on November 07, 2010, 07:30:26 AM
Thanks Sam!  The video software didn't allow for any zooming in and out as an edit option; that would have been a nice feature.  But if I remember to, I'll try a tighter shot on the next attempt.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: pas on November 14, 2010, 06:34:22 PM
I just checked out your video...very nice.  Music that's food for thought & can make you tap your toes simultaneously...not an easy feat...well done sir!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on November 14, 2010, 06:51:29 PM
Thanks Paul!
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: pas on November 14, 2010, 07:05:42 PM
What can I say...as a big Jorma Kaukonen fan, I LOVE fingerpicking & counterpoint.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on November 14, 2010, 07:41:47 PM
Water Song has always been one of my favorites; loved it the first time I heard it.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: sonicus on November 28, 2010, 10:28:25 AM
Hello Dave,  
                   I was wondering if you have experimented with an  
E A D G C F tuning on six string  Bass?    I have considered getting a 6 string Alembic Bass and tuning it such .  Any thoughts ?  
 
     Wolf
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: David Houck on November 28, 2010, 04:23:24 PM
Back when I got my six string Essence, I did at some point go to an E - F tuning.  But as I wasn't really playing the six string much then, I don't really remember much about it other than it worked.  I don't have any desire to do that with my current bass as I'm happy with the C being the high string.
 
One thing I have just started playing with though is a Spider capo.  I just got it on Friday, and it gives me more options for low open bass strings.  For instance instead of an open low B, I now leave that string as an open D; and in that same capo position I have the option of changing the open E to an open G and changing the open A to an open C.  Of course it takes me a lot of time to get used to changes like that, so it'll be a while before I'm comfortable with it; but I'm pretty excited about it.
Title: Dave Houck's project
Post by: sonicus on November 28, 2010, 04:35:15 PM
Dave , Thanks for your  response . New ideas and concepts and the like are always exciting for me too . I am sure that your new Spider Capo  will be fun as well .  
 
       Wolf