Alembic Guitars Club
Alembic products => Owning an Alembic => Fun Stories => Topic started by: jazzyvee on June 02, 2014, 05:35:31 PM
-
Just to let you guys know that lately I've been laying down some bass for Musical Youth's forthcoming album. So far I've done three tracks and today I was recording the vocals for some tracks at home which was good fun and a superb way to spend an evening. The lead singer Dennis Seaton was voicing the tracks and he has a really good voice although I don't actually tell him that. :-)
I have used both my series basses for the project and recorded in stereo so each bass part has one neck and one bridge recorded on a separate track. As well as that I have recorded two different bass lines for each record and recorded each bass line using both basses.
I know that sounds confusing but It means for each record I sent back to the producer there is 4 sets of stereo bass lines for him to choose from. I recorded them all with the filters wide open and no Q on at all. After recording I inserted a LP filter on the channel to check what the bass could sound like and it sounds like it will be ok but it will depend on how the tracks are mixed. One of the tracks the producer told me the bass was a bit twangy and he decided to re-amp that particular track but that's all.
At the end of the session today I was given another track to replace the bass line put down a while back by another bass player.
If I get a say in the credits I will write that all my bass parts were recorded on Alembic Series I and II basses (without instant Flanger). That last bit will only mean something to you if you have the Romantic Warrior album by Return to Forever.
http://www.discogs.com/Return-To-Forever-Romantic-Warrior/release/477180 (http://www.discogs.com/Return-To-Forever-Romantic-Warrior/release/477180)
I'll let you know as soon as something is released.
Jazzyvee
-
Congratulations Jazzyvee! I can't wait to hear the recording! I will definitely be buying a copy!
-
Well I got some more feedback about the production as things are being mixed now and the bass still sounds too stringy. In other words they could hear all the movements of my fingers on the strings etc and it sounds twangy. I suggested they try using a low pass filter on the bass as that's what the bass uses for tone controls. Hopefully that will get them the sound they can use. I did mention that I was asked to record with the tone controls fully open even though I made them aware that there is a lot of high end in the bass tone.
Anyway hopefully if they use the filters in the bass channel it should be fine.
Any other suggestions you may have from your own experience of recording series alembics that I can pass on, please feel free to let me know.
-
Do you own an SF-2? Take that in and set it up for them and they can run all the bass tracks with a genuine Alembic low pass filter!
-
I spoke with the producer on Tuesday and he said they decided to do that track with a synth bassline. Also he's gonna arrange a day for me to come in to his studio to hear the track and give me an idea of the kind of tone he wants for any future recording sessions.
SF-2 maybe i will use it for future basslines i get asked to record for them.
-
Jazzy,
Why can't they have you come back and redo the track with the settings that you recommended in the first place? I mean they are redoing the track with a synth and having you advise on it. Or do both redo with a bass and synth and A/B them.
Curious,
Pete
-
I get the feeling this is a case of them expecting a Fender bass and not being sure what to do when it's not.
Keith
-
I did offer to re-do the track but I gather this not going to happen since the synth bass part has already been done and the mixing stage is in progress. The producer specialises in producing reggae and it's variants and so I guess he knows what sound he wants on the record. He did say the other tracks I put down were fine. He's also the drummer in the band in a way he is fully aware of how my bass sounds live.
-
You might also experiment with flat wound strings. I also think Keith is right, I've had the experience of engineers not knowing how to handle a non-Fender bass (and what with the iconic sounds of Familyman, et al?.).
-
Can you patch an SF-2 into the board for mix down?
-
Album still not ready to hit the shops yet. I heard at the last gig that it has been mastered so I guess a release in the new year is the most likely scenario.
-
I'm still in the dark about this album release no firm dates to report yet.
-
Reggae seems to be bass intensive, with very little high end frequencies coming from the bass guitar. The P bass and it's derivatives do that quite well. That's why I always keep one around when recording.
-
Thats gtrguy, the bass on the album is fine now. I am doing a gig soon with a different band as dep bass player and their set doesn't need a 5 string bass so I will be using my Elan 4 that has two sets of P style pickups if it sounds good to me at rehearsal.
-
I found out today that the album has been pressed and cd's delivered to the bandleader so I guess it's released. When I get my copy I will know which of them have me playing bass.
-
Looks like the album is a physical entity now. I got my copy a couple of weeks ago. Here is a link to it on-line.
I'm only bass playing on one track "I Shot The Sheriff" which was initially was going to be the live recording we did at a showcase event at a college theatre. However due to the amount of spill and other artifacts in the recording of the live track my bass track was the only part that was retained as is and the rest was re-tracked and vocals re-recorded. So that was cool. I used my black maple europa 5 string signature bass which as you know is my first call reggae gigging bass.
When I got my copy, the first track I listened to was the one I'm playing on then it hit me that, Aston Barrett was the musician who first inspired me to be a musician (bass player) and now the first reggae track i've ever played on as bass player that has been released on an album is a cover of a track that he originally played bass on. :-)
https://www.discogs.com/Musical-Youth-When-Reggae-Was-King/release/11718852 (https://www.discogs.com/Musical-Youth-When-Reggae-Was-King/release/11718852)
;D :D ;)
-
Very cool. I'd love to hear the track.
Any links to the audio online?
-
Here is a link I found/re-discovered from the apple music site. I guess if you have a subscription you can listen.
https://music.apple.com/us/album/when-reggae-was-king/1536064504
-
Preview track sounds great, you can listen to only part of the song without a subscription but enough to hear the tone of your bass.
-
I noticed this evening it is on spotify in full if you want to check it out there.
Recording was with this bass.
-
I got a phone call today that we are doing a video for one of the tracks from on the album sometime next month, ( i'm not allowed to say which). I have decided to take my classico for the shoot since it won't be recorded live hahaha. I cleared it with the band leader and he is happy for me to bring it as he feels a double bass in a reggae band is not something he has ever seen and it may make the footage a bit more interesting. The only time I have seen it is with the jazz/reggae band called Jazz Jamaica.
I will have a go at translating the bass line to the DB so at least it will look like I'm actually playing. :-)
-
A Double Bass could be a nice tone to bring in to a Reggae Band, some walls should be broken more often...
-
Cool energetic I Shot the Sheriff, Jazzy. The Europa fitted perfectly and pushes the song forward.
-
Mario, I don't think I'm at a point where my technique, intonation and stamina would facilitate me playing double bass for a whole gig yet. One track on a video I can be slightly off with my pitch hahaha.
In actual fact the earliest roots of reggae the music was formally known as reggae, the bass was indeed a double bass. When I spoke at length to Wailers bass player Aston "Familyman" Barrett, told me that the sound he is aiming for when playing bass is the double bass sound which is why he tends to play over the end of the fretboard.
So using the classico would sort of be bringing things back to the beginning of the genre with a modern twist.
-
Here is a photo taken at the end of the video shoot. It's underneath a flyover in the city centre.
-
That's looks like a fun bunch to hang and play music with, Jazzy. :)
Have I just learned a new English translation? What is a "flyover"? I'm guessing this is what we might call a "breezeway" here... a kind of covered walkway, usually found in a common public space between two buildings.
-
Here is the location. the large, "from a UK perspective", dual carriageway going from bottom left to the right of the picture is what we call a flyover, the roundabout underneath it also on the left of the picture is where the video was filmed.
If you are a fan of the BBC Series Line of Duty, some of the first series was filmed in this area.
(https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/663396087.jpg)
-
Did you accidentally post a mirror image? The vehicles are all on the wrong side of the road. ;D
Here we would call that an overpass.
-
Fascinating! Roundabouts are becoming more common here. There is a small one just at my Muse Spring Water Treatment Plant that solved a giant traffic problem in the mornings, right where three major roads intersected. Overpass, and we used to have a thing here in Downtown Roanoke called the viaduct. I have no idea what it meant... but I had to walk underneath there when I was working at the Fret Mill many years ago. It was demolished to make way for a new Art Museum, but basically, it was a series of overpasses and exit ramps. I guess that's it... you get here or there in downtown by way of the viaduct.
-
Hey Jazzy, isn’t that also your Strat in the photo? And, not to be disparaging, but I don’t see all that much “youth” in the Musical Youth photo!
hehehehe
Bill, tgo
-
Yep it sure is. I have asked him if he would use my Dragon Magic guitar on one of our local gigs so I can get to hear how it fits with an alembic bass in a live context. Hopefully it will be one that is being filmed. He's a fine guitarist and like me has a keen interest in tone.
-
Here is another track you might know. It was not on the latest album but recorded i think just over a year ago at the request of Thump Records in the USA.
I recorded my part with one of my alembics and kept it close to the simplicity of the original and opened out a bit at the end. I recorded through my F1-x/SF-2 into my interface so the sound was the same as i use live and i'm happy with the sound. As usual with youtube videos, good speakers or headphones give a better experience.
Enjoy the nostalgia.
That track was No:1 in the UK Charts 40 years ago. :o 8)