So Much Low End! Redux!

[mixsit]

..home sick today, so..
Bass guitar question/observation..

Setting here last night, my wife was plugged in refreshing to a guy's CD for a gig Friday.
She picks rather lightly. Rig is a Carvin active, SWR head/4-10.
I noticed that on some higher notes, her landing to pluck the note made a thump (like a muffled kick bump) that was about as loud as the note (which is well above that in pitch just to be clear.
This suggest a few things- First, technique and or setup issues- ie, poor 'sig to noise' in playing, and/or eq. (The tone balance in this case is pretty good. I messed with it 'to see', but got the "What are you doing to my...?"

This rig has a set of five narrow para-graphic bands. We use the bottom one to tailor the bottom half octave or so. Works great to trim 40-60. ('move room (or not) at gigs
But 20 some odd Hz from landing on a string is noise. This is axactlly the kind of crap that mucks up and ends in chaos with the kick in the low end of a mix we were on about in the other thread.

So, say we like to use and keep a bit of that 40-60 heft?... Then a steep HP for the rig?
Does anybody do that?

 

[Greg_L]

Lol. What?

 

[mixsit]

I don'know. If it doesn't click for ya, just move on.

 

[TripleM]

FWIW - I don't understand what you're saying/asking either.

 

[mixsit]

If I wanted to keep good strong response to 40Hz or so, but the issue I'm referring to is sub freq noise. Generally I'd think 'steep high pass filter here, on the other hand I haven't run across that in a bass rig.

 

[Greg_L]

Are you talking about playing live or recording?

 

[miroslav]

...my wife was plugged in refreshing to a guy's CD for a gig Friday.

I was lost after that...trying to get a mental picture.



When you say "pluck"...is she using a felt pick?
Is she hitting the low strings with her palm as she plucks?

 

[mixsit]

Are you talking about playing live or recording?

Solving' for both actually. Whem I'm tracking I'll do d/i off the bass or after the amp, I have Chameleon 7602's that'd likely be taking it to the converter and it has but a gental HP begining at 50Hz, so for recording I'd really be tackling it with a good eq plug at mix.

 

[grimtraveller]

So, say we like to use and keep a bit of that 40-60 heft?... Then a steep HP for the rig?
Does anybody do that?

I'm utterly in the dark.
Is the string sound too noisy ?

 

[Greg_L]

Are you wasted or is english not your native language?

 

[mixsit]

I was lost after that...trying to get a mental picture.



When you say "pluck"...is she using a felt pick?
Is she hitting the low strings with her palm as she plucks?

You guys...

Yeah, she finger picks, and she could very well be hitting a lower string.

 

[c7sus]

You guys...

Yeah, she finger picks, and she could very well be hitting a lower string.

Smack her knuckles with a wooden spoon the next time she does that.

It's the only way some folks can learn.

 

[Armistice]

He's talking about extraneous thumpy noises you can make when landing on the string you're plucking when you play cleanish electric guitar with your fingers.... and how they sit down in the kick drum frequency....

Let me know when you work it out mixsit... I've noticed the same thing myself.

 

[moresound]

He's talking about extraneous thumpy noises you can make when landing on the string you're plucking when you play cleanish electric guitar with your fingers.... and how they sit down in the kick drum frequency....

Let me know when you work it out mixsit... I've noticed the same thing myself.

Ha! I came to the same conclusion there myself but I had to take a double dose of Nyquil to get on to that same astral plane.

Being classically trained it is one of those things among others that you have to unlearn about playing and perform finger picking the way it is meant to be done.

One can get into some really bad habits with their playing but it is their "style" and usually all is fine and good until a master is watching your progress or you are into critical listening of your performance in a recording situation.

Might be hard to do at first and will almost be like starting all over again but a little practice will set you as new as rain if you just don't follow all of the way through with your pluck or pluck into your palm.
The trick is to relax and not play as if your trying to keep up with a Marshall amp turned up to 11.

 

[Armistice]

Ha! I came to the same conclusion there myself but I had to take a double dose of Nyquil to get on to that same astral plane.

Being classically trained it is one of those things among others that you have to unlearn about playing and perform finger picking the way it is meant to be done.

One can get into some really bad habits with their playing but it is their "style" and usually all is fine and good until a master is watching your progress or you are into critical listening of your performance in a recording situation.

Might be hard to do at first and will almost be like starting all over again but a little practice will set you as new as rain if you just don't follow all of the way through with your pluck or pluck into your palm.
The trick is to relax and not play as if your trying to keep up with a Marshall amp turned up to 11.

I have far more problems recording cleanish EG than distorted.... keeping the other strings muted and not getting them ringing during the finger changes can be a real bitch..

 

[moresound]

I have far more problems recording cleanish EG than distorted.... keeping the other strings muted and not getting them ringing during the finger changes can be a real bitch..

That and the buzz of moving up or down the string.

 

[mixsit]

...Might be hard to do at first and will almost be like starting all over again but a little practice will set you as new as rain if you just don't follow all of the way through with your pluck or pluck into your palm. ...

Just a quick stop here for now, are you saying pluck the bass string out more as you would finger pick guitar with your fingers curled rather than the more straight fingers vertical?
I see the base issue though- that does go hand in hand with technique, is that playing in the bottom end of the dynamic range of the string and picking force makes these little technique' sins way more problematic (per a given skill/technique.

The trick is to relax and not play as if your trying to keep up with a Marshall amp turned up to 11.

Odd in that here you seem to imply someone picking too hard.

 

[c7sus]

Are you saying the extra "note" sounding or whatever you want to call it is due to her right hand technique or her left hand technique?

"Landing to pluck the note"--- landing which hand to pluck the note?

Sounds to me like the signal/noise related to playing style idea you raised in the OP.

I still think the wooden spoon to the knuckles is gonna solve this problem more quickly than anything else.

 

[mixsit]

Sounds to me like the signal/noise related to playing style idea you raised in the OP.

That is exactly the idea.

Are you saying the extra "note" sounding or whatever you want to call it is due to her right hand technique or her left hand technique?"Landing to pluck the note"--- landing which hand to pluck the note?

It would be the right hand (fingers). Initially I thought it was thump' upon landing on the note-to-be-played, but it could have been on release, not so sure now but I suppose that matters little.
I have to consider this is just sitting playing along with a cd. Everyone likely uses a little more force at actual stage energy levels.

I still think the wooden spoon to the knuckles is gonna solve this problem more quickly than anything else.

Yeah? I better check the key first. (you know they say about man who loose key..