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Anyone after a double bass sound? Have a listen to this


Spoombung
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I'm not really convinced by that as a "double bass" sound. Yes, it has a touch of acoustic sounding woodiness to the attack, but it doesn't get close to the complexity and growl of a good double bass IMO. It somehow ends up being whinier yet plunkier (at the same time!) than I would look for on double bass. It's still an interesting instrument that the right musician could do something good with though.

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I emailed Convolution Basses for more info. Their instruments are mainly built to order and cost from 1,100 Euros up.

The bass uses the principle of 'convolution' and recorded 'impulse responses' from a real double bass. This impulse response is then applied to the natural sound coming from the piezo bass to create the sound that you hear. The processing is done externally to the bass using a laptop and software.

This extract from the wikipedia entry on convolution (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convolution) says it better:

"In electronic music convolution is the imposition of a spectral or rhythmic structure on a sound. Often this envelope or structure is taken from another sound. The convolution of two signals is the filtering of one through the other."

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It can maybe be looked at as another different instrument rather than a replacement for a double bass. Nothing will ever replace that. Even an acoustic bass guitar will never sound like a double bass. You could never make a trumpet sound like a tuba. In the right hands this could sound great.

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I asked them a couple more questions, replies below:

Q. Does the piezo bridge produce an audio signal that can be amplified and used like a regular piezo bass? I realise that the convolution process is what makes it sound like a double bass but I wondered whether it also had a natural sound of its own (ie. without having to go through the external software).

[b]A. The bass can be amplified like a normal piezobass. But you need phantom power to do so. A mixing table usually has that option. But you need the ASIO card with laptop and software to get the double bass sound like the sample. The bass itself has a very lownoise preamp. And you can mix the fingerboard sound with the piezo bridge sound. The fingerboard has a piezo too. Important for doublebass sounds. That's why the fingerboard is longer then usual on our bass. The bass has 2 volume potmeters. 1 for the bridge, one for the fingerboard.[/b]

Q. Is all of the convolution signal processing done externally or are there also onboard electronics?

[b]A. All signal processing is done external.[/b]

Q. Does it use regular bass strings?

[b]A. Flatwound strings or rope cords can be delivered. The rope cords are real double bass strings. When roundwounds are used you'll get a sound not like a double bass.[/b]

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