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Reproducing an elusive low F#


Dazed
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Ahhh my favourite subject at the moment. Yes, I tune to F# on two of my basses with the ability to drop down a tone to E for certain tracks.

Bill has quite rightly pointed out how best to do this but I will go through my signal path to give you an idea how to get the best in a live situation. The most important bit really from my point of view is not about boosting ridiculous amounts of low end through your bass rig. It's pointless and will just make that note sound pillowy and mushy. After all, very few cabinets on the market can actually reproduce anything near that fundamental anyway, it's pointless trying. I do concentrate on defining the second and actually third harmonic areas but also boost some upper midrange too using specific overdrive pedals.


Anyway, first place to start for me is of course the bass. I am using a Dingwall AB1 XXX that I have rewired to my own spec. I've written about it on the Dingwall forum called the DV1 mod. The 37" scale helps a great deal too and I have strung the bass with Kalium strings with a 183 gauge for the low string. My Shuker incidentally has a 190 on it as the scale length is shorter. My 'preamp' is a signal path that is split in to three paths - One clean, one with top end drive and the other with a boosted mid range (think custom TubeScreamer here and you are on the right path) - Both drives are high pass filtered to remove any stodge too. The whole path, to simplify gets mixed back together via a triple band compressor to keeps things tight. A bit of EQ in there to add punch and roll off top end sizzle from the drive pedals only, the clean top end is allowed through. I'll miss out the effects path, but I essentially use a TC Electronic G System as my effects hub. Everything gets thrown at a big QSC power amp with DSP where everything below 25hz is absolutely removed, but to be honest there is practically no bass boost in my path added electronically. That said, my bass has an active pre, so I control the lows from there rather than running back to the amp. Finally, for monitoring I am loving the Barefaced Big Twin II which handles what I need it to. Using this method I have found I get a super tone both on stage or recorded via D.I with strong definition across the strings. Personally, it has to be new strings for a 'piano-like' tone, because dead strings down to that tuning sound pretty rubbish :)

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[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1453317175' post='2958424']
Have a look here ..?

[url="http://www.avsforum.com/forum/113-subwoofers-bass-transducers/1411500-true-subsonic-subwoofers.html"]True Subsonic Subwoofers ...[/url]
[/quote]

On stage, I'd say that was a bad idea. It'll cheese the engineer off too. If anything keeping the subs under control and letting front of house take over those duties is the way to go :)

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Guest bassman7755

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1453317175' post='2958424']
Have a look here ..?

[url="http://www.avsforum.com/forum/113-subwoofers-bass-transducers/1411500-true-subsonic-subwoofers.html"]True Subsonic Subwoofers ...[/url]
[/quote]

Below 35 hz ish your into the realm of sound effects rather than anything you would hear as music e.g. a large diesel engine on tickover, the whump of helicopter blades etc, hence why they are discussing these things in home cinema forum.

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[quote name='Dan Dare' timestamp='1453320688' post='2958479']
Frequencies that low may cause an unfortunate commotion in the old trousers... Probably best avoided :o
[/quote]

Ha ha ha ha!!!!!

[size=5][color=#000000][font=proxnov-reg, arial, sans-serif]Everybody's doing a brand-new dance, now [/font][/color][color=#000000][font=proxnov-reg, arial, sans-serif](Come on baby, do the low co-motion)[/font][/color][/size]

Edited by dood
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[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1453319593' post='2958456']
Below 35 hz ish your into the realm of sound effects rather than anything you would hear as music e.g. a large diesel engine on tickover, the whump of helicopter blades etc, hence why they are discussing these things in home cinema forum.
[/quote]

Indeed, which is why I posted the link. I've used such systems in a 'Son et Lumière' show, where five sound sources projected the sound over a stadium-sized valley in front of a castle, and the subs were under the terrace seats to 'feel' the cannons shots and thunder. No musical effect at those frequencies; merely sensation. The Altec amps were very powerful, as I remember; about 5 k in all, solely for the sub effect. Very effective, but useless in a normal, 'musical', sense.

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[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1453323201' post='2958510']
Also worth considering that a frequency of 19Hz has been found to cause feelings of fear and anxiety. I got this from a TV programme about how natural phenomena give rise to 'supernatural' effects.
[/quote]The TV show didn't examine it in depth. Women are genetically pre-disposed to not like low bass effects. In the wild low frequency vibrations tended to be harbingers of nastiness, like earthquakes and stampedes. Men are the opposite, as said stampedes were a sign of lunch approaching on the hoof. This to a great extent explains male fascination with big subwoofers, explosive effects and loud cars and motorcycles, whereas women could care less. What explains the female infatuation with shoes is anyone's guess.

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[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1453325279' post='2958543']
The TV show didn't examine it in depth. Women are genetically pre-disposed to not like low bass effects. In the wild low frequency vibrations tended to be harbingers of nastiness, like earthquakes and stampedes. Men are the opposite, as said stampedes were a sign of lunch approaching on the hoof. This to a great extent explains male fascination with big subwoofers, explosive effects and loud cars and motorcycles, whereas women could care less. What explains the female infatuation with shoes is anyone's guess.
[/quote]

Very true. My toddler grand-daughter will happily sit on my knee and bash away at notes in the middle of my keyboard, but if I play low notes on the bass she backs off and clings to her mum's leg.

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[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1453343988' post='2958649']
Why do you spell color 'colour'? And it's not a boot, it's a trunk. <_<
[/quote]

Spelling's a different matter....using a phrase in such a way that it means the exact opposite of what you want to say is just idiocy....unless of course you're trying to use sarcasm...but you weren't. I don't think i've met an American who can.

Oh and i spell colour C O L O U R because that's the correct way to spell colour.

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[quote name='dood' timestamp='1453376948' post='2958845']
Wow, who found piss in their Bran Flakes this morning? :unsure:
[/quote]

By Jove! An American writing with American idiom and spelling while offering help and advice, using a communication medium developed and paid for by, um, Americans, How rude! ;-)

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