semi hollow sound difference

[smithy]

 

Just out of curiosity:

I love playing my semi hollow as I do with  my solids. And certainly there´s a difference in sound and feel (without technical help).

But in times when you can make a bass sound like a drum or a trumpet or anything else just by using some weird electronical equipment, it should be possible to achieve any sound regardless of how the bass is constructed, shouldn´t it?

Be generous and please keep in mind that I´m just a hobby player and neither my skills nor my ears are anywhere near a pro level.

So if you do recordings with all those tools available nowadays, isn´t the difference of both constructions just reduced to feel?

Please give me your thoughts on that and the desirability of that technical possibilities.

 

 

 

[Waddo Soqable]

I've only ever tried old / vintage semi acoustic basses so I've no idea what modern ones are like, but the ones I've tried have been very dead with a "plonk" type feel when played acoustic or plugged in, none of the zingy sustain you might expect from a reasonable electric bass. I'd think a very "thuddy" sound with little sustain would also effect the sound any electrical fx device would "read" and reproduce? 

Perhaps extreme synth type sounds likely wouldn't care what the signal was so much tho? 

[smithy]

That´s what I mean. Using a sustain pedal for example you´re able to give lots of "artificial" sustain even to a thuddy sounding hollow body.

You might produce any kind of sound on any kind of bass like a wizard.

 

 

[Dad3353]

On 01/07/2023 at 15:57, smithy said:

...You might produce any kind of sound on any kind of bass like a wizard.

 

It may be illustrated by an extreme, perhaps. It's difficult, without 'modelling', to have a nylon-strung classical guitar sound like a solid-body electric. A folk guitar..? Similar, but maybe closer. A 335..? It won't sound like a Strat. A Strat won't sound like a nylon-strung classical guitar, either.
I play mostly arch-top guitars and basses; my vintage Verithin will never sound like our Cort 5-string, nor will my 335 copy sound like my thinline Xavière, etc. No problem; they all sound good, but different. 

Edited July 3, 2023 by Dad3353

[Maude]

Line 6 released the Variax bass (700 & 705) in 2005 which emulated 24 basses including solid, semi, hollow and synth. 

Lots of folks don't like them but I really like mine. Rather than thinking of the settings as actual basses I just consider it to have a huge range of tones. As well as different tones the sustain and attack is different on different models. In a band setting they can sound great, especially a covers band if you want to try to copy original tones. 

 

 

[smithy]

What an impressive demonstration! Can´t believe that Kay Upright sound.

In future times we all will just need one bass and all our beloved treasures are predetermined to disappear.☹️

Do you still own other basses?

 

[Maude]

28 minutes ago, smithy said:

Do you still own other basses?

 

Of course... in fact I've got two Variaxes! 😂

 

I was going to put a fretless neck one one, just to see, but haven't yet. 

I've got plenty of other basses as I like the aesthetics as much as the sound, and money in the bank was doing nothing and money in the right bass just increases. The Variaxes might be the wrong basses but they were cheap when I bought them and have earnt their keep. 

 

Edit: That's not my demo BTW, just incase you thought it was. 👍

Edited July 1, 2023 by Maude

[Waddo Soqable]

Out of interest could you in theory pull the 'leccy guts out of a variax and install it in a different bass? 

 

[Dad3353]

16 minutes ago, Waddo Soqable said:

Out of interest could you in theory pull the 'leccy guts out of a variax and install it in a different bass? 

 

 

Variax guitars and basses take their signal from individual piezo transducers under the bridge saddles. Any instrument with this same configuration would do, I should think. There is no use made of the 'normal' magnetic p/u. Retro-fitting a Variax bridge to another guitar or bass would probably be the simplest route, I'd suggest. Hope this helps... 

[Waddo Soqable]

6 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

 

Variax guitars and basses take their signal from individual piezo transducers under the bridge saddles. Any instrument with this same configuration would do, I should think. There is no use made of the 'normal' magnetic p/u. Retro-fitting a Variax bridge to another guitar or bass would probably be the simplest route, I'd suggest. Hope this helps... 

I looked at them years ago with some interest as regards what they could do, but really didn't like the designs at all. Sounds like you could install the relevant bits in most other basses then, of course  assuming you could get just the elec parts without having to buy the rest of it! 

[Maude]

38 minutes ago, Waddo Soqable said:

Out of interest could you in theory pull the 'leccy guts out of a variax and install it in a different bass? 

 

As @Dad3353@Dad3353 says, the bridge is a piezo unit so you'd want that and guts are contained in a large triangular(ish) metal box so could relatively easily be transplanted. A few people have done this with the six string guitars.

I'm pretty sure you won't be able to just get the electronics though. 

 

I didn't like the look so gave it a pretty extensive makeover. There's a thread on here from years ago but I think the pictures were lost. 

From this, 

 

To this, 

 

And just to prove it can be, and is, gigged without worry, 

 

[Delberthot]

1 hour ago, Waddo Soqable said:

Out of interest could you in theory pull the 'leccy guts out of a variax and install it in a different bass? 

 

 

If you check Talkbass, I'm sure that someone over there did exactly that a few years ago (could have been 10 years ago or more) - loved the sounds, hated the bass, so took the innards and fitted them to a new bass

[Newfoundfreedom]

6 hours ago, Maude said:

As @Dad3353@Dad3353 says, the bridge is a piezo unit so you'd want that and guts are contained in a large triangular(ish) metal box so could relatively easily be transplanted. A few people have done this with the six string guitars.

I'm pretty sure you won't be able to just get the electronics though. 

 

I didn't like the look so gave it a pretty extensive makeover. There's a thread on here from years ago but I think the pictures were lost. 

From this, 

 

To this, 

 

And just to prove it can be, and is, gigged without worry, 

 

That looks superb!!!

[Dazed]

That’s a wide range of sounds from a few piezos! I guess its all in the preamp/onboard electronics how does a tonestyler compare to the variax?

[neepheid]

When playing in the midst of a live band, I couldn't tell you what bass I was playing by sound alone.  As long as I can hear myself and it sounds good out front I really don't concern myself with these kind of details, whether I'm playing my Jack Casady or any of my other, solid bodied basses.

 

I salute those who have the skill required to have that spare processing capacity in their brains whilst playing!

[police squad]

I use to use one of the variax guitars live. The JTV59. I used the acoustic 12 string and 6 string, direct into the pa and also the out of phase strat sounds were very good too. It also has normal pickups and I used them too.

Never tried the bass but that demo is very good, the lack of sustain on the hofner bass is strange, sounds a tad choked in isolation but very good otherwise (pops over to ebay for a look)

[Newfoundfreedom]

12 minutes ago, police squad said:

I use to use one of the variax guitars live. The JTV59. I used the acoustic 12 string and 6 string, direct into the pa and also the out of phase strat sounds were very good too. It also has normal pickups and I used them too.

Never tried the bass but that demo is very good, the lack of sustain on the hofner bass is strange, sounds a tad choked in isolation but very good otherwise (pops over to ebay for a look)

 

There was one on here a while ago advertised at a grand. 

 

Way overpriced IMO.

 

I quite fancy one but I think the cheapest I've ever seen one is £600.

 

I'd probably take a punt at half that, but they're already way out of a realistic price range for me. 

[Boodang]

Warwick make an arch top acoustic Helborg signature bass. In an interview with Helborg he said the only reason for the deep acoustic body was ergonomic and that it had no impact on the sound which he believes comes from the strings and pickup. 

[Dazed]

Not sure about that, everything has some impact on sound.   
Think Variax have missed a trick by not offering the preamp as a stand alone product. 

[tauzero]

4 hours ago, Dazed said:

Not sure about that, everything has some impact on sound.   
Think Variax have missed a trick by not offering the preamp as a stand alone product. 

 

They don't do basses any more, unfortunately. There have been quite a few transplants though. The first series (300, 500, 700 electrics, later the 600, the acoustic 700, and the 700 and 505 basses) had the original electronics, then they were revised with HD sounds for the JTV guitars, which have presumably been carried over into the Yamaha/Line 6 Standard series.

 

I don't know if the basses have the same electronics as the first series of guitars - all were piezo only so they only had modelled sounds, unlike the JTVs and Yamahas. I must have a dig inside my 300 and 705 bass and see what I can see. The software does detect which instrument it is.