Friday, April 11, 2014

Mare Nostrum - 110414

Sponsored by "Dummy Mixes".

Track 3 Ric bass parts on the Tascam 2488 using the Line 6 Bass Pod XT. Audio cleanup in AA3 and inserted into the relevant project file in CE5.

Had difficulty getting a decent bass tone with the plectrum that would cut through the mix, so I had to use fingering (steady now). It worked fine, tonewise, but I ended up with a bit of a blister on my plucking finger (well, really, if you're going to keep sniggering like that...).

Hey, mistah - itzah blistah...   

The only time I ever play bass by fingering is when I play my Aria AMB-50 electro-acoustic, because I can't get any decent sound out of it acoustically with a plectrum.

Aria - having a lovely time...?
I've tried using the fingering technique in recording sessions before, but not successfully. That was a long time ago, though, and my technique has improved with age...look, stop it! NOW!!!

As mentioned in an earlier post, I was recording against a live drum track, so precision in timing cannot be guaranteed. I had to play by ear ( I know, I was using my finger. No need to remind me...). I think I hit most of my spots pretty accurately. I recorded two different versions of the main bass part, so hopefully I can edit between them. I also recorded a separate intro.

The bass line is in a rather rigid eurofunk-style, รก la (but nowhere near as good as) Derek Forbes from Simple Minds. Had I been able to record against a strict temp beat, I might have thrown in a bit more in the way of stylistic variation, but I was trying to get out of Dodge here. Still, I think it holds together well and with some judicious editing and the odd dub-style dropout, I should be able to get away with it.

God knows what I'm going to do for the guitar parts, though. Charlie Burchill, perhaps?

Regards,


djp

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