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My first recording of a quasi-improvised bassline (opinions, please)

Alvabass

Alvabass

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Nov 3, 2004
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567
Location
Bucaramanga, Colombia, South America
Hi everybody.

I posted this thread at TalkBass but I thought that, if a Bongo recording is what this thread is about, it wouldn't be appropriate not to share this effort with the EBMM community. Below is the original message. Thank you in advance for your time and your input! :)

Hi everybody.

Yesterday I received in my e-mail several files with studio recordings of songs from my rock band and another heavy metal band that hired me for recording the bass parts for their then new material like two years ago (well, I think it's still "new" since it hasn't been released yet).

Right now I'm listening the files and maybe I'll ask for your opinions about the tone on the metal recordings, but first I'd like to show you one of the creations of my band's guitar player. I recorded the bass part two weeks ago, and I only got to hear the song like two hours before the recording session because my studio time was assigned on the spur of the moment. I only had time to write down a basic chord chart and some brief ideas. No pre-recorded or written bassline. The composer allowed me to play whatever I felt fitted the tune.

This is not the first time I enter a recording studio, but most of the times I've done it before I already know what I'm going to do before doing the job. I think this is the first time I record a bassline without enough preparation. The thing is, one of my biggest frustrations as a musician is my lack of improvising skills, so I don't feel confident about doing that. After hearing this particular tune I feel fine with some things I did, but I feel that others would be very different if I had more time to plan what I was going to play. The composer told me that he really liked what I did and I think that should be enough for me to be happy, but anyway I'd really like to know what you think about this performance: Good? Bad? So-so? Few notes? Overplayed? Adequate? "in-the-pocket"? Erratic?

Of course, this is not a one-take recording. There are many punch-ins, and most of the notes and rhythms were created "on the fly". What I like is that I feel that some of those spontaneous ideas truly reflect my style of playing, but someone might say something like "hey, if that's what your style tells you to play, you should reconsider it". I used my fretted Bongo 5-string plugged directly into the recording console. Don't know if this is the final mix since I haven't had time to be present at the mixing sessions.

The lines I played for the metal band were carefully planned and it's the recorded tone what doesn't convince me at all, but that's another story. Again, I'm still listening and maybe I'll ask for your opinions on that as well. Right now I'm interested in hearing what you think about this recording as a result of sudden creativity (mostly). Thank you in advance! Here's the link to the file:

Ruido Azul - Agámez - goear.com

P.S.: I suggest you to use a headphone set for listening.
Click to expand...
 
T-bone

T-bone

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Joined
Apr 12, 2005
Messages
1,274
That's a great recording! I love the harmonics at the end.

You plugged your bongo directly into the board? No sansamp or di box? Wow, that's some fantastic tone.

tbone
 
Alvabass

Alvabass

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 3, 2004
Messages
567
Location
Bucaramanga, Colombia, South America
T-bone said:
You plugged your bongo directly into the board? No sansamp or di box? Wow, that's some fantastic tone.

tbone
Click to expand...

Well, again, I wasn't present at the mixing sessions so I don't know if the bass has had some kind of post-processing. But I can tell you: Nothing between my Bongo and the board during recording. Thank you one more time for your input, guys! :)
 
oli@bass

oli@bass

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Jul 23, 2007
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4,272
Location
Switzerland
Well played.

But if you really want my opinion: Too many notes, too busy for my taste. That said, I'm generally guilty as charged when I improvise lines for new songs -- it's my way of finding my spot in a song, playing too many notes at first and carve the unneccessary ones away. So, to me it sounds "unfinished". Also, at the end, where the drums get heavy, I'd have tried to get more of a rolling/pumping pedal feeling with steady flowing eight notes and an occasional octave.

But hey, who am I to comment... I don't have half of your skills!
 
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