As a bass player, when I heard the sounds at the factory, with a resonant fast envelope (possibly the peow preset or something similar to the preset used in the sound sample (101 EGR) I thought it sounds like a bass guitar on steroids.
Im interested in what bass players think of this instrument, as an addendum to their low end. What are your impressions?
Ive been playing the bass for 15 years, and I love nothing more than a good groove and the sound of some good bass punch.
Ive got an alvarez 4, P&J with EMGs
Carvin Jass style 5 fretless
Jasmine Acoustic Electric 4
I am lacking in the amps department. I like to play funk and slap bass all day long, and I really enjoy blues and soulful basslines R&B style. I cut my teeth on Claypool and Flea and met Mr Wooten a few times and learned some of his double thumping and triplet slap techniques.
I like synths, and without trying, I have essentially built around myself a hefty bass station with synths and even Rhodes Bass. Im thinking that the T3’s will allow me to have a well rounded option for any kind of bass I might wish to lay down on a track.
After the T3’s Im looking at one of those Ergo Basses, possibly a 7 string or whatever I can find that will give me the contra or approach subcontra register.
Playing in a 3-piece band, & having cut my teeth on basslines by Geddy Lee, Chris Squire & John Wetton, I have always utilized the Taurus as more of a way to make up for a lack of a keyboard player & rhythm guitarist, using them to play melody lines, add sub-sonics and fill in the space during guitar solos & song intros. To use the Taurus as the primary bass instrument for a song would require either some serious footwork, or a MIDI keyboard controller to get the chops & motion required to make an interesting bass part. That said, I am really looking forward to tweaking the T-3’s arpeggiator, as I believe it could be used for just such a purpose.
Bass guitar sounds like bass guitar. I’ve never liked pedals that attempt to emulate synth bass on electric bass. Even the expensive ones – my friend brought over an Octavius Squeezer the other day, and it still sounded to me like they all do.
I’ll be using the T3s when I play out as a duo with a drummer. The newest stuff I recorded utilizes distorted piccolo bass and drums. I originally intended for that to be the exclusive instrumentation, but I ended up added a few LP Taurus parts to differentiate some sections.
The picture of Claypool playing with your kid was awesome. When we saw Buddy Guy a few years ago he let this little boy strum his guitar it was great.
I remember back to a time when I wanted to reply on technical abillity alone and play everything clean tone. I hated bass synth and I thought techno was cheating!
This was 1996 and if I went back in time to myself then and tole myself that I was going to be in Synth heaven 15 years later, I would have told myself that I sold out.
I never really cared for effects, and for the longest time you really couldn’t find any decent bass efects processors. I guess the key there was “processor”. My theory was to let someone identify you as a bassist by what you were playing rather than cover up a good sounding pickup tone with a myriad of effects. I find that most of the effects that I have used just take too much out of your tone, like the bassballs, yes it sounds funky but I find myself wanting my bass back. You know?
I haven’t used a whole lot of effects though, and I probably won’t go too far into augmenting the bass effects. As a bass player, the direction that I want to go is more natural…i guess ive come full circle except that I want to explore the double bass again, since I haven’t had any personal time with one since about '97 or so.
Ergo Basses look really nice, but that still doesn’t have the hefty shoulder depth of a carved upright.
As far as the Taurus goes, I thought that it would be nice to get me a more well rounded sound. Any kind (almost) of bass one might want on a recording I (hopefully) can provide.
Once I get my license, Ill be able to explore those options a bit more.
I think Id love to have a Fender Custom Jazz 6 with a maple neck. Not necessarily the Steve Bailey edition, but just a regular Jazz with a maple nexk.
I see myself using it more as a drone or foundational instrument that I can play bass on top of. I’ve been doing it for a while with various Moog synths. The first I called Taurus VI - the bass is a Jaguar Bottom Master (modeled on the classic Bass VI, hence the title), the keys are a Rogue, but this was before I had any bass pedals, so I would play the keyboard in between phrases with my right hand!
Taurus 4001 is the same idea, but with a Rickenbacker 4001 bass and this time I actually have bass pedals (Roland PK-5) controlling the Little Phatty and a drummer (well, the bass players aren’t controlling the drummer)!
Terminous is a little different - more active bass part closer to the end. Bass is a Gibson Melody Maker through Z Vex Woolly Mammoth fuzz and MF-101 controlled by the CP-251.
I have a performance coming up at the end of February, so I need to start practicing! Haven’t played much bass or bass pedals since acquiring a Rhodes, so I’m thinking I have to set up my rig and start stomping away! Hoping my pedals come before the last week of February, but I think I might have to use the PK-5/LP combo for now…
T3 through Glockenklang Soul Head & Epiphani 2X10 speaker cab - Taurus I setting (I think!)
Rickenbacker 4001 bass through PJB briefcase
Recorded with a Tascam DR-1
I have been thinking about what Im going to do when I get my T3 and I have some ideas that Ive been stewing on since I really thought about it, My recent purchase of a Mixer sort of led the way for it. I wanted to do play the voyager and the bass at the same time but thats kindof hard. I sort of actually developed the need for the Taurus (instead of just the pure desire for it) right aroung the time they finished the project.
Thats some really excellent bass work and good tones. Ill try to post some stuff in kind when I get my rig going.
How exactly do people post links that autimatically pop up a player rather than downloading it? Do you have some hosting site or something?
Thanks Eric! It’s sloppy but it was fun to do. Normally I record to ProTools, but I’ve been dragging so much equipment around and trying to clean my house in preparation for a visitor (a drummer no less!) that I got lazy. Plus, in cleaning, I found the Tascam - it’s interesting trying to make as little noise as possible before and after, since I’m not editing the recordings!
Definitely recordrecordrecord when you get yours! Oh, and I host my own tracks.
Here’s the first thing I recorded: T3 experiment 1 - beware of low volume level and some digital distortion. I’m finding that the Tascam mics don’t handle the LOWS too well…
