parts of the bass sound

[IncX]

while playing bass and getting more in touch with the compositions of sound, i guess i sort of made a conclusion that a guitar sound has these 3 parts:

1.) attack = the sound you hear when your pick/fingers hits the guitar. percussive in nature.
2.) fundamental = the note itself
3.) overtones = the sound you hear when the note is dying. this is most apparent with hitting natural harmonics, and i believe this is where "hiyaw" territory.

with basses and guitars, they have special characteristics.

attack on bass is that "click" or "boom" sound, while on guitar it is most apparent when you palm mute... chug chug ... now, thats a guitar emphasizing its attack and basically determines the "tapang" quality.

fundamental on both guitars and basses are melodic ... that is where you hear the instruments sing.

overtone on basses is something like a piano... while on guitar it could be swirly, like a chorus ...

and yes, not all basses and guitars are created equal... some are better in some areas, while there are some monsters that just own those 3 areas!

im currently happy with my warwick basses, and eventhough their fundamental could be better, im very satisfied with good attack and overtones

what do you guys think? what warwick basses are strong in one area and weak on the other?

i just wrote contributed the above post to get a discussion going in this part of the forums

 

[JUZ]

id give my vette $$ out of 10;

-attack-8.5
-fundamentals-8
-overtone-8.5

its a great bass. good post mate

 

[IncX]

id give my vette $$ out of 10;

-attack-8.5
-fundamentals-8
-overtone-8.5

its a great bass. good post mate

its very much influenced by that "string" thread...

whoever wroe it... i ddnt understand what he really said, but it helped me analyze these things.

id like to give ratings for my buzzard and darklord, but i guess i still want to experience other hi end basses before i can make a conclusion...

as for now though:

Darklord (tuned normally):
attack - 8
fundamental - 8
overtone - 7


Buzzard BO 5
attack - 6
fundamental - 8
overtone - 6

 

[JUZ]

yeah true
i use DR Markus Miller 'fatbeams' there awesome!!!

 

[Escobon]

IncX,

That is a very astute observation. What all instruments have in common is the concept of Attack, Decay, Sustain, and Release (ADSR). In stringed instruments, decay and sustain are very much the same (it's damped harmonic motion). Release is optional in that, if we damp the string, the release happens right then. If we let it sustain until it dies, then the release happens somewhat later.

The ADSR concept defines what is called the 'amplitude envelope'. The 'spectral envelope' involves what happens with fundamental and harmonic frequency amplitudes over the span of time between Attack and Release. That is very dynamic from instrument to instrument, and from string to string.

A little heavy, but true.

O

 

[IncX]

IncX,

That is a very astute observation. What all instruments have in common is the concept of Attack, Decay, Sustain, and Release (ADSR). In stringed instruments, decay and sustain are very much the same (it's damped harmonic motion). Release is optional in that, if we damp the string, the release happens right then. If we let it sustain until it dies, then the release happens somewhat later.

The ADSR concept defines what is called the 'amplitude envelope'. The 'spectral envelope' involves what happens with fundamental and harmonic frequency amplitudes over the span of time between Attack and Release. That is very dynamic from instrument to instrument, and from string to string.

A little heavy, but true.

O

and your posts 70% influenced me to make this conclusion ... for that i thank you...

i guess knowing those things make you more aware when you play a bass or any musical instrument for that matter... it also explains why one guitar is superior to the other.

 

[Indianerdaniel]

yeah true
i use DR Markus Miller 'fatbeams' there awesome!!!

They sure are mate!

 

[golem]

`

At medium tempos it's easy to invoke a style that has no release, at
least no audible release. The volume of each new attack overwhelms
the fading decay of the previous note so decay just aborts as it meets
the new attack. IOW, the next attack functions as the release.

 

[RockLobster]

I was reading through this and thought it was really helpful. I'd just like to add that a set of flatwound strings will change things. It tends to take away from the attack and add more to the fundamental. Overtones still exist but can be largely taken away by using some foam or something else as a mute.

 

[IncX]

i think Fretless also has that effect... i cant hear much attack when playing fretless... and im thinking it has a "weird" effect on fast songs... and a very good effect on slow songs.

 

[IncX]

damnnn!

i dont know i posted this here... the first post above was actually written in a Filipino forum... which pretty much explains the words you guys probably dont understand *lol*

this is embarassing

 

[Escobon]

`

At medium tempos it's easy to invoke a style that has no release, at
least no audible release. The volume of each new attack overwhelms
the fading decay of the previous note so decay just aborts as it meets
the new attack. IOW, the next attack functions as the release.

Yes. In the classical circles, it's called playing legato.

O

 

[golem]

Well, legato or illegato .... me likey !

Especially sans frets, cuz, as IncX metioned
above, FL is not much for attack, but the way
the quiet attack both ends the previous note
while launching the new note gives the quiet
FL attack a distinct sense of Time.

​