Under the Fig Tree - Wurlitzer A200 and Bass Guitar

Share your music, collaborate, and partake in monthly music contests.
Post Reply New Topic
RELATED
PRODUCTS

Post

This is a short improvised instrumental piece using just two instruments, Wurlitzer A200 E-Piano and Music Man Bass Guitar. Unlike most of my tracks, this one is actually under five minutes long.

Given that I am no master on bass (I can play bass reasonably well but not to the level you hear on this track), I played the bass part using the Scarbee MM Bass library in Kontakt 5 which is absolutely astounding with its scripting and sounds very authentic.
I also used the Scarbee A200 library for the Wurli piano too.

I recently purchased Lounge Lizard EP4 which sounds good and has plenty of control for tweaking the sound but I have to say, IMHO, it doesn't beat the Scarbee samples for authenticity. One thing Lounge Lizard does have is very nice playability and great dynamic range. Regardless, I ended up settling on the Scarbee instrument for this track.

Reverb is Valhalla Vintage Verb.
Delay is VoS NastyDLA MkII pre-modulated with Arts Acoustic Big Rock.

Download "Under the Fig Tree" and other tracks from the "Hidden Gems | Instrumental Journeys" album here.

http://ausdisciples.com.au/media/audio/ ... g-Tree.mp3

Post

Very cool stuff and enjoyed listening to it. You did a good job on the two instruments. I just got Komplete 9 and looking forward to using Scarbee MM.......I've been extremely happy the the Jay bass. Your track is a perfect example of less can be more. :)

Well done!!


Edit: Listened x3 and found it to be a very mildly addicting piece to listen to. :clap:
The style is similar to what I like as well.
Make music :harp:

Post

Thanks for taking a listen Sticky and thanks for the feedback. :tu:

When I first tried the Scarbee MM Bass, I couldn't believe how expressive it was. I'm still blown away by the way they've scripted it. There have been numerous times I've contemplated selling my bass as a result!!! If I didn't tell anyone I played the bass part on my keyboard, they would think I was an accomplished session bass player (which I am most certainly NOT!)
I haven't got the Jay Bass yet but I am keenly eyeing it off.

I haven't upgraded my Komplete 8 mainly because I am still more than happy with it and am wondering if there's anything in Komplete 9 that would make the upgrade worthwhile, especially considering there's still heaps in 8 that I have hardly tapped into yet.

Post

Very nice. It's got a very "smooth" and natural sound, and the piece has a "live" but relaxed feel. It's definitely worth multiple listens.

Good work :)

Post

This is a surprise - no Berlin School, no 80s gated drums.

Instead we are in late night, noodly, jazzy territory and it's great! It sounds wonderful and is quite enjoyable. 8)

Post

I am a bassist, and anxious to hear the Scarbee/Kontakt performance.
I did listen, but had to listen quietly `cause it`s late so can`t yet tell what`s up.
Will be back.
....................Don`t blame me for 'The Roots', I just live here. :x
Image

Post

Interesting. Good job mimicking the bass. The slides are the most convincing.:)
Keys sound quite good too. Nice playing as well.

Funny thing how keyboardists and guitarists play the bass....not to leave out drummers. :lol:
To really understand bass, you have to have made bass your primary instrument.
I`m sure many of we musicians can agree to that. David plays(keys) the bass notes in quite well, but it`s not a bassist`s sensibility...it`s a melodic reflection of the keyboard rather then a harmonic/rhythmic backbone structure to which the melodic keys play within.
....................Don`t blame me for 'The Roots', I just live here. :x
Image

Post

Nice bass, nice keys, love the jazzy composition. It's sparse yet highly enjoyable, downloaded and listened multiple times.

I don't have a single bad thing to say about it.

Post

seismic1 wrote:Very nice. It's got a very "smooth" and natural sound, and the piece has a "live" but relaxed feel. It's definitely worth multiple listens.

Good work :)
Thanks Seismic. Smooth and natural is what I like about those NI libraries. Ever since I first heard SuperTramp many years ago, I've loved that Wurly sound.
Frantz wrote:This is a surprise - no Berlin School, no 80s gated drums.

Instead we are in late night, noodly, jazzy territory and it's great! It sounds wonderful and is quite enjoyable. 8)
Looks like I've found Mr. Frantz' sweet spot :D
The original plan for this album was to be primarily electronic but inspiration has lead me on a more diverse path.
annode wrote:Interesting. Good job mimicking the bass. The slides are the most convincing.:)
Keys sound quite good too. Nice playing as well.

Funny thing how keyboardists and guitarists play the bass....not to leave out drummers. :lol:
To really understand bass, you have to have made bass your primary instrument.
I`m sure many of we musicians can agree to that. David plays(keys) the bass notes in quite well, but it`s not a bassist`s sensibility...it`s a melodic reflection of the keyboard rather then a harmonic/rhythmic backbone structure to which the melodic keys play within.
Yeah. I'd definitely play this differently on my bass. However, bass is not my primary instrument and I love the Scarbee playability. I've been playing keyboards for thirty years and bass for around ten years. I did pick up bass fairly quickly though because I've also been playing guitar for twenty five years so I knew the fret board well enough to speed up the learning process. On this track though, the bass is one of only two instruments and, being a fairly complex part, I wouldn't have done it justice on my bass.
Trumpet is the instrument I've played longest (one year more than keyboards) and drums the shortest (around eight years). Of everything, I play keyboards and drums most often.
AaronCotton wrote:Nice bass, nice keys, love the jazzy composition. It's sparse yet highly enjoyable, downloaded and listened multiple times.

I don't have a single bad thing to say about it.
Well that's a review I cannot complain about!!! Thanks heaps Aaron. :tu:

Post

Didn`t reflect on my comments concerning a player not understanding how a bass player plays bass and how it`s rarely achieved from other instrumentalists.
Instead you used the opportunity to go on about yourself. It`s your thread. :shrug:
....................Don`t blame me for 'The Roots', I just live here. :x
Image

Post

annode wrote:Didn`t reflect on my comments concerning a player not understanding how a bass player plays bass and how it`s rarely achieved from other instrumentalists.
....
Actually I did, and that is what inspired my reply. I just didn't delve into it much.
I know where you're coming from though and I agree that there are fundamental differences between the way a keyboard player approaches a bass part and the way a bass player approaches it.
I did play the bass part on keyboards with a fret board in mind but a keyboard is a keyboard and a fret board is a fret board and there always will be the inevitable fundamental differences between the way the instruments are approached and played. However, my aim here was to come up with something pleasing that sounds more like a quality bass part than I would've gotten playing it on my bass.

An interesting comparison the other way around is that of a duo I was part of many years ago. My musical partner in that duo played guitar and had a Roland GR1 guitar synth that he played on numerous of our tracks. There were a couple of tracks we did live where I played the guitar parts on my keyboard and he played the keyboard parts on his guitar synth. We actually did that for a couple of reasons. Firstly, we liked to give our audiences something different to ponder and secondly, it was a great way to come up with some nice creative alternatives. The keyboard parts on the GR1 guitar synth sounded like a guitarist playing keyboard parts and the guitar parts on keyboard sounded like a keyboard player playing guitar parts but it worked and it sounded good!
That technique allowed us to come up with arrangements we would not otherwise have come up with. Sometimes, something like that is just the ticket to break writers block too.

When it comes to playing bass guitar, I can bluff my way through prog rock tracks quite adequately but the bass in this track is fifty percent of the tune so the fact that bass isn't my primary instrument would've been quite obvious had I tried to play this part on it! :tu:

Post

Really enjoying this AusDisciple! Has a nice flow to it. The keys remind me of 'Sheep' by Floyd in places. The bass sounds great!
:)
Bandcamp
Music with progressive intent.

Post

Allomerus wrote:Really enjoying this AusDisciple! Has a nice flow to it. The keys remind me of 'Sheep' by Floyd in places. The bass sounds great!
:)
Thanks Allomerus :)

Funny you mention 'sheep'. I had that in my head for ages after recording this track. That used to be one of my favourite Floyd songs until I read what the vocoder lyrics actually said.

Post Reply

Return to “Music Cafe”