Simon Little’s Podcast

Todays track once again features The Beast through the LP1 and MPX G2. There’s no discernible tune to this one, it’s purely an improvisation. I was experimenting with a few new sounds. Still can’t get enough of the lead guitar sound. Those of you following my progress on Twitter today will be expecting the Buckethead-esque madness that kicks off about halfway through the track. I wanted to see what the lead part would sound like played back double speed and backwards. Well… it’s sounds like this… Hope you like it. Let me know your thoughts.

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First of all, an apology for the incredible amount of time it’s been since my last post. I’ve been incredibly busy with gigs over the last month and haven’t had an enormous amount of time to spend on the solo project. But fear not, work is still continuing and I will soon be starting the process of refining the songs ready for the album recording. Today’s track is the first to feature ‘The Beast’, my new Warwick Thumb VI. It really is a monster and literally the best and most musical instrument I’ve ever owned. Expect a deluge of new music in the near future. Even during the process of recording this track, several new ideas have started to come together. I wanted to incorporate some of the lead sounds I’ve been using on the stick into the solo bass work, and today I got caught up in a widdly-waddly world of fun, which you will hear about two thirds of the way through. Hope you like it. Thanks to all those of you who have subscribed to the Podcast over the last few months, and indeed all the listeners out there who’ve been following my solo bass work, even during this recent dry patch! As always, your comments are most appreciated.

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Today’s track has been struggle to get out people. I’ve been trying to put something together for the last three days and frankly, it’s just not been happening. I started thinking too deeply about what I was trying to achieve since my last blog post (http://simonlittlebass.blogspot.com/) and wound up achieving nothing. I guess there’s a lesson to be learnt there! Anyway, I made this tune the third and final episode in what is now lovingly referred to as the ‘Bells’ trilogy. The three tracks all have a chiming figure central to the underlying loop, so it made sense to link them together like this. It has been interesting comparing this with the previous two Bells tracks. Sonically, the addition of the Lexicon has made a massive difference. The stereo effects really expand the sound of the bass. I decided to go back to the Triumph, and wound up really enjoying the pure sound with just a little chorus and reverb for sparkle. In fact, I’ve made up a preset which I’ve rather knowingly called ‘Eberhard’. So there you go, I’m admitting it! Hope you like it. Please leave your comments, ratings and suggestions on the Podbean page (http://simonlittle.podbean.com/). I think I’m getting to the stage where I can start taking stock of what’s up there and refining the tunes, so now’s the time to get your two cents in before work on the album starts….

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Hi folks. Well, looks like I’m on a roll here. Two tunes in two days. Tonight’s track is the second on the Chapman Stick. Same principles as the last one. The Stick is going (via a little mixer) straight into a Lexicon MPX G2 and then into the Looperlative LP1. Putting it into the mixer does turn it into a mono instrument (ie; the bass/guitar sides are no longer separate), but I only have one input for the multi-effects and seeing as though I’m using the Stick like a fancy guitar anyway I don’t mind the lack of separation. I was going for a more layered sound again, so no specific tune to hum I’m afraid. Please leave your comments and ratings on the Podbean site. And when you get a chance, go and check out Matt Steven’s Podcast. He’s featured one of my tracks today and is therefore a gentleman and a scholar in my book. It’s a great podcast, loads of different stuff to check out, including Matt’s own great music with loops. Go forth people!

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Today’s track is the first recording I’ve ever made using the Chapman Stick. I’ve used it just as I would have used the bass, ie: not much cross-tapping, mostly single line playing. I wanted to use the Stick for it’s extended range and more guitar-like tone. I’ve used quite a lot of effects this time, concentrating on sound rather than melody. The improvisation grew out of the simple ground bass introduced at the beginning. Let me know what you think.

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Sorry it’s been a while. Had a busy couple of weeks and a few technical issues since the last post (sorry about the hiss!). Today’s track uses the same setup as the last two. Minimal effects, just a bit of chorus on the Thumb fretless IV. Couldn’t resist having another go with the double speed function on the Looperlative… what can you do?! Hopefully this time the hiss will be minimal, it sounds good to me here. Fingers crossed! Let me know what you think…

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Todays track is the second tune performed using the Looperlative LP1. Any of you that have been following my Twitter updates over the last couple of days will know some of the difficulties I’ve been having with setting the recording levels correctly. I”m a bit closer now, but I haven’t managed to get passed the hiss I’m getting form the LP1. Hoping to solve this in the near future! I’ve used a couple of pitch shift effects on this one, and a touch of the reverse playback on the LP1. Managed to control myself a bit more this time! Let me know your thoughts…

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Well let me tell you… it’s been an exciting afternoon/evening folks. I bought a Looperlative LP1 from Ebay a couple of weeks ago. It had to be sent over from the US and arrived yesterday. I’ve been messing about with it all day, trying to get to grips with some of the features. Todays track is he result of todays messing about with the LP1. I really wanted to make use of the 8 tracks available (I only ended up using 4), and the ability to drop certain things in and out (this is one of the functions I’ve been dying to use since I started this project!). And, of course, I made use of the double speed function… who wouldn’t on their first go?! I hope the results aren’t too much of a hash job, but hopefully over the next few posts I’ll be able to refine some of the techniques. Let me know your thoughts….

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Hello folks. Sorry it’s been a while since my last post. It’s been pretty hectic on the gig front so I’ve not had much time to spend on the solo stuff. For todays track I went back to the FNA Jazzman for it’s crisper attack. I was going for a more folky tune this time.I turned the delay up a bit on Gearbox this time to get a bit more background ambience. Make sure you subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already… there’ll be a new track following in the very near future….

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Todays post was recorded right after Blue Fingers II last night using exactly the same setup, ie: my Thumb IV fretless straight into the RC20 using the Line 6 Gearbox plug-in for reverb and a little delay. I had to wait until today to listen to several takes with fresh ears. There were some later takes with a fixed melody at the top, but in the end I felt this version had a better feel to it overall. Hope you enjoy it.

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Todays track was one of the most organic thus far. A late night playing session after a busy day. Two outdoor gigs on double bass have left my fingers a bit battered so I decided to have a go on my Thumb IV fretless bass. It’s more of a textural improvisation again, this time I tried to coax out some of the more distinctive sounds available on a fretless bass (as opposed to the Triumph upright). A few harmonics play a big part in the underlying loop and I added some percussive effects later on in the performance. As always, your comments and suggestions are most welcome on the Podbean site. Thanks for listening.

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