[studiorat]

Hi All,
Haven't been 'round in a while. Good to see some of the regulars still
here.

I've gotten involved with a Rock-a-billly Country Gospel Blues Blue
Grass Trad old time kind of outfit! The best bit is the singer has a
big stick with bells on it to shake at the audience, nothing like a
bit of voodoo to get their attention.

Anyway the bass in the band is taken care of by a tea chest and broom
handle affair, so I'm wondering what's the best way to go about this
in the studio. What mic's where? Should I try a PZM? Is there any way
I can tweek the chest to make it sound better, isolation pads or
something? Will I cut a hole in it? Wood a nail in the broom handle
work better on the box?


Any suggestions, tea chest links etc would be most welcome..

Thanks

[Scott Dorsey]

studiorat wrote:

Hi All,
Haven't been 'round in a while. Good to see some of the regulars still
here.

I've gotten involved with a Rock-a-billly Country Gospel Blues Blue
Grass Trad old time kind of outfit! The best bit is the singer has a
big stick with bells on it to shake at the audience, nothing like a
bit of voodoo to get their attention.

Anyway the bass in the band is taken care of by a tea chest and broom
handle affair, so I'm wondering what's the best way to go about this
in the studio. What mic's where? Should I try a PZM? Is there any way
I can tweek the chest to make it sound better, isolation pads or
something? Will I cut a hole in it? Wood a nail in the broom handle
work better on the box?

What does it do? Does it just go thump, thump, thump? If so, an
SM-57 wrapped in a towel and shoved under the bridge might be just
the thing. It's the Bluegrass Bass Sound.

The PZM is a very overrated thing and isn't much use when leakage is an
issue, as it will be here.

The real question is what you want from it.. odds are they really just
want a dull thump out of it and that's what will fit best in the mix
anyway. You could mike the strings with a 441 and get a bit more
definition to the bass sound but that may not be what the style wants.

Any suggestions, tea chest links etc would be most welcome..

I like www.boh.com.my, especially the Palas Afternoon. But all their
single estate teas are good.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Don Pearce]

Scott Dorsey wrote:
studiorat wrote:
Hi All,
Haven't been 'round in a while. Good to see some of the regulars still
here.

I've gotten involved with a Rock-a-billly Country Gospel Blues Blue
Grass Trad old time kind of outfit! The best bit is the singer has a
big stick with bells on it to shake at the audience, nothing like a
bit of voodoo to get their attention.

Anyway the bass in the band is taken care of by a tea chest and broom
handle affair, so I'm wondering what's the best way to go about this
in the studio. What mic's where? Should I try a PZM? Is there any way
I can tweek the chest to make it sound better, isolation pads or
something? Will I cut a hole in it? Wood a nail in the broom handle
work better on the box?

What does it do? Does it just go thump, thump, thump? If so, an
SM-57 wrapped in a towel and shoved under the bridge might be just
the thing. It's the Bluegrass Bass Sound.

The PZM is a very overrated thing and isn't much use when leakage is an
issue, as it will be here.

The real question is what you want from it.. odds are they really just
want a dull thump out of it and that's what will fit best in the mix
anyway. You could mike the strings with a 441 and get a bit more
definition to the bass sound but that may not be what the style wants.

Any suggestions, tea chest links etc would be most welcome..

I like www.boh.com.my, especially the Palas Afternoon. But all their
single estate teas are good.
--scott

Strings, bridge?! Did you ever see a tea chest bass? It has one string
and no bridge - and yes it does just go thump thump. It has no
definition, and a cardioid mic a couple of feet above the top of the box
pointing down will do nicely. Tailor the sound with big doses of eq
later to get something nice sounding.

d

[Scott Dorsey]

Don Pearce wrote:

Strings, bridge?! Did you ever see a tea chest bass? It has one string
and no bridge - and yes it does just go thump thump. It has no
definition, and a cardioid mic a couple of feet above the top of the box
pointing down will do nicely. Tailor the sound with big doses of eq
later to get something nice sounding.

No bridge? Where do you put the beer bottle, then?
--scott


--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Don Pearce]

Scott Dorsey wrote:
Don Pearce wrote:
Strings, bridge?! Did you ever see a tea chest bass? It has one string
and no bridge - and yes it does just go thump thump. It has no
definition, and a cardioid mic a couple of feet above the top of the box
pointing down will do nicely. Tailor the sound with big doses of eq
later to get something nice sounding.

No bridge? Where do you put the beer bottle, then?
--scott



No bottle - just a keg and some plastic tubing.

d

[hank alrich]

studiorat wrote:

Hi All,
Haven't been 'round in a while. Good to see some of the regulars still
here.

I've gotten involved with a Rock-a-billly Country Gospel Blues Blue
Grass Trad old time kind of outfit! The best bit is the singer has a
big stick with bells on it to shake at the audience, nothing like a
bit of voodoo to get their attention.

Anyway the bass in the band is taken care of by a tea chest and broom
handle affair, so I'm wondering what's the best way to go about this
in the studio. What mic's where? Should I try a PZM? Is there any way
I can tweek the chest to make it sound better, isolation pads or
something? Will I cut a hole in it? Wood a nail in the broom handle
work better on the box?


Any suggestions, tea chest links etc would be most welcome..

Thanks

I have no clue what is a "tea chest bass", but the description sounds
like a variation on the washtub bass. I recorded the Piney Creek Weasels
who used a washtub bass, and while I took the main instruments and
vocals via a pair of U87's in Blumlein with the band around them in a
tight circle, just like they played when they were standing around
playing, with a spot mic for a couple of soft vocals, and a tiny
Countryman omni on the washtub. Sounded great, according to the band,
me, and a fine review they got in some bluegrass publication, the name
of which I forget.

--
ha
shut up and play your guitar

[Larry Green]

Don Pearce wrote:
Scott Dorsey wrote:
studiorat wrote:
Hi All,
Haven't been 'round in a while. Good to see some of the regulars still
here.

I've gotten involved with a Rock-a-billly Country Gospel Blues Blue
Grass Trad old time kind of outfit! The best bit is the singer has a
big stick with bells on it to shake at the audience, nothing like a
bit of voodoo to get their attention.

Anyway the bass in the band is taken care of by a tea chest and broom
handle affair, so I'm wondering what's the best way to go about this
in the studio. What mic's where? Should I try a PZM? Is there any way
I can tweek the chest to make it sound better, isolation pads or
something? Will I cut a hole in it? Wood a nail in the broom handle
work better on the box?

What does it do? Does it just go thump, thump, thump? If so, an
SM-57 wrapped in a towel and shoved under the bridge might be just
the thing. It's the Bluegrass Bass Sound.

The PZM is a very overrated thing and isn't much use when leakage is an
issue, as it will be here.

The real question is what you want from it.. odds are they really just
want a dull thump out of it and that's what will fit best in the mix
anyway. You could mike the strings with a 441 and get a bit more
definition to the bass sound but that may not be what the style wants.

Any suggestions, tea chest links etc would be most welcome..

I like www.boh.com.my, especially the Palas Afternoon. But all their
single estate teas are good.
--scott

Strings, bridge?! Did you ever see a tea chest bass? It has one string
and no bridge - and yes it does just go thump thump. It has no
definition, and a cardioid mic a couple of feet above the top of the box
pointing down will do nicely. Tailor the sound with big doses of eq
later to get something nice sounding.


Many years ago I helped out with a recording of a UK folk band that had a
one-string tea chest bass (and a washboard, concertina and even a spoons
player!) We went through the entire mic cupboard testing the sound of each one
before finally settling on something as simple as a SM57 placed, as the OP says,
a couple of feet above the top of the box. Fix it up in the EQ and throw in a
bit of reverb (if required) and away you go.

--
Larry Green

[Boris Lau]

Hey,

hank alrich wrote:
I have no clue what is a "tea chest bass", but the description sounds
like a variation on the washtub bass.

Found this tea chest bass player on wikipedia *g*:
http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?...Guenther. jpg

Boris

[Mike Rivers]

Boris Lau wrote:

Found this tea chest bass player on wikipedia *g*:

A tea chest with a sound hole? Given the mic and the position, I'll bet
it was pretty tubby. Looks like there's another mic above it on a boom,
maybe an SM57.

But, yeah, it's a variation on the washtub bass. I've recorded a few of
those and find that the metal tubs always sound more like a jazz bass
(usually the context) than the wooden tubs, but the wooden ones look
nicer. Most tend to be pretty carelessly made and work more as a prop
than a musical instrument, but a few players - the late Fritz Richmond
for one - really studied the instrument. Between his playing technique
and the construction of his instruments, he managed to both get good
tone and look like a washtub bass player. Fritz had a glove with a
teflon "fret" which he slid along the string rather than getting notes
simply by changing tension.

--
If you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring and reach
me he
double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo -- I'm really Mike Rivers
)

[hank alrich]

Boris Lau wrote:

Hey,

hank alrich wrote:
I have no clue what is a "tea chest bass", but the description sounds
like a variation on the washtub bass.

Found this tea chest bass player on wikipedia *g*:

http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?...uwaentzt_Guent
her.jpg

Boris

Thank you! Yeah, like a washtub bass, but fancier. It has right-angle
corners and stuff. g

So much depends on the player, and while washtubs are much alike, I'd
imagine teachests to have greater tone variety possibilities. I've known
folks who could actually play real and clearly discernable bass parts on
the washtub bass.

--
ha
shut up and play your guitar

[Scott Dorsey]

hank alrich wrote:

So much depends on the player, and while washtubs are much alike, I'd
imagine teachests to have greater tone variety possibilities. I've known
folks who could actually play real and clearly discernable bass parts on
the washtub bass.

See, I always thought of the tea-chest bass as being a much higher tech
thing, with a couple strings stretched across a crate with a beer bottle
(or an SM-57) jammed behind them as a bridge.

One of the guys from Rant and Roar has something that looks like a real
bass, made out of rough pine framing material. It doesn't sound half
bad, really. And it has a pretty wide range.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[Mike Rivers]

Scott Dorsey wrote:

One of the guys from Rant and Roar has something that looks like a real
bass, made out of rough pine framing material.

Here's one made from a cardboard box that doesn't sound bad either, but
I'll bet that's mostly in the hands of the player. Got a pickup, too,
and less than $100.

http://www.edencompanies.com/bogdon/

--
If you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring and reach
me he
double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo -- I'm really Mike Rivers
)

[Stu Bulman]

On Oct 23, 1:12*pm, studiorat wrote:
Hi All,
Haven't been 'round in a while. Good to see some of the regulars still
here.

I've gotten involved with a Rock-a-billly Country Gospel Blues Blue
Grass Trad old time kind of outfit! *The best bit is the singer has a
big stick with bells on it to shake at the audience, nothing like a
bit of voodoo to get their attention.

Anyway the bass in the band is taken care of by a tea chest and broom
handle affair, so I'm wondering what's the best way to go about this
in the studio. What mic's where? Should I try a PZM? Is there any way
I can tweek the chest to make it sound better, isolation pads or
something? Will I cut a hole in it? Wood a nail in the broom handle
work better on the box?

Any suggestions, tea chest links etc would be most welcome..

Thanks


Researching tea chest bass, I happened upon this very nice video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGcUaXxuaU8

[studiorat]

What do ya know. I always just assumed a tea chest bass was an blue
grass instrument and American, I didn't know it was English. From the
skiffle bands of yore. I suppose they drink more tea. Anyway, I'd
really like to be getting a little more note to the sound than just
thump thump thump, but I guess that's up to the player.

There seems to be two schools of playing the guys who use a fixed pole
and "fret" the notes and those who change the tension of the string
using the pole.

I found an article on the sound on sound magazine web site, they used
a 5" speaker over a small hole they cut in the top of the box and
soldered a plug onto that. I guess I'll try that with a 57 for safety
and maybe a condensor on the string and see what happens...

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jun0...iosos_0607.htm

Tea Chest lesson - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUs4xxhoQKs

[studiorat]

Oh Yeah one more thing.

They Creak like a mo-fo.

[Scott Dorsey]

In article ,
studiorat wrote:

Oh Yeah one more thing.

They Creak like a mo-fo.

Is this good or bad? Do you want to accentuate or eliminate the creaking?
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[studiorat]

A bad thing I reckon. It would be ok now and again but there's too
much of it and over a few songs I think it would get very tiring.
We'll be overdubbing I reckon for at least one of the songs out of the
4 we are doing it's slow and I'd like to use the bass to have a bit of
sustain and carry the band a bit more for that one. I'd love to stick
in a baritone guitar maybe instead of a bass for that one and use the
perc part of the sound of the TC bass. I dunno yet.

I'm going to try a little loud speaker on the thing anyway sounds like
fun!