The Last Bass Outpost

One man's assertive is another's abrassive; your description of the JC is not making me change my mind that I'd prefer the maho neck.  You know I am a mud fan and what that says about my tonal tastes.

Close enough - the pic is B&W after all.  It certainl;y is perty in white (though I suspect that is actually cream that has aged out of the sun in someone's parts drawer).  Interesting that unlike the black and gold versions, it doesn't have the Gibson logo on it.

Thanks Uwe for the update/reminder on the LPSig vs Cassidy.  I know you like your assertiveness, but I often find that sort of thing overbearing and would probably prefer the docility (which I would call mellowness) of the Cassidy (which I have played and liked).

Something yes (and you know it, damn you!)... though the offset lower cutaway of the LPSig is really sexy (and ergonomic for really getting in there like I like to) and a much a deeper body (really I'd like something like that limited edition Hofner in the other thread, or the Gretsch in the same thread).

... and just to make things difficult, a single LoZ pup in a P position (give or take) LPSig position with a mudbucker in the neck, but as you know I don't have the funds for the Bach even.

A man can dream.

Yeah, that makes sense.   

Yes, digital recording is all about gain staging with a view to ensuring headroom on every input stage (converters, fx and summing channels, like groups and the mix bus). 

I am not familiar enough with open reel tape use to speak to degradation or potential noise/distortion from playback machine issues, but to me this sounds like a digital problem for the following reasons:

- It only happens at or around waveform peaks - why nothing in quiter or even 'silent' sections?  I'd expect tape degradation to not correlate with signal so much (but as I said, not so familiar with that).  This could also be distortion on the input chain of the recording process of course, but you say this was not there (from memory?) when first mixed.  I suppose it could be tape player electronics on playback when they were digitized, but in that case it is still the fault of the dude who did the job and a bit of a hair split.  The vibration over the tape head thing would also be more constant/random vs the signal wouldn't it?

- the nature of the sound is somewhat digital as well.  Not straight up converter clipping, which is very much more obvious (and inexcusable), but sounds a lot like when a DAT glitches out or my old sound card when it lost synch on mixdown (hasn't happened since I was using a PII with the very first commercially available USB interface).

- the glitches are so quiet (like Pilgrim, I had trouble hearing them until I switched to better speakers) that it sounds like someone else may have already made attempts at removing them.  This is not a strong point, but  a possibility worth mentioning.

- the audio seems to be rather compressed, even when just looking at the waveforms on Soundcloud, but it sounds like it too.  A clean vocal track will never be that narrow dynamicly, especially when belting it out like that first bit.  It could have been on the input chain (compressing the shit out of everything was very much in style in LA at the time), but if it was done after, especially if in the box with plugs and if one of those (multiple daisy chained compressor/limiters are all the rage now) was a brick wall limiter, then there's a potential culprit too.  Plugins or other DSP can leave artifacts that would not be as loud or jagged as proper clipping, analog or digital.

The only way to know for sure is to go play back the tape on a known good properly aligned deck and listen for it.  Was the deck used in the digitization process the same deck it was recorded on (maybe even yours)?  Did you perform the task (i.e. know exactly what was done and what was used to do it)? 

As for what to do about it, hard to say.  The problem is the DAT-like slide nature of the noise.  I'd start with a parametric EQ - something surgical and capable of extreme notch filtering.  You may need to cut multiple freqs or use a slightly wider Q or band to get the noise out, but it might not cut it.  I'd then try any sort of denoiser/pop remover you can get your hands on (e.g. for cleaning up digitized vinyl), but it's hit or miss with these and different ones work better on different types of noise. I have heard good things about Spectral Layers but have not tried it myself.

I get compliments on mine all the time.  About half from other bass players, and not any  groaners like you got. ... obviously this is part of the LoZ charm and therefore they should reissue it.

It may be the pic angles or even the colour, but I think I like the cutawayof the Hofner better - seems like it's easier to get in there (and I would).  ... On balance however, due mostly to a better bridge and the neck pickup being closer to the neck, I think I'd prefer the Gretsch (assuming the body size is the same).