Beautiful Bass - Jeff Schmidt

First time here?

2008-08-22T15:02:10Z

Here's the quick and easy stuff.

MUSIC
You can listen to samples & purchase my CD - HERE

VIDEO
You can watch some videos of me performing most of my pieces HERE

CONTACT
And if you'd like to share a question or comment - you can drop it in the comments section of this post - or just e-mail me directly

jeff at beautiful-bass dot com

Thanks!

--jeff schmidt

Video - Bound

2008-08-18T20:19:20Z

Live performance version of "BOUND" from my Ruiner Severhead project.

It sounds remarkably like the recorded version. That's cuz the support tracks are directly from my original multi-track recording. The effects (pitch-shifting & my "smoke & cloud" delays) used on the fretless bass are also the same.

Performance wise - I prefer this take over the "studio" version in many ways. I think I was just more in touch with the vibe of the piece here than on the recording.

I used to be opposed to this kind of "backing tracks" performance thing.

But then I realized it's a tremendous creative tool.

I love working in the studio AND performing. It would be a waste to limit my studio or performance ambitions with some arbitrary rules about what is and isn't "allowed" in either sphere.

That's how I roll. ;)

To upload this video - I used a service called Tubemogul. It's a service that lets you upload a video once and then deliver it to several different video sites with a few clicks. You have to set up accounts on all the sites ahead of time though.

After the jump is several versions of this video from the various sites it was uploaded to.

It's pretty clearly how each service renders the video and it's relative quality.

Check it out if you're curious about that kind of thing.

REVER

IMEEM

Jeff Schmidt Live Solo Bass [Bound-ruiner severhead] -

MYSPACE

Jeff Schmidt Live Solo Bass [Bound-ruiner severhead]

GOOGLE VIDEO

VIMEO

Jeff Schmidt Live Solo Bass [Bound-ruiner severhead] from Jeff Schmidt on Vimeo.

I think it's obvious there are quality differences.

But what matters most to me is traffic.

The same videos posted at the same time across several video sites are viewed and commented at different levels.

One thing is clear. There is YOUTUBE . . . and there is everyone else.

YOUTUBE is the hit - everyone else is playing the long tail.

In terms of ease of use - Vimeo took the longest to upload, process and finally go "live". Almost 2 hours. And that was after a failed upload thru Tubemogul had to be deleted.

Your milage may vary.

New video - [TRYPTO]

2008-08-12T09:12:37Z

From May 2008 - live performance of TRYPTO. This is the first "proper" performance video of this piece.

There's another one out on the internets. But you'll have to find it.

;)

Stay tuned - I'll have more videos going up over the next few days/weeks.

Progressive Bulgarian Wedding Music

2008-07-24T07:14:46Z

This is . . . . uh . . . . . amazing.

Stick with it. About halfway, after the woman sings they shred over some wacky time signatures and tempo changes. It's pretty awesome. In that non-western music kinda way.

Ivo Papazov and his Wedding Band

and yes - I do think that's David Sanborn doing the intro. His "do" leads me to think this is 1980s.

retrograde

2008-07-13T22:33:32Z

Recently, on twitter and myspace I've been tossing out inflammatory bombs about fender basses. Obviously, this is kind of fun for me because the responses are predictable. And who doesn't enjoy a little action/reaction predictability now & again?

But there's a little more going on beneath the surface. I'm not sure when it started, but I've been getting into a retro kick recently. I think pushing the technology angle so hard has me longing for the organic. I've started appreciating retro production & instrument sounds.

Oh - I should probably point out that I've never owned a Fender bass. When I got back into playing in 04, getting an instrument that to my mind was so common, so pedestrian and predictable was the last thing I wanted to do. Musically, I wasn't interested in doing anything where the answer was - "Fender Jazz Bass".

However - part of my new appreciation for retro sounds had me noticing older and "classic" bass sounds. These are sounds that I considered so common I never really paid much attention to them directly - even as a bass player. I always wrote it off as "The Big Dumb Fender Sound".

Among other experiments in retro, I decided to try out the fender thing. I got a lefty 2008 American P Bass. At first I was seriously underwhelmed. It was such a simple instrument. The neck felt clumsy and, well, dumb. It sounded, well, dumb. I played around with it and thought - "I'm sending it back. This thing is lame - I don't get it".

One morning before work - I loaded up some "real" drum sound drum patterns, pulled out the P bass, hit record and started playing for a few minutes.

It was kinda fun to play "bass" with a "real bass". I hadn't turned the strings upside down yet so I was forced to play simply. As an aside - the downside to having above average technical abilities is that it's really hard not to use it all the time. If you have this affliction - turn the strings upside down. ;)

So off to work I went and forgot all about it. When I came home that night, as I was setting up my laptop - I pressed play on the material I recorded in the morning and was instantly struck by what I heard. It was THAT sound. The classic P Bass sound, with ME playing it!

Ok - I know this sounds geeky - but I've NEVER sounded like that before. It was wild. I had played a mix of finger-style & pick. The pick stuff just blew me away with how authentic it sounded. The bass just seemed to sit in so perfectly with the drums - no eq was needed.

I finally "got it". For the first time ever - I appreciated the fender P for being the fender P. I pretty much decided right there I was going to keep the bass.

I may not use it that much - but it's the most common electric bass sound in pop music and it's important to have if for no other reason than accessibility. I began to realize that perhaps some of the Ruiner Severhead material might have sounded more accessible had I used at least 1 easily recognizable bass sound. P bass with a pick and some overdrive is - really friggin sweet.

At that point I started to re-evaluate my entire view of these basses. I thought if the P bass sounded good - maybe I should have a jazz bass also to round out my "basic bass sounds" inventory. Instead of going the same route as I had with the new AMERICAN P bass, I hunted down a used lefty made in mexico jazz for pretty cheap.

The build quality difference between a new American P and a used MIM jazz is noticeable - but not tremendous. Not nearly the difference between my MTD535 and the Kingston which I would classify as severe.

Sound wise - the jazz sounded like a fender jazz - but not as WOW to me as the P bass.

So I thought I'd change the pickups. I tossed in a set of Nordstrand Js. The before & after recordings I did revealed the stock pups were voiced hotter, and a littler higher in the frequency range with very little sub frequencies but kinda closed sounding up top.

The Nordstrands were lower output, voiced a little lower frequency and were a little more open sounding.

Anyway - I quickly realized the it's the Jazz sound that I'm not really a fan of. I don't hate it - but it just doesn't speak to me. The P bass has character - a personality. The Jazz seems.... well - that's the "common" sound I guess I always complain about.

But again - in the mix - it sits nicely and fills the bass role wonderfully. The fender sound plays nice with everything else that's going on. I've noticed this when artists come through the radio station. I never have to do much with fenders sound wise - just a little compression and move on to the vocal or whatever.

So mea culpa. I get Fender now. At least as a palette of sounds that are pretty important in pop music.

These are sounds I've been uninterested in as I pursued my solo bass work. But now as I explore a wider range of musical ideas I'm glad to have these sounds at my disposal. It's also great fun to play a 4 string. It's all so - familiar. I guess I didn't realize how far off the "bass" reservation I had gone with my boutique, piccolo, solo bass concept.

And at the end of the day - I'm still a bass player and I still love the sound of a good bass.

BTW - I sold one of my pedulla fretless basses to grab these fenders. I know. A few weeks ago that would have seemed insane to me. But I still have a killer pedulla. Now I have some of the most classic bass sounds too.

Watch this

2008-07-12T19:36:12Z

Jeff SchmidtJeff Schmidt www.beautiful-bass.com

video blog 6-4-08 (Don't Tase Me, Bro!)

2008-06-05T08:30:02Z

the most studio wankery piece of the Ruiner Severhead project is a tune called "Don't Tase Me, Bro!"

Massive studio trickery, heavy use of samples and all kinds of brutal processing. I think the session easily topped 30 tracks, and had GIGS of raw material - mostly noise made from horrible bass abuse. ;)

I finally figured out how to play it live - by myself. Just as noisy.

Check it out.

grab the original track - for free - to kids - no forms to fill out.

Direct Download the mp3 HERE.

or - just listen to it.

Easily, the most exciting thing for me right now is knowing that no matter how far I push my studio & production vision - I can still find a way to bring it to a live environment in a way that goes beyond mere "backing tracks".

Video Blog #4 - may 20 2008 [updated]

2008-05-21T17:26:13Z

I've been working on building a live rig I can use to perform the ruiner material live.

But it also must allow me to manipulate and loop sound in real time combined with pre-recorded elements & samples.

This video is an overview of the very beginning stages of my experiments.

runtime - 8:41

feedback always welcome!

[UPDATE -5.22.08]

Based on a few comments and emails from you guys on this most recent video about the "direction" my music is taking, I want to address a few things.

It's interesting to know (flattering actually) that some people are concerned I might be giving up on solo bass. I'm not. My taste in music runs pretty wide.

Some time ago, in another post, I mentioned that in addition to solo bass, I wanted to do a hard rock/industrial type project (done: ruiner severhead) a "jeff schmidt band" kind of project, a downtempo electronic project, and some avant garde experimental stuff. Plus remain open to whatever other ideas pop up along the way.

Currently, I'm trying to figure out the technology that will enable me to perform this kind of music in a compelling way as a soloist. That's what you see in the video. This process requires time. Just as getting into altered tunings took a great deal of time to get comfortable with - working with new tools - controllers, software etc... will too.

Because there is a limited amount of time available to me, I have to set priorities.

So, I decided to pause work on another "proper" solo bass CD to make time available to getting some of these other skills "under my hands" - as the jazz cats like to say.

There are other reasons too. Creatively, I want to make sure my solo works evolve and grow. I don't want to make re-statements of things I've already said. Or have my concept remain beholden to old ideas and expectations. I feel the same way with any new ruiner severhead material.

It's just part of who I am. The artists I admire & respect most are the one's who push past what becomes easy for them to find new approaches and ideas.

RANDOM BRAIN FART:

Because I get into moods and shift my focus fairly regularly - I'm thinking of adapting an approach that matches my personality. Instead of looking at any of these projects as "ALBUMS" that require 11-13 tunes thus months of time each, I'll write and release the material as its completed. Tune by tune. Or maybe I'll release demos. Just have to figure out the best way to do that. Maybe through the podcast? Any way - all brain fart thoughts right now.

What, Why & for Whom?

2008-05-20T23:23:57Z

A few weeks ago I had dinner with my wife Valerie, and an entrepreneur who has become part of her vastly expanding network of inspiring people.

At one point, he asked me a few questions about my music.

These were not the kind of questions I am used to getting - what tunings do you use? why do you play upside down? who is your biggest influence? etc...

Instead, he wanted to know how many CD sales I get from having videos on YouTube.

I answered that there's no real way to know for sure. People arrive at my CD Baby page from all over the place. CD Baby only tells me the link they came from directly. So while the number of people that come directly from YouTube is low, it doesn't mean that Youtube wasn't in the chain that ultimately led a person to my CD Baby page.

Then he asked me who my "target audience" was. Target audience? Uhhhh I don't know.

I know it's mostly bass players who have bought my music and come out to see me play live. But I don't think I've targeted them intentionally.

I made my CD, Outre for me. Since it's solo bass I guess it's natural to think bass players would be most interested in it. But I've never really marketed it or sent it out to magazines for review etc.... Nor have I tried to expose it to wider audience.

Anyway - there were more questions like this. The kind of questions which only a business perspective would inspire. It caused me to think in a way I had not yet really considered.

The ultimate question his inquiry was really trying to answer was - "Is Solo Bass a business?" Or more specifically, is "Jeff Schmidt - Solo Bass" a business?

It's not something I'd ever asked myself seriously. I have only considered the art of it - never the commerce.

I didn't get back into music to find a way to make a living - but as a way to feed my soul. I need to create. I need to experiment, push boundaries & buttons and try new things and put it out into the world. If I can't do that, I get cranky.

This is an entirely different mindset from one that says - I need to create a product that appeals to lots of people.

Or is it?

Perhaps that's a false dichotomy.

Anyway - this kind of questioning has made me think differently about what I'm doing. Why I'm doing it. And WHO I'm doing it for.

It's pretty easy to see that most art would never happen if it were forced to meet the "Is this a business" test.

But I have a hard time believing that kind of thinking should be removed from the artistic process entirely.

What do you think?

Ruiner Severhead gets physical (limited edition)

2008-05-14T09:00:46Z

alter-ego project leaps from the virtual only world to the physical world.

FEATURES:
4 wikkid cool handmade designs - each one personally assembled by Ruiner Severhead.

From left to right, top to bottom SINS - FATHER WILLIE - THE CRUSADER - SNAKE HANDLER

13 tracks of high quality CD audio - not the mp3 burns.

Also includes Bonus track - exclusive Ruiner re-mix of demond wilson's Etude #4

Limited edition.

not sure how many - but based on how much glue I got all over the place certainly no more than 100.

I'll have some of each design available at Solo Bass Night 4 - tonight in Berkeley.

You're coming . . . . right?

Solo Bass Night 4 - May 14th 2008 - Berkeley CA

2008-04-22T23:28:01Z

For Bay Area folks (and those who will be traveling) I'm pleased to be part of a really great night of solo bass music -

Featuring

Michael Manring,

David Grossman,

Jean Baudin

Jeff Schmidt

The details -

Solo Bass Night 4 at Freight & Salvage Coffee House

1111 Addison Street · Berkeley, CA 94702 · (510) 548-1761

Wednesday, May 14, 2008 · 8:00-10:30pm

Tickets $18.50 in advance, $19.50 at the door

Tickets now available at TicketWeb or at the Freight & Salvage box office.

These shows are always great fun for me and highlight the diverse approaches to making music with electric bass guitars.

More details HERE

Hope to see you there!

-jeff

BULL SCHMIDT GANG - podcast

2008-04-07T21:53:20Z

The Bull Schmidt Podcast turned into the Bull Schmidt Gang Podcast this week when I was joined by fellow bass-heads Trip Wamsley, Tom Shad, Gustav & Jay Terrien.

It's a totally informal chat with LARGE amounts of profanity and childish behavior. SO beware if you're sensitive like that.

This episode much more closely resembles what it sounds like when we're all hanging out having beers than a typical formal interview "SHOW". Which is exactly what I hoped for. Off the cuff - no holds barred conversation. Duck!

You may or may not learn anything (probably not) - but at least you can hang with the gang!

runtime - a thrill packed 60 minutes.

listen via embedded player below

direct MP3 download here

subscribe in itunes here

Mail Bag #1

2008-03-06T07:48:08Z

Can't believe I haven't done this before.

Here's a couple e-mail/myspace messages with questions and my answers.

No sense in keeping this stuff secret!

----------------- Original Message -----------------

From: Bill D.
Date: Mar 5, 2008 7:33 PM

Hi Jeff,

Awsome playing man! I am one of Michael wilcox's students.

I was just checking out your track "like father like son" and the fuzz sound is killer! Would you share what pedal did you use to get the sound. It's ballsy but clear at the same time..... I am intrigued!

Cheers,

Bill

JEFF SCHMIDT: hey man - thanks! please tell michael I said hello. he always makes me feel like quitting bass cuz he's so good :-)

for fuzz well well well - it's a long story - mostly cuz I used multiple fuzz & distortion fx to create all the sounds.

Here's the gear I was working with for the Ruiner Severhead project.

Boss GT-6B. There's actually some pretty nasty sounds in there. Even the distortion & fuzz is pretty good but it needs some help.

I also used an Electro-Harmonic Tube-Zipper. I have a weird little boutique fuzz pedal called the frog - or something like that. (forget th name right now - it's green tho)

Secret weapons on the Ruiner stuff is metasonix scrotum smasher and waveshaper. PLUS - in the ProTools system I used SansAmp plugin A LOT.

often times I'd record a track an then run the recorded track BACK out into various effects and re-record that - thats why I can't remember exactly how it was done.

does that help? prolly not heh?

--jeff

----------------- Original Message -----------------

From: The Happy Chimichanga
Date: Feb 29, 2008 9:56 PM

I was also wondering how does one go about becoming a solo bass artist.

JEFF SCHMIDT: Ha! Great question!

I think it's simply a matter of picking up the bass and deciding to play a complete song with it - rather than playing only 1 part of a song.

Now the "artist" part comes when you can make reasonably good songs.

But - that's relative. Please yourself first. Write stuff YOU want to hear.
Don't worry about making BASS the point of what you do - make MUSIC the point.

I'd like to hear your thoughts!

--jeff

----------------- Original Message -----------------

From: ♫ ♪ Justin ♪ ♫
Date: Feb 29, 2008 6:56 AM

Do you know of any good method books or DVD's for advanced players? I picked up almost everything I know from Wooten DVD's, but I want to branch out.

JEFF SCHMIDT: Hey man. I don't know of any DVDs off hand.

It depends on what youre looking for.

My suggestion - if I could be bold for a moment - take everything you already know and put it to creative use.

If you are an advanced player, you probably really don't need any more "instruction". But you may need to start "creating".

just my .02

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

--jeff

Got a question?

drop me a note at myspace.com/jeffschmidtbassist

or email me jeff at beautiful-bass.com

or in the comments here.

word

How many fans do you REALLY need?

2008-03-04T23:50:22Z

Remember back here when I said you only need 10,000 fans to make your artistry work financially?

A really smart guy named Kevin Kelly doesn't agree.

In fact - he thinks we only need 1,000 fans.

But they have to be TRUE fans.

excerpt:

A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies. They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can't wait till you issue your next work. They are true fans.

Read Kevin's excellent post here.

I've recently changed my mind about fans.

Fans - as defined when I was growing up - were distant admirers. We only dealt directly with the artist's WORK - but rarely if ever the artist themselves. We were not worthy of their time & attention.

Things are different now in my view.

While the Rolling Stones and other "celebrity" artists can stay hidden from their "fans" - the majority of artists can't and shouldn't. There is a limit to how accessible you can be - for sure.

But until you reach that point - why pretend you're the Rolling Stones and hide from "fans"?

I don't really want "fans". At least not in that old school artist/fan relationship that looks like "GOD / Sycophant". That's lame.

I'd rather have friends. The art should be there to brings us together. Not act as a barrier between artist and "fan".

Another way of looking at it: the TRUE fan Kevin Kelly is talking about really looks a whole lot more like a FRIEND.

What do you think?

I Need Your Help

2008-02-27T04:55:07Z

Thanks and props to you for reading & subscribing to the Beautiful Bass Blog.

I hope you get something out of this space - inspiration, a laugh, a good link or two, things to think about & things to listen to. And that's why I need your help.

This space has become a bit of a catch-all for anything that interests me without too much regard if it interests anyone else. Since this is a PERSONAL blog I suppose that could be excused.

But I'd like to change that.

As I consider a re-design of this site - I want to make sure I'm not just putting new colors on it. I want to make sure it has a purpose. And serves that purpose.

I'm thinking maybe this blog isn't really why you would come here. . . . that maybe it takes focus away from my music. I don't know. Maybe the blog is a good idea - but it should focus on certain kinds of topics? Maybe it should just be a music player and a gig listing?

I'm curious what you guys think.

If you have an opinion could you please take a few seconds to drop a note in the comments - or in my e-mail about what you'd like to see happening in this space?

This site WILL be redesigned. And I WILL listen to your input & ideas. Cuz you guys rule!

What should Beautiful-Bass.com be?

beautifulbass at gmail dot com

UPDATE: 10:15PM Feb 26 2008 - there was a problem with mysql server and comments were being errored out. please e-mail me if you get an error while trying to comment.

thanks! - -jeff