PorchBoard Floor Bass: Difference between revisions

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== Playing the PorchBoard through the L1® ==

Like any instrument, when you spend some time with it you can get different effects and be more expressive with it as you learn it's capabilities & limitations ~~''(and yours!)''~~.

Like any instrument, when you spend some time with it you can get different effects and be more expressive with it as you learn it's capabilities & limitations .

* You get a different sound based on where along the tap-rail you place your foot (as well as how hard, of course). This worked well for emphasizing different beats, with softer taps being near the outside end of the rail and the louder ones nearer the middle.

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* As with many percussive instruments, you definitely get different sounds when you do a

** stomp-and-leave -the-foot-on-the-rail" vs. a

** stomp-and-leave -the-foot-on-the-rail vs. a

** quick-tap-and-get-the-foot-off-as-fast-as-you-can".

** quick-tap-and-get-the-foot-off-as-fast-as-you-can.

* There's no reason to just tap with just the toe or ball of your foot. You can also turn it around to place the "tap-rail" ''(the one with the pickup under it)'' under your heel, so you tap by raising your heel rather than the toe. In a lot of ways that is often a more comfortable position for me when I'm playing the keyboard ''(raising the heel rather than the toe)''. Besides that, it uses different muscles -- so when my leg is getting a bit tired, I'll sometimes turn the PorchBoard around before the next song.

* There's no reason to just tap with just the toe or ball of your foot. You can also turn it around to place the "tap-rail" ''(the one with the pickup under it)'' under your heel, so you tap by raising your heel rather than the toe. In a lot of ways that is often a more comfortable position for me when I'm playing the keyboard (raising the heel rather than the toe). Besides that, it uses different muscles -- so when my leg is getting a bit tired, I'll sometimes turn the PorchBoard around before the next song.

* One can get '''really''' quiet taps by tapping on the "fixed" rail, rather than the "tap-rail"; that is, tap so the vibration goes through the whole board to the pickup, rather than tapping on the "tap-rail" itself ''(which is directly over the pickup)''. This effect, however, may vary widely, depending on which model of the PorchBoard you have.

* The most interesting range of effects is possible when the gain is high enough that you have to tap softly most of the time. Besides that, it's a lot easier on the leg when you can minimize the effort involved in playing it. Yeah, it'll often "flash red" at those higher gains if you then '''stomp''' on the ~~'Board~~, but the associated distortion can ''(judiciously applied)'' have it's own place. Besides, why should guitarists be the only ones who have fun with deliberate distortion?!?! <br />''(Of course, for those of you who have seen Cliff Henricksen play the keyboard, if one stuck the PorchBoard under *his* foot you'd have to turn the gain waaaayyyy down! -- come to think of it, you'd really need two in order to stick one under each foot!)''

* The most interesting range of effects is possible when the gain is high enough that you have to tap softly most of the time. Besides that, it's a lot easier on the leg when you can minimize the effort involved in playing it. Yeah, it'll often "flash red" at those higher gains if you then '''stomp''' on the PorchBoard, but the associated distortion can ''(judiciously applied)'' have it's own place. Besides, why should guitarists be the only ones who have fun with deliberate distortion?!?! <br />''(Of course, for those of you who have seen Cliff Henricksen play the keyboard, if one stuck the PorchBoard under *his* foot you'd have to turn the gain waaaayyyy down! -- come to think of it, you'd really need two in order to stick one under each foot!)''

* Unlike an acoustic kick drum, or most other large drums, the PorchBoard seems to have few strong higher harmonics; for example, turning the High EQ way down seems to have little effect on the resulting sound.

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 == Playing the PorchBoard through the L1® ==
-Like any instrument, when you spend some time with it you can get different effects and be more expressive with it as you learn it's capabilities & limitations ''(and yours!)''.
+Like any instrument, when you spend some time with it you can get different effects and be more expressive with it as you learn it's capabilities & limitations .
 * You get a different sound based on where along the tap-rail you place your foot (as well as how hard, of course).  This worked well for emphasizing different beats, with softer taps being near the outside end of the rail and the louder ones nearer the middle.
@@ Line 34: / Line 34: @@
 * As with many percussive instruments, you definitely get different sounds when you do a
-** stomp-and-leave -the-foot-on-the-rail" vs. a
+** stomp-and-leave -the-foot-on-the-rail vs. a
-** quick-tap-and-get-the-foot-off-as-fast-as-you-can".
+** quick-tap-and-get-the-foot-off-as-fast-as-you-can.
-* There's no reason to just tap with just the toe or ball of your foot.  You can also turn it around to place the "tap-rail" ''(the one with the pickup under it)'' under your heel, so you tap by raising your heel rather than the toe.  In a lot of ways that is often a more comfortable position for me when I'm playing the keyboard ''(raising the heel rather than the toe)''.  Besides that, it uses different muscles -- so when my leg is getting a bit tired, I'll sometimes turn the PorchBoard around before the next song.
+* There's no reason to just tap with just the toe or ball of your foot.  You can also turn it around to place the "tap-rail" ''(the one with the pickup under it)'' under your heel, so you tap by raising your heel rather than the toe.  In a lot of ways that is often a more comfortable position for me when I'm playing the keyboard (raising the heel rather than the toe).  Besides that, it uses different muscles -- so when my leg is getting a bit tired, I'll sometimes turn the PorchBoard around before the next song.
 * One can get '''really''' quiet taps by tapping on the "fixed" rail, rather than the "tap-rail"; that is, tap so the vibration goes through the whole board to the pickup, rather than tapping on the "tap-rail" itself ''(which is directly over the pickup)''.  This effect, however, may vary widely, depending on which model of the PorchBoard you have.
-* The most interesting range of effects is possible when the gain is high enough that you have to tap softly most of the time.  Besides that, it's a lot easier on the leg when you can minimize the effort involved in playing it.  Yeah, it'll often "flash red" at those higher gains if you then '''stomp''' on the 'Board, but the associated distortion can ''(judiciously applied)'' have it's own place.  Besides, why should guitarists be the only ones who have fun with deliberate distortion?!?! <br />''(Of course, for those of you who have seen Cliff Henricksen play the keyboard, if one stuck the PorchBoard under *his* foot you'd have to turn the gain waaaayyyy down! -- come to think of it, you'd really need two in order to stick one under each foot!)''
+* The most interesting range of effects is possible when the gain is high enough that you have to tap softly most of the time.  Besides that, it's a lot easier on the leg when you can minimize the effort involved in playing it.  Yeah, it'll often "flash red" at those higher gains if you then '''stomp''' on the PorchBoard, but the associated distortion can ''(judiciously applied)'' have it's own place.  Besides, why should guitarists be the only ones who have fun with deliberate distortion?!?! <br />''(Of course, for those of you who have seen Cliff Henricksen play the keyboard, if one stuck the PorchBoard under *his* foot you'd have to turn the gain waaaayyyy down! -- come to think of it, you'd really need two in order to stick one under each foot!)''
 * Unlike an acoustic kick drum, or most other large drums, the PorchBoard seems to have few strong higher harmonics; for example, turning the High EQ way down seems to have little effect on the resulting sound.