The Matt Patton Thread

[Rotgut Moonshine]

Now that he's an official member, I figured we needed a thread to celebrate the awesomeness that is Matt Patton.

Glad to hear it's official. I think the first time I saw him he was sound checking at the Tabernacle in ATL. Last Rock Show I was at was 40 Watt after Lieske's death and Matt was playing of course by then. I like the promote from within approach. Also like his energy on stage. Rock on!

[Zip City]

Don't think it's so much playing as gear. Shonna used an all-tube SVT rig, Patton uses a solid-state amp...lots more midrange punch.

Also. Patton plays with pick, Shonna use fingers. That, to my ears, influence the sound quite a bit, but also tends to take the playing styles in different directions. I find Pattons bass figures a bit faster, snappier (more percussive) and a tad more inovative.

also, she was always turned way down in the mix

[Tyler]

That's a tonal thing, as well, really. Or a psychoacoustics things at least. Basically, for a given main system power level, lower frequencies sound less loud than higher frequencies. So a deep "tubby/thumpy" bass sound will be quite a bit less loud than a more midrange-y bass sound like Matt's, even if nominally at the exact same level in the PA.



For reference, a low open E on a bass is ~41hz, the low E on a guitar is 82hz, and middle C is 261hz.

[dime in the gutter]

nerds.

[UncleFrank1990]

Awesome. Not to bash on the previous bassists, but when I saw 'em with Matt, it was the first time I noticed the bass at a DBT show. Plus, he was clearly having a blast.

[Duke Silver]

Wasn't Psychoacoustics one of Hood and Cooley's pre-DBT bands?

[John A Arkansawyer]

Awesome. Not to bash on the previous bassists, but when I saw 'em with Matt, it was the first time I noticed the bass at a DBT show. Plus, he was clearly having a blast.

I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone have quite such a good time on stage. He's just obviously getting his kicks like a motherfucker.

[Markalanbishop]

I have a somewhat unusual perspective in that the 1st time I saw the Truckers live was at the Tabernacle in early Spring 2012, towards the end of Matt's first run with the band. So I don't have any "Shonna baggage" if you will. Since then I've been to 4 or 5 shows, with my most recent being the two night Ziggy's stand. Even at the Tabernacle show I was incredibly impressed by Matt and Brad as a rhythm section in spite of them only playing together a couple of weeks. And we've all seen Matt grow more comfortable/confident and start making some of the songs his own instead of just trying not to fuck up the DBT sound, as he jokingly said in an interview I believe was on 3DD.

The fruition of this growth, for me, was Goode's Field Road the second night at Ziggy's. Matt and Brad were so locked in I still get chills thinking about it. I'm extremely excited about the "new" chemistry of the band that Matt seems to have had a lot to do with and cannot wait to hear the new songs live. Anyway, great addition to the band!

[Rocky]

He is obviously an incredible player - I have even thought he has been holding back on most nights not wanting to bring too much attention to himself and his instrument.

I was hoping they would make him a permanent member and I hope it works out for him personally.

[Rotgut Moonshine]

He is obviously an incredible player - I have even thought he has been holding back on most nights not wanting to bring too much attention to himself and his instrument.

I was hoping they would make him a permanent member and I hope it works out for him personally.

Rock on! Like how he just blends in and then starts rocking his head to the beat every so often. Great addition for sure.

[Barely_Oakely]

As a bass player I could never understand why Shonna sounded so drowned out in the countless times I'd seen her live. I guess there was so much going on (sonically) that they had to tune her out a bit, but I'm glad to see Matt took the bass in another direction. Shonna's a great R&B-type player, but Matt's clearly a rocker. I hope that the attack that he's been using comes through in the new recordings. It'll be a completely different sounding album.

[one belt loop]

I just realized that he plays on the three albums I am most looking forward to right now - DBT, the Dexateens, and the Glory Fires. Hot damn, Matt.

[potatoeater]

Also. Patton plays with pick, Shonna use fingers. That, to my ears, influence the sound quite a bit, but also tends to take the playing styles in different directions. I find Pattons bass figures a bit faster, snappier (more percussive) and a tad more inovative.

OK, I am digging up an older thread here but I am glad I searched for it because what I want to talk about has been discussed a bit already, I see.

I've been listening to last night's Capitol Theatre show pretty much all day. Something I really notice is Matt's bass. I don't know the correct term so I will describe it here as "plucky". I have never noticed this effect as much as I do on this recording so maybe it has something to do with the mix. I have come to the conclusion that I am not a fan of that sound. I do believe it is a product of his playing with a pick and possibly him being louder in the mix as well. I don't want to give the impression that I don't like Matt's playing all around or am looking to compare him to past members but on this recording the plucky sound is distracting to me at best. It isn't present or as strong on every track so maybe he doesn't always use a pick? I'm going to watch the entire stream again when time permits and try to pay attention to if he is using a pick or not and compare that to what I am hearing.

I guess I just prefer a "smoother" bass line. Sometimes I like plucky bass. Like a good bass solo is cool with that plucky sound. But to have it throughout the whole song and so "out front" in the mix is too much for my taste.

So, what do you all think? Do most of you all like the plucky sound?

Just to be clear I think Matt is/was an awesome and much needed addition to the band. He has a great stage presence and is a very talented musician.

[Smitty]

I haven't listened to the Capitol City show, but I've never noticed what you seem to be describing either live in person or on a recording; I have noticed his bass being more discernible than Shonna's was, but I'm not sure if that's a conscious decision based on preference or if it's a side effect of having someone different running the mix. Personally I love Matt's playing and I find myself focusing on it a lot more than I ever did with Shonna.

[potatoeater]

So I just did a skim through and it looks like he is not using a pick on 72, The Living Bubba and Southern Accents/Ever South (except for the heavier parts of Ever South). So I guess it depends on the song. He still uses it on slower and quieter songs too though. He appears to be using a pick during Panties In Your Purse. At one point in Ever South when it gets heavy he seems to do a motion like he is pulling his pick from his palm, the guitar body or maybe his pinky/ring fingers. I guess he keeps it stashed and uses it or doesn't use it depending upon the song or part of a song.

[potatoeater]

I haven't listened to the Capitol City show, but I've never noticed what you seem to be describing either live in person or on a recording; I have noticed his bass being more discernible than Shonna's was, but I'm not sure if that's a conscious decision based on preference or if it's a side effect of having someone different running the mix. Personally I love Matt's playing and I find myself focusing on it a lot more than I ever did with Shonna.

I too love his playing. I have even called it out before on the Red Rocks stream in a "loving it" sort of way, specifically noting how "out front" it was. I think it may just be the mix last night that is making it so prevalent on this recording.

[Zip City]

I might need to check that recording out. Generally speaking, DBT has always buried the bass in the mix (both live and on record)

[Smitty]

I might need to check that recording out. Generally speaking, DBT has always buried the bass in the mix (both live and on record)

That definitely changed IMO either when Shonna left; I seem to remember Barbe's playing being more noticeable than Shonna's before Matt joined and I think there's healthy bass on the last couple records. I don't know if it was necessarily buried as much as Shonna's style was more of a basic monotonous groove that served it's purpose but didn't stand out or "pop" like Matt or Barbe's. Maybe that makes sense, I admittedly suck when it comes to stuff like this.

[potatoeater]

as much as Shonna's style was more of a basic monotonous groove that served it's purpose but didn't stand out or "pop" like Matt or Barbe's. .

I agree with this completely. I do like more bass, I like it out front. I just don't care for the plucky sounding bass as this Capitol Theatre show is full of. Still though, the show is great. I will have it on the iPod and will listen to it often. I'll just learn to like it. Maybe it was a fluke, just a mixing style of who ever was behind the board or for that venue's acoustics. However, as mentioned earlier in this thread I am not the first to notice this "plucky" bass.