janmaat

herzlich willkommen. ca devient d'etre vraiment international ici... pas long temps on aura des posts entirement dans d'autres langues...

And have a look at that EBS microbass if you need two different channels. I use(d) one for my project DB and I love it. Has many more inputs / outputs than the fishman, two inputs if you have two outputs, an effect loop, some cool distortion and, best of all, mute switch. I put the tuner on the link out so it's on all the time. Fishman is the weapon of choice for anyone after a pure tone and the eq enables you to cut out that feedbacking frequency. K&K Bassmaster is great for live performance rockabilly as you wear it on your belt. You'll probably go through all of them and a couple of pickups on your journey.

I actually believe quality / hi fi instruments make crap players sound more crap. That in turn might make you improve your playing Forgot who it was, but some guy was interviewed after a gig and the reporter said "your bass sounds great", and the guy just looked at the bass, put his hand to his ear and said: "yes indeed, it sounds great doesn't it?" - fact is, no instrument sounds by itself. Being sort of a mathematician i'd put it in a formula, and if the "sound" (whatever that is) is a product of player and instrument, then you have to maximise both values to achieve the best result obviously. Fact is also that what sounds great here might not sound great there - I play very differently when practising alone and in a band context; so chances are that what does the job perfectly for when you play alone, will be less than perf in a band setting. Many times, I find flush gear great at home but sort of prefer simpler and fuller sounding stuff in band settings. So I understand why great hi-fi stuff gives people pleasure and makes them practise more (at home). But a banged-up session instrument in the right place in the mix, and [i]played,[/i] is priceless.

[quote name='chris_b' post='1368682' date='Sep 10 2011, 04:19 PM']I get "Facebooked" to death with gig/event notifications to things I'll never go to from people I hardly know.[/quote] +1 there is no easy way. fb is ok as a channel but frankly, you're better off just inviting some real friends by phone and make sure they do come and bring somebody else. Or produce the good old paper flyer and give it to real people. Social networking is overrated. I noticed many people look up bands on youtube as a preferred channel and would strongly suggest to get a studio recording, cooperate with a video artist and make a video, even if it consists only of stills like a slide show over a proper recorded track. Nothing beats video. And finally: yes you need PR, but most of all you need music and a show that really makes people wanting to come again - quality. Then, have a cutie go round after your gig collecting everybody's email address, send out an invite thanking them for coming and telling them about the new gig or the new video release. fb events are okay for people who need to find out the address your're playing, I would not expect too much from fb as it is full of spam anyway.

[quote name='Musicman20' post='1367447' date='Sep 9 2011, 10:27 AM']What do you guys and girls think? Have I been selfish?[/quote] What would be wrong with that? Aren't we all doing it for ourselves?

Indian Music Theory (and European anyway) sais: every instrument mimics / replaces vocals. Always play as if you "have something to say".

DIY - if you are really good at it, you might start doing it as a business. If you have any other business, your're better off buying from somebody else. If you're up for doing it for the love of the action, go for it.

Well no he says "if somebody has a better suggestion..." so you could negotiate that.

[url="http://www.ebay.de/itm/Bassgitarre-MG16-HK-Sonderanfertigung-Selten-/290604943378?pt=Gitarren&hash=item43a9678812"]http://www.ebay.de/itm/Bassgitarre-MG16-HK...=item43a9678812[/url]

[url="http://www.ebay.de/itm/E-Bass-Gitarre-Daisy-Rock-Herz-Leo-Leopard-Punk-Emo-/290604495680?pt=Gitarren&hash=item43a960b340"]http://www.ebay.de/itm/E-Bass-Gitarre-Dais...=item43a960b340[/url]

Schaller is great IMO: I put one on a Yamaha (sold since), it made a day and night difference. Loved it to bits. That yummy played better than any Warwick I've touched. How much a difference any quality piece of replacement gear makes depends just as much on how crappy the part was you changed - simple arithmetics. Hence upgrading quality equipment doesn't make much sense. Many cheap guitars and "copies" are cheaper as you get exactly the same neck & body, but the manufacturer has saved on hardware which has a price. So upgrading these makes a lot of sense and you might end up with something better than any branded instrument. Upgrading a brand guitar makes much less sense and does not only tend to not do much, but also devalue the instrument.

OP, can you not say something diplomatic like "playing an unpaid gig in London doesn't make me feel happy, but I want to feel happy playing that gig" implying they could just pay you? I mean, if it is not your band, then, why not?

[quote name='Moos3h' post='1358559' date='Sep 1 2011, 10:50 AM']I have an M-Audio Fasttrack sat here doing nothing that's yours for £25 posted if you want [/quote] PM'd

It all depends on your artistic skills. I believe it to be a good idea to give a guitar to an artist as a challenge, rather than f***ing about with it without a clue. A good artist will make a sketch - you can take a photo, photoshop it... Worth talking to your local gallery, or elsewhere seeking somebody who is a good graphic designer or visual artist rather than "it has to look like me". Thing is most stickers really look like kids on drugs put them on - and most of the time, that's how it is. Now we all know that drugs can, but need not, improve your artistic side... never mind judgement.

Well if you can access any material they have, practise that

I quite like this [url="http://www.thomann.de/de/alesis_multimix_4usb.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/de/alesis_multimix_4usb.htm[/url] Looks like it would be an easy way to make demo tracks on the fly any opinions?

[quote name='Killerfridge' post='1355373' date='Aug 29 2011, 03:23 PM']What's your budget, and how many instruments are you needing to record at once?[/quote] Hm, well one at a time at the moment - though, might well expand. Budget is low ;(

I am really novice when it comes to home recording being more of a jammer really however, in my new project we're planning to send us tracks forward and backward recording instruments individually, be it just to prepare for quicker development in the rehearsal room Since my sound card (laptop) is too bad to allow for audio playthrough I guess I need an audio interface what do you recommend? Cheers!

[quote name='essexbasscat' post='1354300' date='Aug 28 2011, 01:21 PM']As it says on the tin, which one gets more of your attention, the amp or the cab ? Discuss........[/quote] more attention to the amp because it's got more knobs once i sit on the cab I tend to forget it

I believe the OP has a very good point in classical training, "sound" is something YOU do rather than your instrument, which ENABLES you to do it. It is well true that loads of rock musicians, and particularly the gear heads among them, think about gear or EQ settings when it comes to sound. Truth of the matter is that the most important factors to your sound is your playing technique and the volume settings in a band.

active or passive. in sex as in bass guitars. both has advantanges

Location matter a lot too. I was busking in London which is a pain in the ass, really. Many places, beggars come and tell you to f*** off. Others, council employees push you away on weary by-law grounds. Then, where busking is allowed, selling CD's is not. One more reason to consider bringing portable stuff: you need to be able to move after every 30 minutes or so. Some places allow you to play only say 30 minutes in one location to start with. Anyway, it is far more profitable to play the few best songs many times in different locations than to be in one place, piss off the nearby shop keepers, and play the wrong songs. That's why the hit-and-run used to be the tube (like here, in Berlin, people make A LOT of dosh playing one song between two stops and then move car). Some places, you must negotiate with the other musicians. In Covent Garden, you must apply in the morning. On the London tube, you must buy a permit. The best place in London is that foot bridge between London Bridge (the actual bridge over the river) leading to the bus station, over druid street - great acoustics, lots of people. I also found that busking outside museums work really well, as you have a nice perceptive audience - avoid busy places like shopping malls. I once had great success playing on a car park - Golden Square in Aberdeen. Loads of pensioneers came there on the way back from the opera or dinner, and they threw 2 pound coins at us - much better turnout than busy streets full of idiots.