Dad3353

As above, depends a bit on your goals, but Skype is not hifi, anyway. Just use your webcam, and your tutor will tell you if there's any sound quality issues. My webcam is about as basic as they come, but the sound quality captured as easily good enough for Skype, both for the spoken word and for instruments, including drums. Good luck with the lessons; well done for going down the route of self-improvement.

... and to think that there are those that suggest that original artists shouldn't play 'covers'..! Thanks for posting.

There are many originals bands playing covers, and doing a fine job of it. 'The Man Who Sold The World', done by Nirvana..? 'I Shot The Sheriff', Clapton version..? The list is long. Play and be proud of whatever you wish, I'd say.

[quote name='lownote12' timestamp='1497605496' post='3319405'] Thanks.how did you get the vid to display please? [/quote] I copy the 'Share' link from Youtube, and paste it into the post. I then edit the posted link to remove the 's' from 'https', before posting, and the magic happens. [quote name='lowhand_mike' timestamp='1497608861' post='3319435'] very cool copy the address from the address bar and remove the s from https. looks like you took the address from the share link [/quote] It's not reliable to take the link from the address bar, as the address can change, depending upon how one got to the video. The most reliable is to use the 'Share' link, but, as you mention, removing the 's' from ''https'. [quote name='bassjim' timestamp='1497611128' post='3319453'] wow. thanks for sharing this. shes really really good. so relaxed and great tone. [/quote] All credit goes to lownote12 for original posting; all I did was to make his link visible and embedded. Great playing (and singing...) nonetheless.

[media]http://youtu.be/YyNwc2O5gRA[/media] Brilliant stuff; thanks for posting.

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1497441976' post='3318159']... [size=3]A bushel is like a merkin, right...?...[/size] [/quote] No, you're confusing with 'firkin', as in [Norfolk accent] 'Oi loikes me a good firkin, does Oi..!' [/Norfolk accent].

Excellent stuff, quite up to JJ Cale standards. Not a great fan of the trans-Atlantic drawl, but it's in keeping with the style. We're not far from The Doors, either, in the composition and lyrics. A sober track, more than competently performed and produced. Top quality all round; well done, all involved.

http://youtu.be/C3YHPpKF224

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1497358230' post='3317504'] Thanks Doug... [/quote] You really don't need to go mad for balancing, except as a final check; just have a couple of decent reference tracks that you can compare to during the mixing process. Surely easy enough to choose in that genre..? No suggestions; you know which ones would fit the bill far better than I. Your innate demure and humble attitude to your own playing has some influence, too. Take that bushel off to let your light shine bright and clear, and rock out now and again..!

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1497341075' post='3317347']...Comments very welcome. [/quote] With trepidation, I decided to give this a listen, despite the 'Contains elements of Disco' warning, and can confirm that it is,, indeed, heavily based on that genre. It is, however ungrudgingly (unusual for me...) that I can also declare that it's a fine, authentic, modernised mix, performed to a very high standard, and would be a worthy spin on any dance floor. A solid beat, respecting the traditional 'One, One, One, One...' emphasis, soaring strings punctuating appropriately, and featuring a quite tortured 'bridge' in which the vocals are given a new twist to good effect. Criticism..? Other than the genre, which is only a matter of my (poor...) taste, I'd have liked the bass to have been a tad more prominent; it's a little bit too shyly buried, and deserves, in its execution and respect of the style to be a fraction more up-front. Other than that, I'd say 'Well done, you', even if I can never see the point of going over such territory. I'll avow to having only ever spent time in discos as a technician, installing the light and sound systems, and left as soon as the show started; my dancing skills being akin to a pile of breeze blocks being attacked by a westerly wind. Full marks, then, to Skol303 for keeping the nostalgic flag aloft for those who still remember those heady daze. Good Stuff, old chum. My thumb is up.

[quote name='PaulGibsonBass' timestamp='1497284457' post='3317031']...and a Dimplex heater... [/quote] How many watts..?

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1497219244' post='3316672'] Al is the lead guitarist shredding his arse off.�� Blue [/quote] ...with his air guitar playing 'The Sound Of Silence'. EDIT: I finally got the sound to work; yes, he's doing OK..!

Is he the one in the pink hat, top left..?

It surprised me just how long 3'57" can be.

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1497184782' post='3316358']...but would always prefer custard... [/quote] Mmm..! Custard..!

[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1497178171' post='3316280'] You soulless old buggers... [/quote] Hey..! Less of the 'soulless', if you don't mind..! ... ...

I've had entire satisfaction from the Superlux range, available from Thomann (other sources exist...). Excellent 'bang for buck'; I use, intensively, the HD669, at £23 or so. I've had 'em several years now, and no sign of deterioration, either physically or sonically. There are other models; worth a look..? [url="https://www.thomann.de/gb/superlux_hd_669.htm"]Superlux HD669 ...[/url]

There seem to be two uses for this... 1 - Recording oneself, and 2 - Slowing down tunes to be able to follow at a slower pace. For the first, I would suggest buying a decent USB interface, which should not cost more, and for the second, using software which is freely available, all of which assumes that you have a PC of sorts (Mac, laptop, whatever...) Not to say that the gadget won't work, but I'd suggest that it's of limited usefulness for the cost. As an 'add-on' for practise when travelling, for instance, maybe, but there are more cost-effective ways of learning songs, I feel. I would add that, cost for cost, a couple of lessons with a good bass teacher are maybe the best 'bang for buck' to be had. It needn't be a long-term commitment, but would assure a good start on which to build, and maybe a way to pick up great tips on how to learn songs more quickly. Just sayin'; hope this helps.

I've no experience with 'tools' of the sort, but it looks, to me, to be darned expensive for what it does. In what way would this be beneficial to you..? Do you have a bass teacher..? What, exactly, are you wanting..? Play more songs, or learn how to play the bass..? Do you play with others at all..? There is speed-up/slow down software out there for a PC which cost nothing at all (Audacity; there are others...) if that's what you're after. I may be off track, of course, in which case: ignore.

[quote name='SH73' timestamp='1497100629' post='3315851']...my guitar into focusrite sounds shocking. [/quote] My guitars, recorded 'dry', are not all that inspiring, either, that's why I use virtual fx, such as Amplitube (there are tons of others...) and such to get the recorded sound I'm after, depending on what I what to hear. I have a physical pedalboard, and a whole range of decent pedals (Boss Fender Deluxe, Akai Headrush, EH Germanium Big Muff, Loop Station and many more...), which I use when playing through an amp (Fender Bassman 50, or Jazz Chorus, or others..), but for recording I get far better results by going in directly to the interface and treating afterwards. On occasion I'll treat whilst recording, but usually have a second 'dry' track in any case, and often end up not using the track with 'baked in' fx; they obviously cannot be 'tweaked' after the event. To each his/her own, of course, but unless going the full-on 'studio' route, with decent micing of the amp and cab in a decent-sounding room, I don't see any real downside to using modern virtual stuff. I should add, for those not aware, that I'm quite hard of hearing in my doddery old age, but have always been, and remain, rather 'old school' when I can. Here, though, the modern stuff is so much better than the way it was done 'back then'. To get the 'amp cranked' sound, we'd put the cab face down on the carpeted floor and turn up the wick..! Hiwatt Heaven..! Happy daze.

Using a system as above ^^, it is not necessary to run backing tracks from end to end without a break. Depending on repertoire, it can be useful to have 'em cut into shorter segments, which would allow for breaks for 'only live' periods, and allow for easily accounting for any 'drift' that may occur , to re-synchronise the ensemble if required. We've used this in the past with a ska/punk/rock group that had sampled parts, triggered by a clicked Danny Boy on drums.

[quote name='SH73' timestamp='1497090522' post='3315776'] Do you think I can use the FTWS output to connect to interface? [/quote] Not a very precise question, in my view, but if FTWS (or FTSW..?) means FooTSWitch, it cannot be used for audio, as it is only for switching, and has no signal at all. Could be wrong, of course, if it refers to summit else.

[quote name='SH73' timestamp='1497086886' post='3315729']...guitar plugged into interface sounds unbearable... [/quote] It's really a case of treating the guitar, either whilst recording, or after the event, with virtual fx. That's what I do, every time. There are, however, several guitar multi-fx pedals which have a DI built-in; the Boss GT-6 comes to mind, but there are others. There's no secret, though; if you're after the sound of cranked Hiwatt half-stack, you'll have a hard job getting that without micing up, and even then, there are pitfalls. It was quite rare, back in the day, to DI an electric guitar, until modelling came to the rescue. Nowadays, I quite happily forgo any amp and cab miced up for a decent Amplitube rack, by IK Multimedia, and do it all virtually.

[quote name='SH73' timestamp='1497084426' post='3315706']...goes into Focusrite 2i2 recorder... [/quote] The interface has an instrument input which will accept signal from the guitar (or the fx...). It's as if it had a built-in DI. Have you tried using that..?