Dad3353

[quote name='ivansc' timestamp='1494754269' post='3298267']...to exclude rock and rollers from membership " because they weren't proper musicians"... [/quote] Although to be fair, in 1961, many 'rock'n'rollers' were, indeed, 'not proper musicians'..!

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1494753259' post='3298257']... Graham Norton...oh dear.... [/quote] We're not blessed in France, either. The pair (Stéphane Bern and Marianne James, if anyone cares...) that chattered away like gibbons, in French, over the show's hosts, speaking English, was, as usual, very irritating. I would ask the technical team to provide, for those with modern TV equipment, a choice of audio stream, as with some films, so as to have only the original version, without the 'local' feed. Even better would be the option of having solely the music, with no commentary from anyone at all..! Dream on, eh..? I rather liked the Portuguese fellow's appeal at the end for a return to 'music'..! He's not wrong, in my view; most of the other tosh was at best formulistic, much was downright drivel, musically, with 'hook' choreography or long legs as a poor substitute. Yes, I know it's a 'show', but surely someone is capable of marrying decent visuals with decent music..? No..? Oh well; I must be older than I thought.

Good morning, Theo... Yes; as above, good stuff there, and there's nowt wrong with your tasteful bass playing. Indeed, all the instruments are more than well executed, with maybe a special mention for the vocals..? Shades of Sade there (that's a compliment...). Any downside..? Well, yes, actually; I was less fond of the overly harsh 'lo-fi' drums. My hearing is especially 'shot' in the mid-to-upper ranges, but even with that I had to turn it down quite a bit, as I found it too aggressive and rasping. It's probably just me, though, as the overall production and mixing is otherwise top-notch. Altogether, then, a 'thumbs up', with just a touch of reserve on the drums sound. Well done to all involved.

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1494751543' post='3298243'] Well, do I ever feel stupid! After getting a full set of strings so I could change the G on my Jazz for last night's gig (mainly because I wanted to have my most recent memory of it a happy one and not the sight of it falling over!) I started to tidy away things this morning. "Where shall I put the pack of three unused strings?" I thought...not on the shelf with all the used strings I keep 'just in case'....I'll stick then in the drawer with odd bass related bits and pieces....and guess what I found there? TWO unused sets of D'Addario Chromes!! Glad no one will find out how dumb I was yesterday [/quote]

Done. Doesn't take long, and is interesting enough, for those that do home recording or studio work. A pleasant, non-stuffy, approach to surveys.

[quote name='mikel' timestamp='1494711853' post='3298121']...it sounds like all the songs were written by the same composer... [/quote] All except one; the winner..!

A strong and stable rendering from Lucie Jones, representing the UK.

I don't watch 'em, I listen to 'em. Overkill on the visuals and gimmicks; hurts my eyes (and sensibilities, such as they are...). The opening number was shockingly out of tune often, sure enough, though. Can't be easy going through that mill, I suppose.

Not seen 'em all yet, of course, but 'Portugal for the Win' so far. You saw it here first.

[quote name='SH73' timestamp='1494705260' post='3298070'] A bit out of tune [/quote] Nah, just 432 Hz, s'all.

[quote name='SH73' timestamp='1494701248' post='3298023'] Modesty. Perhaps you could start a thread on mixing, mastering, eq ing, compressing etc. So we can learn from master Dad. [/quote] I might take you up on that..! Once my ops and stuff are over (end of month or so, with any luck..?), I could lift the curtain on the days and nights of a retired sedentary armchair ex-musician with time on his hands and a barrow-load of projects 'on the go' at any one time. Be afraid; be very afraid.

[quote name='gareth' timestamp='1494686789' post='3297870']...still using XP! [/quote] A lot of software, and more especially 'custom' software, won't run on 'upgraded' OS, for many reasons. Running XP (or MS-DOS, or DR-DOS, or any other...) is not, in itself, a problem, as long as the security implications are taken on board, depending on criticality. This would include having suitable isolation from public networks, having robust and verified back-up procedures and 'spare' hardware. There are still a lot of servers out there running NT..! Not everything can be updated at the same frenetic pace as Microsoft[i] et al[/i] would like. It's not only the cost of the OS itself. It's also a very good reason for eschewing 'customisation' of software; this very forum has, occasionally received, and resisted, requests for functionality which would imply such. It's not an easy route to take.

[quote name='Mudpup' timestamp='1494681550' post='3297825'] I think if you are being paid to provide a service (i.e entertain 50 people in the Dog and Duck) you have a responsibility to make sure the job gets done. That means being able to complete the gig pretty much no matter what happens... [/quote] ... and if the drummer's bass drum pedal breaks..? Then what..? Or the hi-hat..? He, too, carries spares of those, I suppose, plus a spare snare drum, floor tom and drum rack..? There's a limit, that's all, and a question of probability and practicality. A spare lead takes up little space, as does a DI. Spare cabs and amps are quite a different category, and at many gigs would have to be left in the car for lack of space, 500 metres from the venue and unguarded, in any case..! Not always a case of 'can't be bothered' or 'unprofessional', in my view. There's a financial aspect, too..!.

[quote name='lurksalot' timestamp='1494625650' post='3297511'] I have absolutely no idea how you manage to do your tunes... [/quote] Nor do I, I'm ashamed to say; nor do I..!

[quote name='lurksalot' timestamp='1494625081' post='3297506']... enjoy [/quote] ...and enjoy it I did. I do likes me a spot of polyrhythm, does I. ...and 'Snap..!' for the thinking behind it all. Time, indeed, for a (re...) birth..!

Mmm..! Mushrooms..!

In several decades of FOH sound experience here in France, I can't recall any single occasion where the FOH, or the monitoring, was 'less good' for the support acts. It's true that, if a band has their own engi, they will usually be able to make a better job than the house engi hearing a band in 'real time' for the first time, with things like cueing in delay on the vocals etc (the same is true of the lighter, a job I held down for yonks for a ska-rock-punk band...). The material is the same, the engi is the same; I've not experienced any neglect of support bands, even when some (thankfully rare...) come across as 'divas'. Is it all that different in the UK..?

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1494584406' post='3297126']...here's a quick excerpt from something I'm working on... [/quote] Far too busy..! (... and welcome back to the '80s, a most awful period I'd rather forget..! ) ...

[quote name='skywalker' timestamp='1494578981' post='3297054']... Where are you based Douglas? [/quote] There's a clue in my User name: '33' is France, '53' is Mayenne, halfway between Le Mans and Rennes. Pop in for a cup of tea if you're in the region.

Above a certain size stage, what with the lights and the distances involved, it's often difficult to see the audience at all..! The only way you'll know they're there is when the roar goes up at your entrance, and the thunderous applause at the end of the opening number. Once that's over, no need for nerves any more; they're already 'in your hand'. Enjoy; have a blast. Photos, videos ('bear' dancing or not...) are [i]de rigueur[/i], of course.

[quote name='skywalker' timestamp='1494518524' post='3296704']... The only "contract" is an agreement on an e-mail detailing the date and the fee... [/quote] Such a 'contract' is worth less than a screenprint, I'd say, relying solely on good faith on both parties to be honoured. Only a mutually-signed document setting out all the relevant conditions (including retraction or cancellation terms...) would have any chance of redress, hence the benefit of using the MU standard contracts, at least as a starting point. Is it worth the hassle..? That depends on much on your part, as well as that of the venue. I doubt that the venue concerned here is worth pursuing, personally.

[quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1494431278' post='3295940'] JRRShop have Miroslav Philharmonik CE for $49.99... [/quote] Follow-up, having acquired and installed this... All the pain in the world to (finally...) understand how to actually trigger the download, after having to install an all-new Authorisation Manager for IK MultiMedia stuff. Once installed, this triggered a whole set of 'freebies' that I didn't ask for, such as AmpliTube, SampleTank 2.5 and more, plus a few 'Stores' (now what in the world could they be for, I wonder..? ), but still no actual sounds. These have to be downloaded separately. Finally, it all came together, and I was able to play some stuff. First thing to try was the old version 1 sounds. Deception. They are very incomplete (there are some, but not at all the variety, nor the same richness as the old version...). Hmm... How about the new sounds, then..? Deception, too; this is a 'lightweight' version, don't forget, and, although the sounds are very good (I liked the oboes, for instance...), there is, again, a much lesser choice compared to Phil. 1. Almost no percussion, for instance, a big blow for me, a drummer..! Never mind, I still have Phil 1, don't I..? Well, no, it won't run any more..! Damn and blast..! Much perusal of t'web, much register cleaning and (light...) swearing at IK Multimedia (despite their having helped me get through the authorisation process...), I finally found the key. It would appear that these products need to run in Administrator mode, and oblige Reaper to do the same if calling up these Vst's. No big deal for me, once I'd found this out (not from IK, of course..!), and I have now recovered Phil 1 (Phew..!), but it was a scary ride. Yes, the quality of the new sound library is up to scratch, and worth the rather modest expense, but no kudos for making it so blinking difficult for an old duffer such as myself. It's limited (it's a 'CE', 'light' version, so no surprise there...), and would serve well enough for those without the mega-budget of the fuller versions, but I'm not enamoured of the IK way of doing things, and will not be 'upgrading' or adding any of the extras (such as a Percussion library..!), as they're quite too far above my modest, pension, budget. Make what you will of the deal, then; to each their own. No regrets on my part for the purchase, but I would have liked a smoother ride. All is well, now; but I'll still be using Phil 1 for decades to come, though, as it has far more scope, for what I do. Phil 2 I'll ease myself into, gradually, for specific compositions. Hope this helps.

[quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1494431278' post='3295940'] JRRShop have Miroslav Philharmonik CE for $49.99. Apply the code "GROUP" to get it down to $41.99 (if it doesn't auto-apply it) - quite the bargain! [url="https://www.jrrshop.com/ik-multimedia-miroslav-philharmonik-ce"]https://www.jrrshop....philharmonik-ce[/url] [/quote] Damn..! If you'd posted this 24 hours earlier, I'd have saved $8..! The sound libraries are downloading as I type, so can't say, yet, how it sounds, but if it's any improvement at all on Philharmonik 1 (already splendid...), I'll be happy enough.

In the 70's, gigging meant leaving at 11h00 Friday or Saturday, getting back home at 08h00 Monday or Tuesday. When we married, my other half knew this, and was fine with it. We brought up 3 kids. I held a full-time technician job in a music shop, too. I couldn't do it at that pace now, but family life can be fitted in very well, with goodwill all round. How about deep-sea fishermen, away for months, or military bods, away for long spells..? 4-hours gigs..? Bah. Chicken feed. S'nothin', when one's young enough..!