Dad3353

These are 'old-school' real transformer amps, and weigh in as a Moon/small Planet, plus their mandatory flight case. The Hiwatt is a two-man lift, assuming the fellows to be beef eaters. 20-odd Kgs 'dead' weight, and fragile, in that it doesn't do to drop 'em (no, don't ask; I'll have to cry again...). More modern valve amps use toroidal trannies, for instance, and aluminium chassis, lightweight casing etc, and can be more 'humper-friendly'. One has to really want 'that' sound, or gig out infrequently (it's now our case, so...). Just sayin'.

I'd guess Traynor 200. If it's anything like our Hiwatt 200 (4 x KT88...), '6' on the dial is stadium-filling, given those cabs.

Depending on the size of the rehearsal room, maybe you're all just playing too loud..? It's perfectly possible to damped down drums to be much quieter (I'm a drummer...), at least for rehearsals. If the volume is over-loading the Zoom mics, it's pretty darned loud. There's no need to rehearse at stadium volumes; even more so when even a recording can't be used to hear what needs working on for improvement. If there's really no way (or rather, no desire...) to turn down, pop the Zoom into a duffle bag or something. Yes, it's ll be a bit muffled, but it'll be muffled with less distortion. Should you use another mic..? If it's the Zoom mics being over-loaded, it's an option, but it's far more likely to be the Zoom mic pre-amps, so another mic wouldn't help. Worth a try, of course, and just as a test, it matters little what mic you use. I'll add, just for good measure, that, 'back in the day', when we wanted to record high-gain, very loud guitar or bass (100w Hiwatt amps and cabs...), we would lay the cab face down on carpet, so as not to deafen ourselves. The 'dimed' amps would sing just the same, but at a much lower volume for the room. I had cloth covers for the drums (think 'shower hat', made from curtain material...), and struck my (expensive...) cymbals with less force (a brushing stroke, instead of a full-on 'whack'...), and we did just fine. Much of my rehearsals at the time were in my front living room, in a tiny terraced house in Shepperton; we played as loud as the song needed but at reasonable volumes in the room. It's kept my hearing for a long time (gone now, of course, at over 70; that's mostly down to old age, though...). Hops this helps.

Have the Zoom much, much further away..? ... (I hestitate to advance the notion that maybe, just maybe, the distortion is coming from the genre you're playing..! ).

There's a lot here to consider, too. I've dealt with them before, and all went well... MicroDream ...

... but i3, dual core. Nice price for new, though.

Indeed, more is always 'better'..! This one is top end of your budget, but fits the spec... Laptop... Look around; there are other suppliers, too (I get mine here in France, but there's plenty in the UK...). Overheating in a laptop is very often a case of not having it on a hard surface (on one's lap; odd, but not a Good Idea...). The ventilation is often blown out from underneath, and needs to be unhindered. If yours is old(-ish...) it might well be worth cleaning it out of accumulated dust and fluff; it's amazing what gets sucked in. A thorough blast with a compressor though the vents will shift a lot, if opening it is not an option. Laptops are not good at 24/7 usage, either, at this end of the market, so turning it off (not simply 'hibernating...) when not in use is also Good Practice. I'm listening to your film scores as I type this; me likee.

Record a bit of the playing that she likes to hear, and play it back, audibly, whilst you play your stuff with your 'phones on.

It depends on what you want to do, of course. I've been using a modest PC (i5, 12Go...) for years, with no issues. I compose using Reaper, recording through a decent Tascam interface, which serves for entry, but also output to my monitors. I use Vst stuff, and samples, in various genres, and have never been handicapped with PC performance, even my orchestral stuff (30 or more Vst tracks...), or mixing our group's stem tracks (a dozen audio tracks, with Vst FX...). For 'pro' use, or intense studio work, bigger is better, naturally, but for home production, either one has the budget or one has not. In my case, it's 'not', but I see no advantage in having oodles of RAM or proc. power. My PC is a very modest quad-core i5, and is well up to treating the stuff I do (here's my Soundcloud, but be aware that it's not 'FM Radio stuff that I churn out...). If there's any money available, having suitable 'phones is a 'plus' (for home recording, especially if there's no dedicated studio...), and quality monitors (not necessarilly uber-expensive, but far more important that RAM, I'd say...). Ah yes: an SSD disk is a Good Investment these days, and the prices are coming down fast. I've just this week changed my 110Go System ('C'...) drive for a 250Go; the whole affair runs better with SSD System and/or data files, for music stuff. Look, then, for a laptop with as much SSD as you can budget for, as it's difficult to upgrade 'em. Hope this helps... Edit: Of the laptops I linked to, the very first one has a much higher spec than my own PC, except for the 8Go RAM. I'd say that that's just fine for most domestic stuff.

A refurbished Lenovo (plus a USB interface, naturally...) should do the job... Refurbished Lenovo laptops ... Other sources exists. I worked with a park of several hundred laptops of the sort for about 15 years; they're not bad at all. Worth a look..? (I'm typing this on a refurbished HP8100 i5, our sons have the same model, they cost about 250€ a few years ago now; no issues...)

I'm a drummer. Anyone wanting to chat to me whilst I'm playing is almost certainly within range of my implements, and I can get pretty clumsy if disturbed. It happens rarely, but is always over in seconds. I try to keep the bloodstains off the drum heads, naturally.

Alice..? Who the f....

In my time ('70s...), playing 'les bals publiques' or weddings and such in France, the consign, if there was any trouble, was to keep playing, whatever happened, or all hell would break loose. I witnessed few incidents, usually short-lived thanks to the rapid intervention of great-aunt Mabel or such, armed with a broom. Any trouble-makers were hauled away by their ears and kicked out, and the band played on. Happy daze.

The fraudsters are, in all likelyhood, not making strings at all. They are simply supplying dirt-cheap strings in a fake package made to look like the 'real' strings, at a lower price than the real deal. Their only 'skills' are in the use (or abuse...) of Photoshop.

Beg pardon..?

... and I like it when they all stop. Period. It's quite difficult 'to pay attention' with my fingers in both ears to shut out the racket (and I'm deaf, so..!). 'Great melodies'..? Hmm... I'll get back to my Schubert and Joni Mitchell, I think.

You see, this 👆 (in my opinion, naturally...) is exactly why Jazz has such a poor press (and that Berlin stuff doesn't help its case...). All this frenetic speeding towards no destination at all gives me the impression that far too much coffee has been consumed, with maybe other additives that accelerate the heart-rate and inspire panic in the performer. They all, indubitably, have talent in spades (yes, even Jeff...), but it is, it seems systematically, smothered and killed off by all this 'exhuberance'. OK, there are some that enjoy this, I grant, and there are even those, I'm told, who 'understand' what's going on (or purport to do so...). No, not for me, I'm afraid. I'm looking for far different qualities that that. Sorry.

Indeed.

When I was doing concert work, either at the console or doing the lights, it was de rigueur to have the desk area bounded off by barriers of the sort above, to keep the area clear of unwanted interference. It worked very well, especially when the bands provoked much animation from their public, and/or the drinks flowed freely. Similar protection for the stage area, if there was any chance of the Public getting out of hand. It's been a very long time since I've seen a lighting rig or PA tower come down. Just sayin'.

In circumstances where the Public could come a cropper, I would suggest having a barrier around the stage area would be advisable. These should be provided/set up by the organisers...

Cheers, lad, all working again; we now all owe you a cuppa.

Good afternoon... Have there been any changes recently (today..?)..? I have an 'Unread Topics' Activity Stream which has worked well for a few years, now, but which has suddenly stopped picking up recent unread posts. When I look at the relevant Forums, I see that there are unread posts, which yesterday would have shown up in the Activity Stream. PC, Windows 10 Pro 64-bit, Chrome browser; no updates or anything my end to explain this new behaviour. I've tried 'turning it off then turning it back on again', to no avail. Am I alone in this..? Thanks in advance, hoping for an explanation, and maybe a return to previous satisfactory performance; meanwhile... Have a splendid day. Douglas

... but one's fingers hurt less.

One day, I'll be able to manage that feat, but that day is not this day.

Their first video clip...