Skol303

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1366980844' post='2059823']Swap you a cow for them?[/quote] Deal! Just PM me with a copy of your passport, bank account details and pet insurance, I'll then arrange the transaction via Western Union [s]money[/s] cow transfer

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1366981177' post='2059832']And as toxic as Wenge? [/quote] You [i]definitely[/i] know about my cooking! Baking is one type of mixing I just can't seem to get my head around...

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1366981288' post='2059835']He'll just remix you into some weird glitchy dance track mate [/quote] Now [i]there's[/i] an idea for a new genre... shantystep!... or maybe shanty'n'bass? The mind boggles [quote name='icastle' timestamp='1366982008' post='2059857']It certainly would be weird and glitchy... [/quote] Or maybe beard and itchy?? I'm thinking Captain Birdseye here...

[quote name='paulflan0151' timestamp='1366973446' post='2059619']Wonder what effect the cake sponge will have on the tone!!!![/quote] If it's anything like my own previous effort at baking, it'll be similar to a dense mahogany...

Buy some magic beans from me. Normally two grand but I'll do you a 50% discount. They're magic. Really.

I agree and think this should apply to all forums. Some of these threads should be permanently pinned at the top (marketplace rules, etc); others should be taken down or replaced over time. Keeps the Mods busy

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1366509542' post='2053399']YAAAAAY! ICE CREAM... I mean, eh, PICTURES! [/quote] Sorry Milty, no new pictures as yet... but here's a bass made out of cake to quell your appetite in the meantime...

It's that time again... your fellow Basschatters need YOU! Voting is underway on the monthly composition competition. 30 minutes of new music for your delectation. Go listen. Do it now!! http://basschat.co.uk/topic/206094-voting-time-april-composition-competition-voting-time/page__pid__2059160#entry2059160

^ Well done chap! Cheers for pinning it too

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1366840729' post='2058070']+1 to Mike's suggestions above. Pinning the thread in BLOCK CAPS would help to shout about it when the voting is on. I know Silvia always does a sterling job of Tweeting about it, but a mention on BC Facebook would be great too.[/quote] ... would also help if we could get the voting thread up. Err, Rick??

+1 to Mike's suggestions above. Pinning the thread in BLOCK CAPS would help to shout about it when the voting is on. I know Silvia always does a sterling job of Tweeting about it, but a mention on BC Facebook would be great too. [quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1366817506' post='2057608']I'm moving house in July, so will have to pull the studio apart.[/quote] ,,,got that on the cards myself sometime this year mate! It's going to be hell - lots of stuff to sift through and send off to charity shops / local tip over the coming weeks in preparation. Already stashed my record collection with relatives, so that's the Crown Jewels taken care of PS: will catch up with listening to recent entries ASAP...

Good work Bilbo! That must've taken some scheming and organising, which has clearly paid off. Keep us posted mate. Looks like a great run of gigs

^ Nice one Bob, I'm looking forward to listening to that. I think that makes eight of us this month (?). Good work everyone. Especially given the slightly stoopid pic I choose... I'm still amazed that was the top result when searching 'love' on Flickr! Just checked and it still is - followed by a pair of amorous stag beetles!! What is the world coming to, eh?

[quote name='lurksalot' timestamp='1366742618' post='2056750']Its another great entry there my man , I have just had a funny moment though , my daughter loves getting involved when she can , she is 12 , but she was sad when she saw your post , she said she can't listen to your song because you used the C-word !!! I only just realised it was C for Country [/quote] Cheers Lurks. Sounds like you have a very astute daughter! And good to hear she's caught the music bug so early. I'm hoping my son Max will show similar interest in music as he grows up...he's only 2 at the moment so he has a way to go yet. Current evidence suggests a drummer in the making Garry, Steve: nice one! I haven't yet had chance to listen to your entries (currently watching Jules...) but I'll post some feedback when I do.

[quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1366725524' post='2056446']Is it possible to do some tweaking and resubmit? Or am I out of time?[/quote] Plenty of time, Twig. We've got until 15th May I think... see earlier post from Si above. Otherwise I'm right royally stuffed! (barely started mine).

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1366721709' post='2056379']It was all a bit too formal and not really in fitting with the basschat feel, we'll probably give it another shot sometime [/quote] Fair dinkum!

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1366719894' post='2056338']We tried going down that route, people said they didn't like it[/quote] Really? Seems a little odd. But heh, I'm no expert! Out of interest, was it the buyers or sellers who didn't like the idea of such a system? I could understand sellers seeing it a "bit of a faff" at first... but as a buyer I think it'd make things much easier. Then again if it ain't broken, don't fix it, etc.

I rarely use the marketplace, [i]BUT[/i] one thing I think would improve it is a more accurate way of categorising and searching for what's for sale. For example, a menu system that enables searches to be refined to include things like: - 4, 5, 6 or more strings? - Price range (less than £200, £200-£500, £500-£1000, £1000+, etc) - Common brand names - Location of seller (e.g. closest city) - A standardised system for thread titles would also help ...you get the idea. This would reduce the need for gratuitous bumping, because buyers would be more inclined to search for what they're specifically looking for. As it stands, it's a bit like wandering around a giant supermarket with products stacked on the shelves at random - you need to wade through lots of different threads, often having to open them and read each one to find out the basic details, and it takes time. It can be fun! (I like GAS window-shopping as much as the next person). But it's not very efficient. This should be relatively easy to implement (depending on the website's content management system). All sellers would need to do is fill in the relevant details in some kind of online form, rather than posting a regular thread. Anyway, this is by no means a criticism of the current system. It's just my tuppence-worth from the perspective of a potential buyer

Ok, I'm in… here's my effort at a [i]lurve[/i] song for this month: https://soundcloud.com/skollob/kinda-like-me It's a bit clunky in places but I really enjoyed putting this together, mainly because I opted for a more traditional route using guitars'n'stuff, which was a welcome break from twiddling synths and making wobbly noises. It's got a sort of 'country' feel to it… yeah, sorry for using the C-word there … which is probably a hangover from the choice of track in this month's mixing challenge (I blame you 51m0n!). I recorded all of the instrumentation myself. The drums were played live on a MIDI keyboard (using different overdubs for kick/snare, hats/rides and claps/cymbals) and nothing was quantized, hopefully giving it a more 'human' groove. Thanks to Skol Jnr for use of his toy maraca and tambourine! PS: this one is for Mrs Skol as it's our anniversary this month. Yeah, I'm a big mushy romantic at heart (pictures of humping beetles notwithstanding ).

[quote name='lurksalot' timestamp='1366667515' post='2055856'] OK , I'm in , it is a bit silly but it might raise a smile [url="https://soundcloud.com/lurksalot/leapfrog"]https://soundcloud.c...ksalot/leapfrog[/url] [/quote] I LOVE it Lurks! Definitely raised a smile here. The French accent is inspired. It reminds me of a guy called Le Tone who made some really fun electronic music in the mid-90s ([url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW-XoWJ0TI8"]example here[/url]). Doesn't necessarily sound like his stuff, but it has that same sort of playful, tongue-in-cheek quality to it. On a more conventional, techy level the mix is good and I'd say one of your best to date. You're definitely getting the hang of Reaper and it shows! About to upload mine shortly... looks like you and I are in at the last minute again mate

Nige, it's SUPERB mate! Beautifully played and produced. And the video itself has a real 'pro' quality to it. Very nice indeed - cool and clever but not too artsy. I really dig it. Mrs Skol commented how Kit's vocal reminds her of 'Kate Bush meets Jewel' (a US singer I hadn't heard of). Anyway, it's a compliment

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1366656279' post='2055611']TBH, without bass, metal would be high gain guitars and a man screaming.[/quote] Love it Milty! That genuinely made me LOL

Compression doesn't have to be applied like a sledgehammer... it can be very gentle and 'musical', depending on how the dials are tweaked. Personally I always apply compression to basslines, just in varying degrees depending on the source material and genre in question. There's way too much variation between between the low and high frequency energy of a bass guitar [i]not[/i] to apply at least some compression - at least when mixing. But each to his or her own

^ Cheers guys! Thanks for clarifying - that all makes total sense. I just wanted to check I wasn't missing some vital piece of know-how about working with separate L/R stems. I'll probably just pick the best channel from each and use that in mono, but we'll see... There. I've learnt something already this month!

Ok, stupid question ahoy...! The stems for this track include stereo pairs of some instruments - each of the guitars, for example, has a left and right channel stem. I've never encountered this before (I've led a sheltered life...). Looking at the waveforms, each L/R pair seems almost identical. So... if I sum them I'm assuming I might encounter nasty phasing issues (cancellation, weird tonal changes, etc). So what's the advantage of using stereo signals for these instruments? Or rather - is there any significant disadvantage to using just one of the channels as a mono signal? I've always assumed that mono is best and stereo should only be used in rare instances when the instrument really requires it (a wide pad sound, for example), but of course I could be very wrong.