Skol303

[quote name='redstriper' timestamp='1355227946' post='1895550']The CD versus vinyl debate is silly - haven't you heard, both are dead and gone![/quote] Ha ha, I think you've pretty much tonked the nail on the head there, Steve! Spot on mate Right... so now quills vs fountain pens, which one is best? Fight!!

Didn't we have this same debate not so long ago? (there's a joke here about a stuck record...). Or is this that same debate that's been resurrected, zombie style? I personally love vinyl. I've got boxes of the stuff, much to Mrs Skol's occasional annoyance. But I don't love it because it sounds better - I love it because of the ritual involved in playing it, which brings back fond memories of the exact same ritual playing records in my youth. So for me it's got nothing to do with audio quality, and everything to do with nostalgia. Audiophile mates of mine always say that your amp, speakers, room conditions, etc, have a much bigger impact on the sound than whether it's been recorded on CD or vinyl anyway (as discussed already in this thread). The rest is just voodoo and fairy dust

[quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1355132624' post='1894343']This makes me think about offering a service to people here to provide some live drumming to their tracks... a sort of long-distance collaboration.[/quote] Hell yes! Great idea. I have a mate in the Ukraine with whom I'm doing just that in the new year. I say 'mate' but of the sort I've never met in person. That's the great thing about the Interweb - it makes the world a much smaller place when it comes to collaboration! Anyway I don't want to be greedy, but if nobody takes you up on your offer of some live drums then I may well do so myself. But I'd encourage anyone here to step in first - it's a great offer :-)

^ Nice one Si, I never knew that the Reaper FX were available for free as standalones. Can't beat the generosity of Cockos! What a damn good company I normally use the noise removal tool in Audacity for this - works ok for standard background hiss/rumble, but not great for more 'busy' noises. Anyway, I'm going to sit down with the VSTs suggested by yourself, Rob and Garry and work through them. Looking forward to playing with some VSTs on work time for a change! We might end up buying a Reaper license anyway if we get more of this sort of work, as I'm more familiar with it than I am Garage Band. Fingers crossed.

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1355150274' post='1894628'] I posted this in the free VST section a couple of weeks ago. MeldaProductions. Everything you need for clean up Audio - and they are very good. [url="http://www.meldaproduction.com/freevstplugins/"]http://www.meldaprod...freevstplugins/[/url] Garry[/quote] ^ Thanks also Garry, this looks good. Much appreciated! (I should have checked the free VSTs thread... my bad).

^ Rob, you are a gent! Cheers mate I'll PM you my email address... no mad rush on this - anytime this week would be grand.

Thanks Dood! Yeah, I have a copy of Reaper at home - great piece of software and exceptionally well priced. The reason I'm keen to use Garage Band is because we already have a licensed copy at work, so although Reaper is very cheap it still saves 60 bucks or whatever if we can find a VST to run in Garage Band. We could of course use Reaper under the trial license but I don't think that covers commercial work. The budget for this project is tiny, which is why I'm being so tight-fisted and not wanting to spend a penny more than we need to! Anyway, cheers for the repy mate - appreciated

Hi folks, I'm being lazy here and could probably solve this thru Googling... but I very much trust the opinions on BC and wanted to check if anyone has any immediate recommendations. Firstly, a quick bit of context to explain what I'm looking for: A colleague at work has recorded a bunch of vox-pop interviews at an event using a bog-standard digital camcorder. The audio has been recorded using the built-in mic so it's not the best quality and includes a load of background noise. The recordings don't need to be broadcast quality - we just need to clean up the audio a little, if possible. I'd normally do this myself at home but I don't have time at the moment. We have Garage Band installed on the Macs in the office so I want to brief my colleague on how to clean up the audio himself using that as a DAW. Being a Reason user I have no idea of what VST plug-ins are best for this! Hence, if you can recommend any suitable EQs then please do: it needs to be freeware (or very cheap) and ideally include low/high pass filters and a decent bell filter with adjustable Q, so we can notch out some of the cr@p in the recordings. Many thanks!

No worries Mike. Your playing is [i]way[/i] off my radar so I can't offer any constructive points on it. I just thought you seemed even more fluid and relaxed than usual I don't think I have enough hours in the day to practice and reach that level of connection between head/heart and hands. So it's great to see you 'in the zone' mate!

Can. Worms. Opened!

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1355138660' post='1894442'] I turned it over to Predators on Saturday night. The sight of a grown man with tattoos sitting in a bedsit crying is not really that entertaining for me. Far be it for me to say that was probably what clinched it for him. I am aware of the irony that I switched over to Predators in search of something more 'entertaining'. [/quote] Ah, they both did their fair share of crying. It's all part of the 'emotional journey', no? PS: I quite enjoyed Predators when I saw it. Trashy but fun. Not a patch on the original, mind you.

[quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1355137732' post='1894424']Why the hell is any musician watching X Factor? Shame on you all![/quote] Awww, c'mon, it's not [i]that[/i] bad! Then again, I'm a sucker for pop music. I've stopped smoking, only drink now on occasion, so I have to be allowed at least one vice... surely??

So I watched the X-Factor final last night. It wasn't predicatably won by the boy band, or the crooner, or the gospel singer, but by someone who seemed to have an air of credibility about him - James Arthur. For all the poo-pooing of the X-Factor, this year it seems to have been decided on actual talent. Yeah I know some of you think the show is an omen of humankind's pending descent to hell in a handcart... but this year I think it's actually demonstrated that it's not always a format based solely on haircuts and sh1t-eating grins. Could that - dare I say - even be considered a positive contribution to music? A role model for young 'uns to follow? Nah, thought not. Make room in the handcart, will ya, I want to get comfy

Nice playing Ben. And I dig the 'bass face' too! Better than mine. Made me want to check out the original, which I did and you compare very well to it mate. Also love the tone on that bass. Very sweet indeed. Keep 'em coming.

Holy cow Mike. Your playing always smacks me sideways, but dare I say it sounds as though you've [i]somehow[/i] managed to improve recently? (not that you had much headroom for improvememnt before!). Really fluid playing. You make it look effortless. Which makes me slightly sick Seriously though, [i]very[/i] impressive playing mate. Paul

Dead link on a Facebook page. I like minimal stuff, but that's just taking the p1ss innit...

Cheers Garry! I'm going to work thru these myself and share the link among a few mates of mine who'll really appreciate this. Thanks for sharing mate.

Love that sound! [i]Very[/i] funky. Nice playing too. I'm fairly ham-fisted on keyboards; this makes me want to practice. Keep it up Alex Paul

Good work Nige! Sounds like it was a cracking gig. "Zulu funk in a Parisienne style"… now there's an album title if ever I heard one Fingers crossed you get that quarterly slot. Paul

^^ [i]Love[/i] that Common track. Never heard it before. Cheers for sharing, Luke

Good work Doug! I did exactly the same with an old Hohner Rockwood bass. Thought about using veneer strips, decided it looked too fiddly and opted for wood filler instead (used the same product you did). Was a bit surprised to discover that it dries a lot lighter than when wet, but on the upside it left clear fret markers which I've since found to be very useful! I put many coats of varnish on mine. Something like a dozen layers, all thinly applied, then gently sanded. To date I've seen no real signs of wear and tear (using flatwounds). I need to sort out the action on it sometime - and I've been planning on upgrading the p'ups and electrics on it too - but no rush. It's proved to be a great 'project bass' so far Paul

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1354873685' post='1891393']... maybe we should push it to day after boxing day because I won't be at a laptop until then I expect[/quote] Sounds fair to me mate. I've had to abandon my original idea this month - I was planning on producing a track using nothing but samples of Skol Jnr's musical toys, but I won't have the time to do it with us being on a tour of various relatives over Xmas. Sooo... I'm instead going with 'Plan B', which sees me throwing recent songwriting out the window and returning to my grimey, electronic roots with a track that most folks here will probably hate with a passion (it's going to be a newfangled dubstep number, so "not proper music" in most people's opinion). Doesn't get more festive than that, does it?? Bah humbug

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1354881038' post='1891510']Glad you like TGU...[/quote] Yeah, they've been a part of various events at a place called Band On The Wall here in Mancunia (great venue - one of my all time faves). Think they also had some dealings up here with promoters and one time record label, One Tree Island, who I used to help out with doing some PR stuff years ago. Right up my musical alley. Never got to see Doreen perform, which is a big shame. Let us know how it goes tonight. I've given it a shout on Tw@tter which might bring a few friendly bods along.

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1354874621' post='1891404']Could be a bit weighty then, a mans bass![/quote] Indeedy! I'm no man's man, but I am the sort who likes hauling his ass up hills with a rucksack full of unnecessary junk on his back - for fun! - so the weight of it won't be an issue [quote name='Pinball' timestamp='1354874851' post='1891410']hmm well if it was me I would be analyzing some of my favorite guitars to try and figure out why they are my favorites e.g. sound/shape/materials, then decide on the sound I was after and take it from there. Then do you want to try and replicate that or do something different?[/quote] Exactly. I've played a few mahogany body basses in the past and I've really loved the sound of them - fat lows, punchy mids and a tone that seems to roll of the highs (which is generally how I EQ my bass anyway). That's not to say mahogany is the ideal option - it's just a material I can relate to, which'll hopefully give Paul at 13 Guitar an idea of the tone I'm after. Lots to learn!

I'd forgotten that you were involved with TGU... that is one cool outfit of musicians to be a part of - credit to you mate! I've seen them live a number of times. Absolutely superb. Were you part of the line-up when they played up in Manchester a couple of years ago? Anyway, hope it goes well tonight Nige. It's difficult for me to travel to gigs these days (on account of Skol Jnr still being a tiddler), but I'll get word out among mates in London who might want to come along to this. Enjoy!