Skol303

[quote name='RockfordStone' timestamp='1490455475' post='3265273'] my late entry will need adding [/quote] Good to have you on board Rob. Unfortunately I'm traveling and won't be able to add your entry until tomorrow night (Sunday). If I try to do it on my phone it's likely to crash the voting... I've learnt that from experience!

[size=5][b][url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/302951-march-composition-challenge-voting/"]VOTNG THREAD IS UP![/url][/b][/size] I came tantalising close to having something finished myself this month, but it wan't to be. That's not to say I've been slacking off, however I've been busy with some other music projects, mostly remixes (which is what I'm focusing on at the moment). Here's an example from this month... vocals are the artist's own, the rest is all me (incl. bass and some of the guitar parts): [url="https://www.indabamusic.com/opportunities/wolf-saga-keep-dancing-remix-contest/submissions/fbdd11b8-0c2b-11e7-b3d8-0e23ec8b8f61"]SKOL'S RECENT MUZAK[/url]

[color=#800000][size=5][b]Voting has now started on March’s Composition Challenge.[/b][/size][/color] [size=5]Here's the inspiration for this month's music, chosen by our previous winners [b]Leonard Smalls[/b] and [b]Fingers211[/b]…[/size] …and here are the compositions. Please vote for your top [u]THREE [/u]favourites: Dad3353 [url="http://soundcloud.com/dad3353/leaving-it-all-behind"]‘Leaving It All Behind’[/url] Bastav [url="http://soundcloud.com/organicpulseensemble/a-thousand-hands-edm"]‘A thousand hands’[/url] xgsjx [url="http://soundcloud.com/gxmix/crowdsurfing"]‘Crowdsurfing’[/url] Leonard Smalls [url="http://soundcloud.com/dredd-and-the-badass-weed/ive-seen-the-light"]‘I've Seen The Light’[/url] fingers211 [url="http://soundcloud.com/nigel-jewell/hold-out-hands"]‘Hold Out Hands’[/url] Mornats [url="http://soundcloud.com/mornats/low-mass"]‘Low Mass’[/url] SH73 [url="http://soundcloud.com/user-527099495/tecknot-1-mix-basschat"]‘Tecknot 1 Mix’[/url] Indy [url="http://soundcloud.com/thevelvetknock/silhouettes-demo"]‘Silhouettes’[/url] lurksalot [url="http://soundcloud.com/lurksalot/first-rule-of-the-pool"]‘First Rule Of The Pool’[/url] MoonBassAlpha [url="http://soundcloud.com/julian-moss-511168525/levitate"]‘Levitate’[/url] RockfordStone [url="http://soundcloud.com/robslusarmusic/get-up-get-out"]'Get up, Get out'[/url] [color=#800000][size=5][b]Voting ends at midnight on Friday 31st March [/b][/size][/color]

[quote name='SpondonBassed' timestamp='1489677627' post='3258913'] If you were as hard core as you try to appear you wouldn't need the underpants. Just saying. [/quote] Oh way ahead of you on this... Functionally, it works surprisingly well in winter, [i]within reason[/i] - providing the radiator is working and my wife doesn't have friends round. In summer, the leather seat cover just gets too, well... 'claggy' Hence underpants uber alles.

Here’s my approach… [list=1] [*]Replace human band members with a computer and some gadgetry - think like Skynet [*]Set up said computer and gadgetry in a room with a lockable door to keep the kids out [*]Retreat to room; make music with the involvement of as few other [s]meatbags[/s] humans as possible [*]Release music online [/list] ...all of which can be done whilst wearing nothing but one's underpants. Just' saying. I never set foot on stage - and know for sure that I’m missing out on that experience (I [i]have[/i] gigged in the past and know how much fun it is…). But it’s zero stress; it avoids me falling out with my mates; it fits nicely around family and work; and I do get some satisfaction from entertaining an audience, albeit remotely - my music has been played on the radio, in clubs and received 20,000+ plays online to date (small fry really, but it’s more than I’d reach on my local pub circuit). And my gear doesn’t stink of stale beer and sweat Ok, so it’s not a band. And it’s not gigging. But it’s performance of sorts (cue Sinatra singing ‘My Way’).

You've got everything you need right there and a lot of fun ahead of you (plus some frustration... but rest assured that rapidly subsides once you're over the immediate hurdles). Use YouTube for tutorials and work your way through things methodically, one step at a time. A good 70% of whatever recording software you use will be irrelevant to begin with, so don't worry about all of the 'bells and whistles' and concentrate on the basics: how to record; how to edit your recordings; how to use MIDI instruments; the basics of EQ and compression. And ask questions here if you get stuck! Plenty of people in the 'Rec forum use Reaper, so you're in good company.

It's like the chat room for SAGA Holidays in here. Not that I lurk in the SAGA Holidays chat room and am able to make this comparison from personal experience, of course. That is all. As you were.

Cheers Gary! Looks interesting. And I really like the idea behind the competition itself: 1. Everyone records a short melody and then 2. Everyone chooses a melody as a basis for a composition. I might steal this concept for the Compositon Challenge one month

I'm probably a 1.5 but my ambition is driven purely by enjoyment and nothing to do with actual musicianship or earning a living. I certainly don't ever get frustrated. I'm only ambitious in the sense that I like making music and by getting better at doing so (albeit slowly), I enjoy it even more. Any whiff of setting goals for improvement would most likely kill my enjoyment stone dead - that for me would make it more akin to work than play; but that's purely my own point of view, of course. So "ambition" is probably the wrong choice of word for me: I don't really have any specific targets that I'm aiming for... but perhaps I should!?

It's not [i]all [/i]the fault of the engineer of course... Bass frequencies are by far the most difficult to get under control - and this is greatly compounded by the characteristics of the room/venue itself. And also the characteristics of the instruments: 'clacky', trebly pick-playing will always cut through better than a more 'fuggy' finger style. And where you happen to be standing - or sitting - within all of that. Sometimes there's only so much you can do. Sometimes it comes down to a compromise in clarity between the kick or the bass. And sometimes, yeah, it [i]is[/i] the fault of the engineer

[quote name='RockfordStone' timestamp='1488799702' post='3251798'] im going to try and get my arse in gear to do this months one [/quote] Go for it Rob!

[quote name='RalphDWilson' timestamp='1488403235' post='3248743'] Or the Decomposing Challenge? [/quote] I like that! Much better than my suggestion

Ok I'll stop now

...and if you like Cyprus Hill you'll probably dig these guys - Funkdoobiest - arguably the originators of that particular style. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXkvf3d7pQc

...and this is one of my all time favorites. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZWS6CITutY

Hip hop is a very broad church and there's loads to discover! You're in for a lot of fun Here's an oldie but a goodie from Guru (now sadly departed). You can YouTube "Guru" and "Gang Starr" and just turn up classic after classic... he's one of the all time greats... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbZXbVQe0qQ

I haven't forgotten about this...! Currently distracted by real life stuff - all good, just busy - but will be revisiting this thread in due course, most likely with the intention of kick-starting the Noodle Bar in some shape or form.

Nice! Does it have a USB or Thunderbolt connector?

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/211966-just-bought-a-vintage-fake-now-refurbished/page__hl__skol303%20vintage%20guitar"][b]This guitar.[/b][/url] Acquired for £20 off Gumtree and turned out to be a mid-'70s Japanese-made 'lawsuit' copy. Bought from a student who was given it by a relative. Had been painted with white emulsion and drawn on with a sharpie pen when I received it. I'm no guitarist, but it plays great

There are bucketloads of electronic artists I like, yet which few people have heard of (but that comes with the territory!). As for more conventional bands, probably NoMeansNo, Butthole Surfers and Mercury Rev are all bands that I love, yet which rarely get a mention on here or amongst my group of friends. Oh and Half Man Half Biscuit. Them too.

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/301445-march-composition-challenge-get-writing/"][size=6][b]March's challenge is now on![/b][/size][/url]

[color=#800000][size=5][b]March’s Composition Challenge is now underway![/b][/size][/color] [size=5]Here’s the image for your inspiration, chosen by last month's winners [b]Leonard Smalls[/b] and [b]Fingers211[/b]… [/size] Click on the 'Spoiler' button below to read the usual rules and caveats: [spoiler]By entering the competition you agree to the Basschat Terms and Conditions and Forum Guidelines, which are designed to help ensure the forum remains free of offensive and/or illegal behaviour and material. In a nutshell: [b]1) Please avoid any content that other forum users may find offensive.[/b] If your track contains explicit lyrics, for example, then please warn other forum users so they can choose for themselves whether to listen to it. [b]2) Please make sure you have permission to use any 3rd party sounds included in your track[/b] (ie. sounds that you have not recorded yourself, such as samples of other people's music). The owners of Basschat accept no responsibility for infringements of copyright or other forms of legal ownership, which are solely the responsibility of competition entrants. [b]3) Entries should be no more than five minutes long and written/produced during the month of the competition[/b], taking inspiration from the photo provided. No cheating![/spoiler] If you have any questions, just ask. [size=5][b][color=#800000]The deadline for entries is midnight on Friday March 24th.[/color][/b][/size] Dive in!

[quote name='RalphDWilson' timestamp='1488386976' post='3248529'] I really wish there was a Composition Challenge the month after the Composition challenge competition! [/quote] We could call it the Composting Challenge. Maybe? [i]Okay, I'll just get my coat...[/i]

[quote name='SpondonBassed' timestamp='1488385406' post='3248504'] Good old Channel 4. [/quote] FAKE

This whole thread is FAKE NEWS. Sad. A great danger to our country. Maybe the millions of people who voted to MAKE BASSCHAT GREAT AGAIN should have their own rally. It would be the biggest of them all!