Skol303

Twiddling can be fun, but easily over-done [i][yeah, I'm rapping!].[/i] If anything, it helps you get used to your system, so that you can find your way to achieving different tones more efficiently. Hence, with practice, you can dial in what's needed for a particular track, or compensate for room acoustics and so on, more quickly. Just like any form of 'critical listening', it can help if you: [b]1) Use reference material.[/b] Select some tracks that show off the bass tone you're looking for, and try to match them. It's a much more productive method than trial and error. [b]2) Take regular breaks and give your ears chance to rest.[/b] Your ears (or specifically, your brain) will begin to get tired after about half an hour of critical listening. Take a ten minute break, listen to some of your reference material at low volume, and come back to it. You'll be amazed at how much of a difference this can make. [b]3) Read some boring stuff about 'dynamic processing'.[/b] Yeah, I know it's much more fun to just twiddle those knobs [i](ooh, matron!).[/i] But it help a lot if you learn a little about how different twiddles affect the sound in different ways. ...or just buy a P-bass and be done with it

Good to see lots of ideas being sparked by the picture. I've got something brewing myself... although I'm not sure whether I'll have time to work it up, as I've a few other musical commitments that I [i]really[/i] need to finish as a priority this month (Nige knows about one of them ). So we'll see.

[quote name='Stephen Houghton' timestamp='1401751639' post='246659s8'] Gutted for you and Paul mate, he must be pissed but what a sh.tty luck for you. At least he is going to salvage some of the original for you, cant believe this happened [/quote] I know! It's hard to believe, innit. S**t happens, I suppose. Whoever put those shelves up needs a stern talking to I'm waiting to hear back from Paul about the 4-string, so we'll see what happens. I'll keep y'all updated in this thread.

[color=#b22222][size=5][b]June's challenge is now up![/b][/size][/color] [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/238284-june-composition-challenge-get-recording/"][b][size=5]GO HERE[/size][/b][/url]

[color=#b22222][size=5][b]June's Composition Challenge is now underway.[/b][/size][/color] [size=5]Here's the image for your inspiration, chosen by last month's winner [b]Stephen Houghton[/b]…[/size] [size=5]And here are the rules 'n' stuff…[/size] By entering the competition you agree to the Basschat [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?app=forums&module=extras&section=boardrules"]Terms & Conditions[/url] and [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/3178-forum-guidelines/"]Forum Guidelines[/url], 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. If we spot any breaches of copyright then your track will be removed from the competition. For reference: here's a great source of copyright-free material, all available under Creative Commons license:http://www.freesound.org/ [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! If you have any questions about the competition rules, just ask. [color=#b22222][size=5]The deadline for entries is midnight on Monday 23rd June.[/size][/color] Have fun

WELL DONE STEVE!! Excellent track and a very deserving winner this month Send me a PM (private message) with a link to your chosen photo and I'll do the rest. Cheers mate. And again, well done! Paul

Last few hours of voting, which ends at midnight. Get stuck in and have a listen!

I have a Maschine Mikro mkII and it's great for sketching things out quickly. It [i]does[/i] take some getting used to... but it's designed for use live on stage (as well as in home studios), so the interface is fairly intuitive. Just don't expect to make sense of it straight 'out of the box'. You'll need to spend some time learning the ropes, after which it's a very useful piece of kit. It's especially good for creating drum patterns, but it comes with a HUGE library of high quality sounds that cover a range of instruments. Maybe have a play with one in your local music shop before spending the ca$h. Its big brother, the full Maschine, is more versatile beast but comes at around twice the price (£450 or so). Bear in mind that Maschine doesn't work on its own - it needs to be connected to a computer/laptop via USB. Your other option might be to consider an iPad with something like GarageBand, iMaschine or Nanostudio. Hope that helps

Well, we've had a good number of people sign up so far and the promise of more to come. So we're off to a flying start on this one! Some of you have enquired about the tempo of this track. Here's the reply from Chris (aka Rolan Rock on BC) from UJahm: [i]"It should be a nice steady 65 [bpm], like a relaxed heartbeat :-) We didn't play to click though, so it may vary!"[/i] So if it helps to know, then set your DAW software to around 65 or 130bpm.

[color=#b22222][size=5][b]UPDATE: if you missed it first time round, Tim Higgins' track is now working!!![/b][/size][/color] People had reported that Tim's track wasn't producing any sound when listened to using the Safari web browser. This has now been fixed, so if you missed it first time round then have a listen. If you've already voted, you [i]can[/i] change your vote if you wish.

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1401303158' post='2462286'] Strange, I listened to all of them and when I got to timhiggins, it didn't make any sound. I knew there was something wrong, as there were comments, but no sound. Then my wife tried it, no sound. Then i tried it in firefox, it worked. So they all worked in safari apart from that one, which worked in firefox.. [/quote] Morning all. I'm in mid-Wales on a work trip and have minimal mobile/Internet connection. I've just quickly tested Tim's link on my phone and a colleague's laptop and it seems to be working fine. Is anyone else having problems with it? [b][size=5]UPDATE:[/size][/b] quickly stopped at a cafe with in Aberystwyth with WiFi... tested the link on another laptop and sure enough there's no sound when the track plays in Safari, but there is via Firefox. Weird!! Must be a browser issue of some kind. I've just re-attached the link at the start of this thread and it now seems to be working fine. Very sorry Tim! I used Firefox myself, but I'll make sure the links get tested in Safari in future.

Thanks as always bluejay!!

[size=5][b]Ten tracks, all inspired by this photo:[/b][/size] [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/237661-may-composition-challenge-voting/"][/url] [size=5][url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/237661-may-composition-challenge-voting/"]Please listen and vote.[/url][/size] Your fellow Basschatters need YOU!

[color=#b22222][b][size=6]VOTING THREAD IS UP![/size][/b][/color] [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/237661-may-composition-challenge-voting/"][size=5]Get to it...[/size][/url]

[size=6][b][color=#B22222]Voting has now started on May’s Composition Challenge![/color][/b][/size] [size=5]Here's the inspiration for this month's music:[/size] [size=5]And here are the compositions. Please listen to each track and pick your favourite:[/size] [url="http://soundcloud.com/dad3353/can-i-help-you"][b]Dad3353[/b] ‘Can I help You’ [/url] [url="http://soundcloud.com/lurksalot/fall-at-your-feet"][b]lurksalot[/b] ‘Fall At Your Feet’ [/url] [url="http://soundcloud.com/dredd-and-the-badass-weed/bagitup"][b]Leonard Smalls[/b] ‘BagItUp’ [/url] [url="http://soundcloud.com/mornats/one-two-three-oh"][b]Mornats[/b] ‘One - Two - Three - Oh’ [/url] [url="http://soundcloud.com/robert-palmer-1/springheel-jack"][b]Bilbo[/b] ’Springheel Jack’ [/url] [url="http://soundcloud.com/theboysings/when-you-feel-like-letting-go"][b]the boy[/b] ‘When You Feel Like letting Go’ [/url] [url="http://soundcloud.com/9thaspect/hanging-on-the-edge-of-time"][b]Stephen Houghton[/b] ‘Hanging on the Edge of Time’ [/url] [url="http://soundcloud.com/dreaded-ted/calmly-crazy"][b]Lord Sausage[/b] ‘Calmy Crazy’ [/url] [url="http://soundcloud.com/timothy-terrence-higgins-iv/hanging-around"][b]timhiggins[/b] ‘The Drop’ [/url] [url="http://soundcloud.com/skollob/hangin"][b]Skol303[/b] ‘Hangin’ [/url] [b][color=#b22222][size=5]Voting ends at midnight on Monday 2nd June.[/size][/color][/b] Well done to everyone. [i]Really[/i] good work this month

Ok… managed to get it done! A hasty effort by me this month. Written and recorded today, which is contrary to my usual slow and ponderous methods. It’s a hip hop track. It has me rapping. It’s the first and probably the last time I’ll be doing so… rapping is a lot harder than it seems. And for some reason I can’t do it in anything other than a faux US accent, which just sounds weird to me. But anyway. This one is best listened to on headphones or through a good set of speakers. The low end is fairly huge, so I take no responsibility for structural damage to your home if played too loud http://soundcloud.com/skollob/hangin I tried out a few tricks I’ve been experimenting with regards super-aggressive compression. Not exactly dinner party conversation, but it had me excited. I’ll post up the voting thread in a moment…

[b][color=#b22222][size=6]The next Mixing Challenge is now on![/size][/color][/b] [b][url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/237588-june-mixing-challenge-now-on/"][size=5]GO HERE[/size][/url][/b]

[size=6]Voting has ended and congratulations to our winner and undisputed champion, [color=#800000][b]ironside1966![/b][/color][/size] Also a hearty round of applause to joint runners-up, [color=#800000][b]Old_Ben[/b][/color] and [b][color=#800000]Thurbs[/color][/b]. Great work guys A [size=5]BIG[/size] thanks to Chris (Roland Rock) of [url="https://www.facebook.com/pages/UJahm/202100879906376"]UJahm[/url] for offering up the mix stems for this one. A cracking track and very much appreciated mate. I have something “in the bank” for the next one… but there’s still opportunity if anyone wants to put forward a track of their own for the mixing challenge. If so, drop me a message. Otherwise we’ll get the ball rolling again in a couple of weeks time… Cheers! [size=5]MIX01 ironside1966 MIX02 Old_Ben MIX03 Thurbs[/size] [b][url="https://soundcloud.com/basschat-mix-challenge"]LISTEN TO THE MIXES HERE[/url][/b]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1400683885' post='2456073'] Me too, especially since my interest in typography earns me a living these days. I can also top your sadness quotient: The only time I ever went to The Hacienda in Manchester was not to see some hip band but to attend a typography discussion featuring amongst others Erik Spiekermann and David Carson. [/quote] There's a guy in our office with whom you'd clearly get on like a proverbial house on fire!

Motorhead, Misfits, Metallica and other bands not beginning with 'M' nor limited to the metal genre Aphex Twin. Prince. Rolling Stones... loads of bands/artists have instantly recognisable logos or namestyles that scores of people have tatooed on their bodies. I work for a creative company that produces brands as part of our workflow, so I agree with all points raised by my designer comrades above. The thing with brands/logos is that they can be everything and nothing in terms of helping to define the identity of a band - or any organisation. A logo in itself means very little. People get obsessed over logos, but what they really need to obsess over is the 'product' or service that the logo represents. In this case, writing and playing great music, You'd have to try really hard to create a logo that people would find so instantly off-putting that they wouldn't give your band a chance (although I'd recommend avoiding the swastika). What really matters is the context - all the guff that surrounds the logo and how/where it's presented. That's what constitutes a 'brand'... from the first line of text describing to your band and its music; to photographs (hugely important) and videos (increasingly so); to the way you dress and perform; the charisma of your frontperson, and so on, and so forth. All that stuff adds up to give punters an expectation of who you are, what you might sound like and importantly - whether you're relevant to them. As corny as it sounds, think of your brand as being a 'personality'. Your logo needs to convey that somehow. Are you dark and serious? Fun and light-hearted? Modern? Vintage? Urban? Whatever. Commercial rates for design - that is, hiring a studio rather than a freelancer - [i]start[/i] at around £300 per day. So anything less than that is competitive.

Sorry guys! Work has gone kerr-azy this week and I probably won't have the new mixing competition launched until this coming weekend. We already have a track 'in the bank' for this one (all will be revealed), so it's good to go as soon as I find the time time to upload everything. I'm also aiming to post up some notes on the previous one. Again, well done to Ironside and all involved! Paul

[color=#b22222][size=5][b]A quick note to say that the deadline for entries has been extended by a day to [u]midnight on Sunday 25th[/u].[/b][/size][/color] This is because I won't be at my computer on the 24th, so we might as well offer up an extra day for people to get busy with. I'll extend the voting by a day to compensate. As you were.

[size=5]See original post for details of the entrants... well done ironside1966!![/size]

Aaaaand we have a winner!! Well done MIX 06 You know who you are... and I'll reveal your identity along with everyone else tomorrow, once I get on my 'puter at home. In the meantime, congrats on a great mix. And thanks again to BRX for providing the material for this one. Now's the time for y'all to post up any comments and constructive feedback. We already have a track lined up for the next one. And the one after that! I'll keep that as a surprise until we're ready to kick off again... hopefully this weekend. Cheers all. Paul

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1400159996' post='2451307']It's this whole reliance on YouTube/FaceBook/Soundcloud etc. thing that has made me become increasingly disinterested in playing music. Musicians seem to spend more time fannying about with this stuff more than anything else these days & I just have no interest in it whatsoever. If being a musician now means that all this stuff is essential then I'd rather just stop playing.[/quote] You're only reliant on it if you're interested in promoting your band, or your own music. And it involves no more fannying around than sending an email. Or posting a thread on Basschat If you're not looking for an audience, then it has no bearing on you whatsoever. That's the thing about online media - it's there if you [i]choose[/i] to use it. It's not obligatory. For a lot of people, it beats the traditional option of having to find an agent, label, publicist, etc. All of which costs considerably more money (especially give that the vast bulk of social media is free to use, albeit time-consuming). "Being a musician" remains unchanged - it's still about playing an instrument. Publicising your music - or wanting to make music your career is a different issue. And it still takes bucketloads of effort and a big dollop of luck, just as it always has, despite these newfangled ways of getting yourself heard.