cheddatom

How peculiar! Maybe he got knocked down by a bus or something similar.

Do you have any proof like a signed receipt or a picture? My feet are big fans of phil!

there are loads on that site. I don't mean to be a tw*t but I got it from searching "chromatic tuner" and got a few million results. - just saying 'cos there's probably something better/better value out there

What about [url="http://www.chamberlainmusic.com/ProductDetail.asp?ProductID=CA%2D30"]this[/url]?

Can you just use your PC? Or a pedal tuner with an xlr-jack lead?

[quote name='alexclaber' post='240239' date='Jul 15 2008, 05:40 PM']Regarding Option 1, if they're that hard to hear you're not listening hard enough. Regarding Option 2, I bet you end up with the amp gain louder than necessary and thus fail to practice using your full dynamic range. Very few guitar shops are quiet enough to test basses acoustically, though I would insist on it, it's the only true way of knowing how good a bass is (electronics can always be replaced). I have played very few low B strings that measure up acoustically, which is why I play a 36" scale. If I can sound like a bad mother****** acoustically then I know I'll be even badder once I'm plugged in. Likewise if a song sounds great on classical guitar or unplugged bass plus vocals then I know once it has the full power of a band behind it it will be even better. Music first, arrangement second, sound third. Alex[/quote] You're right, I take it all back! I was playing last night, and actually listening instead of watching TV and I could hear everything, even my tasty low B.

[quote name='Rimskidog' post='240453' date='Jul 15 2008, 10:56 PM'][rant over - and chedda please don't take this as a slight at you as I can see you are offering your service for free which is laudable and IMO the right way forward until you've honed the art - it's more a railing against the idea that anyone can do this without knowing a damn thing about it which appears to be rampant nowadays and which invariably leaves young bands being disappointed at the product they are presented with in exchange for their hard earned!][/quote] Yeh, fair enough, but I think if you actually listen to my stuff you'll realise that I actually do know a damn thing about recording, mixing and mastering. Just because my gear's cheap sh*t doesn't mean I get a cheap sh*t sound. It's not just young guys. There are people running studios all over the country that have been going for years (making money) producing the same sh*t sound, which winds me up more than young guys who are having a bash. What about The Strokes for one example? They recorded both their first two albums on f*ck all cash, even though for the second one they had it. You don't need Great gear to get a Great sound, you don't need £300K or an experienced producer, but obviously it makes it a lot simpler if you have that kind of cash etc. This is beside the point because I did recommend that he go to a pro studio. Sorry if that seemed defensive, I don't know why, I realise you were "slighting" me!

[quote name='alexclaber' post='240221' date='Jul 15 2008, 05:20 PM']But if you play with a relatively normal range of force and have an instrument that speaks well then practicing unplugged can be very beneficial in terms of your tone and understanding of the instrument. Alex[/quote] I accept all your points but I still haven't seen justification for the above. If we're talking about home practice only, say i've got a sound proof booth at home, and a pretty loud bass when played acoustic. In my sound proof booth is a sweet amp and cab. Option 1: I play unplugged. I can hear everything clearly, although the nuances of the sounds such as fret buzz, pick attack, note sustain or propegation (correct word?) or low notes will be quite hard to hear. You could argue with that I suppose, but i've never gone into a guitar shop, picked up a 5 or 6er, played the low B and then thought "Cor, I don't even need to plug it in to hear it!" Option 2: I plug in, turn up as loud, or as quiet as I like, I can hear the acoustic tone of my bass if I keep the amp quiet, with the amp up I can hear everything that the audience will hear such as fret buzz.........low notes, at a realistic performance volume if I wish. I know i'd go for option 2.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='240160' date='Jul 15 2008, 04:07 PM']It's an acoustic instrument until the pickups get involved. Get the tone you want from it unplugged, then use the electronics to give you the best interpretation of that once plugged in. Alex[/quote] I think you are far more likely to hear what your fingers are doing to the tone when you actually amplify it. Also, for working on technique, it's much harder to hear mistakes etc when you're not plugged in. On top of that, what is the point? You're never going to perform with an electric bass unplugged. What if you only ever practiced unplugged, and then got to play a gig with a rig, and realised you were crap? That'd be a nerve-racking gig!

I have a big warehouse thing that's got no soundproofing so I can't record during working hours else you get lorries all over your tracks. I have cheap-sh*t mics and pre-amps, and a computer - that's it! I've done a full album for the premature ejaculators, but that wasn't necessarily a serious attempt to produce a high quality recording, it was fun to do, and something i've always wanted to do. It sounds pretty good though, you can hear some stuff on the link in my sig. Since doing that i've aquired some condensors which sound pretty decent, so the vocals will sound a hell of a lot better than the PEs. I want to start officially next spring, but I need to have some examples ready for then, so i'm trying to get bands in of all types to do a track or two. Like I say, I really wouldn't have the time to do a full album at the moment, and certainly not before the end of september! But if you want to do one or two tracks, or if you record somewhere but want someone else to change the mixes or whatever, that would be cool.

Well, i'll have a listen and see. I would love to do a track over a weekend, but I don't think i'm set up well enough to do a full album for release, and I certainly don't have the time at the minute! I also don't think your label would like the inexperienced producer! I like this "We dont need / want to much 'over-production' we are after the live / raw feel of our music." I wish more metal bands sounded live and raw, it gives rock bands' CDs so much more energy.

apparently "drumkit from hell" is where it's at. I've downloaded it (for trial purposes only) but I haven't tried it yet. Apparently the drummer from meshugga (sp?) uses it instead of recording live drums, and the samples are from his actual kit.

[quote name='Mr Fudge' post='239930' date='Jul 15 2008, 12:31 PM']99% of the time unplugged. My main bass is in a corner of the front room on a stand. I probably pick it up 2 or 3 times every night for anywhere between 30 seconds to half an hour. I do it without thinking most of the time. The kids and mrs are watching the telly and Im in the same room having a quick plonk. Very bizzare to the untrained ete I would imagine.[/quote] I am the same (minus kids). I think that practicing without an amp in no way helps you "get the best sound possible out of just the instrument and my fingers" because you can't actually hear the sounds you're making, if you know what I mean? When you're performing, you're using the your bass amplified - that's the true sound of your bass and your fingers. Anyway, so many times i've been practicing something without an amp, and then I get to practice with the band and it sounds absolutely awful 'cos i'm so uneven etc and I have to practice it all over again with the amp turned up. So, I don't use an amp to practice, but I should. It's hard to hear the TV when you're amped up though!

[quote name='51m0n' post='239817' date='Jul 15 2008, 10:43 AM']Yeah true, you suggested a comp before that. Sorry to go on about it Your suggestion of a shorter attack on the compression I would say ios a personal taste issue though, alot of the flavour of a compressor is its attack and how it engages, I like to get the punch at the beginning of a note through without the brightoness being afftected by the compressor. So I like a longer attack usually. If I were after a kind of smooth as butter super phat dark R&B tone I'd certainly shorten that attack though... All I'm saying is that strictly speaking the limiter approach isnt going to fatten up the tone. Not trying to suggest its a bad idea (although I dont like limiting or maximising a live rig personally unless its absolutely necessary) for controlling unfriendly signal spikes at all though.[/quote] Heh, this is all getting a bit confusing. In relation to the OP, I posted "I would suggest buying a good low gain OD pedal, boss ODB-3 or Marshal jackhammer or something similar, and put this in a blend loop at about 50%. Put a compressor with slow attack on your "clean" signal that you're blending with. Put a limiter after the the whole thing." Yeh, a limiter on it's own wouldn't fatten a sound at all.

[quote name='slobluesine' post='236978' date='Jul 10 2008, 11:47 PM']just got a DR-1, any chance of some tips on settings to record live gig please? limiter on/off/auto? input level? wav or mp3?[/quote] I would have the limiter on but a low input level, and record to wav if you have the memory to fit the file in.

God - someone who likes editing? You're one of those are you! Ta though, I will bear that in mind if I ever get anything. I've been offering to friend's bands for the past month and no-one has arranged anything yet.

[quote name='et1058' post='239382' date='Jul 14 2008, 06:08 PM']Can anyone recommend any studio's in the North-West who would provide a great recording / production of metal music? Thanks Et[/quote] Do you want to pm me details of the band? If I like the music you could come down to Stoke and do a couple of tracks for free. If you want to do a whole album or something then I don't have the time, but i'd love to do some metal stuff. I don't have an amazing set up but I can get a good sound myspace.com/nologorock for example.

Yeh, I never actually suggested that using a limiter on it's own would help the OP in his quest for a "phat" tone.

I often find myself popping the odd note, as opposed to just fingering it. I thought a lot of people did this? I don't see the difference with slapping? bremen - I'm not a drummer! I'm a bassist who enjoys playing the drums whilst drunk.

I hardly ever slap in my band, but there is the odd occasion where that extra percussive element really helps. With a little bit of overdrive, tuned to drop D, slapping those power chords can sound "brutal".

I think you've been a bit harsh on Claypool there Bilbo. Just yesterday I was watching a live video of primus and thinking "what a fienddish slap bass solo, I wish that lasted more than 10 seconds before he went back to fingerstyle". Also, the way in which he slaps the bass at times is quite different to a standard "funk" player. All in all, I think he tends to be quite tasteful and stylish in his playing, although I can totally understand if it's not your kind of music.

I know what you mean but..... I should have specified that my recommendations are for a short attack on the compressor. The only reason you get that "very obvious compression on slaps and pops that people associate with heavy compression" is because of the long attack time. If you have practically 0ms attack , a fairly high threshold, and an extreme ratio, then you get a very subtle but very effective limiter. As far as "phattening up your tone" I suppose a slow attack with a lighter ratio <1:5 and lower threshold would have a better effect. The combination I was talking about would entail this - clean bass mixed with bass through standard compressor with medium attack and ratio, low threshold, and then the whole mix going through a limiter with 0 attack.