cheddatom

outdoor gig on a bandstand on Saturday. It was OK, not loads of people. I was really impressed with the soundman though. I was chatting to my mate while we watched the band after us and we both agreed it was a great mix, and very refreshing to have it at an appropriate volume. Then some fans of ours came up and said "great set but it wasn't loud enough". I guess this is why every single venue has to have everything too loud - it's what the punters want?

I was debating use of picks on a bass with a friend of mine the other day. I sort of thought we'd all moved past this but anyway, to persuade him that it's acceptable I need an example of a great song with a bassline played with a pick, which isn't obviously played with a pick. I'm trying to avoid rock or country, so something jazzy or funky would be perfect. I'm quite surprised that now I'm trying to think of one, I can't. Can you help?

I was in Nashville last weekend. It was a bit of a whistle stop bourbon fuelled bender to be honest. I went with my brothers who aren't as into the music, but just randomly popping in to the bars on the strip we saw some great bands. I really couldn't believe the number of people out at the gigs, actually dancing and enjoying the music. It made me wonder why the hell I'm still sat here in Stoke trying to get a recording studio off the ground. The tip above to be wary of the cocktails is very wise

[quote name='Bassmonkey' timestamp='1465917653' post='3072086'] .........is eggs [/quote] I had to google it, but sure enough it's an actual saying. My shame is eggscruciating.

damn, no, I'm away played there once and it was empty but for some very intimidating old blokes. I guess the atmosphere's a bit different when there's a decent act on

sure as eggs?!

outdoor sound is always going to be a compromise

What do you do? I've been to a few gigs recently where I'm dying to go and speak to the sound engineer about the mix but I never do it - too worried about upsetting them

my contents insurance covers stuff left in the car as standard. I wouldn't normally leave a bass in there, but if I've got a gig in the evening and a business meeting on the way, I'll probably not take it in with me, just try and hide it as best I can.

Isn't it just volume? If I'm understanding the term correctly, I tend to get that experience when I'm turned up arguably too loud, through whichever rig I'm using. I mean, anything will "punch you in the chest" if you turn it up loud enough (and if it goes loud enough)

I use them. Dunlop or Planet Waves size L are fine for me. I do play fairly hard and they wear down pretty quickly. I don't have a problem with the pick catching strings on upstrokes, although I do a lot of upstrokes (IE on purpose) anyway. I guess you just have to learn to use it as a new technique?

just had a listen (as I've nothing better to do at work) and the chorus melodies are basically the same. Whether or not that's copyright infringement I wouldn't know. On the face of it it seems a bit pathetic, but if I heard someone playing one of my songs on the radio, making loads of money, and I was convinced they'd copied it, I'm pretty sure I'd do the same.

you could probably get a lawyer to write something that sounds threatening for £100ish. You'd hope it would intimidate them into changing the name. The danger is that they have wealthy/gobby parents

It is better, but I still think that super bright reverb is too much on the cymbals, and the snare really doesn't have much power. Seriously, compare it to "smells like teen spirit" or anything off that album Anyway, it's certainly a great quality recording and I really am nit-picking.

what's the band name?

It's unacceptable management, but would have definitely put up with it for the chance to play with him. How long I could stand it is anyone's guess!

hmmm, not so sure about them. My girlfriend played me a couple of albums years ago and I really didn't like it. Just trying again on youtube and I'm not "feeling it". Can you recommend any tracks?

I like it! I even like the droning and random guitar noises I would say the drums sound a bit too "washy". There's some high frequency reflections going on that sound like badly applied reverb - particularly obvious on the stick hits right at the start. The snare is not powerful enough - listen to nevermind. If you're using triggers you should be able to get a very powerful and loud snare. Basically copy the snare off nevermind and the whole thing should start to make sense. The toms could do with some low end or something, they're just a bit weak at the moment. Is there a lot of compression on the drum bus? Or overheads? I'd say it's over done as it makes the cymbals fatiguing. Backing vocals could be panned wide (If you doubled them?) - a bit louder too I think

not bad dad! It does highlight the echo on the snare, mostly 200Hz ish (I guess) slapping back after every snare hit, which I really don't like! I'd just cut the low end out of that reverb (assuming it's not the sound of the room!). The vocals could take a bit more reverb or delay, but it's not essential.

ahh, I see, that's reasurring. Honestly I find anything less than 256 awful

what sample rate mp3 are you encoding Dad? I probably shouldn't admit this but I can never tell the difference between 320kbps mp3 and CD WAV file (encoded on Cubase)

no idea but I like it! Great bass sound

I agree with everything Dad says, sounds great. It sounds like there are two keys parts most of the way through? I'd probably pan them on opposite sides to free up some more space in the middle. Other than that, maybe a bit more reverb on the vocals or a bit of slap-back? But I'd whack a big dollop of master compression on there first, to see how it all sounds when it's loud.

This is more obvious to me on drums. When I'm in the right mood, nothing matters, I just sit down and play. When I'm in the wrong mood, I'm constantly moving stands and drums, tightening things, basically blaming everything I can possibly think of except myself for my lacklustre performance.

This latest rig isn't so different from his previous rigs. I guess he just prefers the cabs to his old Ampeg ones... but yes it'd be great to hear why he made that choice