51m0n

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1358884' date='Sep 1 2011, 03:25 PM']I'm with Doddy - practice more. The better my technique, the better my sound. Practice with your amp. Turn it up louder and play softer. [b]Also, get your drummer to try different cymbals - that will have more effect than a compressor!![/b] [/quote] No it wont.

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=143267&st=20"]This Barefaced BigOne will gove you a very big smooth deep sound[/url]?

Well kinda, its excessive bass peaks that cause the needle to jump out of the groove. If you have everything banging headlong into a brickwall limioter (like the issue at hand here) then you get greater overall volume at the expense of the peaks. That is to say the ratio of RMS level to Peak level is higher. So the song is louder on average, but has no peaks, so no punch and a huge amount of distortion. In short it sounds like 5h1t

I just love this track....

[quote name='wjoyce' post='1357378' date='Aug 31 2011, 12:07 PM']I've listened to it a few times and I'm reserving judgement on the songs so far. It took me a while to get into Stadium Arcadium. HOWEVER, the mastering is atrocious. Just like Californication it's overly compressed and distorted throughout. Why spend so much money producing an album only to ruin it during the mastering process. sigh.[/quote] Dreadful isnt it! I dont get it at all, and I wont master like that for anyone, as far as I am concerned I care enough about the music not to ruin it for that last 1.5dB RMS. Worse still is when you destroy the sound like this it only ever sounds even woprse on radio, which was one of the srguments for louder masters in the past.

From Self Evident Truth Of An Intuitive Mind by TPower

The one in my sig - luckily for me

[url="http://www.reaper.fm/userguide.php"]The Reaper Manual[/url] should become regular reading for all you new Reaperheads

[quote name='cheddatom' post='1356353' date='Aug 30 2011, 02:58 PM']I'm trying it at the moment on my laptop. It's frustrating to be so slow again, but i'm sure i'll learn this faster than cubase. One thing i'm missing is a list of keyboard shortcuts - anyone got one?[/quote] shift->F1 in Reaper will open a browser with a full list of standard shortcuts and mouse modifiers....

[quote name='redstriper' post='1356323' date='Aug 30 2011, 02:33 PM']OK I get it now - it's an honour system where you only pay for it if you're honourable and it's not expensive anyway. I like this business model [/quote] Its an incredibly trusting and fair approach. It really does let you try out the software in a variety of ways before you commit even that little bit of cash.

Wolverinebass is right on the money here. Natural light in a studio is hard to implenet and mainly not done as the door because that will leak like a sieve.

[quote name='Herbie The Rad Dorklift' post='1356211' date='Aug 30 2011, 12:53 PM']I have noticed that volume definitely makes a difference. In short, I'm not really sure what kind of tone I want.. I'm new to bass. I just thought there was maybe something that everyone ALWAYS uses. Like, in my guitar rig I'd always use a graphic EQ pedal, but never thought about it for bass. Are compressors something you'd have on all the time if you had one?[/quote] Big topic, compression. Search on this forum for compression posts, I've explained a lot about how you can set up compressors and what makes a good (especially for a beginner) compressor. IMO & IME a single knob compressor on an amp is usually a pretty awful worse case scenario. and you would be best off just not going there, if you aren't very lucky it will probably do more harm than good. A decent compressor, well set up, definitely can be an 'always on' thing, a compressor can certainly be something that you cannot perceive in operation unless you are in a full band setting, where upon it will change the envelope of your bass such that it can be heard better in the mix, whilst remaining to your ear unchanged. A compressor can also being very obvious, both in terms of how it feels to play with it in the signal chain and how it sounds. This is usually detrimental, but again not always. My advice would be to buy a cheap rack compressor with good metering of the in level, out level and gain reduction, read up on a bunch of threads about using oine and then play abou twith it. You will get better results from a £100 rack comp than a £100 pedal comp, just because the metering is more useful. Having said that dbx did a desk top compressor with great metering and a full set of controls that sounds fine, and that could be had for asd little as £25 on ebay sometime back.

Yes, it was about £25 when I bought my copy. The download will not expire, it will nag the hell out of you, and rightfully so. If you find yourself using it after 30 days you should buy a licence, its the decent thing to do after all.

[quote name='redstriper' post='1355329' date='Aug 29 2011, 03:36 PM']OK I'm convinced - I'll try Reaper.[/quote] Hope it gives you something more than Cubase 1, any questions just ask!

Having said the above I like compression, not necessarily a lot, and not necessarily so you would know it was there without checking themeters, but I do love compression all the same. It helps keep the bass in the mix.

Define 'better'.... Could be a really nice compressor, or a little bit of tuby dirt or a smidge of chorus, or octaver. Couldnt say what would work for you though...

[quote name='lojo' post='1355304' date='Aug 29 2011, 03:05 PM']Is there a way to really measure output at varying volume settings, if so , then one of the magazines should surely set up a test when reviewing and give some sort of rating or benchmark, which at least would allow you to compare across the board with a level benchmark As I said before whatever amp I use I always seem to end up with the dial in the same place anyhow[/quote] Yes. Take an anechoic chamber, a reference system measuring actual dB of sound, and test pink noise and frequency sweeps to accurately plot the volume at various frequncies and the slew rates etc over time of the entire rig. You could even work out THD from this. Personally I dont think most bassists are ready to try and take the output from the corresponding figures and try and work out if that would make it asny good on a gig.

I have one of the lowest gear turn over rates on the forum I think. Still cr4p at playing bass too

[quote name='cheddatom' post='1351009' date='Aug 25 2011, 08:58 AM']I'm looking for a VSTi for strings. I don't need the world's best sounds, just something better than the microsoft MIDI voices. Is there anything free?[/quote] Try DSK Strings. Its not the best I've heard, but its pretty cheap (ie free!) - does require a fair bit of effort to get a good result, but that is probably as much my fault as the vsti

Damn I'm too old And a filthy arrogant son of a soap dodging miserable goat too...

[quote name='charic' post='1350357' date='Aug 24 2011, 03:36 PM']Question about reaper as I have to put my purchase of protools on hold Is it closer to logic or cubase? I only ask because I've always found Cubase unusable in any form. This is probably my fault rather than the software mind you....[/quote] You could try Reaper for free, they have a 30 day trial period... It is absurdly versatile wrt workflow (more than logic or cubase or PT, not that I am up on the latest versions of those but I read a lot about DAWS cos I'm sad), but there is a learning curve

[quote name='redstriper' post='1350267' date='Aug 24 2011, 02:06 PM']Well if you need any of those things fairy nuff, but I don't - or do I ? I'm still finding new tricks in Cubase 1 and I don't have the time or desire to learn new stuff that I don't need and can't afford. I started recording many years ago on a TEAC 1/4" 4 track with a room full of boxes and I find Cubase 1 does so much more in a laptop than that whole room could manage. I do have Waves Diamond plug ins and Melodyne for extra fx, but I could happily live with the packaged Cubase plug ins if I had to. Cubase 1 is used for all my recording sessions over the past 5 years and it has never crashed or lost any data. I think there is a lot to be said for being familiar with whatever tool you use and to work within it's limitations, it's the music you record that matters and no new software will improve that. I'm still playing my '63 Fender Jazz bass and I consider Cubase 1 as a wonder of modern technology! Having said that, I'm not a professional audio engineer and I use the cheapest mics and gear that I can find. I would love someone to give me a copy of the latest version really. You can hear my latest album recorded in my front room on Cubase 1 [url="http://myspace.com/tacsiband"]here[/url] if you can be bothered.[/quote] Absolutely, I wouldnt be able to say what you need to get the job done, you asked for things Reaper did/had that Cubase1 doesnt. I think its Chris Lord-Alge who is still mixing on PT5, and critics be damned.... So how about the ability to do an install to a USB stick so yuou can tae youDAW with you to a studio/mates house and run it without installing it? Could that be a useful thing for you?? You could try Reaper for free, they have a 30 day trial period...

Holy mother of ..... That is luuuurrrrrverrrllllyyyy!

[quote name='cheddatom' post='1350043' date='Aug 24 2011, 10:51 AM']oh that's an idea. The song i'm doing at the moment is just verse chorus verse chorus to a click so I can use each half with the opposite half. Nice one![/quote] We aim to please, bud, we aim to please....

That is a pretty phenominal mix off a desk. Definitely getting the multitrack to really go to town on it, but great sound all the same!