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My advice, save up for a day in a big rehearsal studio Mic the drums, DI the bass, Line6 POD for guitar. Track the drums, then in your own time overdub the other stuff 'properly' You cant do what you want without a decent space and its going to be loud, but a day in a rehearsal studio is not too expensive at all.

I enjoyed it, but they really stuck to the most obvious, didn't catch the beginning but didn't hear any Neville Brothers or Meters, which is criminal. As for being only accessable to black Americans, every time PFunk played in Blighty there was a mixed audience, when I saw them it was more white than black. Plus they did emphasize the SATFS integration message too....

HJ what can I say, we are merely pawns in the game of life, the majesty of West London has not yet beckoned, for which I am forever sorry. We have managed to take an hour and a half off your journey time though..... Also if you can get us a gig in West London that will cover our costs plus a little bit we'd be delighted to play closer to you. We have no contacts that way. We only got this gig because the proprietor was walking passed us playing a gig in Brighton, came in to see us and offered us the gig the minute we finished our set.....

Mister Super Juice will be visiting the big smoke on 13th December over in Leytonstone at The Red Lion with our particular brand of funky cinematic instrumental music. Bands on around 9:30, license till 2:00.

[quote name='ubit' timestamp='1417542814' post='2621551'] Nice one Simon, now if you could please translate that into English for me, I would be very grateful [/quote] Errrr, nope, cant do it without talking in terms of ratio vs threshold. You are better off reading up the Compression 101 link I posted?

[quote name='Paultrader' timestamp='1417277073' post='2618797'] No compression for me - I can't bear hearing my notes clipped. [/quote] Hmmmm, depending on how you set up a compressor you can get up to 6dB of compression without even knowing its happening from the sound or feel, I achieved this for Urb at a bass bash a couple of years ago with just a couple of minutes tweaking. Similar results for SilverfoxNik a year or so before that. Simple thing is if you can feel it its set with too low a threshold for the ratio, if your compressor can't go down to a ration of less than 2:1 then its not really fit for anything other than hitting transients IME. The best use for a compressor live is closer to 1.25:1 with a low threshold IMO, that way its always working, but you cant feel it hurting you when you dig in, yet every note is a bit less different in volume to all those around it. Follow that up with a limiter set to catch the nastiest peaks only and you are 100% golden.

For the quickest way to tune a kick drum check out [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga8Q12mKYxI"]this video[/url] (it works a treat) Buy a Red5 Audio kick drum mic [url="http://www.red5audio.com/acatalog/Drum_Kit_Mics.html"](bottom of this page)[/url] - its very very good for the cash Mic the drum by putting this mic right up to the hole in the resonant head, pointing as directly at the point where the beater strikes the batter head. You can experiment with the exact distance from the kick - the sound can change with a change Your PA should handle it fine, provided you aren't daft and listen to the output, if it starts to fart out you are pushing too hard, I've run kicks through reasonable vocal PAs plenty of times and as long as you arent expecting great big PA style oomph and are sensible you'll be fine. As for EQ, the enemy of most kick drum sounds in a big PA is the low mids (around 300-400Hz), but in a smaller vocal PA you arent going to get much low end so your best bet is to aim for something more 70s sounding (a lot more mids, and less bass), you're only trying to get a bit more out front with that kind of PA, not shake the foundations.

Here's a little example from that drum tracking session, I've not done much to the tracks at all yet, really I've balanced the levels with some simple top and tailing eq, drums are deliberately prominent, and there are a couple of little edits in there. Everything else is intended to be overdubbed anyway - added some reverb for the trumpet (recorded in the vocal booth to minimise spill its sounds like poop unless you put a decent plate verb on it). Its just an mp3 up to Soundcloud and I can hear artifacts in the cymbals from their conversion process I'm afraid, but its a reasonable indicator nonetheless. https://soundcloud.com/mistersuperjuice/produce-the-juice-drums/s-0tpW8

Compression is very misunderstood I wrote this a while ago to help people set up a compressor for bass:- http://web.archive.org/web/20130215154741/http://blog.basschat.co.uk/setting-up-a-compressor/ I use compression live, low ratio very low threshold to just increase the fatness a touch, and to sculpt the transients if I'm slapping. FOH would be great, except I don't trust most live sound people with a bass tone. Mixing I use all sorts of tools to improve everything, but compression and eq are the cornerstone of good mixing.

Yep, I used them on all sorts, guitar cabs, trumpet. Their one potential issue is that they are prone to bass lift if you get too close, but be aware of that and they're fine. The only other thing I'm not thrilled about is that the bodies are very slippery in mic clips, and the clips that come with them are utter gash. Other than that they are surprisingly good for the money IMO, but I would doubt they are as hard wearing as Shure mics (I havent had them long enough to know if they are bullet proof)

I'd suggest you read this fine article off our old blog, that no longer exists:- http://web.archive.org/web/20130215154741/http://blog.basschat.co.uk/setting-up-a-compressor/

Have a great day chaps, I wont make it I'm afraid, but make a little bit too much noise for me

Drum mic kits seem great, but they are a pain in some ways because they dont always work well on other sources My recommendations for a cheap way to mic drums with mics that are good for the task, and useful on other sources:- Overheads - Pair of LineAudio CM3s (dont skimp on the OHs, they are the real sound of you kit, and these mics are absolutely amazing) - always equidistant from the snare Kick drum - Red5Audio kick mic - great for right in the resonant skin hole to capture the punch, I also like a mic in front of the kit up to a couple of feet away to capture the low end, I have built kick tunnels before for good seperation on this mic (a Bruce Swedian trick, and he has forgotten more about recording drums than any of us will ever know). You have to play with the two mics to get the position of the outer one just right Snare - an SM57, or a HEil PR28 ideally, this is the character of your drummers kit, his signature, a decent mic on here is important, a Sennheiser e835 can be great on snare too Toms - Prodipe TT1 - yep, 3 in a box for £63 from [url="http://www.woodbrass.com/en/chant-et-voix-dynamique-main-prodipe-tt1-pro-pack-ludovic-lanen-p163262-af833-gbp.html?gclid=CJzMpomt0sECFSYIwwod6E8Aow"]here[/url] these are ridiculously good for the money, quite like the Sennheiser MD421 in sound, a lot of proximity effect so back them off a bit, but they do a great job on rack toms, and at a push the floor tom, but if you want something that will handle the floor tom really well the AT Pro 25 can be found pretty cheap. Core mic - this is an unusual mic for people not used to drum micing, you basically jam it in under the snare between the kick and snare to capture the sound in there amongst all the gubbins, position is important take some time over this bad boy! I like to use something omni, and with some character, go for an old omni dynamic off ebay, something small can be a help to get it right in there (I have an old beaten up AT804 I use in there). I generally mash the crap out of this track with heavy compression and saturation and just bring it in a bit to keep everything from sounding too clean and sparkly. Of course you can get away with that third prodipe TT1 in here if you only have two toms or a dedicated floor tom mic. This track can be the thing that makes your drums kick arse rather than sound too clean jazz, great on pretty much any drum recording though for some mojo. BTW watch the phase on this mic, usually its out of phase with the rest of the kit, but not always, trust your ears! Micing drums is all about a great sounding kit in a good room and position, position, position.... If anyone is interested the mic clamps are Stage Ninga Scorpian Mic Clamps (MIC-12-CB):- Which look very rude indeed, but do do a good job of holding a mic in place all day

Not so much, I think people are confused by what you should be looking to achieve when recording a rehearsal (in my honestly quite humble opinion about this). So, for a rehearsal I want to spend my time worrying about the sounds the band are making, are we all on the same page with structures, are we playing as a unit, is everyone listening. These are the things that really matter about rehearsing. The recording is just documentation for this. So in order to be able to concentrate on all of that I dont want to waste any time on the documentation tech (the recording), if I cant set it up in literally less than five minutes, its too complex, by far. The next thing is, is your rehearsal space actually big enough to rehearse in, [i]and document that reheasal. [/i]Most spaces are too small for this, everyine should have eyeline on everyone, and the main mic(s) should be somewhere in the circle of the performers. This is easy to do, and over time you can learn to move the main mic(s) to get them closer to the quieter sections of the band. Include the PA as a part of the band, anything too quiet (the percussion in my case) needs micing up for everyone to be able to hear it, so do that, so that it also gets heard in the recording, the keys only come out of the PA. So level setting in the room is of the utmost importance to getting a good rehearsal, and a good recording. Once you have those levels, then there is typically very few instruments that need another mic, in my case the drums (and currently the percussion but I'm working on that). Really recording a rehearsal is like a 1950's recording, get in a good sounding room, get the levels righ tbetween the people in the room, experiment over a few tries with the mic placement, then record. Easy. On Sunday, in contrast, we tracked the drums for the album. 12 hours we spent (not including breaks) to get down about 6 12 to 15 minute long tracks. Before we started recording we loaded in, tuned the kit, set up the kit and the recording kit, set up some isolation for other performers (we dont do click tracks) and their mics. That set up in entirety was 4 hours, the playing was done in 8 hours. Here are a few photos of the day:- [url="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.847833075250516.1073741831.588604131173413&type=3"]https://www.facebook...31173413&type=3[/url] I'm left with 3 hours of takes to pore over, edit and boil down in to drum tracks ready for overdubbing final bass, guitar, keys, percussion, horns that will need to be done. This is clearly a long term project with a different goal, but, its being done in the same room we rehearse in, because we rehearse in a really great sounding room.....

Had a blast Saturday noght, 7 piece version of the band, back in the Worlds End, decent crowd turned up, played for an hour and forty minutes, all long instrumental funk tracks, lots of positive noises from the crowd, made some new friends, got asked back, got asked to do some session work for Sussex Uni's media courses (they are always looking for original instrumental music apparently ) So top night, cant complain

This is a recording of my band in reheasal:- https://soundcloud.com/mistersuperjuice/2014-10-05-track-08-banacek-rehearsal Recorded with an H4n and a pair of Line Audio CM3 mics in the room. The H4n is over the drum kit and is only about 25% of what you hear, I've also closed down its stereo width (ie made it more mono) in post to keep everything centralised around it, basically I dont need super wide drums if it means the bass is pushed wide too, and this alleviates alot of that. Note that the bottom end of the kit is actually picked up by the CM3s no the H4n, they are such amazing little mics! The CM3s are on a stereo bar about 6ft from the drums faciung so that the LH mic faces the guitar amp, the RH mic faces the PA and the horns are front and center to it. The bass amp is to the rhs of the stereo bar and behind it, maybe 8ft away. The hardest thing is getting levels (percussion too quiet in this I think, need more in the PA to get a better level), but then this isnt a 'real' recording, its just a rehearsal, so some level issues are to be expected. However I'm particularly pleased with how this one came out, the playing is pretty good too IMO, couple of ropey notes from the horns, but nothing to get too worried about for a rehearsal tape. With an R16 I would be able to put a mic over each component of the percussion (bongos/congas, woodblocks/cowbells, hand cymbals) to lift them a little as a part of mixdown/post, but the fun is trying to get it ight in the room, because once you've got that you are better equipped to do the same thing live IMO. I've heard worse demos!

Not a single view? Not one? Basschat not so useful for spreading news about gigs then

Nope, I knew nothing about it, and my lot wouldn't fit in at all, but have a fantastic gig!

Mister Super Juice are back, as an 8 piece funk band, at The World's End Brighton on October 11th. Check out this tiny wee funky ditty from our last rehearsal for an idea of what we do https://soundcloud.com/mistersuperjuice/2014-10-05-track-08-banacek-rehearsal Would be lovely to see some Basschatters there! Si

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1411037690' post='2555774'] Simon!! Good to hear from you, it's been a while. So it takes a thread about analogue gear to draw you out of the shadows? Typical [/quote] Yup, too busy playing bass and running the band to be on here anywhere near as much as I used to be, sorry old boy [quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1411292835' post='2558127'] agreed but then Ranscombe have purposely stayed analogue - im sure there are plenty of vst plugins to simulate all manner of old school analogue rack mount studio effects but then you wouldnt be able to have fun like this [url="http://www.ranscombestudios.com"][/url] [/quote] Thats everything I hate about analogue project studios in two pictures A cheap patchbay, poorly labelled and comepletely overrun with cables, a rack of outpboard almost to the ceiling that s a country mile from the listening sweet spot, which in a room that small is about two inched deep and one inch wide, and lastly a 32 channel Mackie 8 buss (unless I'm very much mistaken), in a room that is about 1/3 the minimum size it needs to be to mix in, with no serious acoustic treatment at all. MInd you I bet you can have blast in there, but you'll forever be wondering why you cant get your mixes to translate easily.

Nope, not for nearly twenty years. If I had to though I'd record multitrack to tape for the tape compression, then run it all off into a DAW to do any editing, it would save hours and hours of tape/razor arseache!

Heil PR40 every time for me if it's for fairly general use. It has the widest frequency range of all three and sounds fantastic on a lot of different sources. IME it trumps tge other two as a bass cab Mic!

Try Reaper rather than Audacity It's far far bettet at time stretching!

Known issue with the Zoom devices (H1 H2 H4 H4n etc) they have a pretty sh*t clock. Its fine on its own, you'd never notice, but it definitely is not as accurate as a pro level device (and pro level devices you would always sync the clocks on anyway). There is no way of syncing any of the Zoom devices to a decent external clock. All you can do is squeeze or stretch the Zoom track to match the other device I'm afraid.