Mudpup

I've just gone down the same path..... I have a 6 year old Windows 10 laptop - nothing posh. You'll need a USB audio interface to get a bass/mic signal into the laptop - i bought this for £25 (it was an open box model) and it seems fine https://www.thomann.de/gb/behringer_u_phoria_umc22.htm Plug your bass or vocals straight in the front. USB out the back into your computer. The live monitoring button is useful. Focusrite, M Audio and Native Instruments all make them for around £80 but the Behringer ones are quite decent for half the price. You will also need a DAW program on your laptop to act as a mixer - this will also let you play keyboards/samples/drum loops to add to your bass track. I started with free Waveform Tracktion which is pretty easy (i would highly recommend watching as many YouTube user guides to whichever DAW you end up with before you start pushing buttons and confusing yourself - i wish someone had told me that before i started). For drums i downloaded MT Power Drumkit to use in the DAW. It's free and lets you grab and build loops very quickly and easily https://www.powerdrumkit.com/download76187.php That got me started and laying drums, bass and some keyboard bits down and was a lot of fun even though its a steep learning curve - there's a lot of stuff there that i've never done before and its easy to get confused with settings. YouTube is your friend here - every issue i've come across so far has been resolved via videos or help forums online. Do it in bite sized sessions and don't expect to become a recording genius in a few weeks. After a fortnight i got fed up doing drums and keyboards on the laptop keyboard so invested in a midi keyboard - you can get them for £50 upwards. I spent a little more (£85) and ended up with a Native Instruments M32. Most of the cheap ones are 25 keys and this one is 32 - it's kind of handy having the extra range on the keys and also has real knobs on it to control some stuff without using a mouse. It's less deep front to back than some and fits on the desk easily in front of my laptop. The other selling point for me was that it comes with a very good software package of hundreds of loops, synths and instruments, a fully contained management suite and DAW and also an extra free DAW called Ableton that is nice and easy to use https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/keyboards/komplete-kontrol-m32/ So, i've spent around £100 and got everything i need for the minute using headphones to listen with. If i stick with it i'll probably get some small active monitor speakers. There are loads of free VST's around (instruments, effects, samples and loops) so you can get very acceptable results and have a lot of fun very cheaply. I'm enjoying myself and gradually becoming more self sufficient every weekend. The biggest lesson i've learned is to pick one DAW and learn how to use it before you try another - i wasted a lot of time trying to use a few different ones but they all work a little differently and i was confusing myself more than i needed to. Reaper, Ableton Lite and Waveform Tracktion are the ones i've tried and i've settled on Ableton so far.

Trav bought my Zoom pedal this week - real easy deal, prompt payment and great comms. Welcome to the money pit that is the Basschat Classifieds Trev!!!

They should be looking at sponsoring you Dave!!! 🤣

Both run on batteries

Zoom B1oN for the win here......there may be one in the classifieds ☺️ i've got a Yamaha Sessioncake and it is very good - sound quality is probably a bit better than the Zoom but the sheer amount of other things going on with the Zoom win it for me

Probably one thats about the size of the Empire State building with those cabs. But check the impedance will go down to 2 ohms if one cab is already 4 ohms - that will limit your choice a bit...

Sorted! I hit the button on a Native Instruments M32 keyboard. So no pads, more keys and a bit over budget but it's my birthday in a couple of weeks 🎂😉 Seems to have a good software package and more importantly for me a chord cheat mode! The geeks seem to quite like it on YouTube so I'll give it a go. Thanks for the advice guys https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/keyboards/komplete-kontrol-m32/

That's on my list too :-) There seems to be quite a few secondhand ones of those floating about.....

Brilliant! Totally not my thing normally but i thought the whole thing was excellent. Well done and best of luck with your album :-)

cheers Skidder - i think i want one with pads probably. i was looking at this one https://www.musicmatter.co.uk/nektar-impact-lx25-9722 or maybe this one https://www.musicmatter.co.uk/novation-launchkey-mini-mk2?gclid=CjwKCAjwk6P2BRAIEiwAfVJ0rA_oHLEJb50wA_RjUyLXT82jbaic7xuwiFzAfxGUYpAUnMFHBeMvThoCROoQAvD_BwE

Brian just bought some strings from me. Dead easy transaction and great comms 😊

I think i need a 25 key (small) to go with my new audio interface and DAW software so i can expand upon just recording bass and drum loops. Something idiot proof, compact and with pads as well as a keyboard (i think). Budget is probably under £80 unless theres a spectacular reason to spend more. i cant' play the piano so key size is probably not a worry as it'll all be a bit weird for me anyway :-) Anyone with any recommendations, pointers or ones to avoid?

Probably cheaper to just buy a replacement tuner for it from Schaller/Hipshot or suchlike. Alternatively, grab a used Hipshot D tuner - they go for about £50 usually - pop it on the E string one and move the E tuner to the G position. All sorted and you've gained a drop D tuner for playing with 🙂

I picked up a lovely 5 string G+L a while ago with the intention of trying to switch from 4 strings. I found that playing fingerstyle i could manage reasonably easily on it but as soon as i used a pick i kept tangling myself up on it. And in my band i always use a pick. I persevered for about 3 months and gigged it twice but couldn't get confident on it. Advice from fellow Basschatters was to throw the 4 strings away completely and commit to the 5 but a hectic gigging schedule meant that i couldn't find the time to do it (plenty of time now, doh!). Sold it on and bought a 4 string version of the same bass and stuck a detuner on it like my other basses. Itch duly scratched but i know my limits....

Stu's tattoo artist could do with some spelling lessons 😂

Built in wireless with a rechargeable receiver, bluetooth tuner with a rechargeable floor display and i'm sorted ta The less chance of me tripping over something the better and it isolates me from mains issues. 🙂

Got thrown out of Lidl's last week for doing that......she was trying to stack the biscuits at the time

Fabulous bass! Great snag....

A small world just got a bit smaller. I seem to remember it was £140 new which is about £800 today. My dad persuaded me against a £99 luminous pink Les Paul copy from Marlin or somebody in favour of the Aria. Always listen to your dad!!!