Stephen Houghton

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1352968100' post='1869807'] ^ and cheapy rubbish in ear headphones like 99% of the public use Mind you, you should problem get some cheapy knock off beats headphones from Camden if what I'm seing is right these days [/quote] Can anyone recommend a pair that I dont need to re-morgage to buy, but do the job well?

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1352970063' post='1869830'] But i already have Garageband. I'm just learning the ropes on it. I just re-recorded a cover of an RHCP track, and i made 5 tracks for my bass so that it sounds fuller. Basically i lined them up- 1. Centre. 2.Hard right. 3. Hard left. 4. Between centre and hard right. 5. Between centre and hard left. I've used audacity before... didn't really like it. iTunes gives plenty of compression options anyway. and Garageband records in AIF format... and it came pre-installed on my laptop! wow! [/quote] You can save and compress in Aif in Audacity as well as Mp3 and loads of other options

Just checked out some stuff i did before on car stereo and you were right, it sounds way off the mark mix wise. Note to self 'check tracks on different speakers and systems' Doh!

[quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1352849396' post='1868522'] Heh, that last post submitted itself before I'd finished it! I use my BX5as whenever I think I can get away with volume (I share a house with my bro and his misses and it's link detached which is a godsend). I also use a pair of Superlux heaphones which have a very similar response to my BX5as. I'll use my Tannoys as well to hear a hi-fi mix. I'll also use a pair of £18 AKG headphones on my Galaxy S2 (I used to use an iphone before I got that) and will occasionally listen in the car too. Every single speaker shows up something different. [/quote] Now were getting technical, I use my Eltax hifi system speakers and headphones, a cheap crappy pair and if it sound OK in those I call it a day. What I often find is you listen to a mix that much and it sounds right and your happy, then next day you have another listen and its way off. That does my head in

[quote name='MarshallBTB' timestamp='1352764694' post='1867298'] I'm in need of a looper now, anyone have any experience with the Digitech JamMan Stereo? Looks to be the best value for money looper new. Cheers, Marshall. [/quote] I have been checking it out and for the money its great, check the Thomann site for lowest price. I only went foor the Boss cos its a dual pedal looper and it was a good deal. Afew Jammans on evilbay at the moment.

[quote name='Stephen Houghton' timestamp='1352598412' post='1865122'] Think I may go for the Digitech Stereo available for £155.43 at Thomann, much cheaper than uk its £10 postage, but if you buy the bundle version with gigbag, you get a £27 bag for a tenner cos postage is free if you spend over 199 euros. Good deal? [/quote] Ended up buying the Boss RC30 off evilbay, got one brand new opened and used once for £185, couldnt resist it at that price. Thanks for advice Cheers!

[quote name='Elvis Valentine' timestamp='1352675833' post='1866090'] Seriously impressed by the entries so far. Here's mine for the hell of it. [url="http://soundcloud.com/elvis-valentine/ghosts"]http://soundcloud.co...alentine/ghosts[/url] There is a vocal edit too but its me singing and i wanted a female voice to do it. Its also lyricly not very in keeping with the pictures, well at least not the Saville pic at all, although the day of the dead pic a bit more so. Or at least what it made me think of. I also do a spectacular rap towards the end , i have mad skills. lol here it is for those interested parties. [url="http://soundcloud.com/elvis-valentine/ghosts-vox-mix"]http://soundcloud.co.../ghosts-vox-mix[/url] [/quote] Nice one Elvis,like it and great rapping at the end

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1352655426' post='1865678'] Looks like people have been busy over the weekend! Some brilliant entries just in... Nice one Krysh! Slick bass playing there mate - nice tone too. I really like the pounding kick drum than runs throughout the track. Gives it a nice pulse. Sounds like you can play guitar too! And percussion?? Not fair, but all good Love it! Great lyrics, great samples and a really cool 80s hip hop vibe in places (the drum break almost reminds me of Soul 2 Soul). Very creative and inventive. "They hadn't a clue; **** me call Scooby Doo" made me genuinely laugh out loud. Good work, Steve. Very nice production on this. I like the contrast you've set up between the verse/chorus using the guitar parts, works really well. Cool drum breaks. And nice vocal too! You've got a good singing voice there, Rob. A very well written song. [/quote] Cheers Skol The feedback is really appreciated, thanks for the comment, i did want to keep it dark with a tongue in cheek feel which was hard to do with such a dark subject and it was hard to link the two pics together in someway as asked in comp, didnt want to miss anything out hence the Scooby Doo comment, thought I would throw in the kitchen sink and all that!

[quote name='steve' timestamp='1352658005' post='1865742'] There's been some really good entries so far, here's mine [url="http://soundcloud.com/stevemcevoy/steve-mcevoy-mr-shellsuit-and"]http://soundcloud.co...r-shellsuit-and[/url] I could have continually twiddled and re-recorded bits and gone round in circles, but enough's enough, time to upload it and move on. First part was done in Sibelius and then transferred into Reason to record the remainder. Hope you like it [/quote] Yeah like this one, great bass line, can tell you are a classy bassist, sounds like Scooby Doo backing music in the second part.

Here goes! I found the pictures really dark and creepy after all the publicity in the UK about the molestation of young girls by the man in the pics, this is what came about, very dark lyrics for a dark subject, also a bit of sarcasm thrown in for good measure, seems to fit the pics well though I think. Hope you like this one, its a bit of a rant as well, used Ableton software to create track and then played live bass into it. I have tried to do a balanced track rather than focus on bass too much as the competition mentioned composition, never done anything like this before and enjoyed doing it. Owz about that then! [url="http://soundcloud.com/9thaspect/owz-about-that-then-basschat"]http://soundcloud.co...t-then-basschat[/url] Great competition and really great vibe about it from all concerned, good luck to everyone involved!

Nice one, great effect at the end as it fades out, like it

Think I may go for the Digitech Stereo available for £155.43 at Thomann, much cheaper than uk its £10 postage, but if you buy the bundle version with gigbag, you get a £27 bag for a tenner cos postage is free if you spend over 199 euros. Good deal?

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1352543075' post='1864365'] Here we go. When I saw the photos, my over-riding impression was of clowns; the mask being pulled off by Freddy (a Kiss mask, if I am not mistaken) was a little clown-like, the second 'skull' image was surprisingly clown-like despite its intentions and Saville presented himself as clown-like in his dealings with children/the media. So I was left with this sense that clowns are often not what they seem and whilst we, as adults associate them with fun and laughter, many children are afraid of them.....there's a reason and, to my eyes, that reason is evident in the images we were working to. So I open the piece with the 'la, la laaaa, theme from Jim'll fix it (first 8 bars although it is reharmonised with a minor feel so may sound 'odd') which morphs into the Scooby Doo theme. After those themes are developed, the 'heavy' part of the piece starts (reflecting the second 'skull' image) and the three themes come together in the closing stages. I have to say that this is probably the most sophisticated composition I have ever done using Cubase etc and there are faults (some of the levels are slightly askew due to glitches in my software and, for some reason, the bass sound I used (Midi) didn't come out in the final mix (ironic, eh?). I stress there is NO bass guitar or double bass on this tune, it is midi orchestra, various other midi instruments and guitar (Gibson ES175 through Pro Co Rat and vst amp simulators). It's nowhere near perfect but I am pretty pleased with it. [url="http://soundcloud.com/robert-palmer-1/theres-a-reason"]http://soundcloud.co...theres-a-reason[/url] [/quote] Had a listen, very well put together and very big sound, like it, quite a dark feel in places which suits the theme. Nice one, Good luck in the comp, Steve

Cheers Thanks for the info

[quote name='WalMan' timestamp='1352416104' post='1862915'] Right then. Heres my attempt. Not entirely happy with it, but bored listening to #2 son's excuses for not adding a bit of guitar to the second bit so went with some old bolloxs I eventually managed [url="http://soundcloud.com/aka_walman/bc-comp-nov12-run-scoob"]Run Scoob or Jim'll FixYa[/url] And under 3 mins as well [/quote] Yeah like it, nice vibe and put together well, nice one!

Would like to be able to store lots of tracks and switch between them or come back to them in the future. Am i right in thinking if i made 5 loops of 5mins long that would take up 25 mins of storage? I know it sounds obvious but havent a clue about loopers. So if i want to keep that without loading on to computer i would need plenty of storage wouldnt I?

Which would you guys recommend, the Digitech Jam Man Stereo or the Boss RC30, or any others that are better that you know of, money is an object so cant spend sh*t loads, out of these two which would you buy? Looking to invest and the Jam Man seems about £100 cheaper, it only has 35 mins of recording time but you can add a card and expand this to 16hrs. Boss has 3hrs recording time built in. Advice greatly appreciated!

[quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1352382146' post='1862364'] Stranger from another planet, welcome to our hole! - Just strap on your P Bass and we,ll play some rock and roll!! [/quote] Get a grip!

Just wanted to let people know that Steve Lawson is doing a special offer on his album downloads from his web page, they are available at 'Pay what ever you like', really cool deal so if you interested check it out here, [url="http://www.stevelawson.net/"]http://www.stevelawson.net/[/url] Really cool looping specialist,

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1352372333' post='1862201'] Yes you can! Best thing that's happened to the Recording forum. And the best challenge of its sort that I've been involved in. Granted, there seems to be a limited number of folk getting stuck in (which is typical of these things), but there's a real buzz from those that are and it's much more friendly than other similar competitions I've seen (which can, quite frankly, become tw@t magnets). This is exactly what music forums are for in my opinion - making and sharing music, not just talking about it! Great idea. And well done Charic for setting it up [/quote] Gotta agree, never really chatted on this site before and its nice to chat to some friendly people who arent up there own arses, saying that if I lose, your all ba....rds and I will never speak to anyone again

[quote name='steve' timestamp='1352331745' post='1861975'] Mine's pretty much complete except for the vocals, tried singing today, but i was very flat [/quote] Singing! I kind of make noises into the stick thing with the cable coming out, people are getting really technical with this competition stuff! Singing,chords, drum tracks laid down, what the hell is everyone on about! What happened to pluck the strings and shout

[quote name='RockfordStone' timestamp='1352316362' post='1861603'] I took my first idea and then threw it away... My new one has lyrics and melody and chord progresson so i just need to bulk it out [/quote] F..k its a real song Nnnnnnnnnnooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Start all over again

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1352312019' post='1861509'] I think one month we should have a "speed round" where we all have to try and compose a piece in a single day [/quote] Yes!