Sean

I have the stems now. If anyone would like them, I just need to get them loaded up somewhere, there's about 1.5Gb per song as WAV files. Any suggestions? Let me know if you fancy a go at mixing them.

Well, I've had an interesting day and my journey along the road of mixing has passed another milestone. I spent a couple of hours with the guy that mixed the songs and he went into a lot of detail playing me the isolated drum tracks and comparing them with other isolated drum tracks that he's recorded, some of which were by a drummer I know and used to play with and it was like night and day. He also told me that he'd spent ages cleaning up our drum tracks and using lots of limiting and compression to even out the differential between individual hits; he'd even used samples that were triggered for the kick tracks. He'd done the best he could in the time we paid for and it was evident that there was going to be a huge amount of work to sort out the tracks. In essence this boils down to one of the laws of universe, sh*t in = sh*t out. There was no way on earth we were going to get good drums on the recording. I came away from there with the stems burned on to a DVD and I've been through them for a few hours this evening and just can't believe how feeble the drums are. The guy asked me how, after so many years of experience, we ended up with such a feeble drummer but that's a long story. Anyway, we're going to get someone in on drums to re-record the songs with us.

The reason the BB2***s are so expensive is that they are rammed full of really good pharmaceutical quality cocaine that is purified in a special lab in Japan by highly trained craftsmen rather than mass produced rubbish from a factory. It's all hollow behind the pickguard so that they can store the maximum amount of baggies in there. I was told this by an expert.

Have a go at doing it yerself! I did and it was loads of fun and now I have a sea foam green Yamaha BB. You can get all the gear here http://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/ and save a fortune. If you're not up to it, I'm sure some very handy chaps will be along soon. Have fun Sean

I'm off to LA on business in a coupe, of weeks and will be at a loose end with a really good drummer from Virginia who is visiting there for the first time. I fancy some music store shopping, music related museums, venues, gigs etc. we're also going to be popping down to San Diego too. Any suggestions for good nights out most welcome. Thanks Sean

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1398265137' post='2432224'] Apparently there are those who think Lakland (Lake-land) is Lak-land. But it's not. [/quote] Yes but to be fair, they're a bit laking in the brain department!

[quote name='gafbass02' timestamp='1398101314' post='2430494'] Having previously been a supporter of barefaced, but not a fan of the cabs, I must say that this model, along with the heavy fairy making my bergantino cabs suddenly feel a lot heavier, is certainly giving me pause to thought. Sadly I'd have to sell my bergs to find out and then I'd be up the creek if I don't like it. [/quote] I went from 2 x AE210s to a Big Twin and the BT weighs only 4kg more than one Berg but moves more air. Whether it sounds better is all subjective but I'm happy.

Is it me or is the tempo all over the place on those tracks?

Spoke to our singer earlier and he commented that the bass sound in teh room on Saturday was much fuller and also more defined. He also commented that the other three guys in teh band didn't say a word about how much gear I had, didn't question it, nothing. It is a bit odd as I've been using just the MB Walkabout in combo format for a few weeks. Ah well, they're being sacked off soon

Useful stuff there, thanks. I've had a go at the mixing competition just to try to put into practice what I've learned over the past week or so and also to get some perspective. I've submitted my entry and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of doing it especially sorting out the drums. It's only when you start to do this yourself that you realise how much there is to it and how deep you could go. That NIN site is fascinating demonstrates what can be achieved if you have the skills. I'm still waiting for the guy to come back to me about the stems so I'll have to wait. It's Easter anyway.

I like it a lot. Guitar a bit too loud, bass a bit too far back but I like it a lot.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1398024337' post='2429698'] More than you can listen to in a lifetime, and great fun... [url="http://remix.nin.com/"]NIN remix site...[/url] [/quote] See you in a lifetime! Thanks

That was recorded at Red Rock - I recognise the filing cabinet I enjoyed that. I'm a huge fan of The Wall. Nice fretless playing, really nice. I took the album to a school disco back in the day and got it confiscated F*** Punk! The proggie kid rules!

I love it! Laughed all the way through The wig and beard thing is fantastic and I love the pissed-off look while being so at ease with what your playing. Sponge Bob is all good with me too so this one is a winner, winner, chicken dinner all the way home.

...the same major artist recorded song that has been mixed by different people to greatly different effect? If so, please could you point me toward them?

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1397988139' post='2429171'] I doubt it's done yet, this was the 4th gig only (haven't used it for rehearsals). I feel each time I like it more than I remember... but I can't tell how much of that is the speaker settling in and how much of it is my understanding it better and used more appropriate settings for it. [/quote] And how do you get on with the HF control on the back? I ran it yesterday at its extremes and definitely noticed more sizzle with it cranked one way compared to the other.

I'm having a pop at this as a first attempt mixing. Let's have a go!

Interesting that the man himself has chosen not to be photographed with it for the signed publicity shot on the Lakland website.

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1397951341' post='2429018'] Whilst I lived in Bristol, there was one in Broadmead called Rikaxxe and another called mickleburgh, both were decent but nothing too special as I recall. Of course, there was Soundcontrol, not sure if that has turned into something else now, haven't been there for many years. [/quote] Soundcontrol is now PMT. Rikaxxe advertised their website on the outside of the shop as guitar4u.co.uk but there was never such a site.

Is yours run in now? How long does that take?

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1397954412' post='2429030'] It's got a very focused sound, good midrange, with girth, enough bottom end... every note comes out with definition and enough fatness. Fantastic cab! [/quote] That's exactly what I got yesterday when I was standing next to the drummer listening to my BT2. Nothing lost at all.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1397940892' post='2428953'] Sean... 'Stem' = 'Track', as in '48-Track recording'. Think of 'Where does the music [b][i]stem[/i][/b] from..?' Each stem is an instrument; there may be 2 stems for stereo. A drum recording could be kick, snare, hi-hat, 3 x toms, 2 x overheads. That would be a total of 8 stems. A bass could have 2 stems; 1 for DI, another for mic'ed cab. Add a couple of guitars, a lead voice and a couple of backing vocals and we quickly go beyond 16-track recordings. Of course, a 'live' take, from front of stage, for instance, could well only have 2 stems (stereoR/L...). Naturally one could no longer mix the balance of instruments from so little, without heavy processing. Does this help..? [/quote] Excellent, thanks. It's like with learning anything new, you always have to learn the language and that's clarified it well :-)

[quote name='ironside1966' timestamp='1397938528' post='2428916'] No problem glad to help. You could use drop box or post the tracks to me. It would make life so much easier if all the tracks were just one stem each and started at the same place. Look forward to working with you. John [/quote] One stem each? Could you try and explain a bit more. Feeling like a complete noob ATM so please don't feel as if you're being patronising, I'm firmly on the learning curve.

[quote name='M@23' timestamp='1397936489' post='2428873'] There's some gear in that photo. I spent 5 minutes just taking it all in! The Matamp looks like a very well made cab. [/quote] The Matamp is bombproof. Weighs a tonne.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1397932226' post='2428810'] Thank you for this. As far as Barefaced cabs go, I think you've really nailed the feeling I have about them. Perhaps you could sell this slogan to Alex, it's a winner: 'Barefaced - sounds like you on a good day'. I tried out my recently-acquired Big One at rehearsal last night and had a similar experience. [/quote] Yeah, it's pretty good. Probably will get better as it gets run in and I get used to tweaking the EQ to suit it and the rooms it's use in. So how did your first session with your Big One go?