thisnameistaken

My band asked me to play a solo in a new tune we were working on last week, I told them I could have my basses taken off me if I did.

I'm surprised that some people are strongly recommending Macs over PCs. Yes Logic is only available on the Mac, but Reaper is excellent and will run on PC or Mac, Pro Tools is excellent and will run on PC or Mac, Cubase... I'm not a fan of, but it will run on PC or Mac. Why does every thread about software always end up full of platform fanboy bullshit? Unless you seriously believe Logic is the only way to go (and it isn't, there are a few DAWs), you don't need to spend all the extra money on a Mac.

I wanted to use Reaper for the EP we're currently recording but our producer wanted us to use Pro Tools. I'm basically the recording engineer and arranger on this project but we're giving it to someone else to do some creative production and he only works with Pro Tools. Reaper is excellent though, I love the UI, very advanced and modern but intuitive.

The most I've done is 10 simultaneous tracks via my M-Audio Firewire box into my desktop PC. It's not a particularly high spec, an early Core2Duo chip, 2Gb of RAM, the drives are are bog-standard SATA jobs and not striped or anything so I was only recording to one of them, and I had zero problems. Currently tracking trombone parts on a tune with... 35 tracks currently, and having no issues with disk access here either. In fact looking at the usage monitor I could probably stream 100 simultaneous tracks from this disk before I ran into problems. As for notebooks with Firewire, the Macbook Pros all have a FW800 port. I just bought one yesterday for pretty much that reason.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBt-w1iO1KM"]Seppuku FX Digital Pitch Modulator[/url] I've just reminded myself how much I want one of these!

Sample rate reducer? Like a tamer ring mod. +1 for the feedback loop too.

I tend to solo the front pup, although I've recently wired a series switch in there and I love it so I'm using that more often. Still getting some noise at home because the wiring here is lousy, will have to see how it sounds in a rehearsal room tomorrow but it's the pickups that are creating the noise. Thanks for all the options so far I'll look them up. I was thinking about the DiMarzios already, but the Fralins sound like a good option.

I'm sick of dealing with buzzing from the pups in my jazz so I'm planning to replace them. But: 1) I don't want active pickups. 2) I like the look of exposed pole pieces. 3) I'd rather not get potted pickups because I fancy swapping the covers for white ones. What are my options?

I've done a lot of shows I didn't get paid for and I continue to do it, and I have no problem with it at all. I enjoy playing, especially with other bands I know and like, and for enthusiastic amateurs who want to put on shows featuring music they love for people they love but maybe without any commercial angle. I'll always do those shows because it's why I started playing in the first place. I've never had a desire to make money out of making music, it's something I do because I can't imagine not doing it, and sharing it with other people is almost always a nice experience, not a chore. I did do music full-time for a while in my early 20s. I was lucky enough to fall into a scene where it was possible to make good money playing original music, and I supplemented it with students and dep gigs for other bands. But in the end I let that income thin out and started doing something else professionally instead, and honestly I don't think I would like to play professionally any more. Especially not these days in the UK, because I would have to play music I didn't like or gigs that I wouldn't enjoy to make a living. I get the impression that some bands who play for tidy fees either feel sorry for people like me or think we're mugs, but I'm actually very happy doing things the way I do them. Sometimes we do get paid and it's a nice bonus, but we just chuck all that money at stuff like badges and stickers and CD reproduction and T-shirts and give them all away for cost, so either way we're not making any money.

One thing I will say about them is that Angelo always seems to have the same energy he had in the '80s. Most performers could learn a thing or two from that man.

[quote name='Hector' post='1141163' date='Feb 25 2011, 01:10 PM']Still gonna stress that regardless of what you think is good or not about Rabbath's fingering system, his [b]right hand[/b] technique is godly and should be studied intensely. Man uses a bow like an extension of his arm, so perfectly. Another Fons video to show what paying close attention to Rabbath's right arm gets you: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQsd2tAIgUE"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQsd2tAIgUE[/url][/quote] Jaw on the floor stuff, what a remarkable talent. Edit: Have to say though the fast staccato section later on gets tiring. I love what he does with the quarter tones though.

Tempting. Last time I saw them it was only Angelo, Norwood and Walter left, and now I hear Walter's not with them any more. Last time it was a good gig but not really like seeing Fishbone y'know? I might give this a miss.

What's that about a 60" scale? Sounds beastly I want one, I just need a taller house. You can bet if it said Fodera on the top you'd have people telling you they don't notice the extra length.

Had an ace night in Leeds playing for a very enthusiastic Uni crowd. Bit difficult keeping the mic stands upright with the bodies flying everywhere but nobody was complaining. Never had so many compliments after a show, the other acts on the bill were talented and good company, hope we'll be doing more gigs like that in future.

I've bought three basses in the last three years, two of them (the DB and a Squier Jazz) are still here, the other (fretless Ray) was moved on. The Squier is bagged up ready for my gig tonight - the Warwick is staying at home. I think if you've got a lot of disposable income it's tempting to pick up every bass that tickles your fancy, and if it's just as easy to move it on and try something else then you're more likely to do exactly that. When I see people who've been playing 10 years and been through 20 basses I wonder if they've ever given any of them a fair appraisal or had time to get familiar enough with them (in terms of muscle memory and so on). The only basses I've found I really can't get along with are P basses and their derivatives. I like the sound but not the neck. So now I don't buy anything with a P neck and I'm sorted.

He's always had an interesting sound and approach to the instrument, and I don't feel very well equipped to criticise his playing when he was in Joy Division and New Order and I wasn't. Sure he's not a virtuoso but I don't think he's ever claimed to be.

You need to know the song really well. I sing harmony and sometimes when working on new songs I either find I can't remember the harmony part or I can't sync the vocal with the bass line, it generally comes together without much effort once the song becomes more familiar though. You have to have the bass part down to the extent that you don't have to think about it at all, because you will need to be putting all your effort into the vocal. That's the part the audience will connect with, so it needs to be your main focus. If there's a part where you're finding the syncopation difficult, slow it right down and practice the parts together until you feel how they slot together in all the difficult bits, then gradually speed it up and you should find it feels more natural.

[quote name='silddx' post='1118598' date='Feb 7 2011, 08:45 AM']Glad you're back, mate How's tricks?[/quote] I'm good thanks, but I'm not really "back", I'm still not that interested in posting. I've managed to find more time for music since I stopped using forums quite so much though so it's all good. Currently learning to read as my new year resolution, and working on a new EP with my band. Hope you're well and keeping busy. - Kev

We're mostly opening for touring bands but we also get calls about local gigs and festivals, other stuff in relation to a local arts project, lots of stuff really. We've turned down half a dozen gigs in the last two months just to avoid over-exposing ourselves and to make time for recording. Get friendly with like-minded bands and promoters and you will keep busy. Up here around York/Leeds anyway.

[quote name='DanOwens' post='1114054' date='Feb 3 2011, 04:08 PM']From my continually-plugged-yet-infrequently-updated blog: [i]Moogerfooger MF-101 Low Pass Electrix Filter Factory Iron Ether Xenograph Robot Factory Brain Freeze[/i][/quote] All great, but sadly none of those are triggered pseudo-ADSR filters like the one in the BMS. I wish EHX would put that filter out as a standalone, preferably with presets for all the params and a dozen storable patches. Tap tempo for the time slider would make it particularly desirable. It's quite a unique filter really.

Strong opinions aren't welcome on forums - any forums. You either muddle along with the accepted wisdom of the forum or you're a troll. If you're unlucky enough to be contrary and you also happen to be better at expressing yourself in text than most of the people you're disagreeing with, then you're entirely f***ed, as Jeff Berlin has apparently discovered. It's unusual in this case because it happened to someone who's an expert in his field, whereas it's usually anonymous people who it happens to. And usually because they are faced down by an army of sycophants or people with other interests at stake. - Kev, known troll.

... is waiting for the small army of Mark King fans and their 9v LED fingerboards to show up...

Have never played it. I've only ever heard it once (played by a cover band in a sh*t pub), I don't think I could play it.