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It varies. I'll learn the original song & how the original bassline goes, but then I change as much as I can. This could be from simply listening to the song, reading the score from a book, learning the chord sequence, watching someone on youchoob or just from the song being a standard progression & knowing where it goes. I learn the scale & melody & then make my own stuff up.

I've always been tempted to get a good chunk of heavy duty hook velcro & stick it on someone's back (without then knowing, of course) & wait until they sit on a loop fabric chair.

I'm gonna try buttering toast with my cat. I wonder if there's an app for that?

We had a sesh last night & it was rock. We rock well, but I didn't want another rock band. They're like guitarists, too many average ones already. Come Together works well, doesn't sound like a rock song. Too Close rocked (but I enjoy making wubs, so it was fun). It's All Been Done sounded like The original but with a disco bassline. Winds of Change sounded pants & we never did Radio Nowhere as no one printed the lyrics off & no one could member the chords. I don't think the guys in the band have the skills yet to change a song style. They listen to the song & learn how the original is played, but don't change it when they play it. The guitarist/singer said "we can do simple pop rock songs until we gel & then learn to play funk/soul" but my concern is that if we start out playing one style, it could be harder to change to another. I think it might be better to do simple funk soul songs like Bill Wither's Use Me, Cameo's Word Up & so on, that way we're not a million miles away from the Acid Jazz/ Breakbeat stuff that I advertised to do to start with. I'm sure Bilbo's bands don't jam punk songs before learning jazz?

Cheers! Got it on now.

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1368462705' post='2077376'] Surely one filter counteracts the other doesn't it ? Isn't one cutting the mids and boosting the highs and lows to get a 'smiley' face EQ curve, for a modern sort of sound. The other one is simulating an older Ampeg type of amp. Why do you use both at the same time, or am I wrong. I've gigged the same set up as you've got for the last 6 months, and just leave everything flat. That's using a variety of basses depending on the gig. I think part of the problem nowadays is it's sooooooooo easy to mess you sound up given the flexibility of tone control on an amp. [/quote] The VLE counteracts the top end of the VPF, but the VPF would still boost the lows & cut more mid. I tend only to use the VLE slightly (It starts at off & then I increase it slightly to suit as it seems to have a different effect to just turning the highs down).

That's the stuff. You'll find a spiel on the box about if it doesn't say Velcro, it isn't Velcro, it's just hook & loop tape. I had some hook & loop tape. I stapled the loop side to the pedalboard & the hook side then fell off the pedals (couldn't staple it to them ).

[quote name='DanEly' timestamp='1368312189' post='2075675'] Apples & Oranges. What makes you say a 2x12 cab is better? I, personally have always liked 4x10s, yet to try a nice 2x12 [/quote] 2x12s have a better dispersion across the stage (unless you put the cab horizontally). Have a look at some of the better 2x12s & see if you like them (Barefaced, MarkBass & Bergantino all make good 2x12s).

Velcro Heavy Duty. Shops like Hobbycraft sell it. I bought a roll of it for @ £7.50 & it's never let me down. Proper solid!

Why a 4x10? 2x12 is a much better design.

Usually you cannot put back what is not there. However, a graphic before the amp may allow you to cut the frequencies that you have too much of & maybe even a slight boost to where the missing frequencies are could help too.

That's a very good point. We've hit the eject button a couple of times with songs that we thought would work, but just didn't.

You could even get an AKG D5 for less & they're a pretty good live vocal mic (though they're about £90 if you want it with an On/Off switch).

You could be right, maybe I've been fortunate that most of the players I've met have been good with the few chancers being twangers & chanters. The one musician I'm having trouble finding is a keys player. Any skill level would do, even just to hold pads! I've been tempted to go back to keys a few times.

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1368192503' post='2074316'] Hmmm... I guess the question here is what direction do you want to take the band in? There could actually be scope to produce some cool 'remixes' of classic songs in alternative genres - might even be a useful gimmick that would give your band a unique edge. As it stands, it sounds like your band members (other than the turntablist) have a very different vision of where they want to be heading - or at least they have very different musical tastes/backgrounds. If it's the former then you might be in for a clash of expectations; if it's the latter then it's not such an issue, just a case of needing to broaden the music that your band members are familiar with (sharing a bunch of reference material would be a good way to start). I've cooked up numerous 'remixes' myself - and that's always a case of taking inspiration from the original material, but using it to create something different; sometimes wildly different! And it's great fun I think it could definitely work in the context of band and might be worth exploring... makes me think of stuff like Orbital's legendary take on Belinda Carlisle's "Heaven is a Place on Earth", which became a firm favourite of their setlist. Anyway, keep us posted! Paul [/quote] That could be a very good idea! Alt covers band with just a couple of our own tracks. When I was first advertising for musicians I spoke with the drummer & the guitarist both separately & we discussed the ideas that I have for a band & they was both wanting to do something different. So I think it's the latter of what you said. The guitarist is from a metal background & the drummer likes all sorts of stuff but is partial to a bit of Tool. We then got together one evening just to talk about what we want the band to do & the idea is pretty much the same. I suppose if they don't really know much of the genres then the suggestions are going to be from what they do know. The other guitarist/singer wasn't at the meeting & is a friend of the drummer's but I think he still knows the route we're looking at (though I might have another meeting to check we're all on the same train). I've created a playlist of all the tracks that's been suggested by all the band members & shared it with them so we all know the songs. I'm gonna make another playlist of genre specific stuff to share so they know what I'm actually aiming towards. It doesn't have to go there, just so long as it grooves & gets people dancing. So if it ends up sounding like drum & bass with Nirvana on top, then that's cool. I'm looking forward to Tuesday's sesh.

Was it not a Pongo? I suppose it's good for playing songs like Play that shunky music or Shunkytown & also good for playing the brown note.

Hehe, you ought to hear what we've done with Come Together (the Beatles). It start's off like the original & then turns a bit techno rock. I like it, but I'm sure there's folk who hold old songs as "sacred". I always try to play a song nothing like the original.

I've started a band. I advertised for musicians & put the genre as being a mix of Acid Jazz, Breakbeat, House & Funk & anything else with a good groove. I've got 2 guitarists (one's a musician & sings too), a drummer & a singer/turntablist. I suggested a couple of covers to get us playing together & then once we're comfortable, get writing our own stuff. I've suggested a few songs for the band to choose from & if they had any good suggestions then we could try them out too. They're just practice tracks to get us gelling, but what some of the band have suggested couldn't be much further from any of the styles that I advertised. Here's what I've been given... From the guitarist: Bruce Dickinson - Winds of change From the guitarist/singer: Barenaked Ladies - It's all been done From the drummer: Bruce Springstein - Radio nowhere From the turntablist/singer: Hot Natured - Benediction The last one is the only one that's already along the right lines of the genre. The first 2 are @ 134 bpm & Radio Nowhere is 140 bpm, so I'm thinking that they could be done in more of a house/acid jazz style. But it would have made more sense to pick songs already in the genre. We're gonna try them out on Tuesday, so we'll see what comes of them. Any of you guys have to rewrite the genre of a song?

My experience so far is that there's 3 types of band members. There's musicians, singers & guitarists. The latter 2 can sometimes be musicians, but it seems to be very rare! Most of the singers that I've experienced could sing, but knew not a jot about music & most of the guitarists seem to be the same or don't even know how to play the same thing twice. One of my current guitarists seems to be the same, though the other is fine (but he does play a couple of other instruments too). I really don't get it.

I was expecting one of these...

I found most band members don't really understand where they sit in the frequencies. My singer said he needed more bass on the vocals as they sounded tinny & proceeded to turn the bass up, after which he got constant feedback every time he breathed on the mic. I turned the bass back down & increased the mids a little & he was well shocked to find that turning up the mids added bass to his voice. I tried to explain that his voice doesn't play bass or reach those frequencies musically.

Getting guitarists to turn down the bass can be a pain. At my last rehearsal a guitarist said "I need more bass", I passed him my bass & said "Here, this is what you really need". Band mix is always different from the "at home" sound. I find my "home" sound is too nasal honk mid in the mix (which is rather weird as it's rather bassy at home). My setting is flat with the low mids rolled back to 10 o'clock & the VLE at @ 10 too. But I have some other stuff going on with my fx. The B&C drivers that MB use have a very long excursion. IIRC it's 3mm more than a Celestion (don't quote me on that though as it was @ 5 years ago that I read it).

Good to hear you like it. The VPF ([s]Very Pants[/s] Variable Preshape Filter) scoops the mids & boosts the lows & highs. MB say it's designed for slap players. THe VLE (Vintage Loudspeaker Emulator) rolls the tops off & boosts a little around the 300hz area. I always seem to end up with the VLE around 9-10 o'clock (even if I start with it off). Here's what MB say about them... [color=#020202][font=Georgia, Arial, Verdana][size=3]The VLE and VPF are useful EQ filters that help you adapt your sound for different styles of music.[/size][/font][/color] [color=#020202][font=Georgia, Arial, Verdana][size=3]The [/size][/font][/color][color=#020202][font=Georgia, Arial, Verdana][size=3][b]VLE [/b][/size][/font][/color][color=#020202][font=Georgia, Arial, Verdana][size=3]([/size][/font][/color][color=#020202][font=Georgia, Arial, Verdana][size=3][b]Vintage Loudspeaker Emulator[/b][/size][/font][/color][color=#020202][font=Georgia, Arial, Verdana][size=3]) is a shelf EQ that cuts a wider and wider range of high frequencies as you turn it up. Markbass amps are very clear-sounding, and this filter has the effect of drawing you into the mix more, making your sound less present. It's kind of like an "old school" knob![/size][/font][/color] [color=#020202][font=Georgia, Arial, Verdana][size=3]The [/size][/font][/color][color=#020202][font=Georgia, Arial, Verdana][size=3][b]VPF [/b][/size][/font][/color][color=#020202][font=Georgia, Arial, Verdana][size=3]([/size][/font][/color][color=#020202][font=Georgia, Arial, Verdana][size=3][b]Variable Preshape Filter[/b][/size][/font][/color][color=#020202][font=Georgia, Arial, Verdana][size=3]) boosts lows and highs, and cuts mids. Some call this kind of effect a scoop, a smiley-shape EQ, or an enhance knob. It's very effective for slap bass, pick playing, and driving eighth-note rock.[/size][/font][/color] [color=#020202][font=Georgia, Arial, Verdana][size=3]These two filters can be combined for interesting effects. But remember that they are off when they are all the way counterclockwise--we suggest you start in that position and turn the filters up gradually, one at a time, to hear and understand what they do.[/size][/font][/color]

Octave Low Pass Filter Exp Pedal Bass Murf If my dirt or chorus pedal broke, I can dial in some dirt or get a swirl with the Murf.

No. Don't delete this forum. I like it. It's not the wrong forum at all!