ambient

Nothing is 'too difficult', you just haven't learned it yet.

I think maybe a lot of the reason for the increase in prices is more the supply and demand factor. There's maybe not so many left that are actually working, and have been looked after, so that is pushing the price upwards ? Like I said earlier, and was said above too, you can do everything in Logic Pro or Protools that you can do on analog, and it's a lot easier. If I want to reverse something in Logic, it takes maybe 10 seconds, I just double click on that particular track, choose file, then choose reverse from the drop down functions menu. If I don't like the result then I can 'undo'. I use my Revox purely for the sound, and I've used it for loops sometimes. Though I've started using Logic Pro's tape delay set up like this for a a fairly realistic analog tape 'warmth' - [attachment=187987:Screen Shot 2015-03-31 at 14.25.35.png]

I'd have thought the EBS one would suit your needs. Isn't it the pedal version of what's on the EBS heads ? It suits Marcus Miller's twangy tone ok.

I'm not an expert, but I don't think people tend to use the little finger so much on double bass, not on its own anyway, I think they tend to use fingers 3 and 4 together, finger 3 on top of finger 4 to help it.

[quote name='funkgod' timestamp='1427649211' post='2732685'] some intresting tricks from.... [url="http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1997_articles/may97/reel2reelroundup.html"]http://www.soundonso...eelroundup.html[/url] .. [b] [font=arial,helvetica][color=#483d8b]ANALOGUE TRICKS[/color][/font][/b] [font=arial,helvetica]There are some things you can do with an analogue recorder that you can't with a digital multitrack tape recorder. Here are a few:[/font] [font=arial,helvetica][b]• BACKWARDS RECORDING[/b] Turn the tape over so that it plays backwards. Record onto a spare track, remembering that the track numbers are now reversed. For example, something you recorded on track 3 of a 16-track recorder will now play back on track 14. Turn the tape over again and you have instant Maharishi-period Beatles.[/font] [font=arial,helvetica][b]• REVERSE REVERB[/b] You can't get real reverse reverb from an effects unit. Record the signal you'd like to apply reverse reverb to in the normal way. Turn the tape over so that it plays backwards. Remember that the signal will now appear on a different track. Apply reverb to the signal and record the reverb onto a spare track (remember again that the track numbers have been reversed, or you might erase something!). Turn the tape over and you have real reverse reverb.[/font] [font=arial,helvetica][b]• WOBBULATION[/b] I don't think this technique has an official name so I've made one up! Wow and flutter might usually be considered a bad thing, but in the past recorders have been made to produce wow for effect. For example, if you want to build up a choir of backing vocals by recording multiple takes of the same singer, you'll find that it ends up sounding more like multiple takes of the same singer than a choir! There's logic in that somewhere. A little bit of wow on each track will thicken up the sound very effectively. It works better with some recorders than others, but if you can add a weight to one of the rotating parts to unbalance it, a certain amount of wow will be produced. I'm told that in the old days chewing gum was used for this purpose. I think there might be better modern alternatives! Sticking a piece of gaffa tape to the pinch roller works too, but be careful that it doesn't come unstuck and damage your tape, and remember to clean the pinch roller afterwards. Proceed with caution![/font] [font=arial,helvetica][b]• DOUBLE SPEED/HALF SPEED[/b] Some multitrack recorders have two speeds. If yours has, you can play back your backing tracks at half speed and record a new track, perhaps a vocal. When the tape is played back at normal speed, the pitch of the vocal will be raised an octave. You can use the varispeed control, which may well have a wider range than a digital recorder would, to achieve a similar effect but with less of a pitch shift.[/font] [/quote] You may not be able to do a lot of these with a digital multitrack, I don't know never having used one. I use analog purely for the sound. You can however do all these things a lot quicker and easier using Logic Pro. I like to record stuff, strange everyday sounds for example onto my iPhone, and then re-record them onto my Revox, then mess about with them, slow them down etc, or touch the spools as they're being recorded, to just slow it down slightly in a particular place. An example is here, the 'noise' at the start is a tube train on the Jubilee line - [size=5][url="https://soundcloud.com/an-ending-ascend/31012015a"]https://soundcloud.c...scend/31012015a[/url][/size]

I've been using a Revox A77 for a couple of months now. Pretty much anything on my Soundcloud page from February onwards has some element of analog recording on it. You can tell from the titles when the pieces were recorded. [size=5][url="https://soundcloud.com/an-ending-ascend"]https://soundcloud.c...n-ending-ascend[/url][/size] [size=5] [/size]

I remember the huge gap around my old USA built Fender Marcus Miller five string. This looks amazing value for money.

[quote name='Mr Arkadin' timestamp='1427605751' post='2732202'] Yup. Wish I'd done something like that in my life. I have a ton of Glass (possibly literally - I do have a hundred-odd CDs just of his stuff I think) and lots of Bryars. Hadn't heard of this album you mentioned though, which is odd as I like David Lang too who is on there, plus it's done by some Icebreaker guys who are a great modern ensemble (along with Bang On A Can from the USA, featuring Lang). Not easily come by even on Amazon, but a quick Google revealed a site where you can buy direct from them, which is what I've just done. Cheers [/quote] Have you listened to anything by Nico Muhly, he's very Glass like ? Drones is probably my favourite album his, but Mother tongues is pretty good. He was a programmer and I think keyboardist for Glass, hence the influence.

I remember once an originals band that I played for was offered a 'chance' to have a track featured on a compilation CD of promising young bands, that would be sent around to radio stations and record companies. We all thought wow, brilliant ! As you do when you're young and desperate for success. Turns out we were expected to pay to record our track, we would also pay towards the production of the CD. So we ask the guy who's very kindly given us this 'chance', well what happens to any money that's made from the sale of it. "Oh I keep that to cover my overheads", says he, "just think of the publicity". This kind of thing is the latest incarnation of that.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1427590237' post='2732162'] Question any offer to play anywhere that's not accompanied by an offer of money. Is that too harsh? Blue [/quote] That about sums up my personal feelings on it. If they're not paying the bands, then what happens to the money made ? If they keep it, then it's like others are saying, just a con.

What would be the point in them seeing a band play in a pub, possibly not to much of an audience, and what audience there would be wouldn't know you or your music ? Surely part of the 'seeing a band play' thing, is seeing what audience they're getting, and watching the performance. I think a lot of the playing in London thing, is the old belief that the streets are paved in gold, whereas they're not. The music scene there is, probably like most large cities around the world, just full of people making money on the back of young bands belief that they can be the next big thing.

These look great, especially for the money. [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tanatos-7-string-bass-Claymore-CL-150BM-/191543171482?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c98dcd99a"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tanatos-7-string-bass-Claymore-CL-150BM-/191543171482?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c98dcd99a[/url] [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tanatos-7-string-bass-Claymore-CL-150QM-The-Final-Resultsale-/191543176848?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c98dcee90"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tanatos-7-string-bass-Claymore-CL-150QM-The-Final-Resultsale-/191543176848?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c98dcee90[/url]

Never been a particular fan of blur, or similar bands. Off topic slightly, Alex does do a good show on Classic FM - [url="http://www.classicfm.com/radio/shows/alex-jamess-date-night/"]http://www.classicfm.com/radio/shows/alex-jamess-date-night/[/url]

To switch between 2 looper pedals. Any good recommendations please ?

[quote name='Mr Arkadin' timestamp='1427567390' post='2731841'] At least a few more names are popping up now. Here's a few pieces that are 'moving' in quite different ways. [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHKUt5fDbH0"]https://www.youtube....h?v=CHKUt5fDbH0[/url] [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oVMRADOq5s"]https://www.youtube....h?v=2oVMRADOq5s[/url] [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp2oxWdRMuk"]https://www.youtube....h?v=sp2oxWdRMuk[/url] [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0WaNVgJqCU"]https://www.youtube....h?v=f0WaNVgJqCU[/url] [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mjf60RxXghU"]https://www.youtube....h?v=Mjf60RxXghU[/url] [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iVYu5lyX5M"]https://www.youtube....h?v=-iVYu5lyX5M[/url] [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fG7JcwWm5WU"]https://www.youtube....h?v=fG7JcwWm5WU[/url] [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09KY0PXZx6A"]https://www.youtube....h?v=09KY0PXZx6A[/url] [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jCdOjOaJsU"]https://www.youtube....h?v=1jCdOjOaJsU[/url] [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dp3BlFZWJNA"]https://www.youtube....h?v=Dp3BlFZWJNA[/url] [/quote] Some great suggestions there, thanks. Just had a look at the first two, and will listen to the others later. I love Glass's music, and have a few albums by gavin Bryars. Have you listened to the a change of light album by Bryars ? It features one of my tutors on cello, a really beautiful album.

[quote name='AttitudeCastle' timestamp='1427507120' post='2731359'] Funnily enough, I'm doing a paper on Haydn and Boulez comparisions haha! Later romantic stuff (like much of the American stuff, Barber, Moore etc) is my favourite, so effortlessly beautiful. Barber had a way with melody. Bartok is a love hate relationship. Fascinating music, and dissecting it for harmony classes makes me hate it, but love it even more. Bach for me though is the life blood of music. Spent much of my mid teens learning, and playing a new Bach piece a day. Should really get back into that habit actually! I'm hoping to 'major' in composition in Uni after next year, but I have distinct lack of natural talent, but hoping my composition classes next year give me the kick up the arse I need! Discovered Messiaen at university, the quartet for the end of time is hauntingly beautiful. As a Bass trombone player, I have great love for Tchaikovsky! Ralph Vaugh Williams and Felix Mendelssohn have been my "go to" composers for relaxing recently. (The Sea Symphony and Paulus (St. Paul) specifically!). [/quote] I've liked some classical music for ages, but really got introduced to a lot of the less well known composers by one of my tutors at uni. Messiaen is amazing. I'm doing a masters starting in September in composition too, though more experimental stuff, well hopefully anyway, gotta graduate from my bachelors first

[quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1427470047' post='2730825'] Not sure I'd want to run a looper on a battery in a gig situation. I suspect they rinse battery power, and having a digital looping pedal slowly lose juice through a performance would suck lol Si [/quote] I saw that happen to Janek Gwizdala, it was a new Duracell too.

Slightly off topic, but Adagio is funnily enough in my favourite key - Bb minor.

[quote name='Lord Sausage' timestamp='1427464065' post='2730708'] I think you are bang on in terms of orchestral film music. It's like they have just heard Holst Planet suite and Stravinsky's Rite of Sping and lifted bits for their own works. Ocassionally Danny Elfman might do something a bit different, he isn't afraid of modal stuff. However, Classical music (which is the wrong term as that's the mozart, beethoven period, I say Art music) still gets written. Whilst at Uni in the early noughties i was into and studied Contemporary Art music. I was very much into Minimalism. Obviously they has been a lot of bollocks written but Phillip Glass and John Adams have wrote some interesting pieces. John Tavener too. [/quote] I agree totally, I prefer orchestral music. My dissertation was on minimalism. You're right in your following post too, classical music was definitely for the wealthy, I can't imagine many of the poor of the time being allowed into the concert halls, or being able to afford to.

My Quantum has a truss rod, but I've never touched it. The action is stupid low, I use very light strings too, the B is a 105, down to a 020 C. Sounds like the frets need looking at on your bass.

[quote name='oggiesnr' timestamp='1427407657' post='2730152'] Have a listen to Kronos Quartet. A wide range of music from the traditional "classical" repertoire to modern works both within and without that tradition (and a lot of world and jazz based music as well). Classical is really a non-term, like "rock". Whose classical and whose rock. As far as I'm concerned Schindlers List is a film score written in the classical manner but I wouldn't call it classical, any more than a blues purist would say that Clapton was a blues guitarist (he isn't, he plays electric). Steve [/quote] I have a lot of stuff by the Kronos Quartet.

The TC Ditto is great, and a bargain. Maybe use it with a volume pedal to save having to turn the amp down ? Is it your contrabassoon that you're playing through this ?

[quote name='ahpook' timestamp='1427394452' post='2729926'] Shouldn't allowed to be played during the day IMHO. I have Radio 3 on in the house during the day and it's crept up on me occasionally. Before I know it, it's mournful gazing out of the window and deep sighs. Beautiful, but very moving. I have visions of housewives throwing themselves on their rolling pins all over the country. [/quote] It was on quite late 😉 maybe 3 o'clock in the morning - I'm nocturnal 😊

[quote name='bigd1' timestamp='1427393580' post='2729911'] All music is made up of rhythm, bit of a strange comment. Are you a music student, I would have thought that was in lesson 1. [/quote] Rhythm section as in drums and bass 😊not something you see in an average orchestra.

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1425823344' post='2711057'] I think I must be the only person in the universe who doesn't like Stevie Wonder. [/quote] Erm, no there's me too 😊