urb

Hey Peeps I had a great gig with my band last week - here's a live clip of our version of the cool Oscar Pettiford tune: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0II1WOTyowo[/media] Going to upload the Skol/Urb project vid soon... I think you'll enjoy that too Cheers and let me know what you think Mike

I'm a bit annoyed as having had a really busy month with several weekends away and some busy week day evenings I've not made any progress on my tune - so having finally been able to choose a pic I've not got a finished tune together - I don't really want enter something that's not at its full potential... On a better note I've put together a video for Skol and I's international rap/d'n'b epic from last month - so will upload that and post elsewhere v soon. Will listen and vote on this month's entrees in due course - looking forward to hearing them

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1374131856' post='2145517'] If so, they must be standing on the shoulders of giants. [/quote] ... and don't forget Jaco died aged just 35... scary and far too young, but hey - his music lives on. It's good he's still inspiring people today

[quote name='tayste_2000' timestamp='1374071871' post='2144980'] Sod it, bought my ticket [/quote] Don't worry about not knowing their stuff - it's kind of bluesy/funky/rocky,fusiony - very loud and very cool - Willis is frikkin' amazing - enjoy!

Sorry I know this should really go in the Events forum but this is serious... if you are ANYWHERE near Band on the Wall tonight get the f*** down to see Tribal Tech tonight - they were unbelievably good in London at Ronnie Scott's on Monday when I saw them - Gary Willis is 100 times more engaging and phenomenally groovy in a band context (if you've only ever seen/heard him do clinics) and his solos are utterly amazing too - but the whole band are sh*t hot. OK - I've done my bit - don't miss them it's only taken them almost 30 years to finally play the UK - get out and show them some love - they totally rock. http://bandonthewall.org/events/3922/ Bye M

I use Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80ohm headphones and love them to bits - so comfortable too and the sound is totally transparent but with a great response across all frequencies - well worth whatever they cost now - I think I paid £129 for mine

[quote name='ras52' timestamp='1373015156' post='2132721'] I found this neat little intro to K-metering: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnREPzUfUgU[/media] And this this standalone meter: [url="http://code.mzuther.de/kmeter/"]http://code.mzuther.de/kmeter/ [/url] [/quote] Oooo look at the pretty colours... Sorry - I love these vids - dude's voice is classic YT instructor though... This is recording geeks corner and I need to read more of this stuff - keep up the excellent work chaps...

Got a little something cooking... which is nice - early days yet but I should have something ready in two or three weeks...

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1372685369' post='2128498'] Holy crap! [size=4] I thought it was Croydon.[/size] [/quote] It's New York on Thames... duh

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1372679892' post='2128396'] What's the picture then ? Looks like an opening shot for a 70's Disco theme. Hand bags, flares, stack boots, Durex machines and top floor exclusive clubs.................... [size=4]Break out the Strats !![/size] [/quote] I thought this 'big city' pic would get the creative juices flowing... myriad directions and musical styles possible - this month could be even more varied than usual

Loving this thread Paul - will keep an eye out for the end result - I reckon it'll be a great bass... me wanna play it M

[quote name='Bloc Riff Nut' timestamp='1372672384' post='2128262'] I did a quick search to have a listen to the back catalogue of entries for the composition competition and went as far back as September 2012(I love Jamiemillsbass entry ; nice heavy ending). Was September 2012 the first competition? Cheers, Phil. [/quote] Not sure exactly when it started but I'd love it if we could do one mega-thread (to be pinned) with all 12-month's entries on... that would be very interesting listening...

Thanks for the votes people - I'm proud to share the winners podium with such a talented crew - new pic ready so will PM ASAP now and we'll get this whole show back on the road for another month... and indeed congrats to Space Chick for a really well deserved runners up spot - an impressive month all round... ciao for now Mike

I'm actually feeling the blues one here - good work Lurks...

Seriously great efforts this month... I can't actually decide on a winner (I am extremely biased in favour of one of them though...) not sure I'm actually going to vote as the overall standard is so high and I don't want to cheat Well done everyone - it's truly staggering the way this has gained and maintained such incredible momentum - welcome newbies too - you've done yourselves proud. Cheers Mike PS - thanks for all the very kind words on both our tune - Skol's production skills are quite awesome - and my playing - it was a genuine collaboration - starting with the beat from Paul, then chords/synths/bass line from me then seriously cool vocals onto then a mad mix mashup - I'm very proud of the work we did here and I'm hoping to put together a video for this tune and then begin work on proper recording project with Paul towards the end of August... we'll keep you all posted.

sh*t happens... as they say - I say get used to it... anything worth doing well is hard, playing an instrument to a decent level of competance is hard - takes work and some days you're not going to be in the mood - my advice is leave the bass alone and go and do something else - I regularly have days where I hate my playing and can't be bothered to play - and then (often after a good night's sleep and a nice coffee) I'm as passionate and enthusiastic about playing bass as I've ever been - I respect the flow of my energy and some days it's better to not play and do something more interesting

[quote name='lurksalot' timestamp='1371507073' post='2114898'] I have thought of that as it happens , I have remixed my own entry and was thinking I would re- submit it. [/quote] Go for it - I've done that a couple of times and it's only the final 'voting' post that is judged etc - so it's fine by the er, 'rules'. Cheers Mike

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1371466386' post='2114098'] It's probably the most intense 3 minutes of music I've ever worked on. Great fun [/quote]

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1371129473' post='2110176'] Thanks Mike Your comments are not only constructive but also much appreciated. I can see you've written fairly extensivly here on Basschat on the subject of producing good looking / sounding videos and recordings etc. I'm always happy to get any advice from folk who know more about this kind of thing than I do To be honest I think I'm guilty of a bit of the old 'If its going to sound crap on a camera mic anyway why bother making it look professional' attitude. Worse still, with a couple of the videos on my channel recently I've been a bit sloppy with my playing and just though 'ah well I'll post it anyway'... No excuses I know, time to shape up The plan is to get some recording kit and ditch the videos in favour of a soundcloud account (as you and many others seem to be using) The youtube thing is a bit of a stop gap but I guess in the meanwhile I should try and make it look as good as I can. I'll have a mess around with the angles next time, maybe put a sheet in the background or somthing to block out the (lo-fi) girlfirends wardrobe setting... Other background options are the bathroom (good for natural reverb but a bit cramped), the kitchen (bit more space but I'm likely to get distracted by a kit kat chunky) or the living room (contains the drinks fridge... enough said) Looking forward to your collaboration with SKOL this month, how are things shaping up? Rob [/quote] Nice one Rob All said with the greatest of respect and to be honest the sound you're getting is pretty decent so like I said don't think what you're already doing isn't good enough, it is, but through a few simple things you can vastly improve the presentation - I guess watch the volume level if you move the camera close to you/bass/amp etc - should be relatively easy. One other tip is if you have iMovie or Final Cut there ways to tweak/improve the audio from the camera once you're editing the footage... if not no worries. Re my collab with the Skol-meister - it's all coming on rather well, I'm not going to comment on the track at all as I want it to be a surprise when it's done - but it's sounding killer so far - just awaiting some vocals... from New York. Hopefully the finished thing will be ready in a week or so - it's been a lot of fun so far - hope the rest of you dig it Cheers Mike

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1371066730' post='2109487'] OK so here is my attempt this month. Unfortunately I still haven't got around to buying any proper recording gear so its another video with rather limited video camera internal microphone sound quality... [media]http://youtu.be/nIuF7lVnK2o[/media] I may change my strings and re-record this later on in the month but thought I'd better post a version now in case I get drunk and forget. Rob [/quote] Hey Rob Really nice playing and some very musical ideas - nice work. If I have one small constructive criticism (and I speak from my own experience) the video and music's quality is slightly undermined by the lo-fi location - try a tighter camera angle if you can (my own flat has plenty of baby/kid toys in etc and various bits of clothing lying around so I try and clean up the room before I film anything) - as your playing deserves slicker presentation if possible. Hope that's cool - keep on recording these ideas it sounds like you're developing some good stuff. Cheers Mike

Hi Ped If you can get yourself an Apogee or Babyface sound card you'll be fine... Focus[size=4][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]rite, Motu, or the [/font][/size][size=4][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Steinberg do great USB interfaces... and sorry I misread your original post and thought you[/font][/size] wanted advice on how to get good sound on your video - so I started waffling (see below) hope that helps too. My method is fairly simple and seems to work well - I use my DAW to record whatever audio is going on and film simultaneously but make sure you have some audio that is audible to the camera, this is important to sync the video and audio later. The easiest way to ensure you sync between the two is to have a 1,2,3,4, count in as you begin recording - if you're just playing without backing you might want to do some other audible cue... when you're done filming and recording get your audio track mixed etc and bounced down to MP3, then add to your iTunes library. Then import the footage into Final Cut/iMovie and edit, when you're ready go to the 'note' icon in the bottom left corner of the video editing program and open iTunes, find your track (you can search by name) - then drag and drop it onto the timeline in Final Cut or on top of the video clip in iMovie. Sync the audio tracks by magnifying them in the timeline - the count in should be visible as four distinct peaks in the audio - there's an automatic sync method in FCP but I don't know how to do it - I usually just align them by eye and keep checking the sync by starting the clip - FCP also allows you to turn down the audio on the video clip and leave just the lovely new track from iTunes... CHeers Mike

Sounds awesome Andy - your playing and production skills (and mad drum programming) is really developing - really impressive and very listenable/musical stuff too - keep it up mate Cheers Mike

This is going to be an interesting one...

[quote name='Two Basses' timestamp='1370330650' post='2099087'] Hi, I like the idea, the sound, nice melody and I really appreciate your effort. Well done. I just would like to suggest some improvements of tune editing/mixing etc. First part of the tune is very strong and there is a lot of passion. When start beats at time 1:04, you are playing more deep notes and some fast licks above. Bass needs more volume here, because low notes sounds always quietly. Try to focus on dynamic of your right hand as well. Long notes are strong, but fast notes are so drowned sometimes. (the same apply when you repeat at 2:40). Slap backing line with drums at 1:36 is cool, sounds surprising at the right moment. Maybe the starting solo melody is a bit loud for a few seconds. Don´t be afraid of making the support slap bass more distinct. The good way as to do it, is simple. Just turn the slap bass panorama slightly to the side. This will make two bass lines a bit separated from one direction. Especially end of tune from 3:20 needs this panorama separation. Keep up the interesting work, I´m fan of the way, how you thinking about bass lines. I used to make it similar way.... Zdenek [/quote] Er - hi... I made this track 6 years ago - I didn't even realise it was still online! I appreciate your comments but hopefully I've moved on a little (i.e. a lot) since I made this - I was still using Garageband and listening to it now it's not that band - the samples are a bit naff I agree I guess a better place to hear where I'm at (or at least have been) now is on my Bandcamp page here: [url="http://mikeflynnsurb.bandcamp.com/"]http://mikeflynnsurb.bandcamp.com/[/url] my solo album thing is still alright too: http://mikeflynnsurb.bandcamp.com/album/homespun Thanks for reminding me I had a page on the iComp website - I'd totally forgotten about it! Cheers Mike

[quote name='Bill' timestamp='1370180755' post='2097256'] Nice mike! what ramp are you using on that bass? is it an Ebony wood? [/quote] Thanks Bill Yes it's an ebony ramp - I had it added when the bass was being built for me by Martin Petersen Cheers for checking this out Mike