DaytonaRik

I've given the new version a few more listens - more 'air' and space. I'm still struggling to hear the bass on occasions but that's not difficult to fix. I personally found the guitar solo level a little high. I'm not sure if you've panned the drum kit? That would give a little more width to the mix rather than it all coming straight down the middle. Nicely good - huuuuge strides over the first version 😎👍🏻

The XR18/X32 stuff is insane value for money. I kept mine as a spare desk when I moved to an X32 Rack - now it lives in my home studio as a multi-input interface. I also use DAW Control software on an iPad as a Mackie Control Surface clone to fly Reaper and this works very well...sometimes you just want to have hands on faders rather than using a mouse for everything. 2BAC526A-AB54-4919-9342-035DA857AC5A.mov

Thanks @skidder652003- it was a good exercise in trying to replicate a fairly well known track in terms of tones/sound. Learned a ton of tricks re drums - I have access to the Slate Academy as part of the All Access subscription and learned tricks I'd never have even thought of trying...the same as the Vance Powell vid that I pointed you in the direction of.

First listen - definitely moving in the right direction 👍🏻

Spend a bit of time watching this YouTube video - To keep time/production costs down the band (Tyler Bryant And The Shakedown) recorded the rhythm guitar, bass and drum tracks live in a single take - Vance explains some of the techniques used to avoid bleed (even then, there is some as it's inevitable but as there are no rhythm overdubs this isn't a problem) and then goes through some of the signal processing and tricks used as the example track was produced. I mix on AKG K702s or KRK monitors at home - the room is pretty flat but untreated (for now) so I do the bulk of the mixing on speakers then go to headphones for the final polish - you really do need to have some quality headphones or monitors in a good room to mix with sadly.

The compression that is introduced when rendering to MP3 rather than .WAV is huuuuuge and very noticeable when playing back from sharing sites such as SoundClound Try to stick to .WAV files if you can

If it's just bass gear then I've done reasonably well...if we're including studio gear...not so good!!!! 🤣

Funnily enough one of the guitarists in our band has been asked to be the bass dep standby for another band (they're mates...why you'd not just get a bass player in is beyond me but hey!) so borrowed one of my spares to learn tracks on - his respect for the bass player has grown exponentially! As you said - timing deficiencies are shown up massively. As a former guitarist who became a bass player I had to overcome the same problem - now I'm comfortable with both, but probably a better bass player that I am a guitarist, but also a better guitarist because of my bass playing. As to the original question - no, I've always played in bands where the bass players and guitarists had a good knowledge and appreciation of each others instrument to the extent that they were proficient on either, but more an expert in their own field.

I've been using Reaper for a while now but it's usually just been for my own use, or maybe for the odd snippet here and there for the band's use but I've decided to throw myself into it for a few days and actually get a track done and dusted! Everything has been recorded in the box - guitars and bass are courtesy of Positive Grid's fantastic Bias FX2, drums via Slate Drums 5 and all channel processing, EQ through Slate Digital's excellent Virtual Mix Rack, with a touch of reverb from VerbSuite. All instruments were recorded though Behringer's XR18 which did a pretty good job, and vocals were recorded with my Rode NT1-A mic I know there are a few places where the lead vocal timing could have been corrected, but comments re general recording, balance, guitar tones etc. is appreciated and welcomed. I'm no CLA, but it's only by trying this stuff and trial, error, and the odd lightbulb moment that we learn, improve and make better recordings. This is an early pass with no bus processing or mastering - just trying to get a feel for opinions of what I'm doing right or wrong production-wise! Ta!

Having started home recording once more in earnest I decided that it was time to invest in a large diaphragm vocal mic and plumped for the Rode NT1-A. There are some features on the NT2-A that I just wouldn't use, and another couple (pad and EQ) that I'll take care of in the DAW, and given that the capsule in the two is the same it made sense to invest that additional £100 elsewhere. Initial (untested) thoughts are good - mic is well made and feels nice in the hands (the shock mount seems particularly robust) and great service from GAK. Rode have excelled in the packaging which is generally an indication of the care given to the product itself, with internal spacers, separate boxes for each component etc. I'll fire it up over the next couple of days to see how it performs, but I'm not expecting anything untoward - just a good faithful reproduction of vocals.

Always liked the black paisley since seeing the ltd edition Japanese Richie Sambora strat in the 90's which now sadly fetch silly money as they are pretty rare. Enjoy

For all channel EQ, dynamics, harmonics, reverbs, buss processing and mastering I use Slate's All Access subscription model - $14.99 a month for every plug-in that they produce. You name it, it's in there. Given a single EQ module can cost $100-$150 that's not a bad deal! It also includes their guitar FX plugins and some synth modules and access to mixing/production master classes from the likes of Chris Lord-Alge and Matthew Weiss as well as in depth tutorial ons how to best use the various plug-ins. https://slatedigital.com Rhythm duties are taken care of with Slate Drums 5.5 which available as a free version as well as upgrading to their full kit choices. https://stevenslatedrums.com I've also used MT Powerkit with good results. https://www.powerdrumkit.com Guitar-wise I've been using Bias FX2 since it's release, and was using Bias FX before that. simple, easy to use and logical layout - excellent product. https://www.positivegrid.com/bias-fx/ I also use Garritan Personal Orchestra 5.0 for horns/strings/pianos https://www.garritan.com/products/personal-orchestra-5/ There are a lot of channel processing and mastering freebies supplied with Reaper but for a little outlay each month you can have access to some wonderful plug-ins that are much more intuitive to use and more true-to-life in their sonic capabilities.

As a bass player I use zero FX of any description. The above solutions works well for using a midi foot switch onstage to engage/disengage multiple non-midi enabled foot switches located elsewhere, eg in a tray in a rack case via a midi footswitch. As a guitarist I did some thing similar but with rack FX (Rocktron Intellifex Ltd) and a tack mount pre-amp (Marshall JMP-1) The midi loop switcher allows you to remotely control your FX by assigning different combinations of pedals to midi patch change commands - each combination is a patch and activated by selecting the appropriate patch change via the footswitch

I must be one of the rare individuals that just doesn't use pedals? Even back in my guitar playing days everything was rack mounted and run from a single MIDI controller but I can see why the idea has appeal to those with pedal-boards. There is, as always, an alternative solution by mounting non-midi enabled or analogue pedals on a rack tray, safely away from punters/beer etc and using a MIDI controlled loop switcher such as this by Morning Star - https://www.morningstarfx.com/ml5 - one MIDI cable and an appropriate foot switch lives on stage whilst this lovely gadget lives in the rack with the pedals and can be programmed to engage/disengaged as many/few of your devices as you wish so no more tap-dancing either! Just a thought for those FX pedal users out there seeking a more elegant on-stage solution.

It's fair to say that we're not in any rush.

I've been lucky - I always liked the sound of Ashdown gear when I was a guitarist so it's what I went straight for as a bass player and still have, although I've traded from a combo and cab to a head and a pair of cabs. Bass wise, I still have the Bass Collection I started with, had a Schecter Diamond series Jazz for a while (wish I still had that one actually) before finding Thunderbirds. Moved to a couple of P basses (Limelight and Tokai) for my stint in a Thin Lizzy tribute for a few years before moving back to T'birds a couple of years ago. I only added a Steinberg Spirit for smaller stages and an unplugged acoustic rock trio for a less imposing visual statement! I don't use pedals so no constant merry go round of those things, my rack tuner I've had for years (20 maybe!) and I've only just changed my wireless because I thought it had developed a fault (turns out it hadn't) so I'm pretty settled in my setup. I was the same with guitars - I still have a '96 Patrick Eggle bought new, a 2006 SG Standard, a BC Rich Assassin from 2002 and a Godin Acosticaster from the late 90's. I had a Marshall JMP-1/9100 rig with a Rocktron Intellifex Ltd multi-fx for years too - if it works and creates the sound I want then I stick with it. I don't feel the need for constant experimentation or change for the sake of change

Such a set of contradictory information - one document says you can go to watch a dramatic, musical or comedy show either indoors or out, yet the working guidelines for pubs, bars and restaurants say that outdoor performances should be encouraged and that they should ensure that music isn't played played at a volume that makes normal conversation difficult. Can't they just say yes or no? I'm not bothered either way - just give me a definite guideline, without any ambiguity and in simple to read English!

Does this apply to professionals or amateurs? I'm pretty sure that these are aimed at professional performers and productions?

I found this article online but the article is dated 4th August, so superseded by the announcements later in August announcing that gigs were permitted from 15th August

So - for UK members - how is the ensuring that music isn't played played at a volume that makes normal conversation difficult bit being done? Or are we just sticking two fingers up to it and gigging regardless?

The Brooks Grabbird - covers many options this one? Or of course a Grabber?

Just the job for the bass player?

That's pretty much because there ISN'T one! With devolved governments, each country can make it's own decisions and guidelines accordingly, regardless of those announced by Westminster as health is a devolved power.

We have rules, guidance and advice that can vary from country to country (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) and by city or region within that! Talk about making life difficult!

According to this government guideline published 13th Aug section 4.5 indoor performances in bars, pubs and restaurants were permitted with some obvious guidelines, notably surrounding distancing and reducing the volume of background music and refraining from playing music which "may encourage shouting" or "at a volume that makes normal conversation difficult" https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/restaurants-offering-takeaway-or-delivery#takeaways-4-5 So that's most live bands out of the window straight away re volume of drum kits etc.