NickD

Odd, It worked for me the first time, in the browser, but now I'm getting the same error!

I can imagine it's pretty critical when you're doing something at a 'Sting' level too. I did scour the internet for do and don't lists before the first session, and took it really easy. Water throughout the day and tuna salad at lunch. Even then, my voice was fecked by the end of the day... Luckily the last track required some distortion on the voice anyway, or I wouldn't have got away with that one. I think it's fair to say I was terrified the couple of days preceding it, but I find I'm now really impatient for the next one (which due do all the postponements at the studio isn't until the 3rd week in Jan), and I hope that's a good sign.

Actually, while I'm obviously joking, that is an issue... When you're not used to singing, if it doesn't come naturally to you, there's a nervousness, almost an embarrassment, that totally closes your throat. Even just in front of a friendly, supportive producer, and one bandmate, there was a hesitancy, that manifested itself in a physical way until I got into it and relaxed. Back in the mists of time, I probably had something similar with bass too, but that was less exposed.

Only if you promise not to laugh! 🤣

That's what I'm going for. Trying to get something across, to communicate... to compensate a bit for my ignorance.🤣 A lot of my favourite singers aren't what you'd call great singers, but there's something special there. Of course I do love to listen to great voices too, but still there's got to be more than just that (like Sting for example, who seems to have it all). Hopefully, through the recording process I can develop, and find a sound that's ours, I plan on lots of harmonies so I won't be completely naked. Given everything else I have on, lessons aren't really an option atm... I just need to find one teacher on YouTube that doesn't make we want to punch them!

I have little to offer, as a complete chancer, but I'm watching this thread with interest in the hope of becoming more competent. I've always copped for BV duties over the years, but nothing that required any finesse, but due to not really being in contact with any good singers, and not having much of an appetite for auditioning random folk, I've been pushed towards lead vocals on our new recording (that we're just putting the vocals on now). Against me, I have a voice that I don't particularly like, there's not really anything bad about it, I can do in time and in tune as long as I stay within my fairly limited range, but there's nothing particularly notable about it. I also have no real knowledge of singing or mic technique. In my favour, our producer is IMO a really good singer/guitarist in his own band, runs a busy studio so gets to see a lot of singers of varying quality, and is good at giving quality advice and support (as I found out on our first vocals session). Also, while it's not an issue yet, I find that as long as I've learned both parts well independently, Playing and singing together doesn't seem as hard as I thought it would be. Also, because the songs are mine, they mean something to me, and hopefully I can get that across.

Oddly, I labelled this months tune 'Hip Hop' (though it's probably not), and the scammers seemed to come in faster. I guess that's a more popular genre than Patagonian Nose-Flute Space Jazz.

They're talented people these influencers, they can tell if a tune is ground breaking, earth shattering stuff without even listening to it!

Ha... Awesome. 6 likes, and 2 offers of assistance in world domination from producers/influencers/ bloggers.... from a grand total of 2 listens!🤣

My entry for the Basschat November Composition Challenge inspired by the picture chosen by Upside Downer, co-winner of last month's comp (along with Dad3353 & xgsjx). *** Hope I can get let off here... Soundcloud says it's 5:20 long but it's not, it's 4mins 50 secs. I had to re-do the fade, but when I've uploaded it, the whole time between the locators has been included. There's no sound at all after 4:50.*** Due to being the wrong side of the generational, cultural and social divide, I never anticipated the opportunity to write a tune about 'beeeaches' as appears to be popular nowadays among the yoof, but here we go! I wanted that chilled, sparse Scoopy Dog-Dog feel, but with proper instruments, as that's all I know how to use (a bit). Recorded using my Elwood L for a lighter touch than usual (plus it takes a filter better), and my Vintage V6, both through the Helix. Drums provided by the Mrs, using Roland's 909 sim. Genuine imported South American dogs in the playout! 🤣 My partner has always talked of the soundtrack to her growing up was dogs barking. Apparently, suburban Buenos Ares is awash with them, 24 hours a day. Leave your house, cough, fart or whatever, and they're off for hours.... So I messaged the MIL and asked her to stick her phone out of the window and record the canine cacophony... and she did... bless her! Apologies for all the doggy puns, and the general roughness of it. There's a lot I'd tidy up about it, but I'm up to the neck in finishing some demos, and I'm up against the clock.

The Alesis I got my boy was one of the DM range, and I didn't pay a lot for it....£120 s/h, mint & boxed. The brain is less featured than the Roland, 16 kits IIRC, but the sounds are good solid drum sounds, Rock Kit, Jazz Kit, etc, plus a few crazy African/ Indian/ Hip-Hop type kits. It's responsive, ie, no noticable latency, and has the things you would want like record, aux in, metronome, etc. Maybe a bit light on features, but quality, and useful.

It's the pedal noise and the cymbals that is the worst. There's not really much can be done about the cymbals, but we've got the kit downstairs where the floor is more solid, on a pretty dense rug, with some really heavy underlay under it, and that's minimised it to quite a degree. For our purposes, everything is through headphones, if we were to amplify, it'd have to get fairly loud to make it worthwhile. Luckily the neighbours haven't been round yet, our walls are paper thin and I can hear conversations happening next door... Hopefully their TV drowns it out. Having said that, when reskinning the acoustic kit for the studio recently, just fairly gentle hitting while bringing them up to pitch, in the same room the difference is massive.

I'd agree with this. My partner is my drummer, and while her stage stuff is Yamaha, for practice, and our demo stuff, she uses a fairly long in the tooth Roland TD8 kit, and it's still excellent. A couple of years ago I picked up a relatively cheap Alesis kit for my eldest, and she put it through it's paces when we set it up for him, she was impressed considering the money, but it wasn't quite in the same league. We've upgraded her cymbals as time has gone on, and advances have been made, but from the POV of the module and pads, improvements have been more incremental than revolutionary so we've not bothered. From a young beginner perspective, I think they're a good bet, as aside from the traditional learning thing, you've got lots of creative flexibility to distract yourself with when you fancy a change. Old drum machine sims (808 & 909), percussion kits, synth and sample kits... basically the equivalent of us messing round with pedals when real learning is too dull for a while. With good mesh heads there's not much you can't do compared to an acoustic kit. The only real sticking points so far are the heel toe jazzy hi-hat thing and cross sticking, they're both tricky. Her teacher is a Roland endorsee and he has on loan the top spec VAD kit, and even on that those 2 things are a pain.

Oh yes! This month it turns out I'm a beardy, middle aged rapper, despite no experience of that genre.... You know like that Scoopy Snoopy Dog-Dog Fella!

Schrodinger's strings!🤣

The best has to be the Helix LT that I picked up from this very emporium a couple of days before we were locked down for the first time, it made the months fly by. The worst (or to be more accurate the most pointless) was the TC Sub'n'Up mini that I had delivered the weekend before spotting the Helix deal. It's fine, but the Helix does a very similar thing in a very similar way, so it's kinda redundant.

I can't speak with any authority about the tiny one, but I'm a fan of the horn in the 'h' model. I went that way after reading of people disconnecting the tweeter in the smaller model. I don't know how the crossover is set up, but it just works, loud and clear. It does the modern thing very well, and I find if I set it right I can get it transparent enough to put the Helix between the bass and the amp. When running straight in though, I can easily get a more old school sound by dialing in the VLE. It is bigger, but it's a dead easy one handed carry. Having said all that, a local jam night I used to go to use the 121p, I never spoke to it's owner, but it sounded great, and I never noticed any hiss.

That keeps coming up... It is, apart from an instrument, the one essential thing. Once you can get your sound, properly, into your computer, then you can choose what to do with it.

Have a look at somewhere like looperman.com/freesfx, etc. You need to register, but can download (and upload) royalty free loops, rhythms, samples, sound effects and stuff, them import them into your Daw, mix in your playing and build tracks that way. Experiment, mess around, have fun, and you'll be learning accidentally while you do.

It's got way more user friendly since the old days.

Honestly, if you just mess with it for a few weeks, you'll look back and realise how quickly it came together.... I did, and I'm as thick as mince! 🤣

They look it at first glance, but when you realise that you're using very little of the functionality to start with, it's not so tough. Plenty of tutorials for all DAWs on YouTube, just search the specific thing you're trying to do. By the time you need to learn something more complicated, you've been using it for a while and it's easier by then. Without an interface first I think you'll struggle though, if you can't get the signal in there without latency, recording will be tough.

..... and there'll probably be a few decent Black Friday deals coming up!

To answer the other part of your question, for a keyboard I picked up just a cheap midi controller keyboard (in my case an Acorn Masterkey 49), using that I plug it in directly via usb. The VSTs I use, drums, strings, keys, whatever, are all bundled in the DAW.