Nicko

I feel the same about my US made Fender PB which has not been out of its case for around 2 years - the Squier CV does the same job and did most of the gigging duty when I was in a band. Guitars - I have nothing too expensive just far too many of them really. My Epi 339 was the most recent purchase and I think its good quality. I've always bought what feels right rather than what looks good or has the right name.

This popped up on a spam email yesterday. I misread it at first and wondered why anyone would want a 100W 1x15 - too loud for home not enough for most gigs. Then I read it again. Bugera 1000 W amp Why would anyone wanting a smallish combo need a thousand watts?

I did wonder if I might become a pariah for mentioning that😀 I suspect most of us will be familiar with Telecasters whereas many won't have heard an example of the Kramer.

Or simply look at 6 string guitars and see the same thing. A telecaster in middle position does exactly the same thing and you can't get that sound on a Strat because the pickups are too close.

Cakewalk looks like a very interesting proposition. Is anyone here using it? I'd also be interested to know whether using Bandlab on a Chromebook and Cakewalk on a PC provides seemless integration.

Yes, if someone could point the in the direction of a free download for that I'd appreciate it. I would consider paying if necessary.

I've had a look at a couple of tutorials for Cubase 7 for routing instruments to MIDI tracks and the menu commands required to follow the tutorial are not available in my version of Cubase. For some reason I can route MIDI commands to plug ins on an audio track but not to a VST instrument.

And the processor needs to be decent too. An intel i3 laptop chip won't cut it - an i5 might. I've tried running Ableton on a 10 yo laptop which was good spec when it was new and it can't cope with a lot of vst processing. It works fine on a similarly spec'd desktop.

I'm a Cubase user and also have Ableton - both free versions that came bundled with hardware. Personally I think Cubase is more intuitive if you are recording live instruments and Ableton is better if you are doing EDM. The elephant in the room is cost and update capability. If and when I change I'm likely to give Reaper a try because it probably does everything Cubase does at a fraction of the cost (or on a free trial to make sure it suits me) and doesn't require latest spec PCs. It would be madness not to try that route first, unless you are buying hardware and get something for free.

I'm not sure about that at all. Whilst I write and record to enjoy myself a compliment on what I've done is some kind of acknowledgement that what I'm doing is worthwhile.

Its a very old version of Cubase - LE 7.1. I am now questioning my own sanity as I am sure i read that MIDI tracks could not be added in this version in the manual but I've just looked again and can't find what I thought I'd read. The dropdown menu allows adding a MIDI track, but when you click it the pop up comes up identical to the VST insert. I'll take a proper look at it again. I tried this before using Xpand 2 and didn't get very far.

Not quite. The version of Cubase I have will handle VST instruments just fine. What you cannot do is insert a MIDI track and send it to various instruments so using a multitimbral synth or Kontakt player to it's full capacity for example aren't possible. This functionality is available in the freebie version of Ableton that I have but that has a very limited number of tracks and I've never resolved the issues with latency on it when recording audio tacks (not worth investing the time to resolve as the limitations of tracks mean I'm more likely to do what I want in Cubase anyway). Bundled software has opened up a whole new world for me and two years in I'm just about hitting the limitations of it but only insofar as knowing that some things would be easier to do with a paid for version. I suspect even if I did hit limitations in Reaper it might take me several more years to get to that point at which time my hardware will probably need updating in any case.

IME neither will a real drummer.

In isolation, with whatever settings are used for this recording I prefer the 60s sound. That said in a band mix the difference would be very subtle and I have cloth ears so probably couldn't tell from listening whether a track was recorded using a Jazz or a Precision - when eq playing style and amps are involved. In fact I play a P bass so if I was setting my sound I probably wouldn't want to get the sound that is produced by either option - I'd be on the front pickup.

I'm looking forward to seeing how that works out. I hadn't realised you were using autotune so I guess the way you are using it is the right way at the mo. I'm still going au naturel at present but will have to see how this month works out - there's still time to install a vst and tidy up the vox.

Surely there must be a Drumchat internet forum somewhere. I've not experienced problems with drummers so much as singists but then I'm not in the SW.

I'm kinda following this mantra, but I'm seeing the limitations of a DAW that can't be upgraded because my OS is out of date. The DAW is a free bundled with hardware and although I only use a small part of its functionality there are things that are not included in the freebie that I want - the lack of facility to install a MIDI track for example is beginning to annoy me. So, to upgrade the DAW I'll have to upgrade my PC, which is otherwise perfectly functional at present for what I do with it. And so the merry-go-round continues. Which is why I'll probably go to Reaper who seem to have set up the DAW to run on virtually anything.

I think it was mainly the ones that got sucked into the Malcom Mclaren/Vivienne Westwood fashion thing that went down that route.

I seem to remember my oldest brother, who claimed the title Head Moose of the Whitton punks, and his mates mostly just cut their own hair - and it actually looked like rats had been gnawing away at it. I seem to remember one his mates later getting a mohawk of sorts but it was more a shaved sides job than the full 6" spiked and dyed job, and by that time I think he was roadying for PIL.

Keep the pony tail and shove a safety pin through your cheek - you'll fit in fine. FWIW I have a mate who is in a very successful punk covers band playing mostly festivals and they mostly look like stockbrokers with attitude.

IMHO it's possible to do covers when meeting once a month BUT I've always found that the band sounds like a bunch of guys playing covers rather than a good covers band. Rehearsals are required to build the chemistry and tighten it up. I suppose once a month and then intensive sessions prior to a gig would work, but it's no substitute for building a proper relationship.

When playing in a "alt rock" covers band we ended up introducing a version of "Kids in America" and the singer even suggested doing a montage of Mary Janes Last Dance with Dani California. Strangely it wasn't this that finished the band off.

After gear failure when playing a charity gig at a school I borrowed an Encore Precision bass copy from the music department which would have been maybe £100 new. No one noticed and it was OK to play. I could have DI'd it to the PA so the total cost of the setup would have been £150 including the DI box.

Sadly this is an all too familiar story. It's not necessarily the random strangers thing either, just that we make compromises when forming the band and eventually the crack start to show. Even with bands that have got to the stage where they have gigs worked out and a set list agreeing new stuff leads to acrimony and resentment.

I'm assuming the other guy was wearing green hoops?