SumOne

I got a Roland SP-404 MK2. It's a great bit of kit, you really get a lot more for your money with these things that sell to a wider audience than Guitar/Bass players. Economies of scale I guess. For live multi-fx type stuff it has instrument level input, and 'input fx' setting that includes guitar amp Sims (unfortunately no Bass specific amps) and stuff like the 'warm saturator' that I like for a bit of drive and EQ (even though the name 'warm saturator' seems to imply wetting yourself.... perhaps that says more about me though!), you then have the buttons by the screen for a single fx on/off 'filter and drive' etc (the effects can be re-assigned), and then 3x additional fx that can be put in series or parallel but are trickier to access so are good for always on stuff like compressor. It also has some interesting fx you don't usually find on multi fx, e.g. Vinyl and Cassette sim. It is not ideal as a traditional multi fx replacement (not stompable, no tuner/mute, input fx settings aren't changed via patch changes), but it could make do - especially for home use. What it wins on are some of the quite unique fx. .....and of course live multi fx isn't its main use, it is a bonus though. Mostly it is a decent sampler/trigger, sequencer/production tool, and can even be used as a DJ controller. Battery powered too, it should keep me entertained on my train commute. I could see myself using this placed up by my amp to have on for 'always on' bass fx and occasional fx on/off via the buttons, but that's only probably worthwhile if I also use it to trigger samples and loops -otherwise a cheap stompable multi fx would be more appropriate.

I'm sure as we are all analogue playing musicians on this forum that most people will see that Suno CEO as the enemy. But I think he might have a point on one thing: Technology will be able to really 'gamify' music and open up brand new stuff - e.g. you're at a birthday party and all say a few prompts 'make a rock version of Happy Birthday for John, make fun of his hair, add a Kazoo solo' and a visual app to 'suggest dance moves' then 'record us performing this song/dance in the style of a 80s hair-metal stadium performance', upload and share with 'John's birthday party TikTok group' etc etc. The end product will be throwaway and pretty much worthless to the rest of the world (there are already 100k songs uploaded to Spotify daily, so we're nearly there already), the value is in the experience of those that 'created' it. But even that scenario is a bit depressing, a party could alternatively just sing a song, do a kazoo solo, dress up and do a dance all without any use of technology....but I guess times are a-changing and people like using technology for this sort of stuff. I suppose it could make your party more global and not face to face, which again I'd see as a bit of a shame in many ways. Perhaps there's room for that, and still room for semi-retired blokes playing a P Bass in the pub to do their cover of Mustang Sally for the 100th time to an indifferent audience and feel accomplishment/joy in the experience of performing and artistic expression? Either way, they don't necessarily need to have much artistic merit for people to have fun with it.

In a way, I'm all for people running riot with it (not that I think Al is). These online only stores have put traditional stores out of business, accepting returns is part of their cost of doing business. I went to the Roland (Boss) store at Denmark Street and they would not price match their online Roland store Amazon price. I was there in the shop ready to buy but it saved me £15 to get it via Roland on Amazon - next day delivery and 30 days free returns that the shop doesn't offer. It made no sense to not buy it from Amazon (unless I really needed it there and then instead of next day). I feel of the government doesn't act then all sorts of shops will close. One partial way of balancing things is to not feel guilty about using your legal right for online purchase returns. (I think the business model of that Roland store is to be a big Roland advert though, not necessarily to be profitable as a stand-alone shop)

Perhaps a bit different from what you're saying, but two of the eight Grammy nominees for 'best new artist' first got fame via TikTok (Addison Raye, Alex Warren). And the winner of best music video was Deochii (who got fame as a Youtuber vlogger). So I suppose at least for them social media got them audience and then they monetise it by becoming musicians and selling gig tickets and merchandise and endorsements etc.

I think it's just a different flavour of that, or it can be. People said similar with sampling, synths (memories of my Dad's distain at 80's '1 finger keyboard players'), drum machines, DJs, Laptop music etc. Granted, they did all need people to a certain extent (but lazy people could just use drum machine presets and a synth arp preset), but it depends how people use AI to how much input they have - could be anything from just mastering a track all the way up to making it all via a prompt (and isn't that a bit like the non-musician producers that just tell musicians how to play?).

I assume some of the backlash against Punk was similar. And probably Rock n Roll before that, and Blues before that. Music isn't all about technical skills, it's about expression - if AI can help people express themselves then is it always a bad thing? I suppose there is a spectrum regarding artistic input. People that studied music for years and struggled to make a living in an orchestra probably looked at punk musicians with the sort of distain people look at people using AI for helping write music now. I suppose a key thing with Punk was the democratisation of expressing yourself through music - whether or not you were lucky enough to have been able to go to a music conservatory or have the time and money to practice. AI supporting artists possibly does similar. Nearly 50 years after punk and we still have music conservatories and orchestras of highly trained musicians and people that appreciate hearing that, and a lot of musicians (e.g. rappers, DJs, pop singers) that could barely tell you the difference between a major and minor chord. There is room for both.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if Gazz wasn't a real person, just an AI bot prodding about to see what word combinations get interaction.....or perhaps is a real person doing similar.

That's interesting as my synth bass pedal conclusion usually is: Honeymoon period = 'most fun effect pedal ever, hours of tweaking, this'll sound amazing live'. Then after a few weeks 'the sounds are actually a bit cheesy, I spend too long tweaking it instead of playing, not sure I can trust it live and it feels a bit disconnected/tracking can be an issue' After a couple of months 'Sell it as I'm better off with envelope filters, octavers, overdrive, modulation etc. that feel immediate and reliable and like Bass guitar effects instead of a cheesy outdated synth'. I think this MXR and the latest Future Impact version might change my thinking though.

Ah right, I stand corrected. I thought that Direct Drive wasn't ideal for hi-fi and the 1200 types were all DJ focussed. Either way, years of DJing and playing in bands means my hearing wouldn't tell any difference between hi-fi and fisher price!

I'm a big fan of Technics. Have had 1210's for 30 years with only small bits of DIY maintenance needed. So getting the 1200GR2 I'm sure would be the last deck you'd ever need to buy. .....however, I'm not certain the 1200GR2 (or older versions like 1200 and 1210's) are ideal for home listening. Isn't their main design for them to be built like reliable tanks to withstand DJs doing stuff like this: It's like getting a tank to do the school run. A lot of unnecessary cost, bulk and toughness, while missing some features that would be nice to have.

I think in terms of processing power, build quality, sounds, and price it's still very competitive. I'm not sure anyone really needs more than 3x parallel paths and 24 simultaneous effect blocks. And the sounds all seem good to me. What would be interesting (but not essential) are some more innovative sounds: Synth, Arpeggiator, sample triggering, tone capture, glitchy stuff etc. And I think all multi fx need to put more effort into the user interface, it's the main reason so many people still use individual effects pedals. e.g. if a live situation I'm using a multi fx for Compressor, Amp sim, Drive, and just one part of a song I suddenly feel (with no preset pre planning) a phaser would be good - how realistic is it to be able to do Vs individual pedals where it's just 'stomp on the phase 90'.

Yeah, I don't think Bootsy does anything as mundane as getting out of bed and getting dressed in the mornings.

The Core would be the more sensible option, not leasst as I'm always considering how useful pedals can also be with my keyboard (Core for stereo effects etc will be useful for both Keys and Bass). ...but I'm not a particularly sensible person!

I've been eyeing it up too (helps that it has just been payday!). Did you order it from Music Store or direct? I basically have no pedalboard at them moment (well, just a tuner), so if wearing my sensible hat I should probably get a couple of things like compressor and overdrive before the next gig....my amp can do each of those things and it can't make FI type noises (unless something is giong quite wrong!) so I think I might take off my sensible hat and put on this one to get a FI v4

That's very true for those that want to have pride in their artistic efforts. Unfortunately though, the goal for many isn't artistic integrity and having pride in what they've created - it's reaching the goal of making £ and presumably getting AI to fully compose music might be a way of achieving that. Perhaps this isn't true, but people are suggesting that companies like Spotify and Amazon music are using AI to create music and are promoting it on their playlists as they then don't need to pay royalties. e.g. Ask Alexa to 'play relaxing background music' and it is in their interest to play bland innofensive AI generated stuff they don't need to pay for.