sshorepunk

Time for a different type of porn! This is my little studio set up It's based round a G5 running Pro Tools LE8 with a Digi 002 interface Here's the story behind it and how I work it! I've been using audio recording software such as Cubase since the late 90's and have always run a PC based system with decent sound cards, earlier this year I decided a change was needed as my old PC was running out of steam I also wanted to try the control surface approach, maybe linked to a sound card. After a lot of research on the www and the upcoming release of Pro Tools 8, I decided to go that route. I also decided to look for a dual processor G5, these things hold good money, but I was fortunate enough to find one local with a good BIN price on E-bay. A deal was done and shortly after, a Digi 002 came up, which I also managed to snag. I already had the Tannoy monitors, so was good to go My old Ikea Jerker desk was modified, as it was a bit big, so what you see in the photo's is the modified version Pro Tools 8 was the next addition, this was really what swung me over to Pro tools, and I'm glad now that I made the move, for a number of reasons, more on that later Once set up, I set about getting it all working and learning how to use Pro Tools after many years of Cubase! Then, I got a new gig with the band I am in now and everything kind of got put on hold, whilst I set about learning a whole load of origanil songs, plus a covers set we pull out of the bag when required. So after an initial flurry of gigs, it's now time to get back to pro tools. The move to PT worked well in many ways, as now, both myself and the guitarist in the band, run similar systems, so apart from a few plug ins, we are able to share sessions, gives me a chance to work on new tracks in the comfort of home, with a nice, warm coffee. The set up is simple, I run into a sans amp bass driver which is set flat, the XLR output goes into Channel 1 on the 002. Another output from the sans amp goes into a Bass Pod XT, which goes into the line input on Channel 2 of the 002 I'm still playing around with sounds and levels, but it sounds good to me and having two tracks of bass works very well I'm still learning pro tools and now have enough to get by, thanks to a couple of DVD's I bought last year. i'll have some recordings soon as the stuff we are working on right now is close to mastering

MC5 - looking at you!

Most enjoyable to see the Blockheads last night, one of the tightest bands around, Norman Watt Roy is an incredible player, he holds the whole thing together with an incredible groove! I was around whilst they were setting up ready for sound check, listened to him jamming with the drummer, bloody hell, he's got some licks, a lot of really nice jazz styled improvisation. A great sound from his jazz through a TE rig Had a quick chat with him, thanked him for being one of the reasons I started playing bass back in '78, he seemed to really appreciate that and asked what where I was playing on the night, once he knew I was a bass player The sound man for our room was late (stuck in snow) so we were running late, should have been finished as the Blockheads started, but we were only 10 minutes in as they came on, so dropped a song and whizzed through the set just to get into the other room, good decision! Would liked to have seen the band with Ian Dury back in the day, but the guy up front does the job and it all seems to work! Graet band though! Tony

Good discussion this, I agree, would have been great to see Wobble and Levine with the band, but regardless of the line up, it was a good gig and a great sound. The guitarist was excellent, as was the drummer. Scott firth did a great job of holding down the bottom end in the absence of Mr Wobble. He played 4 and 5 string, not sure what, I couldn't see, he played through an Aguillar rig and played EUB on a few tracks and it sounded really good Tony

I'm in Monton, but nobody knows it! just next to worsley. about 5 minutes from Trafford centre The bags yours! Tony

Most of us in the band I play in were gonna go see the Blockheads, we were offered a support spot, so we had to take it Ended up we're in a different room, as our set finishes the Blockheads start Looking forward to it! It's at Moho BTW Tony

probably not as sound as his country life contract!

I've used this for years, but the zip has started to open slightly on one side at the bottom, so don't wanna risk a bass falling out. Easy fix, just needs some time to secure that area of the zip, it's the bit you never use anyway! Free pick up from manchester Gotta be worth a small donation in BC! Tony