Bottle

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1414094271' post='2585876'] The only VST synth I use myself is Native Instruments' Massive (which is great but mostly limited to electronic/dance music sounds). When I used Reaper, I often downloaded free VSTs from the MusicRadar website, which still has tons of free stuff available. Here are a couple of links to whet your appetite: [url="http://www.musicradar.com/tuition/tech/the-27-best-free-vst-plug-ins-in-the-world-today-277953"]http://www.musicrada...ld-today-277953[/url] [url="http://www.musictech.net/2013/10/freeware-synths-ten-of-the-best/"]http://www.musictech...en-of-the-best/[/url] There's also this thread on Basschat: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/77603-free-vsts/"]http://basschat.co.u...7603-free-vsts/[/url] My advice: don't download too many as it's easy to get overwhelmed by choice! Hope that helps and have fun. [/quote] Indeed! I previously looked at the pinned thread and there were four pages of links so I needed a little time to sort through all of the device modelling ones first So far I have downloaded the Sound Wave P8 modeller and the 4Front piano emulator. I'll spend a bit more time over the weekend to polish the mix track and try out the VSTi's. Oh and maybe have a quick bash at the Composition challenge as well! Oooh boy, gonna be busy. Ian

[quote name='ironside1966' timestamp='1414064554' post='2585335'] This looks like good value [url="http://www.jrrshop.com/ik-multimedia-total-workstation"]http://www.jrrshop.c...tal-workstation[/url] [/quote] Thanks for the linky. At the moment $199 is a little steep for me, unless I get seriously into home/project studio stuff. Just don't have the money or the room at the mo' I'm literally doing my mixing on my laptop whilst sat on the sofa.The bedroom doubles as a re-amping and iso room. And the keyboard I just got is sat on the ironing board as it's the only flat surface I can adjust for height

[quote name='DrBike' timestamp='1414075221' post='2585557'] I've got tickets to see them next March in Brussels. It'll be a bit of a Roadtrip with the drummer from my band, we first met when working over there way back in the dim and distant 90s. Drive there, drink beer, watch band, stay over, drive back again the next day. What can go wrong? [/quote] Ooooh not jealous at all I can see that RB are not to everyone's taste, but then music wouldn't be music if everyone liked it or everyone hated it. Horses for courses I say. Must say, I'm enjoying the EP and the album. Also thought their 'Introducing..' slot from Maida Vale was pretty cool.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1413913236' post='2583556'] Ha..! I'd guess you'd want to be a bit more specific than that..! What do you want the synth to do..? Play as a synth..? Emulate other instruments..? Both..? Neither..? As a guide, I've got nearly 150 purely synth Vst's, and haven't even attempted to try them all to see what they do..! I don't doubt that Skol will have a more focused view, but you'll still need to know what you're going to do with it (or them; one may have several...) ... and: Yes, of course you can mess about until deadline with your piece. [/quote] OK guess I had that coming! Well, as I'm new to doing this mixing malarkey, I thought I'd at least get some (free) VSTi plugs to add into Reaper so I've got options to create additional piano and/or synth-y parts to this track (and for the future). I'm a complete n00b to composition on anything other than a stringed instrument :/ so I'm guessing I'd want a synth for pads etc and a piano/keyboard emulation for creating more lead-type lines. HTH, Ian PS I've just seen a video on YT and taken the recommendation of downloading Super Wave P8 for starters. Now to configure my VSTi folder.....

Well, I've gone and managed to score an Edirol (Roland) PC-50 MIDI controller for free off of a guy at work. Result! Just set up the MIDI interface now so that's working....just need a decent VSTi synth now any thoughts as to a good one for Reaper? I've still got a little bit of tweaking to do to the track. I should be in a position to finish this remix and submit a 'Final' version by the deadline - is that allowed? Ian

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1413664819' post='2580790'] I'm REALLY pleased by how this challenge is taking shape. Good work comrades! There's still plenty of time left, so don't rush. PS: Nige - your bassline is absolutely fine mate. I don't remember making any adjustments to the section of it that I used - and it's perfectly normal to make some tweaks to any recorded audio (I've played with 'pro' studio stems that have been riddled with little timing issues). So stop sweating it [/quote] I'll echo Skols comments I'm looking into to borrowing a room to pop a couple of cabs in so I can give it the beans :loud: I don't think I did a bad job considering I mixed "in the box" on my Windows 8 laptop and a pair of inexpensive headphones from Maplin. Whilst watching telly. And making dinner [quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1413666588' post='2580816'] There was a bass track..? [/quote] Yep, I was quite amazed to find it skulking at the back

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1413657106' post='2580670'] I don't remember having hit the crack pipe before recording that bass, but clearly that's what I did. Absolutely shocking. I did it live with no headphones in my own studio and I'll admit I rushed it when I didn't need to, it sounds ok in the the actual track, although I knew the timing was a bit off. I could have taken my time and got it right. Big f***ing lesson! As far as your mix is concerned, lovely! Great vocal sounds mate, lovely vibe, and I love the prominence of our dearest departed Doreen's BVs, it's like she's still with us I really like the simplicity of the mix, it sounds really open! Really looking forward to hearing all these mixes in sequence when the voting starts, very high standard of (re)mixing on all of them. [/quote] Awww you're too kind. Really, it was a pleasure to work on the vocals. Perversely, didn't have to do a great deal as they were all well tracked. As I mentioned before, just added a smidge of reverb and hard-panned the BV's left and right. Simples a lot of care and attention went into the original BV's, that much was clear from the stems. I can tell Doreen was a really special influence, mate. Had a play around with the intro - wanted to do something different, maybe give it more of a dance-y vibe coming into the meat of the track so C+P'd a chunk from the Outro track to fill in the gap. Nigel, the bass was fine, it fits the vibe of the track so I wouldn't go beating yourself up over it! Once it's in the mix, it fits really nicely. I'm reluctant to do anything with it, mainly because I want to respect the musicianship behind the track, and me with my fat fingers I'm more than likely to make a pigs ear of any attempt to replace it or do anything other than maybe thicken up the lows a little. Anyway, that's my thoughts on the remix ATB, Ian

And here is my first pass! [url="https://soundcloud.com/ian-sherlock-1/bottles-hoshe-mamba-bc-mix-rough"]https://soundcloud.c...ba-bc-mix-rough[/url] It's still a work in progress (as is everything in life!) [u]Wot I 'ave done:[/u] Topped and tailed all the tracks and grouped under suitable sub-mixes, i.e drums, vox etc Played around with the intro a little Added some reverb to the vocals as they were sounding a little dry - this I have found is easy once grouped as I can assign a common send to the ReaVerb plugin from each of the tracks and keep it tight and balanced. Outro trimmed a little Threw a rough mix on the whole caboodle - it's a basic L-C-R mix, no muss, no fuss BTW, having to mix this on 'cans at the moment, but will give it a go with proper monitors and cabs when I get a quiet moment [u]T'ings left to do:[/u] Yep, tidy up the bass with some automation and compression and play around with sending it out to a selection of different cabs 'n' effects. Don't get me wrong,I love Nigels' bassline - really accomplished and well recorded - but this *is* a re-mix challenge and I'd love to shift some real air with a cab and record the result. Nice thick subby lows that'll choke a donkey! Still learning how to do things in Reaper, but I can output individual tracks through a couple of Aux busses on my interface and out to my reamping box. Anyway that's my cunning plan (you could almost stick a tail on it and call it a weasel) Thoughts, comments and critique please! Ian

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1413635399' post='2580373'] Do me a favour Ian, can you Mellodyne my baseline to correct all those bloody timing errors [/quote] No! Hehehehe I hadn't noticed any glaring timing hiccups, and if there are any there, well they're just adding to the flavour of the song. Who wants a 'locked to the click' bassline anyway ? On a serious note, the tracks are all really well recorded. Noticed some spill from the drums in the BV tracks, but nothing too bad Just need to wait until the neighbours are out and I can really crank the big cabs Ian

OK, so I've got all the tracks imported into Reaper now, and sort of organised into sensible track groupings. I've even been able to route Nigel's deliciously subby bassline out of my interface, through my re-amping box and into my combo.....ooops letting out all my secrets now hehehe. Now to try mic'ing a pair of 12" PA cabs...... A dull Saturday afternoon has suddenly become much more interesting....

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1413629748' post='2580285'] Good on yer, cobber; the more the merrier..! You're in good company; every single one of us has had a very first (re...) mix to do at some point..! It's my first, too, and it didn't hurt a bit..! Looking forward to listening to your take on it... [/quote] I can't say it'll be fresh or orginal but I'll try and pull something out of the hat. Just want to to do something that reflects the quality of the original source tracks and the vibe of the song

[quote name='ironside1966' timestamp='1413136944' post='2575206'] Here it is my remix. [url="https://soundcloud.com/is1966/hoshe-mamba-london-zulu-ironside1966-mix"]https://soundcloud.c...ronside1966-mix[/url] [/quote] Like this Nice bassline, really drives the song along

I've just downloaded the stems and updated my version of Reaper so I'll try to have a bash at this - never done a mix or remix before so time to try I guess!

I think this thread could best be summed up as: 1. Depends on the person 2. Depends on your bass All of my basses were sub-£200 from new so I wouldn't have much of an issue with someone else using mine [i]provided[/i] they're not a complete tool. I went to a gig a few months back with local bands on - most of the acts were sensible but one bands' young bassist in particular had an interesting playing technique much akin to 'spanking' is the best as I can describe it! Terrible terrible sound coming out of the P-bass he was using as more than likely the eejit was spanking so hard he was hitting the pole pieces I wouldn't have given him my bass even if he bought it off me. As always YMMV Ian

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1413200752' post='2575705'] I always took a spare bass to every gig for years partly for multiple tunings, five strings removed that issue but I still took a spare but now I have the DB on most gigs it's too much to carry an extra electric bass really,I have strings for DB and normal bass, batteries, tools etc in my bag though. The funny thing now is with class D heads taking a spare amp has become easier than taking a spare bass! [/quote] I tend to have a fairly comprehensive set of spares in the gig-bag and carry bag - spare cables for everything, batteries etc, but I've only ever taken a spare bass on a gig once, and that was for the same reason as you, with diffierent tunings (think it was standard on one and Drop C or BEAD on the other) Don't think I've needed to take a spare head as I've always, always DI'd into the PA as well. Ian

I don't think there's any substitute for playing with other musicians. Now don't get me wrong, it won't replace at-home practice to a metronome and/or backing tracks, but there's no interaction. As others have echoed above, preparation is key, as well as knowing a few well-known songs (favourite at the moment is the venerable 'Hey Joe' but YMMV). I find knowing your way around a few standard keys helpful (and their relative minors and knowing some chord tones within those keys). The keys I've found useful include the following: Cmaj/Am, Gmaj/Em, Amaj/F#m, Dmaj/Bm etc I've found a decent jam night in Ely after trying a couple out in Cambridge. They're a really friendly bunch - couple of good drummers, a few guitards and several bassists (I reckon at least four at the last one not including myself). There's a real range of musicians - one of the guys is well into '50's and '60's Rock 'n' Roll, Chuck Berry etc. Others are into more contemporary songs ('Get Lucky' seems popular). First song up we just jammed, I laid down a groove in Em (Em > Cmaj > Am > Dmaj) and we just sorta noodled around that. I'd say suck it up and get playing - you never know what might come of it, and you'll soon get to see what needs work. I've picked up lots of things in my technique that need attention. It's helpful having a bass tutor at the moment too. Ian

Funny old world, ain't it? My go-to bass is still the Ibanez I bought from new more than six years ago. Only cost me £150-ish. Pretty much stock - same hardware. Only after-market mods were a better set of knobs and a pickup selector switch (Fender S1 style). With a good setup and new strings it blows my other basses out of the water (OK, I admit that ain't difficult, but you get the gist) I'm still looking to upgrade, maybe the Squier VM Jazz 4-banger, which to my mind offers more room for modification, there being more scope for using 'standard' Jazz parts etc. But not yet..... Ian

Some interesting points above. Anyone been catching the programs on Channel 4 - Don't Stop The Music? Seems like a lot of the issues are now down to music (or the lack of it) being taught regularly in school from Primary age. Too much focus has been given over to the technical and communication subjects i.e maths, English and the sciences. Don't get me wrong, all of those are important and what we need as a society to function in an increasingly technology-dependant world. What I feel we are missing is the funding for the arts and so much of it has to compete to get money from an increasingly smaller pot. I think this has been best summed up by Sir Ken Robinson in his famous TED Talk video on YouTube. A point that James Rhodes was trying to make is lots of people have unused instruments gathering dust, and as bassists we're guilty of that just as much. I've gone though several basses, one I gave away to a friend, the other is on long-term loan to another friend. I'm down to just two basses now. Have any of us looked at our collection and wondered if we really need five P-basses and whether someone else, maybe a school kid would be better off with it? Just a few thoughts....

No sign of it on my iPhone yet, but haven't sync'd it with my iTunes account for a while so it may be pending......will give it a listen then circular-file it if necessary. Still, bit cheeky of Apple Oh well

Oooooh I'm in! Finally able to get to this one - been MIA for the last three :-( 1. Hamster - 2. Silverfoxnik - BC Rich Eagle, Schecter Diamond P5, Levinson Blade B15, amp & cab tbc 3. Bluejay - with no fewer than two cameras, and possibly her so far pretty successful - despite being lefty - Warwick Corvette 5 Pro 4. Happy Jack - who knows what I will bring this year? 5.Chris B 6.TheGreek 7. iD Entity - Zon 5, Wal 4, Amp of some kind, a couple fun pedals 8. Bassace: Double Bass and a small amp 9. Walman - some bits to be decided 10. Kiwi 11. Sibob - Whatever I'm using for my gig that night 12. obbm - Sadowskys, Mesa Prodigy, Berg CN212, Mesa Bottle Rocket and some cables 13. StephenY - Alpher Bass #004 and EBS TD650 14.seashell - MIM Fender Precision 15.Bottle - mixed bag of goodies, Ibanez, Squier and a bunch of cabs, amps n pedals 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

Hey all Just stumbled across this thread too 'tis a shame that Kit and the band have parted ways, but sounds like Nigel is doing well too. Funnily enough was updating my iPhone with new songs from iTunes today and found my old CD copy of 'Submission Chords' so I'm playing it right now on my phone in the background. Best of luck to everyone. Wish you all well for the future. Nigel, hope to catch up with you at the SE Bash in November, unless you're up and gigging this way soon. Ian

There's a couple of other threads about two-piece/duos but if they haven't been mentioned, can I add Clatter? EDIT: and Black Keys?

[quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1404739880' post='2495231'] Interesting to note that the majority couldn't tell maple from rosewood boards - I'd also be interested to know, did anyone/everyone spot their own bass? [/quote] I couldn't tell at all! Personally I think (pre)amp and cab EQ, and also finger technique to a certain extent will have more of a bearing on sound than the fretboard. I say this out my own thoughts whilst listening to the basses through the MarkBass rig - some were incredibly bright and 'modern'-sounding, more 'Jazz' than 'Precision' IMHO. I was expecting more basses to have that characteristic mid 'hump' that gives '60's and '70's recordings that classic P sound (at least what I equate to [i]that[/i] P sound - I may be wrong, some could be Jazzes!) And I couldn't even identify my bass (even though it was the only fretless in the test, maybe because it still had the original Fender rounds on it?) Ian

Just got back in after a good run back to Cambridgeshire had a fantastic day out at the Bash and met up with some familiar faces and some new peeps. The presentation on modes was great and I thought the P Bass test threw up some really interesting results. Apologies to Lozz who battled with me defretted Squire PJ (which I had mistakenly left in Drop C - ooops!) All looking forward to the SE bash and Herts Bash next year Great job by all who organised the event and a big thumbs up for SiBob for taking time to talk through delay pedals

Saw one on the back of a builders' Transit van a while back - "The only tool left in this vehicle overnight is the driver" I quite fancy a bass clef on mine, but looks too much like a sad smilie