thodrik

Lots of Sabbath stuff is in e flat. A few stoner bands play in drop C sharp so the drop D equivalent of a half step down. I have heard a few stoner bands play in drop D too, but more in the prog/psychedelic side rather than doom. Some of Queens of the Stoneage stuff is in standard. Most of Alice in Chains is a half step down. Monster Magnet too. 95% of all Tool songs are also in drop D. You can certainly play heavy music while not downtuned. Honestly, if I really wanted to play heavy stoner/doom music and the guitarist wasn’t willing to tune down then I would just find a new guitarist.

I couldn’t help myself and the SSL channel strip 2 for £15 on the SSL site. it doesn’t do any fancy analogue preamp overdrive but from first impressions the EQ is really powerful and clean and the compressor is really nice. Would a stock plugin also be as functional? Probably, but this one says SSL on it.

I got it last year. It is really good but I do find that it really smears the transients of a hit. So I have kinda stopped using it because I found that it makes whole kits sound lifeless when all the close mics have Silencer on, so I end up reaching for a sample or transient designer when I would rather not to beef things back up. THR Debleed does the same function but is better because there is a look ahead function so more of the original transient comes through. Though it is very much a Silencer rip off. https://thraudio.com/products/debleed/ For blatant ‘cheating’ try Acon Digital. Remix for £26. It is an ‘AI’ plugin that identifies snare (or Tom, kick, hi hat etc) hits, and you can essentially just reduce cymbal bleed without ruining the drum transients. https://www.pluginboutique.com/product/3-Studio-Tools/72-Utility/11190-Remix Acon Digital also do their own gate called Debleed for £50 but the remix plugin does the same and is cheaper. I am sorry to say I have spent more time mixing drums in the last year than playing bass.

I’m tempted. I actually bought Slate Mix Bundle One (the original Virtual Mix Rack) for £44. It is kinda fun, though in 2025 it does seem a bit dated though I bought because I remember thinking it was an almost revolutionary plugin when my ex band’s producer demonstrated it to us in 2015 Do I really more EQ and compressors and amp sims? No. Am I tempted? Yes.

That is handy. I got a great deal on a Trace Eliot Base Kab once.

I’m in Orkney, nearest music shops are Inverness or Aberdeen i.e the locality where the OP is. If I am looking for a bass, I browse BC, the Gallery, Bass Bros or Bass Direct, all of whom deliver here unless I’m ordering something silly like an Ampeg 8x10. Some local folk here have seriously good kit, but it rarely gets sold, though if it does a bargain can be had because folk don’t want to post. We have our own local FB for sales which works okay though selection is limited. It is what it is. Outside of that local group I don’t look at FB marketplace owing to potential scams.

I had the Scout 15 combo for about 16 years. I found that the passive radiator could really penetrate through the floor when I was living in a flat. I didn't have the money available for a speaker isolation pod (or frankly know what a speaker isolation pod was when I got the amp). I would practice with the amp sat on a sturdy coffee table or another cab or I would turn the cabinet on its side so the passive radiator wasn't directly facing the ground in the hopes that this would reduce the sub output. In the end I accepted it really wasn't a 'tenement flat' suitable practice rig if I wasn't living on ground floor. It is very much a 'never sell' piece of gear for me. I just consider it to be a classic amp design.

Bogren Digital are doing an Autumn sale of plugins. They don't have a lot other than 'Ampknob' amp sims which are controlled by a single gain control with predetermined EQ, impulse responses etc. I was very sceptical but downloaded a free trial of the 'Rev C' Mesa Dual Rectifier and Bassknob STD Ampeg SVT. Plugins are £35 each. Not expensive, but not cheap either. You can get some bundles of 3 for £70 or so. The sound? Really impressive to be honest, especially the guitar one. The bass one is very good, but is it 'better' than a Brainworx, Softube equivalent? Not in my opinion, but the Bogren is very easily to set up with a 'that'll do' tone for quickly putting an idea down without having to mess with 10 different settings. For that reason I bought it.

I have an UAD Apollo interface on a Mac. Thankfully it is really good because if I wanted to switch it for something else getting rid of all of the DSP plugins and UAD software would be an utter pain.

Sounds annoying. A great majority of Plugin manufacturers require a plugin management tool (UA Connect, Softube Central, Slate Digital/SSL etc) and or an iLok account AND some kind of online account and password with the manufacturer’s website. It is bloody ridiculous.

The other ones are decent to great, so this is a great deal. They just did a free LA2A compressor the other week as well. I think UAD are getting ready to launch Luna 2.0 (their self created updated DAW) soon so probably trying to get as much engagement as possible.

I was in a band that literally played to a barman, one man and the man's dog. We did sell album to the man. We didn't ask if the album was for the dog.

Well done!

Trace Elliot probably stuck the caps on after realising that Geoff Capes was the only human capable of lifting a Trace Elliot 4x10 combo on top of another cabinet.

This is also the case with my Powerhouse 6x10.