Earbrass

Thanks for your replies. My current laptop is about 10 years old, and is a maid-of-all-work, so I'm not going to try to upgrade that one. So is the consensus that 8GB RAM is overkill? I would have thought that it would more than compensate for a slightly slower disk spin speed by providing more buffering room. (??)

Hi all, My old laptop is increasingly unhappy running my DAW, and so upgrade-time looms. Following the advice in a recent thread on here, I am thinking of buying a Lenovo. The laptop will be used only for running a DAW (initially some version of Sonar LE, but I'm hoping to uprgade to the full Sonar X package sometime later this year). I will be using it for multi-track recording, sequencing, virtual instruments and effects. (For the purposes of this thread, can we take it as read that I'm getting a laptop, not a macbook) There are lots of options within the Lenovo range, and each laptop is customizable to some extent...I'd be interested to know how people would rank the following choices. So, which of the following will give the greatest benefit: 1) Having an i3-380M processor instead of an Intel Core Duo T6670 (2.2GHz) 2) Having 8GB RAM instead of 4GB 3) Having a 7200 rpm disk instead of a 5400 rpm disk At the moment, the leading contender looks like this: ThinkPad SL510 £648.82 Intel Core 2 Duo processor T6670(2.2GHz) Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64 8 GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM 1067MHz SODIMM Memory (2 DIMM) 320 GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm Any thoughts / comments? Thanks for your input.

[quote name='JTUK' post='1132273' date='Feb 18 2011, 02:32 PM']they have a use but these can't be good basses.[/quote] Do you I wonder apply the same lack of logic in reverse with regard to expensive gear? "These cost a fortune so thay can't be bad basses."??? You must be a salesman's wet dream.

Does this mean we can expect a "road-worn" edition of the shuttle? A few scratches and dents and voila - "mojo".

[quote name='philw' post='1129913' date='Feb 16 2011, 05:17 PM']... the pianist, Joanna McGregor, had two nominally identical grand pianos, one tuned to equal temperament and one tuned to an alternative temperament – they sounded utterly different. P[/quote] I briefly shared a house in Clapham with her (and several others), back in the mid 80's. Not relevant, but I thought I'd throw it in for luck.

[quote name='Hot Tub' post='1129325' date='Feb 16 2011, 10:23 AM']Putting something a bit different into the set is all well and good, and you may all play outstandingly well, but if the punters don't get it, and you don't get a repeat booking, what's the point?[/quote] If you don't enjoy playing the music, what's the point of a repeat booking? (Unless it's just for the money, of course.)

I think Bilbo's pretty much nailed it, but I'd suggest that what a lot of players are trying to buy is not 'talent' so much as the quick consumer-high that choosing and buying new toys brings. It never lasts, of course, and another hit is required sooner or later. The quest for "that sound" or whatever is so often simply the way we justify our addiction to ourselves.

[quote name='henry norton' post='1128084' date='Feb 15 2011, 10:38 AM']Keep this up and you might just scrape the magic hundred! That's about one tuning key on a US Standard isn't it? [/quote] Or about 1.66 Sue Ryder strats!

[b]First Bass Owned:[/b] Kimbara Jazz Bass copy (1977) [b]'Go To' Bass:[/b] Peavey Milestone III [b]'Your' Bass:[/b] Peavey Milestone III

I had one yesterday - for about £29. Still, can't complain, as this month I also received two £25 premium bond prizes - first time I've won anything from them in years. So it's been quite a good month so far. Must remember to renew my lottery ticket for Wednesday, as I seem to be on a roll!

Nice one. Congratulations, and welcome to the not-so-exclusive "Milestoners" club.

[quote name='ras52' post='1126877' date='Feb 14 2011, 11:56 AM']Just waiting now for the first pic of a (male) BC-er playing their RP-1 in a girly dress...[/quote] Oh, hang on a minute, I think there's a vid on YouTube somewhere of some Japanese guy....

[quote name='risingson' post='1124583' date='Feb 12 2011, 01:53 AM']Bass is bass, I'm a firm believer in thinking that most bass guitars sound more or less the same. That may sound a bit ridiculous but to a wider audience without a discerning ear, this is for the most part a universal truth. Yes a jazz bass is going to sound different to a P bass or a Stingray, and yes certain pickups/preamps will sound different than others etc. but who's going to notice? Not as many people as you'd like to think.[/quote] +1 [quote name='spinynorman' post='1124826' date='Feb 12 2011, 11:55 AM']Rather than looking for "the sound", I look for light weight and as little as possible to carry, set up and go wrong.[/quote] +100 [quote name='hillbilly deluxe' post='1124947' date='Feb 12 2011, 01:45 PM']1,an amp/speakers make just as much,if not more difference to the sound than a bass does.[/quote] I'd add that choice of strings can make just as much, if not more, difference to the sound than amp/speakers do. But since these don't have big logos on that tell everyone how flash / expensive they are, they get less attention than bass or amp.

[quote name='dwh87' post='1125550' date='Feb 12 2011, 11:39 PM']My first bass was a milestone III. I traded in an epiphone SG400 for it. Nice slim neck, frets were all great and the fingerboard had an eyecatching figuring. The pickups were average and the input jack was shoddy until i properly fixed it up. Highly recommend as a starter or just something cheap to sling around.[/quote] Agree about the jack - I've had mine replaced with a good quality stereo one (wired in mono, but the extra prongy thing helps to hold the plug in better) by the good people at the Bass Gallery, who have also foil-lined the cavity for me.

[quote name='Clarky' post='1122122' date='Feb 9 2011, 11:43 PM']First one, prearloid too Las Vegas, C&W for me.[/quote] +1

Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks these basses are gig-worthy: [url="http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/music/review-23922290-a-forbidding-triumph-for-esben-and-the-witch.do"]http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/music/review...nd-the-witch.do[/url]

[quote name='Doddy' post='1122720' date='Feb 10 2011, 03:02 PM']I think the problem with a lot of people is that they change instruments regularly,looking for 'the one',but I feel that an instrument only becomes 'the one' after you've played it for a while and know it inside out.[/quote] +1.

Had one of these as my main / gigging / recording bass for a few years now. Fab bass - lightweight, well balanced, nice neck, good sound. Twice I've tried to "upgrade" to a more expensive bass, only to end up selling the new bass and returning to this. I got mine for £50 from a Crack Converters - one of the best musical purchases I've ever made.

I always thought they were like Fisherman's Friend, but with funkier flavours.

I used to have a Tascam 8 track, though a slightly different model, and it was a while ago so I may be misremembering. Is there a small slider-type selector switch (possibly on the back) that lets you change the input between Line / Guitar / Mic? If so, make sure it's set to 'mic'. Also make sure you've got the phantom power turned off - your SM57 won't like it.

[quote name='blackmn90' post='1114144' date='Feb 3 2011, 05:06 PM']ahrite well that does make sense. It is a shame though as it would be more useful if if they tuned to the same frequency[/quote] But if they did that, your bass / keyboard or whatever would only ever be really in tune in one key. The whole point of the equal temperament system is to allow us to play [i]very nearly[/i] in tune in all keys. In return for that, we make do with being [i]very slightly [/i]out of tune in all keys!