Dad3353

Larry played violin..?

'Eight Days A Week'.

Less now, but I passed 70 last year, and we're planning an open-air (free...) gig for end of May. Demographic of our 'fan base'..? Anyone that wants a decent night out listening to our repertoire, which is quite varied..! All ages, mixed gender, mostly French (but we don't ask for identity anyway, so could be anyone...). We have a couple of mini-festivals and bars that invite us to play occasionally, so it's whoever happens to be there that evening. We play for our pleasure, and don't 'target' anything, really. We just want everyone, including ourselves, to have a good evening, s'all. Age..? I can't see it mattering much, and 50-odd is no age at all.

Another of the 'least things I even think about' concerning basses, or much else, really.

Not really. Buy at 100, sell at 200 plus 40 VAT, give Gummint 40 and put 100 in pocket. No good..? Just off the cuff figures, but.. Whatever. If there's a profit in it, it works. It's the Original Seller (at 100...) that's made it profitable. Buy low, sell high. Ain't it always the way..?

A 2nd-hand dealer is a business seller as any other; no difference. If a 2nd-hand item is bought, by them, from a private individual (no VAT to reclaim...) they still have to charge VAT when it's sold on, which the Buyer pays, and the dealer declares to the Gummint. No private individual reclaims VAT (excepting in the case related above ^^, where it has been paid, but the item has been sent back...).

There's ambiguity over Chicago's '25 or 6 to 4' Could be 25, or maybe 26, to 4; we're not shore...

25 minutes to go - Johnny Cash

Private sellers cannot claim back VAT on stuff they sell. Ever. The case indicated above ^^ is that of a Buyer, having paid VAT upon import, claiming it back when the imported, tax-paid, goods are sent back. It's allowed, and do-able, but shifts a lot of paper in reality, especially as it's, almost by definition, not something one does commonly.

In France this 'drawback' is claimed back from all VAT-liable purchases at time of purchase (well, following monthly VAT returns, really...). When the item is sold, with VAT, the tax amount is entered on the monthly declaration, and it's the balance which is paid to the Gummint. If there's proof of export to a non-EU country, there'd be no collection of VAT from the Buyer (who pays the 'hors taxe' price...), and there'd be a tax credit for that paid at purchase, if it's not already been claimed. The tax status of the final Buyer is irrelevant.

'Sludge'..? Is that like 'grime', but wet..?

Ah, but can he recognise faces, eh..? Can he..? Can he..? Ha..! ...

Clever-clogs..!

Does this get us any closer..? You're all too fast for me..!

And even the mixing sounds different to the sound 'live', either as individual instruments or, even more so, when the whole band are playing together. There's nothing I can think of that can beat (for fidelity...) the 'live' performance. Even then, folks in different parts of the room will hear a different version. There is no 'perfect'. An orchestral conductor (or the sound tech for a group...) hears things quite differently to the musicians themselves whilst they're playing. Which is the 'true' version..? There ain't one; it's a chimère. All the version sound different; one prefers one or another, but they're all 'false' to some degree, whatever the System.

And as contrast ...

Out of sequence, but ... (Best listened to with headphones ...)

Fr From the outset, from that very first 'Tap Tap - Bass Drum (on the 'One'...), it's 'Four And One TWO Three Four', try to count 'one TWO three four one TWO three four one TWO three four...', with that strong bass note on that TWO. One TWO three Four one TWO Three Four. The strong note of the bass line is (deliberately...) one beat behind the drums. It counts through like that from start to finish. Very unusual, and rather 'gimmick', but it works, once the strong bass is on the TWO.

That's ^^ about as good a definition of 'widdling' as I've ever seen. Respect for the technicity, but that's ^^ widdling.

Good morning, Neil, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

R is for Rostropovitch

Are you sure you posted the right clip..? It's true, I must admit to being rather deficient in the hearing department, but I don't hear much in the way of 'slap' in that. More of a NIN -clone vibe, and bass drum-bass mixed rather too close for me, but not what I call 'slap'. Is it me (for a moment.. For a moment...)..?

That's about all there is to it. The notion of 'sounds OK' depends a bit on what we listen through, and that's where the referencing helps (me, at least...). If I listen to an orchestral work, on headphones, and then listen to what I've done, I can judge by comparison if I've the horns too present, or cymbals too harsh. When I then listen through my monitors, they shouldn't be too far apart. If I don't use any reference, it may sound good to my cloth ears, through my headset, but, to anyone else listening through hifi, it'd be really 'pants' (if that means 'not very good'..?). Another genre, such as acid rock, I'd compare to Iron Butterfly, or The Doors, or whoever, and try for something with a similar sound balance. It's my way of compensating for not having the top-notch systems I used to have access to, and the accumulated, and worsening, auditive faculties. As I lose hearing, I lose it as much for my references as for my own stuff, and so can adjust. I see on video clips of percussionists waving their fingers through a line of miniature suspended tubular bells; I have no idea what that sounds like, as it's well outside of what's left of my lugs. I'd have no chance of incorporating those in my stuff..! I can, however, get a reasonable hi-hat 'chick', as I can compare it to a 'Ziggy' track. Cheating..? I should cocoa..! Anyway, referencing is what I recommend to be able to judge, for yourself, if your cans are as good as your TV, or if they need upgrading.

How, then, do you mix..? (Genuine question...). Do you use reference material at all, listening through whatever..?