Dad3353

I'm still trying to catch up with the 18th and 19th centuries..! There are so many new (to me...) compositions to listen to and appreciate; it'll take several lifetimes to go through the whole back catalogue. There's very little 'dross', too (although Offenbach does cause me to grit my teeth somewhat...). I'd love to move on to the 20th century; maybe by skipping a few of the lesser-known works..? But then, I'd be missing so much splendid stuff. Music is being composed and played, worldwide, faster than any individual could possibly hope to catch it all. I'll just plough on at my own best pace, and enjoy the discoveries. Only the other day I listened to a Bruckner piece I came across. What a Master..!

I had a headstock broken off from my Hofner Comittee. I confided it to a luthier, one of the top in his field. There were some Err... 'complications'; I finally went to collect the guitar, fully restored, five years later, pleased as Punch. He did a great job; the cost was well worth it. It all depends, doesn't it..? Some things take minutes, some days, some longer. Communication is the key, though. Have you tried calling in, or emailing..? That can't hurt, surely..?

Yes.

Good evening, Phil, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share. No, you don't need an amp, but you may want something for home practise..? There are several options for that, such as a tiny combo, or a pedal with headphone outlet (or an Ampeg stack, naturally..!). Just a word, though... Could you please remove the mention of your bass for sale..? It's against forum rules, unless you've an ad in our Marketplace (and even then, no links to Ebay ads..!). I play Hofners myself (Verithins...), and would ask why you'd want to part with such a fine instrument, but that's for another topic, perhaps. Thanks in advance for your understanding and cooperation; meanwhile... Have a nice day, and of course, Happy New Year..! Douglas

... and there you go, cowboy, horses... What else but a banjo..? Oooo..! I've just had a great idea..! Two banjos, playing alternate lines, like a sort of duel..! Wow..! When inspiration strikes, it certainly strikes hard..! Now, where to find another banjo..?

For ambience, vocal stuff and micing of acoustic instruments, I've a Superlux E205, a budget large-diaphragm condenser mic. Not for 'live' use, but polyvalent, a decent solid weight and easy to set up with no fuss. No frills, either (no switches to go wrong...). For micing the drum set I've a set of Superlux drum mics (DRK F5H3...), again very good value for money. Guitar would be one of our Sennheiser 609 or 906 mics. If I want to mic the bass cab (rather rare...), I'd use one from the Superlux set; probably the FK-2 bass drum mic, or FT-4 tom mics. Our eldest uses all of these for recording, plus Rode NT1 large diaphragm mics and AKG D5 and C5 vocal mics. We have a few SM57's, for general stuff, but they don't get much use these days, as we don't 'play out' much at all. Not bad for snares, live, though, as they're tough enough to withstand a hit or two (yes, I'm clumsy...). Hope this helps.

Good afternoon, Kevin, and a Happy New Year to you and yours, too..! Honest opinions..? S'all I have in stock, so that's fine by me, but you may be disappointed, so 'Sorry' in advance. Let's get the bad stuff out of the way first, then. It's not the playing, nor the compo, it's the production. I'm not sure if that's a virtual drum track or a 'live' player (I'd guess the former...), but the stop/start aspect is, I found, a distraction. Something should (in my humble opinion...) keep going, or, if there's a break, there's one, and one only. Worse still, the 'fader riding' in the second half. The 'now you hear me, now you don't' is an irritation, nothing more, and it brings nothing positive to the track. There, that's said. The Good Stuff..? Ah, there's plenty enough of that..! You've obviously got a real grasp on what the instrument can do for you, and have a fine notion of using its complex possibilities to full advantage. The chordal work, the melody lines, the variations and string Fx are all worthy. The composition itself stands up straight (OK, a bit confused by the keys behind; either give 'em a real role or back 'em off completely...), giving ample opportunity to demonstrate your ability and ease with the Stick. There, that, too, is said. Any good to you..? I don't wish to appear unduly harsh, but you did ask for honest opinion. Kudos, for playing such an original instrument so well, and for courageously sharing your fine video. I hope others chime in with other views and opinions; meanwhile, thanks for sharing, and... Have a nice day Douglas

You need more mics for doing what..? Recording one's voice..? Your bass cab..? Room ambience..? Birdsong at dawn..? 'Live' singing..? Cymbals..? Budget..? I've a fair selection of mics here, for different purposes; my 'go to' source for acquisitions is Superlux, for their value for money, and innate qualities. I have others, for specific uses ('live' singing, guitar cab use, all round ambience and more...), but would be hard pushed to recommend any one over another without having some notion of the use it's to be put to. So... You need more mic for doing what..?

A splendid choice, from a pictorial point of view. At first (and second...) glance, I took this to be a painting, but a read of its 'back story' revealed its true nature as a cleverly-shot photo. What inspiration to compose does it provoke, though..? Absolutely no idea, as yet..! Each month, I use the chosen image as personalised 'wallpaper' on my PC screen, in the hope that, at some point, the daily view of it will trigger some glimmer of an idea. It's not happened yet in this case, but it's early days still. Good shot, though. Now, then, where's that banjo...

I think I'd start with using the electronic snare, at least; that'd bring down the acoustic bleed into the mic. I'd then look at the need/utility of the compressor, as, when he's not singing, it's bringing the vocal mic level up, and so increasing bleed. I'd turn it off; it's quite the opposite that's needed, more like a gate that only opens when he's singing. That mic is highly reputed, and may well have less bleed than equivalent dynamic mics, such as the Shure, but will still need very careful setting up to get perfection. Cutting out or reducing all the ambient sounds seems the logical path to tread, plus a gate. Our singer used to play drums in our band, when I played bass, with a soft-rock repertoire; we had no such problems (Shure headset mic...), but our PA was modest, too, and the venues less than stadium proportions. I can't think of much else that'll help, though, sorry.

No, but it does require some 14 seconds of one's TIM to come up with the past thread on the subject... BS Template ... Now, what are you going to do with the 14 seconds of your life I've just saved you..?

That settles it (for me...); I definitely don't want anything that makes noise of the sort..! We have this in our 'park' of gear; no good either for messing about with samples..? Roland SP-808 ... Our Eldest's previous group (Kiemsa...) used it quite extensively; it does most of the things vaunted by this box. Are you sure you just want something to improvise over..?

Here's a few to compare, maybe..? Hardware Drum Machines ... ...but if it's simply for tapping in some beats to improvise over (as opposed to composing complete drums tracks for songs, for recording...), you'd have to be darned keen to need one of these monsters. I'd say you'll be spending more time fiddling around with 'em than on the bass impros, personally, but, if that's what you like doing, go for it...

I play the pieces of kit he asks for, with a regular beat, but with a representative range of strikes and tempos. When ready, I'll probably be asked for 'all together, please..?', and I'll do a few bars of various styles, improvised, mostly, giving an idea of what I'll be doing during the set. Then I'll stop and let the bassist do his check. Once all are done, we'll do a 'general', usually a song that we've ejected from the set now, but has everyone in there somewhere. One of the band will be at the console all the time, to assist in getting the balance and sounds we use. It's very rare that we have problems (I can't remember the last time, but, then again, I'm old...).

Donald Duck is ginger..?

I must say that I'm a bit confused by the mix of 'digital' and 'analogue' in their 'blurb'. The samples are digital, that's certain; the analogue part is, I presume, the volume knob or audio filtering..? Dunno, really. I can't see what the 'hardware' aspect does, sonically, compared to a wholly software equivalent, such as a Vst drum plug-in. Am I missing something..? There must surely be something that justifies such a price for a metronome with buttons, but I can't see what.

Now that he's in his twenties, it's a slightly more rare spectacle, I trust..?

You have Audacity..? In the 'Effect' menu, choose 'Change Tempo', type in the percentage change required (-50 for half-speed, for example, or use the slider control...) and that's done. It takes a few seconds; you can save the result if required. I've just done a FLAC file this way; there's no need to look at all the 'complicated' gubbins it can do if that's all you want. No good..?

I don't think so. Do you think they should, in the interest of gender balance..?

From the same source, here's their list of top bass players ... 50. Kim Gordon 49. Leland Sklar 48. Mike Rutherford 47. Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn 46. JJ Burnel 45. Bill Wyman 44. Nathan East 43. Louis Johnson 42. Roger Glover 41. Berry Oakley 40. Ray Brown 39. Verdine White 38. Sting 37. Willie Dixon 36. Tina Weymouth 35. Carol Kaye 34. Bernard Edwards 33. John Deacon 32. Marcus Miller 31. Phil Lesh 30. Simon Gallup 29. Duff McKagan 28. Carl Radle 27. Pino Palladino 26. Larry Graham Jr 25. Mark King 24. Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett 23. Tony Levin 22. Billy Sheehan 21. Chris Wolstenholme 20. Lemmy 19. James Jamerson 18. Bootsy Collins 17. Stanley Clarke 16. Chris Squire 15. Charles Mingus 14. Phil Lynott 13. Roger Waters 12. Jaco Pastorius 11. Geezer Butler ... and top drummers, for good measure ... 50. Jeff Porcaro 49. Gene Krupa 48. Steve Smith 47. Hal Blaine 46. Max Roach 45. Topper Headon 44. Steve Gadd 43. Art Blakey 42. Benny Banjamin 41. Travis Barker 40. Nicko McBain 39. Alan White 38. Simon Phillips 37. Billy Cobham 36. Josh Freese 35. Vinnie Paul 34. Chad Smith 33. Cozy Powell 32. Vinnie Colaiuta 31. Charlie Watts 30. ?uestlove 29. Ansley Dunbar 28. Janet Weiss 27. Carmine Appice 26. Clyde Stubblefield 25. Matt Cemeron 24. Michael Shrieve 23. Bill Ward 22. Roger Taylor 21. Sheila E 20. Lars Ulrich 19. Tommy Aldridge 18. Mike Portnoy 17. Alex Van Halen 16. Ian Paice 15. Bill Bruford 14. Carl Palmer 13. Mitch Mitchell 12. Phil Collins 11. Ringo Starr 10. Terry Bozzio One could argue the relative positions, and/or exclusions, but the ladies are present, and not simply as 'tokens'. What's the fuss..?