Skol303

Sounds great. I'm a big reggae fan, so once you have some tracks laid down then please share!

Yep, I've got tinnitus - both ears - resulting from too much careless clubbing and gigging when I was younger. I don't get it particularly bad. For me, it's a high pitch whine around 14Khz. Most of the time I don't even notice it, but it's audible if I make a point of listening out for it (and much more so in a silent room).

[quote name='Jack Cahalane' timestamp='1341359268' post='1717848'] The Fools Gold bassline isn't the same as the main guitar riff [/quote] It is when I play it

Dammit, you have to be quick around here! How about Fools Gold (Stone Roses) and Lounge Act (Nirvana)?

[quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1340364886' post='1703331'] and a third: 3. Is illegal distribution really really such a bad thing or an opportunity for free marketing? [/quote] Good question, and I think the answer depends on who you ask! Major labels now factor illegal downloads into their sales revenue estimates. It's also common practice for labels to 'leak' files on torrent sites to generate interest. But I guess by definition it's still illegal... which makes it a 'bad thing' in legal terms at least. It's a bit like McDonalds branding their packaging. You see their litter everywhere and it acts like a form of free 'advertising' for their product. I mean, why else brand something you know is going to end up littering the streets? Actually, it's probably nothing like this example... but what the heck. I WANT A BIG MAC NOW

I guess there are two debates going on here... 1. Is obtaining a copyrighted product without paying for it an illegal act? Well yes it is, if the copyright holder has made clear it's a commercial product: be it a piece of music, software, a book, the plans for a nuclear reactor, or whatever. 2. Can anything be done to stop the illegal sharing of copyrighted music? No, not really. Files can be encrypted, but hackers will eventually develop a workaround. Websites can be shut down, but that just drives traffic to other sites. It's a losing battle. Does it take money away from musicians and record labels? Yes, it most certainly does. By this particular sob story isn't going to dissuade people from pirating stuff online. The likes of Lars Ulrich might rail against Napster for denting his disposable income - but it's artists at that level that are most affected by all of this: because they have the marketing budget sufficient to drum up enough interest for people to bother pirating them. Unsigned bands and bedroom artists just don't have the profile to warrant suffering from mass piracy - people interested in them are generally far more happy to spend .79p for a download... and let's face it, if an unsigned artist is attracting millions of illegal downloads then it won't be long before they're soaking up the gravy train! It worked for Justin Bieber. Seriously. Like I said earlier, the distribution of recorded music - hell, probably the value of recorded music itself - has changed, and it's changed forever. The days of rock bands releasing a dozen albums over a 10+ year career are probably going to be thin on the ground in future. In some ways this is a sad thing to have lost. In others, it opens up the market to much more choice and gives scope for artists to compete for listeners on a more level playing field. Whether you think this is right or not is immaterial, really - because that's how it is. PS: not trying to be flippant here. I have friends who've lost their jobs in recent years because of changes in the music industry, but what I'm saying here is as much from their viewpoint as mine. "The times they are a-changing!" There's a song there somewhere. If anyone has the torrent, let me know... ;-)

No disrespect here folks, but debating the legality of file sharing is kinda missing the point... sharing copyrighted material is illegal but it won't stop people doing it (or commiting other illegal acts like, oh I dunno, murder for instance). The proverbial horse has bolted on this issue and there's no way of stopping illegal downloads now. Remember the original Napster? That got shut down and did it make any difference? Did it heck. If anything it kicked open the floodgates. People have always copied music illegally. I'm guilty of doing so via tape to tape when I was younger, and I'm sure many other people here are too. The Internet has both expanded the scope of illegal sharing and the scope of music marketing/distribution: sure more people are 'stealing' music, but more people are buying it too - it's just that the preference is now for buying individual tracks rather than whole albums. This is what the major labels really dislike. That and a huge increase in competition from independents and people just doing it for themselves via the 'direct to fan' business model: using things like YouTube, Bandcamp, SoundCloud etc to promote and sell their music in ways the music 'establishment' is struggling to keep pace with. Many artists now give away their music for free and earn revenue from gigs and merchandise. Again, this is something that major labels with massive studio overheads and artists' fees really dislike. There's nothing that will put this particular genie back in its bottle. File sharing is here to stay - like it or not - so it's a case of accepting this and working with it, or trying to resist and hitting a brick wall of frustration. It might not be right and fair. But it is how it is!

It's all horses for courses, surely? I don't use a pick - I prefer the tone of playing without and to be honest find pick work clumsy. But that's my own failing not a comment on using a pick generally. Certain genres of music demand the 'clacky' pick sound; Lemmy and the likes of Rob Wright (NoMeansNo) spring to mind.

You buy your child a Fisherprice keyboard for his first birthday, on the strength of it having a full three octave range, a record function, pitch control and a great 'chiptune' sound worth sampling... Sorry son, but you'll thank me for it one day

Richard Hammond

Crikey... what a question! Off the top of my head. mine would be something like (in no particular order): Cliff Burton Jaco Pastorius Geezer Butler Charles Mingus Horace Panter Aston Barrett Tom Jenkinson (aka Squarepusher) Dave Ellefson Rob Wright Jasper Høiby ...ask me again tomorrow and I might give a different list

Anyone here a fan of Aaron Spectre? He's certainly not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but I'm finding myself blown away by some of his tracks. I recently made a track which someone on another forum described as 'breakcore' (it's also here if anyone's interested http://basschat.co.uk/topic/177793-when-i-was-a-yoot/). So I went from Googling the term 'breakcore' to stumbling upon Mr Spectre. Anyway... fans of old skool jungle and/or Squarepusher should click below. Lovers of 'real' music with guitars 'n' stuff best steer clear or else you'll be tutting! PS: the ending of this track is quite, ahem, original. PPS: this is NOT family listening (contains swearing). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NE6Q6tivtXs&feature=player_embedded

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1339018841' post='1682668'] I'm not gonna be leaving the forum anytime soon. Still make plenty low end with a synth! [/quote] Well I'm always on the lookout for juicy, low-end synth sounds! If you ever want to collaborate or lend some noises to my own creations then get in touch anytime.

Hey Mike, I'm a bit late to this particular party! Just given it a listen... that middle section is pretty damn crazy! I'd say it's more metal than dubstep, although the drums/percussion have a definite dubstep flavour (clever how you change the drums on the fly - I'm assuming some Ableton magic or something?). Amazing playing as always. The only constructive comments I can give are: 1) EQ the distorted section so that it's more 'gutsy' - it sounds a wee bit thin at the moment (although it's nice and clear); and 2) I'd personally work on the middle section as a separate track, rather than bookend it with the cleaner, more funky parts - they don't quite sit together at the moment, although I appreciate this is a jam! Anyway, nice work mate and very creative Paul

Go with your gut! Instinct, that is. It sounds like you're set on selling up and picking up a synth...so go for it and maybe pick up a cheap 2nd hand bass for <£100 or so when the opportunity arises. Whichever option, don't be a stranger on these forums as you'll be missed! Hell, most of the music I post on here is 99-100% 'synthesised' anyway...so it hasn't stopped me ;-)

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1338471051' post='1675073'] Hard Times - there are a lot of SP moments in there (Did you have "My Red Hot Car" on heavy rotation perchance? ), with a bit of old school jungle/garage(?) moments which I'm not so keen on.[/quote] Yup you're bang on the money there... "My Red Hot Car" was definitely playing on repeat at the back of my mind while working on this track! The jungle influence comes from my misspent youth as a raver - I'm a sucker for an Amen break [quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1338471051' post='1675073'] Squeeze (first version) - Love it - the Dr Who sample fits in brilliantly, love the dialogue, the mood, tempo, the buildup.[/quote] Cheers, that's really good to hear! This is probably my fave of the bunch - it never really had a soild plan behind it from start to finish, but despite (or because of?) that it turned out ok I think. The Dr Who sample was one of those lightbulb moments. I'd been trying to synthesise the sound I had my head for ages, but then realised the Radiophonic Workshop had got there long before me. [quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1338471051' post='1675073'] Butterfly Effect - I'm big into dub/reggae, and like the way it morphs into DnB [/quote] Yeah I'm a huge dub/reggae fan too. This one was an entry into a remix competition. I really like Lamb (even met them a few times in the past when they lived in Manchester!) and wanted to do something very different to the original track. I think I achieved that at least! [quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1338471051' post='1675073'] Say - nice vocals, fantastic synth bass [/quote] Another remix competition entry! The vocals are by a British artist called Olivia Broadfield: http://oliviabroadfield.com/ The original is great and pretty much impossible to better in my opion; so I just tried something a bit quirky. The bassline is a composite of something like half a dozen individual synths that I programmed and then layered with some fiddly EQing. It shakes the coffee mug on my desk when I crank it up, which is usually a good sign [quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1338471051' post='1675073'] Love Superhero - If that's Dubstep, then I like dubstep! [/quote] Yet another remix competition entry! I used this as an opportunity to work out the whole wobbly dubstep bass thing... glad you like it! The mix needs a bit of work to fatten it up but I was quite pleased with how it turned out. [quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1338471051' post='1675073'] Haitian Fight Song - I'm not sure if it's enough of a departure from the Mingus song for me to not want to just listen to the original instead. After a few more listens maybe. I tend to like very different covers (as subtlety is not my strong point) [/quote] Completely agree! I got a bit obsessed with Charles Mingus for a while (still am) and love a good upright bass riff, although this is bascially just a poor cover. Aside from the bass, all the instrumentation was sampled from various musicians' home YouTube videos. I was inspired to plunder YouTube after listening to this guy, who I believe is a genius - http://thru-you.com/#/intro/ [quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1338471051' post='1675073'] Hypnomatics - Well, aren't you just full of surprises! That's exactly the type of dirty funky hiphop I love. A bit Roots/Edan/Jurrasic 5. Super [/quote] Glad you dig it! The riff was the result of jamming at home and it seemed to fit the Biggie/Mos Def raps just right, so I went with it. Amazingly...I think!... this track was about 99% produced on just an iPhone, and really opened my eyes to what can be done on mobile tech these days. That's coming from someone who once thought writing 'SHELLOIL' and 'BOOBLESS' on a calculator was cool [quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1338471051' post='1675073'] Starry Eyed - Not a fan of the original, but you do an alright job of guilding the turd. [/quote] Ha ha, nicely put! She's a Hereford lass... I'm a Herefordian by birth... I felt it would have been unpatriotic not to have had a dabble! [quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1338471051' post='1675073'] Poker Face - I like the idea of Radio Gaga being sampled, but it doesn't do it for me. [/quote] Yeah... this was one of those "I wonder if..." moments that went a bit too far! [quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1338471051' post='1675073'] Overall, you are a talented man! The diversity is huge and there's a lot of great ideas and sounds in there. I'd buy an album. [/quote] Cheers Roland, that's kind feedback and very encouraging to hear. I'd love to flog you an album but I fear the copyright police would lock me up for a very long time! Serously though, many thanks for lending your ear to it and giving such useful comment. Appreciated

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1338420984' post='1674507'] Link? [/quote] Doh!... fixed

[i]"…I used to burn collie weed in a rizzla, 
I use to burn it in a rizzla."

[/i] Which probably explains why I flunked maths and ultimately ended up making this track - a drill'n'bass, junglish, Squarepushery (?) little number that borrows the aforementioned vocal lick and others from 'Hard Times' by reggae star Pablo Gad. Whether you like to burn it in a rizla, rub it in a chalwa or simply prefer a nice cup of tea and an episode of Columbo, have a listen and let me know what you think. Cheers m' dears! http://soundcloud.com/skollob PS: I actually [b]do[/b] play some bass on this track (rather than just programming stuff and twiddling knobs). Yes, some actual bass playing. Not much mind you...

There are some funny opinions on here about what constitutes 'real' music! Makes me laugh Rock 'n' roll was considered by old people to be "not proper music" during the '50s; now old people play rock 'n' roll and grumble about electronica. And long may the cycle of "music ain't what it used to be" continue! Because without it, there'd be nothing to keep the creative wheels a-turning... But I digress. Squarepusher? Superbly talented chap as others have mentioned. Yes I'm a fan, but the track in the OP isn't what I'd consider to be his best material. I personally love his use of samples and crazy chopped-up percussion, parrticularly in tracks like this one (fun video too): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8Y3piodWes

I guess for some people it's as much about collecting stuff as it is making music. Some of us like to play with our train sets; others like to keep them pristine in their little boxes... metaphorically speaking. Nothing wrong with looking after your gear, provided it doesn't get in the way of having fun with it.

For sheer ballsy, "****-the-twiddly-stuff-gung-ho-ness" - and for inspiring me to pick up a bass as a sweaty teenage metaller - I'd have to say one my faves is Cliff Burton's Anesthesia. It's messy. It's not especially technical (albeit tricky enough for me!). And it probably sounds quite cliched nowadays. But damn, did it ever rock my world when I was an impressionable youth...! Can't really say that I'm a huge fan of Metallica these days, but Cliff was - and perhaps still is - one the best metal bassists of his generation, IMHO. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cK2hruTkUVA

Yep... saw 'em, loved 'em! Great band and a refreshingly honest vibe about them. The singer herself is fantastic... superb voice and very quirky; like a cross between "Macy Gray and Matt Lucas", visually-speaking: [attachment=106022:6776672268_dccf4e6de1_n.jpg]

... and a couple more (sorry, just being greedy here!). 56-46 That’s My Number (Toots and the Maytals) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHrECHho14U Street 66 (Linton Kwesi Johnson) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH1BblEnK38

Oh boy… so many to choose from! Here’s some of my favourites – not necessarily the best basslines, but classics in their own way… Wadada (Means Love): Dub Syndicate http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czXE8ig8jW8 All About Da Weed (Chuck Fenda) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ4vv4YRUo8

Can it and play something less harmful instead... I dunno, maybe Misfits' "Last Caress"?