joeystrange

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1349862176' post='1831343'] Well that means Drastic Measures by Michael Manring must sound sterile then because it clearly cant have been played by a human being Oh no, hold on. it was though, and some of it was first take [/quote] That's what I said, unless it's way out it sounds perfect anyway. I meant that a human being cannot physically play [b]every single[/b] note [b]exactly[/b] on [b]every single[/b] beat. It's not possible. It's when it sounds too perfect that it doesn't sound human.

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1349861530' post='1831334'] There is no direct correlation between using a digital system to record and sounding sterile. Thats just nonsense. However grid-iron production techniques (everything being laid on the grid exactly in time) does sound terrible. That isnt the fault of the fact things were recorded to a digital medium, thats a stylistic choice of the producer. I only ever track to digital, I never rely on a gridiron beat matching, preferring the sound of musicians squeezing time about to make something organic and full of life. Doesnt mean I wont edit the occasional timing error, or even tweak the tuning on a single note in an otherwise wonderful emotive take. Tape, 2" or otherwise, doesnt mean you have to get a take in one go either, I was dropping people in on the fly to fix a couple of notes in a track before anyone thought of digital recording on computers.... [/quote] Analogue recording can sound sterile, yes. Maybe I used the wrong word to describe what I meant. What I really meant was that it sounds like it cannot possibly be produced naturally by a human, because it can't. To me the grid-iron system just sounds lifeless. I think tracking to tape is a lot easier for everyone if it's done in one take, unless there's a gap somewhere to stop easily. Even the last Foo Fighters record had some bad punches in it.

[quote name='crez5150' timestamp='1349861072' post='1831327'] It doesn't have to be Sterile.... a lot of that is down to the engineer... not the technology. You can still track a recording in one take with digital technology.... it's just that people don't and in studio's time is money. [/quote] I know that but it just seems to be the standard these days. Pretty much all 'big' bands do it now. At the end of the day it's each to his own. Some people love perfect, polished records and others love more raw, human-sounding records.

A friend of mine recently got fed up of this kind of thing and converted his studio to analogue. We recorded some b-sides for our last single there on 2" tape and had a lot more fun than recording to a computer. It demands a lot more of you than digital recording but somehow it's more relaxed having to play a full take faultlessly than it is when you're sat staring at a computer screen for most of the day watching different coloured blocks being moved exactly into time. Obviously the timing can never be 100% perfect, like you can make it on a computer, but IMO that's a lot of the reason that music sounds so sterile these days. When every single instrument is exactly on the beat it just doesn't sound human. Tape isn't perfect but unless you're way off the beat it's not noticeable. Records we fine like that for years anyway!

Does the tuner have a 'flat' button? If it does, press it twice and two flats will appear on the screen. Now tune the bottom string to that note, which is D. Don't forget to set it back to normal for the other strings though.

I looked into them once. Didn't try one out but I chatted to a guy in a shop who said they track bass really badly.

A couple more pics for those that were interested. With added cat.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0yqKmtyWZU"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0yqKmtyWZU[/url]

I second Krist Novoselic. I heard some Nirvana multitracks and there are a lot of subtleties that don't come through on the record. He's one of my favourite players.

The finish is metal flake.

[quote name='spongebob' timestamp='1349107986' post='1821910'] +1 on Martin Sims. I'm in a lucky position of being about 10/15 minutes drive away from him as well! Good place to go for general work too - I've had some set-ups there. Nice to see his wall of basses - such as the models made for Leo Lyons and Norman Watt-Roy. Great stuff! [/quote] I'd love to nip in when I'm down there at some point. I love looking around places like that.

I'm not sure this is such good news. When they changed the licensing laws a few years ago every bar and pub in the country became a 'venue'. That lead directly to a lot more gigs being put on every night in every town. Great for the gig-goer, not so great for the band whose gig is now competing with three times as many gigs in the same town on the same night. IMO it was no coincidence that this coincided nicely with a sharp downturn in gig attendances across the country. Maybe I'm just being cynical but this will surely have the same effect. And, let's face it, these small venues won't be passing the money they save on to bands.

No worries.

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1349092503' post='1821569'] Super! Do you mind me asking how much it cost? [/quote] Not sure exactly but I think it was about £400ish, including stripping the original finish.

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1349090802' post='1821527'] Lovely! More details and pics please! [/quote] It's a MIM Fender that she got pretty cheap then sent to Sims for the refin and replaced the pups with a set of QPs. No volume or tone either, it's just wired straight off the pups. I'm sure she's got more pics that I'll try and find, or at least she'll take more. The only thing is photos really don't do it justice. As with all metal flake it just looks so much more effective in real life. [quote name='KiOgon' timestamp='1349090807' post='1821528'] Like it a lot, reminds me of Adam Clayton though [/quote] I didn't know he had a bass like that. She originally got the idea years ago when she saw the silver flake bass that Melissa Auf Der Mauf had in the Celebrity Skin video. [quote name='gelfin' timestamp='1349090965' post='1821531'] And I thought there would be a vid of the 70's choc bar advert. [/quote] Here you go. Now you can be happy! [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrKUwUGwQfs"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrKUwUGwQfs[/url] [quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1349091087' post='1821537'] I doubt there is anyone better than Sims for refins, the work Martin's done for me over the years has been quite simply outstanding [/quote] Yeah, he's really good. And he seems like a really nice guy too. You get great customer service from him as well. I can't recommend him enough for refin work.

My girlfriend got her new bass back and set up yesterday after sending it to Sims for a paint job. I wanted to share its sparkly greatness...

Not the greatest bass player ever but a genius songwriter. Happy birthday Dee Dee!

Do as others have said but also try to relax. It is supposed to be fun, after all! Don't be too uptight and worry about making mistakes, that's when you'll make the mistakes. Relax. Be confident. Have fun.

The guitarist in my band always wanted a Meatburst guitar...

Here's something that loosely comes under the promotion umbrella... After the gig don't sit at the merch table and wait for people to come to you. Grab a box of CDs and walk around every single person in the venue, have a little chat and see if they want to buy a CD. Some people will knock you back but as long as you don't take it personally and don't let it get to you you'll be fine and I almost guarantee that you'll sell 10x as many CDs as you will if you sit and wait for people to come to you. I've never done this before this band but we've recently been making £100-250 per gig on merch alone with sometimes only 20 or 30 people at the gig. That often makes up for the little money we get paid for the gig itself which isn't always enough to cover petrol money.

Check out my friend's studio in Holloway... [url="http://www.strummersrecordingstudio.co.uk/"]http://www.strummersrecordingstudio.co.uk/[/url]

Check out Key Production [url="http://www.keyproduction.co.uk/"]http://www.keyproduction.co.uk/[/url] 500 CDs + full colour card wallet for £540. Been using them for years and they've always been really good and usually the cheapest we can find too.

[quote name='lettsguitars' timestamp='1345585043' post='1779234'] These folk are only allowed to say they use what they're endorsed for. Without speaking to the engineer, you will never know. Just play the bloody thing! [/quote] If you do some hunting you might find some forum posts about it from Eric Valentine, the producer. Not sure where exactly you'll find it but I know a friend of mine found him on a forum and got him to answer a few questions about Songs For The Deaf. He found out how they tracked the drums and what amps Josh Homme used so there may very well be something about what Oliveri used. I agree with the others though, it does just sound like a P through an SVT turned up to full.

I don't think you'll find a better bass anywhere in the same price bracket. I bought a VM Precision a couple of years ago. It's a really solid build, factory set-up was pretty decent and the Duncan Design pickups sound incredible! Obviously there are a few not so good ones but the good ones are pretty much the same quality as a MIM Fender, just built with cheaper wood.

I second the Line 6. I've had a G30 for a couple of years, never had a problem and it doesn't lose any tone. They're only around £200 too which is pretty decent. I really like that the receiver fits on your pedal board and doesn't have any aerials sticking out where you don't want them too. Aside from that I had a Samson Airline Bass for a few years and that was pretty good although it did seem to lose a bit of bass. It's nothing that you can't fix with your amp though. I don't think they make them anymore but if you want to save a bit of money from the Line 6 you can pick them up on eBay for around £100 when they come up.