Roland Rock

Wow, lots of great stuff there, I've left some comments in SC, but will have to have a few more listens to pick a favourite. Well done everyone

I know a man who has, as part of his HiFi setup, an Isotek power conditioner. I think that they are about £2,500.

"A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and if I get a link that's stronger, then the whole chain will be stronger" Bad logic.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1419363022' post='2639210'] But in those times in the 90s it was "cool" to pretend to not know anything technical at all, remember? I used to buy Guitarist magazine at the time and I would dispair... all the BS "oh, I don't know what I'm playing"... [/quote] Yeah, like I say, asking the tech was a rhetorical gesture - not genuine, just done to make a point.

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1415568187' post='2601592'] A local BCer was selling an EBS Multicomp for cheap, so I bought it to see what compressors did. No matter what setting I used, I couldn't hear any difference. I sold it on, and the buyer gave feedback about what a great compressor it is. So I'm none the wiser. [/quote] My view on compressors has changed now! I bought a Fairfields The Accountant to act as a limiter, but am very impressed with the other ways that it can be used - an impressive and very useful pedal!

Great idea with the tin. I have my plectrums in an old tobacco tin which would fit perfectly on a corner of my board.

It's a bit overkill, but the Avalon U5 is superb, although probably too big to use solely as a gigging DI. I use it, but only because it doubles as my preamp. If we're talking small boxes, the passive radial is faultless.

It does look great, and it's a really good demo video. There are some lovely sounds there too. Admittedly I've only listened on my phone, but from that video I'd be slightly concerned that you couldn't get a pure smooth bass tone from it. Even with fingers, flats and neck pickup, there seems to be an inherent 'clicky' brightness with every setting. As I say though, many lovely tones that would be perfect for a variety of styles.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1419180416' post='2637296'] Some authors did choose their pens with care, but I still like that line. I wish I'd thought of it. [/quote] I don't doubt it. The way I read that is "find one that works for you, then forget about it and get creative"

I also remember reading an interview where he was asked what bass he played, and in a rhetorical gesture shrugged and asked the tech, who informed him that it was a Stingray. He went on to state that to a bassist, the choice of bass was no more important than the choice of pen is to an author. I was a bit outraged at this at the time, but am coming round to that viewpoint more and more.

I remember hearing him say that he was very influenced by the Duran Duran bass player. Can't remember his name, the one that Mrs RR used to fancy

Yeah, a clean boost is the easiest, even though you are only overdriving the preamp. I found that on my active bass, turning the bass up fully, which would normally be an unusable tone, overdrives my valve amp beautifully, and is not too bass heavy. In terms of boosting the amp with a pedal, I had great results with my DHA VT bass pedal, but not so much with the Markbass Super Booster

Looks great. Is it 33" scale?

I'm not one for applying rules to music - more from the "if it sounds good and feels good, it IS good" school of thought. However, my experience has taught me that there are a few little pointers that help make a reggae line really work: - Simplicity. Reggae is a simple pulsating rhythmic style, and a simple repetitive hook works really well. Root and chord tones for the win. - Space. As others have mentioned, it works best when you give the other noises space to do their thing. Listen to the groove and ask yourself what are the main defining parts? - maybe a certain hihat shuffle or rim hit, or vocal phrase. Then make sure you accentuate rather than diminish the impact of those parts. Often not playing is an effective way to do this. - length of notes. This I related to the above. When jamming the groove, thing about the appropriate length of each note. For example, you can play the root on the one, but a short punchy note will have a very different feel to sustaining that note until an immediate cutoff when the guitar skank hits. Also as per the above, you need to 'get' reggae by immersing yourself in it. Only when you really feel reggae will you get that euphoric "ahhhhhhh" feeling when your groove locks with the band.

Marlin Sidewinder! ;-)

Don't think - FEEL ;-) http://youtu.be/cm0uSVvjsOA

I was among the revellers yesterday for a change. A Christmas meal at midday followed by a pub crawl till about 10. Really great fun, ended up chatting to a somewhat intense scouse ex-druglord turned beekeeper. Great night!

Just had a try on my new Accountant, and am a happy bunny. It ranges from very subtle punchy to very squishy dirty. The main reason I bought it is to limit the peaks on my oscillating siren effect - not tried that yet, but am optimistic.

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1418745602' post='2632903'] Can I get this on CD? Can't seem to find much info about a physical release [/quote] Here you go: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00QR7ZN16/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?qid=1418773646&sr=8-7&pi=AC_SX110_SY165

I hate to break this to you, but if I know my International Contract Law, and I think I do, the agent is legally permitted to fly over from Canada (at your expense), come to your house, and kill you.

onto the Christmas list it goes ... Actually it's the only thing in the list. Everything else I want costs too much money (random orbital sander), or is 'not Christmassy enough' (tailgate struts) and I've just picked up the bike lights I wanted on EBay

He may be doing time for second degree murder, he may resemble a drowned rat with an afro, but he was a damned good producer: http://youtu.be/9k7RBkOMNOY

Lovely!

[quote name='spacey' timestamp='1418236164' post='2628336'] Most likely on its way to Ireland as we speak. [/quote] Why's that?