Mornats

No pressure at all then!

I've got one in the works for this month too. I've been playing with my new Komplete Kontrol S61 and Komplete 10. I need to mix it and tweak one of the instruments and it should be ready.

[quote name='linear' timestamp='1452792554' post='2953584'] This reminds me of the time I was on the bus when some nutter randomly starts talking to me, then gets off at my stop, and follows me back to my parents house. I tried to explain that there was a wake on for my great-uncle, who had sadly departed, but he was having none of it. He marches straight into the front room, plonks himself down on the settee next to my widowed aunt, and sits motionless, staring fixedly at a blank wall. I stammered to my assembled relations that he was the barman from my uncle's local, and it seemed like I might get away with this, but as my mother brought through a cheese board and cutlery for the assembled guests, he whips off my great aunt's false leg and begins flailing away on it like a demon, insisting that my mother 'drum along'. My aunt is, naturally, distraught and bursts into tears. I pass her some tissues, which this guy snatches from her hands and starts scrawling on them intelligibly with the pen from the condolences book. By this point, the place is in uproar and I have to hold my brother back lest he murder the fellow, who has, by this point, returned to sitting motionless and staring at the blank wall. It's pretty clear there's no salvaging this, so I go through to the hallway to call the police. When I return I am informed that the guy has run off, pausing only to steal a vase of daffodils and one of a pair of carved wooden deer that sat on the side table. [/quote] But was he a good drummer?

Go on then, here's my SB320. Darker than the two above but no less lovely:

I can't believe I've just read five pages of this. Thought I'd offer support to Wonky2 and hope this thread slips down the heap

Well I couldn't wait for the next comp challenge (although I'll be entering it in Jan for sure) so here's a little ditty that I made using only virtual instruments: https://soundcloud.com/mornats/adventure I started by playing around with the animator setting in Session Horns and found a nice funky phrase that I liked. Then I dropped in EZDrummer and found a suitable drum beat to match it. The one I chose was a little busy so I edited it to take out a kick drum beat or two using EZD's edit play style feature. Next up came a synth sound from Absynth. Aerial is the preset. It seemed to fit with the horns without any editing - shame as I wanted to play around with editing it directly from the keyboard! I then grabbed the midi track from the horns and moved it up an octave and set its position to play ever so slightly in front of the first horns track. The animators on both were now slightly out of sync, making for a nice pattern. Notice how the horns are in stereo with the bassier ones positioned on the left. This is built into Session Horns and sounds really nice. I'd then planned to add in some piano as I love the sounds of the Maverick, Giant and Grandeur but none seemed to fit the theme of the music. However, Vintage Organs came to the rescue and have me some classic funk organ sounds. I used the chord function on the Komplete Kontrol to play these although the tune is in C and B so I could have simply played them. I just wanted to try the new feature Ditto with the scale light guide. I played the lead in the key of C (well, I hope I did!) so didn't need the lights. Finally I dropped in some of my signature old movie samples from Loopmasters. Effects-wise I used Reflektor on the Absynth track, and Reflektor and Format Filter and Delay from the Tractor's 12 effects onto the movie samples. The drums had Solid EQ on set to the overheads preset and Supercharger to add some ooomph and warmth. I usually split the drums out into separate tracks for each part and EQ/compress them individually where needed but they sounded ok as they were and this was just a quick tune. Then on the master track I used the T-racks Classic EQ (not part of Komplete but I use this a lot on the master track), Solid Bus Comp on the mix bus preset to glue it together - something it does very very well out of the box - a touch of OldSkoolVerb (not from Komplete either) as a little more mix glue, Supercharger again to give it a little warmth and finally T-racks Classic Multiband Limiter to limit it all. The whole thing took a couple of hours and the keyboard and software worked very well. It's definitely speeded up my workflow and allows me to get ideas down quickly.

Haha yeah, mine will be the track with 6 synths, strings, horns, 4 drum kits and 3 pianos in it

Yep it does. I think even if you bought (or buy) the controller that didn't originally come with it then you get it anyway. Edit: I managed to nip out to PC World and buy an SSD and I'm on disc 3 out of 13 of the installation now!

I've been playing around with Massive a bit tonight and can't believe how versatile it is. I'm pretty new to synths admittedly but I can see why your friend likes it. It comes as part of the Komplete Select bundle that you get with all of their keyboard controllers now.

They released an 88 key version fairly recently: [url="http://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/keyboards/komplete-kontrol-s-series/"]http://www.native-in...ntrol-s-series/[/url] I'm gutted that I don't have a new SSD yet for installing the full Komplete suite! I'm itching to get my hands on Absynth and the other new pianos! Then again I didn't expect to get one this side of Christmas so I can't complain. I'm so chuffed that it works with third party libraries via the Komplete Kontrol software. For me this makes it extremely adaptable and doesn't tie you in to just using Native Instruments software. That and the fact that does now send the midi data from the chord and arpeggiator functions. When they first shipped they didn't come with these two features. And it's still fairly early days so I'm hoping that they continue to develop new features. Edit: It looks like the 88 key version has hammer-action fully-weighted keys too which the 61, 49 and 25 versions don't have.

After being made redundant a few months ago I managed to get a new job (that started right after my notice period ended) so I treat myself to a nice shiny new Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol 61 with Komplete 10. I've been eyeing these up for a while now and have been doing research on all the features and how much I'd use it. I popped into my local PMT today and had a demo of one. So after being very impressed I asked if I could order the bundle in (their website had said none in stock so I was going to order it and pick it up after Christmas). Anyway, the great guys at PMT said they'd just give me the keyboard and the crossgrade for Komplete separately and charge me the same price as the bundle. Hurray for PMT! So I ended up popping home, grabbing the car and picking up there and then! So I've set it all up now. I only installed the Komplete Select bundle to get up and running as Komplete 10 comes on 13 DVDs with a massive 130GB of sounds! I need to order a new SSD to install all of that on. So I have Massive, Reaktor Prism, Monark, The Gentleman (a lovely piano that I can see myself using a lot), Drumlab, Retro Machines Mk2, Vintage Organs, West Africa, Scarbee Mark 1 and Solid Bus Comp. Not a bad bundle at all really. Three features that I was really looking forward to trying were the chord function, the arpeggiator and the light guide. They all work but only in the Komplete Kontrol software. I just discovered that I can load in third party VSTs into Komplete Kontrol and use those functions there. Hurray! The knobs on the keyboard all work on third party VSTs too! As an example I loaded up the standard drum kit in EZDrummer and the knobs controlled the effects in the mixer right off with no setting up. This is a really good feature to have an ensures the longevity and usefullness of the hardware in my opinion. I love the chord function. Set it to the chord you want (C, G# etc.) and set the chord tones (I III V and so on with major, minor and all sorts of pentatonic, blues and other scales) and press one key. It'll then play the chord for you. It's cheating I know, but it's to fast-track me into creating something that sounds good without me having to google the chord all the time. Not a one for trained/experienced pianists or keyboard players and I'm sure some of them won't be happy that a keyboard is making playing the piano easy for people with no knowledge but for me, it opens up a whole world of playing that was just out of reach. I see it as a learning tool for me to get familiar with the chords and scales as I'm writing stuff. The lights on the keyboard light up to show you which notes are being played in the chord. Good stuff and a great help to my noobie keyboard playing. The arpeggiator is similar to the chord tool except it plays arpeggios of course. It has a bundle of settings that make a lot of the arpeggiations feel and sound a little more natural than I was expecting. The "swing" dial in particular works well for this. They sound a bit less computerised. The light guide is great. It'll light up the notes in the scale - and the root note of the chord you've selected in a brighter light than the other keys. There are two main modes. One will switch off the keys not in the scale so if you press them (accidentally presumably) they wont' trigger. The other mode will let you hit the incorrect notes but it will actually play the closest note that's in the scale. Easy mode for me Again, purists may have issues with this but it's a fantastic and quick way to lay down ideas without spending a while learning the scale. Plus as I said above, I'll be using this to help learn the scales so there may be a time where I won't need it. What the light guide and chord functions don't do is let you choose a chord progression and have the software change the chord on the fly. That would be a killer feature for me but the dial to change the chord responds almost instantly and on slower pieces I can actually change the chord on the fly manually. When these keyboards first came out they didn't send the chord or arpeggiated notes to your DAW but in a recent software update they now do. The hardware looks and feels (and costs) premium and I really like it. I've not used the modulator and pitch strips much but they work really well from what I can see. They're touch-strips rather than wheels and from what I've seen in some videos you can really customise their functions. The LED displays for each of the knob functions are bright and really clear and easy to read. Everything responds instantly. The keybed is a FATAR one which is apparently a very good one and they keys feel nice with a good response when you play them. They do make a bit of physical noise when pressed hard so this probably isn't the keyboard for you if you're recording piano and your own vocals at the same time as you may pick up some of the key noise. For ease of use it's fantastic. You can scroll through the patches from the keyboard browser controls quickly and easily so you're not constantly switching between keyboard and computer when looking for a sound (something that was a pain for me in the past). You can browse by tagged-keywords (pads, soundscapes, slow attack etc.) and this lets you find sounds from across the range of instruments - you can even add and tag your own presets). So no more loading up synth after synth looking for that soft ethereal soundscape. So that's my summary so far. No doubt I'll spend a day over Christmas installing Komplete 10 (and figuring out if I can sell on any instruments I already have that are included...) and will come back and update with any new info. It seems there's a world of customisation available with this hardware/software bundle that I haven't even seen yet. All in all, I'm very pleased with my new toy Happy to try any features/integrations for anyone if you've got any questions about it. I'm using in Reaper at the moment - my DAW of choice - without any trouble. I need to figure out how to get the transport controls working but NI say it's possible using MCU settings. I need to look into that one. Pics or it didn't happen: [attachment=207664:DSC_0940.JPG]

A few synths, an e-voucher, some money off stuff and a prize draw for a Komplete Kontrol 49 and Komplete Ultimate: https://www.native-instruments.com/en/specials/happy-holidays/ I've just this day bought myself an early Christmas/new job treat of a Komplete Kontrol 61 keyboard bundle with Komplete 10 and saw this online. Lots of downloading to do and some lovely musical stuff to play with today!

I've got a Squier VM Jazz that I modded a bit. It's got a KiogOn wiring loom, Entwistle JBXN (the neodymium ones) pups and Elixir steel strings (and a scratchplate from Scratch-it! but that won't affect the sound ). The sound difference was amazing. I did a song for the Basschat composition challenge with it so you can hear the lovely deep growl it has: https://soundcloud.com/mornats/trains It cost around £50-60 for the wiring loom as I got a new faceplate with proper Fender black knobs on it too. The pups were £18 each believe it or not.

I'm sure it's to do with bass strings not vibrating as much near the bridge at low frequencies. I always even out the volumes of the pickups on my jazzes.

[quote name='Che' timestamp='1449526537' post='2924441'] Im patient especially when I have all these Christmas cookies around me all the time (munching away ... ) [/quote] Haha good to hear! I've had a play around with it now. I plugged it into Guitar Rig Pro and tried it out on a bunch of presets. It sounds great. I mean really great. IT sounds just as I expected a tele to sound. It does all the good heavy distortion stuff all the way through to very nice sounding clean notes. Still no sound demos yet (I'm quite busy this week and next) but it's spot on for me. I took the scratchplate off to have a look and one of the screws sheared off its head. No biggie really and I have to remember that this is a £63 guitar! I've raised the neck pickup a bit as the bridge pickup was way louder (the opposite to a jazz bass which surprised me). They're now more evenly matched but not perfectly matched. I have no idea if they're meant to be though. I also checked how level the frets were and there was 2-3 on the higher-note end of the neck and one down here the nut which were slightly uneven. You could probably get away without doing any fretwork but I have the tools so will probably do it anyway. I've only had one bass that came without needing at least a little fretwork so I'd call this "great" but not perfect. Astonishing given the price tag though! The scratchplate was a really snug fit and as far as I can tell, all measurements around the guitar are spot on. I've not taken the neck off yet but it looks really snug in there too. I'm mightily impressed so far

Once I get a chance to record it I'll post up a link It may take me week or so to get a new track done though.

I've just taken delivery of a Harley Benton TE-30 Telecaster - http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_hbt30be_egitarre.htm My first impressions: [list] [*]It's very well made. I can't fault the build quality at all. I'm pretty impressed. [*]After I'd opened the box I tuned it up and played it. The setup was really nice out of the box. I'd probably not even change it. [*]Playability - wow, it's great! I can only compare it to my mate's Fender American Special Telecaster and it's not far off that to be honest. I find it very playable for someone who's a bass player and not a guitarist. [*]It's heavy! This is the only downside really. It weighs in at 10lbs 7oz!! That's heavier than any of my current basses. In fact, my two heaviest basses that I used to own were 10lbs 5oz and 11lbs 7oz so it slots in right between those. I sold both of those basses because they were making my shoulder ache when playing them live. As the tele is only for recording and not live performance it's not a problem but wow, what a slab of ash it is! [/list] So overall I'm very very pleased with this, especially for £63! It came with two allen keys and a (cheap) guitar lead too. Well done Thomann I'll report back once I've had a chance to compare it directly with my mate's American Special. Here it is:

Check out Session Horns from Native Instruments - half price until Monday 7th: http://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/orchestral-cinematic/session-horns/ £45 - almost bought it myself but I'm almost sold on getting the Kontrol S61 and Komplete bundle...

Here it is mate http://basschat.co.uk/topic/156658-basschatters-soundcloud-accounts/ It's a pinned thread in the "share your music" sub forum in "recording".

I'd come along to a Bristol bash.

[quote name='adamg67' timestamp='1449072456' post='2920564'] I'm having a lot of fun with the free Groove Monkey tracks, I can see some of my hard earned going their way eventually if the paid for stuff is as good. [/quote] It is! The free stuff is a small selection of the grooves that you pay for. Follow them on Facebook, Twitter and sign up for their newsletter as they often send out discount codes.

I saw a friend's covers band a few times. They had two guitarists and sounded pretty good. Then they got rid of one of the guitarists and you could hear the bass much more clearly and it just naturally filled the gap without the bass player doing anything different. They sounded much much better with just the one guitar and bass. As Mrtcat said, enjoy you space you have now

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1448907139' post='2919091'] That particular SB310 is quite interesting, I don't remember seeing one with a satin finish before. [/quote] It could just be the photography. I took some pics of my old SB315 which was glossy black but being a bit of a photographer I bounced the flash off the ceiling (for even lighting) and the pics came out with the finish looking quite matte/satin.

SB310s tend to sell for around £150-200 so it shouldn't cost as much as the other one. They're still great basses so I'm sure you'd be happy with either

Bargains from Plugin Alliance too: https://plugin-alliance.com/en/products.html Bitsonic's Tube Virtualiser is free today too: http://www.bitsonic.eu/tubevirtualiser.html (I've just grabbed this and tried it out - it's pretty nice. It can go from pretty much transparent to a really nice bit of analogue-sounding warmth. Nothing sounds overdone in there.) Also I hear Ann Summers are having a Black Friday sale but everything's gone up...