Mornats

[quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1337172877' post='1656585'] Not as good as "This drummer is at the wrong gig", anyone seen that one? [/quote] No, got a link? Great video. Tempted to post it on Facebook but doubt anyone I know has heard of bass players.

Not sure if this is allowed, but if loads of you chip in with advice, this may become a long post! I plan to update the above based on what people say as it's easier to get the info that way. So this is a reserved post for some overspill, assuming of course that I can edit this post in the future...

I thought I'd try to start a guide about getting started in recording your own music, focusing on the bass of course, as cheaply as possible. I think it's a lot easier than most people think to start recording their own stuff. I never thought I'd manage it but after some gentle encouraging from a friend I got into it and haven't looked back! So as a start, here are some suggestions from me and I'm sure more people will chip in with their own advice. [b]Your Computer[/b] Mac or PC, that's your choice. They're both more than capable but I won't go into details here on what's best to have inside your computer. Maybe another time... [b]Audio Interface[/b] Very simplistically, this is the box that you'll plug your bass into in order to record onto your computer. I managed to get myself a Native Instruments Guitar Rig Session which came with Guitar Rig 4 LE and I use this for everything. Sadly, they're discontinued which is a shame because for £80, you had the guts of what you needed. It even came with Cubase LE! Anyway, M-Audio offer some cheap routes into this although there are others out there. M-Audio Fast Track USB looks like their entry level one (around £46 from Thomann, £80 ish from DV247). I'm struggling to recommend any here as I've only used my Guitar Rig Session (which isn't available) so I'll leave space for others' suggestions. I do know that you should ideally go for one that records at 24bit/96khz rather than 16bit/44khz. Best to read the specs closely before buying. [b]DAW (the software that lets you record and arrange stuff)[/b] This is easy. If you're just dipping your toe in the water, or even if you want to do pro stuff then I can heartily recommend Reaper ([url="http://www.reaper.fm/"]http://www.reaper.fm[/url]). Their free trial never expires but a licence is only $60 which is a bargain for what you get. Plus we should all support a company that doesn't believe in DRM. Check it out, it'll do pretty much anything you want it to. If you have a Mac, then chances are you'll have GarageBand installed. Give it a go, the learning curve is tiny and you can easily upgrade to Logic Pro which is now in the Mac App Store for a bargain (relatively!) £140. This is basically Logic Pro for a Logic Express price. Of course, Reaper is available for Mac as well as PC so you can give either a go. [b]Guitar Amp Software[/b] Reaper and GarageBand both have amp modelling plugins which should be enough to give them a bash. There are more free ones available though. As I've said, I use Guitar Rig 4LE and really like it. Native Instruments do a cut down free version but sadly it doesn't come with a bass amp so this is really for guitary stuff only. [url="http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/products/producer/guitar-rig-5-player/"]http://www.native-in...r-rig-5-player/[/url] All is not lost though... For bass, check out Amplitube Free which is basically the full Amplitube amp software with a few free amps, cabs and effects that allows you to buy amps, cabs etc. individually. The bass amp is enough to get you started. [url="http://www.ikmultimedia.com/amplitubefree/features/"]http://www.ikmultime...efree/features/[/url] FreeAmp 3 will get you started too: [url="http://rekkerd.org/fretted-synth/"]http://rekkerd.org/fretted-synth/[/url] [b]Virtual Instruments[/b] [indent=1][b]The paid-for stuff[/b][/indent] A decent virtual drummer will be a great help. I use EZDrummer ([url="http://www.toontrack.com/products.asp?item=7"]http://www.toontrack...ucts.asp?item=7[/url] which is around £70-80. Do a bit of research and look for deals, either cheaper prices or bundles that include extra kits. It's simple to use, add it as an effect in your DAW, select a drum kit, choose some of the midi drum loops and drag them into your DAW and arrange them. Simples. BFD Eco ([url="http://www.fxpansion.com/index.php?page=103"]http://www.fxpansion...ex.php?page=103[/url]) is another one that's recommended although I've never used it. It's around £60-70 and I believe it works in a very similar way to EZDrummer. There are others too, Steven Slate Drums for example. Both of the ones I mentioned above have upgrade paths to their bigger-brother versions (Superior Drummer and BFD2). You might want to use other instruments too so I'll recommend some stuff in the next section. [indent=1][b]The free stuff to help get you started[/b][/indent] Before you buy anything, check out the free virtual instruments you can get. First off are the Native Instruments players: [url="http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/products/?category=1339"]http://www.native-in.../?category=1339[/url] I've already mentioned the free Guitar Rig 5 player but grab the Kontakt player for some virtual instruments and the Reaktor Player for a synth. That should get you started and let you add something different to your music. Also grab SampleTank Free (which is a bunch of virtual instruments like the ones in Kontakt): [url="http://ikmultimedia.com/sampletankfree/features/"]http://ikmultimedia....kfree/features/[/url]. Finally, the third one that I know of is Independence Free: [url="http://www.yellowtools.us/cp21/cms/index.php?id=842"]http://www.yellowtoo...ndex.php?id=842[/url] These are some quite hefty downloads (several GB each) so watch out if you're on limited downloads with your ISP. Also check out [url="http://www.kvraudio.com/"]http://www.kvraudio.com/[/url] as they have a good list of free plugins and instruments. [b]Midi controller[/b] Finally, even though you can record say, a virtual piano using your computer's keyboard, it's much easier to do so with a midi controller keyboard. I use an M-Audio KeyRig 49 (now replaced with newer models). I'd recommend you pay a little extra to get a 49 key (or more) keyboard as you'll definitely appreciate the extra octaves on them. You can 25 key keyboard fairly cheaply. The Akai LPK25 is around £40 and comes recommended (I've not used one myself though). I don't know much about these, but it looks like some of the M-Audio KeyStudio keyboards have built-in audio interfaces too. Could be a bargain or could be a waste of time, I don't know. It really depends on how much (if any) they've had to compromise by combining the two. Looks like they go for £80-£120 or so. [b]Finally[/b] That's it for now although I hope this mini-guide will grow as people add in their own suggestions. I've not mentioned mics or reference monitors or headphones and that's mainly because I wanted this to be a guide to getting set up cheaply, just to make the “plunge” easier as really, it's not much of a plunge even if you think you can't write songs. Trust me, you can Check this out if you don't believe me: [url="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18034617"]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18034617[/url]. Oh, and grab yourself a free Soundcloud account to upload your music to: [url="http://www.soundcloud.com/"]http://www.soundcloud.com/[/url] and add your stuff to the Basschat Group on there: [url="http://soundcloud.com/groups/basschat"]http://soundcloud.com/groups/basschat[/url]. And of course, ask our opinions on your music - there's a sticky about the Basschat Soundcloud group here [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/156658-basschatters-soundcloud-accounts"]http://basschat.co.u...dcloud-accounts[/url]/ where you can post a link to your Soundcloud page, find all of our pages and generally chat about it. I'll leave you with the words of advice that got me started in recording: "Remember, only YOU have to listen to what you've recorded so what's there to lose?". [b]*Update* Recording live[/b] Check out this thread, it looks like it's shaping up to be a good one: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/176980-recording-equipment-on-budget/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/176980-recording-equipment-on-budget/[/url]

Hi everyone, I'm having trouble finding a cover for my Ashdown 220 Touring 1x12 combo. A few places do them for the 330 and 550 but even Ashdown don't do one for the 220. I'm sure I could get one custom made for it so if anyone has any recommendations that would be great. Ideally it should be waterproof as my main concern is getting it wet moving it to and from the car. It shouldn't get chucked around so I'm not looking at a hard case or flight case (in fact, I saw one flight case that cost 2/3rds of the cost of the combo!) but a padded cover should do. I'd say that waterproof is more important than padding for me. At home it will act as a dust cover and slight scratch resistance but on the move it'll be a rain cover mainly. £30-40 would be an ideal cost but that's just a ballpark so if they cost more then so be it. Cheers!

Cheers for the tip. I looked into it and EZdrummer and my Native Instruments software aren't supported

Thanks Mingsa, yeah they're my own compositions (except where the vocals have been supplied by someone else in which case they're collaborations I guess). I only started playing the bass again a year and a half ago after having not picked up one for about 17 years. I had no clue about music theory and still only know some basics now. For me, the best way of learning was to have an idea in my head and then attempt to get it down. Got loads of books, read a lot on the web about it and only learnt what I needed to at the time. It's well worth jumping into just to see what you're capable of!

Hmmmm: [size=4]"[color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][b]THIS IS A ONE OWNER BABY. " & "[/b][/font][/color][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][b]GOT IT FROM THE ORIGINAL OWNER HIMSELF"[/b][/font][/color][/size] [left][font="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"][color="#000000"]So that makes two owners, the original owner plus himself. Or am I being picky and I shouldn't class him as an owner if he's a shop that's simply selling it on?[/color][/font][/left]

I'll have a listen later on but just wanted to say that you shouldn't worry about hearing small mistakes. REcording yourself is a brilliant way of analysing your playing so that you can improve. I was terrified of recording myself at first but a mate of mine encouraged me by saying that only I have to listen to the messes I make It gives you a nice confidence boost when you nail a bassline and you can listen back to it. I totally agree about how accessible all of this is too. You can see a list of software that I use in my signature. EZDrummer is brilliant at letting me get some decent drum tracks down very quickly and easily. It's just a case of selecting a drumkit and dragging and dropping a midi loop into it. I can use my midi keyboard to record synths, pianos and all sorts of other instruments too. A big surprise was finding out how easy it is to get some decent string sections going on with the midi keyboard.

Reaper's philosophy on DRM is fantastic which is one of the reasons I support them. However I've ran out of authorisations on Toontrack's EZdrummer (it's on a Mac, my PC and I've upgraded my PC a couple of times which has gone through 3 out of the 4 auths). I'll need two more auths to get it working on my old drives then again on a new SSD. Such a pain! I know piracy is a problem for these companies but making it harder for the people who are happy to pay for it isn't the way forward.

Bah, my SSD has just failed on me so I've switched back to an old pair of Raptor hard drives to keep me going. Trouble is, none of my virtual instrument software is authorised and on some of it (due to upgrading) I've ran out of authorisations. It's going to take a few days just get them reauthorised and then I'm going to run into the same problem when I get a new SSD. If I'd ripped off this software I'd be fine, but as I paid good money for it all I'm screwed. I can't record the song I've had in my head all day. I wonder what the point of being 100% legit is sometimes. Rant over!

Would love to hear the CTM Dan. I bought an Ashdown 220 Touring last week and my Overwater has never sounded better. The tube pre-amp just gives it a lovely warm grinding sound if I push it. Even my cheapo Dean Hillsboro sounds good through it and I've never liked the sound of that one! Might get an EMG MMTW pickup put in it now to give the sounds more depth (it's lacking vs. my Overwater). I tried the Ashdown MAG300 and EB 180 too and liked the tone but preferred the Touring series. It sounds a bit more classic rock to me which I like. My "I'm-going-to-make-it-big-so-can-splash-out" amp will definitely be an all-valve Ashdown I think. It's funny Deb but I was almost ready to order a GK MB112 as well but I'd never heard one so went to try the Ashdown's instead. Glad I did!

I've done worse. I thought the J pickup on my Overwater wasn't working properly (I even contacted Overwater about it and they were puzzled). It turns out I'd been turning the bass knob instead of the pickup pan knob.

Hmm, I wonder if they've sent you one of these instead: [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/ashdown_magc115300.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/ashdown_magc115300.htm[/url]. If so, you've just saved yourself £90 and got yourself an extra bit of power! The MAG 300s are pretty good amps (I did try one, but the warm tube sound from the Touring amp just really did it for me). Does yours have the compressor on? I think that's another difference between the two and the only useful thing that the 220 Touring didn't have. Or it could be that the Thomann amp is a version of the MAG 300 combo but without the compressor. Either way, it should be a great amp! Yes, the rain stayed away just enough to get a few people watching thanks!

So, with the new Standard models and the Inspiration models Overwater now have a bass to suit most budgets. Well worth trying one if you're out looking for any bass IMO.

I've ordered from Thomann a few times Deb and the delivery's been fine. Hopefully you should have you amp by now so let us know what you think. I bought an Ashdown 220 Touring combo at the weekend love it to bits. Gigged it in the park at the weekend (first gig in 17 years for me) and it had buckets of volume. So much so that it drowned out the PA a bit but hey, you can never have too much bass IMO

Gotcha. That wouldn't be my Guitar Rig Session then. Unless one of the things I've got my monitors plugged into would do it... hmmm. Oh, I'm an idiot. My monitors are plugged in using XLR to jack cables. OK, I'll go play with some music now and will stop asking silly questions! EDIT: Ah hang on, they're male plugs and I need female plugs. Carry on...

That's interesting, how do you record a DI straight from the bass as well as going through an amp? My noobishness is saying to me that this would require a guitar lead that split into two connectors but that doesn't sound right.

You had me at "it would look cool"

Sorry, prices are between £1300 - £1600 depending on spec.

Here's the link to the info on their website. Prices are around £1300 (give or take a ton or so) and are made in Carlisle by the Overwater team if I read it right. [url="http://overwaterbasses.com/basses/inspiration/"]http://overwaterbasses.com/basses/inspiration/[/url]

You guys rock. Cheers for the help!

Oh, I thought that was for microphones only! Would I have to do anything with the phantom power button if I plug the amp into that? I'm assuming that the XLR to XLR would be the best quality (if using the same quality leads that is). And if I do end up buying a decent mic I could record using the mic and the DI and blend away.

This isn't quite related to Denmark Street (I've never been there) but being a Northerner I find that shopping in Newcastle is a world apart from shopping in London in general. Newcastle, and to be fair most other places in the UK, can be quite pleasant. London is just full of people who don't give a sh*t IME. Anyway, what I really wanted to say was that Ihad a decent experience in PMT in Bristol on Saturday. I strolled in, wandered around the bass section for 2 minutes when the sales guy walked up and asked if I needed any help. I did indeed as I was looking for a new amp. So he let me try 5 different amps, let me choose a bass (any bass I liked) to try it with and walked me through the controls on each, trying to get a fair comparison. When it came to buy it he talked through the options, I haggled a bit, he tried price-matching it (but they had the same price as everywhere else as the amp was discounted everywhere anyway) and in the end I got a £20 Klotz lead out of him which wasn't too bad. So it was quite good really. I even wandered around the store for 10 mins thinking about it and he was there when I got back to do the deal. To add to this, I've been into that PMT 3-4 times before that trip where I'd tried out pretty much every bass in there without even giving the inkling that I was going to buy so I could have been labelled as a tire-kicker. So all-in-all, it was quite a nice experience! Some shops, even chain shops can still be good.

[quote name='daz' timestamp='1336186136' post='1642305'] See you next time around [/quote] Indeed. Adam Yauch was a practicing Buddhist so he would believe in reincarnation so it's not so much a case of R.I.P but "see you next time around". Looking forward to it.

They may be the new Aspiration Standard and Aspiration Standard Plus models. They've been added to this page: [url="http://overwaterbasses.com/basses/overwater-by-tanglewood/"]http://overwaterbasses.com/basses/overwater-by-tanglewood/[/url], plus some online retailers are stocking them.