ironside1966

Could it be a short in the speaker cab? I have heard that digital power amps are very temperamental if the mains supply is not clean. Where any of the problem gigs supplied by a generator or where the voltage is likely to fluctuate?

One of the downsides of asking for advices is if you ask a hundred engineers you will get 200 different answers what works for one instrument or situation will not work for another. Pickups are great solutions live in fact in many cases the only solution. Good ones sound good but they do not capture a true DB sound but that doesn’t have to be a problem if it’s the sound you want. If you are a virtuoso player with a very expensive vintage DB then I would expect the recording to be as accurate as possible but for most types of music you want to capture a great sound that works well with the track. What I am trying to say a pickup might work for you. One of the things I have seen so often is people buying gear rather than getting the best out of what they have, work with you gear and find out where its lacking rather than you will be in a better place to judge what you want or need. Do you want a mic that is transparent or do you want something to add character?

I like tight endings and segways into other songs to keep the set moving.

The quality of the instrument, the acoustic space and the positioning of the microphones and the technique of the player will make more difference then changing the mic’s or pre amps. What type of sound do you want? Do want to record on your own or with a band? Use the mic’s and pre you have got try recording in different parts of the room, Mackie onyx preamps are good and should be more than adequate. Then try various mic positions once you have got the best sound you can then a better mic will give you about 10% improvement assuming you have at least a couple of half decent mics in the first place. I would probably try one mic may be A LDC or even a kick mic facing into the F Hole. A second at the SMD at the bottom of the finger board facing up and may be a room mic, be careful of phasing conflicts Remeber the sound of a DB doesn’t come from one place it comes from the entire instrument.

One of Us, Dancing Queen - ABBA

I would consider the bigger picture just concentrating on slap may be limiting, you need a good overall sound also.

[quote name='dave.c' post='937045' date='Aug 26 2010, 12:38 PM']I'd go for pretty much anything on Joe Jacksons 'Look Sharp!' album, bassist Graham Maby, just great![/quote] +1 Many Elvis Costello songs Many Madness songs Gary Numan albums - Dance Mick Karn – Assassin Pino- Warriors Joe Hubbard all the tracks have great bass lines The first 2 Paul Young albums with Pino. Get here Oleta Adames with Pino.

[quote name='Rumple' post='932772' date='Aug 22 2010, 02:06 PM']Cheers, that will save any guess work. my Varitone has a two way switch plaus a second 3 way one, I think the two way one will be a bypass switch, any idea what the other one does? Basschatters to the rescue once again R.[/quote] [size=5][size=3]Its sounds different to mine but my guess yours is [/size][size=5][/size][/size] PUSH/PULL SWITCH MASTER VOLUME POT ( DOWN POSITION) FOR NORMAL JAZZ BASS PARALLEL WIRING. ( UP POSITION) FOR SERIES WIRING, THE MORE PUNCHY P-BASS/MUSICMAN SOUND, MORE GAIN, THICKER HUMBUCKER LIKE TONE A THREE WAY MINI TOGGLE SWITCH FOR PICKUP SELECTION - NECK PICKUP ALONE, NECK + BRIDGE, BRIDGE PICKUP ALONE. A MASTER TONE CONTROL WITH A TONE CAP TO ROLL OFF HIGHS ON A SELECTED TONE. A TRUE-BYPASS MINI TOGGLE SWITCH, ENABLES YOU TO BYPASS ANY SETTING ON VARITONE INSTANTLY. GIVING YOU SEVEN TONES FOR EACH PICKUP CONFIGURATION PLUS THE SERIES MODE FOR A TOTAL OF 28 PASSIVE TONES FOR THIS UNIT! A 6 POSITION VARITONE ROTARY SWITCH WITH DIFFERENT TONE CAPACITORS - 1 SLIGHT TREBLE CUT HI MID, 2 MORE TREBLE CUT MORE MID, 3 LOW MID, 4 WARMER MID TONE, 5 DARKER TONE (MID SCOOP), 6 DEEPER MID SCOOP TONE.

Here are the installation instructions: With the unit flipped over the input closest to the output jack is for the bridge pickup, left(+) and right(-). Below that is the bridge plate ground connection. The other side is for the neck pickup, left(+) and right(-). The controls are: Volume, Varitone bypass switch (up for bypass), Rotary pickup select switch (going counter clockwise it's 1 neck, 2 neck+bridge parallel, 3 bridge, 4 neck+bridge series, 5 out of phase), and the Varitone control (counter clockwise for darker tone).

I makes sense for the vocalist to own the PA if it is a backline band but most of the bands I have worked for carry large expensive rigs, a light shows and a large van. Often the band is run by one or two people who run everything and pay wages to the rest. It will only be viable carrying a large PA if you are earning the money, when the PA is owned by the band any member who leaves or gets sack should be paid their percentages of the realistic value of the gear unless the leave they leave without working their notice. If the band splits then the gear is sold. I would agree everything before hand and then sign a contract you know what some musicians are like best friends one minute complete C++-s the next especially when money is involved.

Thoughts and prayers to his loved ones and all of you who knew him. RIP

Now with track

Just been working on a baking track so I wondered how I would sound with the funk brothers. I replaced James Jamerson bass with me using bits of bass with flats not really a flats player but here and my playing not perfect but it’s just a bit of fun. If this violates any copyright please delete

My guess would be because of spillage in to the other Mics. To get a good live recording you need a good sympathetic room and the instruments, cabs and mics placed so that the spillage compliments the recording, done well this sounds great but because of the fact you a limited to what you can do afterwards it takes a good band and a great engineer with experience or a lot of experimentations to get the microphones in the right place. So I would say that without the acoustics, time or experience using amp modeled should give better results but it is still down to the competence of the engineer Having the gear doesn’t guarantee the skill to use it Some people learn how to do something one way and that’s how it stays. To play the devil’s advocate though A lot of musicians are focused on their sound not in the context of a band they just want a big sound but a band with every one having a big sound doesn’t sound huge it sound a bloody mess with most arrangements but I don’t get the impression this is you.

[quote name='Beedster' post='923512' date='Aug 13 2010, 09:22 AM']OK, I'm pretty much there with: Mackie 1640i, [url="http://www.dv247.com/computer-hardware/mackie-onyx-1640i-and-avid-m-powered-pro-tools--74872"]http://www.dv247.com/computer-hardware/mac...ro-tools--74872[/url] iMac 21.5" 3.06GHz Intel Core 2 Duo ATI (should I order external HD or extra RAM with this?) [url="http://www.dv247.com/configure/18"]http://www.dv247.com/configure/18[/url] and Pro Tools Chris[/quote] Good choice You will have to spend a lot more money to get desk preamps with a noticeable improvement rather than different flavor. I use an external hard drives for backup, the more ram the better but it really counts when using large sample libraries Any last observations before I pull the trigger guys.......?

Lots of bass players record straight to the desk with a DI of course and get a great sound many modern amps are transparent giving a straight in to the desk sound but that sound doesn’t suit everybody the ideal way is a mixture of amp, cab and DI. Where you short of time so he was rushing, was the engineer going to use an amp plug-in at a later date? Why was the guitarist taking over what gave him grater knowledge over the engineer? I would wait to pass judgment until you have heard the finished product.

[quote name='Beedster' post='921648' date='Aug 11 2010, 02:32 PM']Thanks mate, I want it to be good, but it's going to be an evolving process. I envisaged a £20k total for two reasons, firstly, it's what I think I can reasonably put into such a project without adversely affecting other areas of my life (and her ability to buy shoes), and it's a sum I can probably raise without paying interest at this point (I don't have a big salary). I want to be able to record myself, my band and a few other friends' bands competently and with some 'feeling' (so the physical environment of the recording areas is important), and I want the results to sound professional. We play on a mix of acoustic and electric instruments, and we tend to record live, so the acoustic dynamics of the space, the mics, and the listening environment/monitors will be very important, and could soak up a lot of the cash. I take your point re the gear above being project level, but this is a project, albeit one that I hope will grow over the years into something more. My main aim at present is to get gear at a level which will get me started on all fronts (performance sound quality, recording quality, playback quality), and allow me to develop as and when. I anticipate that I would be looking to upgrade the desk and the computer in 4-5 years, by which time I'd hope the space itself would be pretty perfect. Out of interest, what desk would you recommend? Cheers Chris[/quote] TL Audio M4 24 Tube Mixer Console [url="http://www.dv247.com/studio-equipment/tl-audio-m4-24-tube-mixer-console--27771"]http://www.dv247.com/studio-equipment/tl-a...-console--27771[/url] This is a lot on money but this boy go, s no where you will have something like that for keeps. Also Toft Audio Designs ATB 16 or Audient ZEN16MPMF I would personally use pre amps as there is less to play with just set the levels and your off, I have seen sessions where bands record them self’s and spend far too much time playing with the desk, if it sound wrong move the mic not fiddle with a desk. Whatever you go for you will get used to it. FOCUSRITE ISA828 ISA 828 My gear is roughly at the level you are thinking of getting (project studio) I have been happy with it for a few years but the weakness in my studio is still the acoustics and my ability, even though I am a ex pro live sound engineer and on a second year Music tech Degree who gets all A s and firsts (I am not boasting just trying to make a point]

Pro tools is a good choice the LE and M-powered are stripped down versions of the TDM Pros The elastic audio is one of the easiest ways of tightening up a drummer or any musician. It is quite straight forward to use. Play list editing is a great way of comping a track. Routing is straight forward Popular with pro studios Cons The midi side is not that good but it’s getting better The VST instruments are not that good, the Piano is ok Lacks a good reverb Lacks pitch correction I have found Cubase far more stable On PC then Protocols LE on both PC and Mac The big one for me is it lacks plug-in delay compensation as I use the liquid mix SSL Duenda and a TC helicon card.

How good do you want your studio to be, 40 grand can get you some great kit, most of the suggestions are project studio stuff, Mackie makes great budget desks and you should be quite happy for many years with one. But think on in a couple of years time will you be happy or are you going to want I would say the best but a good desk can cost more than a house so let’s just say Pro studio quality.

Why pay good money for a desk for the price of a good desk you could get some great preamps.

There are some really good cover bands out there and many do sound remarkably close to the records. When I was audition players which I have done many times, we didn’t think what a great player he using his own line and done a nice twist to the record we just felt what a lazy sod turns up for a audition and without learning the numbers properly no good to us. “It's up to the band and many, many players don't have the skill to take a tune and create an version or interpretation which is as "good" as the original. Nor do they want to.” Also many players have the experience, confidence and skill to know when to leave well alone. Also most serious bands would be honest about the commitment and reward, otherwise if it’s not what the new member expects they could be off and then they are back to square one. All the other members of the band might sing so that’s why they have got a diverse set list. That’s a good idea about getting together with the guitarist or keyboard player. You can do it learning songs gets easier the more you do it, be careful about tabs they are often wrong. Good luck

He may own the show and pay the rest of the band wages so that’s how his makes the money.

[quote name='JTUK' post='918468' date='Aug 8 2010, 12:57 AM']Why on earth would a band stipulate you play them exactly like the recording in the first place.. would be my question..? And then they want one rehearsal...?? nope, will not happen. Put your time in if you like, but I'd see what 20 gigs would pay you before I'd go too far. Why have they asked you...do they know what you do... have they seen you play? If it is no to either of those...then they are blagging this and you can cut your workload in half instantly.[/quote] I have worked in a lot of cover bands and most wanted as per other wise they wont be covers they will be the bands interpretation of. If you cant play what’s on the record you may not get the job. One rehearsal serves a few purposes; to make sure that you are up to the job, learn the ends and segways as well as an opertunty to meet the band.

I have done that a few times my advice would be, home work, home work home work. You say they are copy key but it’s worth checking. Write the songs downs it doesn’t have to be a score and it doesn’t matter if only you know what it means but the process of writing it down helps you remember them. Try to get a live recording for the endings and if some of the songs links. Just be yourself and enjoy

I never got on with Logic I just didn’t make sense to me. There are ways of exporting projects from one DAW platform to another I do it all the time but it is a good point if you need to do it a lot. The only time it becomes a problem is when you use the native plug-ins but IMHO that is the weakness of all the software platforms.