trent900

Hey this is awesome. Loose and ravingly out of tune at point but it's clearly deliberate so it adds to the quality. In fact, to pull that game off demands real tightness, so congrats on really nailing the atmosphere. I don't often say this, but the drums are almost a bit lost in the mix - depends how it's been recorded but the cymbals especially aren't cutting through - might be worth looking at? Your bass tone is reet nice though. Cheers, Jon

Thanks for the good advice chaps. I didn't even know that studio at Darley Abbey Mill existed! Will definitely be checking it out - imagine that in summer, a day's rehearsing and then off for a pint in the Abbey afterwards...laaavly. The security aspect has me worried as well, but it strikes me as potentially a surmountable difficulty. I'm after somewhere I and my friends can just rock down to on a whim and make loud noises. Maybe good locks + good insurance and just don't leave things with sentimental value might be an answer. Anyway. The Studio as first port of call I think. If I end up with my own dedicated space...you're all welcome to help demolish walls with sound! Jon

Yo I've been thinking and I'm somewhere near a conclusion but I wanted to see if there was experience out there. I have a room in a friend's house which does me fine because it leaves me plenty of spare dollar from the old monthly spondoolies to buy gear with. Trouble is, said gear starts to stack up. I now have to store 2 basses, classical and electric guitars, a 8U amp head rig and a 3x10 cab...and an electric drum kit. Space is an issue. Also volume is an issue. The electric kit is brill, and a Korg PX4D does fine for most things, but I want to use my amp every now and again and I'm starting to feel that you can only go so far practicing with rubberised plastic drums. So - does anyone have experience of locating a dedicated rehearsal space on a long-term basis? Like...renting a garage or an old lockup or something, stashing gear in there and using it as somewhere to unload frustration and possibly to rehearse with bands? I don't want to move out to my own place because a) I like it here, it would be [i]so much[/i] more expensive (at least £350 a month more) and c) I'd probably still have neighbours so half the problem would still exist. Anyone got experience of a clever solution to this or similar problem? Cheers Jon

I'm no recording expert either, old boy, but here's some first off impressions: What's the difference between, say, Downfall and Unplug and 'Any More'? Somehow Any More seems to have a much fuller, more rounded sound so if you recorded them all and can remember what you did differently I would go back to the recording technique used to Any More. Are you recording tracks separately or just doing a single live take? 1. Tone of the guitar: it is a bit, well, empty and tinny, isn't it? In previous attempts I've found two things to be handy at sorting this out: a direct out from the amp, if you can get one, and weirdly a mic [i]behind[/i] the speaker cab for the guitar. The DI gives you the full range signal without colouring from the cab and the 'behind the cab' mic gives you a bit of muffle to add to things. Complicated...but in my limited experience effective. Other than that, you may be using the wrong microphones: the ultimate classic Shure SM57 is a good one for guitars, or any decent dynamic mic, or a really good condenser. 2. Drums: definitely too quiet in Unplug. Lots of mics needed for good drum sound, and you need a special mic for the kick drum generally. Also, this sound might benefit from compression, which needn't be expensive. Check out this [url="http://homerecording.about.com/od/recordingtutorials/ss/recordingdrums.htm"]tutorial[/url], which deals with the basics. Other than these, it sounds like your drummer could give things a bit more beef. 3. Vocals: no problem with the vocals for the style, I don't think. Only thing I would say is that most of the song fits in quite a narrow vocal range... 4. Bass: again I think your bass tone is fine for the music you're playing. It cuts through quite nicely. 5. Nothing, other than one of my first questions again: this sounds recorded live in one take. That is really pretty hard to do and make sound nice, so I think for an inexperienced guy you've done a very good job. I would see if you can borrow some gear, different microphones and a compressor if you don't have one already and play with different mic arrangements etc., then if you need to invest in some new gear you can make sure it's really required before you shell out and get the right stuff. Jon

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='685459' date='Dec 15 2009, 05:27 PM']Soundslive appear to have one in stock @ £760. [url="http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~Gallien-Krueger-Fusion-550~ID~8309.asp"]http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~G...550~ID~8309.asp[/url][/quote] Noo...that's the Fusion 550...the GK website seems to suggest an MB2-500 / Fusion 550 hybrid called 'MB Fusion'. An ickle diddy GK with a valve input stage. Now that would be worth having. Jon

I'm looking forward the the MB Fusion, though I expect it won't come cheap. I have a 2001RB, and the comment that it can 'level small buildings' is an understatement. It can level lumbar vertebrae too. And I've never heard bass overdrive one-tenth as good as the big GK's drive channel. So, brilliant, brilliant...but medium-strength gravitational field is a drawback. Jon

I have no experience, sorry, but you should [i]definitely[/i] do it. It's a brilliant idea - please let us know how you get on! I would cry with happiness to get that semi-synth tone. Jon

I'm so glad to hear that people on this board have taste and see all this stuff for what it is. The bit I have a problem with is calling this wrist-burning madness 'funk'. Funk is at least as much about holes as it is about notes. I wonder if these players accompany their dinner parties with a metronome at 300bpm... Jon

This is all brilliant, thank you guys. I suppose I've got a choice. Build something myself for about £160 and get exactly what I want, or just buy this: [url="http://www.altoproaudio.com/index.php?template=3&id_prod=28&id_padre=122123629051816"]Altolink[/url] I suspect it will come down to the state of the bank balance post new year! The altolink is obviously the sensible option! Thanks again guys. Jon PS. Lfalex, if you ever want rid of your SVP let me know...

My limited understanding is that it is possible to build an amp head DIY, but not with a good power-to-weight ratio. Lightweight amps tend to be Class D, as this amplification method is much more efficient enabling smaller components, less heat generation, smaller transformers etc. However, the downside is that Class D is also the least linear amplification method. It is a sort-of 'digital' amp, in that it compares your input signal to a fixed-frequency carrier wave. When the input signal is within the amplitude range of the carrier, the power stage is 'on', otherwise it's off. In this way, the amplified output signal is effectively constructed from a superimposed set of time periods where the power stage is on or off. It's more complicated than this, but that gives you a flavour, and I don't really understand it well enough to go into any more detail! There is also a low-pass filter in the output signal to remove the carrier wave frequency. So, there are lots of sources of distortion in a lightweight Class D amplifier: from memory, the worst are errors in the timing of the on/off switches for the power stage, resonances from other components when the power stage switches on and off giving weird extra harmonics, and non-linearity in the low pass filter. I don't believe it's possible to create a high-power, low-weight Class A or Class AB (nice, linear, full sounding) amplifier, simply because the inefficiencies involved mean you have to draw so much mains power that the transformers required become huge and heavy. The only way I could think would be to attack the transformer design - for example, transformers get much more efficient if you increase the AC frequency - but then you're into a whole world of complex design way beyond my ken and you would probably flood the amp with RF interference and resonance anyway. You might try a [url="http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/solid-state/68415-class-h-amplifier.html"]Class H[/url] amp, but I don't really know anything about that... In short, it is my understand that a DIY build will not match the sound quality, power and weight balance already achieved by mass manufacturers (like the LG1000). But it might be fun to try. Cheers Jon

Hi! Can anybody help with this problem? I've checked the wiki as is my duty - and a wonderful thing it is - but it doesn't seem to answer this question. Anyway. I would like to have a system where my snap, crackle and pop input stage in my GK amp is partnered with something a bit fatter, cleaner and more laid back - like an Ampeg SVP-pro. So I have conceived of a 'distribution board' which: [list] [*]Fits into a 19" rack [*]splits the signal from the bass to run through the two preamps parallel [*]recombines the signal post-preamp using a blend pot [*]sends the combined signal to a rack compressor and receives it back [*]sends the compressed signal to an FX loop and receives it back [*]fires the now horrifically mauled signal into the GK's power stage. [/list] Now I'm not much of a one for electronics. I do have talented friends who will help with circuit design, board layout and actual manufacture, but they're not audio people so they can't really help with component choice. I have found a nice signal splitter on Jensen transformers' site: [url="http://www.jensen-transformers.com/as/as014.pdf"]this splitter[/url]. I plan to fiddle with it to the tune of deleting the automatic power on/off mechanism that uses the two batteries and replace that with an always-on DC mains supply, probably 15V, and delete two of the output lines. This leaves the costly components as: [list] [*]A Burr-Brown (now Texas Instruments) OPA627 opamp [*]Two Jensen JT-11P-1 transformers [/list] I also plan to have switchable active and passive splitters, the passive of which requires [i]another[/i] JT-11P-1. Now here's my problem: those transformers are $70 each. The opamp will cost about £27 but I can cope with that. My question is: do I [i]have[/i] to use the Jensen transformers? I know they're meant to be the absolute dogs and I would like to make the splitter stage as transparent as possible but man, $210 plus shipping plus duty plus VAT doesn't half make me squeal for just 3 little components. Can anyone suggest an alternative? Does anyone have experience of doing something like this? If there's no sensible alternative then I will start to look at fulfilling the same requirement using a sequence of commercially-available boxes but I want to build it myself for the educational value, the satisfaction, and rack neatness. Many thanks in advance! Any other comments on the idea or proposed setup very welcome also. Jon

[quote name='AM1' post='637065' date='Oct 26 2009, 04:48 PM']If you don't go to ToP, can I be first in the queue for your ticket?![/quote] I don't [i]think[/i] they've sold out. Go anyway! Jon

Well all obviously know what you're doing. I love the guitarist's facial expressions in the first two videos - grinning from ear to ear. The sound's pretty good as well but my laptop doesn't reproduce bass properly so I don't get the full range. You're a bit 'traditional rock' for my ear - I buy records which are a bit more unusual - but what you do you seem to do well and are very tight. Nice! Jon

This is pretty cool, cheers. I can imagine you being pretty awesome live. My favourite bit is the triplet-across-straight cross-rhythm on 'Horror'. Is nice! It does owe quite a lot to RATM, evidently. Not that that's a bad thing... Cheers! Keep on chooglin'! Jon

Ha! Bump this thread - Master Blaster's original post precisely echoes my current state of mind. To saibuster: it's taken 7 months to get an answer, but I hope this helps: I'm not an expert on slap by any means (or I wouldn't be on this thread) but I don't get the problem you describe. Thinking about the mechanics of it, maybe you need to rotate your wrist further forward/down, however you want to think of it, so that it's the flesh part of your thumb that's hitting the string, not the vertex between flesh and nail. This puts your finger knuckles right down near the bass body when you strike. Now onto my question, kinda leading on from the above. I may have taken my own advice too far, in when I try to double-thumb my middle finger first knuckle takes a fearful pounding from me whacking it against the body down near the tone knobs. There's not a huge amount of skin left on it, boo hoo. Am I doing this all wrong or is it one of those 'live with it and wait for it to callus' times? Also - I only have a 1.5" gap between my neck pickup and the top of the fretboard. Am I right in thinking this is bound to make slap a little bit challenging? Many thanks for any advice in advance, Jon

+ at least 12 to the idea of asking the drummer if he wants to make a go of something new. Also - completely random and may not suit your situation at all - but I found my playing bass became hugely better, more varied and more fun after I started having drum lessons. It completely opened my eyes to the rhyhtyhhyms inherent in different styles of music. All the best! Jon

[quote name='chris_b' post='635030' date='Oct 24 2009, 01:10 AM']If this cab is so brilliant why do you want to run the risk of wrecking it? In my opinion, this is not a good plan![/quote] Well, that's another very good point that has not gone unmarked. It [i]is[/i] a truly hexcellent cab as it stands but the devil on my shoulder won't shut up saying 'it could be just that bit better for almost no effort input'. And thank you Bill, that's a very useful point. I'll check. I probably won't do this, I'm basically trying to get closure on something that's been rattling around my head for ages. Thanks guys Jon

[quote name='Hutton' post='635205' date='Oct 24 2009, 12:06 PM']After having looked at the website I'm even more worried about them. But there again I'm just an old-fashioned liberal who would throw a fit if I had to wave my hands in the air whilst singing God pop.[/quote] Agreed, waving of hands...oooh no. Well, Ou7shined, I wish you all the best - you're going in with your eyes open so if the worst comes to worst you're not going to get done over. I'd be interested to hear how this goes, though: could you pop back on with an 'and finally' message after the event? Cheers Jon

How do chaps and chapesses, I am the lucky and proud owner of a Epifani UL310. As I understand it has 3 ten-inch drivers with a small tweeter. I also have a big GK head which bi-amps, so a good GK cab would be driven by a 540W power amp and a 50W horn amp. A mate of mine who knows a gnat or two about electronics (or so he says) suggests opening up the back of the Epi and modifying it so that it also can use the GK's horn amp with a 4-way cable. Can anybody tell me if this is a good or stupid idea? I'm not expert enough to know. I just put cables in and play. I am concerned that at the moment the Epi's value is about 500 squid but if I play with it it might turn into junk. Not that I ever plan on selling it it's so brilliant, but, well...one thinks about these things. Thanks for any advice, Jon

With my GK and Epifani or GK/Epi/Aguilar, then everything pretty flat. Presence and whatever the other amp filter is pretty high on the dial. Fastish attack and slower release on compressor 1, ratio about 3:1, fairly low threshold. Very fast attack and release on compressor 2 (in series), ratio about 10:1, high threshold. Preamps and pickup volumes on the Tobias maxed, for nicest tone and to combat the stunningly low output. Still haven't figured the Status fretless, I cannot make it sound nice with the GK. Epic fail. If often play at church where I have a Hartke 3500 into my Aguilar and a Hartke 15" as a drum monitor. Mid boost there, pre-amp valve only no solid state (it sounds lame). Then just turn it up to about 7 - the Ag makes the Hartke work very hard indeed. And if you made it through that, you need another hobby. Jon

Thanks for these! I loathe and abhor 99.9% of sixties music (I was born in the heathen times - 1984 - what do you expect?) but I had no idea Jack Bruce was even half that good a singer. Astonishing. Every day is a school day. Cheers! Jon

[quote name='beardybass' post='634374' date='Oct 23 2009, 12:45 PM']Anyone ever heard of the charity [i]Jesus house[/i]? No? Thought not, if a charity's so smallthat no-ones heard of it, they're not going to have a grand to be throwing around now are they! Particularly not for the [b]inaugural[/b] event of a battle of the bands based in one city![/quote] No, I've not heard of them. However a quick search of the charity commission website [url="http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/ShowCharity/RegisterOfCharities/CharityWithPartB.aspx?RegisteredCharityNumber=1088614&SubsidiaryNumber=0"][u]reveals[/u][/url] that there is a charity with that name, and quite a big one. They collect and donate about £4m a year...but they are London based and this event does not appear in their events calendar...so I think the existence of such a charity is either a coincidence or a pretext. To Ou7shined, I would say this sounds dodgy as hell. I'm as Christian as they come, of the evangelical tradition, and this is [i]weird[/i] behaviour for a pukka religious organisation. If your bandmates still think you're making a fuss about nothing, maybe you could ring the factual [url="http://www.jesushouse.org.uk/pwsite/index.php"]Jesus House[/url] and ask them if they know what the hell (sorry, Heaven) is going on. F-ing Christians indeed, always making trouble Cheers Jon