hairychris

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1422392061' post='2672176'] Do any of the new versions of the MS20 allow control of the individual knobs via MIDI CCs? [/quote] No they don't....

[quote name='tedmanzie' timestamp='1420971394' post='2655525'] How tricky is the MS20 Kit to construct? I was also very interested in the new Moog 37, have you tried one of those? Seems like Moog have suddenly got the price/features right - the 37s seem to be in very high demand, back ordered for ages. I've not been able to try one yet, but the reviews seem very promising. I'm interested in this Arp too. [/quote] An acquaintance has a MS-20 kit. Not too difficult to build from what I've heard, no soldering or anything, all screw/bolt & clip based. I own a Moog Sub 37 and it's a thing of beauty. I'm waiting on the v1.1 firmware as that really simplifies the modulation routing workflow and the sequencing. Great sounds, being able to play the oscillators duophonically gives loads of options, and having all the functionality on the front panel is great (I HATE menu-diving). Construction isn't quite as chunky as the Little Phatty Stage, and the LP sounds slightly warmer, but the Sub 37 is much more versatile and easier to use in live situations. I haven't got in to serious patch designing yet, but that'll be coming as am in process of joining a band to play synths. Running it through a TC Flashback x4 + Hall of Fame and it's massive. One other "toy" that I have and can highly recommend is the Arturia Microbrute. Cheap but solidly built, very portable, aggressive, and compatible with volt/octave modular synths like Doepfer/Eurorack. I've got it hooked through my bass rig via an ABY and it provides some interesting alternative textures. The new ARP looks interesting but not 100% convinced. I'm not in the synth market, but if I wanted more analogue gear I'd be tempted to head towards the Eurorack format as I love the whole "pick & mix" approach that it encourages. Edit: The Prophet 6 is a very sexy piece of kit, mind! Edit 2: Just saw a NAMM video and Korg are making a limited edition MS-20 desktop version. I would buy that one personally!

Weird little thing. I own a Korg Monotron Duo and Monotron Delay but they're a heck of a lot simpler!

An interesting conversation... Some of the topics I can't really comment on (I'm 42) but there is one very big change in the musical environment that hasn't been touched. In the UK, at least, most of the biggest innovators in popular music from the late 70s/early 80s onwards have been using synthesizers, and this has a very different aesthetic to rock'n'roll. The reason that under-25s might quit a bar when a live (guitar) band is playing is because this is not the musical environment that they are familiar with. It's the club/DJ/producer. There are plenty of electronic bands who have made it up to stadium-filling popularity. Some, like Depeche Mode, have managed to turn into bona fide stadium rock acts. You then have folks like Deadmau5 who'll play to similar crowds from a laptop (which I don't like, but I must give him respect as he is a massive synth & technology nerd and has very good skills with old analogue stuff) down to various DJs & Producers, again playing to these huge crowds, where ugly rumours are that most of their own supposed tracks were ghost-written. I am not going to make a judgement call on this, but has it not occurred to folks that "rock and roll" is not seen as relevant by a large number of especially younger people these days? Their heroes aren't guitarists or singers, but DJs and producers, and these people can be emulated with a cheap computer in your bedroom? Yes, 99.999% of what will be produced is rubbish, but tell me when there was a time that 99.999% of music banged out on any acoustic instrument in a kid's bedroom wasn't also rubbish! On this, like in many other areas I fall between the 2 stools. I love playing guitar, but I also really enjoy using technology to make sounds that I never could with a "real" instrument. I enjoy playing gigs, but it's also weird when other acts on the same bill as 1/2 my age! I'm a child of the 70s - the great rock & rollers were at least a generation away. The Beatles had split, the Stones had stopped being musically relevant (specifically, progressing, doing something innovative musically), hell all I can remember from being a pre-teen was Abba, The Sex Pistols and horrific novelty singles in the UK charts. I struggle to make the connection with the classics so no wonder kids 20+ years further down the line are. One thing that is good, though, is that there are still plenty of kids who are picking up guitars and basses; and with the Internet being such a great learning tool many of them are far better technically and have had wider exposure to different music styles then I'd ever get. I have absolutely no idea what the landscape will be when I turn 60. If I'm still playing stupid loud music to people who don't understand it then I'll be happy.

[quote name='TheRev' timestamp='1422130763' post='2669121'] Lots iof small ' boutique' festivals around the UK these days though. Much better for seeing the sort of bands you like. Big festivals have gone too mainstream I reckon. [/quote] Very much this. The larger mainstream UK festivals seem to have jumped the shark when it comes to ticket pricing vs event quality. European festivals are significantly less expensive, more punter-friendly, and far less annoyingly commercialized/sponsored/etc. The UK has fantastic smaller festivals - in the noisy music scene Desertfest (multiple venues in Camden over a weekend) and Damnation (one day at Leeds Uni which is madness but great fun) are doing it right, as is Temples Festival in Bristol and a bunch of other folks doing similar things. Having a tighter focus on the music means that smaller events can get in acts that wouldn't make it to a larger festival simply because those fests need to get more people through the door to break even. I suppose that I can also break out my old-man excuses about not wanting to sleep in a tent if I can possibly help it but that's a whole other topic!

RIP Ricochet is amazing. Got me into wanting to do more synth-related stuff.

[quote name='sprocketflup' timestamp='1422089973' post='2668512'] My fave ST album is Join the Army but not sure if Robert played on that [/quote] No he didn't. Good album though! "Lights Camera Revolution" was his first album with ST. Well worth it. The first Infectious Grooves album is very in-your-face, love that one too.

How do you guys practice? Do you loosen up, or run through sets "as if live"? If you don't you won't be able to do it in front of people. You need get used to visibly having fun/providing a show just as you have to get used to playing the songs. EDIT: try setting up rehearsal area as if a stage, dimming lights, etc. EDIT 2: I've always thought of a stage persona as being an act, as if you're playing the part in a play. What does my character do? That sort of thing. 0.02c

The midi box looks to be about 40 quid (I've had a look), and as for powering it looks like the midi box will power the pedal via the USB cable. Hadn't thought about latency. Wouldn't think that it would be too bad through a dedicated interface, and it's midi being transmitted as opposed to audio, but it would definitely be something to try.

[quote name='toneknob' timestamp='1422016615' post='2667766'] My Taurus backup is a Novation Basstation with Kenton midi foot-pedals. Looks like Kenton don't do the foot-pedals any more though (website at [url="http://www.kentonuk.com"]http://www.kentonuk.com[/url]), A lot of people use Roland PK-5 pedals. [/quote] I've seen Kentons on occasional sale on ebay. I'd be planning one using pedals with either Arturia Microbrute (tiny thing, pure evil tone!) or Moog depending on circumstances. I've not had a go with the Basstation, always been interested in trying out. [quote name='KevB' timestamp='1422019802' post='2667816'] Smaller and lighter mainly from what I've read. I have some PK5's but not using them in current band. If I were to get back into providing synth backing in a band I'd probably have a serious look at the 12-step. [/quote] Oooh, I've not seen them before. Relatively inexpensive compared to the PK5/PK6 too, and way more portable. Very cool!

[quote name='mentalextra' timestamp='1421861521' post='2665938'] "All Design and no substance" [/quote] Welcome to the 21st century. *sigh*

If someone can recommend reasonable midi bass pedals then I'd also be interested. I run synth gear (non-vintage, mainly analogue, including a shiny new Moog Sub 37) and have never got round to trying to play bass/guitar and that at the same time! Love the Taurus but don't want to have to learn to drive a forklift in order to move it.

Interesting chat. I've got disssa's USA Sub5 incoming and it's very different spec to what I currently use. If it's loaded with a ceramic pickup I may swap it out for AlNiCo as not sure if I want to cut through that much but depends on how good the EQ is. Not tried an EBMM neck in 5 so I may be in for a shock there too, hehe! Edit: Checked the specs, seems to be AlNiCo. Probably for the best as for what I want I don't want it to be too cutting!

Not a bass, but I used to gig my Blackmachine 7-string that I've just sold on for >7000... and in some pretty dodgy venues too. Instruments are supposed to be gigged! I just kept a very careful eye on it. I haven't toured for years, but I may be a bit more circumspect when there's a lot more variables.

[quote name='KK Jale' timestamp='1421684170' post='2663925'] * Full disclosure: I possess both a beard and a single-speed bike. But I'm old so I don't count. [/quote] So do I! :-) May have to swing by that shop at some point.

Ahh, BG! Used to rehearse at Alienistic Studios (up by BG underground station) around 2002 - 2005, and lived around there for a while around that time. It was all a bit scummy but fun. I avoid the whole area like the plague now. The whole Shoreditch thing is horrific. EDIT: To clarify, I'm a 40-something metalhead and this whole hipster thing annoys me!

At home they're lying around. At rehearsal studio I pack them in my pedal board case on top of pedals (so I know that I have everything with me). These things are great: [url="http://www.planetwaves.com/pwProductDetail.Page?AxPageID=4811&Mode=0&ActiveID=4115&productid=26"]http://www.planetwav...15&productid=26[/url] All my cables > patch leads are tamed using them.

I use pick primarily as am fairly new to bass, but pretty old when it comes to playing electric guitars. I'm definitely trying to use my fingers more but it's hard work on them. It's 2 very different sounds...