Nicko

I feel the same about my US made Fender PB which has not been out of its case for around 2 years - the Squier CV does the same job and did most of the gigging duty when I was in a band.

Guitars - I have nothing too expensive just far too many of them really.  My Epi 339 was the most recent purchase and I think its good quality.  I've always bought what feels right rather than what looks good or has the right name.

This popped up on a spam email yesterday.  I misread it at first and wondered why anyone would want a 100W 1x15 - too loud for home not enough for most gigs.  Then I read it again.

Bugera 1000 W amp

Why would anyone wanting a smallish combo need a thousand watts?

1 hour ago, Hellzero said:

Indeed @Nicko, but as it's BassChat here, I preferred a bass related example. 😉

I did wonder if I might become a pariah for mentioning that😀

I suspect most of us will be familiar with Telecasters whereas many won't have heard an example of the Kramer.

34 minutes ago, Hellzero said:

Try a Kramer 450B with the huge distance between the two pickups and you'll understand immediately that the scooped sound (when the two pickups are used together) comes from the inter spacing, easily explainable by the phase cancellation of the low mids due to this ... distance.

Or simply look at 6 string guitars and see the same thing.  A telecaster in middle position does exactly the same thing and you can't get that sound on a Strat because the pickups are too close.

1 hour ago, andy67 said:

Two awesome free programs:

 

ProTools First,  https://www.avid.com/pro-tools

 

Bandlab (previously Cakewalk), https://www.bandlab.com/products/cakewalk

 

All you need do is register to get both free with no time limit.

Cakewalk looks like a very interesting proposition.  Is anyone here using it?

I'd also be interested to know whether using Bandlab on a Chromebook and Cakewalk on a PC provides seemless integration.

46 minutes ago, rubis said:

the only thing I find lacking is my ability 

Yes, if someone could point the in the direction of a free download for that I'd appreciate it.  I would consider paying if necessary.

18 hours ago, Nicko said:

Its a very old version of Cubase - LE 7.1.  I am now questioning my own sanity as I am sure i read that MIDI tracks could not be added in this version in the manual but I've just looked again and can't find what I thought I'd read.  The dropdown menu allows adding a MIDI track, but when you click it the pop up comes up identical to the VST insert.  I'll take a proper look at it again.  I tried this before using Xpand 2 and didn't get very far.

I've had a look at a couple of tutorials for Cubase 7 for routing instruments to MIDI tracks and the menu commands required to follow the tutorial are not available in my version of Cubase.  For some reason I can route MIDI commands to plug ins on an audio track but not to a VST instrument.

3 minutes ago, Leonard Smalls said:

If your laptop has only 4Gb of RAM, you might find difficulty running any DAW with more than a few tracks! Personally I wouldn't use less than 16Gb...

And the processor needs to be decent too.  An intel i3 laptop chip won't cut it - an i5 might.  I've tried running Ableton on a 10 yo laptop which was good spec when it was new and it can't cope with a lot of vst processing.  It works fine on a similarly spec'd desktop.

I'm a Cubase user and also have Ableton - both free versions that came bundled with hardware.  Personally I think Cubase is more intuitive if you are recording live instruments and Ableton is better if you are doing EDM.

The elephant in the room is cost and update capability.  If and when I change I'm likely to give Reaper a try because it probably does everything Cubase does at a fraction of the cost (or on a free trial to make sure it suits me) and doesn't require latest spec PCs.  It would be madness not to try that route first, unless you are buying hardware and get something for free. 

5 hours ago, 4000 said:

Obviously it’s nice if other people like what you’re doing, but is that what I do it for? Absolutely not.

I'm not sure about that at all.  Whilst I write and record to enjoy myself a compliment on what I've done is some kind of acknowledgement that what I'm doing is worthwhile.

3 hours ago, lowdown said:

 

 I'm not sure what version of Cubase you are using but, as far as I'm aware, that has been possible for many years.

You have two options. One single (Instrument) track, which is midi in and audio out combined. Then there is a 'Rack' track...

The Rack track can handle up to 16 midi tracks on each port of any multi timbral instrument. One midi track can drive 16 instruments all set to (eg) midi channel 1.

 

 

 

Its a very old version of Cubase - LE 7.1.  I am now questioning my own sanity as I am sure i read that MIDI tracks could not be added in this version in the manual but I've just looked again and can't find what I thought I'd read.  The dropdown menu allows adding a MIDI track, but when you click it the pop up comes up identical to the VST insert.  I'll take a proper look at it again.  I tried this before using Xpand 2 and didn't get very far.

On 13/08/2021 at 10:19, BigRedX said:

Any "DAW" that can't handle MIDI is not a DAW but a digital audio recorder. 

Not quite.  The version of Cubase I have will handle VST instruments just fine.  What you cannot do is insert a MIDI track and send it to various instruments so using a multitimbral synth or Kontakt player to it's full capacity for example aren't possible.  This functionality is available in the freebie version of Ableton that I have but that has a very limited number of tracks and I've never resolved the issues with latency on it when recording audio tacks (not worth investing the time to resolve as the limitations of tracks mean I'm more likely to do what I want in Cubase anyway).  

Bundled software has opened up a whole new world for me and two years in I'm just about hitting the limitations of it but only insofar as knowing that some things would be easier to do with a paid for version.  I suspect even if I did hit limitations in Reaper it might take me several more years to get to that point at which time my hardware will probably need updating in any case. 

Just now, MacDaddy said:

 

they won't get a round in though...

IME neither will a real drummer.

In isolation, with whatever settings are used for this recording I prefer the 60s sound.  That said in a band mix the difference would be very subtle and I have cloth ears so probably couldn't tell from listening whether a track was recorded using a Jazz or a Precision - when eq playing style and amps are involved.  In fact I play a P bass so if I was setting my sound I probably wouldn't want to get the sound that is produced by either option - I'd be on the front pickup.

1 hour ago, lurksalot said:

I’m trying a new way of using it this month !

ive run a keyboard of the ‘melody’ and through the auto tune , this has visually identified the notes I should be using in the vocal .

I can then accurately set it up so that I have a visual stimulus to see the variation of pitch to the target.

I think it is helping to get it closer , but I guess I won’t be the best judge of that 😂

I'm looking forward to seeing how that works out.  I hadn't realised you were using autotune so I guess the way you are using it is the right way at the mo.  I'm still going au naturel at present but will have to see how this month works out - there's still time to install a vst and tidy up the vox.

9 minutes ago, SteveXFR said:

Maybe it's a particular problem down here in Somerset but drummers are really hard to find, good ones even harder to find and good ones who are reliable and play metal are like unicorn turds.

Fortunately our rhythm guitarist / singer is a pretty handy drummer for recording but unless we buy him one of those old fashioned one man band kits we need an actual drummer for gigs.

Is it always really hard to find them? Is there somewhere online they hang out?

Surely there must be a Drumchat internet forum somewhere.  I've not experienced problems with drummers so much as singists but then I'm not in the SW.

19 hours ago, WinterMute said:

Just follow some basic rules:

 

Never, ever buy first generation hardware, be it computer or audio.

Never, ever let your computer update anything in the middle of a project.

Chose your weapons for a project and stick with them, don't add or update.

Only update when you have the time and energy (and funds) to fix whatever goes wrong.

Only update major components when the developer says they are cleared to run under your stable version of whatever OS you chose.

Back-up, back-up, back-up.

 

Go make some music, all DAW/OS/hardware combinations work for the active creation of music.

 

I'm kinda following this mantra, but I'm seeing the limitations of a DAW that can't be upgraded because my OS is out of date.  The DAW is a free bundled with hardware and although I only use a small part of its functionality there are things that are not included in the freebie that I want - the lack of facility to install a MIDI track for example is beginning to annoy me.

So, to upgrade the DAW I'll have to upgrade my PC, which is otherwise perfectly functional at present for what I do with it.  And so the merry-go-round continues.  Which is why I'll probably go to Reaper who seem to have set up the DAW to run on virtually anything.

5 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

Were the mohican styles the New Wave era just after punk ?

I cant really remember a lot about the punk movement to be honest.

Dave

I think it was mainly the ones that got sucked into the Malcom Mclaren/Vivienne Westwood fashion thing that went down that route.  

2 hours ago, Barking Spiders said:

It's odd how none of the original / first wave punk bands wore tartan bondage trahsis, had mohawk hair dos etc.

I seem to remember my oldest brother, who claimed the title Head Moose of the Whitton punks, and his mates mostly just cut their own hair - and it actually looked like rats had been gnawing away at it.  I seem to remember one his mates later getting a mohawk of sorts but it was more a shaved sides job than the full 6" spiked and dyed job, and by that time I think he was roadying for PIL.

11 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

I agreed to give it a try altho i do still have long hair and dont look like a typical punk but i can see a ponytail coming on. 42 songs to learn for their first gig on 18th Sept but they are all quite short. Total of 2.5hrs worth. The singer with them is our backing vocalist in the Glam Rock band too. I've never played punk songs before but have to say i'm really quite enjoying learning them. 

Keep the pony tail and shove a safety pin through your cheek - you'll fit in fine.  

FWIW I have a mate who is in a very successful punk covers band playing mostly festivals and they mostly look like stockbrokers with attitude.

IMHO it's possible to do covers when meeting once a month BUT I've always found that the band sounds like a bunch of guys playing covers rather than a good covers band.  Rehearsals are required to build the chemistry and tighten it up.  I suppose once a month and then intensive sessions prior to a gig would work, but it's no substitute for building a proper relationship.

When playing in a "alt rock" covers band we ended up introducing a version of "Kids in America" and the singer even suggested doing a montage of Mary Janes Last Dance with Dani California.  Strangely it wasn't this that finished the band off.

After gear failure when playing a charity gig at a school I borrowed an Encore Precision bass copy from the music department which would have been maybe £100 new.  No one noticed and it was OK to play.  I could have DI'd it to the PA so the total cost of the setup would have been £150 including the DI box.

2 hours ago, uk_lefty said:

So in the 9 month gap, which included some long lock down periods a lot happened and a lot didn't happen. We brought in the singer who the guitarist knew. She was pretty good, loves her 80s music... Then the cracks appear across the band.. That sounds too dramatic really but you get the idea. We have strayed away from the original concept and I'm getting uncomfortable. We are now discussing "modern" covers to add in, and disco... Its all gone a bit wrong. We persevere, conveniently ignore Katy Perry, add some new songs in, get back to the 80s roots. I think the singer is trying to help me steer the ship back on course. We rehearse, we try to learn songs. The guitarist plays synths too. He wants to bring his synth kit in and pre programme everything which pretty much sidelines me and the drummer. The drummer has a way of calmly saying "no" that puts an end to things, I really respect that. Synths arrive but no pre programmed sequencing stuff. We play a song where the guitarist engages an arpeggio with his feet, sounds fantastic. We play a song with him playing keys but he misses a key melodic motif of the song... He plays keys the way I play guitar which is I can do the basic chords but you're not getting lead and widdly bits. This sucks some energy out of big synth songs. I record some of the rehearsals and ask trusted friends "what do you think?" got some good feedback but one comment stuck with me: "does your guitarist ever learn any of the songs?". More rehearsals, frustration at my door for some breaks to the regular bi weekly meet up due to summer, family stuff, etc. Meet up again. We had three easy songs to learn, guitarist has not learned them and has not fully learned most of the other songs we were practicing. It's all a bit flat. Guitarist sits us all down and says for the band to go anywhere we need to rehearse more regularly. I agree. Then I start to think about everything, put it all together in my head. We've been going 9 months and we can fluently play 2 or 3 songs from a list of 12. The others we still need to sort arrangements for or critical parts. I suspect he only learns the songs he wants to do or has done before, but even then they aren't perfect. I haven't been perfect by any means but I've learned my parts adequately to play along with a band, as per my limited dep experience . I just don't think we have gelled enough to get each other through new songs like the band I've been in for 5 years does. 

 

I've reflected on it all and sent the note. I need to quit. I don't have the time and energy, and if I did I think it could be wasted. 

 

I don't want to blame one other person. We all were a bit ropey on different parts. I like all of these people, which makes it a bit harder. But the excitement wore off and the hard work became too hard with the end result becoming less and less realistic. 

 

Lesson learned on starting a band with random people off the Internet. 

Sadly this is an all too familiar story.

It's not necessarily the random strangers thing either, just that we make compromises when forming the band and eventually the crack start to show. Even with bands that have got to the stage where they have gigs worked out and a set list agreeing new stuff leads to acrimony and resentment. 

2 hours ago, ubit said:

Nope

I'm assuming the other guy was wearing green hoops?