Archetype

Hey everyone, I am getting my mits on a bunch of Delta 12 speakers and decided to build my bass rig. First a bit of background. I play the ol metal stuff so want something that will give me a lot of grit yet keep the bass. to get this right two amps usually work best. Since I don't drive i need something portable and movable so size is important. Amp wise I am looking for a Ampeg BSP preamp with a dual channel power amp. So, Spec wise I was thinking having a 2x12 would be best. however having each one on a separate input with an extension socket would be even better. This way i can have one speaker to focus on the bass (which im looking for low deep bass, very little mids or highs) and the second being the gritty distortion sound with a lot less bass. The extension socket allowing me to build 2 for the bigger gigs. I guess is like 2 1x12 cabs in one. Anyway. I have no clue on speaker designs since ive never done it so i need to learn, or if anyone has some designs even better Important parts is portability, so possibly even suitcase style would be fantastic. God im picky!! Cheers Gordon

*Cracks knuckles* This is where my years of Computer support come in handy (Despite working in PC World I do know the products ) Along with recording. In the Windows/mac Debate, Mac is much more stable and reliable for any creative application even with the new Windows 7. I can agree a lot more people have issues with PC than Macs as they just seem to be designed for this whole idea of creativity. Lots of the advice here is pretty good but it really comes down to what your recording. If its a few tracks then you can run it off the internal hard drive despite what people will say, May be a bit slower but it can be done. If you are doing a few tracks (probably more than 8) I would go for an external hard drive. Going for a laptop with a 7200rpm drive will cost more. and one with 2 is even more! Spec wise, Dual Core Processor(AMD or Intel will be fine) and plenty of memory is probably the most important. After that just make sure its got all the USB ports you need too. Its also worth considering which interface your going to use BEFORE you buy the laptop. most laptops on the high street now do NOT come with firewire ports for example. A fantastic place for help with the interface is [url="http://www.recordingreview.com/soundcard/soundcard_wizard.php"]this lovely site.[/url] It gives you the options based on your input to help you find the best interface, very handy for anyone in my opinion! One last point, You might be best looking into the high street stores who will be getting rid of Windows vista based systems thanks to the new Windows 7. As when a new system comes out some software might not be fully compatible yet so may cause some slow starts till its sorted. Any Vista machine from the high street should get a "free" upgrade to 7 (so long as you pay £20 postage) but would help ensure compatibility from the get go. Apart from that have fun Gordon

You can get an iLok for £25 these days. And the account is free. Still not a bad deal for $99 software! G

Hrmmmm... torn on the subject, bass player, working in a band, and also a sound engineer too! *hrmmmm* A lot of good points though, and i can admit a lot of sound guys really don't know what's going on. Worth considering is that alot of the systems these "engineers" run is done on a regular setup, in the gigs i play its bass amp is a monitor and the bass is DI'd first. this tends to be the most common method for my gigs. and as for these "unusual" instruments such as horns then its a difficult task to add these as they are not the simple guitars bass drums vocal mix they expect. With that said, some engineers on the other hand have the knowledge and the creative spark to get this all done quickly and sounding good. However a point a lot of people miss. Every musician i know always goes in to a venue with a "this is my sound" mentality. While this is fully understandable since many spend time, money, and effort to achieve this sound you forget that it has to "fit". Having worked with a lot of bands, mostly for recording granted, but when you hear everything together left to themselves the problems of dominance come out. The bassist can't hear himself so turns up then the guitars go up, then the singer turns up the PA. then adding the heat of the location in that effects the sound and suddenly its all wrong. The job of the engineer is to take "your sound" and make this fit. And sometimes your state of the art bass rig and effects chains can be adding too much noise to the signal thats when amplified with the PA suddenly pisses everyone off and also drowns out the kick drums. then the guitarist comes in with his bass knob up full that puts your bass out. Its always worth considering "your sound" from their ears, since that Fender sound they can't get right could be more the quality of the equipment, the acoustics of the venue not allowing the sound for feedback purposes, or the rest of your band taking over the frequency range needed. Great example is guitarists who scoop out all the mid range of their sound. in closing, I can understand all your points cause some engineers need to be taken out and beaten with the XLR cable in the reverb chamber. But also that sometimes "your sound" just cant work!

[quote name='Rimskidog' post='571148' date='Aug 16 2009, 10:34 PM']Protools HD3 system. There'll be an API desk in there when were are finished.[/quote] Sounds good. Surprised its only an HD3 system, thought you would have gone bigger to give more power to a studio of that size. May need to stop by and have a look when its done, and im in the area. G

Thats a lot of in's and out's!!! What kind of system/desk you running on that? G

[quote name='velvetkevorkian' post='563854' date='Aug 8 2009, 10:47 PM']Ha! Quality Full Metal Jacket samplage! And the other samples are well done too. Overall I'd say pretty good for a home effort- the kick trigger doesn't really sit with the reset of the kit that well, but the overall production reminds me of [i]Morbid Visions[/i]-era Sepultura, and I like where you're going with the overall feel. The bass is nice and punchy considering how low it is (I assume you're down in B or C?) but the guitars seem a bit "fizzy"- how were they recorded? Mic'd cabs or DI'd with effects? Will be keeping an eye out for the name locally [/quote] Thanks man, The kick drum sounded awful. And the trigger was a bitch. I wanted to sit and retime it but the rest of the band wanted it out sooner so i never got the time. Guitars were Mic'd amps. but the distortion pedal (a digitech deathmetal) was a bitch. Sounded really good live but adds soo much compression cause the distortion is up full. Changed for the next album for sure. And yea the bass is a standard 5 string. 2 tracks of it, one bass heavy tone and one distorted high end only. adds some nice crunch. Will let you know when were next playing, always happy to add to the crowd numbers G

[url="http://www.myspace.com/lpgletsplaygod"]Myspace Linkage[/url] Hey Guys. Would appreciate some feedback on some tracks. Sadly all recorded, mixed and produced by myself. Then messed up during the mastering stage... *sigh* knew i should have done it myself, but considering it was rushed Its not too bad i think. But anyway. anyone got some feedback? Cheers G

[quote name='five-string.co.uk' post='541375' date='Jul 15 2009, 03:43 PM']Sorry chaps - appears to be working ok now. That was the link - so not sure why it wasn't working at first[/quote] Yea, thats digidesign for you, things get . but when it works it works well

I would install ProTools as this will install the correct drivers along with the MBox tools. You can also use both ProTools and Logic with the MBox and enjoy both worlds. Plus if its ProTools 8 then you get a whole load of nice Virtual instraments G

Will give the tracks a listen. I would keep the bass going through the V-Amp, that way signal levels are going to be converted properly. Although you might like the sound of the bass straight into the sound card. Also in terms of it missing that low end. have you listened to it on more than just computer speakers (although i don't know your setup)? Since most wont give that good a bass from them to start with. always check on more speakers and headphones! Will have a listen though and see how it is. G

you could run a lead. Levels might get a bit high though since it would probably be adding a bit at each stage. Also not sure if it would give a delay or not though! G

It really is a personal thing. Since my band is down tuned or use's 7 strings the need to be at the basic BEAD tuning was required. I started with the down tuned 4 string, however i found the B got a bit sloppy feeling, and the level diffrence from the B to E string was a bit too much. While I am sure it was solvable but i also felt more comfortable with the 5 string, i like the thicker neck on it. try some 5 strings out and decide from there. i know many people dont like em.

Hey everyone. I have been spending the last few days trying to work out how to get my bass rig up and running. And i decided it would be best to ask some more people. First a little background - I play in a a Metal band, 5 string stuff mostly. My idea for my sound was a mix of 2 amps, one with all the bottom end and the other the treble with a lot more grit on it highly compressed (Strapping Young lad or Fear factory is a good example of the ideas were going in). However I'm also wanting to add some more effects into the mix for a few tracks so was considering the likes of the line 6 Pod X3. The next part to this though is that the singer wants to add some samples to the music. As simple as this may sound, we cant go down the click track routes as the songs don't always start with drums, and getting the drummer to work with clicks is impossible! So the best option is to have a way of triggering the samples from a foot controller. Sadly this duty has been left for me since I'm the most technical in the group... *sigh* So the idea i was working with was the have a Line 6 Pod X3 Line for me to get the sounds and effects on bass. And a sampler lined up to a FCB1010 since its the only board i can find that allows MIDI note on messages. Downside is thats a lot of pedal space and looks like it could end up as a lot of on stage foot work. Another thing i need to consider is that the set lists don't ten to get made for a gig until 5 minutes before we go on, so i need something that allows a lot of songs to be stored to avoid last minute scramble with the laptop to get it setup. So. How would you do this setup? Something that wont take up the whole stage and is workable. Any ideas? Cheers G