christofloffer

hey folks, i got something this time. i am still not doing to well with inspiration these days. i tried several tunes but i either lost interest quickly (really not getting on well with drums these days) or they sounded so bad that i couldnt insult your ears with them. so i went for another one instrument, one track and one take approach like i did before. it was a toss up in the end between "Landslide" and "Is there anybody out there" but i couldnt get close to a clean take of floyd so landslide won out.

got my vote in

hi folks, i have been rather absent recently thanks to a particularly stubborn case of writers block. i have just been struggling to feel musically inspired. i had a couple of tunes for the comp recently but i never got past a quick record of a basic idea. so i decided to throw something together this morning and get it out and maybe i can kickstart my inclination again. so this was all done in an hour or so and each track was only recorded once, so dont expect a masterpiece. the tune is meant to fit the scene of a couple of stoners sitting in the grass talking about how we will colonise the moon and the physics of garden maintenance. no, of course its not based on personal experience, how could you think such a thing? you must be some kind of crazy person. i dont have to listen to these wild accusations! (it was a long time ago😜)

the clearance at the bottom for the bass is pretty small, only about a half inch. the acoustic sits higher, about an inch or so. the bass did sit closer than i was expecting as i was working from the acoustic while i was eyeballing things and hadnt entirely accounted for the smaller body of an electric. i would probably bring the bars at the bottom at least an inch closer together next time. i was a little burned by a previous attempt which had the guitar facing out like a normal single stand and the acoustic was really unstable thanks to the bars being too close. in hindsight this design would not suffer in the same way. but hey, thats the beauty of making a test one first. i am taking a look at some types of leather i could get as the type used would dictate how its fitted. the other way would be to use cord/soft rope wrapping. i have used wrapping on other things and it looks pretty good, if a bit nautical, and provides a good amount of padding. thanks for the input.

i am looking for some input, suggestions and opinions. i am working on a new item for our business, i have tried a few different types of guitar stands but so far they have all come up short in terms of expense, style or stability. i have settled on this design as its a bit different from the more generic types yet still stable, sturdy and (in my opinion) aesthetically pleasing. obviously my particular style of work is not for everyone as it is very much on the rustic end of things but much like my furniture it seems to appeal to quite a few people. all my stuff is made in a very traditional way and with a bare minimum of machinery, i like to work this way as i think it makes the timber more attractive because you follow the knots rather than just sawing through them. so this is the first one of this style, in theory it could be made to order to support any number of guitars, is all solid hardwood timber and its lighter than you would think and doesnt screen off your guitars as much a some other types. so i would really appreciate some thought on the following. what kind of price you would expect to see something like this at, or how much you would expect to pay to have one made specially? obviously we all like a bargain but i have to be logical and there is time and costs involved. i have seen other more plain designs around for what i think is too much so i would like to be as reasonable as possible and still have them worth making. what kind of finish you would prefer? this particular one is without a finish, its is made of ash which is very clean and neutral so wouldnt cause any staining of the guitar finish but as i said its the first one so things can change later. other finishes could be stains, varnish (hard or soft), oils, wax or paint. although paint would be a bit daft in my opinion as it would seriously detract from the aesthetic. would you prefer padding of some sort? this is my biggest sticking point. i use a thing like this when i am recording and swapping guitars a lot and i have not marked my guitars as i am careful, however i know there is a lot to be said for eliminating any risk of it. currently the best plan for padding is to use soft leather in the cradle and where the neck sits up top. we could just chuck some foam on there but that would be too cheap and tacky for what its supposed to be. would you be prepared for self assembly? one thing about this as a design is that the fitting is nice and modular and could be made to be permanently fixed, pegged, a couple of fixed sections that slot together or entirely collapsible. it could be supplied with screws and pre-drilled holes as a basic form of self assembly, although i think screws detract from it. it could also be supplied with drilled holes and dowels to knock in yourself, quite permanent and would be more in keeping with the style. alternatively it could be made in a way that has no fixings and could therefore be entirely collapsible with no more than a light mallet. i am not going for the hard sell here, these will be available soon but for the moment i would just like some opinions from people who would use them. the folks on here are a good broad mix so i cant think of a better place to ask. i'm not made of glass so if you dont like it feel free to say why, its basically a prototype so everything is valid.

bump

hi folks, been out for a bit except for coming to vote. i have been in a weird place with music for a while and writing has been almost impossible. that said, i have got something for this one. not that it particularly lines up with the pic but aside from a compilation of bear sounds (very nearly happened) i couldnt see anything that would. the tune as a whole didnt quite gel the way i wanted it to, but i am putting that down to a severe lack of practice over the last few months.

ok, i got something in this time. sorry for being quite absent recently, been struggling with music recently. so the quality of this is really quite poor but its just not going to get any better so its in as it is.

well i have something, not very good though. still not doing well on the inspiration side of things and this was as far as i got. its dead simple guitar work but it seems light enough to suit. https://soundcloud.com/christofloffer/twee-little-pixie

i have been out for a couple of months, been rather lacking in inspiration recently. hardly been playing anything at all so there wasnt much hope for anything composition wise. i decided to try and get back in to things though. so this is based around having a head full of acid at the fair. i wanted it to sound like the fair was just off kilter so everything just seem not quite right. i went for the tradition waltz style tunes as a basis. not sure if it works but a proper tune wasnt very forthcoming so i figured something closer to a soundscape would serve. the human noises are courtesy of my mum and little brother. https://soundcloud.com/christofloffer/acid-at-the-carnival

I always loved the Stiff Little Fingers version of Johnny Was. Oh and the Johnny Cash version of One, in my opinion its a much better version than the U2 one. I like covers that step away from the original a bit, not enough to lose the soul but enough for it to be something in its own right.

ok, i got one for this month. i think i got the keyboard to sound reasonable, although i can still hear moments of cut-off sustain but hopefully they get lost a bit with the touch of extra reverb. i really like the verse bass line, it was surprisingly fluid to play and just felt nice. i am liking messing around with ambient guitar techniques at the moment too as the string effects on the keyboard are laughable, and i think the guitar made for a nicer sound. it is a strange thing given that something so slow can be messed up by a slightly mistimed movement and i still find it hard to get a consistent sound. i think it came out ok given that i am only using a single effects processor and most of the guides use multiple delay and reverb pedals to get the sound. https://soundcloud.com/christofloffer/the-forgotten-king as for the VST's and things, i honestly have no idea how to use them. i have watched a load of guides and tried a few times but they never seem to work. besides i like to do things in such a way that in theory i could pack up my gear as it stands and head out to play it live without it being far from the recordings. thats why i always play each track as a single take and start again if i mess up. i will catch up with the tech one day, but i still enjoy the neanderthal methods for now.

i may have something this time. i have been struggling musically recently, just not getting my head into more than messing around. really not liking the new keyboard, a casio ctk-631. the sounds seem cheap and flimsy if that makes sense. its either really plinky or so muddy you cant tell what chord your on. also the sustain cuts out randomly which makes a lot of sections and runs sound odd. its certainly not a patch on the yamaha i was using before. on the upside i got a new guitar, a cort kx-5, which is fantastic. i have a rough idea which i have started on but the keyboard is really letting the side down. i will have something in this time but wether it gets anywhere near the sound i want will take a while of messing with the eq.

hmmn, i have never come across this before. i cant say that i found all that much of a difference overall. a couple of the tunes he played sounded a bit richer at 432hz but some seemed to ring a bit more at 440hz. that said, it has piqued my interest with a couple of aspects of my own playing. i spent years living in the woods with no power (not for any pseudo-hippy reasons, i was working as a woodsman and i could live in the woods rent free so thats where i was) and as such i only really had my acoustic guitar for music. i noticed at the time that if i was to tune up without a tuner then it would always be just a little under standard, and i would be much more comfortable singing and i would get much more into my little sessions. i could spent weeks like that until someone else turned up and we had to tune up together and i would correct it. i always struggle to sing at a standard pitch, no so much that i cant warm up a little and get into it but its much more natural being a little bit under. again though, i imagine that everyone on earth has a slightly different comfort zone when singing. i may have to tune it down and experiment though, for interest sake.

hi folks, sorry for missing last month. had no end of hassles with BT after moving house and its only just gotten sorted. either way, i have an entry here. i am chuffed with it personally as it seems to me a far cry from my earlier efforts with regards to structure and mixing. i went down a fairly poetic route route with it. https://soundcloud.com/christofloffer/what-a-piece-of-work-is-a-man-2