mikel

On 17/07/2020 at 16:39, Dad3353 said:

I rather depends on what you're recording, and 'essential' is really a relative term. If you're recording your singing voice, the Shure will do the job. If you're wanting to record other instruments, such as acoustic guitar, or even your bass amp, the Shure will work, but with far less fidelity.
In general, the SM58 is an excellent stage vocal mic, as it's robust, and all sound engineers know exactly how it will perform. For studio (including home studio...) stuff, a large-diaphragm condenser mic is the standard 'go-to' mic for best recording quality in most situations. You've seen 'em, every time, in studio shots with that circular 'pop' screen, which keeps the singer at the right distance from the mic. There are some very inexpensive ones around, so it's probably worth going for. One word of caution : They need powering, usually 'phantom' power from the recording console, or audio interface for home stuff. Make sure that your interface can, in fact, supply 'phantom power' before investing. Most of 'em can, of course, but it needs confirming. If there's no phantom power, the Shure will work, and work well, but the resulting sound will not be the most hi-fi, is all.
Hope this helps.   

Thanks for that complete and easy to understand answer. Why are you not employed writing user manuals?????

8 minutes ago, NikNik said:

Topo was hard work for me when I first got it but I persevered with it. There are some good sections on it, though.

I saw them at the City Hall in Newcastle when they toured Topo, they played it, all of it. It was interesting but too overblown for me. Have a listen to the first album "Yes" and you can hear them trying to find their direction and morphing between 60s psychedelia and the invention of prog. Their cover of the Beatles "Every little thing" is a standout for me.

The OP listed "Condenser Microphone" in the recording essentials. I already have a Shure Beta 58A vocal mic. Would that be ok or do I need a condenser mic?

Wonderful Land by the Shadows. Perfect, and simply beautiful.

On 18/06/2020 at 23:37, Maude said:

JJ Burnell and Bruce Foxton made quite an inspiring racket. 🙂

Was Foxtons signature sound not the Ric?

A mate taught me 5 chords at a party. Blues in A and E. We learned half a dozen songs in said keys and played a gig at a CIU club in West Alotment in 1967. I was 15 and also had to sing in public for the first time. I bet the miners and their wives just loved it.

I have a Squire Telecaster I bought in new 1995. Not old in the scheme of things but with sunlight etc the red finish is now faded to almost pink. The back of the body is still bright red. Because it was not expensive it never gets put in a case and spends its life on a guitar stand so I can play it when the mood takes me. Natural relicing.

10 hours ago, MrCrane said:

I've loved the mandolin since seeing the lads back in the early 70s. Jacka and Rod (Clements, not Stewart 😉) are a couple of my musical heroes.

Aye, two great musicians. I could mention one of Jacka's epic  harmonica solos from their Xmas shows. Any of them.

The sax solo on "Will you" by Hazel O'Connor. Heartbreaking in its beauty. Dont listen if you have had a few and feel a bit sad.

Of course its possible, if you have a bass that can only produce one tone you have the wrong bass. Add in amp tone shaping and pre amp/effects and you have a multitude of sounds.

On 22/01/2020 at 16:58, fiatcoupe432 said:

So let's begin that I own one I have a perception 5 custom fretless and I love the thing but I'm gonna try and sell it as I wanna buy the 6 string version.

Now..... I see loads of overwater that sell for ridiculously low price so are they underrated? Why price of these 8s so low?

Perhaps because lots of Overwaters are specific builds for customers. One mans meat etc.

20 hours ago, visog said:

It's arguably true in context, i.e. in 1972 when CttE came out, artistically and criticaly it was a triumph. Squire extended the profile of the bass in longer form compositions picking up John Entwistle's mantle from 'Tommy'. Squire innovated in tone with bi-amping and effects; singing complex harmonies and adding sub-bass. The man was a walking church organ and choir. Notably he also had a wider rhythmic sensitivity - odd time signatures and harmonic vocabulary - full diatonic beyond Entwistle's more traditional pentatonic perspective.

Today, nearly 50 years later, I agree with your point. Squire vs. Hadrien Feraud - no contest! But then Hadrien humbles us all. But unfortunatley I've only paid Hadrien for his work on Chic's 'Vigil' record and his show at Ronnie Scott's. In contrast, I've willingly paid Squire for the entire Yes repetoire over several formats and many shows. Which ultimately is the biggest compliment you can pay an artist.

This. Job done.

5 hours ago, Bilbo said:

That's a tiny bit of a generalisation, don't you think? 

Things that are easy don't need investigation because they are easy. A ballad with one note per bar on the root doesn't need to be 'studied' in the way, say, 'Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick' would. Most Chris Squire is like that. Study two bars of Roundabout and the rest of it is pretty easy. Same goes for a lot of his stuff. There are exceptions, of course, Relayer being the main one. 

Depends what you are "Investigating" Personally I look into a bass part to find out why it appeals to me and if it is really simple how it fits into the music, and why I didnt think of it. That is the genius. Not being able to play something, but playing it first in the context it is in. Almost anyone can copy. Regardless of complexity you simply learn by rote. Be original, come up with something different and creative

22 hours ago, Bilbo said:

I guess so. It's not a question of it being more worthy, more a case of recognising the kind of things that are worth investigating if you are looking to explore the potential of the instrument. Nobody 'studies' Steve Dawson of Saxon because everyone can understand it pretty much off the bat. No one can do Michael Manring because it requires a complete adjustment of every shred of technique we have. Everyone else is on a continuum in between. Squire's playing (which I love, by the way, and have done for about 45 years) is nearer Dawson than Manring on that continuum. His lines, whilst interesting and creative, are, in the main, not that difficult to play. 

Again, so its only worth investigating if its difficult? I prefer to investigate things that are musical and lend more to the music. Be they difficult or the simplest thing. Its more about who used it in a certain context and how much it pleases me. In that respect Chris is right up there whereas, for me, widdle merchants are simply trying to squeeze in as many notes as possible.

16 hours ago, Bilbo said:

I measure chops based on the capacity of others to execute the parts. What Squire plays is, to my mind, reasonably easy to recreate whereas, say, Jaco, Jeff Berlin etc are tougher to cop by mere mortals. 

So because something is difficult to copy it is by default better or more worthy?  That's the "Musician" thing again.

On 24/05/2020 at 09:02, BassTractor said:

This.
Well said!

 

I'd rather say that's the "non-musician" problem right there, though we probably fully agree in this. There exists a class of people generating sound who seem to not be about conveying musical ideas with musicality, and it's always been my feeling they're probably more about impressing other people... or trying to.

It's back to the old adage of "chops is just the tool that gives you freedom - nothing else".

As a point in case (not of the impressing bit but of the chops vs music bit), in college "everyone" in our keyboards department would play Keith Emerson or Jimmy Smith stuff technically a lot better than Emerson or Smith ever did. None of us were Emerson or Smith though.
Happily we were aware. 

That's why I put "Musician" in italics.

3 hours ago, spectoremg said:

Interesting comment. I think he had brilliant Chris Squire chops. 

Agree 100%. Thats the "Musician" problem right there. Believing chops are more important than the music. Chris had a unique musical fingerprint, how many so called chopmeisters would die to be original.

He left Floyd. End of. Getting stroppy about your career choices is juvenile. Give it up Roger, you walked and they went on to have two great albums and lots of sold out tours. You pays your money etc.

31 minutes ago, Dom in Somerset said:

I've always owned an acoustic guitar that I've used for writing purposes although I never put much effort into being a guitarist. A few years ago a only band I ever played electric guitar in (C1990) was revived and I needed a suitable instrument, I cashed in some Argos vouchers and got a Squier tele. I changed the scratchplate to black when Rick Parfitt died (we shared the same birthday) I found I actually enjoyed playing it and after the other "serious" guitarist quit last year I ended up as sole guitarist in the band and haven't felt the need to upgrade.


If you think I look weird you should see the rest of the band.

Weird wasn't the adjective that sprung to mind. 

20 hours ago, Bilbo said:

What I found surprising, bearing in mind I have listened to the track for decades, is that there is very little of it that is actually hard to play  The opening bars is about it, really. 

The sign of a true genius for me. To come up with something iconic and musical, and keep it accessible. The "Why didn't I think of that" syndrome. 

Leaving my body to science, I don't go in for all that mournful tosh. When you dead you dead. No religious service just a party and as long as they play "Albatross" by Fleetwood Mac it will do. I am only attached to that music as my mum and dad both had it played at their funerals, so I cant think of a better tribute to their memories. As a joke I want "Close to the Edge " played in its entirety, and no one is allowed  to leave till its finished.

Top man, if only it were in tab. Tab always made much more sense to me. Apart from that, a difficult job well done. Respect.

A voice to die for. Soulful and full of expression. Lovely to hear someone singing rather than shouting or showing off vocal gymnastics.

Nasty. But accidents will happen.

I don't know why when they are thinking about doing one of these lists they cant simply call it "My favorite bass players" or "The 100 most influential bass players....probably" Its all subjective. What constitutes "Greatest" anyway? Fastest, longest solo, most genres played, best stage moves, longest hair, most endorsements? Who cares, you either like the music or you dont.