meterman

5 minutes ago, Tripehound said:

Who did you use?

In the last 2 years:

my45 (Germany)

GZ Media (Czech Republic)

Archer (Detroit, USA)

Lathe To The Grave (Cardiff)

Friends have used:

DMS (UK)

Mobineko

Cram Distribution  

my45

Also, mates have used companies like:

Vinyl Me Please for very short runs, but they aren’t cheap, like £35 a pop, easy. It’s probably cheaper to get 50 pressed, keep some copies for the band, and sell what’s left on Bandcamp to recoup pressing costs.

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

 

Who did you use for your short run?

For vinyl I recently used MY45 who are based in Germany and am next considering using either vinyl-pressing.com (France) or Press On Vinyl (Middlesbrough, UK) depending on the finished project.

For lathe cuts I’ve done a couple of runs this year with Lathe To The Grave, they’re based in Cardiff and the quality of their products is great. Indie labels like Fika and WIAIWYA have used them for short runs and they always sell out. They’re not expensive either.

Mobineko do runs starting at 50 though. That’s got to be worth looking at.

There’s a number of companies who will press one single disc for you if you want. Full colour sleeve and inners and all. It’s expensive but it’s available. 
 

Some companies offer short runs of 50 or 100. And there’s also the lathe cut option, where you can have coloured vinyl pressings from one to maybe 30 or 40 and the turnaround time is pretty quick.
 

I’ve had short runs of vinyl done in the past, and lathe cuts done too. Admittedly these were for sale but it’s not really difficult to organize. Loads of companies offer short runs as an option. I’ve got 30 singles being delivered next week. Few for family and friends and I’ll use the rest as promos for a proper release later in the year. I’m as low-tech as it gets and if I can do it you definitely can 👍

18 minutes ago, Tripehound said:

Like I suspect a few others, I spent much of the assorted lockdowns and downtime writing and recording an album's worth of material with a singing, lyric-writing mate with audio files bounced back and forth over Google Drive etc. 

 

It's now as-near-as-dammit finished and I've posted it up on Bandcamp - as it seemed the logical thing to do - but it's not as satisfying as creating a proper artefact so I'd love to get a vinyl copy of our album for each of us. After all that effort virtual or even CD doesn't really seem to reflect what went into it.

 

Does anyone have any recommendations, experience or advice on getting a very small run of records done?

 

If you'd like to have a listen then it's here https://hendersonsheppard.bandcamp.com/album/quench-the-album - friends have compared it to the likes of David Sylvian, The The, Blue Nile and Depeche Mode whilst at the same time making clear that it's nowhere near as good as any of them...

How small a run are you thinking of?

Actually, this:

and “Psonic Psunspot” too.

I’ve had to bail on my Yes odyssey after listening to “Close To The Edge”. There’s a couple of songs on each of the first four albums I liked but not enough to properly draw me in. And they tended to be the songs that kept the noodly riffage to a minimum. Brilliant musicians, all of them, can’t argue with that, and I’m glad I gave them a listen, but my curiosity is satisfied for now at least. 
 

However if my meds wear off I might give Rick Wakeman’s “Arthur On Ice” a listen, just for laughs. Whilst wearing a cape, obviously. 

De La Soul - “3 Feet High And Rising”. The whole lot, daft gameshow skits and everything 👍

Also, Max Romeo - “War Ina Babylon” and Boards Of Canada - “Music Has The Right To Children”. Too many to choose an absolute favourite.

7 hours ago, dmc79 said:

After playing my Squier VM Mustang properly stood up, I’m a little on the fence I have to say. The satin maple neck is so nice and easy to play, I love it. Wasn’t sure how I’d take to the jazz width nut as I’ve played mainly P basses for years, but this combined with the fairly slim neck was a delight. It didn’t feel scrawny like I thought it might. The lighter weight and lesser stretches of short scale really appeal to me, especially having had back issues recently. I can’t say I was a huge fan of how the stock pickup sounded when playing solo through my practice amp, but it sounded good in the ‘in ears’ band mix. 
 

The only sticking point which is a fairly sizeable one, as a bass must feel comfy, is the lack of a body contour. I’ve never had a slab bodied bass before, so I half expected this to be the case, but felt I had to at least try a Mustang. The slab didn’t bother me greatly when playing it acoustically in my lap (a lot of fun I must say), but I felt I spent most of band practice wriggling the bass body about to try and find a comfy playing position that didn’t involve the upper horn jamming itself into my gut. I feel this could be a deal breaker. 
 

 

Sorry to hear it might not work out for you with the VM Mustang, I really liked mine. Hope you find the perfect S S bass for you 👍

I just missed a Mikey Way signature Mustang, it was only €130 😮 The ad came up on a local site just as I was coming over to the UK. Would have been a train ride away for me but for that price I’d have done it. So they are still out there at bargain prices occasionally. Love my CV Mustang but I’d have had this as well though.

I learned when I was at school and played tuned percussion in the orchestra. Have only used it a couple of times in the last 35-40 years though, so I doubt I’d still be able to now. Always found ‘playing by ear’ faster for me. 

Sometimes I think I should have carried on with the reading, just so I could try orchestral work again, but all that seems light years away now 😂

1 hour ago, dmc79 said:

I guess the CV line eventually replaced them. I quite like the look of the Oly White CV but couln’t deal with that heavy glossed neck. 
 

The Mikey Way model intrigues me with the Humbucker, metallic sparkle & satin finish neck, I’m not a fan of the comp stripe though. Is there a ballpark used price they go for? I can only find a £430 (best offer accepted) in eBay sold items

 

I’ve got an Oly White CV Mustang bass now, and it’s my #1, I love it, although heavily glossed necks are defo my thing (phwoar).

In retrospect, I should have kept the pickguard with the Mikey Way humbucker on it, and transferred it to my bitsa Mustang bass because it sounded superb, to me at least. Those

Mikey Way Mustangs seem to go for crazy money now but if I could score one for £400 I definitely would. The pickup + ‘guard would be perfect on my CV.

12 minutes ago, dmc79 said:

Ideally I’d have preferred a black one but I only recently even knew this model ever existed after doing some of my own research into Mustangs. It seems there was a FSR Candy Apple Red of this too.
 

I guess they don’t come up for sale often due to a combination of relatively not many being made before being discontinued, and people liking them so much they hang onto them

 

I saw a few black ones around s/h but eventually got one stupidly cheap on eBay. Then bought a Mikey Way signature model and put the r/w neck from that on the black one. Should have kept both!

It does surprise me that Squier haven’t done another run of sunburst or black Mustang basses though. I’m sure there’s demand for them now?

15 minutes ago, dmc79 said:

Don’t know if anyone saw this on eBay but they don’t come up often so I had to grab this - Squier Vintage Modified Mustang, the ones that were only made from around 2011-2013. 

 

It’s on its way now and I’m stupidly refreshing the tracking like my life depends on it. I’ve never played a Mustang and never like Sunburst but think this looks pretty nice with satin maple neck & string thru’ bridge, and figured if I don’t like it, I can easily move it on. 

 

I wanted one of those at the time but just couldn’t find one for sale, so bought one of the black / black / maple versions instead. The body and pickups were excellent on mine. Hopefully yours is a good one! 👍

“When The Levee Breaks” - Led Zeppelin 

“The Man Who Sold The World” - Nirvana from the unplugged gig

“Been Caught Stealing” - Jane’s Addiction 

“Paranoid” - Black Sabbath 

“Motorhead” - Motörhead

there’s probably loads of others, but these come to mind right now.

1 hour ago, Dad3353 said:

 

I've been looking for decades now for a 1950 Telecaster; none to be had. They've all been snapped up ages ago, I suppose. 

We had a 1952 Telecaster for sale shortly before I quit the job, the asking price was more than my current house cost. Bonkers!

There’s also the ‘birth year instrument’ factor, which may or may not play a part in whether certain guitars hold their value or continue to increase in value.

I did a fairly brief stint working for a company that specialised in selling vintage guitars and basses, and would be asked on a daily basis if we could source a 1976 Fender Strat, or an ‘82 Precision, or a 1967 Tele, or ‘79 Jazz  or whatever. And folks would pay whatever the asking price was for those instruments just because they were manufactured in the same year the customer was born. Not because they were otherwise sought after, just because they were ‘birth year’ instruments.

Personally I found (and continue to find) this to be irrational sentimentality. Like the guy wanting any ‘83 Strat, it just had to be an ‘83, when a MIM reissue would probably knock it out the park. But it happened all the time. It’s probably still a thing now, but how long it’ll continue to be a ‘thing’ I’ve no idea. 
 

13 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

 

What's so special about 59 Les Pauls? What makes them better than ones made in December 58 or January 60?

For boomers, it’s the association with the players that used them, and the so called ‘classic’ records they’re on. Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Mike Bloomfield, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Duane Allman, Keith Richards, etc, all used 1959 models and that’s why boomer guitar nerds seem to lose their marbles over them. 
 

Personally I’d rather have a ‘52 or ‘53. Or a reissue. Or a Minimoog. Or...

1 hour ago, ped said:

 

I think Fender have started using them again recently on some reissue models, so hopefully you can get some without the 'Vintage tax'

 

I really quite like modified basses, and would rather have a vintage modified bass than a refinished one, weirdly. Both affect value in the buyer's favour of course

Hmmm. 🤔 I’d found Gotoh lollipop tuners online but not Fender ones. Not sure if they’d be a simple swap or not. Never changed tuners before.

Kind of my outlook too. I had a pair of vintage instruments that I’d started to get a bit twitchy about flying with, or touring with, so bought some cheaper backups for European or overseas gigs. 
 

I realised fairly quickly that my s/h £150 Squier from 2015 was more reliable than my 1968 Fender. And by taking it out on gigs I didn’t have the whole anxiety about the possibility of a vintage instrument getting trashed by baggage handlers or lost or stolen, or whatever.

Eventually I sold off my vintage stuff and kept reliable cheapies.

There’ll probably always be a market for ‘all-original’ vintage gear to collectors or investors but I’m not part of it.

The ‘66 looks amazing, and the mods on it wouldn’t bother me either. Love the lollipop tuners too. My Squier Mustang is my #1 bass and the only thing I would possibly change on it are the tuners. 
 

Looking at lollipop tuners online nowwww....

Today it’s been Wire’s 1st album...

16 hours ago, Richard R said:

You're potentially overdosing!

I think you’re right 😂

I’ve only liked a couple of tracks on each Yes album so far, and they were usually the ones without all the noodly riffage and solos. One of my mates swears that “Tormato” is his fave album of all time. But he does smoke a lot of weed and rarely leaves the house! Might have to bow out at this point...

3 hours ago, SumOne said:

 

What mic would you recommend for melodica and percussion?

 

Use what you’ve got!

Seriously, don’t spend money on more gear, if you’ve got a mic just use it. Dynamic, condenser, diaphragm, whatever, they’re all just mics and will record whatever you put in front of them. You can always EQ the recorded sound afterwards anyway. I used to have a collection of so-called ‘classic’ old mics (I also had a whole studio but that’s another story) and a lot of the time I’d end up using a cheap Shure dynamic mic or a Radio Shack PZM for everything, vocals included. In fact my favourite used to be an old Sony electret (battery powered) condenser mic that I got off ebay for £2 or something. I used it on everything for years until it stopped working. There’s no rules. Use what you’ve got and make it work.
 

Just remember that with percussion, anything like maracas or tambourines can make your signal peak into the red real easy, so experiment with mic positions and distances to avoid them distorting horribly. Depends on your room as well but mic positions are still important.

And if you’re working in a digital format there’s always tape plugins available that you can use for individual instruments or you can run a whole mix through. Or preferably run a mix down onto a cassette deck with a high input signal if you have access to one. It’s not hard to avoid the clean steppers vibe. If you’re familiar with Pachyman have a look at some of his videos on YouTube, there’s always ideas you can get from them. Taggy Matcher is another one who can nail the classic old sounds 👍

40 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

My cassettes used to sound great through my wharfedale Airedale’s, wish I still had them 

I wish I’d kept my Wharfedales too. Linton, they were. Sounded ace 👍

I listened to the first four Yes albums this week as part of my personal Prog odyssey and have currently got this on. Am about 10 minutes in, hopefully the good bits will start soon...