lurksalot

I think that some of these fantastic players can be very inspirational BUT, I prefer threads like this, because it offers far more encouragement in a 'real life' kind of way. I only recently started trying some home recording , and boy was I taken aback and intitially was very dissappointed at the work I had to put in to get a track sounding half decent , but in the band I seem to cut it OK . Very similar to the OP , and I have to say, just realising that I was normal in this regard was quite encouraging

I have some ideas laid down , but again, I need a vocal , this month could be awkward as I have gone toward a distinctive rhythmic style which may need some accent for the voices.

[quote name='SpaceChick' timestamp='1365976826' post='2046929'] Yey, I can officially post to this thread (well technically I should wait until past midnight but I'm sure you'll forgive me in my excitement) ................... I was shaking like a leaf!! I can't believe how nervous I was. The first song started, and because they provide the back line I couldn't hear myself, so I had to step forward infront of the PA speaker to hear my bass!! I'm a happy bassist tonight!! [/quote] Quality post , exactly what its all about , NEVER forget those shakes , it is what makes you feel alive, you are out of your comfort zone, learning and gaining so much confidence. The Razors gig was an odd one last night , it was a pub/restaraunt and we couldn't start setting up until 9 so everything felt a bit rushed , not the songs , but we lost a bit of the feel by trying to cram our setlist in. the crowd loved what we did , they were dancing on the tables and chairs and we got repeat booking but we were loose for us. We were well cramped in mind , and it gets a bit loud on stage when you are squeezed, and any idea of moving around is an avoidance of clouting either the hi-hat , or a guitarist but we got paid and saw some great moves on the dance[s] floor [/s]tables . In all, worth playing, with a promise of bigger money next time and knowing what to expect it will pan out better.

Well done Chris , it might be aswell to empty the tins and send a payment to the justgiving page to cover the contents , though check with Jim first I guess . Has anyone stepped up for the next one ?

Thats a good call , play the next months theme card with this months entry ,mind you, if I can't write, perform or record a decent entry then I probably have little chance of picking a decent theme either on the minus side , I am not sure if I will get one in this month , my 'music' room is in boxes for a makeover , and I can't get set up , I have an idea or two but circumstances may beat me .

great playing Chris , what are the gig details and I will add them to the map

[quote name='jackers' timestamp='1365518975' post='2040610'] I may well attempt this this month. I know naff all about mixing though haha. [/quote] To be fair , when the first mix competition was announced I didn't even understand the concept of mixing , let alone a competition , it has certainly opened my eyes on the subject , Oh , and my ears aswell

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1365346072' post='2038281'] Hope you're enjoying the book Lurks! I find it very useful myself. I think I've probably read it cover-to-cover twice (or more) and still refer to it often. Good value for money that one. Mike Senior knows his stuff [/quote] Yeah , cheers , The first read through takes a bit of thought as the techy stuff needs a lot of thinking about , but there is lots that I can relate to already . It seems that practicing to listen is vital , I know it is obvious when you know but it is a training process that has to be done . the actual techniques will eventually come good for me I am sure .

this is one of our posters , it was a special outdoor photoshop gig , I think the only thing in common is that the gig was in our home town . [url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16408931@N03/8626365613/"][/url] there is a white bit at the bottom to write the gig details in , my avatar is our Okkams Razor World Tour bus I am sure there is nothing sinister behind a bit of exagerrated promotion [url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/16408931@N03/8626365613/"]A3 flyer[/url] by [url="http://www.flickr.com/people/16408931@N03/"]kevin.ahern[/url], on Flickr

Ha , wimps , I had to learn with FA in the way of kit , and my technique was based around killing the strings with the hardest pick/2 pence pieces just to get involved in the noise stakes. Now I can afford a bit more than the 2 pences, I am re-learning a feel that is a brilliant experience , I always take my kit with me if I am to play , I may not need it , but I learned a long time ago , If you leave anything at home , that's the stuff that you'll need.

[quote name='Immo' timestamp='1365251610' post='2037200'] No offence taken P.S. You see? I wrote "PolanE" instead of "Poland". Damn, this smallish netbook keyboard combined with haste results in me embarrassing myself. [/quote] I clocked that and was suitably amused and impressed at the same time. My take is that while basses (and guitars, and stringed instruments in general) sound great, they also look great , and if you have some way of showing them off , do it . I am in the process of a bit of DIY for that very reason with HID approval . I called at Ian (Rushbo) the other week , and his 'music room' was a gem, a room you just didn't want to leave , simple, but well laid out and everything at hand. Make your instruments a showpiece and celebrate them, if its your passion then in all honesty they can be (relatively) inexpensive.

When I first started playing it was mainly along to school stuff , hymms and songs written with chordal guitar format/notes over the lyrics , and thats how I visualise my stuff now . If I have to write something down for rehearsal it will be a print of the structure/lyric with roots noted just above the corresponding word. Mostly though now after learning ,I can get close to a line/riff I need to be playing with a 2min run through when I see the set list. Not technically great , but if you play the correct notes under the vocal you wont go far wrong. I reckon I have as good a handle on the songs we can throw into our set on a whim as the rest of the band , so it is a confidence call on their part to put them in

Thats me , One Step Behind , hang on , there could be a song in that title

I don't know the protocol behind these , but there is loads of stuff on [url="http://www.cambridge-mt.com/ms-mtk.htm"]this site [/url], I bought the book Skol recomended and this stuff comes as part of the resource , I haven't played with any of them yet . I think the competition aspect helps me at the minute so that I can get some feedback and comparison .

I have been known to wear the odd loud shirt or 2 but have really gone overboard and bought a Sh1teShirt , boy is it offensively loud , it might even drown out the PA

Rush stuff suits a female vocal quite well , At the local beer festival last year , one band opened with Tom Sawyer and ripped it , the lead girl vocal suited it superbly , the amount of dropped jaws in the crowd said it all , fantastic .

Well done guys , I spent loads of time on fiddly bits on the guitars and intro 'smoothing out ' some of the jaunty bits and similarly knocked a lot of the low end from the acoustic . I read about the sine wave kick drum technique in the book I am reading currently , but have yet to get it in practice . I was relatively pleased with a lot of mine , but the vocal wasn't quite right tonally, I voted for yours Si as it happens

Both great for me . the sound is really solid , the only bit that doesn't sit perfect for me is the OOH sounds in the first verse of So Low , they somehow seemed a bit long and need a couple more words in there to take the strain off them . very enjoyable .

That sounds brilliant , really like it lots , I only think that as I have seen a lot of 6 minuter + stuff ,I would prefer 3 minuter stuff , It might be totally different with a vocal however, maybe I am just impatient and want a change sooner than 7 minutes , Its a lot easier now to hit repeat and listen again to a three minute song if I want too, rather than duck out of a song twice as long IYSWIM.

good that , enjoyed it , well done

Well done Garry , I think those beetles are playing leapfrog , at least they are if the daughter wants to get involved this month

[quote name='butlerk02' timestamp='1364651115' post='2029226'] I'm not saying which letter my mix is, but I think I'm missing some vocal parts too. We're some stems added later on or all together at the same time? [/quote] the stems were all together , but the main vocal was split over at least a couple of tracks IIRC

I too noticed some parts were missing completely from a few of the mixes, but had terrific sections in them , it will be good to hear the reasoning at the end of the comp.

[quote name='blinddrew' timestamp='1364427787' post='2026525'] From a guitarists perspective, as mentioned above, it makes sense to have your less dextrous hand on the fretboard because that's doing the simpler task - it's on / off basically. The note is either fretted or not. The more dextrous hand then has the challenge of creating the "feel" of the piece. Without that you might as well get a robot to play it. Like this: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhvWAQp1yME[/media] [/quote] or engineers Try playing in a blues band with engineers , they know where the notes are , they know what order to play them in , but somehow , something is missing , maybe the soul/feel/life of the piece is in there somewhere but it hasn't been specified correctly

Top effort Steve , I know I mentioned it needed a tweak or two , but respect for giving it the third degree I might shout up for another go now