Wolfram

I wasn't familiar with Seefeel and Ulrich Schnauss, but just had a listen. Don't fall into the trap of thinking you need hundreds of plugins - it sounds like you need one good delay and one good reverb. This will depend on your budget, but there are lots of delay options at all prices - personally I like the vintage sound of SoundToys EchoBoy but it is quite heavy on your processor and is quite expensive. I think the Relab LX480 reverb would be a great fit for that type of music, and the Essentials version is on sale for $29 atm. Synth-wise.... there is a huge range of VSTs. My advice would be to get only one or two and really learn how to use them - the temptation is that you need lots of plugins to get different sounds, but you really don't and it can just become a distraction. I have accumulated way more synth VSTis over the years than I know what to do with, and 90% of the time it's u-he Diva that gets used. Also look at what software bundles you get with the controller keyboards - Arturia has its ecosystem as, for example, does Native Instruments. For the kind of music you gave as a reference, I would be reaching for Diva and Native Instruments Massive X (incidentally a similar sound engine to the Hydrasynth) from my collection, but there are lots more choices. Another pointer for instruments is Spitfire Audio's free LABS range - lots of really interesting stuff there and it's all free.

A few thoughts. The DT770s are closed-back 'phones - perfect for preventing the sound of a backing track leaking into the microphone if you're recording vocals, but not ideal for mixing / monitoring - they won't be as comfortable and the sound will be somewhat compromised. You haven't mentioned a microphone or wanting to record vocals, so if monitoring / mixing is your main use case then I would definitely consider a decent pair of open-back headphones. Beyer DT990 for example, or Sennheiser HD650. Re: MIDI, I would still connect your HX Stomp and LPD8 via USB (the HX Stomp will still be accessible as a MIDI device even if not using its USB audio) so unless you are considering adding non-USB MIDI kit it's not really a consideration. The HX Stomp actually works as a pretty decent interface if guitar/bass is the only 'out-of-the-box' instrument you're using - the main reason to upgrade to a 'proper' interface would be if you want to introduce a microphone(s) into your setup. At that point there are a multitude of choices, the Minifuse 2 being one of them, that are functionally almost identical. Personally I like the MOTU M2 / M4 as a portable interface - dead simple, rock solid and just work. Arturia controllers have a good reputation, but I've never used one. It depends what you want to use it for, but for me a two-octave controller would be useless - I'm a pianist and need to be able to play full parts. But it may be fine for what you want to do - just make sure the very small keyboard will actually work for you. I have used Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol keyboards which I really like, and they ingrate fantastically with my DAW (Cubase), not sure about Reaper. My controller is a 76-key Yamaha SY99 from 1992 - still going strong! If it were me I would also definitely budget for some monitors. I find long periods working on any type of headphones fatiguing, and much prefer to work on speakers. Hope that's helpful!

This. My DAW Mac is currently on Monterey, only recently upgraded from Catalina, and only because one piece of software I wanted required MacOS 12 minimum. It'll probably stay on Monterey for the rest of its life as a DAW; I will probably replace it in around 18 months (it's a 2017 iMac, so it'll be eight years old by then). There's nothing in the OS updates that gives a Mac any new features or better performance with respect to music, yet those updates often break components of the DAW software, plugins and drivers, so I don't see any point in upgrading. I have a policy of never installing a major point OS update on any Mac until it has been out for at least a year, after bugs, compatibility issues etc. have been identified and ironed out.

I'd also be interested in anyone's insight on this? Aside from training into central London I haven't been into a town centre in years (well done councils - you waged war on motorists and won, congratulations). But surely every single business premises on the high street needs deliveries of some sort? How are these done, or is the fine just built into the delivery charge? Little story. Last time I drove into a major town centre was Leeds. It was absolutely chucking it down, near zero visibility. I realised upon seeing a sign that I had strayed into a bus lane, so immediately pulled out. I got a penalty. Their own photo clearly showed that the road markings indicating Bus Lane were completely invisible due to the amount of rain falling and splattering on the road. Appealed. No joy - road markings were 'clear' (no, invisible, proven by their own photographic evidence). Vowed never to go to Leeds again, and actually have not driven into any city since.

Ok, another massive rush job but I've just managed to get something together. Our man just wants to chill, but his better half thinks he's too far gone. Can she get through to him? I present "Party". Lyrics: The tech stuff: bass is my Dingwall AB-HS, recorded though Line6 Helix. Horns and organ are from Native Instruments, drums are EZ Drummer. The good singing is the AI Solaria courtesy of Dreamtonics Synthesizer V; the bad singing is me recorded with a Rode NT1. All put together in Cubase, with a polish from Ozone 8.

Hah, I had to do a Google reverse image lookup - didn't recognise the character, not seen the film. I hope to be in this time - away again next week but will hopefully have a little time to put something together between getting back and the deadline...

Yes, let's hear it! I also ran out of time and safe to say my attempt is completely unfinished and barely an idea.

I still have my old 2007 iMac in the workshop. Back in the day it was my DAW running Cubase on MacOS; now it's on Windows 7 and serves as my CNC and laser cutter controller. Those old iMacs were really well built, it's been faultless for over 16 years.

Ok, here is my horribly unfinished entry - I'm out of time - away for work next week, flying early tomorrow. Imagine this with vocoded robot voice musing on not losing sight of having fun and letting life pulse by mechanically - being more like the children in the photo than the adults. The tech stuff: All synths are u-he Diva, beats from Groove Agent SE, delays from Echoboy and a little reverb from Relab LX480 to glue it together, finalised with Ozone 8. This month's New Thing™: slicing a loop - never done this before. The mechanical noises loop is from a 1996 Future Music cover CD - I've been waiting 28 years for a suitable project to use that loop!

Thanks everyone for all your advice - plenty for me to think about here. Headline seems to be, there's no 'best' choice so I will experiment with some of the recommendations and see what I like the sound and feel of, starting in familiar territory with a fresh set of nickel roundwounds. And thanks for the reassurance over using the roundwounds - absolutely, like all my instruments, this is for playing but I didn't want to inadvertently ruin it with poor string choice coupled with 'emergent' technique...

I treated myself to a fretless bass for my birthday this week. It arrived today - and lovely though it is, the strings look like they might've been on for all the 22 years since the instrument was built 😮 This bass definitely needs a string change, but I'm wondering what type to get? It's currently wearing roundwounds, but I've heard and read much about these wearing out or gouging fretless fingerboards - I wonder how true this is and to what extent? I've not used anything other than roundwounds before (D'Addario EXL, Dingwall and Newtone), but wondering if I should try flatwounds or something else to look after the fretless board? FWIW the bass has an unlined ebony board and it looks fresh and unmarked - though it could obviously have had maintenance over the years. I'm definitely after more of an 'electric' fretless sound with plenty of bloom and sustain than 'acoustic double bass' sound if that matters. This is my first fretless bass and, aside from a couple of fun hours at the Bass Gallery a few weeks ago I've never played one before - but very much looking forward to trying to! Grateful for any insights / recommendations! Cheers, David

So just to check, is @SubsonicSimpleton correct in that you are connecting the bass to the B3, using the B3's USB out to record into GarageBand, then passing the analog output of the B3 into the Moog, then monitoring the output of the Moog while you record? Or is there anything else in your signal chain? If that scenario is correct, then the USB output of the Zoom will only have the bass + any B3 effects, since there is no path from the Moog output to an input on the B3. But let us know if there's some other way you were expecting the output of the Moog to reach the DAW (do you have an audio interface you are using?) You are right, the Zoom will act as a DI, which is why you get much better results when it sits between the bass and the Moog. Regarding DI, I can only recommend a Radial box as they're all I use, but they're not cheap and you really need an active DI such as the StageBug SB-1 or Pro48. There will be cheaper options from the likes of Behringer but I can't directly recommend any not having used them.

The audio input on your Moog is low impedance and line level; your bass needs a high impedance input at instrument level - this is why you are getting a very low signal level, which will also likely be very bass-light. You need either a preamp or a DI box in between your bass and the Moog, then Moog into the B3, then B3 to the computer via USB.

I've actually managed to get an entry finished well in time for a change! The soundtrack to a carefully-planned and executed mission to rescue the Princess and her people. Channelling a little Vangelis maybe, and segueing into a full-on dance track, I present "Follow Me"! Ok, the tech stuff: This month's New Things™️ for me were the arpeggiator and glitching - I had great fun developing the arp and strings playing live, latching with the sustain pedal. Synth sounds are from Diva, Monark and Steinberg's Hypnotic Dance. I created the female vocal in the dance section with Synthesizer V's Solaria AI voice. I programmed the rhythm with NI Maschine and Arturia Spark. Glitches created using iZotope Stutter Edit. Delays and reverb from EchoBoy Jr and R4. Radio voice is a public domain sample from NASA. Arranged in Cubase and squeezed through Ozone 8.

100% this ^^^ Without a doubt the best compositions are those that sound just as good whistled as they do performed by a symphony orchestra. I think we all have Red Light Syndrome to some extent - I certainly do. You're on fire, playing like a god, those killer lines flying from your fingers. Hit the red button, and suddenly you're fumbling like you just picked up the instrument yesterday and haven't yet worked out which way round to hold it! Don't over-think it, just go for it! I first entered this challenge in January (New Year's resolution, maybe? 😉) to help me get back into writing and recording music after an almost complete gap of fifteen years or so. For me, every month I try something I haven't done before - either a musical style or technique that's completely new to me. They're far from the greatest compositions ever (...as my daughter reminds me. Repeatedly 🤣) but that's not the point. It's been fantastic to take the motivation from the challenge, share and listen to all the other creations. The world is a richer place for each and every one of these recordings existing. ...And I look forward to hearing the first whistled BassChat Composition Challenge entry! 😆

Ok I made it again this month. By the look of the poor girl and the state of that house, there could be only one theme for this one... home renovation. I present 'Grand Designs'! I used a delay idea I'd been thinking about for a while - this seemed a good project to try it out. I think it does what I wanted it to. I'm really unhappy with the vocal, but had to do lay it down in one take due to time (and noise!) constraints this month. The tech stuff: Guitar (PRS 513) and bass (Ibanez EHB1506MS) recorded through my Line6 Helix. Drums from EZDrummer. Backing vocal is from Ethera, Organs are NI Vintage Organs; screeching sound effect is from uHe Diva. The delay (there are seven different ones in this track!) are all EchoBoy or EchoBoy JR, and reverb is Exponential's wonderful R4. Mastering courtesy of Oxygen 8, all in Cubase 12.

She definitely needs her morning coffee!!

I was hoping Adele might lend me a song... 🤣

Ok I managed to grab a few minutes this evening, so I can field an entry put together in record time. An introspective, ambient piano theme to relax you as you lay on your back watching the bubbles drift by through the deep blue sky. The tech stuff: very light this month. The piano is from the Korg Trinity, reverb is from Lexicon MPX Native and Eventide's Shimmerverb, cooked together in Cubase 12.

Some great tunes here once again. Alas, I think I'm going to miss this one - I have the idea but just got back from holiday to some unexpected business issues so can't see how I'm going to manage any playing or recording for some time... I will enjoy listening!

Congratulations - well deserved, a great track.

Once again, I just made it in time. I thought I'd get back to bass-ics with this one. I present a haunting solo bass improvisation to conjure up a surreal, distant thunderstorm on a long, dark night. The tech stuff: The bass is my Ibanez EHB1506MS, recorded into Cubase through my Line6 Helix. No other instruments, just effects from the Helix (Native), Eventide's Shimmerverb and Exponential's R4 reverb.

Because you can only use a single USB interface at a time (aside from using aggregate interfaces on Mac which I have found to be problematic with latency). My setup consists of two UR824s (one master connected with USB and one slaved over ADAT) and an old MOTU 2408 MkII connected via ADAT which gives me 24 simultaneous analog inputs, two independent monitor outputs and up to four headphone mixes. It's set and forget, with several hardware synths and external effects permanently plumbed in (I know, but the 2408 was cheaper than a patchbay and it's all immediately to hand). To use the Helix as a USB interface I'd have to switch the monitoring around etc... For anyone who's interested, my full Helix signal routing is: Electric Guitar: Guitar -> Helix input. Helix FX Send 1 -> Boogie Mk V Combo Input Boogie FX Send -> Helix FX Return 1 Helix FX Send 2 -> Boogie FX Return Helix Stereo Out -> Steinberg UR824 (stereo) -> Mac Helix Buffered Thru -> Steinberg UR824 (mono) -> Mac Bass Guitar: Either into the above setup but the patches don't use the Boogie Mk V, or: Bass -> Mesa M3 Mesa M3 Effect Send -> Helix HX Effects Input Helix HX FX Output -> Mesa M3 Effect Return Mesa DI -> Steinberg UR824 (mono) I never use the Helix HX Effects for recording bass, only for live. For recording I use the DI and the exact same Helix patches in Helix Native. The guitar setup gives me the freedom to 'wrap' my real Boogie combo's preamp into Helix patches and I can either enable or mute the Boogie's cab under control from the Helix by enabling/disabling FX send 2. The Helix's routing is really flexible, so you could do things like play directly through the combo (for that real amp feel) and simultaneously record a thru DI and totally independent modelled / effected version. You could even mic up the cab too for another feed! Finally, I don't totally subscribe to the drive to minimise A/D conversion. Yes, you'll get a 'cleaner' sound, but I'm not convinced that it's always 'better'. I've heard many completely in-the-box tracks - including many of my own - that to me sound overly crystalline and 'plasticky'. Whereas I think some of the subjectively best-sounding stuff I've ever recorded was done on an old Tascam Portastudio four track... But each to their own - and yes I do now record and mix entirely in the box - but I use a lot of analog stuff to get my results (e.g. using a real Wavestation as well as the VST)!

Usually I record through my Helix Rack - analog outputs into three channels of a Steinberg UR824 interface. I simultaneously record the stereo out and direct 'thru' to one stereo and one mono track. So I can track with a Helix bass amp sim and (rarely) effects but then use the same preset in Helix Native on the un-effected mono track if I want to tweak things. Alternatively, I will take a DI from my Mesa M3 Carbine combo.... but superb though it sounds, they must have designed that thing purposely to be a pain for recording. It has a DI output, which is affected by the master volume... as is the effect loop... so there is no way to record DI'd and monitor through the studio monitors (or on headphones) with no sound from the combo.

Is it just me or have all the Soundcloud embeds for the past challenge and voting threads disappeared?!