Sibob

I think most bass gets double-tracked, not often to layer it (although that certainly happens), but more often to simply give the producer/mix engineer options. You're not necessarily going to know what you need from the bass until everything else is in place, and so if I have the ability to quickly and easy double track (Mic/DI, clean/distorted etc), I will. I'd rather subtract at a later date, than spend time editing/processing something to make it fit because that's all I have. Si

I was trying to think of a polite way of pointing that out too haha Si

Essentially, at the level I am guessing you're at (which of course may be inaccurate, apologies if so), I would suggest just purchasing a distortion pedal with a blend control as I mentioned before. That way you get clean signal and distorted signal without having to worry about a difficult setup live. Again, check out COG Effects and Darkglass, but there are LOADS out there with blend controls. Si

If I was going to buy a Mac, i’d want it to at least go to High Sierra, and preferably a couple of iterations past that. Just so I definitly got a good few years out of it. As much as people think they can just buy a machine and leave it standalone (no updates or internet), it doesn’t really work like that and you'll eventually be at the behest of a hardware or software update requiring a system overhaul. If you’re into music production (or visuals, graphics etc), this kind of obselence is a necessary evil and should be built into your 5year gear budgets . That said, if you literally just want a system to have off the grid, to record a couple of tracks for demo'ing purposes, stick with a few plugins you won't update etc, then you can certainly get more years worth out of a system then if you want to keep up to date. Problem with these setups is that if a piece of hardware dies and turns out to be a bit of a financial write-off with regards to fixing, new hardware can then require a full system update. Bit of a mine-field lol Si

And I would still buy the Mac if music production was my primary goal Si

I won’t have rumours started about me.......I only have 7 😇. Si

Was always quite proud with how this came out, a playthrough of an old electronic/dubstep band I was in. You absolutely need headphones or decent speakers, listening on your phone or laptop speakers? Don’t bother pressing play . There’s no bass sounds on the track, all me! The verses are just OC-2 (-1 Octave, no direct) and this slow gear effect on the ME-50B (basically a volume swell). The synthy ‘choruses’ are all tapped on my fretting hand so my right hand can operate the Hot Hand for the enevelope changes. So that’s a Source Audio BEF, OC-2, Orbit CoPilot Fuzz & the ME-50B for some chorus and the whammy bits at the end of the phrase. Worked nicely live. Basically every modular bass synth sound is Envelope filter, fuzz, modulation and pitch in some variation. Si

FireWire is dead and USB 3.0 is unnecessary. Here’s an article to explain the USB thing: https://support.focusrite.com/hc/en-gb/articles/208095469-USB-2-0-vs-USB-3-0 Go USB 2.0 or Thunderbolt if the motherboard you eventually buy has a compatible Thunderbolt PCIE card available for it (or included even). Si

I’ve had M80s for years, and they’re brilliant. I’ve just got a Vertigo guitar bag though for my headless bass and it’s really fantastic, less pocket space though. So if you need plenty of space to pack cables and pedals etc into your case, get an M80. If you have other places to put those bits, and you want a slim but easily accessible bag (so easy to get bass out when the bag is stood upright), get a Vertigo. Ultimately though, can’t go wrong with either! Si

I’m going against the grain and saying nope.....black on black for me! Si

Excellent news! Glad you're up and working, and definitely explore the XLN Addictive Keys plugin you get free with the Impulse (can download it from within your Novation account). The Logic Pianos are cool, but the Addictive piano (you get to choose one of four) are really good! Si

THere's also a few odd time signature playlists on Spotify that might be worth sitting down with and playing through, again, just to immerse yourself in some 'popular music' that isn't 4/4 Si

I use flat and nylon wounds where I can, but I do have a couple of basses that crave round wounds. I actually don't bother even wiping them down after gigs, I don't sweat much when playing, so the La Bellas I use last ages. When they're gone, I just change them. Si

No, because a pedal is not Mic level, its instrument level. Typically you would go bass into distortion pedal, into your amp, into DI, although that is obviously not a split signal like your recording set-up. You could split the signal on your pedalboard (ie use an effects loop pedal that allows you to blend your clean signal with your effected signal), although it's probably just easier to buy a distortion pedal with a good mix/blend control, same difference. Si

The problem with PCs (that you get less with Macs for obvious reasons), is that no hardware is built with other hardware in mind, so you have to be a bit careful with PCs just arbitrarily thrown together hardware wise, motherboards not optimized for certain other PCIe cards etc etc. With that caveat in mind, out of the options you’ve given, always go 16gb and i7. I’d go better spec if the budget allowed. Check the motherboard has the all connections you want, including any future connections you might want. The amount of people I’ve come across who spec’d and built a computer only to be annoyed because they want a Thunderbolt interface or something, and the motherboard doesn’t have Thunderbolt header to add a PCIe card. Just worth bearing in mind. Si

Incredible!! Si

I’d probably say the work involved is more than worth it, just buy a 33” scale bass Si

My advice is to unlearn what you’ve learned about common band interaction. Typically we very much rely on the drummer to dictate time, forget that, and assume that’s he’s stretching time, displacing any drum hits at any given time (so not giving you a steady pulse). What this means, is that you rely on your internal timing! If you know what the timing is, you should be able to play the song, start to finish with the drummer playing absolutely anything, out of time, polyrhythms etc. So yes, learn to count, but you’ll quickly just feel the pulse and as long as that happens, you’ll need the drums less, and probably actually hear what he’s doing against the beat a lot better Si

Hi, So both Impulse and Automap is confirmed as working with High Sierra: https://support.novationmusic.com/hc/en-gb/articles/115005077329--Are-Novation-products-compatible-with-macOS-10-13-High-Sierra- So I suspect it’s just a setup issue, sorry you’ve had a tough time so far. Did you purchase the Impulse new? If so, there should have been documentation on how to set it up within the box. Please do call Tech Support tomorrow (or when you can, 9:30am-6pm Mon-Fri), I’m certain they’ll have you set up in no time at all! Si

Hey, Si from Novation here. The Launchkeys are optimised for Ableton, but will work perfectly well with almost any DAW using the InControl mode. Here’s some resources from our website: DAW setup guide: https://d2xhy469pqj8rc.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/novation/downloads/10606/launchkey-mk2-daw-setup-guide.pdf Manual (page 10 talks about InControl mode): https://d2xhy469pqj8rc.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/novation/downloads/10577/launchkey-mk2-ug-en_0.pdf If you need any further technical advice, feel free to contact our UK based technical & customer support who can talk you through any further setup questions you might have: +44 1494 462246 And absolutely, learning piano will only ever help you understand music in a deeper way, having a positive effect on your bass playing, certainly did for me. Can’t go wrong :). Just remember that the Launchkeys are USB only, so if you want to use one at the same time as your Scarlett, you’ll need to ensure you have two spare USB ports Si // Novation Media Relations

Because we’re not Jeff and off practicing music 😂 Si