TorturedSaints

Hi, just thinking of buying one - I haven't found much comment on this particular cab on here (probably because it's a new-ish cab). I'm looking to use my GK MB500 to drive it. Any opinions welcomed. cheers Ralph

just wanted to say that Toontrack and Time+Space were very good, cancelled my authorisation code and refunded me the money for the EZD2 upgrade that wouldn't run on my WinXP computer.

Hi BC'ers, DarkSky are playing a gig at Whistlebinkies, South Bridge, Edinburgh on 3rd June from about 10pm. As far as I know, it's free to get in, and we are playing a 40 minute set of originals. [url="http://www.facebook.com/events/1497236037159333/"]http://www.facebook....97236037159333/[/url] as always, would love to see any BC'ers - especially as it's our first foray towards the east of Scotlandt! cheers Ralph [url="http://www.facebook.com/darkskyband"]http://www.facebook.com/darkskyband[/url] [url="http://www.darkskyband.co.uk"]http://www.darkskyband.co.uk[/url] [url="http://soundcloud.com/darkskyband"]http://soundcloud.com/darkskyband[/url]

Slightly off topic, sorry. That's why I said it was a non-internet connected PC! I know MS have stopped support for XP. I have a nice little stable studio system which does what I want and I don't really want to make the investment in time and hardware to run a more bloated OS like Windows 7 (because Win7 won't run on the studio PC I have). I do use Win7 on internet connected PCs such as this one. This one takes over 2 minutes to boot by the time it's loaded dropbox, downloaded the weather station data, done all the MS and Apple internet handshaking, Antivirus etc etc, whereas my XP studio machine takes 30 seconds max to be looking at Reaper ready to record. Just my informed personal preference to use XP as a simple tool for recording. If it's not broke, don't fix it. cheers, R

Bah humbug! I should read the specifications first. I blithely assumed that EZDrummer2 would run on the same PC as EZDrummer1. It doesn't. The 32-bit installer tells me I require at least Windows 7 for EZDrummer2. I will have to wait to upgrade until I update my OS, with all that entails. Hope this doesn't catch anyone else out.

And another recording live at Audio Glasgow on 26 Apr 14. This one's called Phantom. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIAULPUbTE8"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIAULPUbTE8[/url]

Latest live recording of DarkSky's song Duality (with lyrics so deep and meaningful that I've written an annotated guide to them covering some basic ideas about quantum physics ) If you want a copy, get in touch! Recorded 26 Apr 2014 at Audio Glasgow. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oOw-wTCU3w[/media] cheers Ralph [url="http://www.darkskyband.co.uk"]http://www.darkskyband.co.uk[/url] [url="http://www.facebook.com/darkskyband"]http://www.facebook.com/darkskyband[/url] [url="http://www.soundcloud.com/darkskyband"]http://www.soundcloud.com/darkskyband[/url] Edited because I'm a numpty and eventually found the instructions on how to post a youtube video.

Hi BC'ers, DarkSky are playing another gig at Box in Sauchiehall Street Glasgow on 19th May from about 8pm. Free to get in. Also on the bill is OneWayChemistry from Edinburgh. [url="http://www.reverbnation.com/show/13371706?utm_campaign=a_public_shows&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=page_object_news_item"]http://www.reverbnat...bject_news_item[/url] as always, would love to see any BC'ers on a generally quiet Monday night slot! cheers Ralph [url="http://www.facebook.com/darkskyband"]http://www.facebook.com/darkskyband[/url] [url="http://www.darkskyband.co.uk"]http://www.darkskyband.co.uk[/url] [url="http://soundcloud.com/darkskyband"]http://soundcloud.com/darkskyband[/url]

Thanks for the review Mornats. I think I'll be upgrading shortly. I did try EZKeys but wasn't a fan of the interface which seems to be like the new EZDrummer 2 interface, but you seem to have done all the stuff I do with the original EZdrummer. Miro, I haven't tried all of the others, but EZDrummer is meant to be very . . .easy! I certainly have found it so. cheers Ralph

not required.

That's the one I bought at full price. It's worked well for me. A good buy.

Our drummer uses an iPad to play a keys introduction to one of our songs using the Camel Alchemy Mobile App. He has it mounted on one of his cymbal stands, plays it with one hand and can still use feet on kick and snare! Ralph [url="http://www.darkskyband.co.uk"]http://www.darkskyband.co.uk[/url]

Yes, it is, isn't it.

Sounds good Lou, It would be good to do something like that, rather than the promoters getting paid for us selling the tickets. Keep in touch on here or FB! Ralph [url="http://www.facebook.com/darkskyband"]http://www.facebook.com/darkskyband[/url] [url="http://www.soundcloud.com/darkskyband"]http://www.soundcloud.com/darkskyband[/url]

Played at Audio Glasgow last night, DarkSky supporting Die So Fluid on the Glasgow leg of their tour. First time I'd been to Audio Glasgow (formerly Rockers I believe), a dark (and cold) space below the railway lines leading to Glasgow Central Station. Really nice people to work with, big raised stage, smashing PA and sound guy. We opted to use the house backline, a Laney Linebacker feeding an Ashdown 410 for me, and DI'd into the PA. We played our 'rockiest' 30 minute set - probably wasn't quite rocky enough to really complement Die So Fluid's rock, but we got a few heads nodding in the audience. Outstanding set from Die So Fluid, excellent bass playing from Grog Rox! Very enjoyable night, would love to play there again. Ralph www.facebook.com/darkskyband www.darkskyband.co.uk www.soundcloud.com/darkskyband

cancelled due to injury! Sorry, mods please delete.

HI Garry, our band DarkSky www.facebook.com/darkskyband has been doing something similar - we are mainly 40s, similar genre etc. We have found it quite difficult to get gigs as an originals band, and it seems for us, bands aren't being booked that far in advance. There are a number of good groups on Facebook (Scotland is Alive With Music is one) where promoters post nights that are available. So far we have played Harleys in Ayr (booked through A Hard Days Night at Harleys FB group), Record Factory Glasgow (booked through PMCJ events [b][url="http://www.pmcjevents.co.uk/request-a-gig/"]http://www.pmcjevents.co.uk/request-a-gig[/url][/b] ), Box Glasgow in Sauchiehall Street through Craig at glasgowmusic.co.uk) and by luck, last night's gig as support at Audio Glasgow. Most originals sets on a multi-band bill are 30 minutes. I would say beware of 'pay-to-play' gigs where you have to sell tickets - we don't do this, but some promoters who book places like Pivo Pivo require you to do this. Other options are Advosound (on FB) although they are east coast, and Whistlebinkies in Edinburgh, who have a new band night on Tuesdays to play a 30 minute set, and if the staff like you and think you are good enough, they will book you in the future. Some of the other venues (Opium, Dreadnought) have contact details on their sites for submissions. Mostly they are looking for links to mp3s i.e. soundcloud or similar. Hope this helps, cheers Ralph

Hi all, my band DarkSky have been fortunate to get a support slot for Die So Fluid at Audio Glasgow on 26th April 7pm. While I can't promise you too much bass virtuosity from me on my Overwater by Tanglewood Aspiration Elite (unless you give me extra points for playing midi pedals at the same time as bass!), I think that you will find much excellent bass playing from the lead singer of Die So Fluid, Grog (Georgina Prebble). Would love to see any BC'ers there. Hit us up on Facebook if you have any questions. cheers Ralph www.facebook.com/darkskyband www.darkskyband.co.uk www.soundcloud.com/darkskyband

Well, it wasn't quite last night, but on Monday night we (aka DarkSky) were in Box Glasgow in Sauchiehall Street. There's a nice raised stage with loads of PA aimed down the length of the bar. There was an acoustic duo, a female duo (electric guitar, and keys or flute) called Simply Sense, and us (DarkSky - www facebook.com/darkskyband) on last. FOH sound was done by Shep, the FOH sound was pretty good. Unfortunately, the monitor sound wasn't great, our singer complained about not being able to hear herself, and I had to stand close to the PA speaker on my side of the stage to hear myself. Everything was miked up, and the bass was DI'd from an Ashdown 300 combo, which I should have turned up a bit to help hear myself. I was playing my Overwater by Tanglewood Aspiration Elite that I bought from a fellow BC'er. There was a bit of a gap between the first and second song in the set as I tried to find out where the mellotron sound from my midi pedals had gone - swiftly traced to it having been unplugged from the DI box, as the DI box had been used for the previous band's keyboard! That sorted, onwards and upwards. It was hot, sweaty and fun, not bad for a Monday night and our second gig together. The only annoying thing for me was that the stage backline layout was fixed, so I had to play on the right of the drummer - something I've not done very often. I soon discovered that when he hits his crashes on the right hand side of his kit is not the same time that he hits his hi-hat, so I had to work very hard at listening to lock in with him! Those that were there enjoyed it - a few excerpts from our set, recorded from a Tascam DR from the mixing desk. [url="https://soundcloud.com/darkskyband/darksky-live-at-box-glasgow"]https://soundcloud.com/darkskyband/darksky-live-at-box-glasgow[/url] Now we need some more gigs!

There's a thread here : http://basschat.co.uk/topic/222721-foot-keyboards-or-something/ with some details of what I currently use. I think it would be easier for Mac, although I use a Windows Vista laptop, and so far it has worked just fine - the only problem came when I pressed the wrong pedal sequence on the PK5 and sent a CC message which was duly accepted by the soft synth. If you wanted to go the hardware route, then a MIDI module like the Emu Classic Keys has a great Moog sound.

Tonight! It appears that the Desert Roses have cancelled though, so there's Ryan Morecombe (acoustic guitarist singer/songwriter) and DarkSky (us).

Here's another vid, showcasing the half fretless NS/Stick. Music starts at 1.00 [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taQKRgP--bA[/media] I think I'm developing Chapman Stick GAS!

I bought a second hand one a while ago, because I thought the same thing as the OP. It's a really nice sound. You can play very complex basslines on it, and they don't sound like basslines written for normal basses because the strings being tuned 5ths apart - at least they don't to me! As well as that, it's better for playing bass chords on because of the voicing (the chords sound open, not muddy). There are instructional videos on youtube which explain this better than I can. In terms of transition from bass playing, I would say that it's different. I didn't do tapping on my bass before I bought my stick, so I can't say whether that would have made life easier for me in learning it. Going back from stick to bass, I have to be careful to fret with my left hand, rather than 'tap', but it's not a big problem really. However, the big downside is the amount of time that you need to learn it - I've been 'playing' it for over a year and haven't got to a standard where I would be confident gigging with it. I am more proficient on the bass side, but not so good on the treble side, where the strings are tuned in 4ths like a bass. I would say that if you are a proficient keyboard player as well (I'm not), you might pick it up more easily as you are used to having both hands doing separate things, if you want to play bass lines and melody at the same time. If you have lots of time to devote to it, then you will probably learn it quicker than I have, but I find it a fun challenge to learn. As you live close to London, you might well find a teacher, but otherwise it's self-teaching from books or skype lessons. The 'standard' stick is a 10 string (5 treble and 5 bass), which is what I have, but there are different variants. There is one (NSStick) that was developed in conjunction with Ned Steinberger and can be played like a bass with fingers/pick, but also can be tapped on the fretboard like a stick as well (Don Schiff of the band Rocket Scientists uses this for most of their recordings). Places to investigate are Stick Enterprises website at stick.com and stickist.com for info from people more knowledgeable and more skilled than I am. I hope this helps. Good luck!