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Ramirez
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Posts posted by Ramirez
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2 hours ago, gjones said:
It doesn't help that the sound, from the BBC, always sounds weak. I assume it's because they're just taking the live feed from the desk. I have noticed that the sound of many of the videos does get 'tweaked' and remixed at a later date. Which can restore stuff, like the missing bass and bring down the ridiculously prominent bass drum.
Interesting discussion on reddit about the subject
I thought the TV sound overall this year was phenomenal. Yes, Chic's bass could have been a tad louder, but it was definitely there and close enough. I'd say it was at a level where you'd get a studio mix back and feel the bass should slightly stronger - ie. quite remarkable for an real time live broadcast!
In previous years it has been poor at times, but I thought there was a massive step up this year. It's a remarkably difficult job mixing live music for broadcast in a truck if you're close to the stage - I've done it myself, and the sheer amount of bass that comes from the stage can make proper bass judgement almost impossible. They've found a way this year it seems, and the results, to my ears, consistently ranged from good to superb.
Of course, the problems are often compounded by people listening on TV/multimedia systems that are simply not set up properly. Many TVs come with a myriad of sound 'enhancements' turned on by default that can absolutely butcher a good mix, and the same goes for receivers/soundbars etc. A hi-fi might sound fine for music playback, but if the signal being fed to it has already been messed with by the TV then all bets are off!
It's certainly not a live feed from the desk - it's all AoIP (Dante etc) nowadays, which makes it much easier to arrange multiple full channel splits to multiple destinations. There was a thread on a Facebook group by one of the broadcast engineers involved with Glastonbury, and he said there was much better collaboration between all concerned this year, as well as a good few technological advancements being trialled. To my ears, it all made a massive and worthwhile difference.
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Thanks all! It was a special night for us.
That's also the first time we ever played that song live - it's about the time in hospital following the stroke.
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I've enjoyed a lot of acts this year - Four Tet, Alanis, Maribou State, Chic, Black Uhuru, Rod Stewart, Prodigy so far,a nd still a good few I want to catch up on.
I have to say the broadcast mix and sound quality has been consistency unbelievably good. I've done it myself on a smaller scale and It's a very tough job, especially on the fly, and they've suffered in previous years, but this year has been quite spectacular!
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Nearly a year ago my brother, and our singer, suffered a stroke live on stage at a festival. For a while we wondered if we'd ever get to play a gig again. Luckily, that chance came last friday!
A filmmaker friend brought his camera along, and I arranged to record the set. We put together someof the footage and mixed a brand new song that we played.
It was the hottest day ever, but in my 20 years of being in this band, it's the gig I'm most glad to have been able to do, and I know this video will be something to look back at and cherish as long as I live.
Hope you enjoy!
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First live performance done last friday!
Here's a live track video (although most shots are non-synced and taken from other songs in the set). It's also a good example of the type/size of gig an Ampeg PF20T can handle 😉
It was a particularly poignant gig for us as my brother (the lead singer) had a stroke last year, so for a while we were wondering if we'd ever get to play another show together (the drummer is my other brother)-
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10 hours ago, Woodwind said:
Bit late to this,
I love my Line Audio OM1s which I use as a stereo pair, or use singularly combined with a ribbon for close mic'ing.
Their CM4 is meant to be great as well and I very nearly bought one on eBay recently for live use where I would want a cardioid pattern rather than my omnis.
Line audio are made in Sweden in small batches and are at bargain prices.
Since leaving the EU it's tricky to get them directly, but there is a UK distributer - I haven't used them as I bought direct years ago.
The Line Audios are indeed very good mics, and hold their own against much more more expensive mics. Be careful if trying the CM4 live though- in truth it’s slightly wider/more open than a true cardioid, and is approaching a hypocardioid pattern. I think the CM4 are closer to true cardioid than the CM3 they replaced though.
There’s much more to small-diaphragm mics than ‘adding detail’. A true single diaphragm omni like the Line Audio OM1 will go down to lower frequencies than any other type of microphone, and does not suffer from any proximity effect.
An omni pattern created by summing two back to back cardioid capsules like you get in a switchable-pattern large diaphragm mic doesn’t quite offer the same low frequency benefits, but can still sound great.
To be honest I find large diaphragm mics to be of limited use apart from vocals- their main benefits are:
*lower self-noise (which is rarely a problem with SDCs when close mic’ing anyway)
*reduced proximity effect compared to small-diaphragm cardioids (this is due to the use of two diaphragms). This is why they work so well and have become a standard for close-up vocals.
*They are less accurate than a small-diaphragm (larger diaphragm covers a larger area- the opposite of ‘pin-point accuracy!), but by the same token they have more character, so they often just sound ‘nice’
Personally I prefer to take the time to find the right position for a single mic rather than use two or three- and if you have a nice room, the ideal position might be a bit further out than you expect! Also keep an ear out for any phase issues if you do use multiple mics.
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On 05/02/2025 at 20:01, Beedster said:
Any latency issues? And which Apollo are you using?
There shouldn't be noticeable latency as the Apollos are designed to host and run the UAD plugins in real time on the interface itself, just like any other digital effects unit. It can also host them as VSTs in a DAW when used as an interface, which is where latency might come in. But used standalone it should be good.
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Old thread I know, but if going this route I wouldn't use anything but the Apollo.
It can do all your signal processing, so no need for the Noble or pedals. It has a 2nd input that you can use for a mono monitor mix, and it can feed your signal to FOH as well as feed your IEMs (are the main outputs separate from the HP out?)
Neat all in one rig!
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Well, had my fretless debut on an all-nighter BBC session las week that's broadcast tonight!
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3 hours ago, Ben Jamin said:
Got the last one from Andertons arriving on Tuesday 🥳
A wee bit nervous as it's my first fretless! Any tips??
Yes. Melodyne is very good. I haven’t tried AutoTune yet 🫣
Getting used to it- I had a Harley Benton short scale fretless that sounded wonderful, but seeing as I’m trying to play upright bass as well, the jump in scale lengths was one step too far and the more I played one if them, the more out of tune I seemed to get on the other!
Everything seems to fall into place easier for me on the standard scale fretless. That said, playing along to other tracks still show that there’s work to be done!
One thing I find helps quite is to ensure that you’re playing your FRETTED bass on top of/just behind the fret - ie. at essentially the correct position for a fretless. Muscle memory becomes much easier then, as you don’t have to change your technique as much when switching basses.
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1 hour ago, Grahambythesea said:
Do you know if this fits MIM Precisions?
Actually, since you have a high post count and a little trust isn’t a bad thing… do you want me to post it to you, and if it fits you can pay, or else send it back?
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1 hour ago, Grahambythesea said:
Do you know if this fits MIM Precisions?
I have no idea… mine is an American Special from around 2012. I know I bought an aftermarket Fender plate for my 90s MIM Jazz, and that fit, but not sure if that’s the case with Ps too. If someone comes into the studio with a MIM soon I’ll try and find out!
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7 minutes ago, Beedster said:
I have both, the Ampeg does the Ampeg thing, this does the Ashdown thing, rounder, fuller, fatter, and louder. This would be a very big DI 👍Thanks,
Yeah, I was thinking it would be much bigger than the Ampeg. If I were to buy it would be to stay in the studio (and to entice bass players to the studio! Although the V4B does a decent job of that too!)
I think I’ll pass though, good luck!
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7 minutes ago, clusk said:
I just shipped an ampeg pf50t and cab from south coast to newcastle, and it arrived quickly in one piece, that feels like a very similar cargo to this one. Used Proovia and it cost about £60, stated the item as a speaker cabinet and covered it in a shipping blanket and cardboard.
Thanks.
I almost bought a Pf20T and cab today but it fell through. I had one, liked it and really regret selling it. Has anybody used the Ashdown and Ampeg? Is the Ashdown a clear step up? The one thing I’d really miss on the Ashdown is the ability to use the Ampeg as a very posh DI without the cab.
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Ok I’m tempted… does anyone have an idea how much it would cost to get such a thing hauled across England to north Wales?!
And are they just styled after the B15, or are going for that sound as well?
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On 15/02/2025 at 21:35, Ramirez said:
Anyone else had a go on one of these? I'm seriously tempted.
Well, to answer my own question, I tried the 3 they had at Wunjo’s in Denmark St yesterday, and walked out with one. I was very impressed, sounded beautiful, and the weight, feel, sound and build quality were very consistent between the three.
Also a shout out to the excellent and patient service at Wunjo, even on a busy saturday. They currently have the Casady fretless at £649, which is cheaper than anywhere else I can see.
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Two Klark Teknik CT1 inline mic boosters for dynamic and ribbon mics.
£30 delivered.
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Boxed as new.
Stereo Big Muff Pi than can be used as a ‘hardware plugin’- ie. routed from DAW through the pedal for recallable analog fuzz in your DAW. Also works as a conventional (stereo) Big Muff.
Very neat!
£200 delivered
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Instrument/amp selector
£20 delivered
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Simple slapback echo
£20 delivered
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A bit road-worn and missing one knob and the runner feet, but otherwise working great.
£70 delivered
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Genuine Fender (have receipt if needed)
£40 delivered
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The mics will be fine. Ribbon mics with conventional XLR wiring are also perfectly fine with phantom power as long as nothing’s faulty- it’s become a bit of an internet myth that phantom power WILL break ribbons!
XLR outputs from other equipment is a different story - some (most, perhaps) are fine being connected to an input with ohantom power present, while some don’t like it. I’ve seen a few digital mixers shut down when their outputs are connected to an inout with phantom, and I’ve some some older equipments outputs go bust. It will PROBABLY be fine, but it’s safer to use the jack inputs* if you can (or a t transformer isolation box/phantom blocker)
*Phantom power should not be present at the jack inputs, and this is true in most cases with properly designed equipment, but sometimes, on some equipment using XLR/jack combi inputs, the phantom can be present on the jack input. Always best to check!
Glastonbury 25
in General Discussion
Posted · Edited by Ramirez
Viva la difference! I loved Alanis’ set. Yes she has a distinctive voice, but it’s hers and she’s a made a career with it. She can’t change her voice. I can accept it’s a bit of a a marmite voice, but she has really good songs with a lot of unexpected chords, quirks and key changes. It’s clever, well worked stuff, and she delivered it great. I’ll admit it was a massive nostalgia trip for me as well, as I loved the JLP album when I was a young teenager!
On an unrelated note, if Glastonbury ‘25 has proved anything to me, it’s that men around my age (ie early middle age) and above are the most intolerant of other people’s tastes in music. The amount of posts slagging off bands and artists I’ve seen on social media is astounding, and it’s almost always men above 35. It seems we really are a breed that like to tell other people what to do, how to do it, what they should like and for what reasons. It’s like we can’t accept that something we don’t like might hold emotional value to someone else.
At least with music it’s reasonably benign, but when the same trait is applied elsewhere in life - politics for example - it’s exposed as being quite controlling and sinister. And unfortunately it’s all too common.