Post: #76

(07-23-2016 10:22 AM)Snorse Wrote:  If you fancy doing a collaboration and see what we can create, I will get back to writing this week, and see if I can come up with something for you to arrange/co-write.

I don't really feel I could add much co-writing wise: you sound like you have a clear vision of what your music is and possess the ability to reach that vision, so I don't sense the need for a writing collaborator. I'm more a 'helping someone whose ideas aren't quite fully-formed or structured' guy, if that makes sense.

To my ears, you more need the traditional support structure you would have had under a label system: Producer, Engineer, Arranger.

I'm working about 1000kms from home at the moment, so won't have access to recording equipment until mid-November. (I sent Zep a snippet of an idea I did but the latency of the laptop caused timing issues, so it was useless).

I'm deep in writing mode at the moment. When I return home I'll have about 5 weeks to get my next album instrumentally-tracked before string sessions in early January. I could probably get parts recorded during that period for you: cello and viola are easy to get and I tend to favour those instruments in my writing, as my violin guy is on a lower skill level than those two professional orchestral players, so unless you have access to Autotune, it's probably a non-stater, unless I keep the violin parts in the lower octaves.

Here's a snippet of me writing 'redneck viola'. I wrote two different arrangements for the song, one safe, one redneck. The engineer thought this was a fantastic clash of styles, but the band was very conventional, so went with the safe one. Be warned, it's raw sound: i haven't EQ'd or compressed or tamed it, so keep the sound level low.

https://soundcloud.com/user-451596186/vi...ng/s-VEhR9

I can do the full chamber thing, or the motown things, or the psychedelic thing, but I'm interested in going the 'Ode To Billy Joe' route for a bit, where the strings are adding unsettling atmosphere and commentary, rather than dominating.

If you're interested, I need to do this completely-anonymously. The majority of my audience is overwhelmingly-progressive, to the extent I'm considering simplifying my musical and lyrical style to purge them completely in the hopes of seeking a more traditionally-minded, positive audience.

Post: #77

Forgot to mention: I'm a solid keyboard player. I can't show you anything from my music, for obvious reasons, but here's me doing a couple of sixties songs and a 90's alternative one from vague memory, real song first, fake second.

https://soundcloud.com/user-451596186/fr...ry/s-IGM5H

Sounds like I got them fairly close.

I hate playing covers. I'd much rather create original parts, but it will give you some idea.

My real playing is much more complex.

Post: #78

I find writing lyrics really easy. People keep saying "you should write lyrics". I've only really done fun stuff so far eg geared towards people I know/work colleauges etc.

Does anyone have any advice on how to get started in writing for bands? I'm based in England btw.

Post: #79

Here's what I'm good at. I was working with a guy who had a habit of just strumming his way through large sections of his song in a competent-but-nondescript way. I was presented with this track, (which became an outtake), with nothing much going on.

My logic is you always need to set up the entry of the vocalist, so you need some kind of signature part that can alert the listener to both the song, and if it has a hook-like nature, even better. Carlos Alomar worked with Bowie in the 70's and sets up these amazing parts that clearly identify the song within the first few seconds of listening. Either get a strong riff in there, a niggling repeating part, or a strong melody. Something.

He presented me with this guitar intro with nothing really happening, so, in a few minutes, I sketched out a couple of rough ideas with what I had handy. Here's the original part and three possible routes to take. If he'd chosen any of them I would have performed them with more verve and ornamentation, then arranged other things around them.

https://soundcloud.com/user-451596186/va...ke/s-xVyzx

You'll get the idea of how quickly I can pull melodies out of the air, if needed. None of them are amazing ideas, but if you arranged supporting features around them, they'd work better and at least there'd be a clear identifier. I was trying to add some goddamn emotional pull into the music, because there's so little there.

This is the problem I find with the increasing number of Progressive Upper Middle Class Dilettante Musicians. There's nothing inside them. They don't have either a Strong Worth Ethic, Grandness Of Spirit, A Need To Prove Themselves, Experience of True Hardship, A Natural Funkiness, Aspiration, Street Smarts, Passion or Compassion to draw on. So you end up with a bunch of Nothing Music with Nothing Happening, Saying Nothing because they fundamentally want to think they've already done the work, and that what little they already did was genius.

In the end though, I feel like writing something memorable for the audience to hold onto should be songwriter's job.

Post: #80

Here's some nostalgia - Moog have re-issued the Model D synth:

Post: #81

(07-29-2016 09:13 PM)AnonymousBosch Wrote:  This is the problem I find with the increasing number of Progressive Upper Middle Class Dilettante Musicians. There's nothing inside them. They don't have either a Strong Worth Ethic, Grandness Of Spirit, A Need To Prove Themselves, Experience of True Hardship, A Natural Funkiness, Aspiration, Street Smarts, Passion or Compassion to draw on. So you end up with a bunch of Nothing Music with Nothing Happening, Saying Nothing because they fundamentally want to think they've already done the work, and that what little they already did was genius.

In the end though, I feel like writing something memorable for the audience to hold onto should be songwriter's job.

Post: #82

For the guitarists: does anyone have experience with wireless guitar systems? How does it affect the tone? I'm looking into it in order to free up space on stage, plus sometimes i get cables wrapped around my leg when rocking out and such.

Post: #83

(09-26-2016 10:41 AM)Red_Pillage Wrote:  For the guitarists: does anyone have experience with wireless guitar systems? How does it affect the tone? I'm looking into it in order to free up space on stage, plus sometimes i get cables wrapped around my leg when rocking out and such.

I messed around with a Line6 Relay G50 this summer. Quite nice, didn't notice much of a difference in my tone. Maybe added a bit more treble, but I didn't mind it.

Post: #84

(09-26-2016 10:41 AM)Red_Pillage Wrote:  For the guitarists: does anyone have experience with wireless guitar systems? How does it affect the tone? I'm looking into it in order to free up space on stage, plus sometimes i get cables wrapped around my leg when rocking out and such.

I have; in general the tone through a wireless system will be slightly brighter, as the length of physical cable between the guitar and amp is much shorter. Many wireless systems have switchable filters to emulate different lengths of cable for those who don't see this as a good thing. Personally I much prefer it, as you can always cut frequencies further down the chain, and unless you're used to running 30m cables, the difference is only slight!

Beyond that, there's little enough difference that a blind tester with even the best ears would be unable to tell a good wireless system (digital or analog) from a cable.

The only other consideration is that digital wireless systems will add a small (we're talking 2-3ms) amount of latency. That's tiny, but worth mentioning.

Side note: even though Line6 get a lot of (deserved) scorn from tone chasers when it comes to their amps, their wireless systems are excellent, especially for the price. I just wish they'd add a damn digital output to their systems so I could run one into my kemper profiler without adding another A/D/A, and more latency, into the mix.

Post: #85

Listen to ocelot. Line6 wireless is the go-to, and probably the best thing that line6 actually makes. With a quality wireless setup you won't notice any negative effect on your tone.

Post: #86

Thanks for the input guys. I am still on the fence about it, been looking at reviews and the Line 6 models seem to be universally praised. Ocelot you are correct about the tone chasers hating on line 6 amps. I'm not too much of a tone nazi and I don't use many pedals. I'm really more of a minimalist when it comes to effects. The latency could be an issue, I haven't tested it so it's hard to say. The other concern of course is interference (if analog) and the transmitter thing being cumbersome. It does look kind of awkward. I like to thrash my instrument around and spin around on stage which is why I've been looking into the wireless. However, most of the time the stages I'm playing on aren't that big as I'm playing bars and clubs.

Post: #87

You can get a rack mount receiver or a small satellite receiver that is the same footprint as an effect pedal. The transmitter that attaches to the guitar is just a small pack with batteries you can attached to your guitar strap. Wrap it up with lotanof duct tape if you want it really secure.

Ben Weinman(sp?) from Dillinger Escape Plan actually has been trying to patent his own custom wireless transmitter design that has no footprint. This was a couple years ago I saw this so ot might benout now, but he had the genius idea to crack open the transmitter case, take all the guts out of it and just wrap it together with tape so it it was a smaller tighter unit, then stuff it into the compartment in the body of the guitar. He took the instrument cable hookup out of the guitar, put it internal where the transmitter plus into it, and stuck the antenna through the hole sonit just barely pokes out the bottom of the guitar. Essentially it's like playing the guitar with nothing plugged in. Doesn't et more minimal and low profile than that.

Post: #88

(09-26-2016 11:42 AM)Red_Pillage Wrote:  Thanks for the input guys. I am still on the fence about it, been looking at reviews and the Line 6 models seem to be universally praised. Ocelot you are correct about the tone chasers hating on line 6 amps. I'm not too much of a tone nazi and I don't use many pedals. I'm really more of a minimalist when it comes to effects. The latency could be an issue, I haven't tested it so it's hard to say. The other concern of course is interference (if analog) and the transmitter thing being cumbersome. It does look kind of awkward. I like to thrash my instrument around and spin around on stage which is why I've been looking into the wireless. However, most of the time the stages I'm playing on aren't that big as I'm playing bars and clubs.

As someone with a lot of experience with different latencies, let me assure you that the latency of a good digital wireless system like the Line6 range is completely imperceptible. It's simply below the range where you'll even be able to detect it, and far below the range where it would start to be a problem.

Unless you have specific reasons why you need to go analog, I'd go with digital. Better quality for the same price range and smaller, lighter transmitters. I used to run a Line6 and the transmitter was about a 5cm square and 1.5-ish cm thick; it took 2x AA batteries, lasted forever, and I'd just clip it to the guitar strap and leave it there. You can go wild on stage.

Post: #89

I'm about to start recording another album in the new year.

Given that the music industry skews left / progressive, I'm sick of having to rely on other musicians, engineers and producers, whom seem to be nothing but a roadblock to achieving my goals, particularly as they have no work ethic, no sense of honour, are frequently unreliable or drugged out, and, being blunt, are increasing mentally-unstable and displaying lower and lower standards of musicianship and songwriting over the last 15 years or so, with a sharp spike since progressives decided they were 'winning' the culture war circa 2009.

I've never had any great interest in production: I prefer to be creating - I'm too busy thinking of the next song to want to fuss around over mixing the one I just completed. This is why I prefer outside producers to mix it for me, particularly as my mixes can get very dense.

I've decided though, although it'll be much more demanding, it'd have to be easier and cheaper to do it all myself, given the political and mental state of the majority of producers on offer, because I know I'll actually get the work done.

Can any guys with experience suggest some good key production texts for me to start with with the knowledge I'm recording real acoustic and electric instruments in a rock context? I'd prefer something more complicated than 'For Idiots / Dummies' type of books that deals with fundamentals, and suspect the older the book, the better.

Post: #90

I've been really into Irish and Scottish traditional recently. I've also been buying cheap instruments and getting them to play as well as can be expected. I've got a £120 'greek bouzouki' which in reality is a small guitar bodied octave mandolin with a skinny neck. This plays better than my £800 luthier built octave mandolin.

If you need advice on setting up a stringed instrument for playability and intonation (often a compromise!) then hit me up. I also know a bit about banjo setup. Anyone want to see a datasheet on basic lutherie skills?

Post: #91

^ Roberto:

I've changed the strings a few times, but the bottom string of my mandolin - the G - always ends up on 'dead' on the first two frets. Any suggestions, or is a neck problem?

Post: #92

^ Dead as in buzzing? Or dead as in sharp (if that's a thing)? Does it do it if you press right down on the fret, or only if you don't put that much pressure in your fingers? Best way to check is to capo it at first and second.
If the problem is still there when you have the capo on and therefore the 2nd fret acting as the nut, it's most likely a dead third or fourth fret. A number of possible solutions:

1. (Easiest) If the mandolin has an adjustable bridge and you can get away with winding the G side up a touch without compromising the intonation too much, this will most likely do it. On this note (heh) I've never been keen on adjustable bridges. You see some right horrors on Chinese instruments- bridges carved so the bottom strings are much higher than the top. Whilst the idea is correct (wound strings need a slightly longer scale length to keep the intonation correct) it's a dumb way to do it as you have to stretch the string more when you fret if it's raised higher. So it goes sharp again, and is harder to play. In my experience it's much easier to cant the bridge- it often needs to be canted what looks like a considerable amount. For this reason also, octave pairs on a mandolin will drive you nuts past the 5th fret

2. If your mandolin has a truss rod (unlikely on a mass produced instrument), try loosening it a smidge. Best to loosen, and the tighten up a little, much as you would when tuning. This will allow the neck to curve a tiny bit more, and might just clear the fret.

3. You could level off the fret. A fret file is a curved diamond file that will do this. Just take a little off the side the problem is on, and try again. One trick is to get some glass, cover it in wet and dry paper and then gently rub the unstrung neck over it. This will show you which frets are proud by the marks on the paper, and can also be used to level them with each other. If you do this you should use a fret file to put the curve back on every fret, although I haven't bothered with cheap instruments and they play fine. Also, pay attention to which frets are proud- remember that when the strings are on, the neck will curve a surprising amount. The main rule of lutherie is that if you think you've gone far enough adjusting something with the strings off, you've probably gone too far... Everything moves when you put the strings on. Necks, banjo skins, mandolin bodies. If you take too much off a bridge and get fret buzz when you restring (despite the action being luuurvely) then a simple trick is to stick a three thin plectrums underneath to space it up a bit whilst you wait for the new bridge to arrive in the post.

4. You could use different strings. Theoretically fatter strings are more likely to hit a fret and buzz...but then, they also need more tension on them to get the same pitch, so that might cure it! A common problem on a 17 fret (as opposed to 19 fret) tenor banjo is that the scale length just isn't enough to get a low G string tight enough. It's only a few inches longer than a mandolin scale, yet an octave lower. So in my experience, a 17 fret tenor banjo G string just won't hold a constant pitch, and anything more than a slight touch and it's horrifically sharp. My solution was to tune this low G to A with a fairly heavy string. Tuning your mandolin to aDAE might fix your problem, and I'd recommend you try it if you play melody a lot, especially in D. But that's just my personal preference, and one of the previous 3 points should cure your problem.

Post: #93

(12-23-2016 12:27 AM)AnonymousBosch Wrote:  Can any guys with experience suggest some good key production texts for me to start with with the knowledge I'm recording real acoustic and electric instruments in a rock context? I'd prefer something more complicated than 'For Idiots / Dummies' type of books that deals with fundamentals, and suspect the older the book, the better.

I'm not an expert, but I had to mix a tune from no knowledge to finished. What I had to learn along the way might help you and others, here goes:

- Solid computer - can be a laptop, but it must be somewhat reliable, an Intel i5 chip will do, and 8 gbs of ram. PC or Mac, doesn't really matter. Mine's a very cheap PC. But I saw how it struggled when I ran many plugins at the same time with the chip I have. If it's windows system and it's old, refresh the O.S. completely and have a clean registry to work from.

- DAW - pick one, and only one for now. and learn it inside out. I like Reaper, it's 10mbs, and is solid and is very inexpensive. I took time just to learn the program and that paid off, rather than learning on the fly. Plus there are Reaper tutorials all over youtube, and the Reaper Forum is open to you whether you own it or not, unlike other companies.

- Tutorials - Youtube all the way for me. There's hundreds of video guys doing mixing tutorials, usually for electronic music, but you can still learn a ton about the plugins out there. The "Waves Audio" channel has guest engineers doing webinars using their plugins, Greg Wells, Yoad Nevo, Chris Lord Alge. "The Pro Audio Files " is another channel, the "recordingrevolution" is another good channel, and "mixwiththemasters", where this video is from:





p.s. On the dead frets issue, I'd take it to a luthier who works on necks. I've had dead frets from bad frets ( cheap metal, where there are indentations on the fret where the strings hit them ) from a 'bump' in the wood at one specific place on the neck ( this was such a pain to a luthier that he said to either sand the neck down or get a new neck ), usually is a case of a one or two rogue frets popping up, so if fret 1, and fret 2, are set correctly, but fret 3 has raised a tiny bit because of whatever, then fret 3 has to be sanded down with a fret file. If you choose to adjust your neck yourself by adjusting the truss-rod, go in quarter turns only, and leave it for 24 hours, and try your instrument, and do whatever you need to do after 24 hours.

As a sidenote, one thing I like about older guitars is the fact that you know the neck has set. The wood has completely dried out and what you see is what you get, so if it's a 20 year old intrument, and it plays well, then buy it! The modern solution used by Suhr guitars is to bake the moisture out of their guitars, pretty cool idea actually, but they're $5000.00.

Post: #94

(12-23-2016 04:01 PM)Zep Wrote:  As a sidenote, one thing I like about older guitars is the fact that you know the neck has set. The wood has completely dried out and what you see is what you get, so if it's a 20 year old intrument, and it plays well, then buy it! The modern solution used by Suhr guitars is to bake the moisture out of their guitars, pretty cool idea actually, but they're $5000.00.

All timber used for joinery purposes, including making instruments, is sold as 'kiln dried'. This is not an innovation on Suhr's part, merely clever marketing. It's not modern either. Woodworkers have known this for hundreds of years. £40 Chinese mandolins use kiln dried timber- it's basically a standard industrial product.

Any wood unless sealed will absorb moisture until it reaches the ambient humidity level of it's environment. So a guitar stored in a damp garage could well move.

Post: #95

(12-24-2016 06:43 AM)roberto Wrote:  

(12-23-2016 04:01 PM)Zep Wrote:  As a sidenote, one thing I like about older guitars is the fact that you know the neck has set. The wood has completely dried out and what you see is what you get, so if it's a 20 year old intrument, and it plays well, then buy it! The modern solution used by Suhr guitars is to bake the moisture out of their guitars, pretty cool idea actually, but they're $5000.00.

All timber used for joinery purposes, including making instruments, is sold as 'kiln dried'. This is not an innovation on Suhr's part, merely clever marketing. It's not modern either. Woodworkers have known this for hundreds of years. £40 Chinese mandolins use kiln dried timber- it's basically a standard industrial product.

Any wood unless sealed will absorb moisture until it reaches the ambient humidity level of it's environment. So a guitar stored in a damp garage could well move.

Hey Roberto, not wanting to be argumentative, but after looking into this, it seems this is not such a gimmick afterall.

I got the following information from here: http://acousticguitarforum.com/forums/ar...31832.html

Quote:What baffles me heere is that most instrument wood suppliers and users
frown on kild dried wood, isn't this simply a mini version of the same process?

The reason why I shy away from kiln dried wood (unless I know the kiln operator) is that many kiln operators "push" the loads through as fast as possible. Time is money in a production environment and faster kiln runs equals lower utility costs. The problems arise when wood is pushed it induces internal stresses into the wood. Some of these can be reduced if the operator takes the time to post stress relieve the load by systematically inducing steam back into the wood before the load comes out of the kiln.

Case in point... have you ever ripped a 2" x 4" or other dimensional lumber, from your local lumber yard and as you ripped the board, have you ever seen the saw kerf slot open up as the two boards exiting the saw blade spread opne like the forks on a sling shot? Perhaps you have seen the opposite where the two boards exiting the saw blade would actually close together and pinch the saw blade? These are two typical examples of what wood does that was "pushed" through a kiln too rapidly and the resulting wood movement was due to internal stresses induced into the wood during a rapid kiln cycle.

These stresses will continue to give the builder problems as they build with wood that is fighting them through the building process. The stresses will oppose glue joints and greatly effect the stability of the finished instrument. These stresses can also show up weeks or months later in the players hands as the action is changing or worse yet the wood cracks. Personally I don't want to take these kinds of risks with my work.

Baking tops, is quite different and should not be confused with or even compared to kiln drying. We take tops that are [already dry] enough to build with (between 6% - 8% MC) then subject them to higher heat, for a short period of time which drives out any excess moisture, but more importantly to set the sap and resins within the wood. This greatly enhances the stability of the wood IME.

Quote:Yamaha's ARE process uses a combination of steam and pressure to crystalise the cellulose fibres in the wood and break down the hemicellulose and lignin that binds the cellulose, limiting vibrations in the wood itself – precisely replicating the physical changes that take place over years of ageing, resulting in a more mature, richer sound. The sound of an old guitar. There is a patent somewhere on the internet with a more detailed explanation.

Post: #96

I need some input from fellow musicians who have had to fire a band member. We've decided to fire our drummer and look for someone...better. The kid has been dropping the beat which is the cardinal sin of musicianship and frankly it's unacceptable...it's the cardinal sin of musicianship and makes us all look fucking dumb. It's gotta be done.

But when it comes to stuff like this I have a soft spot. I hate breaking up the fellowship like this. But me and our other member (3piece) have already concluded this is the only way forward. I need input on how to do this. I feel horrible about it.

Post: #97

It's like 50/50 breaking up with a girlfriend and firing an employee - do as quick an painlessly as possible without being a dick about it. Just be honest say look it's not working out you've been messing up at practice/gigs etc. Don't let him try to change your mind, if he starts being like "C'mon guys I can do better just tell me what you need!" tell him you've already been looking for new people and have some prospects lined up. Nothing personal just purely business.

Post: #98

If it's not working, he probably knows it already unless he has an ego the size of a house.
A while back my band went through a lineup change. With a new bassist and lead guitar, the same songs took a whole different direction, one that my style of drumming didn't really suit any more. ( from laid back rockabilly style to more of a loud driving rock feel) I knew I was the one letting everybody down. I tried to make it easier on the guys and suggested they find somebody else but they wouldn't have it. We ended up dropping a few songs, changing a few around, and I worked on broadening my style. We made it work and I'm glad, but I would have understood if they'd let me go at the time.

Post: #99

If you have a professional attitude, you just have to bite the bullet.

Professional doesn't mean get paid, its a mindset that develops into a level of competency that usually means you end up getting paid. However don't rely on music offering this 'paid' part.

Your endeavour, this case being a musical ensemble, relies on competency and you have someone who is either lacking a professional attitude, ir just lacking talent, to obtain this level of competency. Either way he has to go, and professionalism on your behalf is about recognising this is not a personal decision.

I understand beat with an ensemble, inconsistent beat affects the confidence of an ensemble mire Tha tune / pitch

Post: #100

All very valid input, thanks guys. It's especially cringey right now since the kid is so nice. He actually brought us xmas presents at our last practice. I seriously could not look him in the eye that day. But as a musician and a professionally minded one, it's just not there... he doesn't realize in his heart of hearts that

1. Excuses only matter to those giving them
2. He isn't really able to objectively assess his own skill level enough to know where he needs to improve, and HOW to improve.

It's an issue of fundamental skill, not style. Being only 23 he doesn't seem to yet understand that you don't get a trophy for just trying, or for just showing up. This is serious shit and we expect you to bring your A game every time. He doesn't have a place to practice on his kit without us all renting studio time so obviously hes was gonna fall behind.

T and A man is absolutely correct, when there is one person lacking the proper attitude , well the chain is only as strong as the weakest link. Their weakness in turn breeds insecurity in everyone else. And to be honest, I have not promoted shows as shamelessly as I would have, had i 100 percent confidence in him. I've been holding back on that, and that is why. I'm more forward thinking about this now, getting excited about finding a guy who will work, rather than dwelling on this shit.

It was like a moment just came to us where me and the other guy were listening to his drum takes (that we all took a day to record) and it became more than clear the problem was him, and that it wasn't going to fix itself. This also means we are having to shelf the release of our next EP which was supposed to come out next month, now, it's gonna be quite a bit longer than that which sucks. But in the end it will pay to wait for the right guy and re record.