LR 11-13-2012 looking for some volunteers

[meowmix]

Hey Guys,

We don't have anyone doing LR duties for the rest of the year. Sign up for a week and I will send you the second edition of Guitar Player Repair Guide. USA/Canada please. Book isn't worth much but I have the 3rd edition, time to unload the second.


Heart felt Thanks to DarwinOhm.
Than you Darwin for being part of the G&L community.
You have provided so many pictures of your collection, gave insight and easy to get along with.
It is a blessing to have you aboard.
When I watchined this video I thought of Darwin and Louis(for a different reason). Fast forward. Just watch minutes 16:00 thru 20:00.
[youtube]eFMqKC2C554[/youtube]

Lunch: Tuna.

More about myself.
For the past year since my first LR, I have been taking music composition lessons from
gerogebellas.com via Skype. Don't have to leave home.
We were learning all these types of classical music pieces and he was having me compose pieces as well.
To be honest, I was getting tired of the 4th measure landing on a half cadence and the 8th measure land on a P.A.C.
It was driving me nuts. Finally, I told George, I want to rock. he he he
So we took a break from classical and started to learn how to use the DAW and record drum tracks, bass, piano and guitar.

You guys have a DAW?
I started with Cakewalk/Sonar but found some limitations when it came to music composition. Sonar did not have
a score editor. Bought Cubase thinking this will solve that problem. As it is, Cubase score editor is hideous.
What a piece of junk. I told George I can not use this thing. What I have been doing instead is using Finale
saving it as midi, then import to Cubase. That did the trick. I guess all DAWs suck in their own
special way.

FYI. There are 2 really good score editor software out there. Finale and Sibuilus. Both are having financial difficulities.
I would hate to see either go. For writing music on paper, these can't be beat. Simply awesome.

Finale has to be the best piece of software I bought in the past year for musical growth.

What is your best piece of software for music?


For years, I have struggled with drum loops. I started with the Boss DR-5. It was long and tedious to get something down.
I kept saying to myself, there has got to be an easier way. Thankfully, George has been spending time clearing the fog.
Here is the drummer I am working with.


Just hand him the sheet music and he does a pretty good job. Though he does sound a bit robotic.
First I used Steven Slate, but it had limitiations. Went with Superior and it is superior. Very nice indeed.
Do you guys like your drummer you are with?


Now to recording Bass.
I wish it was that easy. First I tried the DI alone. That sounded like crap. Then I added the preamp. Much better.
I spoke to Kevin about this and he is not a fan of DI for bass. He thinks the sound engineer is getting lazy.


You bass players do you record/play with DI?

On my journey of recoding bass, the first problem was a broken bass. Got a new one. simple enough.
Next adventure was the t-nuts in the speaker. A nasty buzz noise came out. Funny how the guitar sound is fine, yet
one octave lower and all hell breaks loose.
What a pain. Forgetting to paint the t-nuts black was another mistake.



What microphone do you like to use when recording Bass?

All my guitars are recorded with G&L instruments, it is all I have.

What is your favorite G&L to record with?

Thanks. Have a great day.

[jonc]

My first good rig was Ensoniq PARIS so I know all about orphaned equipment. PARIS had one of the best, warmest, most analog sounding EQ's and in many ways it's still a great system. But not really viable any longer. I then went with PT and an outboard DAC since the early PT converters were crap. Finally I ended up with LOGIC which I still use and run a DAC for my outboard gear and use plug-ins for the rest. For bass I love using a SansAmp PSA1. Truly a great sounding, flexible unit that works both direct and running through a live rig. For mic's it's a typically a 421, although I've been looking at the new Mojave mics from Royer. My favorite G&L bass, and in fact now my only bass, is an 81 L1K that started me on my G&L journey. I find it does just about everything I need it to whether live or for recording. As for drums, I'm very old school. For demo's I use loops, but for recordings I go to my friends studio and cut live drums to 2" tape feeding a DAW. I know that for many folks digital kits are great options and that many folks won't know the difference. But there's a certain fatness and presence that live drums going to tape has. And growing up with that, it's what I still like best.

[jonc]

Meant to ask -- what compressor(s) are you/they using when you record bass?

[louis cyfer]

i prefer reaper for daw, although i do own cubase, logic pro, audobe audition and cakewalk and soundforge as well. finale is great for classical composition, i don't know of anything better.
for guitar i use a sennheiser 906 to record with, for bass i come out of the direct out of my fender rumble bassamp. that little thing sounds quite good. i like that akg d112 for kickdrums, but for bass is like a little more balance.

[willross]

Great stuff this week. For DAW, I've been using "old school" products like Opcode, Beatnik Editor Pro, Audiosuite, Waves & BIAS. I dig how they all came with instructions in binders too! For composition, I've been working with MuseScore, a free & open source program...


Cheers,

Will

[meowmix]

jonc - Pretty bass and it has ebony. As for recording, it would be nice if we could record everything through tube, but that ain't going happen.
You tell me tape sounds better, I believe it. Space and affordability, i'm stuck with my Mytek 192 ADAC.
I don't have a compressor for bass. Should I build one? LA-2A possibily?

Louis - Free stuff is good and I have heard good things about Reaper. It seems you been around the block with these DAWs and yearly upgrades that can get expensive.
As of 2012 Logic is probably the top DAW. But I am a PC guy, and won't convert to Apple if I don't need to.
I have the Senn e906 or is it the e609, it is the one in the picture above. Still working with it, I have not found a sound that I am fond of.

Willross - Open source is excellent. The best looking is Lilypond. But stay away from that. Unless you want to go back to DOS. It will take you weeks to do a score.

[willross]

MuseScore is good and PC-ok too...


Cheers,

Will

[darwinohm]

Meow, a lot of great questions today.

I was studying to be a music teacher and as I have said before, I didn't want to teach but perform. I switched to electronics and focused on computers although many things were still vacuum tubes while I was young. With my skills, I may have been a struggling musician my whole life. I was out for many years and jumped back in in 2000.

What is your best piece of software for music?

I also got the bug for recording in 2008. After a bit of exposure in a recording studio, I decided on Pro Tools. This is where my ignorance shows as it is all that I have used. I also use a product called Melodyne for vocals if needed and some of the first guys in our band needed it. I am still on Pro Tools 7 and have no desire to upgrade. I also use a MAC on Level 10.4.11. I do not want to update it either. The recent levels of Pro Tools are more for music production and I only want it for recording and do not want to manufacture music. So as usual, I am in a rut but in a happy rut. I have a recording project this winter and I like the real stuff. That brings us to your next question

Do you guys like your drummer you are with?

Our drummer is top notch plus he is a terrific vocalist which I believe in not always true for drummers. He does not do a lot of hot rolls while he is singing but is steady and precise as can be. Each of the members in our band are very good at what needs to be done to be an excellent cover band. The problem is that three of us are getting old so we really have to give it hell before we run out of gas. I have a DVD of a show that we did in September but am still struggling to load the DVD file into Imovie. I cannot import the file. Anyway, I would like to post some songs on youtube and on the forum. I will figure it out eventually.

You bass players do you record/play with DI?

I prefer direct recording for both bass and guitar unless we do some dirty guitar. I like to go from the preamp for guitar if we want to color it a bit. We only mike amps at large venues and for the bass I like direct input to the pa rather than mike it. My reasoning is that a speaker is generally not perfect and colors the tone, which is desirable if you want it. We do clean stuff for the most part and use pedals to achieve what we want rather than overdrive an amp. It is simpler for us old dudes. There is no set way and everyone has a preference. When I recorded our group a couple of years ago, they gave me the evil eye when I suggested direct input. They changed their minds after hearing it.

What is your favorite G&L to record with?

That is an easy question for me. It will be my L-2500. I haven't recorded with a G&L yet but our next will be loaded with G&L's. Steve will be using the Legacy with the synth and his Alnico ASAT Classic. He still uses a Tele that is tuned to drop D for a couple of songs. Thank you for you kind words Meow.
I was surprised when I looked that there are no LR volunteers for the rest of the year. I think that if there are no volunteers, we should nominate someone who hasn't done it before or hasn't done it for a year. I know there are lurkers and we would love to hear from them. If everyone would show there G&L's, that would give us something to drool over for a while. Great job Meow -- Darwin

[jonc]

Meow, I typically only use 2" Tape -> DAW for drums. Everything else is pretty much digital these days. I don't know that you need to build a compressor, but I would certainly use one for recording. It will allow you to get a nice fat, big and punchy sound without clipping by controlling the dynamic range. Something that can be problematic with bass. Same with kick drum. A good compressor (along with eq) is one of the best recording tools you have and along with limiting, one of the most misunderstood and misused. Also remember that eq starts with mic placement as opposed to "turning the knobs."

[Philby]

Some good questions this week Meow.

My first DAW's were Logic on PC, then Cubase, but I've finally settled on Cakewalk Sonar. It feels the most natural for a dyed-in-the-wool PC user like me. Right mouse clicks do just what you'd expect. Logic and Cubase felt like Mac programs ported (badly) to PC to me.

I use BFD Eco for drums these days. I play my own beats in real time on a controller keyboard, then tighten up the timing in the DAW later. My brother, who is a drummer, took one listen and declared that he doesn't know why anyone would bother with a kit these days. As good as BFD is, a well recorded, well played live kit in a good room will always be hard to beat. But not many of us have access to that kind of a setup, which is where good drum software becomes invaluable. Once some tasteful compression and EQ is compression is applied, drum software can sound VERY realistic.

For bass recording I go DI, then re-amp or use an amp sim plug, or both sometimes. My favourite mic for bass is an Audio Technica ATM-25. It's also a great mic on guitar cabs. My other favourite guitar cab mics are an Audio Technica AT-4047 about 1 foot from the speaker, and a good old Shure SM57 up close. Just about any mic can do a good job on a guitar cab as long as it is placed correctly.

My favourite recording G&L is my S-500. The MFD's are quiet and almost hi-fi, and they take further signal processing really well.

[louis cyfer]

jonc - Pretty bass and it has ebony. As for recording, it would be nice if we could record everything through tube, but that ain't going happen.
You tell me tape sounds better, I believe it. Space and affordability, i'm stuck with my Mytek 192 ADAC.
I don't have a compressor for bass. Should I build one? LA-2A possibily?

Louis - Free stuff is good and I have heard good things about Reaper. It seems you been around the block with these DAWs and yearly upgrades that can get expensive.
As of 2012 Logic is probably the top DAW. But I am a PC guy, and won't convert to Apple if I don't need to.
I have the Senn e906 or is it the e609, it is the one in the picture above. Still working with it, I have not found a sound that I am fond of.

Willross - Open source is excellent. The best looking is Lilypond. But stay away from that. Unless you want to go back to DOS. It will take you weeks to do a score.

i hate logic pro. the worst one of them all. i have it on my mac. i am also a very bad man and upgrades don't cost me. neither did the programs. including cs6 masterworks. i paid for reaper, 39 bucks, but you can use it for free for unlimited time. i can't tell from the pic which mic it is, the 609 is not nearly as good, the 906 is great. pc's are just fine i use that mostly.

[Brock]

We don't have anyone doing LR duties for the rest of the year. Sign up for a week and I will send you the second edition of Guitar Player Repair Guide. USA/Canada please. Book isn't worth much but I have the 3rd edition, time to unload the second.

You got me with the plea + info (no one signed up) + carrot (the book)! So, we now have someone (me) signed up for December 3-7.

-Brock

[Craig]

We don't have anyone doing LR duties for the rest of the year. Sign up for a week and I will send you the second edition of Guitar Player Repair Guide. USA/Canada please. Book isn't worth much but I have the 3rd edition, time to unload the second.

You got me with the plea + info (no one signed up) + carrot (the book)! So, we now have someone (me) signed up for December 3-7.

-Brock

Don't forget to make it official and post it on the call post: Call For Lunch Reporter for week of December 3-7, 2012.

Thanks for signing up.

[meowmix]

Philby - Cubase has it's annoying issues for sure. Hearing this from you, I might try Sonar again, only problem is exporting to MP3. I don't believe I have that function. Not every OS can play Windows WMV files, so it has to be MP3.

Louis - it is the 609. My experience with it so far is not good unlike thee AKG D112 which is very good.

Brock - pm your address and I'll ship it out. Thanks for stepping up.

[Brock]

You guys have a DAW?

I have an old Zoom MRS-1044 standalone recorder I use. For mixdown, I'm using Audacity. Not the greatest equipment but it works and it's paid for. I like standalone recorders (quiet and portable) over computer recording (big and noisy). I prefer the computer for final mizes and edits. Best of both in my book.



My six workstation monitors (above, with a different computer next to the monotors and with the MRS-1044 on the far right) are in two rows of three. Below is a screenshot of Audacity across all siz displays. And yes, that much land makes audio editing really nice. I could fit another five tracks on the screen no problem, and more if I reduced the height of each track.



Total resolution: 5760x2160

What is your best piece of software for music?

My best software is Audacity because it's free and it works. It's also cross platform so I can use it under Linux or Windows. There's a lot of commercial stuff out there, but I don't own it. The Audacity works well enough and isn't begging for replacement.

Do you guys like your drummer you are with?

No! It's the drum machine built into my MRS-1044 and it sounds like a drum machine. I put breaks in, but it still sounds like a drum machine.
[youtube]AF2R_LubbnY[/youtube]

You bass players do you record/play with DI?

I like to DI into the Jazz Guitar model on the MRS-1044, and it gives me a clean bass sound, but it doesn't give me the bi-amp sound (with a guitar amp for the high end) that I normally roll. I haven't found any recorder with built-in amp models that lets me do what I want. When I do, that'll probably be next recorder (if it has a drum machine built in too).

What microphone do you like to use when recording Bass?

None! I direct out if using an amp.

What is your favorite G&L to record with?

The L-5000. It's my least favorite of the two fretted G&Ls I have to play, but records better than the first-style SB-2.

Great questions. I'm a huge Entwistle fan and will watch that clip later.

-Brock

[willross]

Here's a pic of my most "old" recording hardware:



A Sony DAT Walkman. Great portable recording quality...


Cheers,

Will

[jonc]

Will, nice DAT WAlkman. I have a TCD-D7 with some unused tapes I'm looking to sell cheap if you need a backup.

[Brock]

That Entwistle clip was great. I hadn't seen it before. Thanks for pointing it out.

-Brock

[louis cyfer]

That Entwistle clip was great. I hadn't seen it before. Thanks for pointing it out.

-Brock

indeed. enjoyed it a lot.