The Musicians Thread

[Pontius Pilate]

The other guitar player is the one with the ridiculously deep shouty vocals (the guy singing in the track "Ever real"), I think he's awesome at it. I've been friends with him since primary school, and neither of us even know he could shout his nuts off like that untill after months of searching for a singer we thought "strawberry float it, one of us is going to have to do it." Just kind of stuck ever since.

[smurphy]

Never really been a fan of hard rock so have no idea how original or not this is, but it sounds really good. I love that guys shouting, sounds pretty awesome. Guitars sound really cool too.

Can't wait to get some of our songs recorded up properly, there's nothing that gets you going like hearing your own music in it's full glory.

[Hesk]

New track "Push Forward" up on my band's page -

http://www.reverbnation.com/thekarmaparty

[Victor Mildew]

Not bad mate, nice mix of styles there.

[LewisD]

A couple of days ago, I got myself a 1985 (or 1986, still trying to trace the serial # exactly) Japanese made Squier Strat for the amazing price of... £30!.
We're talking all-American parts, American made 57 (or) 62 pickups, American tuners, bridge & saddles, great quality timber, great build quality and all the rest.

The trouble is, the old girl has taking quite a beating by the looks of it, nothing too bad, but the paintwork has been mistreated - I imagine somebody owned it without realising how nice a guitar it was.

It's in a Lake Placid Blue style at the moment, thought it's a shade darker than LPB.
But I - usually a fan of relic'd guitars - want it to look its best.

I'm contemplating re-spraying it Black, or something typically strat-coloured.
But then some of the guys at work at saying I should keep it original to keep it's value.

What do you guys think?

Also; Pictures:

[Squinty]

Nice find. I've read about the quality of the production on those strats, certainly makes you wonder what happened to the brand now.

Well, in saying that, my last guitar was a Squier Strat from 2004 and it wasn't too bad. I really want a new strat at the moment, something with a thinner neck profile than the guitar I'm using now.

[CaptainCalcium]

Alright guys, just giving a heads up, my bands recorded their first demo and its sounding pretty rocking, if you want to give it a listen/Like you can get it at http://www.facebook.com/pages/FYM-Fuck- ... 0891812747

If it helps, weve got a song about Ghostbusters. Oh yes.

[blackoutHERO]

Anybody have any recommendations for a good USB mic for home recordings? Is a mic the best way to record guitars or am I better buying a lead that I can plug straight into my PC?

Also, I am looking to get a new acoustic guitar with a budget of about £300-£400. Was planning an electro acoustic but don't want to have to buy another amp just for that.

[It'sNotLupus]

Anybody have any recommendations for a good USB mic for home recordings? Is a mic the best way to record guitars or am I better buying a lead that I can plug straight into my PC?

Also, I am looking to get a new acoustic guitar with a budget of about £300-£400. Was planning an electro acoustic but don't want to have to buy another amp just for that.

You're best off buying a USB soundcard and an XLR mic, I don't know that any USB mic would be good enough if you want decent quality recordings...

[LewisD]

Yeah, I'd plump for a USB interface and some decent software before buying a lackluster usb mic.

That way you can plug 'proper' mics in, as well as the jack cables of your guitars. This'll allow you to get the best quality, latency-free, recording you can.

I can ask my hi-tech guys at work what they'd recommend, you can get a good interface pretty cheap.

[Victor Mildew]

Anybody have any recommendations for a good USB mic for home recordings? Is a mic the best way to record guitars or am I better buying a lead that I can plug straight into my PC?

Also, I am looking to get a new acoustic guitar with a budget of about £300-£400. Was planning an electro acoustic but don't want to have to buy another amp just for that.

I've got one of these which I might sell to the right person

USB2 and you can use it to record a guitar and XLR mic at the same time. Its got an onboard soundcard so theres barely any lag. I must have only used it 5 times to record before I bought something a lot more expensive and realised i'd never need it again.



http://line6.com/podstudioux1/

Absolutely mint condition, fully boxed with all the software and leads. Let me know if you'd be interested?

[blackoutHERO]

Do you have a rough price you'd want for it?

I basically want to be able to record acoustic guitar, vocals, create beats, add samples, record synthesiser and record electric guitar. What software would be best for a beginner?

[Victor Mildew]

I use garageband for everything with the line6 used as a plugin, but then thats mac only.

I bought the UX1 for £115 new, and i can see it going for £80+ used on ebay so does £75 delivered sound fair? Its immaculate by the way, benefits of buying from someone with 'mint boxes OCD'

[blackoutHERO]

Sorry pal but I don't have that sort of money just now. I'll be getting some money for Christmas so if you haven't sold it by that time I may be interested then. Don't hold onto it for me though. Do you have any examples of your recordings with it?

[abcd]

Does anyone use a loop pedal (might not be the right name for it) ?

Something like this...

http://www.nevadamusic.co.uk/guitar/eff ... 4QodVg2A7A

?

[Victor Mildew]

No worries blackout, i'm not exactly in a rush to sell anyway. A friend of mine might want it but other than that it'll probably sit in its box so if you're interested later on let me know.

Ive not got anything uploaded recorded with that, but these 3 were made with the Line6 Pod X3 which does the same thing (and uses the same software), just had the effects on the unit rather than in garageband.

Feel free to take a listen if anyone else is interested?

http://soundcloud.com/heavy-spaces/sets/latest-demos

[Exxy]

I'm kinda tempted to start drumming. I've wanted to do it for years (since I was about 14 probably), but the price has always put me off. Mainly the fear of being gooseberry fool and never using them. Any drummers got some advice for starting off?

I have an annoying habit of drumming on anything around me, so I'm pretty sure I'm a pro already tbh.

[Buffalo]

I believe there's 2 methods of doing it, Exxy. 3, actually.
The first one is doing it by the book - starting with a single drum, studying drum music (the actual notation, like any other instrument) to build up your discipline when it comes to time-keeping, and understanding the value that conventional note values have in building up a rhythmical repertoire. Then, you'd implement your skills around the drum kit, introducing both feet.
The 2nd way is more about instinct - sitting at a kit and hoping that your natural ear for rhythm translates into funky chops. Both methods take a lot of practice - and this one more so, perhaps. The risk with this - and I've seen and heard it many times - is that passion, enthusiasm and raw power substitutes for accuracy, precision, and balance, when really all of those elements can co- exist, if you're skilled enough.
Drumming - unlike most instruments - in my opinion is not one where you can become merely competent after a year or two. Drumming skill and technique is one which is nurtured, and built over many years. Feeling the beat not in your mind, your brain, but to a point where you don't even think about time - it flows within you subconsciously.
The third method is one I was raised, and it's a successful combination of the first two - 'by the book' meeting the free spirit. But regardless of where you fall, the best thing you can do to learn, is to learn from others. Listen to drums in songs in a different way, where the riff is king. gooseberry fool, some of my favourite genres are metal, then funk, then hip-hop. It's the riffs. Always the riffs. More techniques to borrow, to incorporate into your own style.
Good luck!

[Sputnik]

Get a mute pad and a metronome to start with. Then practice the basic rudiments on it - RLRL / RRLL / RLLR / RLRR, and invert them. It's boring as strawberry float but you need to do it a lot until you can keep a nice solid flow. Start slow, this is also important. Use the metronome every once in a while at least to make sure you're keeping a precise beat. This is important because everyone always relies on the drummer to keep pace - that means you'll have people stopping momentarily and listening to you to get back on it, so you need to be a machine.
If you can't get a drum kit, use the mute pad as a snare and find other stuff you can tap to pretend you're using a real kit. Solid surfaces like tables or chairs will do. It sounds stupid but Dave Grohl claims to have learnt that way, and like him probably a lot of others. Besides, it's to practice body coordination more than anything.
Are you sure you can't get a kit, though? Have you tried renting one? Do you know anyone who already plays? My kit was given to me by a friend for free when he upgraded. Granted, it's a crappy kit, but I'm crap at it anyways so it suits me well.
Remember that drumming is like running. There's more fitness involved in it than any other instrument so it only works if you practice regularly.
You could also try getting lessons.

[Victor Mildew]

Make sure you learn different types of beats too, not just the "dum dum tish, da-dummy dum tish" as its boring as strawberry float to play along with in a band