Jack White is also very proficient at wringing the neck of his Gretsch, to great effect.
977 2012-02-13 17:31:23
Re: fx sockets (12 replies, posted in Electric)
hello joeyjoeyjoey
hello jeromemany thanks for your answers thats one problem solved.
i like all guitar music at the moment i am learning some guitar riffs and also some blues.
i have learnt 13 basic chords and am now trying tab it has been a slow process i use fretdaddy stickers on the neck and convert the tab into notes i find that better for me than just the numbers any tips will be gratefully recivied.many thanks to you both for your answers.
all the very best.
john.
ps. any tips on what pedals i should buy.
You've got a pretty powerful modeling amp already. I'd spend my money on some lessons before I bought any more kit. Pedals won't do you a whole lot of good right now, and the features of the amp would make most pedals redundant. If you were going to get any stomp box, I'd get the pedal controller for the amp.
978 2012-02-13 17:27:43
Re: Advice for new players (24 replies, posted in Music theory)
I think I sense the aroma of some awaiting spam.
I already edited that one removing the link to the website, in the hope that our first poster was legitimate.
I'm not convinced.
979 2012-02-08 17:45:31
Re: If you could listen to one band/artist who would it be. (35 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)
It depends on what I'm listening to at the moment. Last week it would have been Hayes Carll, Justin Towne Earl, or Willie Nelson. This week it would be The Dwarves, Guttermouth, or The Clash.
980 2012-02-06 17:51:30
Re: A little GAS advice needed (15 replies, posted in Electric)
We play a Gretsch Electromatic every day in the band, and it's fantastic. He runs it through Fender tubes and abuses the Bigsby tremolo with fantastic results. The only real problem he's had with it is the strap nut stripped out, but that is a relatively easy fix.
Great guitar.
981 2012-02-06 17:34:25
Re: SUPER BOWL (14 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)
In a complete reversal of prior bowls, almost everything about the Super Bowl was kind of a letdown. I thought the commercials were not as good as prior years, the halftime show was terrible, but the game was *fantastic.* Complete nail biter the whole way through.
982 2012-02-05 19:47:56
Re: SUPER BOWL (14 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)
I'm going New York based on the relative weakness of the Pats defense.
983 2012-02-03 05:17:15
Re: fx sockets (12 replies, posted in Electric)
If you had an external effects processor, that is how you would wire your amp into them. The amp would send it's signal to the external processor, and the processor would send it back to the amp. Since that head has a stereo effects loop, it has right and left channels.
I gotta say, 150W @ 75 years old is gonna make you the most popular guy on the block.
984 2012-02-03 04:59:04
Re: Different Mic Sounds (17 replies, posted in Recording)
Well, to understand why two mics, do the following. Pick up your guitar and strum it. Then put your ear right next to the top of the guitar, and move it around. You will hear a radically different sound depending on where you listen and where your ear is. So if you are only using one mic, you are only hearing part of the sound that is resonating off of the instrument. If you use two, you'll capture more than that.
I think you're using dynamic mics, which also aren't going to be ideal for recording an acoustic guitar. If you have condensers available you'll have better results. If you are using dynamic mics, get the capsule as close to the guitar as you possibly can.
Eventually you will end up with three tracks in your songs. Two for the guitar and one for the vocals. You will play each song twice. You're going to play the guitar parts and not sing at all. Then you're going to go back and play the guitar parts into a set of headphones and record your vocal track over it. Then you can mix it and adjust it how you like.
985 2012-02-02 19:24:48
Re: Different Mic Sounds (17 replies, posted in Recording)
Ah OK. You don't want an effect, then, you want to improve your recording quality. For acoustic guitars, the best thing you can do besides spend thousands on top quality mics and acoustically perfect room rental is to record the guitar with two mics, rather than one. This means you're going to have to up your game a bit and start working with a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) but you really want to do that, anyway.
If you don't have two mics, don't sweat it. I'll send you a pair you can borrow and walk you through getting set up. All you'll need is the mic stands.
Then your setup will look like this
Mic1-------->
Guitar Alesis----->Computer
Mic2-------->
Which isn't nearly as hard as it looks.
In the mean time, do the following things.
Go here and download Reaper and install it:
http://www.reaper.fm/download.php
It's free, and is fully functional. It will remain free, so it doesn't expire or cripple itself if you don't "buy" it later on. You can use it forever at no cost.
Once that is done, send me your Skype name. I'm off work tomorrow so I can walk you through configuring Reaper to record your Alesis interface. When you get the mics, you'll be able to plug them in and off you go.
My Skype ID is jerometoneil. Don't be afraid to chat me up (that goes for everyone ) I'll send you an email in a bit to get your address so I know where to send the mics.
986 2012-02-02 18:13:51
Re: Different Mic Sounds (17 replies, posted in Recording)
Is this an acoustic guitar, or electric?
If it's electric, then you have no problem
Guitar---->PedalsPedalsPedals--->Amp--->Mic--->Alesis--->Computer
If it's acoustic, I'm wondering what effect you are trying to achieve? I'd try to find a way to make the room you are in sound better and capture that when you record.
What kind of mic are you using?
987 2012-02-02 17:44:15
Re: Different Mic Sounds (17 replies, posted in Recording)
It depends on what effect you want. There are, quite literally, hundreds of thousands of options available. Generally, everyone should have a delay (reverb is just a specialized delay) and chorus/flange pedal in there somewhere. If you aren't sure, I'd recommend a multi-effects pedal like the kind we discussed in another thread (can't recall who or what...). Russell has specific experience with Boss/Roland stuff, and can offer advice there. It's all good stuff.
Once you have it, set up is easy.
Right now you are Direct Input (DI) into your recording interface from your guitar.
Guitar-------------->AlesisMX4-------->Computer
You simply insert the pedal between them.
Guitar------------->PedalsPedalsPedals-------------->AlesisMX4-------------->Computer
The PedalsPedalsPedals portion can be as simple as this...
Or as complex as this...
Point is, guitar goes in one side, and comes out the other.
988 2012-02-02 15:49:49
Re: Different Mic Sounds (17 replies, posted in Recording)
"Better off" is relative. My opinion is that if you are looking to modify the tone of the instrument, then you should do that "live" with pedals and instrument setup. Get the instrument to sound like you want, and then spend your recording time ensuring that your recording is as high fidelity as possible to capture that sound. If you are looking to fix or otherwise polish a track (remove some hum or pick noise, for example) then that is "better off" done at the workstation.
Reverb is a bit different, though, as the intent of reverb is to mimic the real life acoustic sound of a great sounding room or concert hall. Obviously the best way to get that kind of tone is to play in a great sounding room or concert hall, but since most of us suffer in basements and living rooms, we don't have that option. The "The Point of Reverb" thread I started was to kind of demonstrate this.
989 2012-02-02 07:06:56
Re: Best componets to .. (5 replies, posted in Recording)
I/O is actually for the disk drive. As you record, you will fill up memory and the CPU will be busy processing your audio signal. When it's done the signal has to be written to disk. The faster the computer can write to disk, the smaller amount of memory you have to allocate. This has impacts on latency, and also the number of simultaneous tracks you'll be able to track at once.
If all you are going to record is one or two (or three) tracks simultaneously, it probably won't make much difference. If you are going to do live tracking (say, with your buddies and some beer) it should be worth the investment.
990 2012-02-02 06:58:38
Re: The Point of Reverb (6 replies, posted in Recording)
And here is Willie with another less on how to be awesome in an awesome room.
"I Never Cared for You" from the Teatro album, which was recorded in an old movie theater.
991 2012-02-02 06:56:16
Re: Different Mic Sounds (17 replies, posted in Recording)
Effects can be applied anywhere in the signal chain between the mic and the amplifier speaker cone. If you've seen guitar pedals, that's what they are. You can also do it in software during recording, or in post-production after the tracks are down.
I think you get much better tone from a dedicated effects station like a pedal. Software can provide really good effects, but I always feel like you should get the tone you want, and then record that, rather than record something, and then go try to find the tone.
Of course, we don't always have that option, so software is a nice way to go about it.
We use this delay quite a bit. It sounds great. http://www.mxrcarboncopy.com/
992 2012-02-02 06:49:22
Re: Any audacity whiz kids? (9 replies, posted in Recording)
That's the best way to approach it. Pick a DAW and just learn it. That's what I did with Reaper, and I'm so glad I did. I've been working with it pretty much exclusively for about 18 months, and I figure if I keep that up for another 18 years or so, I'll have it all figured out.
And just because, I bought a new mixing board for the band, and it came with some VST plugins that I really like.
http://betabugsaudio.com/plugs.php
The Crayon filter is pretty nice. It's like a combination parametric EQ and gain. You overdrive only certain parts of the frequency spectrum for some nice color effects.
993 2012-01-31 18:55:34
Re: 10 year old OWNED by a 6 year old (6 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)
That's the best. Next time, get 'em on tape.
994 2012-01-30 16:14:21
Re: music downloads (14 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)
Bands without labels can have their music downloaded. The Greatful Dead didn't care about taping, and Pearl Jam released about 80 bootleg tapes to the wild. The copyright holder completely controls distribution, which is why downloading music you aren't supposed to be downloading is theft.
The artist signs with a label to gain access to huge distribution networks and gain exposure. That is his right. It should be respected.
995 2012-01-29 19:14:34
Re: One Piece at a Time (27 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)
I should go buy a Town Car.
My first car was a '78 Continental two door. Carburated 460 and everything. I loved that car, six miles a gallon and all.
Now, all I want is a Town Car.
I love me some land yachts.
996 2012-01-27 00:23:32
Re: Guitar Naming (12 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)
The Dot = Carmen, because she's big and red.
Breedlove Atlas = Joy, because... Well duh!
Stingray Bass = THUNDERSTICK!!!
Uke = Mohala ("Blossoming" in Hawaiian)
The lap steel hasn't told me her name yet. I gotta play her more. But she's pretty and sits on my lap, so it will come to me soon...
997 2012-01-26 06:14:30
Re: Best componets to .. (5 replies, posted in Recording)
Fast disk and lots of I/O. If you're going to be using lots of onboard effects, then the biggest multi-core processor you can afford. If you can afford it, buy into two external disk arrays. One configured RAID-0 for recording, and the other configured RAID-1 or RAID-5 configuration for long term storage after you record. You'll also want to pay attention to cooling, and buy quiet fans for the power supply and CPU.
Take a look at these just to get an idea of the specifications you'll want to target.
I do every thing on a Mac mini, which is quiet, although I wish it had more USB available.
998 2012-01-26 06:00:12
Re: Any audacity whiz kids? (9 replies, posted in Recording)
VST = "Virtual Studio Technology." It is a standard for writing audio plugins so that any conformant DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) can make use of them. And almost everything out there, including Audacity is VST conformant. The professionals using Pro Tools spend thousands on various effects, and because the VST is an open standard, there is a small army of people out there producing plugins for free, too.
Here's an example.
This is a VST plugin I love called Bittersweet. It is a transient manipulator, which means I can use it to either smooth out transients (say, pick noise on a guitar track) or enhance it (line on the attack of a snare drum) as needed. It is immensely useful, and it costs absolutely nothing.
http://www.fluxhome.com/products/freewares/bittersweet2
I can download it and install it, and it is on my computer, not attached to any one program.
If I use Reaper, I can attach it to any track, route the audio from the track to the effect, and listen to the change in real time. Here I have it attached to a ukelele number I'm noodling on. I can turn the dial and push the buttons and monitor the signal just like I could if it were a bit of hardware bolted into a rack.
Now, her is the exact same plugin in Audacity.
Now, the first thing you'll notice is that this doesn't have the nifty interface that it had with Reaper. As long as you understand what each of those inputs means it's not a problem. I don't happen to know what they mean, so for me, that's a problem. I know if I had that nice dial I could just turn it and see how it effected the sound of my track. Some effects have dozens of inputs, though, so the ability to render a nice interface can be important.
What you can't see in the picture is that with Reaper, I can play the track and tweak the effect at the exact same time, just like it was a send effect on a real mixing board. I can even send live signal through it from an instrument or MIDI device just like I could a stomp box or racked effect. Audacity doesn't let you do that. It simply takes a section of track off of the disk and applies the effect to it, then writes it back to disk, so you can't hear what the effect is until you've modified the track. I know it allows you to "sample" it, but it's still kind of cumbersome.
Anyway, the point is that the effect here, Bittersweet, was only on my computer once. If I fire up Cubebase, it will be there, too. (I'd' provide you a screen shot of that but for some reason the plugin only stays visible if Cubebase is the top window.) Tomorrow, if I go buy Pro Tools, I can still use the same Bittersweet install I already have. VST lets you do that.
So you can get a different re-verb than the one you're using. There are, literally, hundreds of reverb effects to choose from.
Here's a place to start...
http://www.vst4you.com/reverb%20vst.html
Edited___
Oh hey, as far as using the verb on the vocal track, you can do the following to use the verb on the mixer.
You are going to close mic the amp and run the input through the mixer and add reverb there. That's good.
When you are done with that, simply run the vocal through the same signal chain, and pipe it through the mixer using the same reverb settings.
Bass is often recorded like that for players that have a "signature" amp sound. Since it is really hard to record bass live (it bleeds into everything) it is usually recorded DI. After all the other tracks are laid down, the bass signal is ran back through the amp, and that signal is recorded. Works great.
999 2012-01-25 22:05:11
Re: Guitar Naming (12 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)
All my guitars have names, but I do not name them. I treat them well, and they tell me what it is.
:-|
1,000 2012-01-25 18:02:26
Re: Any audacity whiz kids? (9 replies, posted in Recording)
Yeah, I haven't used Audacity in a while, but I downloaded it last night just because it comes up here so much.
The biggest issue is that Audacity doesn't work on an audio signal, it works on an audio file. That is, it processes the data on disk, so you can't hear what the effect is doing until after you've run it. A DAW will allow you to play the audio through the effect processor in real time so you can hear what each tweak is having on the sound. When you find the one you like, you're done.