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baka kaba
Jul 19, 2003

PLEASE ASK ME, THE SELF-PROFESSED NO #1 PAUL CATTERMOLE FAN IN THE SOMETHING AWFUL S-CLUB 7 MEGATHREAD, TO NAME A SINGLE SONG BY HIS EXCELLENT NU-METAL SIDE PROJECT, SKUA, AND IF I CAN'T PLEASE TELL ME TO
EAT SHIT

Haha, I should have looked at the video first - the 'my first tab' thing had me expecting something a little less technical (I suck)

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Summit
Mar 6, 2004

David wanted you to have this.
My band does a smaller recurring gig and we use a small PA for amplification. The PA is more than enough for the vocals and guitars and it's been sort of a policy, given limited space, that we not bring amps. However, I am having a really hard time hearing myself through the monitors and I don't think this PA produces bass tones very well. I don't know much about how PA's work, but is there anything I can do about this short of bringing in my own amp? I've tried boosting the bass on the PA as much as possible but no luck.

Edit: Sorry, I should have specified that I play bass guitar.

Summit fucked around with this message at 19:16 on Mar 11, 2011

Behold! A Elk!
May 12, 2009
Hi Everybody. I just downloaded guitar rig because it seemed cool. The only problem is i have no way to input my guitar into my computer right now. Does anyone have a suggestion for something cheap but stable that I can use. Am i needing one of those POD type devices? Thanks.

Popcorn
May 25, 2004

You're both fuckin' banned!
My new small question: can anyone recommend a good free pitch shifter VST? The one in Guitar Rig is perfect, but then I have to route non-guitar things through Guitar Rig, and that's stupid.

So far I've tried Redshift (which completely nonplussed me) and Whamdrive (which doesn't let me slide between pitches as you can on a real whammy pedal - that's what I need).

Behold! A Elk! posted:

Hi Everybody. I just downloaded guitar rig because it seemed cool. The only problem is i have no way to input my guitar into my computer right now. Does anyone have a suggestion for something cheap but stable that I can use. Am i needing one of those POD type devices? Thanks.

I'm still a newbie about this stuff, but I'm pretty sure a pod is a virtual amp modeller, which is the job Guitar Rig will be doing for you. You don't need that.

What you want is a soundcard interface with an instrument input. I have no experience with other interfaces, but I've been using one of these for a couple of years with no complaints: http://www.amazon.com/Lexicon-Alpha-Desktop-Recording-Studio/dp/B000HVXMNE

edit - read http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3278830

Popcorn fucked around with this message at 01:02 on Mar 17, 2011

Boz0r
Sep 7, 2006
The Rocketship in action.
I only really read tabs so I don't know where to get it, but does anyone know where I can get keyboard tabs or sheet music for the old Pointer Sisters song Automatic? I've googled around but I can't find anything.

Don Mega
Nov 26, 2005
Thanks to whomever gave me advice on the pickups a few months back. They are sounding great!

Don Mega fucked around with this message at 13:09 on Mar 17, 2011

workinonit
Jul 11, 2009
Does anybody know of a MIDI synth that allows you to assign a frequency to each key? I'm looking to play around with non-equal-tempered tunings and I've no idea how to go about it. Hardware or software, I'm not fussy.

Crudus
Nov 14, 2006

Alot of NI (Native Instruments) synths allow you to use non equal temperament, and even have a bunch of alternate scales programmed in. I've used Absynth, Massive, and FM8 personally and I'm pretty sure they all have this ability.

the Bunt
Sep 24, 2007

YOUR GOLDEN MAGNETIC LIGHT
I want to write some really heavy metal. I would like to use Reason 4 for the drums and bass. My question is what are some good drumkits to use for heavy music? Something that sounds semi-realistic.

doug fuckey
Jun 7, 2007

hella greenbacks
Can anyone recommend a portable digital voice recorder?

Ferrous Wheel
Aug 18, 2007

"This is not only a security risk but we occasionally get pigeons roosting in the space as a result."
Depends on your budget and particular needs, but I really really like my Sony PCM-M-10. It's small, the built-in mics sound quite good, the controls and menus are clean and well designed, and the external mic line in are very quiet and clean. Also, it uses micro SD cards so if you need more than the 4gigs built in (and some people do) you can use up to a 16gig cards\ and have it record seamlessly across both. I always have it set to track 16 bit 44.1 .wav; if you only need mp3 you have roughly a zillion hours. And after that, the batteries will barely show it.

The biggest drawbacks for me are that you definitely need a good windguard for outdoor recording, and the frame is very susceptible to handling noise. Additionally, while I consider it small, compared to some other specifically "voice" oriented recorders it's pretty drat big. For someone who doesn't do a lot of recording or doesn't need to sperg about it, the PCM might be overkill. I think it's incredibly useful to have things like the track mark button, wired remote, and insane continuous recording time. For a more casual recordist these things might be overkill.

If you want the smallest decent quality recorder around I'd look at the Zoom H1. Compact, simple to use, also takes microSD, and also has good battery life (on a single AAA no less). It retails for just over $100 even, so I think it's about the most bang for buck available.

Again, your exact needs and how much you want to spend will allow for a better answer.

doug fuckey
Jun 7, 2007

hella greenbacks
Okay. It'd be for an on-the-go podcast recording experiment me and a friend are conducting, meaning 30min-1hr mp3 files. We might be inside or we might be in a car, so something that wouldn't record ambient noise enough to drown out voices. Under $100 hopefully, as we need to also keep rent.

Transistor Rhythm
Feb 16, 2011

If setting the Sustain Level in the ENV to around 7, you can obtain a howling sound.

nationalista posted:

Does anybody know of a MIDI synth that allows you to assign a frequency to each key? I'm looking to play around with non-equal-tempered tunings and I've no idea how to go about it. Hardware or software, I'm not fussy.

I'm pretty sure that all of the Roland JV series synths offered this deep in the system settings, so check out the XP (30, 60, 80) line of keyboards or just the rack modules (JV-1080, 2080, XV series, etc.) All of Roland manuals are available here if you want to do some investigating: http://www.rolandus.com/support/owners_manuals/

With software, I'm pretty sure that all MIDI-based DAW's can do this. I know I've seen some Logic Environment setups that involve MIDI note transformers and so on.

Ferrous Wheel
Aug 18, 2007

"This is not only a security risk but we occasionally get pigeons roosting in the space as a result."

big business sloth posted:

Okay. It'd be for an on-the-go podcast recording experiment me and a friend are conducting, meaning 30min-1hr mp3 files. We might be inside or we might be in a car, so something that wouldn't record ambient noise enough to drown out voices. Under $100 hopefully, as we need to also keep rent.

Keeping out ambient noise with hardware basically means using separate mics for the voices, which requires said mics plus an extra input, which starts to get pretty expensive. The H1 will record well over an hour at a time, and it will record both the voices and the ambient noise. You can take out or at least the latter in post. That's the simplest, easiest, and cheapest way. It's possible to spend less and get something marketed just for speech (the Zoom is pitched to musicians), but I think the connectivity and storage warrant the cost in this case.

So yeah, I'd say get a Zoom H1 and start learning to use Audacity or another audio editing program so you can cut the segments the way you want them and do the (likely minimal) denoising you'll require.

Popcorn
May 25, 2004

You're both fuckin' banned!

the Bunt posted:

I want to write some really heavy metal. I would like to use Reason 4 for the drums and bass. My question is what are some good drumkits to use for heavy music? Something that sounds semi-realistic.

I'm not sure that kind of thing can be done using drum machines (virtual or otherwise). You probably want a realistic drum plugin like EZDrummer, though I don't think Reason lets you use plugins...

Long Wang
Aug 28, 2006

Lately I've been feeling like I'd really like to be able to be able to put a musical instrument in my mouth and play it good. The only musical experience I have is playing a few songs on a keyboard as a kid.

I think I'd like to play a woodwind or brass instrument rather than the typical choices of piano or guitar. Maybe a trumpet, saxophone, flute or clarinet.

I'm thinking of finding a music teacher and going there once a week for an hour. Would they typically provide the instrument or would you bring your own?

Any other pointers?

Ninja Toast!
Apr 22, 2009
Well here's the thing with instruments you put in your mouth/your mouth on (especially trumpets). They get full of your spit. That's pretty gross for sharing one.

If you're playing trumpet I'd definitely say they're not going to give you one, as those get so spitty they actually have valves to empty it out. But if they do you can just buy a mouthpiece, I mean the spit doesn't come back out that way, so that should be ok.

Clarinet and Sax you might get away with just buying your own mouthpiece since it doesn't really get inside them as much.

Flutes aren't so gross, but they don't really have removable mouthpieces that I'm aware of, so you're probably on your own there.

Of course all of this depends on whether your teacher has one available, so you'll just have to call and ask and see what they do.

BUT

If you don't have an instrument yourself, you're going to have a hard time learning anything by just doing it an hour a week. I'd really recommend trying to find one, you can possibly even get a used one cheap and get it cleaned up somewhere. Kids quit band class fairly frequently.

Bah, now I want to get my trumpet out and relearn it.

Tesseraction
Apr 5, 2009

As an ex-oboe player the oboe reed is perfect for letting your share the instrument as long as you own your own reed (which is cheap as poo poo). So that could be potential. I can't really say whether or not a private music teacher will provide one for practice, but if they have one they'd probably let you borrow it for the rehearsal session.

whereismyshoe
Oct 21, 2008

that's not gone well...
So, i've got a Sterling JP50 (beater alternative to my music man axis) with a floating bridge, and i'd like to change tunings on it every once in a while - but as i've discovered floating bridges are a BITCH to detune. can i solve this by buying higher gauged strings to keep the tension up and keep the bridge level? is there a rule of # of steps down = # of gauges up or something?

Ninja Toast!
Apr 22, 2009
I think I've heard a step= a gauge, I used power slinkys on a strat style guitar for awhile (I probably wont anymore, there's lots of strings that sound better, honestly) and thought those could handle drop C decently for my practicing purposes. I don't know that I'd play live with it, especially without having it set up for lower tunings, but then again my beater guitar is a lot cheaper than your "beater" guitar.

Long Wang
Aug 28, 2006

Ok, sounds like I'll have to buy my own instrument then. I guess I could recover most of the value if I sold it if I got bored.

I'm thinking of going with an Alto Sax, is $500 a reasonable budget for the instrument?

Pannus
Mar 14, 2004

whereismyshoe posted:

So, i've got a Sterling JP50 (beater alternative to my music man axis) with a floating bridge, and i'd like to change tunings on it every once in a while - but as i've discovered floating bridges are a BITCH to detune. can i solve this by buying higher gauged strings to keep the tension up and keep the bridge level? is there a rule of # of steps down = # of gauges up or something?

You'll have to adjust the spring tension anyway, but increasing the string gauge will probably make it easier. If you like to use different tunings, a floating bridge isn't a very good idea. Either block the bridge (if you don't use it to bend up), or consider getting an additional guitar with a fixed bridge...

22 Eargesplitten
Oct 10, 2010



I just bought a pair of Hearos musician's ear plugs. In hindsight, I'm wondering if I should have done my homework first. These things say they block 12 decibels, will that be enough for a rock concert? They also had pairs that blocked 19.2 and 22 decibels from a different brand, but the guy at the store said 12 would be plenty. Was he right, or am I still going to be damaging my hearing with these? Do they really attenuate the sound evenly like they are supposed to?

Gym Leader Barack
Oct 31, 2005

Grimey Drawer
I use Hearos at concerts and my ears feel much, much better than they used to at the end of a show sans-protection. The attenuation is probably not as perfect as you could want but they are still miles ahead of standard foam/rubber plugs as far as audio quality is concerned. Getting the Hearos seated correctly is probably the trickiest part, there seems to be a sweet spot where all the frequencies start rolling in, but I often have trouble finding it until the plugs have been in for a bit and have warmed up or my ears have stretched (or until an errant moshpit fist knocks them into the right position, this has happened more than once).
Also as they are a one-size-fits-everyone design it can be a little uncomfortable having them in for extended periods (all-day festivals and the like). If you see a dude constantly fiddling with his ears at a concert it's likely just an attempt to coax the Hearos into a less-annoying spot. Some form of lube (spit, moisturiser etc) helps a lot for repeated reseating attempts.
In spite of the comfort issues I still wear them at every event and will continue to do so until I can find a nearby audiologist who offers the custom earplug fitting service to get myself a proper set of musicians plugs.

Ferrous Wheel
Aug 18, 2007

"This is not only a security risk but we occasionally get pigeons roosting in the space as a result."
I can't speak to attenuation and safety since I've never played in a super loud band, but I used Hearos for a while and thought they were fine in terms of transparency and (for singer/songwriter pop and rock) safety. I later moved to Etymotics and I find them to be slightly more transparent and just as good for attenuation, but I'm not sure that's anything more than personal preference.

Just a note: db scales are not as straightforward as they seem, and I don't know how the various earplug makers take their measurements. The most accurate way to assess your situation would be to use an SPL meter at a few shows, and check the result against whatever info you can get about how your particular earplugs perform. I've never done anything that rigorous, but if I played metal or hardcore I might.

Here are the general rules I typically go by, keeping in mind that I'm just some guy on the internet and not an ear doctor or hearing safety expert: If you're playing loud enough to damage your hearing in the course of a single show, you will feel pain and there will be ringing afterward. If you spend numerous hours a week rehearsing and performing at high but non-painful volume, you might still experience hearing loss over time. If you aren't sensing pain or ringing after shows and you're also not putting in a huge amount of time onstage (or at practice), then you're probably fine.

Clockwork Sputnik
Nov 6, 2004

24 Hour Party Monster

Long Wang posted:


I'd really like to be able to be able to put a musical instrument in my mouth and play it good.

----

The only musical experience I have is playing a few songs on a keyboard as a kid.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melodica is the instrument for you!

I just got one and I swear it is a blast. :) And the Student ones can be had for < $40

Behold! A Elk!
May 12, 2009
About a week ago I asked what I should use for guitar rig and someone recommended the lexicon alpha USB interface thing. As I was looking I also check out lambda model which I really liked the feature set on it (Specifically the extra inputs for mics) and would like to get. However I was reading a lot of reviews and it seems that for every person who gets one and loves it someone else's doesn't work. Is there another company that makes a product with similar features and amount of inputs as the Lexicon Lambda but with better quality control (hopefully in a similar price range). Thanks.

NonzeroCircle
Apr 12, 2010

El Camino

Behold! A Elk! posted:

About a week ago I asked what I should use for guitar rig and someone recommended the lexicon alpha USB interface thing. As I was looking I also check out lambda model which I really liked the feature set on it (Specifically the extra inputs for mics) and would like to get. However I was reading a lot of reviews and it seems that for every person who gets one and loves it someone else's doesn't work. Is there another company that makes a product with similar features and amount of inputs as the Lexicon Lambda but with better quality control (hopefully in a similar price range). Thanks.

Be warned- make sure EVERYTHING is compatible with your OS before buying- I run Win7 64bit and because Ableton Live isn't natively supported as 64 bit, my Lexicon Alpha won't work, not with latest drivers, not with ASIO4ALL, nothing. The only way it outputs sound is with the WASAPI drivers that came with Windows- just about useable for using Guitar Rig 4 as a standalone, but as a plug-in or for recording? Forget it.

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3278830 is a good thread for you to look through.

PS: Anyone else found Lexicon's tech support stinks? Over a fortnight now since I contacted them (through their own site) and I haven't heard a peep, not even a 'nope, no fix available'.

An0
Nov 10, 2006
I enjoy eating After Eights. I also enjoy eating Old El Paso salsa with added Tobasco.
I'm running an Akai MPK49 into an E-Mu 0404 USB, which then goes into the computer for sounds, and headphones out for my stereo.

1. When I play using Reason, the sound doesn't work in Foobar/Firefox/Reaper, so I can't jam along to songs.

How can I change this ?

2. Even using the lowest sample rates, I still get latency - even with only a Redrum. Like just playing a kick at the same time as the metronome and there's a delay which fucks everything up.

Help ?

3. I bought a MIDI cable to run between the Akai and the EMU so as to reduce latency, but I don't think it's changed anything - and fiddling with Inputs in reason to make it "Midi In" never gives any sound.

I just wanna jam and make bad pastiches of Dilla beats :(

Boz0r
Sep 7, 2006
The Rocketship in action.
I've got a pretty vague question but I hope someone can understand what I'm talking about.

I was listening to Growing On Me by The Darkness and there's an intro bit that goes like this:
code:
------5-----5------5------------------0----
--------3-----3------3----3-------3-----3--
---2------2-----2-------2-------2---2------
---0--------------------------0------------
----------------------------4--------------
-------------------------------------------
Where all the notes rings out throughout.

When I play it, the first note rings clear, but when I add the next notes the sound is much more muddled than on the recording. I play an Ibanez RG1570 with GFS Hot Rails pickups through a Zoom G9.2tt to a Peavey Bandit 112. The problem persists if I just plug headphones into the Zoom board so I assume that is the source but it would be cool if someone could tell me about this.

If this doesn't make sense, I can try recording a sound sample of what I'm talking about.

h_double
Jul 27, 2001

Popcorn posted:

My new small question: can anyone recommend a good free pitch shifter VST? The one in Guitar Rig is perfect, but then I have to route non-guitar things through Guitar Rig, and that's stupid.

Why is it stupid? I use GR all the time on synth basses, organs, electric pianos, etc. You can use effects without putting any amp or cab models in the patch.

Guitarchitect
Nov 8, 2003

I've stopped playing my guitar for a while, mostly because I haven't found anything to hold my interest. I love to improvise, use a lot of open tunings, and it started to get frustrating that I couldn't play as many parts as I can hear in my head, at once (I play fingerstyle, on an acoustic that has no pickups).

so my question is... how can I set up a very basic looping setup with my PC? I'd like to be able to play around the way Bill Frisell and Zoe Keating do. She talks about hers here but I'm hoping someone knows how I can set up something basic :)

Ninja Toast!
Apr 22, 2009
If you're looking for a no money spent solution I found this program called ambiloop awhile ago. It seems to be perfectly capable, though I have to admit i never quite learned to use it beyond screwing around.

http://www.ambiloop.com/

It would probably be useful to have some kind of midi foot switch or something to hook up to it, but not necessary.

You'll need some kind of microphone though, blue makes the snowball and yeti which are relatively nice usb mics. The snowball is cheapish too.

Ninja Toast! fucked around with this message at 03:11 on Apr 4, 2011

Guitarchitect
Nov 8, 2003

Ninja Toast! posted:

If you're looking for a no money spent solution I found this program called ambiloop awhile ago. It seems to be perfectly capable, though I have to admit i never quite learned to use it beyond screwing around.

http://www.ambiloop.com/

It would probably be useful to have some kind of midi foot switch or something to hook up to it, but not necessary.

You'll need some kind of microphone though, blue makes the snowball and yeti which are relatively nice usb mics. The snowball is cheapish too.

oooh, neat, thanks! Hadn't heard of Blue's stuff... how does it compare to a traditional mic? it sounds like the USB mic is exactly what I'm looking for... I'll have to look around for some sound samples. I really like the Yeti - seems like it would cost the same as the snowball once you factor in the price of a stand

Ninja Toast!
Apr 22, 2009
Blue makes really expensive pro microphones, and then consumer level USB ones, for some reason. See here http://backstage.musiciansfriend.com/Blue.1889.brand?_requestid=196784
Can't say I used the pro ones, but I'm sure they wouldn't let their reputation get blown over some usb stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_tKhXUsrjI this is a good demo of both snowball and yeti and a non blue mic. (turn it up past standard definition or youtube video sounds awful) The Blue ones sort of kick the rear end of the audio technica one.

I think the snowball comes with the little tripod stand seen in the video, but I have the yeti myself, and its nice cause it has 4 recording options, omni directional, stereo, cardioid, and bi directional, the stereo and omni are nice for bands/drumkit type situations, the cardioid is good for guitar, the bidirectional is supposed to be for two person interviews I guess, but I haven't used it.

I'd personally go for the yeti, its only 105 on amazon, and quite nice. I'd offer you up a personal audio sample but all I have right now is a lovely test run with my drumkit when I first got the mic and hurried up and threw it on a stand to try out.

http://www.amazon.com/Stage-Stands-7701B-Tripod-Microphone/dp/B000978D58/ref=pd_bxgy_MI_img_c This stand is perfectly sturdy for 20 bucks too, if you think you might need one. Both should screw right onto it.

Ninja Toast! fucked around with this message at 04:13 on Apr 4, 2011

Guitarchitect
Nov 8, 2003

Ninja Toast! posted:

http://www.amazon.com/Stage-Stands-7701B-Tripod-Microphone/dp/B000978D58/ref=pd_bxgy_MI_img_c This stand is perfectly sturdy for 20 bucks too, if you think you might need one. Both should screw right onto it.

hmmm... maybe at my next apartment, no room here :)

one question, I read on amazon from one reviewer that the Yeti kind of takes over all the audio drivers. I have a good headphone/DAC pre-amp which I'd like to keep using while recording. did you find that this was the case, or were you still able to use the other audio drivers while recording?

BTW, thanks for the link... I actually found it shortly before your post, and I agree - the Yeti really does sound fantastic for the price. What would thenext step up in sound quality sound like?

Ninja Toast!
Apr 22, 2009
I've only really done some very basic recording with audacity with it, but it's basically just plug and play. Plug it in, computer detects it, go into preferences in your recording software and select the yeti for recording. There's nothing to install or anything. Really easy, had no issues with anything else, but all I used with it was recording while playing the other tracks out through my pc's headphone jack.

The yeti also has a zero latency headphone jack on the bottom of it, so while you're recording you can plug into that to hear what it's recording as well and control volume with the front volume knob.

Guitarchitect
Nov 8, 2003

Ninja Toast! posted:

The yeti also has a zero latency headphone jack on the bottom of it, so while you're recording you can plug into that to hear what it's recording as well and control volume with the front volume knob.

yeah I guess... but I really like my preamp :) if it's USB driver specific I'll just use an optical connector instead for my preamp (which I should be doing anyway...)

for $113CAD I think it'll definitely be a useful toy! thanks for the recommendations guys... now on to find a usb foot pedal...

Tesseraction
Apr 5, 2009

Boz0r posted:

When I play it, the first note rings clear, but when I add the next notes the sound is much more muddled than on the recording. I play an Ibanez RG1570 with GFS Hot Rails pickups through a Zoom G9.2tt to a Peavey Bandit 112. The problem persists if I just plug headphones into the Zoom board so I assume that is the source but it would be cool if someone could tell me about this.

Try playing it clean and see if it's a problem with your technique, if it's not then make sure you haven't got a hideous amount of reverb/distortion on your Zoom. Oh, and do you only have the one model of pick-up? Or two?

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Manky
Mar 20, 2007


Fun Shoe

Ninja Toast! posted:

If you're looking for a no money spent solution I found this program called ambiloop awhile ago. It seems to be perfectly capable, though I have to admit i never quite learned to use it beyond screwing around.

Don't suppose anyone knows what a good comparable program for the Mac would be?

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