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 Open box + on sale + Musician's Friend credit means I got a mandolin for $20. Plays and sounds great, even though I only know like 3 chords so far. I just can't figure out how to make the tailpiece cover stay in place. I think the clip-on tuner's gonna live on this thing for a while. I can tune a guitar by ear, but figuring out which of the unison strings is out of tune is harder than I imagined.
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Dec 25, 2018 20:51
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I couldn't sleep. I ended up taking out a 3 year credit agreement for a Linnstrument 128. Not sleeping is good for music, or something... They say shipping in about a week or two, so it should be with me soonish. I genuinely can't wait.
fuctifino fucked around with this message at 04:36 on Dec 26, 2018 |
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Dec 26, 2018 04:21
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fuctifino posted:I couldn't sleep. I ended up taking out a 3 year credit agreement for a Linnstrument 128. Not sleeping is good for music, or something... They say shipping in about a week or two, so it should be with me soonish. I genuinely can't wait. Man, I just got lost down the YouTube hole on this. Love the entire design of that thing.
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Dec 26, 2018 06:50
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Mandolin is a fun little thing to have around, especially at a crazy price like that. Learn a couple chop chords and you'll be good to go. I just ordered a hundred custom printed pieces of heat shrink. I never thought I'd pay as much for heat shrink as I am paying for 50' of Canare bulk cable, but I'm only gonna make this pile of patch cables once and I might as well give them some dope graphics. Next on the list: lots and lots of Switchcraft plugs - a mixture of straight, right angle, pancake. I just need to verify what plugs my guitarist wants to use per cable, then 
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Dec 26, 2018 17:02
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I like looking at interesting Fender-style guitars, and I finally had to put in an order on an Ibanez TM303M. This particular guitar has the Nashville Tele pickup layout with Brent Mason-style third knob for the middle pickup. They put it in a strange place on that pickguard, but maybe that adds character? According to the Ibanez parts catalog this model has been discontinued, along with the sparkly TM302PMs. Is that actually true? Are they just going to release an updated model? Did anyone actually buy these monsters to begin with? I have no idea. At $400 I assume the pickups will be dubious quality at best. All the more reason to figure out some kind of extremely silly wiring scheme for when they get replaced.
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Dec 27, 2018 00:35
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I bought some gear but I'm having it shipped to another state to dodge sales tax so it might be a while before I see it. So sorry for the stock photos. x1800 & SC5000
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Dec 27, 2018 00:44
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araeris posted:At $400 I assume the pickups will be dubious quality at best. All the more reason to figure out some kind of extremely silly wiring scheme for when they get replaced.
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Dec 27, 2018 00:57
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Testify.
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Dec 27, 2018 00:58
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araeris posted:I like looking at interesting Fender-style guitars, and I finally had to put in an order on an Ibanez TM303M. This particular guitar has the Nashville Tele pickup layout with Brent Mason-style third knob for the middle pickup. They put it in a strange place on that pickguard, but maybe that adds character? The neck pickup was huge and bassy and round, but not dark. Much fuller than I expected (being new to T-type tones). The bridge pickup was the most "Ibanez" sounding bit, it was a Tele pickup for sure; but had much more gain and bass. Probably just what you would want if you weren't looking for something totally traditional. I scrapped them because I wanted Danny Gatton's pickups, not because I didn't like the stock ones! Before:   After:    What really makes the guitar is the ergonomic stuff: the offset body, the 12" radius and bigger frets. What might hurt it is the weird controller layout caused by the Strat/Tele hybrid pickguard+jackplate decision. Wark Say posted:If owning 2 Agile guitars has taught me anything is that cheapo guitars can have some surprisingly baller pups. Sweaty IT Nerd posted:Testify.
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Dec 27, 2018 01:08
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Yeah my knockoff LP thing (not an Agile, a different (sued into oblivion by Henry J & co)) came with pretty decent pickups. I switched them out because i wanted something hotter but they're not bad sounding things as they were. Seymour Duncan etc have sold the specs for magnet + wire for a lot of stuff and you can do it cheaply and well with machines. Pickup switching on cheap guitars is more of a customizing thing than a necessity these days.
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Dec 27, 2018 01:24
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Every once in a while I think about replacing the pickups in my AL-3010, but I never do it because I know I'd just be replacing them for the sake of replacing them.
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Dec 27, 2018 02:49
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Anime Reference posted:Every once in a while I think about replacing the pickups in my AL-3010, but I never do it because I know I'd just be replacing them for the sake of replacing them. I feel the same way. Have a 627 (3100 from the custom shop), and the pickups surprised the poo poo out of me. Bridge is super crunchy in a very pleasing way, and the neck has a really clear bell-like tone, but can get that cool thick distortion if you hit it really hard. Really not sure what would work better, it's like everything I consider is a side grade, not an upgrade.
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Dec 27, 2018 02:55
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GnarlyCharlie4u posted:I bought some gear but I'm having it shipped to another state to dodge sales tax so it might be a while before I see it. So sorry for the stock photos. I have heard wonderful things about the new Denon DJ gear. Looks pretty drat nice, you'll have to post in the DJ thread once you get a chance to try them out.
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Dec 27, 2018 03:12
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No pics but I got a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and a Polytune 3. I'm stoked to try recording some stuff
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Dec 27, 2018 03:15
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Dr. Faustus posted:The stock pickups in my TM302M sounded pretty good, actually. It was also a $400 Indonesian instrument and it came to me perfectly playable and beautiful. I appreciate the heads up. I do think I'm leaning towards wanting a traditional Tele sound for this, but I'll give it a few chances first. I considered buying an Ibanez case to go with it, but the only case that AMS had that I was sure would fit was an $180 flight case. Definitely overkill for something that won't often leave my house. Any reason a more budget-friendly Jazzmaster case wouldn't fit this guitar? I do have an Agile AL-3010SE and can confirm that it has fine pickups in it for around $400 new. I've also previously purchased a Stagg guitar which came with what you might call "pickup-shaped objects" in it. Admittedly it was much cheaper, but it still gave me a little bit of suspicion of low cost guitars. I went to replace the P90 in the neck of that Stagg and discovered that a new P90 (from StewMac) wouldn't fit into the gap in the pickguard; the one it came with was slightly smaller than normal.
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Dec 27, 2018 03:24
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Anime Reference posted:Every once in a while I think about replacing the pickups in my AL-3010, but I never do it because I know I'd just be replacing them for the sake of replacing them. This is kind of what sold me on my last guitar from GFS. Sure, if I replace the pickups it's just to do it, but... it came with Kwikplugs, so it's not a big deal. 
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Dec 27, 2018 06:22
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Pablo Nergigante posted:No pics but I got a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and a Polytune 3. I'm stoked to try recording some stuff Scarlets are great! I really like mine.
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Dec 27, 2018 06:27
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Genuine question as I’m not really a guitarist: how come lots of people in these threads are really into cheaper fender imitation guitars? Why not just buy a real fender? Is it a price thing or is there a secretly mega cool thing about them I don’t know about?
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Dec 27, 2018 09:25
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gbs but from 2004 posted:Genuine question as I’m not really a guitarist: how come lots of people in these threads are really into cheaper fender imitation guitars? Why not just buy a real fender? Is it a price thing or is there a secretly mega cool thing about them I don’t know about? Squiers are just as good and often better than the Fender guitars in similar to slightly higher price ranges. I’ve owned an American Deluxe ($1,500 I believe) Fender before and my two Squier CV ($400)instruments are better in every aspect.
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Dec 27, 2018 09:52
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gbs but from 2004 posted:Genuine question as I’m not really a guitarist: how come lots of people in these threads are really into cheaper fender imitation guitars? Why not just buy a real fender? Is it a price thing or is there a secretly mega cool thing about them I don’t know about?
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Dec 27, 2018 10:03
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Professor Science posted:The biggest two Fender styles (Stratocaster and Telecaster) are very simple in terms of construction and hardware, especially the Tele, so they scale down in price without losing much quality at all. Compare to something like a PRS Custom 24, with a curved maple top, a set neck, and a bunch of pickup options; a Tele is a simple body shape, flat on top, bolt-on neck, simple pickup cavities, simple wiring. Yeah this. And it’s worth noting that the man himself Leo Fender designed it this way. Fender instruments were made to be cheap and consistent. Sturdy, easy to repair and so on. This leads to them being able to be copied easily at a low price without having to compromise on the base quality and design. It’s a weird side effect of a really awesome approach to guitar design from a dude who never played guitar himself.
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Dec 27, 2018 10:10
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Kilometers Davis posted:Squiers are just as good and often better than the Fender guitars in similar to slightly higher price ranges. I’ve owned an American Deluxe ($1,500 I believe) Fender before and my two Squier CV ($400)instruments are better in every aspect. That’s interesting. I’m a bass player primarily and I’ve found the opposite to be true for basses - the squiers I’ve played have felt and sounded horrible compared to USA and Mexican fenders I’ve played. That’s good news for me though wrt guitars as I suck too much to warrant spending a lot of money on a guitar
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Dec 27, 2018 10:49
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gbs but from 2004 posted:That’s interesting. I’m a bass player primarily and I’ve found the opposite to be true for basses - the squiers I’ve played have felt and sounded horrible compared to USA and Mexican fenders I’ve played. That’s good news for me though wrt guitars as I suck too much to warrant spending a lot of money on a guitar For what’s its worth I sold an EBMM Bongo 5 string because my Squier VM70s Jazz Bass played and sounded better. There are some awesome cheap ones out there too. But yeah the guitar world is weird as gently caress. My main setup is a $400 guitar going through over $1,500 worth of gear lmao If you want a guitar absolutely check out the Classic Vibes. They’re a steal.
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Dec 27, 2018 11:03
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Kilometers Davis posted:For what’s its worth I sold an EBMM Bongo 5 string because my Squier VM70s Jazz Bass played and sounded better. There are some awesome cheap ones out there too. Awesome, good tip thanks. I’ve got a USA fender jazz and a Mexican P bass and I tried my friends squier jazz and it sounded super bad and felt flimsy as gently caress, but I am on the lookout for a decent guitar however it makes little sense for me to spend serious money on one as I’m not a great guitar player
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Dec 27, 2018 13:39
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The Squiers being good is a relatively recent thing and as far as I know it's mostly the Classic Vibe line.
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Dec 27, 2018 14:04
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I’m currently trying to decide if I want to re-fret my Squier II strat. It was my first guitar, I love how the neck and maple fretboard feels. Hardware-wise I swapped the stock pickups (which were GARBAGE) for the EMG DG-20 setup forever ago and I’ve had the trem blocked off since I bought the thing. New frets starts at about what I paid for it, but neck aside there’s nothing on it I can’t remove and replace on another strat-like. That’s my main issue in budget-line land right now. All our other guitars are the cheap line, too. A couple Epiphones, a PRS SE, a Squier Jaguar bass (which is baller as gently caress for rock tones.) with the exception of a couple specific and particular guitars or hardware options, if it plays well, that’s the only thing that matters in my book. Pickups and rig matter a lot more to me, and that’s not even accounting for if I plan on recording, which introduces even more variables.
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Dec 27, 2018 15:25
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Shugojin posted:The Squiers being good is a relatively recent thing and as far as I know it's mostly the Classic Vibe line. This. I have a Classic Vibe P Bass and it sounds great, and my Classic Vibe Tele Custom is literally the best-feeling guitar I've ever played
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Dec 27, 2018 16:53
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MrSargent posted:I have heard wonderful things about the new Denon DJ gear. Looks pretty drat nice, you'll have to post in the DJ thread once you get a chance to try them out. I hope they continue to make regular firmware/software updates to improve them. Pablo Nergigante posted:No pics but I got a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and a Polytune 3. I'm stoked to try recording some stuff Office Scarlett checking in!  They're pretty awesome.
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Dec 27, 2018 17:15
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Shugojin posted:The Squiers being good is a relatively recent thing and as far as I know it's mostly the Classic Vibe line.
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Dec 27, 2018 17:32
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betterinsodapop posted:The early 90s Squiers were nice. Of course, they were made in Mexico of American parts, and that was 20 something years ago! Yeah there was this like dive period when they started making them overseas and they were poo poo but then in the past like 5ish years they got solidly good again, like my Squier Jazzmaster is legitimately very good
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Dec 27, 2018 18:21
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Guitar quality as a whole is totally random, you have Gibson which had a bunch of terrible years in the mid 2000's, Rondo sourcing really surprising builds out of South Korea, all the small boutique US builders who make some great guitars for a few years then realize it's not financially feasible and close shop (and their counterpart, the scam builders who make a few good guitars, take tons of preorders based on that, then deliver garbage or flee). I've been buying and trading guitars for a couple decades now and haven't found any sort of thread tying the good builds together. They're all from different areas, with different woods, different styles. Even resonance is irrelevant when it comes to electrics, ime. My two best sounding electric guitars are pretty flat and lifeless acoustically, and the one that sounds amazing unplugged is really lackluster plugged in. I think taking the chance on cheaper builds is much preferable to trying to hit that perfection with a single $2000 Gibson LP standard. There will be amazing examples of both, and unless the goal is resale/investment (or just wanting a Gibson), it's a lot safer to take the risk when it doesn't cost a couple months rent.
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Dec 27, 2018 18:51
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Shugojin posted:Yeah there was this like dive period when they started making them overseas and they were poo poo but then in the past like 5ish years they got solidly good again, like my Squier Jazzmaster is legitimately very good
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Dec 27, 2018 19:25
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GnarlyCharlie4u posted:I've demo'd them a few times and I was really impressed. I can't wait to put them through their paces though. I'll be sure and post when I get crackin' on them. I thought I remember reading that Denon made a pretty big investment in these so I would have to imagine they want to keep it regularly updated to try and establish a footprint in this market that is dominated by Pioneer CDJ's. Can't wait to see what you put together, what type of music do you typically play? If I was home, I would post my office Scarlett as well. Started out with the 2i2 and upgraded to the 18i8 about a year ago. Shugojin posted:Yeah there was this like dive period when they started making them overseas and they were poo poo but then in the past like 5ish years they got solidly good again, like my Squier Jazzmaster is legitimately very good Do you know what year the Squier Jazzmasters started getting solid again? I am in the market for a Fender Jazz Bass and have been looking at a second-hand Standard (MIM). But if a Squier Jazz Bass is that good, I could save quite a bit going that route. I should probably go over to Guitar Center this week and play them.
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Dec 27, 2018 19:44
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MrSargent posted:Do you know what year the Squier Jazzmasters started getting solid again? I am in the market for a Fender Jazz Bass and have been looking at a second-hand Standard (MIM). But if a Squier Jazz Bass is that good, I could save quite a bit going that route. I should probably go over to Guitar Center this week and play them. I'm not sure when they introduced the Classic Vibe line. Googling around a bit I can find posts talking about them being quite good going back to 2012 so maybe around then?
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Dec 27, 2018 20:18
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MrSargent posted:I thought I remember reading that Denon made a pretty big investment in these so I would have to imagine they want to keep it regularly updated to try and establish a footprint in this market that is dominated by Pioneer CDJ's. Can't wait to see what you put together, what type of music do you typically play? I play all sorts of stuff, but mostly edm, deep house/techno, dnb/jungle, disco, etc... I'm still learning to remix, build sets, layer tracks, and dabbling in scratching and beat juggling to augment sets and be a little more "active" in the mix than just turning knobs and standing there. Eventually I'd like to get more into the production and performance side of things. So, expect to see a bunch of posts from me with synths, samplers, sequencers, drum machines, and so on. This is what I'm coming from:   4 sl1200's, a cdj1000mk3, behringer djx700, akai lpd8, probably some other poo poo I'm forgetting and a Numark NS6ii in various configurations. But, New Year - New Gear. I'm planning to lose the NS6ii, djx700, MAYBE a pair of the sl1200's, and maybe the cdj-1000 but only if I can get something newer to replace it. It's really too bad the Denon's don't actually play CD's because I have a fuckton of discs I'm not looking forward to ripping. I'll also be ditching Traktor Pro 3 (I tried it for like an hour and I literally cannot even), plus a pair of Traktor Timecode vinyls. My NS6ii is a great intro controller. It's got a ridiculous amount of features for something so cheap and it integrates very well with Serato. It was the perfect thing to learn on imo, especially since I could use my turntables with it. I really like the sample pads and the Auto loop function gets used a LOT. I'm gonna miss that on the Denon for sure. I'm still on the fence about getting rid of it but I could really use the money to put towards other stuff. I haven't really assembled a list of synths/sequencers/drum machines yet, but I haven't really had a chance to play with anything. I tried an Akai MPC Live and it was pretty cool but I don't know if I'm quite ready for that. I like the standalone capability, but the workflow looks tedious. And I have a really hard time navigating layered menus of poo poo. My brain has more of a "see button, push button" mentality. I considered a Maschine product and Ableton Push but I'd really like to ditch the laptop entirely. I was also looking at a Pioneer Toraiz SP-16. They seem like a great middle ground between something capable and intuitive, albeit less capable than the Akai MPC Live. But I'm still not sure if that's the direction I'd like to go, and definitely want to try it out before I buy it.
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Dec 27, 2018 20:55
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GnarlyCharlie4u posted:Office Scarlett checking in! Nice! Until now I only had an ancient-rear end first gen M-Audio MobilePre that isn't even supported by modern OSes and I'm pretty sure was USB 1.0 so I'm excited to have something that actually works MrSargent posted:Do you know what year the Squier Jazzmasters started getting solid again? I am in the market for a Fender Jazz Bass and have been looking at a second-hand Standard (MIM). But if a Squier Jazz Bass is that good, I could save quite a bit going that route. I should probably go over to Guitar Center this week and play them. Dunno bout the JMs but I got my classic vibe P-bass in like 2010? And the tele in 2011 or 2012 so they've been making quality poo poo for a while now.
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Dec 27, 2018 21:11
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That's awesome dude, really nice setup you have there. Definitely keep me in mind if you are looking to sell one or more of your SL1200s, I have been keeping an eye out for one lately to upgrade my LP-120. I am more on the production side of things and make a lot of sample-based hip-hop so most of my turntable use revolves around sampling vinyl records and recording scratches over my beats. I taught myself some basic DJing techniques on a Traktor S2 and that was a lot of fun, but since then I have definitely focused more on the production side of things. I use a Push2 as my primary controller but also have a Yamaha keyboard I use as a MIDI Keyboard quite a bit. I love the Push2, its an incredibly powerful and inspiring controller when used with Ableton Live. But if you are trying to get out of the box, its probably not the route to go. It uses Ableton's native samplers to warp/chop/alter samples and they are actually quite good, but require you to be running Live. If you have any questions about samplers or production gear, definitely shoot me a DM. I don't pretend to know everything, but I have learned a lot over the last 6 years producing and can help you avoid some mistakes I made in terms of gear purchases.
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Dec 27, 2018 21:24
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MrSargent posted:That's awesome dude, really nice setup you have there. Definitely keep me in mind if you are looking to sell one or more of your SL1200s, I have been keeping an eye out for one lately to upgrade my LP-120. I am more on the production side of things and make a lot of sample-based hip-hop so most of my turntable use revolves around sampling vinyl records and recording scratches over my beats. I taught myself some basic DJing techniques on a Traktor S2 and that was a lot of fun, but since then I have definitely focused more on the production side of things. I use a Push2 as my primary controller but also have a Yamaha keyboard I use as a MIDI Keyboard quite a bit. Will do on all of the above. The other 2 SL1200's need restoration which is why I didn't post them. They're both safely packed away in flight cases until the day I get a chance to give them a thorough going over. I already plan on replacing the pitch faders because, 'why not?' They're old and definitely need tuning so I might as well replace them with nice new units and dial those in instead. I'm thinking maybe I'll swap the RCA wires for plugs mounted to the plinth so I can easily use custom made cables. Same goes for the chassis ground, and power. Like you, I had planned on using a turntable to sample, which is another reason I liked the Akai. On the surface it looked like it had really powerful sampling/chopping abilities + a phono input. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3wyBXWPJpk https://www.facebook.com/AkaiPro/videos/10156143520273048/ GnarlyCharlie4u fucked around with this message at 21:59 on Dec 27, 2018 |
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Dec 27, 2018 21:56
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GnarlyCharlie4u posted:I bought some gear but I'm having it shipped to another state to dodge sales tax so it might be a while before I see it. So sorry for the stock photos. Nice! Echoing MrSargent here, definitely follow up in the DJ thread when you play around with these a bit. I was thinking about pulling the trigger on a pair of the SC5000s earlier this month but I heard conflicting answers to "will they Link with the Pioneer gear?" I'm so used to the CDJ layout (even if Rekordbox can suck both of my dicks) that I just ended up grabbing another pair of 2000s. I would still absolutely switch though if these things turn out to be great. As for me, I copped a LOT of gear this season, due to an unexpected windfall (a life insurance payout from a close relative). I'll post pics of everything here once it's all arrived and set up. Stay tuned, or don't.
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Dec 27, 2018 23:23
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GnarlyCharlie4u posted:Like you, I had planned on using a turntable to sample, which is another reason I liked the Akai. On the surface it looked like it had really powerful sampling/chopping abilities + a phono input. The MPC is definitely the most popular hardware sampler and its really easy to sample from a turntable. You mentioned you have issues with menu-diving so one of the newer MPC's (like the MPC Live you mentioned) is probably going to be your best bet. Older MPC's like the 2500 have a great sound, but basically rely on a Custom OS called JJOS to make huge improvements to the workflow. If mobility is a need, the MPC Live is definitely a good option as most of the other models can have a pretty huge footprint. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a better hardware sampler than the MPC.
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Dec 28, 2018 00:46
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