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I think we used to have one of these threads a while ago, but haven't seen one in a while and figured it could be useful to have a catch-all thread for questions about instruments/styles/techniques that don't neatly fit into one of the other megathreads for guitar, bass, recording, synths/VSTs, DJing, etc. I'll start. 1) Can somebody offer some pointers on programming/sequencing a go-go beat? I get the basic feel of the syncopation, the use of junior congas, etc. but I'd appreciate any specific tips, or if anybody knows any drum notation or maybe a MIDI file or two that I could look at. 2) I have been noodling around recording some trad folk standards, and dug out my old recorder (the wind instrument) to play some of the melody lines. It's a plastic recorder I've had since I was around 10, and as much as I love those inexpensive music class recorders (they are fun to play and well nigh indestructible), the tone just isn't cutting it as a recorded lead instrument. I've been thinking about maybe stepping up to a wooden recorder at some point, but have heard that the embouchure and breath control are a lot more finnicky and demanding on wooden recorders. And given the drool-intensive nature of the instrument, I don't know how feasible it would be to try before I buy, or return an instrument I was unhappy with. So, can any recorder players comment on the playability of wooden recorders?
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Nov 13, 2009 06:13
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I'm not exactly sure how you'd qualify "better", but I think the larger instruments are a lot easier to learn the basics of. I played (orchestral) bass for a year in school and found it a pretty easy instrument to pick up, while violin is a fairly challenging instrument to get a good tone out of.
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Nov 14, 2009 05:08
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Kramden posted:Perhaps I should explain myself better - Check out the MoogerFoogers; an MF-107 FreqBox + one or more of the MF filter boxes sounds pretty close to what you are looking for. Alternatively, roll your own. It is pretty easy to build some simple oscillator + filter circuits, then you can put them in an enclosure full of light sensors and piezo elements and make some freaky and unique poo poo pretty inexpensively. Nicolas Collins' book "Handmade Electronic Music" is an excellent starting point for this kind of thing.
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Nov 19, 2009 18:10
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gotly posted:What is the best way to transition from Guitar Hero to electric guitar? I can get expert on Dragonforce but when I bought my First Act electric guitar from Target (only $85!) it doesn't sound anything like Dragonforce. Also, is there a good guide to transcribe the different colored buttons from Guitar Hero to guitar tabs?? The first thing to do is stop posting. Seriously, without the proper fundamentals, every time you click on "Post" or "Reply", you are risking a tendon injury which could prevent you from EVER sounding like Dragonforce.
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Nov 19, 2009 22:48
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Crankep posted:What should a music theory beginner learn and know by heart to have a good solid foundation? Really understand how chords and scales relate to one another, how chords are built out of scale tones. Understand how a formula like "I ii iii IV V vi viidim" works, how it relates to modes (Ionian, Dorian, etc.), and why the keys of C major and A minor both share the same notes. Understand how the circle of fifths works and how key signatures are constructed. Also do some ear training and play a lot of scales on your instrument of choice.
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Nov 28, 2009 19:55
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CalvinDooglas posted:What is appropriate to pay for a crappy 4 track recording device that I can line out to my computer? Any reliable brands? I've got like $50 or less to spare for it, but I and the band need a way to record casually. You could almost certainly find a used Tascam 424 (or other cassette Portastudio) in that price range; as long as the transport works okay those things are awesome.
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Dec 3, 2009 23:34
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Sylink posted:Can anyone recommend a full size keyboard with weighted keys? I'm told that on 80% of the digital pianos / controllers on the market, the keys/action are manufactured by Fatar, and it's rather on the light and flimsy side for serious playing. You might want to take a look at the Kawai MP5, which is supposed to have a pretty nice feel.
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Jan 7, 2010 02:20
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Huns posted:In Reason 4, how do you set up EQ/compression/whatever so that one instrument "dodges" another? For example, suppose you have some instruments and some voice, and you want the instruments to sort of fade to the background when the voice comes up so that the voice gets emphasis when it's active but the instruments are clear and present at all other times. I have tried carving up the EQ so that the voice is always clear, but since some instruments share the same frequency band, it sort of cuts back on how nice they sound. Compression helps, but it doesn't seem to be the best possible solution. What you're looking for is called sidechain compression (or "ducking"). Do a google search on "reason 4 sidechain compression" and you'll find a ton of tutorials.
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Jan 8, 2010 05:18
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pennywisdom posted:Has anyone tried Guitar Rig 4 yet? I'm getting so much more latency compared to 3. No problems here. I use it mostly with Ableton Live 7, with zero perceptible latency. With Sonar 8 I notice a little bit of latency, (couple of ms) but haven't really done any A/B comparisons between GR3 and GR4. I HAVE noticed GR4 is more CPU intensive than 3, especially in high quality mode (which I think it is by default). I'm running XP32 on a pretty beefy quad core CPU, 4GB RAM, using a Fireface 400 as the interface.
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Jan 8, 2010 10:40
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the Bunt posted:What are the fundamental differences between a Stratocaster and Telecaster? Stratocaster: - usually has three single coil pickups, though some ("fat strats") have a humbucker in the bridge position. Modern strats have a 5-way pickup selector switch, so that each pickup can be selected individually, or positions 2&4 can select either neck+middle or middle+bridge pickups simultaneously (these in-between positions give the strat its signature "quack" tone). - one volume control, two tone controls for neck + middle pickups (no tone dampening for bridge pickup) - routed body cavity underneath the pickguard (which affects the tone) - floating bridge, with springs in a routed rear cavity Telecaster: - usually has two single coil pickups (Telecaster deluxe has two humbuckers) with a three position pickup selector (bridge only, both, neck only). The neck pickup has a warm bluesy/jazzy tone while the bridge pickup has a very bright twangy tone that is the tele's signature sound. - one volume, one tone - solid body, routed only enough to seat the pickups (which affects the tone) - hardtail bridge. Vintage-style teles have a three saddle bridge (each saddle supports two strings), while some modern teles have a six saddle bridge. The bridge is mounted on a steel bridgeplate. Strats and teles have different body shapes, and different shaped headstocks, from one another. Lots of variation is possible in the fretboard, neck radius, etc. Both guitars can be really versatile. Strats have somewhat of a reputation for having a "thin" sound (which I think they typically do, in a good way), but they've been used by everybody from Hendrix to SRV to Iron Maiden, so they can definitely wail with the right pickups and the right signal chain. Teles have somewhat of a reputation as a "country" guitar, but go listen to the first Led Zeppelin album -- the guitar is all telecaster and it's one of the heaviest albums ever. Probably the best way to get a feel for tonal differences of the two (aside from playing them) is to go poke around on youtube.
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Jan 22, 2010 09:32
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Popcorn posted:Hey, that was it! Thanks, dude! I like the Edirol PCR controllers on account of Edirol/Roland is really good about driver support. The M-Audio Axiom controllers are also pretty popular. Really most keyboard MIDI controllers (until you get into pro-level digital pianos) are pretty similar in terms of features and build quality. Popcorn posted:2) What's the best way to record internet radio broadcasts through my PC? I want to sample streaming radio in my music. Streamripper works well for shoutcast/icecast/mp3-based streams. For other stuff you might want to take a look at Total Recorder or Virtual Audio Cable, though I haven't tried them myself and they're not free. (I would also love to know if anybody knows of a good, free general audio capture program).
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Feb 8, 2010 23:47
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scuz posted:Okay, band name legal question: Legal issues aside, I 100% promise you there will come a time when you will feel and look really dumb for co-opting another band's name. How are you going to feel when the original <band name> blows up huge a couple of years from now? Or when people see <band name> on a flyer and google the name? I don't know what to tell you about your dead-set guitarist but I guarantee you that even from the most self-interested perspective, this is a bad idea. You want your band to stand out and be distinctive, not have to tell people "oh no, we're that OTHER <band name>"
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Feb 11, 2010 21:36
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I'm pretty sure Finale supports VST plugins, if all you need are some better sounds. Garritan Personal Orchestra might be worth a look, they even have a page on using it with Finale There's also the EastWest Symphonic Orchestra packages, which come in several tiers -- they're more expensive (and require iLok) but are some of the biggest/best orchestral sample libraries around.
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Feb 12, 2010 06:23
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Yeah, that makes sense that you wouldn't be able to have as fine control over dynamics and articulation with Finale (in which case it wouldn't matter how good your sound source was). I agree Logic is probably your best option; it does come with a learning curve and a price tag but it sounds like a good investment in your case.
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Feb 12, 2010 19:20
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Does anybody know of a simple but decent freeware notation program? I am going to have a look at Finale Notepad, it's only  , but was curious if there's anything else out there worth having a look at.
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Feb 16, 2010 21:56
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kryptonik posted:I'm looking for my first guitar. I've narrowed it down to two at the moment. Reasoning being the Ovation my friend had and I liked it, and the Ibanez is the best selling on musicians friend so I figure it must be decent. I'm essentially just looking for some info/pointers on the both- which you guys think will be better? Maybe a better option? Are you dead set on an acoustic/electric hybrid? They are handy for playing live, but if it's your only guitar, you could get a regular acoustic that plays and sounds better for the same money (in particular the integrated tuner on the Ibanez seems a little gimmicky).
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Feb 17, 2010 01:27
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CalvinDooglas posted:What are you using it for? when you get down to the light version the only advantages it has are that you can print nice looking scores and hear it as you write. If you don't need those, I wouldn't even bother with software. Mostly just to sketch out ideas/exercises on my laptop, to keep the results neat and organized, and maybe occasionally to export the results as a MIDI file or PDF. I spent a couple hours tooling around with Finale Notepad and it looks pretty well suited to my needs.
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Feb 17, 2010 01:35
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kryptonik posted:I'm not set- but I do kinda like the idea of having the built-in tuner. Got any guitars I should look at? I've always been partial to Washburn acoustics, and if your budget is a little flexible, give a Martin DX1 a look.
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Feb 17, 2010 02:33
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FLX posted:I'm new to home recording and shopping for my first audio interface. I can get a M-Audio Delta 1010LT PCI-Audio Interface for really really cheap, but as far as I know, I need an interface with phantom power to record from a condenser microphone. I don't see phantom power listed in the Delta's specs, but it says 2x Mic Preamp. Is this the same as phantom power or can I still use all kinds of mics with the interface? No, that interface does not provide phantom power. Phantom power is not the same thing as a mic preamp, it will be listed as a separate feature if it's there.
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Feb 17, 2010 19:20
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FLX posted:Thanks! So what additional piece(s) of hardware would I need in order to use a condenser microphone with this interface? Yes, exactly.
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Feb 17, 2010 20:42
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NOT PAUL LAYTON posted:Are there any good resources for finding esoteric sheet music? I'd dearly like to perform Hard-Hearted Hannah in my voice class, but the only sheet music I've found is on pay sites and I've got a policy about not paying people for public domain. I'm pretty sure that song isn't public domain; it's in the ASCAP database and the songwriter didn't die until 1979.
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Feb 17, 2010 21:05
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BabyJaneHudson posted:Question: No, all you need to do is run the drum machine's line out into your sound card's line in. It looks like the DR-3 has phono style line outs, you should be able to go to Radio Shack and get a $5-10 cable that's 3.5mm stereo male at one end and splits into two male phono connectors at the other end. You don't need to mess with MIDI unless you are trying to get the drum machine to sync up to a sequencer on the PC or something. EDIT: you just need one of these http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3452165 h_double fucked around with this message at 23:27 on Feb 17, 2010 |
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Feb 17, 2010 23:25
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Some harmonica keys are definitely easier to play bends on. Also remember that if you are playing anything bluesy (or minor key in general), you will be playing crossharp, which means the key of the harmonica is actually based on drawing in the second hole (which is a fifth interval relative to the harmonica's main key). In other words, if you want to play a blues in B, you want a E harmonica. If you want to play a blues in Bb, you want a Eb harp. If you want to play a blues in C, you want a F harp. etc. (http://www.fetherbay.com/HarpTutorial.html has a complete chart) I've only played in a few keys myself, but a C harp is definitely an okay place to start.
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Feb 26, 2010 12:12
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AriTheDog posted:I'm trying to sample from some mp3s in Ableton Live. What's the best way to do this? You can drag an mp3 into an empty clip slot of an audio track, then warp/loop/crop/etc. from there. If you want to sample something really short (like a drum hit or something) you might want to crop it first (either in Live or another wave editor like Audacity), then drag & drop the cropped sample into Simpler/Sampler/a drum rack/etc.
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Feb 26, 2010 22:06
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http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may99/articles/synthsec.htm has a good basic overview of sine waves and harmonics (the whole series of Synth Secrets articles is awesome). Basically if you imagine plucking a string, the string will vibrate in a sine wave shape, this is the string's fundamental frequency (first order harmonic). (This is also, of course, a theoretical mathemetical string, since real world objects are much more complex and pure waveforms don't really exist outside of synthesizers -- though the oscillations of rippling waves in water, light waves, etc. can all be described as approximately sine wave shaped). If you place your finger halfway along the string and pluck half of the divided string, that half-length string will vibrate at twice the frequency, this is the second order harmonic (which, as you may know, doubling frequency = a tone one octave higher in pitch). If you subdivide the string into thirds, each third vibrates a 3x the frequency of the whole string -- the third order harmonic, an octave and a fifth interval above the fundamental). And so on. (and again, in the real world, the "piece of string" is the running pressure waves that transmit sound). If (like breaks said above) you take a sine wave and gradually add the integer order harmonics (e.g. mix in sine waves 2x, 3x, 4x... the fundamental frequency) with decreasing amplitude, you gradually get closer and closer to a sawtooth wave.  If you take a sine wave and add in only the odd-integer harmonics (fundamental + 3x + 5x...) you end up with a square wave  The math behind all of this -- building sounds out of sinewaves, and deconstructing complex sounds into their constituent harmonics -- is called fourier analysis, and it's the basis for everything from audio spectrum analyzers to pitch warping / autotune / melodyne / etc. If you want to get all experimental and dr. science about all this, you can grab an oscilloscope plugin (here is a free one for Windows) and hook it up to your favorite additive/subtractive synth. h_double fucked around with this message at 18:24 on Feb 27, 2010 |
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Feb 27, 2010 18:12
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Achtane posted:Hi, I have a little recording situation that I'd appreciate some help with. Based on that photo + description, those are RCA phono plugs (like A/V connectors on a TV), not 3.5mm plugs (like walkman headphones). Unless I'm mistaken, what you need is a 1/4" female to RCA male adapter. Plug your bass into the adapter, then plug the adapter into the interface. There should be someplace in Audacity to tell it to record off of either just the left or right channel, if not you can always bounce the one side to a mono track. You probably will not get a very strong signal level recording this way without any kind of preamp, but it should be okay to experiment with at least.
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Feb 28, 2010 08:18
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Popcorn, you could find a friend with Ableton Live (or download the two week demo), use its warp engine to nudge the audio into a tight sync, and export that audio track to load into Cubase. Alternatively, Sonar has a groove quantize feature where it will analyze the peaks of an audio clip and store that as a quantize map that you can apply to MIDI data (i.e. it will nudge the MIDI notes to line up with the rhythm of the audio clip). Maybe Cubase has something like that too?
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Feb 28, 2010 20:41
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Achtane posted:About that previous Behringer U-Control stuff... If you are using ASIO drivers on Windows, you can't have one interface for recording and one for playback, you have to use the same hardware interface for in+out. Also I don't know that particular device, but a lot of audio interfaces have their own mixer/control applet that overrides the Windows Control Panel mixer.
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Mar 6, 2010 20:56
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the Bunt posted:Is there a way to change time signature/tempo in Reason 4? I can only seem to use one time signature for each project. It's a pain in the rear end. http://tinyurl.com/y8gbldd Seriously though this is not the "small questions I was too lazy to spend 30 seconds googling" thread. EDIT: also there is a prominently labeled "automating tempo and time signature changes" section on page 94 of the Reason 4 manual, it is quite detailed and easy to follow. h_double fucked around with this message at 20:27 on Mar 11, 2010 |
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Mar 11, 2010 19:43
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Does anybody have any recommendations for an inexpensive expression pedal? I'm looking for something to plug into my Edirol PCR-500 control surface to use as volume/wah pedal with Guitar Rig / Amplitube. I see that Behringer and M-Audio make some inexpensive expression pedals, are they decent for home studio use?
h_double fucked around with this message at 05:34 on Mar 14, 2010 |
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Mar 14, 2010 05:30
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BulletRiddled posted:Does anyone know of any decent yet inexpensive amps that sound good with harmonicas? give a Pignose a whirl
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Mar 17, 2010 02:47
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Standing8 posted:Is there any free software to rip audio from DVD's for sampling purposes? VirtualDubMod has the advantage that you can (I think) open the VOB file directly from the DVD, crop the buffer to just the part you want to sample, then export that as audio. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure Handbrake and/or DVD decrypter can output a wav or mp3 of a DVD's audio track.
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Mar 19, 2010 18:57
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SugarPlumDemon posted:Is there a program that works like FruityLoops but with a wider range of voices for use with my midi keyboard? My keyboard only has 5 default voices, so it can get pretty stale alternating between them. I was looking for something with tons of digital voices (and possibly something that will record my midi, without making it sound overly midi) If you're using your keyboard as a MIDI controller connected to FL (or another host software), you can use it to control any of countless VST synthesizer plugins to make pretty much any sound imaginable (that is, your computer would actually be making the sounds, your keyboard would just act as an input device). This thread has a good discussion of some specific VSTs or head over to the plugin database at kvraudio.com.
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Mar 29, 2010 18:05
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Somebody recently posted a link to this article about impedance and amps/speakers in another thread. Also for bonus points you could spend a few minutes reading about Ohm's Law on wikipedia or howstuffworks or something.
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Mar 29, 2010 21:52
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dookie posted:I have a microkorg, how do I get it to midi sync with Ableton Live? Do I need external hardware of some sort? You need to connect the Microkorg to the computer via MIDI for both of these tasks. If you set the Microkorg's clock source to EXT, it will slave to Live's internal clock -- it will stop/start in conjunction with, and be tempo synced to Live. You can almost certainly use the Microkorg keyboard to control stuff in Live, I don't know if the knobs/buttons transmit over MIDI though.
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Mar 30, 2010 16:56
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Popcorn posted:1) Any tried-and-tested means of making your own mic stands? Is it worth it or should I just buy a stand? It seems an unexciting thing to buy. You can get a mic stand for about $20 and they will basically last forever. I can't imagine it'd be worth the hassle of trying to part out your own. Maybe hit up your local craigslist and see if anybody has a couple extras taking up space in their garage. Popcorn posted:2) Can anyone recommend me a good portable recording device I can use to make cheap-and-cheerful, but listenable, recordings on the fly? I don't mean like an 8-track or anything with sequencing/arranging features or whatever, I just mean like a dictaphone that records mp3s/wavs OK. The Zoom H2 is supposed to be pretty decent for the price.
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Mar 30, 2010 17:07
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Coca Koala posted:Are the Gibson '58 VOS a limited time deal that Gibson is doing? I dreadfully want one, but realistically I won't have 3700 dollars to blow on a guitar for a couple years, and any sort of limited edition thing is going to be long gone by the time I've got enough scratch to buy one. If that's likely to be the case, then I might just start convincing myself that the Epiphone version would be exactly the same and for a couple thousand dollars less. http://www.chrisguitars.com/gibson.html has a 2005 VOS '60 plain top in very good shape for $2499, it's #14 on the page (I've been buying stuff from Chris for years, he's a great guy to do business with).
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Apr 3, 2010 18:09
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codyclarke posted:On my electric guitar, the 1st fret on my high E string is buzzing pretty bad. This is the only fret that's giving me an issue. It started a few months ago, but I could still get a good sound out of the fret if I was careful with my fretting, but now it's just hosed. Is there a way I can fix this without taking it in somewhere? I'm sorta proficient at repairs, I can replace tuners/nuts, adjust truss rods. Is this a way harder job than I think, that I should just have someone else do? Sounds like it could likely just need a little adjustment of the action (string height). I would suggest the following steps, in order: 1) make sure you have new strings on the guitar 2) google "guitar setup" and read through a few guides to get a sense of what's what 3) don't mess with the truss rod until you've ruled out adjustment of the bridge saddles etc.
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Apr 4, 2010 06:30
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SugarPlumDemon posted:I currently own a CDP-100, connected to my computer by way of a USB cord. I use Red Dot Forever to record my music, which is just okay for it's intended purposes, but the sound quality is pretty crap. The emotional quality of the song is lost, because it sounds like a MIDI file. Is there any way to record a higher quality sound with a USB? There are two routes you could go: 1) Record your MIDI performance into a VST-capable software like MU.LAB Free, then use a sampled piano VST like mda Piano to play back the performance. or 2) Record your performance as audio rather than MIDI by connecting a cable from the headphone jack of the CDP (a quick google search informs me it does not have a separate audio line out) to the line in of your sound card. Then record the playing into something like Audacity; there will probably be an option somewhere in Audacity or the control panel like "enable input monitoring" which will allow you to hear the sounds as they are being played.
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Apr 7, 2010 04:06
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Furry Neo posted:How good do standard hard cases fare in airplane cargo holds? I'm looking at a way to get my LP to and from Seattle, and wondering what the best approach to take might be. I've seen some ~140 "flight cases" as well, but was unsure if they're much better. Talk to the airline and ask them what their policy is about taking guitars as carry-on; I think they are required to give SOME provision for bringing instruments carry-on but the exact policy might vary from airline to airline (e.g. they might want to you buy an extra seat or something, but it doesn't hurt to ask).
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Apr 7, 2010 04:09
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