[quote=telemore;18556170]Yeah, I was lurking all over BYOC yesterday. Good stuff and very interesting information.[/quote]

For some good starter projects, GeneralGuitarGadgets is a good place to go. I'm going to etch the PCB this week for their discontinued Ring Modulator kit.


I just spoke with my old math teacher from high school, and provided she and I can collaborate on the lesson plan and topic coverage, she has agreed to let me come guest lecture for her introduction to geometry/proofs lesson.

Also, I've been working on a topology proof (off-and-on) for 2 months now and I still can't figure it out. Damn.

Yeah, getting that VST refunded. Might get the orchestral samples and have fun times remixing video game music I love haha

Also, guys, listen to the Glassjaw cover I did with kerfuffled:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/24889051/FINISHED%20LENNON.mp3

I think I'll sleep on it a bit and come back to it, but it's the first song I've done any mixing on ever, haha. Tell me what I've done wrong! I haven't changed the velocities at all on the drums, I know they sound a bit plasticy and shit.

PS, there's no singing. Yet. Need to find someone who is willing to try it.

The Echo Audiofire 2 will be in my hands in a few short weeks. Hooray for recording again!

I lost my toenail yesterday when playing around in a creek. Now my foot hurts and it'll be almost a year before the nail grows back. Eff.

Once I stubbed my toe and it really hurt. Then a few months later, I noticed my nail was coming up, and a second nail had taken its place underneath. So the first one just kind of pulled off and all was good.

[quote=fatbandit;18563794]Once I stubbed my toe and it really hurt. Then a few months later, I noticed my nail was coming up, and a second nail had taken its place underneath. So the first one just kind of pulled off and all was good.[/quote]

Yeah, that happens. Mine was barely hanging on, so we bandaged it and wrapped it up tight. Upon investigation a few minutes ago, it looks like it my toenail may have reattached. Still hurts like a mother to walk on it, though.

[quote=FunkMetalBass;18559823]The Echo Audiofire 2 will be in my hands in a few short weeks. Hooray for recording again![/quote]
You do have a preamp to use with it right?

Alright Joel - how do I make my snare good? It's the one thing that's stopping me being vaguely happy with this mix. Except the fucking crash.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/24889051/Mix%202%20better%20snare%20i%20really%20hopeee.mp3

[quote=Convectuoso;18566236]You do have a preamp to use with it right?[/quote]

Yes.

I also have an M-Audio mic preamp that may or may not work to get me by until I can get the Pre73. In any case, I'm more concerned with recording instrumentation before I record vocals, so I've got time.

[quote=fatbandit;18566244]Alright Joel - how do I make my snare good? It's the one thing that's stopping me being vaguely happy with this mix. Except the fucking crash.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/24889051/Mix%202%20better%20snare%20i%20really%20hopeee.mp3[/quote]
You know what? The first mix sounds better.


The snare sounds better in the old one. Now it sounds all weirdly EQ'd. In the old one it wasnt to bad. Also the kick was more natural. Now it's all crushed and shit. It was better in the old mix I think.

You know if you add vocals you'd probably see the first mix come into itself. Like the drums actually sound pretty damn good. They've at least got some weight to them. Besides the fact that I can hear that they are programmed they're pretty sweet. What program are you using? But yeah that cymbal has to go. It's probably just the program fault. It'd hard to get constant crashes sounding realistic when it keeps triggering the same god damn sample every time. It's not natural!


The bass tones sound pretty sexy also. Guitar are good, but I'd say the weakest tonally.

Well done man. :chug:

[quote=FunkMetalBass;18566259]Yes.

I also have an M-Audio mic preamp that may or may not work to get me by until I can get the Pre73. In any case, I'm more concerned with recording instrumentation before I record vocals, so I've got time.[/quote]
Okay all of that makes sense except the instrumentation part? What do you mean?

[quote=Convectuoso;18567278]You know what? The first mix sounds better.


The snare sounds better in the old one. Now it sounds all weirdly EQ'd. In the old one it wasnt to bad. Also the kick was more natural. Now it's all crushed and shit. It was better in the old mix I think.

You know if you add vocals you'd probably see the first mix come into itself. Like the drums actually sound pretty damn good. They've at least got some weight to them. Besides the fact that I can hear that they are programmed they're pretty sweet. What program are you using? But yeah that cymbal has to go. It's probably just the program fault. It'd hard to get constant crashes sounding realistic when it keeps triggering the same god damn sample every time. It's not natural!


The bass tones sound pretty sexy also. Guitar are good, but I'd say the weakest tonally.

Well done man. :chug:[/quote]

Really? I think the drums in the first one sound totally limp, and the whole mix sounds empty D: The snare IS weirdly EQ'd and shit, ha, I keep just messing with it to no avail :/ It's kind of weird trying to mix to sound like an existing song, but also trying to put your own stamp on it, but also being limited by what you're working with and your experience! But I think the newer kick fits better in that respect? I'll go back and re-evaluate everything though!

I'm using SSD in Reaper for the drums, with some other compressors and FX and shit. For the most part they're pretty decent sounding, but it's hard to get a sound out of them which is a bit more raw. It starts fighting against itself, or that's how it feels! I don't even know why the crash is doing that, cuz it's supposed to be a good program for avoiding that weird sound, and there are lots of different samples in it and stuff.

Distorted guitar is the thing I probably find most alien trying to work with at the moment. But it's just a DI with some amp sims and shit, so anything's easily changeable if you've got any suggestions?

And yes! I totally want vocals on it, but I can't find anyone with the skillz :(

Thanks for listening to it and stuff :)

[quote=Convectuoso;18567279]Okay all of that makes sense except the instrumentation part? What do you mean?[/quote]

Instrumentation - bass, acoustic guitar, electric guitar. I record them all direct (with the electric, I'd prefer to use a mic if I had a worthwhile amp, but I don't).

Speaking of Guitar Amps, how do y'all feel about Peavey ValveKing amps?

I've heard some great sounds come from them - pair it with a good cab! Great entry level valve amp for guitar as far as I'm concerned.

[quote=fatbandit;18567753]I've heard some great sounds come from them - pair it with a good cab! Great entry level valve amp for guitar as far as I'm concerned.[/quote]

Raayl has suggested an Orange combo, and I like the idea of using something smaller for recording. Ideas?

Small amps are awesome. But it all depends on the genre.

If it's heavy, you'll want something big.

If it's not, I'd personally recommend a Fender Deluxe Junior with a decent overdrive pedal. Great little amp. Probably one of the cheapest all tube amps you can get with a 10 inch speaker.

I'd probably guess the Orange Tiny Terror would be the coolest thing you could get, but pretty expensive I guess.


Fatty: I will reply with a coherent response when I am more awake :(

Man, now I really have to take my guitar and pedal down to the shop and play around to see what kind of distortion I like.

Man, now I really have to take my guitar and pedal down to the shop and play around to see what kind of distortion I like. A large cab and head isn't really reasonable when I have no use for it live and no room for it for just recording. If I do go with something small, I'll have to play around with my pedals to see if I can make up the difference. Part of me kind of misses my old Line 6 2x12. Also, Joel, what are your views on scooping the mids on a guitar? Is it as taboo as it is in the bass community?

Lol my amp doesn't even have an EQ section, it's got Volume and Tone (turn it up to make it brighter), so I use my pickup selections to change the tone.

Preferably you want to just make it sound good. I wouldn't do anything radical unless I had to. Scooping mids is almost as radical as it gets. It usually just sounds weird to me.

Best advice is to use your ears, try and get the best sound from the amp in the room, then chuck a 57 on it and move it around until it sounds good. (Which us almost always different on every cabinet). A safe bet is right on the cone as close as you can get it, then experiment with moving it back and forth (whilst maintaining the position vertically and horizontally).

I've played around with my roommate's Crate 2x12 in the past, and I always thought scooping the mids had the best sound. Maybe I'm too keenly aware of the sonic spectrum that I like my bass to sit in, and so I'm subconsciously trying to leave it open? Who knows. A trip to SamAsh tonight is in order.

I dunno man, like, I'm of the mind that doing the least amount of processing possible is the best idea in most cases, so long as you're getting the right tones.

Ideally, you plug a Les Paul/Tele/Strat (of at least 2000 into a Marshall/Mesa/Fender/Orange/Matchless/etc and it sounds like god.

[quote=Convectuoso;18568399]I dunno man, like, I'm of the mind that doing the least amount of processing possible is the best idea in most cases, so long as you're getting the right tones.

Ideally, you plug a Les Paul/Tele/Strat (of at least 2000 into a Marshall/Mesa/Fender/Orange/Matchless/etc and it sounds like god.[/quote]

Well, this was a SS Crate, so that could have a lot to do with it. The guitar is also tuned to C-standard, so the shift in tuning might be causing some necessary processing to sound good to my ears.

Saw Primus last night. Fucking epic! Totally not stoked for new album though :/

God damnit! We had almost a full week with no Casual posts, and you ruined it on day 6. Time to start all over.

I'm kind of looking forward to their new stuff - the few video clips I've seen have definitely reminded me of their older Frizzle Fry stuff. And it's way better than [i]Animals Should Not Try To Act Like Humans[/i].

i dunno, they did a couple with an electric upright that sounded kinda promising, but still just like album tracks they wouldn't play live. They just didn't sound like strong tracks :/

My Audiofire came in. Sweet. Then I realized my motherboard doesn't have a firewire port. **smacks forehead** At least they're cheap.

Lol, that's the specific reason I went with my Focusrite one, cuz its a USB.

Anyway, I'm picking up a Mark Hoppus sig bass in a few days in Daphne blue. I don't really like the colour, and I was thinking of taking the opportunity to refinish it, and change out the chrome hardware for black, and get a nicer bridge and straplocks. Is refinishing hard? I was probably going to go down the rattlecan route.

And a random thought, but is getting the current tuners and stuff powdercoated black a sensible option instead of buying new ones?

I dunno, I would personally just replace them all with Hipshot black tuners. But then, that's just me.

Also, hello MX, it's been, what, 3 years since I last posted? I see that it hasn't aged well at all!

[quote=fatbandit;18579179]Lol, that's the specific reason I went with my Focusrite one, cuz its a USB.

Anyway, I'm picking up a Mark Hoppus sig bass in a few days in Daphne blue. I don't really like the colour, and I was thinking of taking the opportunity to refinish it, and change out the chrome hardware for black, and get a nicer bridge and straplocks. Is refinishing hard? I was probably going to go down the rattlecan route.

And a random thought, but is getting the current tuners and stuff powdercoated black a sensible option instead of buying new ones?[/quote]

I intentionally went with the firewire as an upgrade from USB so that I didn't have any latency issues (I realize it's not a huge deal with only 2 tracks, but it was equally priced, so I figured it'd be worth it).

Refinishing isn't the easiest, and you have to be very patient. Also, if you want a good finish, you want to get good paint and a spray can with a good spray tip. I'd recommend going to an autobody paint shop and having them mix you up some paint. After that, it's all consistent spray technique, light coats, and patience.

Powdercoating is a tough one, because many places wont tackle small jobs like that so it might cost more than it would to buy all new black hardware. If I were going to pay for the powdercoat, I'd probably just pay for upgraded hardware, like Hipshot or Gotoh for a high-mass bridge and lighter tuners.