Been working on a cover of Bryan Adams song Run To You and have been struggling a lot with the guitar sound. All of the Les Paul’s have way too much low end & sound really muddy. The amount of EQ required to “fix” this is ridiculous. The Strat actually works really well. So the takeaway is that a $150 Squier works better here than a $6000 Gibson.
Well, the best laid plans of mice & men I guess. The Carparelli Infiniti didn't work out as planned. It has an onboard Zoom effects system that requires 4 AA batteries. Even though the batteries are fine for some reason the unit went into a massive feedback loop today. sigh
So back to retrying with my Fender Squier. Managed 10 takes today. I definitely need to get that new Fender. On the bright side, I've played the riff so many times now I can practically do it with my eyes closed.
Leia had a really rough night, throwing up everything she’d eaten yesterday. Undigested, so her systems are shutting down. Also pooped out a huge pile at the bottom of the stairs trying to get to her litter box. She is clearly in a lot of pain now.
So we’ve made the difficult decision that we need to let her go & end her suffering, our visit to the vet later this morning will be her last. She’s been a wonderful friend and we’re going to miss her terribly. #cats#catsofmastodon#cancersucks
Well, I’m now beyond frustrated with Apple. Was working with Apple Loops in Logic this morning, went to use the search feature, picked a filter and now all the loops are totally gone. I reindexed them, nothing; reinstalled & reindexed them, nothing. Deleted the preference file, rebooted, nothing. Lost all my settings when I deleted the preferences too. So looking like I need to delete anything Logic related for preferences & logs the reinstall Logic. 🤬 #apple#logic#recording#gearsquad
Really hate tech sometimes. Was listening to a tune I've been working on for the past couple of weeks yesterday & suddenly the speakers cut out. After doing a number tests rearranging cables I've determined that outputs 1 & 2 on the Apogee Symphony are no longer functional. Have to take it in now for a warranty repair, which is likely to take weeks. Really frustrated, & thinking that after all the issues I've had the past year I've chosen the wrong hobby. #gearsquad#musicproduction#recording
Found out this morning that I cannot update Logic Pro to 10.8 unless I'm running at least MacOS Ventura. So I'm saying goodbye to Monterey after years of service and taking the plunge. I think I might loose a few plugins, but c'est la vie.
Well, my attempt to switch to being a lefty guitar player isn’t going to work. I just can’t get my fingers to work the right way on the fretboard without them getting in the way of each other. And forget about strumming or picking, that’s a total disaster. So I’m just going to have to keep taking the anti inflammatories and limbering my fingers up as best I can before playing. #guitar#gearsquad
Well, go figure. I’m now totally perplexed. Powered the system up this morning, and it works. Nothing different from yesterday when it wasn’t working, just an 18 hour power down.
So what’s my take away here? Firstly, I’ve lost all faith in the Presonus interface. Secondly, I’ve bought myself some extra time to explore alternatives, but an alternative will have to be found. Thirdly, I need to make hay while the sun is shining.
Frustrated beyond belief right now. When I shut down the studio last night everything was working, and I had everything set to start recording this morning. Power up this morning and … nothing. Figured pretty quickly it was an output issue with the Presonus Quantum 4848. Pulled it all apart and tested every cable. Cables are fine. Inputs on the Quantum working. Outputs say they work but nothing at the mixer. What a waste of time & money. Argh!!! #Presonus#Quantum#broken#frustration
Trying to copy some MIDI parts from one project in Logic to another. For some reason the exported MIDI part contains some additional info that messes up the instruments completely - I get the Massive instrument I want plus a Steinway grand piano at the same time. 🤬
So, figured I'd just open both projects at the same time and then hand paint the MIDI notes into a new track while looking at the old one. What a disaster! Logic becomes a bug riddled unworkable mess. 🤬🤬
Well the Presonus Quantum 4848 is removed from the rack and awaiting its final disconnection from my system. The Apogee Symphony arrived at the L&M Ontario depot from California a couple of days ago, so it should be here soon. Getting excited now. #gearsquad#studiogear#studio#recording#presonus#apogee
Back in business, the Apogee Symphony MKII is now integrated into my studio and working like a charm.Will probably retire the Apogee Quartet that has been my workhorse for over a decade. So glad that I have made this switch from the Presonus Quantum 4848. The Symphony is vastly superior. #gearsquad#apogee#symphony#studio#recording#music
Haven’t posted for a while now, mainly because I’m so bummed out at the moment because I can’t do much studio work. Three weeks ago I took a pretty serious fall off a curb and sprained my wrist. A week ago it was starting to feel a lot better, so I pulled out my guitar and played for a few hours. Next day I was in agony, more pain than when I first fell. Going for physio Friday so hopefully I can get going again soon.
@ambergrey
I’ve been taking days off and working later at night this week. Actually got the main vocals done in a new tune completed. Just need to finish comping the takes, then add harmonies in the outro. My collaborator is pushing me to get this album completed and distributed.
Picked up the lefty Fender Squier Tele this afternoon. This is going to be a lot harder than I had thought. In my mind the fingering was pretty simple. In reality my fingers are in the way. I feel like I'm starting all over again. sigh #gearsquad#guitar
Well I’m slowly coming to the realization that my days of playing the #guitar are quite possibly coming to an end. The arthritis in my left index finger is so painful now I can barely function at all, and of course it’s the primary chording finger. I’m considering taking my cheaper Squire Strat and reversing the strings to attempt retraining myself to play left handed. It would mean reversing the nut and redoing the intonation. Any thoughts or tips #gearsquad ?
For the last couple of days my 4 year old iPhone 11 has been acting weird (as if I hadn’t had enough tech issues already this week). Basically the touch interface was breaking, intermittently scrolling, zooming & tapping when I wasn’t close to touching it. Took it into an Apple authorized repair centre today, and a couple hours later it’s fixed. And now it’s apparent this has been happening for a while. The touch response is incredibly faster & smoother. #apple#iphone#touchscreen#repair
Well my Mac Pro is back up and running. It took two days to install my plugins (the 290 Native Instruments plugins and libraries took the most time). And I’ve lost the vast majority of my Plugin Alliance and Harrison plugins due to their incompetence at integrating with their new parent companies install systems (Native Instruments and SSL respectively). Since I had older installers in both cases I was able to get the ones I use the most installed. #gearsquad#recording#plugins#Studio
Decided to take the plunge & purchase an HP laptop running Windows 11. Copied some old programs I had saved on my Mac to a thumb drive to install on the PC. And now I’m recalling why I detest Windows so much. It wiped the permissions on my thumb drive making it completely unusable on my Mac. I’m beyond frustrated. #macos#windows#frustration#regrets
Well, this girl came home with me this afternoon. Played her a little bit more and I think she’s perfect, a great addition to my collection. Going to leave the protective plastic on the pickguard until I have to change the strings. Will think of an appropriate name eventually. #fender#stratocaster#studio
Leia had a rough day yesterday, she really doesn’t like the vet. Been having some issues for the last week not pooping and throwing up. Hopefully it’s all taken care of and she’s in recovery mode. #caturday#catsofmastodon#recovering#crashing
Somehow I feel like this song really epitomizes 2023 for me. So many times it felt like "you can check out anytime you like but you can never leave" was exactly what I was going through. Looking forward to a much better 2024, happy new year everyone. Really looking forward to some more great discussions this year.
Well, Long & McQuade determined that my Apogee Symphony 32x32 is working just fine. Managed to get it hooked up to my MacBook today, installed the drivers, and sure enough it’s working. So the issue is indeed the Mac Pro. Sadly the MacBook isn’t really powerful enough to handle much of what I work with, but at least it’s a temporary solution. #gearsquad#musicproduction#recording#studio
