@eyesquash
Back in the 80’s we would get the whole band in the studio and lay down the song as if we were doing it live. Specifically we wanted the drum and bass tracks to be rock solid, then we’d replace the other parts. Mic bleeds made for some interesting effects.
Working now, I’ll try and lay down a guide guitar first. Then go back and fill the other parts out. It’s all a great adventure, and I’m still learning new tricks as I go.
Question for the #gearsquad and #guitar players: if you couldn’t rely on your fretting hand for vibrato, what guitar and vibrato bridge system would you choose so you could get that expression with a bar? I’d like to play more lead lines in my compositions but fretting hand vibrato and note bending is a path to injury for me. So I’m looking at guitars with effective vibrato bridges and the G & L Dual Fulcrum Vibrato on most of their models looks like a good place to start. 1/
@NigelTufnel
The tremolo arm on my new Fender is great. Lots of movement available and the tuning stays pretty steady. It’s easy to move out of the way and reach when needed. It’s not something I’ve ever used a lot, but I have to admit that it’s nice to have.
Curious what everybody feels about electric guitar strings! I want to try a set of Elixir strings. I like Ernie Ball regular slinky. Super slinky too. D’Addario (so?) have nice resonance but to me there is some uneven balance in tone and some muddiness in the lower ranges. #gearsquad#guitar#strings#electric#gear#ElectricGuitar
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
@ambergrey
Thanks Amber, yeah I'm really happy that the transition was so easy. Haven't tried my ancient Aphex mic preamps with it yet, but pretty sure that they won't be an issue. The Radial DI into my ART preamps works perfectly. I'm now considering getting a studio monitor controller so I can quickly switch (or combine) speaker sets. And control the output volume without using the sliders on the mixer or in the Logic. G.A.S. never ends. 😂
We have lift-off, the Apogee Symphony MKII is connected and operating. I've set it as the primary output for my computer, although I can easily change output devices. Tomorrow I'll start the process of connecting the DB25 connectors for all 32 inputs & outputs and start testing. #gearsquad#apogee#symphony#recording#studio#music
So #gearsquad what’s your favorite reverb? I have yet to find a plate or spring that I vibe with, so far. A shimmering hall reverb; now we seem to get along well :blobcat:
@ambergrey
I’m not a pedal person because I use the plugins in Logic, Line 6 or Native Instruments. However, I have heard from a reliable source that the Strymon BigSky is really good. Could probably find a store that would let you give it a try. #gearsquad
@ambergrey
A bit confused. Are you looking for a pedal board setup for your guitar in a live situation, or a plugin in the DAW for recording?
For the former I'm not really going to be overly helpful because I no longer do play live. And I was never really a pedal player when I was.
For the latter, I would highly recommend looking at convolution reverbs, of which Logic's Space Designer is a good example. Here's an article that might help: https://output.com/blog/convolution-reverb #gearsquad
@ambergrey
Apple makes a product called MainStage that allows for the use of plugins in a live situation. Basically you run your instrument through a computer before going to the amps. I purchased a version of it years ago but never really worked with it much. One of those spur of the moment purchases without really thinking about it.
NI makes a huge number of libraries & plugins, however that can get really expensive really fast. Perhaps your looking more for a Maschine Jam type situation.
It’s been 2 months with Nimona (Charvel pro mod 24 dinky Strat) and I am still so impressed every time I pick her up. Dream boat idea machine. Only trouble is she is the PS2; totally underutilized. I gotta step up my game to meet her :blobcatcoffee:
@woolie@ambergrey
That's quite the collection. Never tried a Charvel at all, thinking next time I'm in Vancouver I need to stop by L&M and give one a try.
@woolie@ambergrey
Been hearing a lot about them lately, weren't on my radar at all. Back in the 70's when I was starting out it was always Gibson & Fender that were the goal, but expensive & out-of-reach for most us. My 1st real electric was an Aria gold top LP lawsuit guitar, loved her. Traded her in for a Gibson.
Different people have different comfort levels with their instruments, & that's totally cool. You have to use the tool that you find the most comfortable & easiest to work with.
@ambergrey@woolie
The guitar brands that get looked down on by the elitists have actually improved a lot over the years. While the elite guitars have gotten worse & worse. Just because something is expensive doesn’t mean it’s good, and I’m definitely willing to try something, especially given these recommendations.
@woolie@ambergrey
I've tried quite a few Epiphones over the years and I think they're actually as good as the Gibson's that cost five times more. I only own one Epiphone, a G-1275 double neck limited edition copy of Jimmy Page's famous one. It's really good, but a beast to play.
@Robotron@woolie@ambergrey
Agree totally.The age of machine tooling has certainly changed everything, although absolutely nothing will ever beat a well crafted hand made guitar.
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
@ambergrey
Basically I'm moving towards having a high end recording studio, instead of having an adequate recording studio. The Apogee Symphony is an extremely high quality audio to digital & digital to audio conversion system, whereas the Presonus Quantum is more of an adequate system, that has actually caused me a a lot of grief the past few weeks. The ultimate end result will be a recording studio I can invite artists to come and record at, something I've always wanted to do. #gearsquad
@ambergrey
I think a lot is because I was involved in the construction of Ocean Sound Studios in Vancouver back in the early 80’s. It was so cool being part of that, then having the opportunity to record there. I just feel more at home in that environment than I do anywhere else.
The only way forward is to keep going. I had some idea of the massive healing it would take to come back from a complete burnout event. But I didn’t realize how messy it would feel. It’s a different kind of exhaustion. Almost all my creative flow with music is on pause. But I’m making art again. I haven’t been able to heal that since about 2018 in a meaningful way, and even then, I had total stops and starts because of discouraging situations during school and financial difficulties too.
@ambergrey
She ran a GoFund me campaign for them at the same time I was helping fund Mike Carparelli on his campaign. If I wasn’t so financially stressed at the time I would definitely have done it. For her style of playing they are perfect, and there are times when I’m so tempted to just try something completely different. She did a collaborative thing with another musician (Guy Sigsworth) called Frou Frou. Not sure if you’ve heard them or not but they’re great too.
