Musician's thread.

[copacetic]

I am under the impression that we have a couple of folk on MyBB who can quite comfortably wear the mantle of 'musician'.

Myself, I've been playing guitar for a couple of years and have recently gotten quite interested in various types of electronic music although I am struggling like hell to actually compose these mysterious things known as 'songs'.

One of the reasons I am making the thread is hopefully to spur myself into a bit of action, sometimes I'll pick up my guitar or fiddle about trying to make a drum beat or something and I'll think to myself 'what's the point?', or alternatively, should I start making something constructive I will eventually let it fall to the wayside because I am an insane perfectionist - This of course has the net result of me producing no music at all, which is quite the opposite of what I wish to do. Go figure.

What I'd like this thread to be:


A place to provide links to anything you've worked on, should you be so vain. :D
A place where the more knowledgeable of us can help anyone new to all this.
A place where we can discuss software, hardware and any tips and tricks related to making speakers vibrate.
A place to discuss and perhaps shed some light on this arcane language known as 'music theory'.
Play an instrument? Any tips for people who can't?


What I'd not like this thread to be:


A place to shout at people about piracy/where piracy is even remotely hinted at.
Not this: The Electronic Music Thread. (http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/101355-The-Electronic-Music-Thread)
Not this: Music. (http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/68835-Music)


If anyone does partake (which would be lovely) and get as far as posting a sound-clip, constructive criticism would the order of the day, but don't post anything if you are overly sensitive. :p

I have nothing else to add.

Hopefully soon, I'll have something audible to post.

:D

Cheers!

Look down, at post #2

It's a list of all the posts containing music!

[copacetic]

Posts that contain sound clips:


Beylie (http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/286387-Musician-s-thread.?p=5093639&viewfull=1#post5093639)
TheGuy (http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/286387-Musician-s-thread.?p=5093799&viewfull=1#post5093799)
Molach (In sig) (http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/286387-Musician-s-thread.?p=5094523&viewfull=1#post5094523)
nihilist (http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/286387-Musician-s-thread.?p=5097831&viewfull=1#post5097831)
nihilist (http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/286387-Musician-s-thread.?p=5097881&viewfull=1#post5097881)
luxe (http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/286387-Musician-s-thread.?p=5098627&viewfull=1#post5098627)
assagai (http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/286387-Musician-s-thread.?p=5101129&viewfull=1#post5101129)
syrrano (http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/286387-Musician-s-thread.?p=5102435&viewfull=1#post5102435)
seventhson (http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/286387-Musician-s-thread.?p=5109927&viewfull=1#post5109927)
Beylie (http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/286387-Musician-s-thread.?p=5110097&viewfull=1#post5110097)
tsume (http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/286387-Musician-s-thread.?p=5123765&viewfull=1#post5123765)
tsume (http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/286387-Musician-s-thread.?p=5124959&viewfull=1#post5124959)
uJochi (http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/286387-Musician-s-thread.?p=5125097&viewfull=1#post5125097)
UJochi (http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/286387-Musician-s-thread.?p=5145343&viewfull=1#post5145343)
Ixa (http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/286387-Musician-s-thread.?p=5146971&viewfull=1#post5146971)
luxe (http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/286387-Musician-s-thread.?p=5149823&viewfull=1#post5149823)
AnimateX (http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/286387-Musician-s-thread.?p=5150143&viewfull=1#post5150143)
AnimateX (http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/286387-Musician-s-thread.?p=5151195&viewfull=1#post5151195)
Quantum Theory (http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/286387-Musician-s-thread.?p=5160321&viewfull=1#post5160321)
tsume (http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/286387-Musician-s-thread.?p=5175251&viewfull=1#post5175251)
nihilist (http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/286387-Musician-s-thread.?p=5175275&viewfull=1#post5175275)
nihilist (http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/286387-Musician-s-thread.?p=5175285&viewfull=1#post5175285)
copacetic (http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/286387-Musician-s-thread.?p=5182819&viewfull=1#post5182819)
assagai (http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/286387-Musician-s-thread.?p=5205143&viewfull=1#post5205143)
Ixa (http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/286387-Musician-s-thread.?p=5205143&viewfull=1#post5205143)
slowcheetah (http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/286387-Musician-s-thread.?p=5251781&viewfull=1#post5251781)

[seventhson]

I need to get some gear to record my playing.

Recently I have been learning megadeths riffs. Damn they are allot harder than slayers or metallicas.

I have been playing for nearly 4 years and think I am pretty good. Just not with slow ballads(can't stand playing them)
I am a shred guitarist.

[copacetic]

I need to get some gear to record my playing.

Recently I have been learning megadeths riffs. Damn they are allot harder than slayers or metallicas.

I have been playing for nearly 4 years and think I am pretty good. Just not with slow ballads(can't stand playing them)
I am a shred guitarist.

Cool, why can't you record now? What amp do you use?

[seventhson]

Cool, why can't you record now? What amp do you use?

Missing a input cable to connect my pc to my amp.
I am using a Roland cube 30x cosm solid state amp.

[copacetic]

Missing a input cable to connect my pc to my amp.
I am using a Roland cube 30x cosm solid state amp.

Get a cable and record then!

Do you write your own stuff at all?

My biggest mistake was never learning any covers. I was such a dimwit in my youth.

[seventhson]

Get a cable and record then!

Do you write your own stuff at all?

My biggest mistake was never learning any covers. I was such a dimwit in my youth.

Money is tight. First my rammstien ticket thank you:p
Next year sometime I will.

[tsume]

I'm gonna get back to making music, now that my exams are finished...if one thing I've learned the hard way is I cant study and do music at the same time cause when I get to making a song time just fly's and I forget that I have work to do.

Now during my break I've been really inspired by anime soundtrack, and thought I might try put some songs to anime. So before I do this I'm still trying to familiarize myself with Windows Movie Maker (the video which Im currently working on is not with one of my songs). I do have songs already which I think would be great for some videos...err I'll see what I do when I cross that bridge.

Anyway I've got this sequence rumbling in my head...and I really need to record it, does anyone have a Reason patch or soundbank for a Koto and Shamisen instruments?

[copacetic]

I'm gonna get back to making music, now that my exams are finished...if one thing I've learned the hard way is I cant study and do music at the same time cause when I get to making a song time just fly's and I forget that I have work to do.

Now during my break I've been really inspired by anime soundtrack, and thought I might try put some songs to anime. So before I do this I'm still trying to familiarize myself with Windows Movie Maker (the video which Im currently working on is not with one of my songs). I do have songs already which I think would be great for some videos...err I'll see what I do when I cross that bridge.

Anyway I've got this sequence rumbling in my head...and I really need to record it, does anyone have a Reason patch or soundbank for a Koto and Shamisen instruments?

Cool. :D

I am afraid no ideas for those particular sounds. :(

[Beylie]

Awesome idea for a thread!

I own 4 acoustic guitars, 2 in working order! :-) Yamaha APX4, Gibson Epiphone. I'm sad to admit that they're gathering dust in my garage. It seems I have lost the will to actually sit down and fiddle with them. I'm completely tone deaf when it comes to singing, so I've taken a few of the poems I've written in the past and recorded them by just speaking them over tracks I recorded using FL Studio and Cool Edit Pro. I normally start by laying down the bassline and very basic drums using FL. Then I set up my trusty (and wobbly) mic stand and record the acoustic guitar in Cool Edit. Then it becomes a whole process of fiddling with effects, panning, volume etc. until I'm happy. Then I add the vocals. Eventually a few friends will get to hear what I made and they will probably ask for a copy of it, just because their my friends! ;-)

But anyway, here a link to one of my tracks if someone would like to comment. This was some of my slightly darker poetry and I never actually did more than one take on the vocals. What I like about it that it still feels raw to me. Recorded in 2006, I think. Be carefull of the bass, I think something doubled because in my car it wants to rip my sub apart at a certain volume.

Basic instruments used were:
Bass : Naturally Decaying Bass Guitar SF2 I found free online.
Guitar : APX4. I liked how the frequency adjustment in FL made the guitar sound trancy through guitary(!).
Drums : FL's drums.
Vinyl effect: Izotope's free vinyl plugin.
Mic: Behringer something-something.

Criticism / comments welcome!
hotfile.com/dl/84026778/d7a6800/07_-_Untitled.mp3.html - perhaps someone can suggest an alternative to putting our tracks on filesharing sites? Perhaps stream them?

Links to software (http://videotek.republika.pl)/plugins/soundfonts I used:
flstudio.com
adobe.com/products/audition/ - this used to be Cool Edit... seems I've really lost track with what's new!
hammersound.net/cgi-bin/soundlink.pl?action=view_category&category=Bass&ListStart=0&ListLength=15
izotope.com/products/audio/vinyl/

[copacetic]

@ Beylie, first contributor with a clip! Cheers! :D

Will give a listen, thanks.

*edit*

As for where to put songs... I am not sure myself at this stage... I've had good experiences listening on http://soundcloud.com/ but am not sure of the procedure to upload and whatnot, will investigate.

[TheGuy]

I played for the first time in front of people this Friday at work's talent show. The chick I was with was suppose to sing and me play guitar. After starting to play she froze and never started singing so I had to start singing and I forgot half of the song. The judges ripped me apart it was one of the hardest things I've done in my life.

O can you guys recommend easy songs that sound cool with an Acoustic?

[Pr⊕phet]

just an infant with my guitar and starting off with something new... the cello. got a teacher in mind just need to phone the man and learn. that's about how far it goes for now.

[copacetic]

I played for the first time in front of people this Friday at work's talent show. The chick I was with was suppose to sing and me play guitar. After starting to play she froze and never started singing so I had to start singing and I forgot half of the song. The judges ripped me apart it was one of the hardest things I've done in my life.

Scary as hell hey, the first time?

Good on you for going through with it though.

Don't let it stop you from doing it again. :)

[copacetic]

just an infant with my guitar and starting off with something new... the cello. got a teacher in mind just need to phone the man and learn. that's about how far it goes for now.

I've always wanted to play cello, beautiful instrument.

[Beylie]

I played for the first time in front of people this Friday at work's talent show. The chick I was with was suppose to sing and me play guitar. After starting to play she froze and never started singing so I had to start singing and I forgot half of the song. The judges ripped me apart it was one of the hardest things I've done in my life.

Man, it is awesome that you tried out and kudos to you for taking up the slack when she froze up. Screw the judges. In my eyes you did an amazing thing by just having the guts to perform in front of people!

[seventhson]

Get a cable and record then!

Do you write your own stuff at all?

My biggest mistake was never learning any covers. I was such a dimwit in my youth.

I do play my own riffs. Don't really sit down and write stuff. I kinda just go with the flow when it comes to my own riffs.
I am still learning covers to improve my playing and must say it has not failed me. Been learning guitar covers since day one. Mainly slayer(which has improved me speed).
Megadeth is a whole different story. Daves playing is bloody hard.

[TheGuy]

Scary as hell hey, the first time?

Good on you for going through with it though.

Don't let it stop you from doing it again. :)

Thanks I guess it will get a lot easier when I do it again.


Man, it is awesome that you tried out and kudos to you for taking up the slack when she froze up. Screw the judges. In my eyes you did an amazing thing by just having the guts to perform in front of people!

Thanks I did it specifically to get out of my comfort zone as I have a big fear of performing in front of people.

Here is a recording I made with my Computer's Microphone of Greenday - Good Riddance. Can you please give me some honest feedback as I have no idea if it's horrible or not?

http://hotfile.com/dl/84034317/00e6250/Time_of_your_life.wma.html

[Pooky]

I play the drums and I am learning the Piano.

Piano is a big struggle for me but hopefully I will get there.

I want to start writing my own songs but I don't really know what to write about ! :D

[TheGuy]

I play the drums and I am learning the Piano.

Piano is a big struggle for me but hopefully I will get there.

I want to start writing my own songs but I don't really know what to write about ! :D

Write about stuff that matters to you.

[copacetic]

Criticism / comments welcome!
http://hotfile.com/dl/84026778/d7a6800/07_-_Untitled.mp3.html

Darker poetry indeed. :D

I like the guitar in the background, with that crazy effect.

I remember trying to use Cool Edit Pro back in the day and I had no idea at all what I was doing. :p

[seventhson]

Well let me show you people the song I have just finished learning.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc5DEQgGhJY

The tabs for it were so useless so I had to sit and watch this vid over and over to get the notes right(which I did)

[copacetic]

Here is a recording I made with my Computer's Microphone of Greenday - Good Riddance. Can you please give me some honest feedback as I have no idea if it's horrible or not?

http://hotfile.com/dl/84034317/00e6250/Time_of_your_life.wma.html

Hey TheGuy, you need to give your voice some 'oomph'. Keep it up and thanks for sharing dude. :)

[Molach]

For anyone interested in house music, I produce deep house. All created purely with FL Studio 9 with no external plugins/vsts. Soundcloud link is in my signature..

[copacetic]

Thanks Molach, will take a listen.

Tell me about Soundcloud, do you have a paid account or a free one?

[Molach]

At the moment I've got a free account. Maybe once I've reached my limit i'll upgrade to the premium account.

[Beylie]

@copacetic - Which software are you using in composing your tracks?

I really regret not wanting to play an instrument as a kid. At the time I didn't think it was "cool", so I only started playing guitar around when I was 17. Eventually when I got hooked, my fingers bled after playing, not because I played a lot, but because the little guitar I borrowed from someone had a really-reaaaaaaally bad action. String must have been about 1cm away from the fretboard! :-) Ah, my innocent, idiotic days of youth...

This thread has made me wonder, what makes someone decide to learn to play instrument? For me, and I think for a lot of people, it was their taste in music. Nirvana to be exact.

[TheGuy]

@copacetic - Which software are you using in composing your tracks?

I really regret not wanting to play an instrument as a kid. At the time I didn't think it was "cool", so I only started playing guitar around when I was 17. Eventually when I got hooked, my fingers bled after playing, not because I played a lot, but because the little guitar I borrowed from someone had a really-reaaaaaaally bad action. String must have been about 1cm away from the fretboard! :-) Ah, my innocent, idiotic days of youth...

This thread has made me wonder, what makes someone decide to learn to play instrument? For me, and I think for a lot of people, it was their taste in music. Nirvana to be exact.

Same here also had a terrible acoustic guitar that my Mother had laying around. Started by learning parts of Master of Puppets on it. I started playing because I loved the idea of being a rock start and creating your own music. When I first heard Unforgiven on Barney's show late one night I was hooked.

[Beylie]

Ahh... Barney. Apparently he's on Jakaranda now? Blasting the old people's ears to peaces? Remember uncle Paul and his bedtime stories? Damn, giving away my age.

[TheGuy]

that is the reason I listened to his show. maybe we should email Barney and ask if we can still get those stories somewhere.

[copacetic]

@copacetic - Which software are you using in composing your tracks?

I really regret not wanting to play an instrument as a kid. At the time I didn't think it was "cool", so I only started playing guitar around when I was 17. Eventually when I got hooked, my fingers bled after playing, not because I played a lot, but because the little guitar I borrowed from someone had a really-reaaaaaaally bad action. String must have been about 1cm away from the fretboard! :-) Ah, my innocent, idiotic days of youth...

This thread has made me wonder, what makes someone decide to learn to play instrument? For me, and I think for a lot of people, it was their taste in music. Nirvana to be exact.

Software - I studied sound engineering for a short while at some stage and there we used Cubase and Reason. I am not really working on much at the moment, but if I do I have come to quite like a program called Reaper: http://reaper.fm/. On the synth side of things, I am still quite partial to Reason and speaking of Propellerhead I would very much like to purchase Record as well, simpler but easy to use: http://www.propellerheads.se/.

I taught myself how to play guitar because as far as I know, deep down everyone wants to be a rockstar. Idolized Nirvana too, in fact one of the first songs I ever learnt was of course 'Come as you are'.

[PostmanPot]

Tagged.

@copacetic: Thanks for the mention. The more hits the merrier. :D I hope you think my thread has a little more substance than the Music thread. ;)

[Beylie]

... in fact one of the first songs I ever learnt was of course 'Come as you are'.

Very first song I learnt too! :)

Seems most professional people use Cubase. Apparently NTrack Studio isn't bad either. I started off with Cakewalk in the beginning though, was a very steep learning curve.

The questions begs to be asked. Does DJ's count as musicians? My brother is one and the stuff he's made really does not qualify as mixing. There is just way too much creativity in his works. Adding beats, removing certain frequencies etc.

[syntax]

I'm a little drummer boy, short and stout...

Played for a few years, moved into a complex and had to ditch my set...
tried on a bajillion occassions to get myself a td4, each time something happens that bleeds me dry.

Really hoping to get into it again in the new year, really miss losing an hour or so thrashing it out with some sticks and a pretend audience.

and yeah, thats about it

[copacetic]

Very first song I learnt too! :)

Seems most professional people use Cubase. Apparently NTrack Studio isn't bad either. I started off with Cakewalk in the beginning though, was a very steep learning curve.

The questions begs to be asked. Does DJ's count as musicians? My brother is one and the stuff he's made really does not qualify as mixing. There is just way too much creativity in his works. Adding beats, removing certain frequencies etc.

I suspect the question of DJ's being musicians is a contentious issue and my gut feeling would be to say yes, although it is of course a question of degree. Modern technology has opened up a world of musical potential for the average person but has also made it easy for genuinely average people to exhibit the appearance of competency.

It's much harder to be a highly skilled DJ than a mediocre musician, I'd rate but then by the same token I'd imagine it's more difficult being a virtuoso composer than it is to be an excellent DJ.

I could be wrong though, don't really know much about DJing or composing! :p

I have grown to not like Cubase too much, but at the end of the day your DAW is simply a means to an end.

[copacetic]

Tagged.

@copacetic: Thanks for the mention. The more hits the merrier. :D I hope you think my thread has a little more substance than the Music thread. ;)

:D

The Music thread is to your thread as TK is to PD.

[copacetic]

I'm a little drummer boy, short and stout...

Played for a few years, moved into a complex and had to ditch my set...
tried on a bajillion occassions to get myself a td4, each time something happens that bleeds me dry.

Really hoping to get into it again in the new year, really miss losing an hour or so thrashing it out with some sticks and a pretend audience.

and yeah, thats about it

I would LOVE to play drums, did lessons for a while but felt like I had 15 limbs to control and my teacher was a racist arse so I stopped.

[Nothxkbi]

Muso here. Had 2 bands over the last 10 years and played lead guitar in various others. I'm more of a song writer than singer, written about 100 + songs but yet to put any up on Youtube, been thinking about it.

Music is my life and has saved my life. I lost my mother to drugs when I was 9 and started through a bad patch in my late teens trying to deal with it. I was about to end it all when I was lying in bed one night and the song The Cure - Burn (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyr5WdrEvGI) came on the radio in my headphones. As weird as it sounds, I found my Crow and brought me back from the dead. The lyrics and music of that single song did what 2 years of Psychologists couldn't achieve. Right then I decided I wanted to play guitar and get more into this powerfull thing called music! :)

I'm busy learning Vangelis - Memories Of Blue on the piano.

I'll put something I wrote up on Youtube this December.

[syntax]

I would LOVE to play drums, did lessons for a while but felt like I had 15 limbs to control and my teacher was a racist arse so I stopped.

Yeah, a crap teacher can ruin an instrument for you...
I actually wanted to play guitar, i tried for ages...but just sucked...
picked up some drum sticks, sat at a kit and it just gelled....
I reckon anyone can learn to be an average "rock" drummer, in fact, i would prob say its easier to be an average drummer than an average guitarist...
Being an excellent drummer is something else completely.

I quite like the mix now between acoustic and electric kits, things like the mandala pads and normal triggers make playing just that much more creative..

[nihilist]

Cool, muso thread :D

Been working with electronic forms of music since the mid 90s off and on, started with oldschool trackers, got a small setup at home with some studio reference monitors, M-Audio Axiom 61, some guitars etc;

Post some stuff up when I get a chance. I'm between websites atm.

[TheHiveMind]

I'm a song writer, I care little for technical skill, so I don't call myself a musician.
Unfortunately I cannot release anything I have written. I am not dabbling, I am writing an album.

I was never really interested in covers. The first time I picked up a guitar, I tried to write my own song. I never studied much musical theory, I simply delved into the depths of artists I admire, I learned from them through repetitive listening, and emotional observation, from there I formed my own theories.

[copacetic]

Cool, muso thread :D

Been working with electronic forms of music since the mid 90s off and on, started with oldschool trackers, got a small setup at home with some studio reference monitors, M-Audio Axiom 61, some guitars etc;

Post some stuff up when I get a chance. I'm between websites atm.

Awesome, I'd love to be able to work on speakers other than battered Logitechs. :p

What sort of music do you predominantly work on?

[copacetic]

Muso here. Had 2 bands over the last 10 years and played lead guitar in various others. I'm more of a song writer than singer, written about 100 + songs but yet to put any up on Youtube, been thinking about it.

Music is my life and has saved my life. I lost my mother to drugs when I was 9 and started through a bad patch in my late teens trying to deal with it. I was about to end it all when I was lying in bed one night and the song The Cure - Burn (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyr5WdrEvGI) came on the radio in my headphones. As weird as it sounds, I found my Crow and brought me back from the dead. The lyrics and music of that single song did what 2 years of Psychologists couldn't achieve. Right then I decided I wanted to play guitar and get more into this powerfull thing called music! :)

I'm busy learning Vangelis - Memories Of Blue on the piano.

I'll put something I wrote up on Youtube this December.

Music can indeed be a powerful thing, eh?

Post some stuff soon!

Thanks for sharing. :)

[nihilist]

Okay here's one from a recent project with a friend: http://www.4shared.com/audio/3yjAJfQs/The_Entropy_Tango_-_Technosoma.html

"Technosoma" by The Entropy Tango. I wrote and produced the track, vocals and lyrics by my friend. It's a demo, I'm going to re-work the vocals at a later stage.

[nihilist]

Okay one more for now.

"Transmission" by The Entropy Tango. Yes, it's a Joy Division cover that we mucked around with. Again, me on synths/programming and production, friend on vox, friend on lead + rhythm guitar.

With apologies to Ian Curtis

http://www.4shared.com/audio/DtYAJtQY/The_Entropy_Tango_-_Transmissi.html

[nihilist]

Awesome, I'd love to be able to work on speakers other than battered Logitechs. :p

What sort of music do you predominantly work on?

Well, I used to have lots of hand-me-downs and junk, eventually a nice amp I had died (Thanks Eskom) and after having it fixed it just didn't sound the same so I broke out and spent about R6k on studio monitors.. they also make great toys for gaming.. Half Life 2 and Crysis in particular.. phoosh!

[luxe]

Heya,

I have been writing anything and everything since around 92, using software like the awesome Scream Tracker, Impulse Tracker, Fruity Loops, and lately - Renoise (www.renoise.com) go look, and buy it. Been tracking under the name of Elemental the whole time, so there are plenty of my tunes all over the interwebs on a google search of elemental+S3m+.it

I have 3 tracks up on Soundcloud (http://soundcloud.com/elemental-music-1) which I'd be happy for anyone to hear, comments welcome on the site or here :)

I use Roland Midi Keyboard, some Korg Nano****rols and pads and a Presonus Firebox external sound card.

[syntax]

Heya,

I have been writing anything and everything since around 92, using software like the awesome Scream Tracker, Impulse Tracker, Fruity Loops, and lately - Renoise (www.renoise.com) go look, and buy it. Been tracking under the name of Elemental the whole time, so there are plenty of my tunes all over the interwebs on a google search of elemental+S3m+.it

I have 3 tracks up on Soundcloud (http://soundcloud.com/elemental-music-1) which I'd be happy for anyone to hear, comments welcome on the site or here :)

I use Roland Midi Keyboard, some Korg Nano****rols and pads and a Presonus Firebox external sound card.

Ur hardstyle stuff is a little crazy for me...but i enjoyed ur trance mix on ultimix a few months ago

[seventhson]

I think it is time to learn some rammstien riffs:D

[syntax]

I think it is time to learn some rammstien riffs:D

I think you might be disappointed...if its anything like the drumming, u will prob fall asleep playing it

[seventhson]

I think you might be disappointed...if its anything like the drumming, u will prob fall asleep playing it

Well it is a little too simple I must admit. I am just so damn excited for the concert:D

[syntax]

Well it is a little too simple I must admit. I am just so damn excited for the concert:D

damn straight...cant wait...
besides, the riff's sound awesome when cranked up nice and loud!!!

[PostmanPot]

Thought I'd share this here. I think these speakers could be useful for anyone making music that cannot afford R5000 KRK Rockits etc., and cannot cope with boomy Logitechs and such :D (I still love Logitech for making generally great listening speakers).

These are the Krator Neso-02-500 which retail at about R700. Pretty awesome speakers with a similar make up to that of studio monitors, in that it has separate drivers for treble/mid/bass.

Pic - http://rss.frontosacpt.co.za/2010/10/21000522/blank.jpg - it's a little big to embed. ;)


After testing and wearing them in, I can definitely recommend these speakers! Had Z4s to compare them with. Listened to a variety of music (IDM/glitch, post-rock, rock, indie, dubstep, classical-influenced) and played a game of Starcraft 2. Will do a more in-depth review in a new thread soon.

All in all, I was sad going back to my Z4s. Music experience is much better on the Krators, without a doubt. Will be ordering mine on Monday.

I'll start with the negatives:

-Left speaker's mid driver did not work properly out of the box. After re-plugging it in, it was 100%. I felt a bit sceptical at that point!

-Volume controls (as well as bass and treble) on the side of the right speaker. A remote would have been great (so used to having one). One would have to use software/keyboard/etc. volume controls unless they lean forward to adjust the volume on the speaker.

-The 4" sub drivers do not produce deep bass that some genres would demand, especially DnB, dubstep ,hip-hop etc., although mostly the bass is above acceptable. The difference in longer bass notes was especially noticeable, although I am used to my boomy Logitech Z4 sub which handles low, long bass much better (due to being 2.1 and the sub being a few inches bigger I guess).

-Driver finishes could be better. Of course, they are no KRK Rockits though.

-Cabling could be a bit thicker.

-No speaker covers (black ones would be nice) although the look did grow on me.

-Regarding warranty, the info seemed to made it clear that speakers are normally repaired instead of swapped-out. Not sure how accurate that is, but I know that Logitech would swap out with no questions asked.

And the positives:

-Music listening is a lot better than 2.1. You really notice the difference that the mid drivers make, the fuller sound. I heard sounds and melodies that I had not heard before on the Z4s.

-Excellent for Starcraft 2 and games that aren't too bass-heavy. I really enjoyed the sounds and directional accuracy in the game I played. FPSes and other bassy games would be a lot more immersive with 2.1. For games that don't need too much bass, Then I think these would be fantastic.

-Very accurate tweeters and treble can be adjusted. I kept it at half-way.

-Bass can be adjusted, also kept at half-way.

-Well built and they feel solid.

-RCA inputs.

-Line in on side of right speaker for iPods etc.

-Good packaging.

[nihilist]

Thought I'd share this here. I think these speakers could be useful for anyone making music that cannot afford R5000 KRK Rockits etc., and cannot cope with boomy Logitechs and such :D (I still love Logitech for making generally great listening speakers).

These are the Krator Neso-02-500 which retail at about R700. Pretty awesome speakers with a similar make up to that of studio monitors, in that it has separate drivers for treble/mid/bass.

Pic - http://rss.frontosacpt.co.za/2010/10/21000522/blank.jpg - it's a little big to embed. ;)

Nice, I heard Samson also make some nice stuff for a decent price too.

[assagai]

Thanks for starting this thread Copacetic - it's overdue. Nice to have a place to discuss musicianitis on mybb :-)

here's a link to my sound "blog" which is just basically unfinished stuff that i'm working on or i've just forgotten about:
http://soundcloud.com/sound-blog

and here's an audio mix that i use for showreel purposes:

http://soundcloud.com/scoremachine

Viva the musicians thread!

[assagai]

Nice, I heard Samson also make some nice stuff for a decent price too.

samson is really good for the price, so are some (not all) of the behringer monitors. Ultimately though you don't wanna go without decent monitors if mixing is something you take seriously.

[copacetic]

Thanks for starting this thread Copacetic - it's overdue. Nice to have a place to discuss musicianitis on mybb :-)

here's a link to my sound "blog" which is just basically unfinished stuff that i'm working on or i've just forgotten about:
http://soundcloud.com/sound-blog

and here's an audio mix that i use for showreel purposes:

http://soundcloud.com/scoremachine

Viva the musicians thread!

Listening to Lizards, nice. :D

Who is singing?

*edit*

Enjoying 'FSFYFYM' now.

[tsume]

So any website where we can upload my music to be streamed?

[copacetic]

So any website where we can upload my music to be streamed?

Try this, the free accounts should work, providing you don't have an inordinate amount of songs/traffic. (http://soundcloud.com/)

[syrrano]

I do a bit of trance production in my spare time. I run Cubase with some plugins and a Clavia Nord 2

This is one of the better tracks I have done

http://soundcloud.com/syrrano/syrrano-genesys-original-mix

And this is a remix I've been working on recently for local Cape Town band Tailor Hill (It still needs some work though)

http://soundcloud.com/syrrano/tailor-hill-going-up-syrrano-remix-unmastered-test-copy

[copacetic]

I do a bit of trance production in my spare time. I run Cubase with some plugins and a Clavia Nord 2

This is one of the better tracks I have done

http://soundcloud.com/syrrano/syrrano-genesys-original-mix

And this is a remix I've been working on recently for local Cape Town band Tailor Hill (It still needs some work though)

http://soundcloud.com/syrrano/tailor-hill-going-up-syrrano-remix-unmastered-test-copy

Enjoyed your trance track. Shot for sharing. :D

[copacetic]

My biggest problem is the 'horizontal' aspect to a song, I can come up with cool riffs and layers of sounds but my brain literally tries to eat itself when I try to piece things together in a coherent time-line...

What the **** do I do?

:mad:

[Beylie]

Composer's block? Ugh... Know what you mean. The pieces are there but no clear way of fitting it all together.

[copacetic]

Composer's block? Ugh... Know what you mean. The pieces are there but no clear way of fitting it all together.

It is so incredibly frustrating, like drawing blood from a stone.

Sometimes I can just force myself to push through, but more often than not the process becomes tiresome and I stop.

[copacetic]

Just did a search for *.rns files (reason song files) on my drive and found over a hundred unique file names. :erm:

[assagai]

Here's a link to some cool free vsts:

http://kunz.corrupt.ch/?Home

I'm currently desperately trying to convince myself not to pull the trigger on this:

http://www.davesmithinstruments.com/products/pek/

seem to be losing the battle….

[Beylie]

http://www.davesmithinstruments.com/products/pek/


Wow, does it make coffee and sandwiches too? :) I've been looking at really really cheap midi keyboards, just to play around with. Problem with those nice devices are that I probably won't use 1/4 of their features. Any suggestions?

As a side note - this thread actually made me go get my guitar out of the garage (missing the bottom string). Had a good 15 minute jam session, really felt good. I always find that after not playing for a while, creativity seems to flow easier.

[nihilist]

Here's a link to some cool free vsts:

http://kunz.corrupt.ch/?Home

I'm currently desperately trying to convince myself not to pull the trigger on this:

http://www.davesmithinstruments.com/products/pek/

seem to be losing the battle….

Ta, more VSTs for my huge collection. ;)

*drool* @ poly evolver

[copacetic]

Here's a link to some cool free vsts:

http://kunz.corrupt.ch/?Home

I'm currently desperately trying to convince myself not to pull the trigger on this:

http://www.davesmithinstruments.com/products/pek/

seem to be losing the battle….

:eek:

[assagai]

Wow, does it make coffee and sandwiches too? :) I've been looking at really really cheap midi keyboards, just to play around with. Problem with those nice devices are that I probably won't use 1/4 of their features. Any suggestions?

As a side note - this thread actually made me go get my guitar out of the garage (missing the bottom string). Had a good 15 minute jam session, really felt good. I always find that after not playing for a while, creativity seems to flow easier.

Go for a simple behringer midi keyboard.. they're cheap and surprisingly solid without all the bells and whistles.

[Dixie]

copacetic, you have a PM...

[luxe]

that poly evolver is complete overkill, unless you are playing live and don't want to carry around tons of gear.

with most DAW's today you can buy a POS R400 midi keyboard, and with a half decent computer get it to do everything that poly evolver can with VST's and some sample banks.

It is nice to look at, but yeah, i struggle to see how it will make you more productive than any other keyboard.

[copacetic]

copacetic, you have a PM...

:D

[assagai]

that poly evolver is complete overkill, unless you are playing live and don't want to carry around tons of gear.

with most DAW's today you can buy a POS R400 midi keyboard, and with a half decent computer get it to do everything that poly evolver can with VST's and some sample banks.

It is nice to look at, but yeah, i struggle to see how it will make you more productive than any other keyboard.

i've looked high and low, demoed every vsti out there.. and the poly evolver sounds better than any of them, in fact so does the tetra - there are some great sounding soft-synths for sure but none of them come close to certain hardware classics like the evolver, prophet 5, various moogs etc. I wish this were not the case because hardware is so damn pricey and hard to source locally.

In my case the PEK would definitely be used in the studio only… no way would i risk gigging with it! Anyway still trying to convince myself not to buy it. (maybe i'll go for the tetra instead)

[Dixie]

Old school. Modplug Tracker 1998 :)

[copacetic]

To anyone who has sent me a track, thanks.

There is some kickass talent around here. :eek:

[copacetic]

@wellzy, unless Cloudkicker happens to me you, this is the wrong thread for this.

Check the first post for details.

*edit*

****ing awesome track though, got to say. :D

[wellzy]

sorry, my bad, removed ;)

[Dixie]

sorry, my bad, removed ;)

Damn! I also wanted to hear :(

[nihilist]

Old school. Modplug Tracker 1998 :)

Modedit 1992 ;)

[seventhson]

Here is a very short recoding that I did a few months ago. Just a doodle.
http://www.quickshare.co.za/files/bqu1aphz/recording18.zip.html

Recorded it on my phone.

[copacetic]

Okay here's one from a recent project with a friend: http://www.4shared.com/audio/3yjAJfQs/The_Entropy_Tango_-_Technosoma.html

"Technosoma" by The Entropy Tango. I wrote and produced the track, vocals and lyrics by my friend. It's a demo, I'm going to re-work the vocals at a later stage.

Dug the track, although didn't feel the vocals were quite what what it needed, although as you said above...


Okay one more for now.

"Transmission" by The Entropy Tango. Yes, it's a Joy Division cover that we mucked around with. Again, me on synths/programming and production, friend on vox, friend on lead + rhythm guitar.

With apologies to Ian Curtis

http://www.4shared.com/audio/DtYAJtQY/The_Entropy_Tango_-_Transmissi.html

I suppose it's some kind of cardinal musical sin to actually not really know Joy Division (or more likely a symptom of my age) but this would be the forst time I've heard this song.

Awesome guitar playing. Who was playing?

[copacetic]

Here is a very short recoding that I did a few months ago. Just a doodle.
http://www.quickshare.co.za/files/bqu1aphz/recording18.zip.html

Recorded it on my phone.

Been wondering about your guitar playing, since you talk about it so much. :D

That's a style of guitar playing that utterly bewilders my damn fingers. :p

Thanks.

Thank god for phones to record riffs with eh? I cry when I think about all the cool stuff I've forgotten over the years...

[seventhson]

What do you think? I mean I did not actually plan what I was playing. Just sommer played:D

[Beylie]

Here is a very short recoding that I did a few months ago. Just a doodle.
http://www.quickshare.co.za/files/bqu1aphz/recording18.zip.html

Recorded it on my phone.

Quick fingers! Nice!

[copacetic]

What do you think? I mean I did not actually plan what I was playing. Just sommer played:D

Cool riffing. :D You must get a setup going where you can record, the first time you record one of your riffs in stereo, you will wet yourself at how awesome it's gonna sound.

[Beylie]

Okay here's one from a recent project with a friend: http://www.4shared.com/audio/3yjAJfQs/The_Entropy_Tango_-_Technosoma.html

"Technosoma" by The Entropy Tango. I wrote and produced the track, vocals and lyrics by my friend. It's a demo, I'm going to re-work the vocals at a later stage.

I like this very much. Redo those vocals and you've got an awesome track!

[seventhson]

Quick fingers! Nice!
Thanks:D

Cool riffing. :D You must get a setup going where you can record, the first time you record one of your riffs in stereo, you will wet yourself at how awesome it's gonna sound.

I must. Can you just use on board sound for recording it through your amp? And where do I get the cable and how much is it:D

And did you guys here a tiny bit of angel of death and jump in the fire:D

[copacetic]

Thanks:D


I must. Can you just use on board sound for recording it through your amp? And where do I get the cable and how much is it:D

And did you guys here a tiny bit of angel of death and jump in the fire:D

What you need depends on a thing or two.

What's your amp again?

[Beylie]

Here's another from the past. This friend of mine (Nicoleen as you probably gathered from the filename) rocked up at my flat with the chords to this Joan Baez song, Forever Young. I never heard it before in my life, but we were young and full of bravery, so we recorded it. Used an el'cheapo pawnshop mic (R30.00). You'll hear the distortion clearly on the higher notes. I remember how much I laughed while she did the vocals, because the wind was blowing like crazy into the flat and the curtains kept on going over her head! Good times! Used Cakewalk 9. Guitar + bass notes on guitar + vocals.

Anyhoo.

http://hotfile.com/dl/84514127/8a0754d/10_-_Forever_Young_(Met_Nicoleen_du_Plessis).mp3.html

[seventhson]

What you need depends on a thing or two.

What's your amp again?

Roland cube 30x solid state amp. Has a place to put recording thingy in.

[assagai]

Just take a line out from your amp into the input on your soundcard. The recording out on the roland is post-fader so you'll have all your effects etc on the recording.

[copacetic]

Roland cube 30x solid state amp. Has a place to put recording thingy in.

The only question is whether it mutes the speaker when you plug something into that output?

[assagai]

Yeah its a headphone/rec out so it'll mute the speaker.

[seventhson]

The only question is whether it mutes the speaker when you plug something into that output?

IT does. I know that it does. My manual says so:D

[Beylie]

Yeah its a headphone/rec out so it'll mute the speaker.

Wish my Laney acoustic amp behaved this way. It doesn't mute **** when I plug anything it, making it pretty useless to have a "quite" recording session! :)

[copacetic]

IT does. I know that it does. My manual says so:D

Then there are some considerations for when you are going to monitor what you are playing. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it though. :D

[copacetic]

Wish my Laney acoustic amp behaved this way. It doesn't mute **** when I plug anything it, making it pretty useless to have a "quite" recording session! :)

What's your amps model number?

[Beylie]

What's your amps model number?

I'll have to go check in the garage, but it looks like the la20c from the website. http://www.laney.co.uk/show_type.php?tid=3

[copacetic]

I've decided to learn some scales.

5 minor pentatonic caged shapes to begin with.

Tired of playing the same thing every time I try and improvise. :erm:

[copacetic]

I'll have to go check in the garage, but it looks like the la20c from the website. http://www.laney.co.uk/show_type.php?tid=3

I am pretty sure if you record out of the headphone socket it should mute the speaker.

You're probably going out the direct out then?

[Tpex]

You guys need like a DeviantArt for music, like DeviantMusic.com :)

I am surprised nobody has made something like that yet

[seventhson]

I've decided to learn some scales.

5 minor pentatonic caged shapes to begin with.

Tired of playing the same thing every time I try and improvise. :erm:

I know a few scales:D It does help. But don't ask me to show you as my fingers know the scales. Lol.

[tsume]

Decided to upload a track, it's an old one...

http://soundcloud.com/alphawolftsume/elite

[tsume]

So as I had said before I'm thinking of putting some songs to anime to make a AMV. Well I decided to see if I can put any music to anime first which I did to Korn's A.D.I.D.A.S. right here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQQy9ObSGX4)

Now the only song of mine which I think would suite an anime right now is this one http://soundcloud.com/alphawolftsume/kiss-from-a-rose
Which is my instrumental version of Seal's "Kiss from A Rose", it still not properly mixed and I feel it needs some tweaks here and there (but that's for later)...but what I was wondering if I did make a AMV out of this do you think the video would be taken down from youtube because of the audio? I'm leaning on puting it up anyways.

[uJochi]

Oh wow, a musician's thread!

I make music fairly often :) In my bedroom, with my guitars and amps and pedals and sometimes whatever I have lying around.

http://www.quickshare.co.za/files/e7ww4rv7/She_Likes_Zombies.mp3.html

I was working on that one this evening, need to get my mic back from someone who borrowed it so I can record vocals (Even though I suck, I just do it anyway, haha)

[assagai]

Oh wow, a musician's thread!

I make music fairly often :) In my bedroom, with my guitars and amps and pedals and sometimes whatever I have lying around.

http://www.quickshare.co.za/files/e7ww4rv7/She_Likes_Zombies.mp3.html

I was working on that one this evening, need to get my mic back from someone who borrowed it so I can record vocals (Even though I suck, I just do it anyway, haha)

nice track man.. would be nice to bring out the drums a bit more so they're more present, and add a bassline - but i really like it :-)

[copacetic]

Assagai, what is scoremachine.net?

The scoremachine track on Soundcloud was excellent.

[assagai]

Assagai, what is scoremachine.net?

The scoremachine track on Soundcloud was excellent.

Thanks Copa

Scoremachine is one of my businesses, we do music for film/tv/trailers/games/ads etc - the soundtrack on soundcloud will soon also be on the scoremachine website, along with a video trailer, I'll let you know when it's up.
Just a static holding page so far at www.scoremachine.net

[CyroKrypto]

Oh wow, a musician's thread!

I make music fairly often :) In my bedroom, with my guitars and amps and pedals and sometimes whatever I have lying around.

http://www.quickshare.co.za/files/e7ww4rv7/She_Likes_Zombies.mp3.html

I was working on that one this evening, need to get my mic back from someone who borrowed it so I can record vocals (Even though I suck, I just do it anyway, haha)

Very nice man, you sure have talent!!

[TheHiveMind]

Oh wow, a musician's thread!

I make music fairly often :) In my bedroom, with my guitars and amps and pedals and sometimes whatever I have lying around.

http://www.quickshare.co.za/files/e7ww4rv7/She_Likes_Zombies.mp3.html

I was working on that one this evening, need to get my mic back from someone who borrowed it so I can record vocals (Even though I suck, I just do it anyway, haha)

I like it ^_~

[nihilist]

Oh wow, a musician's thread!
http://www.quickshare.co.za/files/e7ww4rv7/She_Likes_Zombies.mp3.html


Great axe work dude! Do share more!

[TheGuy]

How do you know when you are good enough to play in a band?

[seventhson]

How do you know when you are good enough to play in a band?

You actually don't have to be very good to play in a band. Fair enough depends on what you want to play.

[TheGuy]

You actually don't have to be very good to play in a band. Fair enough depends on what you want to play.

I wanna play rhythm in a rock/metal band.

[seventhson]

I wanna play rhythm in a rock/metal band.

I want to start a metal band. But the songs I want to play are a little difficult for beginners though.

[syntax]

I wanna play rhythm in a rock/metal band.

you only have to be as good as your other band mates :)

[TheGuy]

I want to start a metal band. But the songs I want to play are a little difficult for beginners though.

I was playing right handed for about 2 years and could play stuff like master of Puppets and fear of the Dark. I have since switched over to left handed so I'm just busy re-training my hands the knowledge is already there.

[seventhson]

I was playing right handed for about 2 years and could play stuff like master of Puppets and fear of the Dark. I have since switched over to left handed so I'm just busy re-training my hands the knowledge is already there.

Were about are you?

[copacetic]

There's an advantage to playing with people much better than yourself - You will improve much faster this way than if you play on your own.

[copacetic]

I was playing right handed for about 2 years and could play stuff like master of Puppets and fear of the Dark. I have since switched over to left handed so I'm just busy re-training my hands the knowledge is already there.

Why did you swap hands?

[TheGuy]

Were about are you?

Sandton

[TheGuy]

Why did you swap hands?

I'm left handed and struggled for years to get my speed up and to keep a good rhythm when playing so a friend convinced me to swap around. Never Looked back.

So for the last year I've just been playing on a Acoustic Guitar left handed but I have now started learning my Scales and power chords again.

[seventhson]

Sandton

Maybe we should jam sometime. Get a band going maybe.

[TheGuy]

Maybe we should jam sometime. Get a band going maybe.

You have PM.

[copacetic]

To preset, or not to preset? That is the question. When using synths I feel it is some sort of cardinal sin using presets, although my synth programming skills leave a little (well, quite a lot actually) to be desired.

What do you guys do?

[TheHiveMind]

To preset, or not to preset? That is the question. When using synths I feel it is some sort of cardinal sin using presets, although my synth programming skills leave a little (well, quite a lot actually) to be desired.

What do you guys do?

I use whatever works best. That is all I care about.

[ichigo]

Ive been playing the guitar for 12 years

I currently own Acoustic Guitar (Cort), Bass Guitar (Cort) & Electric Guitar (Phil)

I play all in my Church band atm. Cant say i'm good but i do play solo's and leads in my church band, if i can find the correct tabs for the songs. Some tabs i find have mistakes on them.

My amp is 30w Cube Roland

I also learnt from my good friend Hector who is a very good blues guitarist and bass guitar player. He plays sometimes with the Hairy Legged Lentil Eaters in Camperdown and PMB

http://guitarpraise.blogspot.com/ (This is my favourite website for tabs for leads and solos)

[nihilist]

To preset, or not to preset? That is the question. When using synths I feel it is some sort of cardinal sin using presets, although my synth programming skills leave a little (well, quite a lot actually) to be desired.

What do you guys do?

I use presets if they're fairly generic, I've heard presets from some Native Instruments synths used in commercial music, it doesn't bother me. I usually start with a preset I like and mod it quite a bit and filter it through various DSPs to get a unique sound. Sometimes I craft my own from scratch, not too hard - there's a nice free VST called Asynth I use quite a lot, and it's a great VST for starting from scratch & learning.

[nihilist]

My amp is 30w Cube Roland

That's the amp I'm probably going to buy next year, I'm quite impressed with the sound I've heard people getting out of it, nice vids on Youtube.

I own a Cort KX-OTIC-FA elec guitar, nice sound, long sustain and with the one tone switch pulled up you get a nice sorta strat hollow-y kinda sound.

I'm useless at guitar but trying to get back into learning, sucks doing it on your own and not being able to afford lessons.

[TheHiveMind]

I use presets if they're fairly generic, I've heard presets from some Native Instruments synths used in commercial music, it doesn't bother me. I usually start with a preset I like and mod it quite a bit and filter it through various DSPs to get a unique sound. Sometimes I craft my own from scratch, not too hard - there's a nice free VST called Asynth I use quite a lot, and it's a great VST for starting from scratch & learning.

Yeah, I tweak presets, and then add effects etc.. Haven't tried from scratch yet, I think it would be fun, but in the back of my mind I have this idea that time spent will not reward me appropriately. Is my assumption right or wrong?

[nihilist]

Yeah, I tweak presets, and then add effects etc.. Haven't tried from scratch yet, I think it would be fun, but in the back of my mind I have this idea that time spent will not reward me appropriately. Is my assumption right or wrong?

Playing with a synth, starting from a simple tone and working/ building it up is very rewarding, not just on a geeky level but it will teach you how to make new, original sounds and give you some groundwork and experience.

I frequently muddle up synths, build my own, chain them through odd DSPs, muck around and sometimes come up with the most outrageously cool FX and synths and damn proud of 'em. Especially when I do ambient tracks, or experimental stuff, nice to build a signature sound.

[nihilist]

http://antti.smartelectronix.com/

One of the lil' synths I use often, it's very basic, and will sound rather 'dull' so you'll want to filter it through some FX. It's a great tool to use to start learning too, since it's basic.

I've gotten a sorta Dire Straits Money For Nothing guitar sound out of this thing with some EQ and distortion plugins by accident, lots of fun ;)

[TheHiveMind]

Playing with a synth, starting from a simple tone and working/ building it up is very rewarding, not just on a geeky level but it will teach you how to make new, original sounds and give you some groundwork and experience.

I frequently muddle up synths, build my own, chain them through odd DSPs, muck around and sometimes come up with the most outrageously cool FX and synths and damn proud of 'em. Especially when I do ambient tracks, or experimental stuff, nice to build a signature sound.

So you recommend Asynth as a starting point? I'm using FL9, it has something called synthmaker, I suppose I should start reading up on that too.

[nihilist]

So you recommend Asynth as a starting point? I'm using FL9, it has something called synthmaker, I suppose I should start reading up on that too.

Oh, no Asynth is far inferior in terms of features, Asynth is probably on par with a 1970s Moog ;) I often make use of it since it's quick and easy to get new sounds out of the thing, and I then chain it with my own FX to get my own sound.

[nihilist]

HumanoidTyphoon, your turn to upload and share boet ;)

[ibanez]

I played for the first time in front of people this Friday at work's talent show. The chick I was with was suppose to sing and me play guitar. After starting to play she froze and never started singing so I had to start singing and I forgot half of the song. The judges ripped me apart it was one of the hardest things I've done in my life.

O can you guys recommend easy songs that sound cool with an Acoustic?

Well done dude, the fact that you got up there and did it ~ sweet!!!

[tsume]

To preset, or not to preset? That is the question. When using synths I feel it is some sort of cardinal sin using presets, although my synth programming skills leave a little (well, quite a lot actually) to be desired.

What do you guys do?

Whatever gets the music flowing. I'll usually start off with a preset and tweak it to my liking, and I always save the ones which I tweaked incase I want to reuse that sound but tweaked again for another song.

[Beylie]

I'm too lazy too change the presets ... Sytrus (FL Studio) has some awesome ones that's ready out of the box. Anyone here have a midi keyboard hooked up to a softsynth? I've always wondered how you record using a keyboard. Do you record live playing or do you just punch in the notes?

[tsume]

Anyone here have a midi keyboard hooked up to a softsynth? I've always wondered how you record using a keyboard. Do you record live playing or do you just punch in the notes?

Yep, M-Audio O2. I do both. live playing & punch in notes then fill them in by "draw" them in the notes panel.

[nihilist]

Yep, M-Audio O2. I do both. live playing & punch in notes then fill them in by "draw" them in the notes panel.

I have the M-Audio Axiom 61 controller and do the same with VSTs, I use Renoise which lets you map just about any keyboard feature to any plugin parameter.

I can then record wahtever I'm playing in the sequencer, it records whatever I'm playing, including slider positions and other things, I then go back and clean up and fix mistakes.

[tsume]

M-Audio Axiom 6
http://www.m-audioshop.nl/images/axiom61p2.jpg

^^^^
//drools

[nihilist]

Arg, sorry, I'm a fscking idiot. keep getting the two mixed up since I was looking at both when I bought mine.

Mine's the Roland Edirol PCR-800

http://www.midi-keyboard.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/edirol-pcr-800-keyboard.jpg
http://www.artsound.gr/catalog/images/edirol/pcr800.jpg

[Clone of Figlio [2010-11-12T12:48]]

Awesome thread. I'm working on an album with a friend from the US just collabing for the fun of it and a combined passion for music.

[copacetic]

I'd be happy with either.

:D

Very happy.

Plus one of these:

http://gadgets.boingboing.net/gimages/mpd32_angle_lg-thumb-520x324.jpg

[nihilist]

I also have one of these in my closet, who remembers.. *tada* the old Roland MT-32 :D 1987 baby! Sierra games anyone? :)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/05/MT_32.jpg

Still works like a champ, was given to me by a friend a few years back. I actually ended up playing some old Sierra games in DosBox with this thing, also managed to talk to it through Renoise :D Actually sounds damn impressive for its age.

[nihilist]

Copa, I have an old 3 octave keyboard in the cupboard you can have for free, it's not USB, so you'll need a MIDI-USB adapter (R250 from Take2), it's not weighted so it doesn't pick up volume/pressure but it's quite suitable for jamming/laying down notes.

[nihilist]

Awesome thread. I'm working on an album with a friend from the US just collabing for the fun of it and a combined passion for music.

http://www.4shared.com/audio/rBkRBLxq/Time_For_Change.html

Nice clean mix, I like the melody - needs some sexy deep female vocals ;) Very well mastered!

Only thing I don't like is the piano patches, a little too weak, needs a bit of midrange. Have you heard Synthology Ivory ?

[copacetic]

1987! I was 5 at the time. Much more interested in eating dog pellets, than synths. :p

[Clone of Figlio [2010-11-12T12:48]]

What genres are you all into?

[nihilist]

1987! I was 5 at the time. Much more interested in eating dog pellets, than synths. :p

I was 7 :P

Hey it was free, it makes kiff noise ek se :P

[copacetic]

Copa, I have an old 3 octave keyboard in the cupboard you can have for free, it's not USB, so you'll need a MIDI-USB adapter (R250 from Take2), it's not weighted so it doesn't pick up volume/pressure but it's quite suitable for jamming/laying down notes.

:D

That's an extremely kind offer, thank you.

I do have access to one of these though:

http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/shop_image/product/d0b4e6b6b8fc94edf06d02eeced92f21.jpg

Which would be stellar were I a concert pianist, but I can get notes in.

:)

[copacetic]

What genres are you all into?

Psy-trance, acoustic guitar stuff, metal, general experimental electronic.

Music, in general basically I think. :p

[nihilist]

What genres are you all into?

My tastes are vast, from oldschool goth rock to indie, to Bowie, Tom Waits, to Rachmaninov, to Aphex Twin, to old krautrock bands like Harmonia, Can, NEU! etc; to prog rock, huge fan of post-rock and lots of experimental electronica, some classic detroit techno, so pretty much everything but I tend to avoid whatever's current and popular with a few exceptions.

[assagai]

To preset, or not to preset? That is the question. When using synths I feel it is some sort of cardinal sin using presets, although my synth programming skills leave a little (well, quite a lot actually) to be desired.

What do you guys do?

If a preset is really, really working well, I'll use it. But i find it just takes the mystery out of music when I hear a tune and can recognize presets/loops etc - so i try to use presets as little as possible. I think recognizing loops bothers me more than recognizing an actual synth patch.

If it's a generic sound like an electric bass or a piano then I don't mind.

[copacetic]

If a preset is really, really working well, I'll use it. But i find it just takes the mystery out of music when I hear a tune and can recognize presets/loops etc - so i try to use presets as little as possible. I think recognizing loops bothers me more than recognizing an actual synth patch.

If it's a generic sound like an electric bass or a piano then I don't mind.

Yeah, loops are the other issue, of course. I am totally resistant to using loops of any sort, at all, but the bugger of it is that I am simply not too adept at making cool drum beats. It is so frustrating, I have this tremendous urge to make music, but seem to lack the technical skills/creativity. Ugh!

*edit*

That being said, I've has some success, but it seemed more like a lucky stumble than a planned effort at the time.

[Clone of Figlio [2010-11-12T12:48]]

Cool, tried making a trance track a few months ago.

[assagai]

Oh, no Asynth is far inferior in terms of features, Asynth is probably on par with a 1970s Moog ;) I often make use of it since it's quick and easy to get new sounds out of the thing, and I then chain it with my own FX to get my own sound.

on par with a 70s moog? you gotta be kidding - there is simply NO softsynth on par with a real moog from any decade :-)

[nihilist]

I guess a preset is like a DIY wife, if you only choose a base model template and don't make any customizations then clearly one has no soul, but it will still satisfy you. Except you'll be fscking the same model many others are, and then coming to the knowledge that they're doing it better than you.

[nihilist]

on par with a 70s moog? you gotta be kidding - there is simply NO softsynth on par with a real moog from any decade :-)

I know I know, I meant it more as an analogy - I'd sell or 3 of my left nipples to get one. sigh. My wife thought I was completely mad going off about them recently, until I pointed out that Gary Numan used 'em - and of course many others ;)

[assagai]

Yeah, loops are the other issue, of course. I am totally resistant to using loops of any sort, at all, but the bugger of it is that I am simply not too adept at making cool drum beats. It is so frustrating, I have this tremendous urge to make music, but seem to lack the technical skills/creativity. Ugh!

*edit*

That being said, I've has some success, but it seemed more like a lucky stumble than a planned effort at the time.

Well you gotta practice - it's not going to just magically happen - you need to practice programming beats, practice your instrument, practice practice practice! aaaarghh!!

[tsume]

What genres are you all into?

Continuously changing but I'd say I'm prone to hip-hop with some rock, dance, classical...but now a days I find myself making (don't know if it's a specific genre) but music orchestrated to games, tv shows, maybe something I read

[Clone of Figlio [2010-11-12T12:48]]

Continuously changing but I'd say I'm prone to hip-hop with some rock, dance, classical...but now a days I find myself making (don't know if it's a specific genre) but music orchestrated to games, tv shows, maybe something I read

Do you have some samples of your work?

[assagai]

That's the amp I'm probably going to buy next year, I'm quite impressed with the sound I've heard people getting out of it, nice vids on Youtube.

I own a Cort KX-OTIC-FA elec guitar, nice sound, long sustain and with the one tone switch pulled up you get a nice sorta strat hollow-y kinda sound.

I'm useless at guitar but trying to get back into learning, sucks doing it on your own and not being able to afford lessons.

Let me state my opinion about roland amps - they're well made, but they have no real character and sound rather bland .. rather go for a low watt tube amp from laney or fender.. or even vox
take a look at the laney cub range, fender champ, etc.

[nihilist]

Let me state my opinion about roland amps - they're well made, but they have no real character and sound rather bland .. rather go for a low watt tube amp from laney or fender.. or even vox
take a look at the laney cub range, fender champ, etc.

Got a link to a local online store? I mostly only know Soundz.co.za to be of good standing and don't see 'em there. jamming

[assagai]

Got a link to a local online store? I mostly only know Soundz.co.za to be of good standing and don't see 'em there. jamming

hard to get prices locally onine - but check out the amps on youtube and manufactuer sites - if you want prices I can get 'em - I'm not a reseller or anything but I know where to find stuff.

[tsume]

Do you have some samples of your work?

http://soundcloud.com/alphawolftsume

[Clone of Figlio [2010-11-12T12:48]]

http://soundcloud.com/alphawolftsume

Is that you on the trumpet and tuba?

[tsume]

Is that you on the trumpet and tuba?

Na...thats from the Reason soundbank and some of my own soundbank which I've collected

[Clone of Figlio [2010-11-12T12:48]]

Na...thats from the Reason soundbank and some of my own soundbank which I've collected

Dig you're work very cool bro.

[nihilist]

hard to get prices locally onine - but check out the amps on youtube and manufactuer sites - if you want prices I can get 'em - I'm not a reseller or anything but I know where to find stuff.

Ta, my budget is only about R2.5k but I"ll hav ea looksee, it will prob only be around April next year, so plenty of time to research, thanks for the tip!

[assagai]

Ta, my budget is only about R2.5k but I"ll hav ea looksee, it will prob only be around April next year, so plenty of time to research, thanks for the tip!

cool, also checkout gumtree and junkmail.. lotsa decent 2nd hand amps at good prices these days.

[nihilist]

cool, also checkout gumtree and junkmail.. lotsa decent 2nd hand amps at good prices these days.

Been burnt too often buying second hand, I only do that from people who know their hardware or from friends. Unless it's going very cheap :) I'd rather pay more and get some form of a warranty. But I'll have a look.

[assagai]

Been burnt too often buying second hand, I only do that from people who know their hardware or from friends. Unless it's going very cheap :) I'd rather pay more and get some form of a warranty. But I'll have a look.

I've seen some real bargains lately.. if it's a usa, japanese or british made amp you're good - wouldn't buy any 2nd hand new chinese vox for example.

[copacetic]

I am a fan of amp emulation. I know it's not going to sound anywhere as lush and creamy as the real thing but I feel that in the context of a mix, not many people are going to notice anything untoward. The sheer variety of sound you can get, makes up for the lack in quality imho.

[assagai]

I am a fan of amp emulation. I know it's not going to sound anywhere as lush and creamy as the real thing but I feel that in the context of a mix, not many people are going to notice anything untoward. The sheer variety of sound you can get, makes up for the lack in quality imho.

Now there's a whole 'nother can o' worms.. emulation is an art-form unto itself.. there are lots of tricks and secrets to getting it to sound good. My amp sim channel strip is enough to make a grown man (self included) weep.

what amp sim software do you use copa?

[tsume]

Dig you're work very cool bro.

Thanks.

On the talking of using loops as to why it's done, but when you watch commercials must of the music are just loops. I remember some years back a popular producer at the time made a track for a singer using nothing but GarageBand loops without changing the way they even sound, it was quite controversial since you have someone who probably charges $50K for a song and you could've gotten the same song from someone just sitting infront of a computer.

Sidenote: When I started producing (err 2003), I started with eJay which all my songs where just loops (except for the odd one out), but I can say that I took from eJay the knowledge on how to put a song together

[nihilist]

Well you only have to hear the quality of Guitar Rig with well crafted patches to rule out any "emulation is silly" debates, sure it's not the real thing but I've heard some stellar results from it, even softsynths driven through it are stunning. I'm not a purist in any way, I love the concept of plugging whatever into whatever and getting cool new sounds.

The great thing about technology today is that Joe Average can have a quality studio only dreamed of by people a few decades ago in their bedroom.

[copacetic]

Now there's a whole 'nother can o' worms.. emulation is an art-form unto itself.. there are lots of tricks and secrets to getting it to sound good. My amp sim channel strip is enough to make a grown man (self included) weep.

what amp sim software do you use copa?

None at the moment, on account of having sold my guitar some time ago, but I have tried out the two main contenders, Amplitube and Guitar Rig. I like Guitar Rig, to be honest. I've also had a Boss GT-8, which I also sold, which I used in conjunction with this:

Harmonic Converger. (http://harmonicconverger.com/HC_Home.html)

Did a stellar job of (magically) dealing with odd-harmonics and ridding the amp sims of digital fizz. I'd be quite interested how it might work with emulation software.

[nihilist]

I use loops, but not for main parts, I'll often use a raw drum loop as a filler, faded into the background to add a bit of 'space' to a track, it's very subtle, I also usually add FX and cut it up to 'hide' it. I never use loops of actual isntruments or pre-recorded melodies. Not because I think it's wrong, many do it skillfully and create art of their own, it's just not in my genre, so to speak.

[copacetic]

Thanks.

On the talking of using loops as to why it's done, but when you watch commercials must of the music are just loops. I remember some years back a popular producer at the time made a track for a singer using nothing but GarageBand loops without changing the way they even sound, it was quite controversial since you have someone who probably charges $50K for a song and you could've gotten the same song from someone just sitting infront of a computer.

Sidenote: When I started producing (err 2003), I started with eJay which all my songs where just loops (except for the odd one out), but I can say that I took from eJay the knowledge on how to put a song together

My main issue with loops is I personally don't see the point in making your own music unless you are making your own music. :p

It is a perfectly fine place to start and I suspect most people do. I am just stupidly stubborn when it comes to stuff like this.

[assagai]

Well you only have to hear the quality of Guitar Rig with well crafted patches to rule out any "emulation is silly" debates, sure it's not the real thing but I've heard some stellar results from it, even softsynths driven through it are stunning. I'm not a purist in any way, I love the concept of plugging whatever into whatever and getting cool new sounds.

The great thing about technology today is that Joe Average can have a quality studio only dreamed of by people a few decades ago in their bedroom.

The new guitar rig especially - since they (finally) added cabinet/speaker impulses in the form of reflektor - which is absolutely key to getting a good guitar sound out of an emulator.

my channel strip is something like:

magix vandal or amplitube for pedals
compression
Peavey revalver for the head / preamp section
guitar rig for Speaker / Cab impulses (usually a 3 mic setup with close, mid and far positions)
EQ
and various busses from there

[nihilist]

My main issue with loops is I personally don't see the point in making your own music unless you are making your own music. :p

It is a perfectly fine place to start and I suspect most people do. I am just stupidly stubborn when it comes to stuff like this.

It depends, you could argue then that one should make their own guitar ;P OK I'm stretching this out of proportion but I think it really depends on the context and what the guy is intending. DJ's experiment with loops, segments of songs and often create entirely different forms of art with loops.

[assagai]

My main issue with loops is I personally don't see the point in making your own music unless you are making your own music. :p

It is a perfectly fine place to start and I suspect most people do. I am just stupidly stubborn when it comes to stuff like this.

loops are cool for mangling/slicing/recutting or sometimes just to kick off an idea. and for those of us in a hurry :-)

[copacetic]

It depends, you could argue then that one should make their own guitar ;P OK I'm stretching this out of proportion but I think it really depends on the context and what the guy is intending. DJ's experiment with loops, segments of songs and often create entirely different forms of art with loops.

As I said, I am stupidly stubborn.

As you alluded to earlier, this new age of technology has really opened up a whole new world for the bedroom musician. By my logic I should be actually creating all my drum hits and sound effects, etc, etc, which just gets impractical at some point.

My biggest issue is with drum loops is that I am on a desperate quest to try and make beats that 'groove', now this is easy to do with loops, simply drop in a groovy loop, but much harder to figure out how to actually craft yourself. I want to know how it's done.

[tsume]

Found the article about loop use which I read some years back and the youtube video
http://www.xxlmag.com/bloggers/2008/04/polow-da-dons-apparent-garageband-beatjack/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVHvnpoVTGY

[nihilist]

As I said, I am stupidly stubborn.

As you alluded to earlier, this new age of technology has really opened up a whole new world for the bedroom musician. By my logic I should be actually creating all my drum hits and sound effects, etc, etc, which just gets impractical at some point.

My biggest issue is with drum loops is that I am on a desperate quest to try and make beats that 'groove', now this is easy to do with loops, simply drop in a groovy loop, but much harder to figure out how to actually craft yourself. I want to know how it's done.

Crafting drum tracks is dead easy, your best bet is to start humming and tapping with your fingures, slowing it down in your mind and start off with something basic and add some off-beat timing.

Another cool way to get to grips with writing beats is, get a loop you like, put it in a channel, then try to copy the pattern with your own samples and duplicate it, I haven't done this before, I just thought of it now.

[assagai]

Crafting drum tracks is dead easy, your best bet is to start humming and tapping with your fingures, slowing it down in your mind and start off with something basic and add some off-beat timing.

Another cool way to get to grips with writing beats is, get a loop you like, put it in a channel, then try to copy the pattern with your own samples and duplicate it, I haven't done this before, I just thought of it now.

I wouldn't go as far as to say it's dead easy - but yeah I learned by ripping/copying beats etc.. eventually i got a midi drum kit and a pad controller and try and play beats live now. Sometimes you need that tight sequenced sound though.

[copacetic]

Crafting drum tracks is dead easy, your best bet is to start humming and tapping with your fingures, slowing it down in your mind and start off with something basic and add some off-beat timing.

Another cool way to get to grips with writing beats is, get a loop you like, put it in a channel, then try to copy the pattern with your own samples and duplicate it, I haven't done this before, I just thought of it now.

I have indeed tried the latter method. :p

Yeah, I guess I am just feeling very non-creative at the moment. It seems like trying to draw blood from a stone currently.

[nihilist]

I have indeed tried the latter method. :p

Yeah, I guess I am just feeling very non-creative at the moment. It seems like trying to draw blood from a stone currently.

Hence why I've been enjoying this thread, is getting the creative juices going.

[assagai]

I have indeed tried the latter method. :p

Yeah, I guess I am just feeling very non-creative at the moment. It seems like trying to draw blood from a stone currently.

perfect time to work on technical skills then - set yourself a goal - like learning how to rip a beat - or learn parallel compression etc.. it's not always just endlessly flowing creativity you know :-)
there's a lot of technical stuff you can learn while uninspired that will stand you in good stead when inspiration strikes.

[nihilist]

perfect time to work on technical skills then - set yourself a goal - like learning how to rip a beat - or learn parallel compression etc.. it's not always just endlessly flowing creativity you know :-)
there's a lot of technical stuff you can learn while uninspired that will stand you in good stead when inspiration strikes.

+1 for that. Another GREAT thing to keep you going is to do remixes. I used to do some stuff for Remix Wars, one of my tracks was on a compilation once, great fun - and really saved my self esteem when I didn't have the juices to write my own material. I also did a remix for CombiChrist, though wasn't put on their CD (was a sort of competition) but it was played at some overseas nightclub, a friend in the UK showed me the set list and I was totally blown away ;)

[copacetic]

perfect time to work on technical skills then - set yourself a goal - like learning how to rip a beat - or learn parallel compression etc.. it's not always just endlessly flowing creativity you know :-)
there's a lot of technical stuff you can learn while uninspired that will stand you in good stead when inspiration strikes.

That is the truth.

[uJochi]

Forgot about this thread! Thanks to everyone who liked my track, much appreciated!

Now I have to go through 8 pages of posts and listen to everyone else's stuff, haha, excite!
I have some more music on this site http://profile.ultimate-guitar.com/katphish/ and this one http://baptiste.bandcamp.com

The bandcamp one is a whole album of post rock, instrumental stuff, and the other is random songs I make whenever, if you would like a download link to the album just ask, I'll hook you up ;)

I want a midi keyboard so bad, and I need to get a proper soundcard. Soon, Christmas tiiiiiime :D

[nihilist]

What annoys me is the cost of some VSTs I'd like to get. I'd love to get something like Trilogy Bass Module, but it's quite expensive. Are there no places on the internet (not eBay) that one can purchase legal second hand software?

[nihilist]

The bandcamp one is a whole album of post rock, instrumental stuff, and the other is andom songs I make whenever, if you would like a download link to the album just ask, I'll hook you up ;)


SOLD! SEND SEND SEND!

I <3 post-rock :D

[copacetic]

I have a profile on UG as well. :p

[assagai]

What annoys me is the cost of some VSTs I'd like to get. I'd love to get something like Trilogy Bass Module, but it's quite expensive. Are there no places on the internet (not eBay) that one can purchase legal second hand software?

you can try Gearslutz and KVR-vst for license transfer sales.

Thing is in all honesty trilian is an absolute bargain for what you get - and spectrasonics have the most awesome customer support! In fact i got trilian for FREE as an owner of trilogy on osx which wasn't supported. If there's a software company worth supporting, it's spectrasonics.

[nihilist]

you can try Gearslutz and KVR-vst for license transfer sales.

Thing is in all honesty trilian is an absolute bargain for what you get - and spectrasonics have the most awesome customer support! In fact i got trilian for FREE as an owner of trilogy on osx which wasn't supported. If there's a software company worth supporting, it's spectrasonics.

Thanks man :)

[copacetic]

@ uJochi, listening to Untidy Lies on your UG profile, awesome man. :D

[nihilist]

uJochi, Just bought The Arcade Summer for $10, Merry Xmas ;)

[uJochi]

SOLD! SEND SEND SEND!

I <3 post-rock :D

DUDE. We should talk some post rock, methinks. I love it to smithereens! I see you just bought the album, thank you very much fine sir! You get to download it in FLAC or anything else you like, now, plus you get a sweet ass bonus track, haha :)

[assagai]

DUDE. We should talk some post rock, methinks. I love it to smithereens! I see you just bought the album, thank you very much fine sir! You get to download it in FLAC or anything else you like, now, plus you get a sweet ass bonus track, haha :)

Nice stuff dude.. just needs a good mix and it'll sound great - if you're in JHB i'd be glad to help out.

[nihilist]

DUDE. We should talk some post rock, methinks. I love it to smithereens! I see you just bought the album, thank you very much fine sir! You get to download it in FLAC or anything else you like, now, plus you get a sweet ass bonus track, haha :)

FLAC, of course ;)

[uJochi]

Man, you guys are awesome, thanks nihilist!

assagai, that would actually be pretty cool of you, what software do you use for mixing and mastering? I have been learning as much as I can about making mixes sound good, you can tell by listen to that whole album, some songs are mixed badly compared to others... Haha. Especially the 1st track, I loathe the way I mixed that one, ugh, Maseureka is probably my favourite out of the lot, mix wise.

Copacetic, add me on UG :) Untidy Lies is one of my babies as well, I like it quite a bit, thanks for listening!

[nihilist]

uJochi, would I be correct in assuming there's a strong Explosions in the Sky influence here? Especially in Popcorn Rocket?

[assagai]

Man, you guys are awesome, thanks nihilist!

assagai, that would actually be pretty cool of you, what software do you use for mixing and mastering? I have been learning as much as I can about making mixes sound good, you can tell by listen to that whole album, some songs are mixed badly compared to others... Haha. Especially the 1st track, I loathe the way I mixed that one, ugh, Maseureka is probably my favourite out of the lot, mix wise.

Copacetic, add me on UG :) Untidy Lies is one of my babies as well, I like it quite a bit, thanks for listening!

I use a mix of logic 9, protools and cubase with waves, uad and various other plugs and a bit of outboard gear. I'd be gad to help out. Think I could make it sound good :-)

[uJochi]

uJochi, would I be correct in assuming there's a strong Explosions in the Sky influence here? Especially in Popcorn Rocket?

When people ask me what kind of music I make, I just tell them I steal from Explosions in the Sky, hahahaha! You would be 100% correct, I am influenced GREATLY by them, Earth is not a Cold Dead Place is one of my favourite albums of all time, an amazingly beautiful album.

[nihilist]

When people ask me what kind of music I make, I just tell them I steal from Explosions in the Sky, hahahaha! You would be 100% correct, I am influenced GREATLY by them, Earth is not a Cold Dead Place is one of my favourite albums of all time, an amazingly beautiful album.

Man oh man, speaking of Explosions, the first 3 tracks on Those Who Tell The Truth conjure up some serious mental images.. I'd love to direct a video for those three tracks.

[uJochi]

I use a mix of logic 9, protools and cubase with waves, uad and various other plugs and a bit of outboard gear. I'd be gad to help out. Think I could make it sound good :-)

Ah, a Mac guy! Would you require monetary compensation? I think if I were to go about it all properly I'd work on some songs and get you to mix them as a whole piece, and then obviously pay you in cash or sexual favours or whatever your preference :P I should start working on some songs, perhaps

[nihilist]

Coco Turner bringing me a little weepy here man, wish I could switch on my studio monitors and pump the volume up.. FARK i hate living in a flat.

[uJochi]

Hahaha! I made that one for a friend :) Do you know of a band called This Will Destroy You? Get the Young Mountain EP if you can, just as amazing as Explosions. Man I love post rock, I haven't actually made any in ages, I've been trying to write more structured songs, with vocals and bridges and choruses (chorii?) and verses and such. Need to get my guitars and pedals and amp back from my mates house, methinks

[assagai]

Ah, a Mac guy! Would you require monetary compensation? I think if I were to go about it all properly I'd work on some songs and get you to mix them as a whole piece, and then obviously pay you in cash or sexual favours or whatever your preference :P I should start working on some songs, perhaps

No I wouldn't charge you - why don't we try out mixing one track and take it from there?
As for the sexual favours - I'd require pics upfront :erm:

For a mix template I'm thinking something like explosions meets mogwai

[uJochi]

No I wouldn't charge you - why don't we try out mixing one track and take it from there?
As for the sexual favours - I'd require pics upfront :erm:

Haha! :P Okay, I will maybe record something new soon, or maybe send you the skeleton files of one I've made already. I wouldn't mind Untidy Lies to be mixed so it sounds bigger than a mountain when the heavy part kicks in... Favourite part to rock out to

[nihilist]

Hahaha! I made that one for a friend :) Do you know of a band called This Will Destroy You? Get the Young Mountain EP if you can, just as amazing as Explosions. Man I love post rock, I haven't actually made any in ages, I've been trying to write more structured songs, with vocals and bridges and choruses (chorii?) and verses and such. Need to get my guitars and pedals and amp back from my mates house, methinks

I'll check 'em up ta! My first experience with post-rock was Mogwai, "Mogwai Fear Satan" is something of an anthem for me, they just released a remastered version, the production is much better and worth listening to.

This is bloody marvelous sir!

[nihilist]

uJochi, check your PM :)

[uJochi]

I'll check 'em up ta! My first experience with post-rock was Mogwai, "Mogwai Fear Satan" is something of an anthem for me, they just released a remastered version, the production is much better and worth listening to.

This is bloody marvelous sir!

:| Young Team is also one of my all time favourites, Mogwai Fear Satan is just perfect, and Yes! I am a long way from home, starts the album off amazingly. Didn't know about the remastered version, I may have to get that!

Thank you again, you are very kind :)

[assagai]

Haha! :P Okay, I will maybe record something new soon, or maybe send you the skeleton files of one I've made already. I wouldn't mind Untidy Lies to be mixed so it sounds bigger than a mountain when the heavy part kicks in... Favourite part to rock out to

Cool lets start with that then.. i'll need all the separates you can supply me with especially the drums.. would be good if you have al the drum elements separate, like kick, snare, hats etc.

[copacetic]

Looks like good things are happening here for you guys. Glad I made the thread. :)

Just hope I can contribute soon. :erm:

Feeling left out. :p

[assagai]

In the spirit of ultimate muso geekery, i thought i'd start a little gear-porn wish-list..

DSI prophet 08 - http://www.davesmithinstruments.com/products/p8pe/

Evol Fucifier - http://www.vintageking.com/Evol-Fucifier

Moog Voyager - http://www.moogmusic.com/voyager/?section=product&product_id=40

Moog Guitar - http://www.moogmusic.com/moogguitar/

Fender Supersonic 60 - http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=2160500010

*drool*

[nihilist]

*drool*

*fap* *fap* *fap* *fap*

[Clone of Figlio [2010-11-12T12:48]]

Any R&B, Soul type vocalists up for a collab?

[copacetic]

At the moment my lusts are pretty simple:

http://www.prsguitars.com/custom24ltd/img/main1.jpg

*any old acoustic guitar that stays in tune*

http://www.centrmus.com.hk/images/ECHO/AudioFire4/audiofire4_600px.jpg

http://cachepe.zzounds.com/media/fit,400by400/quality,85/brand,zzounds/RecordReasonDuoBoxshotDRAFT-85b578785fef8cc8977aa31194bb8936.jpg

http://www.sonicspot.com/guitar-rig-2/guitar-rig.jpg

http://www.woodbrass.com/images/woodbrass/M+AUDIO+AXIOMPRO49.JPG

https://www.altomusic.com/shop/images/product/mpd32-b61434833319dffabeb483594bbbc7d4.jpg

[copacetic]

http://rowbinet.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/pod-farm-platinum.jpg?w=253&h=300

http://music-recording.co.uk/files/images/tannoy-reveal-5A.jpg

http://audiotrixx.com/images/equipments/DI-100_di_box.jpg

http://www.camdensounds.co.uk/user/products/Steinberg/steinberg_Nuendo_5.gif

That'll be a start.

[assagai]

Interesting selection, Copa.

Why get record and nuendo? In fact why nuendo? Cubase 5 is a lot cheaper and has 99% of nuendo's features, for music production you really don't need those extras.

[Clone of Figlio [2010-11-12T12:48]]

I do a bit of trance production in my spare time. I run Cubase with some plugins and a Clavia Nord 2

This is one of the better tracks I have done

http://soundcloud.com/syrrano/syrrano-genesys-original-mix

And this is a remix I've been working on recently for local Cape Town band Tailor Hill (It still needs some work though)

http://soundcloud.com/syrrano/tailor-hill-going-up-syrrano-remix-unmastered-test-copy

Dude this is sick! I like your drums and progressions. Could use your skills on this track.

http://snd.sc/dP8kzm

[copacetic]

Interesting selection, Copa.

Why get record and nuendo? In fact why nuendo? Cubase 5 is a lot cheaper and has 99% of nuendo's features, for music production you really don't need those extras.

I would need something to run VSTs with, Nuendo, for no other reason other than the fairly arbitrary fact of me having vaguely used Cubase in the past and I had a guy waxing lyrical about Nuendo the other day to me. Cubase 5 would be just fine I am sure.

*edit*

I'd like something in the event of ever needing to try do anything with video, otherwise I'd use Reaper for VST's I reckon.

[luxe]

http://soundcloud.com/elemental-music-1

New track up :)

[assagai]

I would need something to run VSTs with, Nuendo, for no other reason other than the fairly arbitrary fact of me having vaguely used Cubase in the past and I had a guy waxing lyrical about Nuendo the other day to me. Cubase 5 would be just fine I am sure.

*edit*

I'd like something in the event of ever needing to try do anything with video, otherwise I'd use Reaper for VST's I reckon.

Cubase and reaper both handle video, but given the price difference it's probably better to learn reaper - which is basically free until you decide to pay for it, is 64-bit, has a smaller memory/cpu footprint and really is a pretty full-featurd DAW.
I think daw + vsts really is the way to go, reason and record are just too sonically limited to be anything other than a sketchpad (I hope this doesn't spark the old reason debate) but yeah, i said it :-)

[AnimateX]

Greetings, nice thread guys :)

Been dabbling with electronic music as a hobby for some time. First messed around with trackers in '93 with good old Modedit v1.0. Started by doing some cover songs to learn and eventually experimented with my own tracks. Moved on to Fastracker in the mid to late nineties, tried Madtracker for a few years but was really much more impressed with Renoise and that's what I still play around with.

I could probably still strum some chords with a guitar and play a bit on the piano but I've spent more time in the trancey side of things and I'm also into movie soundtracks / scores.

Unfortunately I have neglected my hobby with other priorities taking the lead the past decade so I haven't finished anything in recent times. However, here's something electronic I did back in 1999 with Fastracker:

http://www.quickshare.co.za/files/bmnzieo0/LXR_-_Blue_Fear_-_1999.mp3.html

Not sure what to classify it under, Trancedub or something lol. I have other tracks from that decade, I'm planning to put them up on a site of my own in the future and will maybe link here if there is interest.

Keep on rockin' :)

[Clone of Figlio [2010-11-12T12:48]]

http://soundcloud.com/elemental-music-1

New track up :)

^^Talent overload. Love youre work man! Are your glitches self made?

[Clone of Figlio [2010-11-12T12:48]]

Greetings, nice thread guys :)

Been dabbling with electronic music as a hobby for some time. First messed around with trackers in '93 with good old Modedit v1.0. Started by doing some cover songs to learn and eventually experimented with my own tracks. Moved on to Fastracker in the mid to late nineties, tried Madtracker for a few years but was really much more impressed with Renoise and that's what I still play around with.

I could probably still strum some chords with a guitar and play a bit on the piano but I've spent more time in the trancey side of things and I'm also into movie soundtracks / scores.

Unfortunately I have neglected my hobby with other priorities taking the lead the past decade so I haven't finished anything in recent times. However, here's something electronic I did back in 1999 with Fastracker:

http://www.quickshare.co.za/files/bmnzieo0/LXR_-_Blue_Fear_-_1999.mp3.html

Not sure what to classify it under, Trancedub or something lol. I have other tracks from that decade, I'm planning to put them up on a site of my own in the future and will maybe link here if there is interest.

Keep on rockin' :)

Very well arranged track. If you would allow positive critiscm from a layman in this genre and in the producing sense I would add some vox and maybe lower pads for an added bass effect. Other than that top notch track man.

[luxe]

^^Talent overload. Love youre work man! Are your glitches self made?

:) Thanks Ixa, appreciate the compliment. Yeah most of are self made, some are samples from sample packs that i have mutilated with VST's and effects, or even just noises i recorded from stuff around the house. (i think its flight 914, some of the toms are actually me hitting bottles and cans and tweaking the frequencies lol).

I really liked your track btw, construction was solid, melodies were catchy...a good solid track. (but I guess you saw my comment on Soundcloud).

Viva musicians thread Viva.

[nihilist]

snip

Your Future Crew influence is showing :D

Nice track, it needs some 3D Gouraud spheres ;)

[luxe]

AnimateX - i felt the track really came alive at 3:50, it's like you waited all that time to get us there....nice bro, nice.

[AnimateX]

Your Future Crew influence is showing :D

Nice track, it needs some 3D Gouraud spheres ;)

Lol, funny you mention that, they definitely did inspire me to get into tracking. I still have collections of various .MOD and .S3M files lying around.

Thanks dude :)

[Clone of Figlio [2010-11-12T12:48]]

:) Thanks Ixa, appreciate the compliment. Yeah most of are self made, some are samples from sample packs that i have mutilated with VST's and effects, or even just noises i recorded from stuff around the house. (i think its flight 914, some of the toms are actually me hitting bottles and cans and tweaking the frequencies lol).

I really liked your track btw, construction was solid, melodies were catchy...a good solid track. (but I guess you saw my comment on Soundcloud).

Viva musicians thread Viva.


Thats incredible man. Really loved the vocal pan effect you used on you've got the love. Thought somebody was standing behind me and singing :). What is the name of the synth you use in the intro of Youve Got The Love?

[luxe]

Thats incredible man. Really loved the vocal pan effect you used on you've got the love. Thought somebody was standing behind me and singing :). What is the name of the synth you use in the intro of Youve Got The Love?

:) That's a pad off an ancient roland synth i had lying around, it was even a .aif when i loaded it in to renoise...lol!

pm me if you want some samples :)

[nihilist]

Lol, funny you mention that, they definitely did inspire me to get into tracking. I still have collections of various .MOD and .S3M files lying around.

Thanks dude :)

Yeah, I grew up with all that, got a huge mod collection still, what software are you using? I use Renoise.

[Clone of Figlio [2010-11-12T12:48]]

:) That's a pad off an ancient roland synth i had lying around, it was even a .aif when i loaded it in to renoise...lol!

pm me if you want some samples :)

Will def take you up on that bro, very kind of you. Will gladly trade what I have as well. It would be awesome if we could have a Mybroadband Music competition just to give the musos exposure. It would be great.

[AnimateX]

Very well arranged track. If you would allow positive critiscm from a layman in this genre and in the producing sense I would add some vox and maybe lower pads for an added bass effect. Other than that top notch track man.

Thanks, criticism is welcome. As Fastracker runs in DOS I probably have no hope in re-mastering it with today's software as I would love to actually go back and rework some of my tracks. Nice idea :)


AnimateX - i felt the track really came alive at 3:50, it's like you waited all that time to get us there....nice bro, nice.

Thanks, I'm a fan of the slow build-ups and release, never really had much experience with drums back then so most of the percussion is copy-and-paste, but you can keep adding and eventually get a nice release.

Still trying to pull your tracks off soundcloud, lol my internet connection is broken today - 5KB/s - will give some feedback when I do. Will also start listening to the other artists here soon :)


Yeah, I grew up with all that, got a huge mod collection still, what software are you using? I use Renoise.

Using Renoise as well with various VSTs, samples and Soundfonts. I really need to finish something so I can post from this decade ;)

[nihilist]

Will def take you up on that bro, very kind of you. Will gladly trade what I have as well. It would be awesome if we could have a Mybroadband Music competition just to give the musos exposure. It would be great.

I'm also keen to trade samples and the compo ideas is great.

[nihilist]

Using Renoise as well with various VSTs, samples and Soundfonts. I really need to finish something so I can post from this decade ;)

You can load XMs into Renoise, I've started remastering some old XMs and resurrecting old material from the grave.

I don't use Soundfonts, use VSTs, normal samples etc; I also do a lot of sound mangling, lots of experimentation with FX, drop me your mail and I'll send you my EP done 100% with Renoise :)

[AnimateX]

You can load XMs into Renoise, I've started remastering some old XMs and resurrecting old material from the grave.

I don't use Soundfonts, use VSTs, normal samples etc; I also do a lot of sound mangling, lots of experimentation with FX, drop me your mail and I'll send you my EP done 100% with Renoise :)

I tried pulling in my XMs like that but eventually gave up, a lot of the special features (or quirks) that I used extensively don't import well - or to say Renoise doesn't have those quirks.

Wow, thanks for the offer dude. I'll drop you a PM if Gmail is okay? - I think it has an attachment limit. I'll also try and listen to the ones you posted back in this thread soon :)

[nihilist]

I tried pulling in my XMs like that but eventually gave up, a lot of the special features (or quirks) that I used extensively don't import well - or to say Renoise doesn't have those quirks.

Wow, thanks for the offer dude. I'll drop you a PM if Gmail is okay? - I think it has an attachment limit. I'll also try and listen to the ones you posted back in this thread soon :)

Yeah, I've had the same problem, but at least it's better than starting from scratch and 'copying' your work. I've also had some trouble loading in old Renoise songs (from say, Renoise 1.5) into 2.5/2.6 and some FX I've used sound a bit wonky, they've obviously changed some of the parameters for some of the built in plugins.

[copacetic]

Cubase and reaper both handle video, but given the price difference it's probably better to learn reaper - which is basically free until you decide to pay for it, is 64-bit, has a smaller memory/cpu footprint and really is a pretty full-featurd DAW.
I think daw + vsts really is the way to go, reason and record are just too sonically limited to be anything other than a sketchpad (I hope this doesn't spark the old reason debate) but yeah, i said it :-)

I just like them a lot for some reason, although the more I think about it, the lack of VST just makes me want to cry.

[AnimateX]

As you guys are so kind, here's another one of my Fastracker tracks from 1999:

http://www.quickshare.co.za/files/ccua815y/LXR_-_System_Omega_-_1999.mp3.html

[copacetic]

You ****ers are adding stuff so fast, I can't keep up with updating the first page! :p

[nihilist]

You ****ers are adding stuff so fast, I can't keep up with updating the first page! :p

Yeah well, you're still deciding to use VSTs or not ;) *ducks* C'mon man, whip it out and whack it!

[nihilist]

As you guys are so kind, here's another one of my Fastracker tracks from 1999:

http://www.quickshare.co.za/files/ccua815y/LXR_-_System_Omega_-_1999.mp3.html

This is classic demoscene techno this mate! You're making me want to dig up Cubic Player, a CRT monitor and a LPT DAC converter! curses!