spellchecker

I suppose if you had 2 four track recorders you could use one as a sort of mixing console?

i.e. Use one four track to record four inputs at once. Take the L and R from that four track, and plug it into tracks 1 and 2 of the other four track. So effectively, you could have a sort of eight track recorder, but then you wouldn't be able to mix the output of the first four track. This is a bit of a shit idea I'm wittering on about really.

Is there a specific reason you want to use hardware multi-track recorders instead of a PC/Mac? With a PC or Mac you can multitrack so many more tracks. Even if you have a cheapy soundcard, you can buy a small mixing desk from ebay for around 50 quid. That will allow you maybe four inputs at once (so if you wanted to mic up your guitar amp with four different mics, you can) and will include preamps too. Take the L and R out from the desk into the line-in of your soundcard, and there you have your very own multi-track recorder.

you can also buy a better soundcard that has a breakout box, but these don't usually have mic preamps which are useful.

which reminds me:

1x Creative SBLive available for a new home. Would swap for a few blank recordable CDs

1x Cambridge Soundworks surround speaker system for sale/swap. Includes 4 satellite speakers and big subwoofer.

Both in good working order. The SBLive is quite a snazzy card for a cheapy, it has non blocking access to the sound chip meaning you can record stuff, play stuff back, and play some more stuff back from a different source all at the same time. Nice technical description there.

* whistles innocently *

Originally posted by skuzzlebut:

I was going to ask some advice though. I have an old electro-harmonix chorus/vib/flange pedal that's about 20 years old. It runs off the main though... does anyone know if there'd be a way to convert it to run off DC?

spellchecker, i'm not familiar with that unit, does it have a valve in its circuitry?

I'm not sure, i've never opened it up. I'll take a look this weekend when i take some photos.

Originally posted by Flash@TMB:

When I hear Karen Carpenter sing the words "Long ago, and oh so far away", it's enough to make the hairs stand up on the back of my neck - I couldn't make that connection if I knew she was a robot, or a creation of cyberspace. It works for me because she was a flesh and blood human. Like us. The same way that I could never fall in love with a robot, no matter how perfect, although I dare say there are people that would prefer that sort of relationship.

Yet when you see computer generated scenes in films, you don't dismiss it because it didn't actually happen. Or do you?

Isn't this all a little purist? I love drum machines, they are great for recording, I love triggers and sample pads too. I can sympathise with the comment about drum machines live... it works for some bands, and not for others. I always thought 48k were a lot better with a real drummer, and I think Starfall would be better with a real drummer... however, bands like Strobing Goat or AKA The Faux are much better with drum machines in my opinion. Perhaps that is because the bands are more interesting to watch, and you aren't looking around for something interesting to happen... like you said, drummers are often the most interesting members of a band.

Originally posted by Tav:

I've got a Big Muff and I love it. Used it on guitar and bass with great results on both. As for your mains powered pedal it must need more voltage/current than any battery can supply I don't know how you would convert it myself...always do a search on google lol.

Yeah, I'm not sure if it's because it requires more power (it's still a DC circuit internally) or just because it's old. I have a delay pedal about the same age that also runs of the mains. I'll try and get some pictures of them both, they are really quite funky looking.

I have a couple, but I'm not actually looking to sell them. I was going to ask some advice though. I have an old electro-harmonix chorus/vib/flange pedal that's about 20 years old. It runs off the main though... does anyone know if there'd be a way to convert it to run off DC? there must be an AC transformer inside the box, which may be the source of some of the hum it makes. I also have a big muff, but it sounds better on vocals than on any guitar i've played through it, to be honest. i do like EH effects though, they're very honest.

Originally posted by soundian:

Why don't you phone and ask them, instead of relying on second-hand info?

Come on, what's the chances of Mark actually being in the studio, let alone answering the phone?

Originally posted by soundian:

Throw in a few hexadecimal jokes and you've got a party.

fuck binary, i was talking loops.

for ( int i = 0; i < ad_nauseam; i++ ) {

makeBadJokes();

}

Originally posted by soundian:

Is it just me, or do your arithmetic circuits need checking.

They need obtaining is what they need. See, being a programmer, all counting begins at 0 for me... I don't handle inclusiveness very well.

My bad. 8th of June it is...

Hmm, I'm most likely to have left the country for about a year by the time the third course starts. Any chance of squeezing me in on the second course (for midi sequencing)?

Not to put you off or anything, but most local bands probably look for a studio first, then engineer later. Unless it's a friend or a good deal, local bands seem to use the studio engineer to record and mix / produce things, and master (or send away).

do you have your own equipment for recording, or are you offering skills only? How long do you think you will be living here? Are you thinking of setting up a studio? There's never a shortage of bands wanting to record it seems, as for whether there is any money in it or not...

Welcome, anyway.

Originally posted by Stephen:

bout year ago i would have said that sounded well decent but latest fantomas stuff is bit gash

Well, I just got the last album through the post courtesy of play.com, I love it! It's a bit of a departure from the first album, almost from one opposite to another. Great music to soak up, probably not very good for short random blasts, considering it is one 74 minute track. I'll be interested to see how they play some of this stuff live. Ahh, fresh music. Yummy.

Originally posted by soundian:

It would depend where the mic came from, if it was a defunct studio then you're probably alright.

The extra pins would be for power to the valve. It should have a PSU with it as well, maybe that's why it didn't sell?

Mine's a Neumann TLM103, it came from a guy in Fife, and I'm guessing (hoping) it was home studio usage.

The MXL valve mic did come with a power supply actually. I'm surprised it didn't get a single bid. I probably would have, had I not bid on the Neumann instead. The guy with the MXL said he had bought two for a job, was keeping one and selling the other.

I picked up a spirit folio mixer as well, should arrive tomorrow or saturday, along with the dirty old compressor unit.

Originally posted by soundian:

I'd be dubious about buying second-hand mics. Most engineers would rather sell their grandmothers than a good mic.

erk, just what i want to hear after what i've just bought off ebay.

on a side note, i saw an MXL 77 valve microphone or something on ebay that never sold. you can buy it from turnkey for 700 quid, yet this thing got no bids and started with a no-reserve opening bid of 300 quid. the thing that confused me was that it had a 7 pin XLR - what the hell are the extra four pins for?

yeah they're good things, i'd keep one for myself if i had a laptop to use it on.

Originally posted by DR DRAKE:

** UPDATE**

anyway, replacing them are MATAHARI - the band, from london, have been around for around 5 years (think they might have even played aberdeen before as a tour support?) they've been described as everything from hardcore metal to melodic rock, the band see themselves as intelligent, emotive rock music. their new album 'Pefect Horizon' which came out on April 1st has been 4 years in the making and for the first time, they say, perhaps demonstratres the quality of the bands musical talents and their songwriting.

www.matahari.org.uk

Arrrr, arrr.

We played our first ever gig with them, they were funny, nice gentle chaps. They even came to the palace for a drink or seven later. They toured with Kilkus about 2 years ago. They had a really funny keyboard player / man on the decks that laughed like a dolphin. In a charming way.

Can't remember what they sounded like.

Hmm, that's a bit non-sensical. First the writer projects that audiences and music listeners won't care about bands, just songs. Then he says at the end that bands will make money by selling merchandise like t-shirts, etc., instead of buying cds.... why the hell would they do that if they didn't care about the band in the first place, in fact, why would they turn up to the gig at all?

it's great to promote awareness of the changing music industry though, because it is going to change. however, much of it is just things going round in circles, just seems like we're at the crest of corporate saturation at the moment. And I hope with all my fingers and toes crossed that EMI are no longer a company in five years time.

sort fast, i just booked a flight all-in for 68 quid from aberdeen to heathrow, don't know how long it'll stay cheap for. crazy that the train costs just as much but takes about four times longer to get there.

Anyone coming??

Originally posted by Turnham Green:

Bless the Mystery Lounge... see you there!

Ahhh, the wanderer hath returned.

blame the young local bands... i heard he no longer answers any questions above 550Hz.

Originally posted by Frosty Jack:

Least organised band evah...

we're challenging you for the title, though.

Thankyou, thankyou.