Pudenfuhrer

Some really nice things in this thread - was nice to come across.. Might add my own - http://soundcloud.com/digitalsin-1 for the purposes of this thread - people might like PumpIt? p

Thanks - we'd like to take you up on that at some point!

You mean it or are you being mischievous? Do you mean we'd get annihilated? I'm just wondering who'd have the fun end of things! We'd certainly be game for that though.

Thank-you, cheers. I think you are quite right - I always have half a mind on how 'doable' something is going to be. More practice is always good and we are working pretty hard to gig some of our material in October. It's not just the playing, it's knowing the gear that you are using, it all has to click if it's gonna work. Hopefully it'll feel like a live performance and not too stiff and constrained. There'll be free CDs at the gigs - but PM me if you want me to post one out Thanks again for listening - p

I've put up a tune that is as much a demo for the Kaossilator Pro as for our band called "Driller". I've always made this type of music - but never thought of trying to do it live with some guitar and bass on there too as well as performance synth. On the myspace there's a tune called Driller - and one called Get2aWeapon. The latter is a longform jam and both are just idea demoes - but I'm sort of curious to develop them. Couple of people have heard them - sort of liked them and said they were like computer game music - which made me smile and think about doing a record entirely of this sort of thing. The first three tracks are from the last rock/industrial bedroom recording outing called Breakdown, Breakthrough. And if you like that better you can message me for a free CD of the whole album, which would be a pleasure as the printer messed up the sleave so there's a heap I want to shift. Listen to Driller and Get2aWeapon

I like what you've done - it reminds me of elements of the Haunted that I like. I.e it's got a groove to it. It's got a bit of a Southern yeehah too - that's making it a bit Metallica for my liking. That's mainly the vocal - and that's entirely my taste - I think it's a solid vocal. I'd stick a doubling delay on the vocal - maybe with a fader going up into the choruses - so it's a tad more epic and theatrical. Like on Liquid Gold - so that the word 'gold' stands out. Again - that's what I'd do different. But -- good.

All you lovely people - we are back from the dead. Come have a listen and check out Home @ Digital Sin Records for our spanking new awesome video. EP is up at the myspace DigitalSin on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads Email pudenfuhrer@digitalsinrecords.co.uk if you want a CD of the EP posted to you in a higher quality than the cheapo myspace player We'll be playing shows soon and hope you like what you hear, bring a shotgun though as we are now zombies - being back from the dead and all. Looking for gigs/promoters and generally any feedback you fancy giving is very much appreciated.

Well its one thing to ground lift on a signal line but the other (very scary) way to remove ground loop hums and such is to cut the earth off the amps plug. The trouble with that is that everything is designed to protect you by shorting to earth, so the case is earthed, screens and mic grills and guitar strings. If there is a problem in the amp its not going to go through you its short straight to the earth soak and just your amp goes pop. If you cut that option out however then the notion of earths gets a wee bit more relative and the case of your amp for example can be developing a voltage in its own earth relative to the real (disconnected) earth. If you have your amp in one wiring loom, and the PAs miles away on another you can have a situation whereby when you come near the mic, the screen on the mic through the PA could have enough of a difference to your amp to give you a faint jiggle. So that can happen just between two different actual earths.. It can sound atrocious if you line out an amp on one loom to a desk on another (until you lift the ground off the signal line with a DI box or something like this). This is called a ground loop and the potential difference between two earths connected together causes an extra interference signal.. But if youve got no earth soak at the amp end at all what if theres a fault in the amp and theres a live voltage desperate to get to earth? Its made worse by the fact that its usually a fault with the amp that causes someone to cut the earth in order that the amp appears to work fine. If the amp shorts to its case it probably doesnt go pop but it does raise a voltage on everything connected to the screen of the amp including your guitar. But your playing away - you touch the earthed mic with your lip other hand on the strings something like that and, tragically, bang.

That is, unfortunately, just totally normal - you touch the earthed strings and help form a nice big Faraday cage. The bridge and strings will be earthed - but you aren't - that is until you touch the strings. Basically - in touching the strings you help shield the guitar from monitor, mobile phone noise, high frequency lights etc Ever see those basses with like a loop of metal covering the pickup - at the neck and bridge - right over the strings? Well that's why I'd suggest getting a fine wire mesh phone box sized box - and earth it to your guitar - then play inside the box. Sorry - seriously now - also check - when you get a lot of noise in your setup - that you haven't got your plugs on your amp and mixer on different wiring looms. If you can run everything from one gang lead - or you live in a more modern place that's cool. If you must operate across two semi/unconnected earths always use a DI box or something like this with a Ground Lift function to disconnect the two. As a final - sensible idea They sell really nice cables - that have an instrument and amp end. The amp is connected to the earth and the instrument isn't - Planet waves do one and you might try that..

Biased Information Hey - You should have started to hear a few less pleasant sounds from your amp if the valves were getting tired - However it may well still be power tube going pop Depending on the type of valve amplifier however it may not be of the modern self biasing type - (that is an automatic circuit). Usually you have to use a screwdriver on a pot or two and a meter setup on 350-450 Volt rails - something that it's worth paying a tech to do. The purpose in this is that we want the two or four matched valves to draw together equally and within their operating limits. Anyone who has a Class A type amp does not use this matched pairing of amplifier valves (push-pull/ back to back) operation and this becomes less of an issue The joy of valve amps is the ability to rebias most of them to take heaps of different valves based around the same pinout. http://www.watfordvalves.com/pdfs/guitaristv02-01_biasing.pdf A nice starter for people not sure what to expect from valves - Marshall Amps :: The Secret Life Of Valves

If you are a beginner and not sure about lenses I'd suggest a Finepix S9500 which is a great fixed lens camera - as good as a SLR really except the optics are all fixed save for what you put on the filter ring. The set up is so optimised and affordable that its hard to go wrong and the natural light mode is great for when you don't want a flash but there isn't much light. Range of modes from full auto right down to full manual and just about everything in between and you have a real freedom to concentrate on a specific variable or affect you are playing with - its just great for learning on. Nice review and pix here

Bca2000 I'd recommend a Behringer BCA-2000 Its a soft driven USB mixer, converts all your inputs into digital before they get anywhere near noisy fans etc... Very reliable and latency is reasonable if your computer has a little grunt. Suits me very well and great with a laptop for recording on move etc.. You don't need a soundcard at all anymore..

Washburn WG580 for sale Washburn WG580 in Metallic /Charcoal. All black chrome hardware. Features Grover tuners and a floydrose locking vibrato. Guitar layout is Ibanez/jackson style double cutaway 'super-strat'. Guitar is very solid and robust upper-mid range guitar, no problems live at all. Would be ripe for a pickup upgrade to give it some personal character (currently stock Washburn pickups). Electrics are single/ single/ humbucker with 5 way switch and coil tap on the bridge humbucker. Body is in very good condition one tiny prang (touched up) near jack and a few light scratches. Includes a pretty solid hard case & currently setup downtuned to A or dropped B with a 58 bottom string - give us a shout if you want it reset to standard as thats no bother. Offers something around 220 I'll load up some images later- I may have a few other bits and pieces of possible interest too, so please come and have a look... Contact any time - 07968 341 232

Mm.. this is a really cool track- has someting nin about it near the end.. wonder what vocals you will do?

This stuff is absolutely superb- its fantastic to hear such sustained soundscapes that come off uncomplicated and chilled, but with a real urgency also... Impressed

I tried to listen to some of his tracks but they are all locked away What sort of stuff do you do Stripey>? I figure triphop / drumnbass-ish from old posts?

oppps

Isn't the distortion stage clipping essentially making any need for a compressor rather pointless though? Is it just to try and get some peaks back in it or something?

Yeah - I'd been thinking of running a clean track as well to beef it up as I want the knackered weak sound in there as well that the distortion brings-- I'll have a look...

Wow.. thats very strange indeed!

either names fine - ill have a listen tonight- im intrigued...

Just to check- you listened all the way through? Its louder in some parts than in others, I'm not being silly here but I've posted snap gut feelings before grasping a track properly. Also thanks for qualifying your post. Ok.. I'm not really sure about sustaining the piano it should be fairly clean and sound a little dramatic and scattered, not a wash of notes- and its actually a fairly meaty piano - maybe I should have played that phrase an octave lower? The drums pass through tight distortion filters, I must admit I'm off to record drum hits to build up a bank of samples for future tracks next week- they are not supposed to sound clean however -, they are layered as follows: a fairly mid-bass distorted track that opens; a mildly reverberated track to pull up the snare and create a panning dynamic just prior and troughout the first 'heavy bit'; one thick flanged sound that appears after that; and an echoed track that creates the trippy drums later in the track. The drums have been scooped somewhat to create presence - each layer I'm trying to bring up different parts more than others. I am using Homestudio for what its worth (not a lot its a budget solution). Furthermore I'm using a pair of linear studio monitors- there is plenty of low frequency in this track, particularily from the drums later on - as a guitarist I have to be careful not to create too much guitar presence and I also take it easy on 'scooping' the sound as much as possible because most people have an EQ loudness that they (knowingly or not) apply. I used a light mix compressor on the master track and I could push this a lot further - in fact there is still a fair bit of room before clipping anyway I think - to be honest we were still noodling the track a bit and I mixed it down with that spare room left. I will push that a bit as you say, thanks for pointing that out. The track does sound full to me, with to my ears, plenty of dynamic range for the most part- I take on board what you have said and will no doubt listen and tweak it later - but I genuinely feel that most of your points might be subjective and you might basically just not like my production style! Thats fine of course! Could I also ask what sort of things you like, musically, and what type of production you aspire to on a record? Maybe plug whatever bands or work you have done? You know what you are talking about as these are issues that I am aware of, entering instuments as continual overdubs - each instrument sounding fine on its own but together they are all trying to conquer the same frequency area. To solve these problems I had used left/right seperation and EQing and simply recording differently to create dynamic space- as you say - to breathe. Personally (I think you can tell easy enough) I'm after a nin -eque sound, maybe some of Rammsteins grandure and meaty guitar feel? That was the intention I think, probably quite subconcious most of the time. edit: i made some changes to improve the drum dynamics- cheers for the advice p

Hmm - what production issues do you notice?- what speakers are you using? -what seems too high or low?

Hard to argue with these bad boys.. nice one gents