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lofi


Guest Stripey

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Guest Stripey

I've noticed this term being bandied about a fair bit. Do you think lofi imbues extra character, a sort of rustic charm, or is it just an excuse for rough production?

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All three, I'd say, although you could add "lack of money" to the list! My stuff is often referred to as Lo-Fi, but, despite my posts to the contrary, I'd be quite happy to go digital on a computer. What stops me is the fact I have a perfectly functional, although basic, portastudio, donated to me by Cavern Mike, and a lack of ready cash.

I still think a hissy, raw-edged tape has a certain charm, though......probably an age thing

(c86 and all that!).

______________________________________________________________________-

Kitchen Cynics...............................................a laugh, a song and a zimmer frame.....

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it deoends on the user...

i think lo-fi seems to be being used by band who are not particualrly talented musicianwise (ie indie punk and all theat stuff, and also demos that carent recorded well, when reviewers are looking for something to say

i think of lo-fi as a gritty dirty kinda sound (when referring to guitars or recordings) not perfect and nice, but with an edge

David

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Guest Stripey

you gotta be kidding. Lofi is just a byword for crap recording quality, and personally I don't see that as a positive quality. I for one would be fucking pissed off if I bought a CD and it was badly engineered.

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naa, there's something great about recording in really weird places and crackly record players and recording with shit microphones and limiting drums to get a huge sound. If a cd's badly engineered, it wasn't done with enough creativity or mixed well, but I don't think that's synonymous with the popular definition of lofi. We ended up choosing a mini belt amplifier recorded with a 3 pc microphone rather than my JCM900 or amplitube because it gave a far better sound for the song.

Stripey, having asked the question of what lofi is, you don't seem to want to accept any other definitions than bad quality recording.

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There's whole movements in the USA just now who utilise lo-fi recordings to give their music immediacy, and a real,personal touch......eg the Philadelphia-based wyrd folk like Fursaxa, Greg Weeks etc, or the Jewelled Antler collective from San Francisco, who record on beaches, in woods etc, and it's soul-touchingly beautiful!!!

________________________________________________________________________

Kitchen Cynics....................................bleezin', knackered but happy..........................

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There's whole movements in the USA just now who utilise lo-fi recordings to give their music immediacy' date=' and a real,personal touch......eg the Philadelphia-based wyrd folk like Fursaxa, Greg Weeks etc, or the Jewelled Antler collective from San Francisco, who record on beaches, in woods etc, and it's soul-touchingly beautiful!!!

..........................[/quote']

speaking of low fi Alan - you should be getting a cassette of GBV out-takes at some point,

Dave

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Aye the tape is a selection of (decentish) tracks from Suitcase ( 4 CD boxset) - varying sound quality* but some lovely little gems of tracks there. Think there is only one track on that double CD compilation you have. But this is the demo version anyway...

Dave

* one live track is almost drowned out by two American screatchy girlies discussing their babies / love life...

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Guest stuartmaxwell

you can get away with a graphic equaliser pedal, and modify that to make it sound "lo-fi"

at the end of the day, you can only capture the lo-fi sound if you have the right instruments, songs, voice etc

i reckon people/reviewers use it about tracks they like that are badly recorded, if it is a track they dont like it is dismissed as "recorded in a bin being rolled down a bunmpy hill-urgh!"

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Ibanez LF7 Lo Fi Pedal

Product Description

The first dedicated filter pedal for guitar, the LF7's voltage controlled analog high and low pass filters allow you to emulate transistor radio and megaphone type sounds. Best used at the end of a signal chain in combination with other pedals, this pedal creates wide soundscapes of far out tones that previously required a massive rack of analog electronics. The Lo Fi also performs equally well with vocals, drum machines, or in any "mixdown" context.

On the outside, Tone Lok effects are equipped with Ibanez' exclusive "set and forget" Push-Lok rotary pots. Push the knobs down and your tone settings lock securely inside the case. No more lost settings or knobs broken by ticked off lead vocalists stomping off the stage.

On the inside, Tone Lok pedals feature hi-fidelity components carefully tweaked with the constant input from a new generation of Ibanez players. And all this great stuff comes encased in cool looking, road tough metal boxes at prices the working player can afford.

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I was going to say... lofi pedals are probably just bandpass filters... yup. Do you get bit crunching pedals? They'd probably sound a bit like distortion pedals but more grainy. You can get this effect on PCs by lowering the bit resolution of the WAV file...

For me, lofi doesn't mean bad production - or even low quality production. It means making the best music you can with minimal instruments & equipment.

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