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Post by lavaman on Sept 16, 2023 7:54:03 GMT
A good evening, nice to see Warren Zevon appear with Jackson Browne.
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Post by lavaman on Sept 11, 2023 21:56:51 GMT
Enjoyed that, thanks for posting.
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Post by lavaman on Aug 29, 2023 9:33:21 GMT
Hi Robbie, Before I bought the Orchid pre-amp I bought the Orchid Muting DI box. Both are quality products. The muting facility is so useful when changeing guitars or tunings.
Most of my guitars are fitted with K&K pickups, but I'm finding I now prefer the sound of the Fishman Rare Earth Humbucker and the Rare Earth Blend. The humbucker version sounds great on my Eastman and is a fair bit cheaper that the blend. Hope that helps iain
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Post by lavaman on Aug 22, 2023 21:43:42 GMT
I get a decent sound using an Orchid preamp with my K&K pickup guitars into whatever PA is at the venue. Friends use a LR Baggs Para DI.
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Post by lavaman on Aug 22, 2023 8:01:42 GMT
I've adopted a similar approach to Wild Violet. I play a couple of pub based local gigs each year that support charities that I admire such as local food banks. These gigs are organised by people I know. I don't expect payment but I do limit the time I play to no more than 40 minutes.
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Post by lavaman on Aug 10, 2023 8:40:10 GMT
Hi Matt I normally record the guitar and vocals seperately but lately I've been recording simultaneously because the energy of the performance is so much better. I think with recording voice and guitar simultaneously you have to accept that there will be some bleed. As you say minimising bleed on the vocal mic is the most important as that gives you freedom to use compression, reverb etc in the mix. For the vocal mic I use an sE4400a that offers cardioid and fig 8 patterns. More often than not I'll select cardioid, with the mic position below my mouth but angled upwards away from the guitar. Guitar bleed is minimal and is masked by the guitar mics. The guitar mic(s) is more difficult. If using one mic, conventional wisdom is to angle it towards the neck/body join. Even using a fig 8 it picks up a lot of vocal. I use two small diameter condensor mics (Rode NT5) with cardioid pattern; one pointing at the neck join, the other towards the bridge. Initially, I positioned them 8" away from the guitar and 24 " apart. This minimised vocal bleed, BUT, for me, it picked up too much mechanical noise from playing - e.g. finger nails hitting the strings, palm rubbing on the bridge when muting etc. My solution has been to move the guitar mics further back - at least 15" from the guitar. The guitar sounds good but the guitar mics do pick up my vocals. But actually, in the mix, you usually want the vocals louder than the guitar so the vocal picked up by the guitar mics is masked by the main processed vocal track. It important to minimise reflections from the walls and floor. I sit at one end of the room and place soft furnishings and acoustic material behind me and on the floor by my feet. The huge downside of simultaneous recording is that you can't edit the recordings , you have to sing and play perfectly for the whole length of the song. Here's an example from a song I'm working on at the moment. The mix is a bit muddy but you can hear the seperation of the vocal and guitar. keep experimenting Iain soundcloud.com/iainpaterson-1/ramble-on-test-piece/s-qTP3qqQfRV4?si=1948529151a7486891ceac974464f500&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
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Post by lavaman on Jul 31, 2023 22:10:56 GMT
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Post by lavaman on Jul 31, 2023 15:13:31 GMT
Hi John
I've been fingerpicking for years but recently I damaged my thumb at exactly the point where I hit the strings. My thumb is better now but at least it gave me the opportunity to explore the various types of pick on the market. I bought about 25 different picks mail order from Eagle Music. I now have a wide variety of thicknesses, shapes, and colours (and a tin to keep them in).
What I discovered is that the pick thickness and its material have a huge influence on the sound. Some picks work well with one guitar but not another. So what I'm saying is buy a big selection and work through them to find what works for you.
On a positive note, after playing with a pick for one day I wrote a song that I probably wouldn't have if I was fingerpicking.
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Post by lavaman on Jul 18, 2023 5:05:32 GMT
I guess someone is telling me that I have enough guitars now!
Don't listen to them curmudgeon. We've lost some good shops in the North too. Sounds Great at Heald Green were good as were Back Alley Music in Chester. Frank at Frailers in Runcorn doesn't stock as many used guitars imported from the USA as he used to.
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Post by lavaman on Jul 16, 2023 7:37:02 GMT
Yeah, been there, done that. Its so frustrating. A growing number of guitar shops advertise guitars as 'in stock' but they aren't actually in the shop. They may be in their warehouse / storeroom nearby or faraway in their distributor's warehouse. Always best to ring before travelling.
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Post by lavaman on Jul 1, 2023 16:12:09 GMT
Those little Fender Champ amps are brilliant and so LOUD!
Looks to be an impressive kit and your wiring looms are pretty neat. Well done. Just keep your fingers away from the high voltage rails.
I've never built a valve amp but about 30 years ago my boss (an electrical engineer who had previously worked at Mullard valves) helped me repair a Sound City amp.
Iain
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Post by lavaman on Jun 5, 2023 20:59:15 GMT
Marmite !!!!! Sorry, I have no sympathy for you
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Post by lavaman on Jun 5, 2023 7:11:44 GMT
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Post by lavaman on May 29, 2023 6:59:19 GMT
Will watch it later. I remember seeing Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee back in 1972 at Plymouth. Apparently, they didn't get along but they made some fine music together.
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Post by lavaman on May 2, 2023 7:54:22 GMT
Sad indeed. Interesting how many excellent songwriters come from Canada.
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