To anyone but Michael!

Basslover · #1 02-23-2005, 07:25 AM

To Steve and everyone else,
I hate to be another guy who bothers Michael about his upcoming solo cd, so has anyone else heard anything about when it is going to become available? His solo pieces have always been my favourite tracks and his live show is absolutely the most amazing thing I have seen in my life. Please, if anyone knows when the artwork is going to be done and it will be ready for release (I'm in the UK), please let me know!
thanks
Brian

**Steve Lawson** · #2 02-23-2005, 09:20 AM

Brian,

I've given up speculating over the release date on Michael's CD... 'any day now' seems to be about as close as we can get... and that really does me, 'any day - pick a day!'

Whatever happens, I'm sure I'll have released another two before Michael's hits the cyber-shelves

Steve
www.stevelawson.net

Basslover · #3 02-23-2005, 11:34 AM

Steve,
I've seen you play twice with Michael and I think you two work so well together. Obviously your work is much different than Michael's, but I noticed last time I saw you play at the Darbukah in London you played a song without any looping. It was filled with beautiful arpeggios and I thought it a lovely listen! I greatly enjoy your compositions and as a solo bassist myself, I understand what you mean when you say you can sit back and play a full sound without relying on dazzling techniques! I have been working on solo bass pieces for the last year after hearing Michael's 'Music for Armchair Funambulists', and to compose a song that has a catchy melody along with harmony and rhythem is truly very demanding on the bass; I find myself exhausted in a way after each piece. However, there is something amazing to me about being able to sit down just with a bass and play solo music. I would like to purchase a looper to have more variety in my music and also be able to just sit back, relax and see where it goes as you do so well! Possibly you could answer some questions about looping for me? I would very much appreciate it.
-Right now I am using a small practice amp (about 30 wats) as my flat in London has strict rules about noise! If I buy the DL-4 looper which I am thinking of doing, would I have to buy another amp or speaker as well? What I am concerned about is an overload of sound.
-How important, as an expert looper, do you think it is to have an 'undo' feature on your looper? I am thinking about variety in a song, and I feel with an 'undo' feature, which the DL does not have, I would be able to have more interesting songs.
-(This question doesn't pertain to looping) Since you are a technical wizard, maybe you could help: I have a DVD player that does not play NTSC discs, only PAL. Is there any way of modifying Michael's NTSC Artists profile so I could watch it here in London? I hate not being able to!
-Lastly, thanks for taking the time to help an enthusiastic amateur!
All the best,
Brian

Bruce Lindfield · #4 02-23-2005, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Basslover

I have a DVD player that does not play NTSC discs, only PAL. Is there any way of modifying Michael's NTSC Artists profile so I could watch it here in London? I hate not being able to!

I had that problem and thought it meant buying another DVD player and as they have become pretty cheap I did!!

But the main problem is with the actual Televisions in the UK - so I thought my TV was pretty good - big screen, Dolby Surround etc. - but I discovered from the small print in the manual that it woudn't work with NTSC!

I mentioned it to a manager in "Richer sounds" and he said that they always ask customers now about whether their TV can handle NTSC as a lot of UK ones don't - so when they sell you an "all region" DVD player they always ask about whether your TV can take NTSC! As otherwise it's waste of time!

**Steve Lawson** · #5 02-23-2005, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Possibly you could answer some questions about looping for me? I would very much appreciate it.
-Right now I am using a small practice amp (about 30 wats) as my flat in London has strict rules about noise! If I buy the DL-4 looper which I am thinking of doing, would I have to buy another amp or speaker as well? What I am concerned about is an overload of sound.
-How important, as an expert looper, do you think it is to have an 'undo' feature on your looper? I am thinking about variety in a song, and I feel with an 'undo' feature, which the DL does not have, I would be able to have more interesting songs.

Hi Brian,

you certainly wouldn't need another amp with the DL4 - the signal runs straight through it, so you get the direct sound of your bass and the loops all going down the same cable to your amp. 30 Watts should be more than enough for home use.

The Undo function is cool, and useful, but not vital for interesting looping. There are loads of things you can do with the DL4 on its own (if you really want to hear just how far one DL4 can be taken, have a listen to Theo Travis' solo alto flute album, 'Slow Life' - the whole album is of live solo tracks for just flute and DL4 - www.theotravis.com ). I'd recommend the DL4 as a box to get into looping with.

Quote:

-(This question doesn't pertain to looping) Since you are a technical wizard, maybe you could help: I have a DVD player that does not play NTSC discs, only PAL. Is there any way of modifying Michael's NTSC Artists profile so I could watch it here in London? I hate not being able to!

I've not come across anyone in the UK yet who can't play Michael's DVD on their TV - I think it is 'region' free. I'm not sure how this relates to the PAL/NTSC question, but no-one has complained yet...

Steve
www.stevelawson.net

Basslover · #6 02-25-2005, 04:40 AM

Thanks for your quick reply Steve. I really appreciate you taking the time to help! One last question: What is the easiest way to buy a DL-4 if I live in south-west London? Is there a place I can go to try it out, or is it best to order it online? I am concerned that if I order from America, the outputs might pose a problem.

Also, I realised my amp is only 16 watts! Do you think that will suffice for looping?

Lastly, I am playing my first solo bass show in 2 weeks! It is actually not a show, I'm a teacher and its going to be an assembly on the bass guitar. I want to connect my amp to the p.a. the school has. My amp does not have a line out but does have an external speaker input. Is this the same as a line out feature? Do you think this will be sufficient to plug in to the p.a., and if you do, would a regular cable work?
Thanks for your time again!

Brian

**Steve Lawson** · #7 02-25-2005, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Basslover

Thanks for your quick reply Steve. I really appreciate you taking the time to help! One last question: What is the easiest way to buy a DL-4 if I live in south-west London? Is there a place I can go to try it out, or is it best to order it online? I am concerned that if I order from America, the outputs might pose a problem.

I think The Gallery stock them - I tend to recommend buying any music gear you can from the Gallery, as their after-sales service is pretty faultless, and their prices are great too.

Quote:

Also, I realised my amp is only 16 watts! Do you think that will suffice for looping?

I'm sure it'll be fine.

Quote:

Lastly, I am playing my first solo bass show in 2 weeks! It is actually not a show, I'm a teacher and its going to be an assembly on the bass guitar. I want to connect my amp to the p.a. the school has. My amp does not have a line out but does have an external speaker input. Is this the same as a line out feature? Do you think this will be sufficient to plug in to the p.a., and if you do, would a regular cable work?
Thanks for your time again!

Brian

OK, DON'T PLUG A SPEAKER OUT INTO A CHANNEL ON THE PA!!!!!! Sorry for shouting, but you'll blow things up if you do that. The signal that gets sent to a speaker is going to be very high indeed compared to the tiny level of power needed to go into a channel on a desk.

Your best bet would be to either just go into the PA, or borrow a bigger bass amp for the day.

cheers!

Steve
www.stevelawson.net

Basslover · #8 03-01-2005, 07:50 AM

Dear Steve,

thanks for your advice. Just to think I would have blown up the school's speaker system by using my line out into a pa is
a bit scary.

I'm anxious to get a copy of Michael's DVD which looks awesome. Would I possibly be able to go through you to get a copy? It may be easier rather than having to mail across the pond.

thanks
Brian

**Michael Manring** · #9 03-27-2005, 06:34 PM

I know I’m not supposed to chime in on this thread, but I just thought I’d say that Soliloquy has gone off to the manufacturing plant, so it shouldn’t be much longer. At least now any more delays are someone else’s fault!

Also, I got a new shipment of the Artist Profile DVDs, so if anyone is interested in getting one, just let me know. Sorry though, they’re still just NTSC format!