The Combo Club

[swink]

This may be sacrilege but I don’t like pedals for my bass. Man that’s a rabbit hole you never return from. However. That Broughton HPF seems like a great idea so I will get one and check it out. I like the idea of always on. I would attach it to my amp securely and have a short 1’ cable to the input of my amp and out of there to my bass.

That's how I do it... and it's the only pedal I use.

 

[LoveJackBruce]

Plug-ins- there’s that word again…can I do all this with a Scarlet interface into an iPad?? What software do you favor??

My son swears by Garage Band on the IPad. Geez, I need an IPad too. Yikes

 

[LoveJackBruce]

This is what I do when I wake up. Lord, help me!

LJB, you don’t need one for what you’re doing playing at home, though it’ll never ruin your sound if you ever buy one. Should you choose to jump down the rabbit hole line many of us and begin recording, you will find both high and low filters built in to any plug-ins you might use. In other words, play and enjoy making music!

Oh computer's, computer's. I'm thinking a little digital portal studio, 6 track for me. Just enough to record my legacy. Heck, I just got a Looper to start practicing overdubs and multiple tracks and maybe get a complete song recorded this way as I can download it as a "something" file to listen and share.

 

[iagtrplyr]

Plug-ins- there’s that word again…can I do all this with a Scarlet interface into an iPad?? What software do you favor??

Scarlett is now my default after using the Presonus Audiobox 96 for a few months. I do think it’s a better preamp and is easy to use.

As far as plugins go, you don’t need to use any if you don’t want to, but as you gain experience in the recordings you’ll naturally wanna step up your game. Plugins offer you different options to improve or at least enhance the sounds you recorded. Garage Band works fine though.

Exit: to answer your question, I like the free stuff Focusrite offers when your first purchase a product. I really like the Softube add-one, but even Scarlett’s default plugins from Cuckos are great.

 

[Michael Favata]

My son swears by Garage Band on the IPad. Geez, I need an IPad too. Yikes

I liked growing up in the 60s & 70s (we had great music and some great guitars) but man kids today have it so much easier! Go on your phone. Get the free version of GarageBand and start recording! Are you kidding me! And pull up the tab or chart for EVERYTHING and follow the dots. (Or watch someone giving a lesson on it for free) I mean cmon. I had to hound the guitar player in my band for weeks to show me how to play Stairway! Lol. PAs are cheap. Amps are cheap. Lights are cheap. Guitars and bases are cheap. Everything weighs next to nothing. Anyway we can transport this stuff back to the day guys?

 

[iagtrplyr]

I liked growing up in the 60s & 70s (we had great music and some great guitars) but man kids today have it so much easier! Go on your phone. Get the free version of GarageBand and start recording! Are you kidding me! And pull up the tab or chart for EVERYTHING and follow the dots. (Or watch someone giving a lesson on it for free) I mean cmon. I had to hound the guitar player in my band for weeks to show me how to play Stairway! Lol. PAs are cheap. Amps are cheap. Lights are cheap. Guitars and bases are cheap. Everything weighs next to nothing. Anyway we can transport this stuff back to the day guys?

I wish! Especially since our music back then was a thousand times more listenable (Boomer comment, sorry).

The technology allowed a geezer like me to pick up the guitar 20 years ago and finally the bass like seven years ago and learn both at a much more rapid pace. It didn’t work for me like that back in the seventies, same as you, Michael.

 

[iagtrplyr]

To add to that last posting, I don’t think I’d have appreciated it as much as I do now so maybe it worked out better for me. I’m on the back side of life now and little things, like playing a song with The Beatles is way more satisfying than when I was 14. And don’t get me started playing live with friends. It’s the ultimate when it sounds good!

 

[LoveJackBruce]

That's how I do it... and it's the only pedal I use.

Now for pedals. I have a zillion tones and shapes built into the Studio 40. However, I have to Think to use em all. I don't want to Think, I want to play.
So recently, I've fallen into the abyss of Pedal Land. Select, set and go. The wife is wondering about all these new girlfriend's I've got! And I need 2 more and a pedalboard. Acoustic OD & Reverb. Then use the Studio 40 for all of my instruments.
Second cup of Coffee time.

 

[LoveJackBruce]

To add to that last posting, I don’t think I’d have appreciated it as much as I do now so maybe it worked out better for me. I’m on the back side of life now and little things, like playing a song with The Beatles is way more satisfying than when I was 14. And don’t get me started playing live with friends. It’s the ultimate when it sounds good!

You guys are So Right!!!!!

 

[GwenOnBass]

My Real Book 5th and 6th editions are paper. The new, spendy, smrtphn holder is attached to my music stand. The metronome app (Tempo) sees daily use, and it really is superior to the wooden clonk box of youth. Now I can see both the sheet music and metronome at once.

 

[iagtrplyr]

Now for pedals. I have a zillion tones and shapes built into the Studio 40. However, I have to Think to use em all. I don't want to Think, I want to play.
So recently, I've fallen into the abyss of Pedal Land. Select, set and go. The wife is wondering about all these new girlfriend's I've got! And I need 2 more and a pedalboard. Acoustic OD & Reverb. Then use the Studio 40 for all of my instruments.
Second cup of Coffee time.

Wow, you’re s busy man! Or your other option is to find models of amps you like in your Studio 40 and load each one up with whatever pedal tones you’re interested in using. It takes some time and patience, but the plus is you busy not need to use pedals and every time you flip the switch all your sounds are waiting.

I will say this though, the pedals I’ve used with my Stage 800 work well with provided I start with one of the base preamps. So enjoy the best of both worlds!

 

[GwenOnBass]

It's not just morning coffee, it's sanity as I wonder if the two new Carol Kaye books will be in today's post. Yes, the smrtphn holder was the right purchase Thursday. Done balancing the smrtphn on the music stand.

Also using a Presonus USB 96 as my DAW. Still a great number of things to figure out ... recording is a deeper rabbit hole than pedals.

 

[LoveJackBruce]

Wow, you’re s busy man! Or your other option is to find models of amps you like in your Studio 40 and load each one up with whatever pedal tones you’re interested in using. It takes some time and patience, but the plus is you busy not need to use pedals and every time you flip the switch all your sounds are waiting.

I will say this though, the pedals I’ve used with my Stage 800 work well with provided I start with one of the base preamps. So enjoy the best of both worlds!

This is so true. I must spend more time with the Studio and write stuff down in a dedicated note book. Then, make myself a to do list and do it.

 

[LoveJackBruce]

It's not just morning coffee, it's sanity as I wonder if the two new Carol Kaye books will be in today's post. Yes, the smrtphn holder was the right purchase Thursday. Done balancing the smrtphn on the music stand.

Also using a Presonus USB 96 as my DAW. Still a great number of things to figure out ... recording is a deeper rabbit hole than pedals.

I will say this, You are all over it!!!!!! Inspiring....

 

[iagtrplyr]

It's not just morning coffee, it's sanity as I wonder if the two new Carol Kaye books will be in today's post. Yes, the smrtphn holder was the right purchase Thursday. Done balancing the smrtphn on the music stand.

Also using a Presonus USB 96 as my DAW. Still a great number of things to figure out ... recording is a deeper rabbit hole than pedals.

My son now has my Presonus and is very happy with it. We both use Reaper, as do those near and dear to me do. It’s makes sharing music so much easier, especially if there’s a late-night phone call where computers need to be up and looked at.

Even though I’ve made some nice gains this summer and am particularly proud of my last recording that a few of you had shoved down your throats for critique, I still have a long way to go before I can say with pride (and confidence) that I’m mastering (punny) the trade. Like fading out of songs so they don’t end abruptly...I need to learn that.

As I was telling a friend a couple of days ago, recording certainly has improved my bass playing. It’s either get better or play the same song for hours!

 

[GwenOnBass]

I will say this, You are all over it!!!!!! Inspiring....

.... Sort of. Only now up for air after my second ER visit in the last four weeks. This last one found me flatter than, and lower than, a flounder. Tested negative for covid (they checked), and discharged with big antibiotics

Very much unexcited at the prospect of gigs where no certainty of a fully vaccinated audience is possible.

What is certain is my combo and I are pulling at the bit for action beyond the walls of lockdown.

 

[Michael Favata]

recording is a deeper rabbit hole than pedals.

Amen to that!

 

[LoveJackBruce]

.... Sort of. Only now up for air after my second ER visit in the last four weeks. This last one found me flatter than, and lower than, a flounder. Tested negative for covid (they checked), and discharged with big antibiotics

Very much unexcited at the prospect of gigs where no certainty of a fully vaccinated audience is possible.

What is certain is my combo and I are pulling at the bit for action beyond the walls of lockdown.

I know all about the ER, Intensive care and post surgery. From November through March was like a second home. So very nice to be on the rebound. Get Well! We need you here.

 

[iagtrplyr]

This is so true. I must spend more time with the Studio and write stuff down in a dedicated note book. Then, make myself a to do list and do it.

Great idea. I do that myself on a doc where I list the model and all of the settings. Last week I decided to reset the combo’s computer because my settings needed updating.

With it set back to when it was new, I added what I wanted with the settings I typed out and then tweaked them to satisfaction. I then updated my doc and put the new date down when it was done.

I also do a backup of the system just in case, but keeping it on my computer’s hard drive.

BTW, if anyone is interested in hearing my bass recording to a song by the newgrass group Show Ponies entitles ‘Whiskey and Wine,’ PM me with an email address and I’ll send it to ya. For scientific purposes, obviously.

 

[iagtrplyr]

I know all about the ER, Intensive care and post surgery. From November through March was like a second home. So very nice to be on the rebound. Get Well! We need you here.

And Amen to that too!