Musicians check in here. If you play, tell us about it!

[KattMamma]

What kind of Korg?

I have 2 Korg keyboards... 1 I love (Triton) and one that always gave me trouble (N5EX - at gigs people always asked me why my keyboard said "NSEX" on it lol)

 

[DaveP]

What kind of Korg?

I have 2 Korg keyboards... 1 I love (Triton) and one that always gave me trouble (N5EX - at gigs people always asked me why my keyboard said "NSEX" on it lol)

My Korg is a digital recording studio.
Korg D3200 32-Track Digital Recording Studio | Musician's Friend

My keyboard is a Kurzweil digital piano, kind of like the one at this link. My wife bought it when she took lessons. When she lost interest, it sat unused! It's a great MIDI keyboard, though.
Amazon.com: Kurzweil MP-20 Rosewood Piano HOME BUNDLE w/ Wood Bench & Brass Lamp: Musical Instruments

 

[Pipeous]

I just set my studio back up. I have a zoom R24. it has 24 tracks but can do up to 8 at once. digital. I like a seperate recorder myself. I need faders and such.

the easiest DAW on computer I ever worked with was mixcraft. my computer needed to be updated and it was more cost effective then to buy the zoom. the zoom can control a DAW via usb but I don't use it that way. I take the zoom with me too and record like that rushgrass tune I recorded at work to show off the mandocello.

Rushgrass

 

[DaveP]

I just set my studio back up. I have a zoom R24. it has 24 tracks but can do up to 8 at once. digital. I like a seperate recorder myself. I need faders and such.

the easiest DAW on computer I ever worked with was mixcraft. my computer needed to be updated and it was more cost effective then to buy the zoom. the zoom can control a DAW via usb but I don't use it that way. I take the zoom with me too and record like that rushgrass tune I recorded at work to show off the mandocello.

Rushgrass

Good tune, Pipeous! I wish I had the desire to get back into recording. Maybe I will if I can get some of the band members to agree to come over on a Saturday afternoon. It's hard to fit that into everyone's family obligations, kids and all. They stay way too busy.

 

[DaveP]

I just set my studio back up. I have a zoom R24. it has 24 tracks but can do up to 8 at once. digital. I like a seperate recorder myself. I need faders and such.

the easiest DAW on computer I ever worked with was mixcraft. my computer needed to be updated and it was more cost effective then to buy the zoom. the zoom can control a DAW via usb but I don't use it that way. I take the zoom with me too and record like that rushgrass tune I recorded at work to show off the mandocello.

Rushgrass

The most productive I've been has involved computer based DAW software. The trouble with using a digital deck infrequently is that you have to spend the first day relearning all the drill down techniques to reach the screens you need to do what you want. Software solutions have the manual on the F1 key. Searching it is much easier than flipping pages in a book or drilling down through endless menus. For those who do it often it's a piece of cake to retain what you learn.

 

[QU1T]

The other day a discussion about music popped up in the outside. Several of us decided that a thread on music would be good to have in the lounge, so here it is. Do you play an instrument? Have you ever played in a band? Are you a musician who would like to learn or help others decipher the finer points of playing an instrument?

Tell us about your background and let's start some talk about what you do and share some stories, musical theory tips, and anything that will support a discussion beneficial to those who love to play!

I'm one of those who played in bands constantly through the late 60s, 70s, 80s, and forward. I played in weekend warrior classic rock bands that played the top 40 mix for people who loved to dance. I play lead guitar, enough keyboard to support my home studio, and do backup vocals. Sometimes, I was forced into doing 5 or 6 lead vocals a night, but I'm happy just paying guitar.

Five years ago, a bass player friend and I started a Praise band at church. We do the popular christian tunes during a contemporary service at church. I've found that this is a great outlet for old classic rock players. We get to jam here and there and the congregation loves it as much as we do! Occasionally, we will take an outside gig and play for a birthday party, wedding reception, or other celebration.

What's your interest or niche in the music field?

I play...errm, Cubase
Full time producer and I run a few small labels, one of the few who still press vinyls!...and merch/cd's ofc.
I never noticed this thread before.

 

[Pipeous]

I find the zoom very easy to navigate. I just got a condensor clip on mic so I can record banjo and my acoustic mandolin properly. I laid down some rough tracks to get the ball rolling. Tried recording some bongos but alas, I am not a drummer Time to implement the kiss principle. My rudiments were way to complex (for me) to keep it going the whole song. I could just do a sample and loop it I guess. That will require digging out the manual LOL

 

[DaveP]

I find the zoom very easy to navigate. I just got a condensor clip on mic so I can record banjo and my acoustic mandolin properly. I laid down some rough tracks to get the ball rolling. Tried recording some bongos but alas, I am not a drummer Time to implement the kiss principle. My rudiments were way to complex (for me) to keep it going the whole song. I could just do a sample and loop it I guess. That will require digging out the manual LOL

Drums are an artistic talent just like sequencing guitar (or any other instrument for that matter). I've done some that sounded really good and some that sounded robotic. Recording from behind the console is an art. Mixing is another artistic talent. I'd hate to have to mix and satisfy a whole band at mixdown time.

 

[OfTheBrave]

New Member/Musician checking in.

Rock on you crazy vapers. Rock on.

 

[OfTheBrave]

I guess i'll post my nutshell story as well.

Started playing trumpet in 6th grade (wanted to play sax or drums but they were full up) and played throughout high school in jazz and marching band.

In 7th grade my father answered my pleas for a guitar on christmas and I took a few lessons from my then science teacher who showed my the cowboy chords.

Around the same time two of my friends received complimentary gifts of bass and drums from their families and we thought that we would be laying down the jams by year end. Wrong! haha

Joined chorus in highschool and did a few plays/musicals, realizing I didn't have a bad voice but no one really likes the sound of their own.
Also took a music theory course which has come in handy more times than I can count.

My friends gave it up and I ended up buying the one's bass while getting my own set of drums.
Played in a handful of high school bands at talent shows and small parties and the like, never really being happy with any of it but getting some great experience.

Finally met a group a musicians who were on the same level as me a few years after high school.
From them I learned a lot about recording engineering and other then foreign audio concepts to me.
Played some shows, made some decent coin. Printed shirts, buttons and bumper stickers as bands will do to make a few bucks.

We recorded a cd which was never released about 8 years ago because life got in the way.

We are currently back together and looking at a winter release for our current album.


P.S. In my downtime I really enjoy using Noteflight. It's a great manuscript editor that translates into midi for exporting or mp3 for listening/sharing.

 

[Pipeous]

I finally have a weekend off from gigging. It has been months. 3 days off in a row too. Friday I am laying some tracks down for a couple originals. Maybe re record a couple parts on songs I have finished. Pallet shuffle that tin mandolin still bugs me and Fly I have shortened and edited lyrics. I went through 3 sd cards today (the zoom uses those) and listened to about 6 projects. I usually start with just a click track and do a guitar/vocal track to get the basic down then start with the actual tracks.

Glad to see more and more musicians joining this thread. This is my only stop on ecf now. I feel closer to many here than I do to local people lol

 

[DaveP]

Welcome, OfTheBrave. There's lots of musicians here to share your experiences with.

 

[DaveP]

I finally have a weekend off from gigging. It has been months. 3 days off in a row too. Friday I am laying some tracks down for a couple originals. Maybe re record a couple parts on songs I have finished. Pallet shuffle that tin mandolin still bugs me and Fly I have shortened and edited lyrics. I went through 3 sd cards today (the zoom uses those) and listened to about 6 projects. I usually start with just a click track and do a guitar/vocal track to get the basic down then start with the actual tracks.

Glad to see more and more musicians joining this thread. This is my only stop on ecf now. I feel closer to many here than I do to local people lol

The thing about gigging is keeping it often enough to stay current and practiced without wearing yourself out. I used to love the Christmas parties we played, but it meant that we played 3 and 4 nights a week for a month and still had to get up at 6am to get ready for day jobs. By the time Christmas was over there was a week off and then New Years Eve. January, I did as little as possible for a while to recover from December most years.

 

[KattMamma]

I did frequent gigs well into my late 40s and it was taking its toll on my health and my day job. I know for a fact I couldn't do frequent gigs now. The average Joe truly doesn't understand how exhausting a gig can be - some much more so than others - they think you're just having fun (which we are, but it's still exhausting!) So my boss didn't get it either when I came dragging in on Monday after a Fri & Sat gig, or worse, dragging in after a weeknight gig. Ugh. I really don't miss that. (I do miss the fun though lol)

 

[Pipeous]

It is. I play 4 to 5 hrs, depending on the market and always do 2 hrs before I break. About 50 to 60 songs. I am one of those people that can't stand still either. I equate all the singing to something like doing sit ups.

That said I found out the Mission market has a winter indoor market and booked a date for October and one for November last night. August 4th I am doing a free one hour lunch thing for maple ridge city. They emailed yesterday asking me to do another free one. Geez cheap city. I am opening their summer lunch concert series and this other is movie in the park. They offered 2. One is an hour and 15 mins on stage before the movie, put out a tip jar. The other they want an acoustic player top walk around the market for 3 hrs (with breaks allowed lol). Ok so what tape cups to your feet for tips? Getting tired of them already. You do one free they should offer something for the other. I am getting a $25 gift certificate for the first from some downtown business who knows. So many people think musicians should play for tips only nowadays. I want to write them back and ask them to drive out to my city for free and put a movie on and put out a tip jar. The exposure would be good for your city. I will even make a Facebook post

 

[KattMamma]

It is. I play 4 to 5 hrs, depending on the market and always do 2 hrs before I break. About 50 to 60 songs. I am one of those people that can't stand still either. I equate all the singing to something like doing sit ups.

That said I found out the Mission market has a winter indoor market and booked a date for October and one for November last night. August 4th I am doing a free one hour lunch thing for maple ridge city. They emailed yesterday asking me to do another free one. Geez cheap city. I am opening their summer lunch concert series and this other is movie in the park. They offered 2. One is an hour and 15 mins on stage before the movie, put out a tip jar. The other they want an acoustic player top walk around the market for 3 hrs (with breaks allowed lol). Ok so what tape cups to your feet for tips? Getting tired of them already. You do one free they should offer something for the other. I am getting a $25 gift certificate for the first from some downtown business who knows. So many people think musicians should play for tips only nowadays. I want to write them back and ask them to drive out to my city for free and put a movie on and put out a tip jar. The exposure would be good for your city. I will even make a Facebook post

They're trying to take advantage of you. This type of stuff bugs me so much I wrote a blog post on it a short while back... Texas Music News: But You'll Get Great Exposure! There's also tons of articles on the web about how musicians are routinely exploited, but I'm particularly fond of this one written by jazz musician Dave Goldberg : An Open Letter to Venues That Exploit Their Musicians | grassrootsy

 

[Pipeous]

The Goldberg letter is very good. I have turned down so many free gigs. I don't mind doing charity fundraisers (I will be doing the kidney foundation again this year).. but this city thing... I was told originally it was for charity but no. They are a non profit org for the city.. figure that one out.

I am going to read your blog now KattMamma. Sounds like we agree on this one. Funny all the downtown Vancouver, north Vancouver (the rich areas) are the markets that all want free music. The smaller town markets pay. Why I play for 2 hrs because the city guys are there inspecting for up to 2 hrs lol. It keeps the funding from city to market coordinator coming. Even pubs it is getting hard to make more than $100.. I made more in the 80s by far. Now it is near impossible. I just bought new strings for my.guitar. elixirs. $20. Only had that guitar what a month? And changed my octave mandolin strings. So $30. Ukulele needs a set soon and the mandolin isn't far behind. Taking the banjo next gig which just had a setup done and new strings $30. These buttheads don't even consider all these expenses let alone travel, worn cables etc

 

[KattMamma]

I retired about 4 yrs ago but things were already getting pretty bad around DFW well before that. There were still a few good paying gigs just before I retired but they were definitely the exception.

The last band I was in (for about 10 yrs) refused to do free gigs - I know we did a few, but I am sure I can count them on one hand. But even the paying gigs were always trying to screw us over. A hotspot in Arlington that I won't name (or maybe I should) screwed us over once when we packed the place out and they were selling drinks faster than they could keep up - our pay was based on a sliding scale so we naturally expected top of the scale. Nope. They had a slow day before we got there and the scale was set for the whole day, not just when we were there (which they didn't tell us before the gig).

Yeah, I've heard it all. It's all BS, and we knew it and we refused to put up with it.

I'm out of that ugly game now, but it still boils my blood and I still don't want other musicians to be abused that way.

 

[Pipeous]

I retired on the 80s and just came back but just a weekend warrior. I did recently work a deal with abaca records. That is partly why I need to get.back to recording. I was supposed to be included in this year's MIDEM in.France but I couldn't get the songs ready in time. I was moving and got pretty sick there for a while. I had to learn a lot of songs I could sing in low register like Elvis etc.

 

[KattMamma]

I had to learn a lot of songs I could sing in low register like Elvis etc.

Vaping didn't cause you problems with your low register? Hubby is a singer and he is struggling with the lower register since he started vaping. He's loving what he gained on the high end though!