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

[DaveP]

So, I went in yesterday and swapped out the KT66's and the 12ax7 for the old, slightly used original tubes. I sprayed the jacks from the bottom with CRC Electronic Cleaner spray and inserted and removed the old tubes half a dozen times to wipe the pin contacts, then installed the original tubes.

I said the originals were JJ, but they were Ruby Tubes, 2 6L6's and a Ruby ECC83, which is the same as 12AX7. 12AX7 was Fender's version of the British ECC83 used by Marshall.

Everything sounded good and the tube glass envelopes were clear and clean on the old ones I took out. I'm still thinking that my intermittent problem was caused by metal oxidation on the sockets and pins, especially since I "fixed" the problem with the loss of audio/high pitched squeal by rapping on the tube cage.

Time will tell.

 

[James Hart]

That's not a room, that's a closet!!! And I thought my space was small.

Correction: The room is 80" x 145"

I just finally built my desk today... 80" wide by 44" deep to the left and 32" deep to the right. 31" tall once I lay tile next month. I've got a few days of sanding and oiling before it is ready for equipment.

 

[DaveP]

Pink Floyd's David Gilmour Offers Stunning Tribute To Prince... Without Saying A Single Word

Here’s how one guitar legend honors another.

Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour offered a spine-tingling tribute to Prince during a concert at Royal Albert Hall in London on Sunday night, but instead of singing or even speaking, he let his guitar do the talking for him.

Just as Gilmour was about to play the second guitar solo in the Pink Floyd classic “Comfortably Numb,” he suddenly shifted into an expressive “Purple Rain” tribute.

Even the lighting went purple:

 

[James Hart]

I watched that last night... that guy can do no wrong in my eyes. Thanks for posting it here.

How did the amp do over the weekend?

 

[DaveP]

I watched that last night... that guy can do no wrong in my eyes. Thanks for posting it here.

How did the amp do over the weekend?

Since the KT66's have the ability to "open up the sound" it was strange territory from a sonic standpoint. The 6L6's need to be compensated for a little to achieve a similar sense of feel and sonic similarity. Our regular rehearsal time will be when I get to play with the controls and do some editing on my stored settings over a couple of hours.

I didn't have a lot of time the other day when I went in and swapped the tubes. Sunday morning was about the same. We run over the songs we are going to do in the 9:00 service and then break for a few minutes before the service starts. That wasn't a good time to crank it up and push it.

I'll go in early this week at rehearsal and spend some time tweaking. It's better done with all the instruments on stage so I can see how it cuts through the mix. KT66's have a wider sonic range in the lower and upper bands, so I'm mainly going to have to tweek bottom end and upper end tone in the saved settings. It will be an incremental chore until it begins to inspire me again.

I'm not at all sure that the KT66's are the problem. In the tube articles I've read they say that tubes have an average life span of 10,000 hours unless they have a catastrophic failure. I'm estimating 1500 hours on what was in there. Some say that there are plenty of players who boast that the tubes in their amp have been in use for 15 or 20 years.

The high pitched squeal I heard is usually attributed to preamp tubes. If that's the case, then I could swap the KT66's back into the sockets and just replace the 12AX7. I have a Ruby, the TungSol I just took out, and a Groove Tube 12AX7 in my bag. Right now, the Ruby is installed. I could swap the TungSol back in and see if the problem returns.

Then again, it could have just been an oxidized socket that caused all the trouble. I may have fixed that when I sprayed all the sockets and did the insert and pull a few times.

 

[James Hart]

Then again, it could have just been an oxidized socket that caused all the trouble. I may have fixed that when I sprayed all the sockets and did the insert and pull a few times.

That could be... I have seen that in my old Peavey Classic 400 bass head.

I've been doing more research on what audio interface to buy... I still like the specs on the Focusrite 18i8 but I'm really digging all the marketing buzz around the Arturia AudioFuze I can preorder it now, it is said to be landing in the distribution channels in July. Not use it is twice the interface as the Focusrite... but I think it could be.

 

[DaveP]

That could be... I have seen that in my old Peavey Classic 400 bass head.

I've been doing more research on what audio interface to buy... I still like the specs on the Focusrite 18i8 but I'm really digging all the marketing buzz around the Arturia AudioFuze I can preorder it now, it is said to be landing in the distribution channels in July. Not use it is twice the interface as the Focusrite... but I think it could be.

It's been a while since I did much with my Korg D3200. I intended to get friends over to record some tracks, but with jobs and kids we never could find a Saturday where everyone could make it. I got bored with creating my own stuff. It's more fun with a group.

 

[DaveP]

That could be... I have seen that in my old Peavey Classic 400 bass head.

I've been doing more research on what audio interface to buy... I still like the specs on the Focusrite 18i8 but I'm really digging all the marketing buzz around the Arturia AudioFuze I can preorder it now, it is said to be landing in the distribution channels in July. Not use it is twice the interface as the Focusrite... but I think it could be.

Is there a studio in your area that would be open to letting you go in and talk to the engineer? Muscadine Studios here in Macon is owned by Paul Hornsby. Paul was a studio musician in Muscle Shoals, Alabama back when Duane Allman was a studio musician there. He later went to work for Capricorn Studios and he recorded and mixed all the Allman Brothers albums, plus every other band that went through in the 70s. He's a regular guy who will sit and talk about equipment he's used and offer advice for various scenarios.

 

[James Hart]

Is there a studio in your area that would be open to letting you go in and talk to the engineer?

I'm out of the loop, but have spent quite a few dozen hours doing session work and have actually worked both sides on the desk. I'm online friends with a couple audio engineering heavy weights as well. I'm switching from a PCI card based interface to a USB and had pretty much decided until I spotted a new 'pre order' ad for the Arturia... they are pretty well respected for their keyboards and synth software, just coming into the audio interface market for the first time. I like the marketing pitch, I just hope they are out with solid reviews before my budget is ready to buy

I still prefer playing / creating alone, I'm done with the drama and don't need the stage any more... I just love the music.

 

[DaveP]

I found that I like working with a band better than just puttering around on the guitar by myself. It's the same with the home studio. I bought the Korg D3200 several years ago and it's a great console. I played with it for a while and tried to get some of the band members to come over and jam and maybe record a few covers. They all have too much of their time tied up in family and we never agreed on a time slot.

It's been a couple of years since I actually did anything with the Korg D3200. I should take it over to the local music store and let them sell it under consignment. I did well doing that with a couple of amps I went through before settling on the Peavey Vypyr Tube 60 and the Roland Cube 60 as my favorites. They also sold my Tascam 8 track digital recorder and a Yamaha consumer grade Keyboard.

 

[James Hart]

I get the itch from time to time... I'd actually like to find some non-guitar acoustic players currently, but I'm mostly content here in my room

When I do play live with others, I record with a little Zoom H2 I bought when they first hit the market. I use the mic stand mount and place it mid room... use it to grab a high quality stereo MP3s using all 4 of its internal mics. It sure beats the old boombox & cassette tapes of the past for rehearsal recording! It doesn't have close to the abilities of that Korg, but it suits my needs.

 

[DaveP]

I get the itch from time to time... I'd actually like to find some non-guitar acoustic players currently, but I'm mostly content here in my room

When I do play live with others, I record with a little Zoom H2 I bought when they first hit the market. I use the mic stand mount and place it mid room... use it to grab a high quality stereo MP3s using all 4 of its internal mics. It sure beats the old boombox & cassette tapes of the past for rehearsal recording! It doesn't have close to the abilities of that Korg, but it suits my needs.

Nowadays, all you need is $100 worth of home version recording software, an interface for the computer, and some mics. If the amps have direct outs, some cables can suffice. I have an Audio Technica AT2020 with a pop filter sitting on a boom stand for vocals. For monitoring, I have a 4 channel headphone interface box with individual volume controls.

So much of the home recording industry has gone to the DAW. You don't need all the hardware these days. MIDI and other interfaces will get you into the recording business on a mid to upper range PC.

 

[James Hart]

So much of the home recording industry has gone to the DAW.

I built my first DAW in 2002 (I cannot believe how old I'm getting!)... Here are a couple tracks from a home release I put out in 2003





Drums programmed and/or looped, guitar via early 90s Strat into a Johnson J-Station (early modeling "pod") direct into an M-Audio Delta 44 card, Basses direct into the Delta 44... all of it just me sitting in my livingroom at the computer having fun in Cakewalk. Now I use Reaper and I hope to retire my 14 year old PCI sound card with a fancy new USB model. I've got a couple ribbon, condenser mics and an outboard preamp for phantom power... the new interface will allow me to retire the 10 year old preamp too.

 

[jmur]

Nice work James!
I've been doing home recording for a number of years, have SOME stuff that I'm kinda proud of. (Others, not so much). Always thought of posting some work here, but didn't know if that was frowned on or not. Not in your guys league at all, last time I played out was late 60's or so. Just to amuse myself now. Maybe if I grow some brass ones I'll post a few.

 

[DaveP]

I built my first DAW in 2002 (I cannot believe how old I'm getting!)... Here are a couple tracks from a home release I put out in 2003
Drums programmed and/or looped, guitar via early 90s Strat into a Johnson J-Station (early modeling "pod") direct into an M-Audio Delta 44 card, Basses direct into the Delta 44... all of it just me sitting in my livingroom at the computer having fun in Cakewalk. Now I use Reaper and I hope to retire my 14 year old PCI sound card with a fancy new USB model. I've got a couple ribbon, condenser mics and an outboard preamp for phantom power... the new interface will allow me to retire the 10 year old preamp too.

Nice work, James. I'll have to upload some tracks we did as a top 40 demo back in 1983. The tracks were recorded in Paul Hornsby's Grapevine studio here in Macon. It's a demo we did for posterity as well as something to send out to potential bookings as a cover band demo.

I have all my music loaded onto an SD card that stays in my Ram pickup. I enjoy not having to deal with CD's anymore. It's a lot easier to use the touch screen or even the voice interface. Play "name of track" works without looking away from the road!

 

[DaveP]

Nice work James!
I've been doing home recording for a number of years, have SOME stuff that I'm kinda proud of. (Others, not so much). Always thought of posting some work here, but didn't know if that was frowned on or not. Not in your guys league at all, last time I played out was late 60's or so. Just to amuse myself now. Maybe if I grow some brass ones I'll post a few.

Do it. We always like to hear others' work. Welcome to the Music Thread, jmur.

 

[jmur]

Do it. We always like to hear others' work. Welcome to the Music Thread, jmur.

OK, but, see, you may regret saying that.
Been lurking here a couple years, but don't think I put up anything before. May be wrong though, age does that...

So, two originals that I AM kinda proud of, though I'm sure they're not the best technically...
Feel free to offer suggestions, brickbats, rotten tomatoes, etc., they're all helpful and I gots a thick skin.

 

[DaveP]

jmur wrote: OK, but, see, you may regret saying that.
Been lurking here a couple years, but don't think I put up anything before. May be wrong though, age does that...

Jmur, those tracks are fine. You sounded hesitant before posting the tracks. I'm sure Bob Dylan didn't think his were that good at first, but look at the career he launched.

I was always dubious about my voice when I heard my vocals played back. I think that's a natural reaction because we don't sound on a recording like we do in our heads when we talk or sing. You get used to it when you record.

Listen to your vocals and train your voice to sound the way you want it on playback. Make changes in the delivery and vocal inflections and re-record until you get what you like. We are our own best and worst critics.

 

[James Hart]

Nice work Jmur!

I was always dubious about my voice when I heard my vocals played back. I think that's a natural reaction because we don't sound on a recording like we do in our heads when we talk or sing.

I don't sing at all, but I've done a lot of spoken work over the years (outgoing messages for telecom company, PSA and commercial radio stuff, and some spoken word on Pop and Americana recordings)... I get told I have a soothing and easy to listen to speaking voice. Personally I cannot stand to hear it, I think I sound like Linus from the original Peanuts cartoons!!!!

 

[samsek]

I been messing with my first DAW.

hey.. its vaping related.. even though i sound like fran drescher XD