The Jam Room Blog Thread.

[jibberish]

rager, grab a bigger multitrack deck during black Friday.
last year I snagged a Tascam DP-24 for $486 shipped from B&H.

I sit looking at this fucking thing and all of what it does for that little amount of money.  hardware is what costs money. the entire cost of a mixer is the pots and knobs and someone had to put that clusterfuck of hardware together. dp 24 took the redundant set of tone, effect, pan, etc etc knobs out and just switched a master set of those secondary knobs between all 24 tracks.  they eliminated 23 sets of knobs and pots.  but my main requirement was 8 simul-track recording.   I lived with 4 simul tracks total long enough to learn that wasn't quite enough, and the day will come when you want to haul that deck over to a drum kit, or  a multipart vocal arrangement, and you will need like 6 tracks

also, for assembling techno/trance shit. virtual tracks slow the process down. listening needs to be done quickly between sources.  it's easier to rock the rew/play buttons and a handful of sliders, then select and pull up virtual tracks to compare.  so I can spread all my takes out on 15 un used tracks for comparison

here's the thing. no one on this board uses a multitrack deck(BA excepted), so they automatically sell against it ONLY based on non-familiarity.  they are so fucking handy, regardless of their size. I have a HM-2 I found which is awesome for 1 shot stereo recording anywhere anytime.

yeah, and liquid learned the joys of the freedom from latency. things like this happen when you use a dedicated microcontrolled device for its intended purpose: incredible performance and efficiency. PC's are general use workhorses. most capability and compromise not necessary for multitrack recording(or any dedicated function)

the computer in a multitrack never crashes. it never gets lost. 
first thing you see when you use reaper on the PC is the DEFAULT OFF POSITION of the monitor during recording of that track. absolutely useless to try to monitor that.
I monitor from the mixer when I need to listen to the source with no latency, have no choice.
then I sit back and wonder why people punish themselves so needlessly. using a deck is like recording off the board at a show. everyone has a feel for what happens there.

[liquidsmoke]

liquid, have you thought about a tube pre and SS power section for super loud yet lightweight solutions?

More again lately. Even a tube overdrive pedal might work wonders for my current setup as long as it could also deliver a nearly transparent sound loud when set low, if anyone has any suggestions.

With my distortion pedal into my friend's 5150 I'm not sure how much of the sweetness is from the preamp and how much is from the poweramp. Obviously the preamp colors the sound aside from providing extra distortion. To me the 5150 sounds mega Spirit Caravan/stoner metal on it's own yet it's used more by players who are going for power/thrash/traditional/etc metal sounds. You don't need to sell out big bucks on an Orange or whatever to get that sound. The 5150 has tons of low end too.

[Mr. Foxen]

liquid, have you thought about a tube pre and SS power section for super loud yet lightweight solutions?

More again lately. Even a tube overdrive pedal might work wonders for my current setup as long as it could also deliver a nearly transparent sound loud when set low, if anyone has any suggestions.

With my distortion pedal into my friend's 5150 I'm not sure how much of the sweetness is from the preamp and how much is from the poweramp. Obviously the preamp colors the sound aside from providing extra distortion. To me the 5150 sounds mega Spirit Caravan/stoner metal on it's own yet it's used more by players who are going for power/thrash/traditional/etc metal sounds. You don't need to sell out big bucks on an Orange or whatever to get that sound. The 5150 has tons of low end too.

5150 power section sounds bit meh. For bass at least, lots of the valve mojo is in the power section, 5150 is just bad example of that.

[BrianDamage]

Well I got a new (to me) bass. A black squier affinity p bass. I figure if it's good enough for Dixie it's good enough for me. Now just gotta get a new amp.

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[VOLVO)))]

5150s sound good, if it isn't a 5150II

[mortlock]

http://maximumrocknroll.com/top-tens-363/
Greg Harvester of MRR included Tunes from the Toilet Vol. 1 in his top ten for the month of august 2013. there are members tracks from this board on this comp. get one now and support the scene.

[Mr. Foxen]

5150s sound good, if it isn't a 5150II

Used a 2 on this [blatant plug] https://caricatures.bandcamp.com/

[mutantcolors]

liquid, have you thought about a tube pre and SS power section for super loud yet lightweight solutions?

More again lately. Even a tube overdrive pedal might work wonders for my current setup as long as it could also deliver a nearly transparent sound loud when set low, if anyone has any suggestions.

With my distortion pedal into my friend's 5150 I'm not sure how much of the sweetness is from the preamp and how much is from the poweramp. Obviously the preamp colors the sound aside from providing extra distortion. To me the 5150 sounds mega Spirit Caravan/stoner metal on it's own yet it's used more by players who are going for power/thrash/traditional/etc metal sounds. You don't need to sell out big bucks on an Orange or whatever to get that sound. The 5150 has tons of low end too.

I stil have my 5150 2x12 combo. It slaves out a 16 ohm cab and has a pre out for power amp slaving. Run a little hot, hit it with a good D box, or just use the channel switcher and you got yourself fucking tone for years.

[Danny G]

Just heard back from the shop.

My Acoustic B200H had a bad solder joint and is ready to be picked up. Looking forward to getting it back, will pull the chassis and rack mount it.

Will be experimenting with adding a gain stage next time I fire up my Marshall.

Have been running it loud and clean, using my modded BD-2 for dirt. But dusted of the Tube Screamer clone I built and added it to the chain, will try using it and the BD-2 in conjunction. Have 2 levels of dirt rather than either dirt on or dirt off.

#tryinshit


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[Danny G]

On the Ocean of Stars front, we've had two full band rehearsals w/bassist. Was going great.

Expanding on songs, adding another song to the mix. Progress.

But now my sax player will be take a necessary leave of absence thru February to be with his family as his mom is sick. Totally understood, gotta be there.

Not viewing it as a set back in any way shape or form. This will give me time to lock in with drummer n bass and still work on music as a three piece.

In the meantime will be thinking of extra instrumentation to throw into the mix. 2nd guitar would be cool in the meantime, but kind of redundant with a sax player. Keys would be great and leave plenty room for the horn. An interim sax player would leave option of 2 piece horns upon original sax player's return.

Lots of options \m/,


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[lordfinesse]

^That sounds like an interesting mix.   So we just had Kings X at the club where I work. I had hoped you might still be working with them, but no...    Anyway, first time I've seen them. Great band, super nice guys.  Doug (or dUg.. whatever) is a trooper, man. Dude had hernia issues throughout the night. Between songs he would turn to his amp with a really pained look on his face and push his stomach back in. Still, they played the whole set and a 1 song encore before the crew guys took him to the hospital. Crowd sang the last song entirely, harmonies and all. Room full of damned musicians    Crazy. Anyway.. great guys, great show.

[RAGER]

Wow!  man I've always loved King's X.

[Danny G]

Yeah I haven't teched for them in awhile and do miss it, heh.

Was supposed to tech for Dug on the tour last year that got cancelled when Jerry had his heart attack.

They are fucking consistent live. Just, wow!

[JemDooM]

Between songs he would turn to his amp with a really pained look on his face and push his stomach back in. Still, they played the whole set and a 1 song encore before the crew guys took him to the hospital. Crowd sang the last song entirely, harmonies and all. Room full of damned musicians    Crazy. Anyway.. great guys, great show.

Woah!! :/

So we got asked to support the Watain tour two days before it, it was the first show last night, we came home after it as it turned out we're not on tonight's show. This whole thing is really daunting to me, we just did a tour with another doom band who we are well matched to, in small venues which I am comfortable with and it went really well, it was a great way to end the year, I got to support Indesinence who are one of my favourite bands in the world and the show was amazing, so we thought that was it for the year. Now at the last minute we're on this tour, playing huge venues, with a massive black metal band, we got onstage last night and I just felt weird, like I didn't belong there, like I should be in a bar playing to a small doom crowd, I feel like we are still very much in a formative and primitive stage yet playing these shows where the crowds expectations are really high, I totally fucked up one of my solos and am gutted as I don't think it's the kind of show for that, I am really out of my comfort zone. I'm not sure if I can play these big stages, my playing can be pretty scrappy which I'm ok with, I'm proud of what I've written and proud of my band, but when we're on a big stage playing to 100+ people most of which black metal fans I'm not sure if that will do us any justice at all. I'm not being ungrateful, this is an amazing opportunity, but maybe one I'm just not ready for, I love my band and my music and I'm worried I've done wrong by it by agreeing to do this, or atleast just something this big so soon.....

[the diddler]

Try not to overthink it and have as much fun as you can.  I'd be most concerned about staying away from all of Watain's blood and rotting animal heads and shit.  If you get to have the same soundguy for each show of the tour, try to make a connection with him/her- could help in addressing any issues; a good monitor mix is even more important on larger stages where you're likely farther away from your bandmates, amps, etc.  GOOD LUCK!!

[the diddler]

Shitcanned our drummer the other day.  Not because she was born a he- there was just too much conflict, drunkenly fucking up shows, and the classic 'musical differences' within the band; and it all centered on her.

In addition to trying to find a drummer, we'll have to come up with a new name, which is ok by me.

[Danny G]

What diddler said, Jem

Also a good thing to realize is that when you make a mistake onstage, a lot of the time the audience doesn't even notice. Or if they do, when the band all looks at each other n laughs but keep right on playing, that mistake won't be held against you and you'll probably even win the crowd over more

And as far as playing bigger stages and crowds, unless you want to jump into that with both feet (and sounds like you don't), keep playing smaller venues and get comfortable with that. Then start working up. But still do the occasional big show and see if its less intimidating each time \m/,


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[Cursed71]

Hey Jem,

These are all good things!   Nerves, being unsure of yourself in unfamiliar surroundings, and even fucking up solos are the foundation of good art.  Your band is really good, and I can tell from your super honest and thoughtful posts that you believe in what you are doing, and that's why bands like Watain are taking notice.  Just own that shit onstage and everyone will dig it regardless of genre boundaries.  It's all outsider music for a bunch if weirdos anyways... Wether it be in a bar with 10 weirdos or venue with 300.

[liquidsmoke]

Oh fuck I'm good at fucking up solos live because I get too nervous. Everyone says 'own it' and a few say practice more. I'm trying to do both. Cool on the big show Jem!

[mortlock]

you got this jem, your band kicks ass and remember, you guys were asked to be on this. obviously people dig what you guys are doing or that would not be the case.
go out there and rip everyones face right the fuck off. grind for life!! 

[JemDooM]

Thanks guys, your support means a lot right now, last show tonight but it'll be the biggest in London, it's been really hard, the impression I'm getting is that there's only a small amount of love for us on these shows, I've heard people making horrible comments within earshot while I'm onstage, I was right to be unsure about this, we've put ourselves in front of people who will think we really suck, I haven't enjoyed the vibes of the shows at all, black metal vibes, cold, it's made us stronger and more sure of ourselves and who we are as a band, I've learned a lot....

Thanks for the support seriously, I will get out there tonight and try my best to rip everyone's face right the fuck off! then I will happily head home to the lands of doom where I belong!

[jibberish]

have a fake head or stack catch on fire.  you wont even have to play music and you already won.

fire and/or destruction = \m/ \m/

throw flaming picks into the crowd and other random crap to freak everyone out.
once you have owned them, play anything you want

king diamond's one guitar player was super pro at zinging picks.  we snagged one in the balcony at HoB that he whipped all the way up there. it was awesome to watch his technique.

[/no help post]


I think owning the show like never before, as was suggested, is a great plan. I heard your bass sound. that will fuck some people up especially if they have a killer gigantic PA system.  YOU get to do sonic damage like you never have ever done before. think of it as an opportunity to punish the weak as never before.

spud, chimaera's bass player told me it is loud enough when the bass makes his pants flap. haha  more \m/

this is probably all after the fact anyway...oh well

[mortlock]

I actually get off on it when people hate my band. hell, im the guy who started a band with the intent of being sloppy and offensive. fuck everybody. problem is no one realizes it because we are good at what we do and we play with conviction. best compliment we ever got was in a review of our first 7" where the dude called us a 'watered down lo-fi anal cunt'.
im not sure where im going with all this other than to say fuck what anyone else thinks. kill or be killed!!

[JemDooM]

Haha mort!

I caught your post before we went on jibbs!

Well thank fuck that is over! I couldn't have done another night of that! Last night we played really well and it sounded amazing onstage, there were a few hundred people, throughout our set some black metal guy was pulling faces and hissing at us, when we finished he initiated boo'ing and cries of "FUCK OFF!", it really really sucked, but the good thing is I was ok with it, if it'd been a doom gig I would have been gutted but I don't expect most of these people to like it, why the hell did we agree to this?

We had to stand outside for ages after it because Watain were using the room that blocked the way to ours to get ready in, the venue made them step outside to pour the blood on themselves, so we watched/pretended not to as they knelt down and doused each other with the stuff, the next minute this big rat came running out from under the bins and legged it off obviously scared by the smell of the blood, they went back in and I heard wretching, after they went onstage we went in to get our stuff and one of them had vomited on the floor, the whole place STUNK like hell and there was blood splattered all over the floor, I nearly passed out from the smell, it was like leather faces basement, they keep their stage clothes in this chest and night after night the stuff gets a new layer of blood, seriously these last few nights, it's been like Spinal Tap gone horribly horribly wrong....

[MichaelZodiac]

Ha! I once heard this brilliant story from in the early days of Watain playing to 50 people or so, they did the whole shebang back then as well but they had to put their vests (which were stiff from the blood that they put on it every night) in the microwave first before they could put them on. Still one of my favorite metal stories of all time. Can you imagine them walking up to the promotor asking if they could use the microwave to do that?