Guitar Nerds Anonymous

A must watch for guitar nerds everywhere:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2013/39/the-enigma-of-nic-jones-the-return-of-britains-lost-folk-hero.html

Yeah green means it sold. Not familiar with the deep impact but I was after an Akai Unibass a few years ago but didn't bother in the end as they were going for silly money. I assume it's just a case of them becoming popular after being discontinued so demand outstrips supply.

@Kirkov - Thanks, I can't believe how much they've grown in popularity! The guy I bought mine off about 10 years ago was struggling to sell it for weeks before I bought it on a whim!

If anyone knows any forum related bands or bassists that would want it give me a shout before I send it to the masses on ebay...

@Kirkov - Thanks, I can't believe how much they've grown in popularity! The guy I bought mine off about 10 years ago was struggling to sell it for weeks before I bought it on a whim!

If anyone knows any forum related bands or bassists that would want it give me a shout before I send it to the masses on ebay...

Roughly how much are you looking for?

Who knows a good place to get a matched quartet (or possibly sextet) of 6550 valves? My Trace VA350 is in for a service at the moment and it appears two valves are dying quietly and one is constantly on the verge of redplating... Poor old thing. Any alternatives to Watford Valves or Hotrox?

Watford have valves always been good to me.

This is possibly more of a general ebay question but as it's (bass) guitar related I thought I'd pop it in here;

Money is a bit tight so I'm looking to raise some money without having to sell either of my nice basses (or bikes) - I've got an Akai Deep Impact SB-1 bass synth pedal in my box of musical toys that I can probably do without as I don't gig that kind of music anymore. When I went on ebay to see how much it might be worth and there's a few on there that have completed for huge amounts! Does a green price next to the item mean it sold for that price? Does anyone know why these pedals are going for substantially more than they cost when new?

At a guess it's because the bassist from Muse uses/used to use one and their fans are mental...

Not directly guitar related as such, but if anyone is (or knows of anyone) selling any decent condenser mics, give me a shout. I am in the market.

Have ordered my Adam monitors but it's becoming painfully apparent that I need to seriously upgrade my mic quality and variety.

Then it's audio interface. Apogee Duet will probably do me for home recording purposes but I will some research natch.

Then outboard mic pre-amp/compressor.

Then bankruptcy probably.

Next on the shopping list is a

The budget condensers are great these days, all of a really good quality. I ended up picking up a multi pattern SE electronics one, it's lovely, and having multiple patterns really makes recording good takes easier. I think that patterns aside they're all about as good as each other in the sub £200 market tho.

I'm in the middle of learning how to build valve amps. It is hella fun. I'm in this really cool position where I know exactly what I like amps to sound like (i.e. like late 70s Orange/Matamps, but without the ridiculous volume), and they don't exist anywhere in real life, so I'm just going to build my own like a badman. Brilliant.

Aint what you got but how you use it.

You could make a perfectly pleasing recording, using nothing but an SM58.

For consistent affordable condensers, I recommend RØDE though.

True - wasn't that first Bon Iver album recorded entirely on a SM57? - but if you're specifically after a condenser then it's better to get one than muddle through imo.

I've finally just picked up a pair of replacement headphones after my missus busted mine. Such bliss to be able to record a quiet guitar line without the CLICK CLICK CLICK of the metronome audible on the track. Lovely.

I've used a Rode NT1 a bit... they're okay. Some say Red5 are even better for the money.

I have a Rode NT2 A and it's a really decent Mic. It's good enough to record decent nylon acoustic and really good vocals.
I've not had it long so all my published recordings were all done with a Shure SM58, which isn't much good for recording, so I cheated and used Antares Microphone modeller to try and compensate. It's not a bad bit of software for such cheating.

I'm in the market for a small diaphragm condenser actually, flattest response possible - it's for recording a violinist. Any recommendations?

I'm also flogging my Orange amp HERE - if yer interested bung me an offer.

So my mate Bernie finally came over today and had the guts out of my poor old non-functioning Twin Reverb...

The main power switch died years ago and it's been making very odd noises for much longer than that, she was in a bit of a sad state...

All working fine now and it sounds fucking great! Needs new valves and he recommended changing the caps to get it back to 'just left the factory' condition... That's the next job, he's gonna bias the valves for me etc.

Happy boy... :)

True - wasn't that first Bon Iver album recorded entirely on a SM57? -

An SM58/57 recording made in a professionally acoustically treated room or booth, through a Neve preamp and API compressor, to 2" tape (or the latest high bit rate DAW) is a very different proposal to some geezer in his bedroom with the SM58 plugged into some consumer interface.

I had one of those DAV preamps based on the units at Decca, and it made every mic I tried sound incredible, with enough clean gain to hit the ceiling.

Mics and preamps are not nearly as important as the room. And probably come somewhere down the scale after a lot of other factors.

An SM58/57 recording made in a professionally acoustically treated room or booth, through a Neve preamp and API compressor, to 2" tape (or the latest high bit rate DAW) is a very different proposal to some geezer in his bedroom with the SM58 plugged into some consumer interface.

Of course it is, but I'm talking about that first Bon Iver record, which wasn't made like that - it was made in the dude's bedroom with a 57 plugged into one of those old Pro Tools interfaces, and still sounds phenomenal. Not every record needs Neve/API/tape, or even a decent room for that matter.

Sure, I've not heard the recording in question I was making a bit of a general comment.

Bedrooms can sound good sometimes, and the mastering studio makes a massive, massive difference. Clean source recordings can be done on modest gear, but once you start multi tracking lots of them it becomes more apparent if things are not so great. The room does matter if you want to record a lot of live instruments or vocals either together or individually tracked.

SM57s are actually a very good mic, and some of the older protools boxes were very capable. Many people would rather a 57 through a decent pre than a cheap condenser through any pre (I'm inclined to agree IME).

Might've just bought this 1972 Orange OR120.

Who wants to form a stoner rock band called Bongs Of War?

EDIT: or Green Harvest

WarBong™, Shirley?

Ha very good.

I'm also quite tempted by GIZZARDWHISKERS.

Ideas for an portable, affordable, not shit amp for upright barse anyone?

What's your budget, I love the more expensive version of the below, this one sounds good though.

http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Gallien-Krueger-MB150S-100W-Micro-Bass-Combo-Amp/JFS?origin=product-ads&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=&utm_campaign=PLA+General&utm_content=JlDPqsR7|dc_pcrid_33806336119_plid__kword__match__

a decent transducer also helps, especially with smaller amps .

(you probably have one and i'll shut up now)

portable, affordable, not shit

Pick any two...

If you could sacrifice portability I might have an angle on a SWR California Blonde.