I'm totally not trying to put features down. I know I kind of sound like a dick saying stuff like "no saving settings, no computer connectivity" or whatever, but I know the way I work and I know what feeds that and what creates unnecessary barriers. I do not have experience creating music on a computer or with software or a digital interface. I'm tactile when it comes to playing an instrument and it's all about the physical interaction for me. Learning how to use a synth is going to be a completely new thing and I didn't want to sabotage myself with the doubly new thing of having to learn and navigate software as part of playing the instrument. I'm excited. And, as always, I'm so glad I consulted the PRF because I ended up getting exactly what I was looking for at half of what I expected to spend.

Tom Wanderer wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2024 2:56 pm I'm totally not trying to put features down. I know I kind of sound like a dick saying stuff like "no saving settings, no computer connectivity" or whatever, but I know the way I work and I know what feeds that and what creates unnecessary barriers. I do not have experience creating music on a computer or with software or a digital interface.

Oh no, I get it! I just meant it's totally possible to sit down with these synths and dig in without the need to ever touch a computer. There is definitely gear out there that requires you to download sounds or install its own app interface or whatever. I'm a fairly technical person and I've never hooked up my Korg digital outs ever.

Had a poorly lit show last night. Fudged a couple notes before I took some medical tape to mark my dots. What's a hi-vis solution to bad/poor/no lighting when I gotta look down and see where my hand is at?

some strategically-placed pieces of neon label?

numberthirty wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2024 7:31 pm

Sold

Tom Wanderer wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2024 2:56 pm I ended up getting exactly what I was looking for at half of what I expected to spend.

Just a thought - keep that other half to one side because there's a good chance you'll want to upgrade to a full size.

Got a couple of old EV 665 and 658L mics in for cheap and made sure they worked, comparing them to another 635a and a 421. I didn’t have a condenser or ribbon out so I didn’t compare them to one, but I will at some point.

They all sound different and have cool textures, but aside from the omni getting more room, the differences aren’t night and day, and aren’t really great or bad either way.

That seems to be the case w/ any type of mic I sing into, incl. ones that cost 10x as much. Unless I’m battling gain structure or getting popping or bad nasal resonances, I’m learning to pretty much roll with whatever’s in front of me as I get used to recording.

Is this just how it works after a while? Just put something in the right spot and go, change it when there’s a problem, and try not to kick yourself later? I definitely dislike my voice on certain mics but I also keep waiting to fall in love or react to the plain sound of one and it’s not really happening.

I don’t mean that in a negative way, but the stuff I like pretty much all driven by the performance and song and turns out to be less and less about the sound from the mic itself. Just wondering if I’m not listening to the right stuff.

llllllllllllllllllll wrote: Got a couple of old EV 665 and 658L mics in for cheap and made sure they worked, comparing them to another 635a and a 421. I didn’t have a condenser or ribbon out so I didn’t compare them to one, but I will at some point.

They all sound different and have cool textures, but aside from the omni getting more room, the differences aren’t night and day, and aren’t really great or bad either way.

That seems to be the case w/ any type of mic I sing into, incl. ones that cost 10x as much. Unless I’m battling gain structure or getting popping or bad nasal resonances, I’m learning to pretty much roll with whatever’s in front of me as I get used to recording.

Is this just how it works after a while? Just put something in the right spot and go, change it when there’s a problem, and try not to kick yourself later? I definitely dislike my voice on certain mics but I also keep waiting to fall in love or react to the plain sound of one and it’s not really happening.

I don’t mean that in a negative way, but the stuff I like pretty much all driven by the performance and song and turns out to be less and less about the sound from the mic itself. Just wondering if I’m not listening to the right stuff.

You're getting it. Performance and delivery have always been 10-20x more important than the mediums used to capture it.

I had a vocal take to do in days gone by that required me singing and decent pitch. I ended up getting all fussed over getting the pitch perfect & was real proud of myself thinking "maybe I CAN sing" only to listen after the reels age overnight that the take ended up sounding completely fucking flat w/ zero life. Would not have mattered if I used my iphone or a $5k Neuman.

This section of the forum has really gotten gear-focused but making music at its core isn't about the gear and never has been. Pick the mic that works for you in most situations out of what you have and roll tape w/ it. Tone-questing can be a terrible, terrible state to be in and very hard to break one's self out of.

Garth wrote: Thu May 02, 2024 7:59 am Tone-questing can be a terrible, terrible state to be in and very hard to break one's self out of.

This is something I've dealt with my whole musical life. I, of course, wanted a nice guitar and amp and some cool effects. I got all that. Then I started looking for nicer or different stuff to help with the creative process. I bought recording gear to create at home and embrace the creative recording process. But gear is cool, and gear soon became something that fit in between high performance cars and maybe baseball cards. I wanted cool nice things for the sake of having cool nice things, or I wanted to collect something for the chance of having something rare and coveted.

When it came time to create music, I ended up going back to my old guitar rigs. I find that I either make pretty guitar music or loud, noisy guitar music. When I do this today, my setup is eerily similar to what it was 30 years ago. I'm happy to explain it in more detail, but that's not the point here. I'd use my old gear, or stuff very similar to it, and all my cool, esoteric, or collectable gear would go unused. I even felt guilty about it. But I came to accept that the creative impulse and the technical gear impulse are actually two separate parts of me that just share the same physical tools and artifacts.

The best thing to happen to me was to get a job in the musical instrument industry. Overnight, I found myself surrounded with piles of cool, rare, and awesome sounding gear. I got to take it apart, go inside, analyze it, fix it, capture it, and so on. Doing this allowed me to experience the same thrill as buying and selling cool, sometimes vintage gear, but with out the personal expense. What I learned is that I tweak knobs on any piece of gear with the goal of getting it to sound good with my playing. When I find that setting, the performance is shockingly similar to the gear that I've owned and used for years. The old dudes at the guitar store were right; you always end up sounding like you.

Gear and interest in gear is not bad... it's just a different hobby. Don't conflate the gear hobby with creativity or productivity.

I find that it's the same with bicycles as well. When I'm lazy and the weather is band and I'm not riding, I dream of new and classic bikes, and new projects. When I'm out and about and riding a lot, I rarely think of bicycle gear; I just ride, feel the wind and the velocity, see new sights, get exercise, and have adventures.

I love all you PRF weirdos.