Rudi

I thought I had replied to this thread? Obviously not. A belated welcome Riotlung

Howdy crea Welcome from Portsmouth UK

I don’t know what sort of strap you fellers use but I have never had to tie a string onto a button / cleat. I don’t think I’ve even seen such an arrangement.

Plastic Fantastic Lover - Jefferson Airplane

Yes I have a SM57 and an older Unisphere. The manual for the recorder I use specifies that a powered condenser mic be used (2.5v).

The most candid writer I know is Randy Newman. Listen to some of his lyrics. I would bauk at the prospect of singing some of those. eg: Rednecks / Christmas in Capetown / God's Song / My life is Good These are some of his best work though. I dont think its a coincidence.

Hmm... Have I missed something here?

Rather than get despondant about your limitations, why not experiment with different approaches to your writing. Plenty of ways to go about things. I have found several that suit me, but they wouldnt suit everyone. Try a fresh approach, you might surprise yourself.

Yes why not. Some nursery rhymes are allegorical. In the past it was a way of commenting on a sensetive subject. Something that might get you into trouble if you were explicit. Perhaps we should use allegory to undermine political correctness.

Im quite sure I have passed on mistakes & misnomers. I would be interested to know what it is we are all trying to say though.

Welcome to the SS community Cara. Check out the Articles and Music Glossary. You will find plenty on songwritting and rhyming schemes etc for lyric writting. Looking fwd to seeing/hearing your work.

I want a condenser mic and/or acoustic pickups for recording the following: Vocal Acoustic violin Acoustic guitar (nylon strung –therefore no magnetic types) My Sure (stage) microphones are not suitable. I have not heard a transducer type pickup for a long time and am not sure whether they are up to scratch (yet) or not. The onboard mic in the recorder is not suitable because it picks up background noise such as my breathing (I can’t hold my breath long enough to finish the solos). So, can anyone recommend a condenser mic? And maybe a contact pickup suitable for violin and/or Spanish guitar? I’ve seen cheap ones on e-bay and expensive ones (Baggs etc) elsewhere.

I removed my jam doughnut reference since after one call Anna Marie appears to have sorted everything with a plomb. I mean 'aplomb'. Will verify next week.

Hi Jan & welcome. Listened to some of your stuff. Sounds great.

Welcome from Portsmouth UK Welcome from Portsmouth UK

Laying in the arms of Mary - Sutherland Brothers & Quiver

I rarely begin with a melody, but I am beginning to drift towards that approach more now. When I have begun with melody, I have been inspired by an existing tune. I could not have worked that way early on I don’t think, because if I had a tune in my head it would not go away, and it influenced what I was trying to do too much. As a result I would end up with something that sounded too much like the tune that inspired me. Also it would not sound as good as the original tune. Therefore I developed other approaches. Now I don’t get hung up on the inspirational melody, and when I have finished creating my own melody, it sounds nothing like the old one. I’m quite sure no one would be able to figure out the origin of my tunes. The advantage of beginning with melody is that once it is fixed in your head, and you start to consider the chords and the time, they are already there! I don’t mean you can’t change them, I mean you don’t have to. Only a time change can actually interfere with your melody, because phrasing is affected. But with chords, you can play around with those & hear the change of dynamics all you want. But you don’t need to change anything. As I said, get the melody down and everything else falls into place.

A lifelong omnivore, Abraham Lincoln fed on cows, chickens, fish and pigs for protein, and on grains, pulses and vegetables for fibre and starch. Abraham was lucky in that he didn’t have to catch and kill any meat. He lived in a society where it was normal to confine animals and vegetables within fences. The animals were frequently segregated from the vegetables to ensure the former did not consume the later. This arrangement also made the animals far easier to catch than wandering about the wilderness hoping to discover them by luck. So even at an advanced age, Abraham Lincoln was still able to eat as much as he did when he was younger and more sprightly. Both the vegetables and the livestock he consumed were encouraged to grow by accomplices who preferred to spend their time doing that sort of thing. All these life forms encouraged to grow and prosper were deceived. Lulled into a false sense of security, they would all eventually be betrayed and consumed (though not all by Abraham Lincoln). This was just as well, as Abraham had an aversion to killing. The aversion was confined to animals however. Vegetables he could despatch in a quite nonchalant fashion. Abraham became uncommonly influential over a large majority of fellow North American bipeds. Those that dwelt furthest north embraced this influence, whilst those that preferred to remain in the south of the north resented it profoundly. Beginning in 1843, Abraham Lincoln cooperated with Mary Todd and sired four male progeny. This took ten years to accomplish. At his end, Abraham was also lulled into a false sense of security, and was despatched in a theatre while watching actors pretending not to be themselves. He was too astute to be fooled by this, but pretended to himself that he didn’t know they were pretending. He probably was unaware though that it was an actor who killed him. Theatres attract many actors. The assassin originally planned to merely steal Abraham Lincoln, but changed his mind after growing angrier. Unfortunately for Abraham, the assassinating actor wasn’t pretending at that precise time.

Hi Kate, (you wayward young imp you !) Before recording, prepare as thoroughly as you can. Make sure you can sing the song properly in the key you’ve chosen. Be prepared to transpose (usually up) if you want to put more power into it. Rehearse both singing and playing constantly. Once you hit record, all manner of flaws seem to appear out of nowhere. Good luck!

Dianna, welcome from Portsmouth England. Hey, your english is better than Steves

Great! I got it out last night & checked out some patches using headphones, they sound even worse heard that way. The stereo effect is impressive though. Even my own patches could stand some improvement. Its surprising what a difference volume can make. I have recordings of shows that sound as if they were recorded quietly in someone's bedroom, but I was present at those shows and the volume was such that it vibrated the whole building (and my breastbone too). It sure had a different effect on the night.

I have a limited range and so have to select my key precisely. Even then, I can’t sing some songs at all as some notes are always out of my reach. I don’t mind my voice as I speak or sing. However…. am always horrified when I listen back to a recording and I realise that this is how it sounds to everybody else. I would like to invite whole audiences into my head so they might hear the performance correctly.

I was looking up some specs for my Boss GT-5 and ended up writing an online review at Harmony Central. I thought I would share it here. Most of the (many) reviewers say that it’s built like a tank. Well so it is. I thought I had more to add though. Steve had one of these (given to him! Lucky beggar) and thoroughly disliked it. I myself find it to be an indispensable tool. Oddly, the site manager of the Fiddle-Forum uses one of these with his electric violin. specs & info http://www.livesoundsolutions.co.uk/equipm...ckline/gt5.html specs & info http://www.bossus.com/index.asp?pg=1&tmp=93 The unit is now pretty old and has been superseded 1st by the GT-6 and later by the GT-8. Ease of use: 7 The pre-sets sound gaudy. They sound good once you edit down the effects. Less delay, less distortion, less everything. I found the manual essential for creating patches. Most of the patches I actually use (about 10) are edited presets, some SUBSTANTIALLY edited. I can’t imagine using any of the presets for gigging. They seem designed just to 'show off' this piece of kit. Sound Quality: 9 My main lead guitar custom patch is the edited (Fender) TWIN-REVERB one. Similar to Jerry Garcia's sound (he used a Twin Rev at the heart of his system). It sounds very good. AMP: I use this with a Fender Stage 112 and 5 instrument leads. You need 3 to cobble it through the effects loop. This way you get the clearest signal and the amp is then slaved to the GT-5, using its clean channel and bypassing all the switches & dials. Another lead is a line out to the band PA. GUITAR: I mostly use a Jackson Soloist XL. Though a single coil pickup may the ideal option (cleaner signal), I find I use the brighter humbucker a lot of the time, especially towards the end of a gig. The key to creating the best sounding effects is to know how to place them in the chain ie: what comes first & last. I created a patch at home that sounded superb in the dining room, but sounded horrible cranked up at gigging volume. Expect to do a lot of tweaking to patches as they do sound different at high volume. Reliability: 9 I use this without a backup. I have used it for many years and it just goes on & on. This year I had to have the power lead chopped back, it had worn loose after years of heavy use. Boss should really have used a kettle lead here, but this is a minor grumble. One favourite user-patch has a tremolo effect assigned to the stomp button, this stopped working properly after a couple of years for some reason (The volume now dips substantially). I have not tried to ‘fix’ this, as I only use on one song and I am lazy. There have been 2 occasions when programming the GT-5 that I’ve managed to make it ‘lock up’. Switching the thing off and on again restored it ok again (just like PCs). Actually it is very reliable where it counts. Customer Support: (no opinion) Have not used customer support at BOSS ROWLAND. The power lead repair I had done by my local dealer. It cost about £10. Overall Rating: 9 I play in a 7 piece band rooted in soul & ska. In practice, this accounts for less than half of our set. We have updated our set to include songs by The Coral, Keiser Chiefs etc. Sadly (for me) no original material is played. I briefly used a Zoom unit. The build quality was not very good but I reasoned that if it lasted a year, it would be money well spent. At that time the band was recording and the sound engineer found the Zoom was compromising the sound quality. He had a GT-5 handy, and I used that for the first time in the studio. Before that week was out, I had chopped in the Zoom for a GT-5. With so many other instruments competing at mid-range, I find that I do about 60% of my rhythm work with no effects at all. This means I have no compression at all, and I can hear me much better in the blend. I have fewer outlets for my personal music than I would like, but the GT-5 is essential for that too. Presently I am using it for recording (with the Jackson + a Washburn) and using the acoustic guitar simulator for a couple of finger-picked instrumentals. I have both a steel string and a Spanish (nylon strung) acoustics available but get a clearer sound and signal from the GT-5. I’ve been playing for 37 years and play all styles. One effect I would like to have is a nylon string simulator (Spanish guitar sound). This was included on the GT-6 but I have not heard it myself so I don’t know how authentic it is. If my GT-5 were lost or stolen I would try out a GT-8. If the build quality or sounds were not good enough, I would try to source another GT-5. I like to solo. My most important piece of kit is the Jackson. The 2nd most important is the GT-5

'The Dust Blows Forward and The Dust Blows Back' - Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band

Thanks Lee. Thanks Tunesmith. Both of these are now on my peruse list.