Didier

You're welcome By the way, it seems we share common values in web design: simple, up to the point, and standards compliant. Didier

Hi Finn, I just added two links (because I do everything in two languages) to your website on mine: http://didier.elo.free.fr/liens.html#groupes, French one http://didier.elo.free.fr/liens_e.html#groupes, English one I just got rid of the "makes" in your text, seemed odd in a link. You're not targeting a high score on "makes", I guess I hope it will help. If you want to return the favor, please link to the URL: http://didier.elo.free.fr/index_e.html As for the text, just put "French rock band Didier et les Ombres". Didier

Hi, I'll add this one (result of a survey on 15 bands) to Steve's list: http://www.songplanet.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2625 Didier

I cannot be sure for the "package" you'll got. My SM 57 came with the clip (mike stand adapter), but no cable, which is usual for "quality" mikes. Didier

Hi Sal, To cut costs (and if you're recording only one instrument at a time), you could pick a UB802 instead of the 1202. There's a review in the Gear review forum. If you are to record instruments as well as voice, I would recommand a Shure SM57 instead. It's on par with the 58 for voice (a matter of taste), and it's better (in my opinion) for instruments. Price should be more or less the same. Didier

Nothing fancy (no chocolate box ) It might be, provided the author has a good "return on sendings". Didier

Hi Alistair, By 'stage monitor', I guess you mean something for the perfomer, not for the audience? (What is a VDU? Video Display Unit?) I recommend a real floor monitor, with a shape specifically designed for that. Of course, you can put guitar and vocals through it. Otherwise, imagine how many monitors there would be on stage for a 10 pieces band. To do that, you will just need a 'monitor out' on the mixer. That said, it's sometimes more comfortable to use a guitar amp as a stage "guitar monitor". I don't know whether you need an amplified one, or just the speaker, but most makes exist with/without amplifier. For a pub, I think you would be OK with 100 W, 150 would give you more headroom. There are some very cheap ones nowadays (e.g., Boost), but an experienced guy (he's doing sound twice a week professionally) told me to stay away from them: they are not able to cope with voice dynamics, and they break very easily as a result (3 to 6 months expected life on average). As a minimum, I would recommend mid-range. In that category, I like the Peavey Eurosys. Around 200 € without amp, 400 amplified. Otherwise, the accepted pro standard nowadays seems to be RCF. Around 600 €, 200 W amplified. Didier

Hi John, Still the same ones: DigiDesign DD161, as discussed in the Nearfields thread. Now that I've changed the amp, I do like them again. I have to be careful, because I suspect this amp could blow my speakers (which was not really possible with the previous one), but I'm much happier this way. Didier

Hi Alistair, There are plenty of solutions. I personnaly use Musicmatch Jukebox (the free version): http://www.musicmatch.com/ Audacity is also a general purpose audio software. Freeware, and open source. Audacity is a free audio editor. You can record sounds, play sounds, import and export WAV, AIFF, Ogg Vorbis, and MP3 files, and more. http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ ? Don't tell me the master was the MP3, and the .wav is only a copy? : Didier

Hi John, Agreed. It occurs to me that people (me included) are always complaining about the music industry. And are surprised when they act as an industry. What they are doing now (consolidation phase) was completed 5 to 10 years ago in most other branches, where it's usual to have only two major companies: a leader, and a strong contender. Didier

Hi John, Now that's big 4, isn't it? Well, that was to be expected. Have you ever seen a merger where, immediately after, they announce they will hire people? Didier

Hi Rudi, Not sure about your law. In France, that would be "criminal violation". I guess Brussels would feel the same, so there's a good chance it would be on the same basis in England. Didier

As far as I understand it, the amnesty was not legal (I think they were even sued about it), so they had to withdraw. Didier

Hi All, I had serious issues with my studio amp (Soundtech PL-150). I was finally able to try an Alesis RA-150, and decided to keep it. The RA-150 is rated 75W per channel under 4 Ohms. It's two rack size, and has unbalanced -10 dB RCAs, and balanced +4 dB TRS jack connections (a drawback, I much prefer XLRs). Compared to my previous one (which was supposed to have the same specs), this amp is much more powerful. Transients are very fast, and it makes an impressive difference with hi-fi listening. The amp reacts very well under the load, and doesn't suffer with heavy basses. The stereo image is very stable, and positioning is quite accurate. Globally, the amount of details (spacially and level wise) I can hear is very good. They are a few drawbacks: The amp is a little grainy. It makes a little hiss (but largely bearable) at full volume. I think this amp can be recommended for any low/mid-range home-studio, compared to the bottom range available on the market. Price is reasonable: something like 220€ official French price, and I've seen it at 180 on some French web site. Didier

Hi John, (very) Late update. I have finally been able to try another amp on my monitors. The new one is an Alesis RA-150. It's like night and day. No really anymore bass issues (so it was not really a room problem, after all), I have nearly the impression of having added a woofer. The transients are much (much) faster, so I can hear all the harshness I was letting slip. The stereo image is much more centered and stable. (I'll post a short review of the RA-150). Didier

Hi All, A small updates on these mikes. My dealer discovered (by luck) that there was a hidden switch that can be accessed by unscrewing the body (a 10 seconds job). He had no idea what is was for. I did some tests, and it's a bass roll off switch, so it's an additional feature for free! I did a piano recording with the mikes, on Addictive Lady, courtesy of Ricky: Circle of Friends, last song in the page. Didier

Hi John, Thanks John. Quite interesting. Didier

Hi John, On the contrary, I really appreciated your detailed answer. I've long been wondering myself why cheap audio CDs worked better for me than high end data CD-Rs, I have now the answer. First, only audio CDs work reliably on my CDWR-5000 Tascam audio burner. Secondly, only audio CDs work on my old Akai Hi-fi. Thanks for the information you provided. Didier

Hi All, I found this interview, and I thought it was worth sharing it: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sh...ews/crosby.html Didier

Of course, in that situation, I would be rather upset, I guess Didier

Hi John, Same here. I mean, I wasn't sure how I would feel about it until it happened. (And I share your reserved feeling on peer to peer services). My first reaction was: "How could he dare?". But then I thought about it. My music can be downloaded freely from IC (and through Songstuff and my own web site), SongPlanet, Garage Band, plus Déchirés is on 3 or 4 other sites. Which means I take time and effort to have maximum free distribution, no strings attached. So how could I object for other means of distribution? If the guy had emailed the songs to his friends, it would seem perfectly normal. What he did was just a different way of doing it. Another interesting point: The guy asked "Are the songs on your CD different than the ones that can be downloaded? If yes, I might buy a CD". Are they were the same, I lost a sale But, if there had been no free download, there wouldn't have been any potential sale to begin with. So it seems you have to give away to generate interest, and then have something different to sell. An additional song on the CD, and the better quality, CD vs MP3, wasn't perceived as enough added value. Didier

Hi All, I received a "strange" email from my web site. Someone rather liked my songs (without being a fan, he wrote), and decided to put them on peer to peer networks. Are some of you using these networks (I don't)? If you see a file beginning with "DidierEtLesOmbres", it's one of mine I suppose it's a kind of achievement Have any of you their songs on such networks? And, if so, did you get any feedback from it? Didier

Hi John, The funny thing, until now, is that there's not any money to be made, as all reports have shown. The only one breaking even are Apple, *because* they sell hardware. The "software" (music) does not pay for the costs. A few years late, the music industry seems to be in the "dot com" area. It's better to lose big money, than let others have market shares Didier

Hi Craig, Nice to see you there, welcome on Songstuff. Nice also The Demo Page is back to work. I saw that last week doing a google search. I appreciate the special pages for mobile phones. And for the others: Didier et les Ombres is on the The Demo Page: Didier et les Ombres on The Demo Page Didier et les Ombres on The Demo Page, mobile phone version Didier

Before seing this link, I had some doubts, but now I am totally convinced. Tom *is* (by far) The nicest guy in the world! Didier