audioj's recent activity

  1. Comment on What creative projects have you been working on? in ~creative

    audioj
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    I normally do music and audio work, but I finally got started on a screenplay idea I've been kicking around for a while. I have a complete outline of the story and have written about 30 pages of...

    I normally do music and audio work, but I finally got started on a screenplay idea I've been kicking around for a while. I have a complete outline of the story and have written about 30 pages of script so far.

    3 votes

  2. Comment on What creative projects have you been working on? in ~creative

    audioj
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    Nice work. Sounds like it could be the intro theme to an 80s TV show like Misfits of Science or Automan.

    Nice work. Sounds like it could be the intro theme to an 80s TV show like Misfits of Science or Automan.

    2 votes

  3. Comment on Music Makers: Guitarists, Bassists and other Stringslingers in ~creative

    audioj
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    The TC Electronic Ditto series is one of the most popular options for looper pedals and there are many models to suite your needs.

    The TC Electronic Ditto series is one of the most popular options for looper pedals and there are many models to suite your needs.

    1 vote

  4. Comment on Music Makers: Guitarists, Bassists and other Stringslingers in ~creative

    audioj
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    I played one through a small Boss Katana amp. With the clean and crunch settings, it was fine, but the lead and brown settings did feedback some. I was probably playing too close to the amp though.

    I played one through a small Boss Katana amp. With the clean and crunch settings, it was fine, but the lead and brown settings did feedback some. I was probably playing too close to the amp though.

    1 vote

  5. Comment on Music Makers: Guitarists, Bassists and other Stringslingers in ~creative

    audioj
    Link Parent
    Nice! Always cool to hear about how a more "economic" model can out-do premiums. My first "good" guitar was a Reverend. I had a Commando GT in the bug-eyed black finish. Sold it almost 20 years...

    Nice! Always cool to hear about how a more "economic" model can out-do premiums. My first "good" guitar was a Reverend. I had a Commando GT in the bug-eyed black finish. Sold it almost 20 years ago and been kicking myself ever since.

    Good luck pickup-hunting! That is one deeep rabbit hole. For what it's worth, my favorite humbucker I've found is the DiMarzio Bluesbucker. It's like the best of humbucker and P90 sounds together.

    Love me some Orange amps. I have a Dual Terror head. It's my favorite amp I own. Speaking of cabs, is it possible to change the rear panel or install a new piece over the open portion and convert the cab to closed?

    1 vote

  6. Comment on Music Makers: Guitarists, Bassists and other Stringslingers in ~creative

    audioj
    Link Parent
    G.A.S. is gear acquisition syndrome. It's a mostly humorous take on the tendency of musicians to always want more gear. This is my biggest GAS-related addiction. I can't ever have enough ;-D...

    G.A.S. is gear acquisition syndrome. It's a mostly humorous take on the tendency of musicians to always want more gear.

    I just got a bunch of effects pedals

    This is my biggest GAS-related addiction. I can't ever have enough ;-D Please tell us more about your pedalboard.

    Does your Fernandes strat have the sustainer system? That always seemed like a really cool feature to play with.

    any recommendations for reasonable-cost humbuckers?

    DiMarzio has humbuckers in the $70 range, similar for Seymour-Duncan and Fender. You might be able to find better deals on a used model, but you can expect to pay $70-$90 for a good new one. There are of course super-cheap options at places like Amazon and eBay, but I think you really get what you pay for in this area.

    2 votes

  7. Comment on Music Makers: Guitarists, Bassists and other Stringslingers in ~creative

    audioj
    Link Parent
    That's a nice looking mandolin. I have one of their M4 Spruce Dulicmers and it is all kinds of fun to play. Good luck with build. Post some pics when you finish it.

    That's a nice looking mandolin. I have one of their M4 Spruce Dulicmers and it is all kinds of fun to play.

    Good luck with build. Post some pics when you finish it.

    1 vote

  8. Comment on Music Makers: Guitarists, Bassists and other Stringslingers in ~creative

    audioj
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    I'm a Fender guy myself. My number one is a Billy Corgan Signature Stratocaster. It has my favorite feature of any strat I've played: a through-body hardtail bridge (I never liked tremolos much.)...

    I'm a Fender guy myself. My number one is a Billy Corgan Signature Stratocaster. It has my favorite feature of any strat I've played: a through-body hardtail bridge (I never liked tremolos much.) The pickups are pretty hot too. I've recorded everything with it from heavy rock and metal screamers to clean, Nile Rodgers-esque disco licks. Just all around, it's the best guitar I've ever owned.

    I recently played one of Fender's new Acoustasonic Telecasters and wow! They sound great, they feel great and it has one of the best amplified sounds I've heard from an acoustic. I want one!

    1 vote

  10. Comment on Music Makers: Synth Players and Programmers in ~creative

    audioj
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    I don't really play keys myself, but I can program just about any synthesizer to get a good sound and compose some MIDI to do the heavy lifting for me. My current favorite is Arturia Pigments...

    I don't really play keys myself, but I can program just about any synthesizer to get a good sound and compose some MIDI to do the heavy lifting for me. My current favorite is Arturia Pigments because it has a great sound engine and the most modulation options you'll find outside of a large modular system.

    Hardware-wise, I have an old Alesis Micron I really like and a Korg MS2000R that I don't really use much anymore. For the last few years, I've been moving away from hardware on the synth side of things. Not that I don't love good ol' analog Moogs and Rolands, but software has advanced so much over the last decade that it's hard to tell the difference when you get down to a final mix. Also, things like instant recall and adding multiple copies of the same instrument within your DAW are way too appealing to pass up.

    2 votes

  12. Comment on What creative projects have you been working on? in ~creative

    audioj
    Link Parent
    Hello back! Not a whole lot to tell really. We're more of a studio band at the moment. The music has a strong rock band vibe, but we want dynamics in our sound so it's not all loud, distorted...

    Hello back! Not a whole lot to tell really. We're more of a studio band at the moment. The music has a strong rock band vibe, but we want dynamics in our sound so it's not all loud, distorted guitars. Some songs fit into the hard rock/metal category, others are clean and jazzy, or have a western feel, or driven by a funky bassline. I like being a rock band, but I don't want to limit us to just one kind of sound. Most of the bands I'm influenced by have a wide range of music in their catelogs.

    It all began at the beginning of the year. I started turning some riffs and pieces of songs that I had written into full songs. I play guitar and bass which I used to work out the foundation of the songs and then wrote lyrics and recorded some vocals.

    I have an old friend who's a great drummer, but he lives in a different part of the country than me so we did the remote thing and passed tracks back and forth to work out drum parts. That has it's challenges, but we've gotten some cool stuff from it.

    The newest member is another local guitarist I met from a Craigslist ad. He's really good with leads and chord work so he can take a simple part I've written and make it sound fuller and more interesting. He also plays keys fairly well.

    Right now, we're just recording demos for 12 tracks where all the various guitar, bass, drum, and vocal parts are mapped out. Once we have the map, we can record a more polished album version. I would like to add a bass player before this though so we can track as a full band and play the songs live (preferably one who can sing as I don't want to be the only vocalist in the group.) That's where we are so far. Still a lot of work to do before the demos are finished, but I really enjoy the process of fleshing out the tracks to their full versions.

    As for YouTube, I mostly watch tutorials and product demos, and haven't noticed too many poor mic techniques.

    3 votes

  13. Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music

    audioj
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    Baroness - Gold & Grey Beck - Hyperspace Jimmy Eat World - Surviving

    • Baroness - Gold & Grey

    • Beck - Hyperspace

    • Jimmy Eat World - Surviving

  14. Comment on What creative projects have you been working on? in ~creative

    audioj
    Link
    I just registered so this seems like a good post to say hello and join the conversation. Currently, I'm writing an album with bandmates as well as composing music and sound effects for an indie...
    • Exemplary

    I just registered so this seems like a good post to say hello and join the conversation.

    Currently, I'm writing an album with bandmates as well as composing music and sound effects for an indie video game on my own. A couple of months ago, I recorded on-set sound for a local television pilot and will be doing ADR and audio post for that project soon. I just love audio work.

    7 votes