Making Music

[Mel81x+]

 

[Mpache]

I made a tune with the help of a tutorial, but it's on my Facebook. @Dr. Gonzo you keen on hearing it? Let me know and I'll PM you!

[Dr. Gonzo]

3 hours ago, Inti Brian said:

I made a tune with the help of a tutorial, but it's on my Facebook. @Dr. Gonzo you keen on hearing it? Let me know and I'll PM you!

Sure why not

[Mel81x+]

On 05/04/2020 at 15:19, Inti Brian said:

I made a tune with the help of a tutorial, but it's on my Facebook. @Dr. Gonzo you keen on hearing it? Let me know and I'll PM you!

I'd like to hear it too.

[Mpache]

3 hours ago, Mel81x said:

I'd like to hear it too.

Will PM you it later today!

[Mel81x+]

Whats the hardest thing you guys have tried to learn musically? For me its learning how that @$$hole Steve Harris does gallops with his bass line. Its fundamentally very simple but then he takes it to another level. 

[Mel81x+]

Pretty close to the original and the riff work is very good.

[Dr. Gonzo]

On 10/04/2020 at 11:40, Mel81x said:

Whats the hardest thing you guys have tried to learn musically? For me its learning how that @$$hole Steve Harris does gallops with his bass line. Its fundamentally very simple but then he takes it to another level. 

Musically or technically? Sweep picking if technically, can’t do that shit for the life of me.

[Mel81x+]

On 18/04/2020 at 19:46, Dr. Gonzo said:

Musically or technically? Sweep picking if technically, can’t do that shit for the life of me.

Yeah sweep picking isn't something I can do on-demand I need to practice a lot before I even try it.

To bring up a rather weird topic when it comes to music making, has anyone ever recorded their vocals with a dynamic mic? I don't mean using your phone to record the sound because it also takes all the ambient sounds into account but using something like a Shure SM7B. I only ask this because almost two years ago I went about this little expedition and dropped it very quickly because I found that the mic was only the start of the adventure, the devices you need besides the mic purchase are where the true evil really lies. A cloud-uplifter for gain to your interface before going into your PC/MAC and in some cases (well most cases) a pre-amp before the interface between the uplifter and the mic to boost gain so you don't get all the lovely hissing sounds either. The band is thinking of doing some recording work while we are all stuck at home so I figured I'd ask here before going out on this expedition again and then saying we should wait till we can order the stuff we need.

[Dr. Gonzo]

2 hours ago, Mel81x said:

Yeah sweep picking isn't something I can do on-demand I need to practice a lot before I even try it.

To bring up a rather weird topic when it comes to music making, has anyone ever recorded their vocals with a dynamic mic? I don't mean using your phone to record the sound because it also takes all the ambient sounds into account but using something like a Shure SM7B. I only ask this because almost two years ago I went about this little expedition and dropped it very quickly because I found that the mic was only the start of the adventure, the devices you need besides the mic purchase are where the true evil really lies. A cloud-uplifter for gain to your interface before going into your PC/MAC and in some cases (well most cases) a pre-amp before the interface between the uplifter and the mic to boost gain so you don't get all the lovely hissing sounds either. The band is thinking of doing some recording work while we are all stuck at home so I figured I'd ask here before going out on this expedition again and then saying we should wait till we can order the stuff we need.

I asked my friend who’s actually good at recording unlike me, a total noob at it. His big tips were using literally the same mic you said or the SM58 & using a pop filter.

He says room acoustics can be the worst thing about recording vocals and he likes to record them in a very small room if he’s not recording at his studio.

[Mel81x+]

4 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I asked my friend who’s actually good at recording unlike me, a total noob at it. His big tips were using literally the same mic you said or the SM58 & using a pop filter.

He says room acoustics can be the worst thing about recording vocals and he likes to record them in a very small room if he’s not recording at his studio.

Time to start my research then.

[Dr. Gonzo]

This isn't really "making music" news - but I wasn't really sure to put it. While we're all on quarantine, we've all got a bit more time for "projects" and something I'd been meaning to get around to for months is taking this Ibanez RG220B someone gave me a while back, which isn't in good shape at all, and throwing some time, money, and effort into it and making it into something I'd actually enjoy playing. It's a decent guitar, just the hardware is a bit crap.

The neck was all fucked up, so I've given it some truss rod adjustment and now that's looking a lot better. I also adjusted the trem because holy shit... it was fucked up. I actually hate this tremolo system on the Ibanez, I'm not sure what it is - it's not an Ibanez Edge trem, it's not a Floyd Rose... it looks like some sort of in-between. I'm hoping a Floyd Rose will just fit into the cavity and then I can just have a tremolo system I actually have familiarity with. The pickups are totally crap as well, so they've got to go.

[Mel81x+]

5 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

This isn't really "making music" news - but I wasn't really sure to put it. While we're all on quarantine, we've all got a bit more time for "projects" and something I'd been meaning to get around to for months is taking this Ibanez RG220B someone gave me a while back, which isn't in good shape at all, and throwing some time, money, and effort into it and making it into something I'd actually enjoy playing. It's a decent guitar, just the hardware is a bit crap.

The neck was all fucked up, so I've given it some truss rod adjustment and now that's looking a lot better. I also adjusted the trem because holy shit... it was fucked up. I actually hate this tremolo system on the Ibanez, I'm not sure what it is - it's not an Ibanez Edge trem, it's not a Floyd Rose... it looks like some sort of in-between. I'm hoping a Floyd Rose will just fit into the cavity and then I can just have a tremolo system I actually have familiarity with. The pickups are totally crap as well, so they've got to go.

Send pics when you're done. I thought all the RGs used some older version of the IB Edge system but its not the Pro so it looks a bit off. It's also a really horrible trem because from what I remember reading and seeing, when you try to bend the pitch higher the trem can get stuck and not actually come back up to where it used to be and this  causes all kinds of problems like neck warping and block issues as well.

I've started practicing my sheet music reading again and I think I am doing rather well. Spent the morning yesterday trying to learn "Too Young to Die" by Jamiroquai and it really did enforce a lot of what I learned when I was younger. Thinking once this is all done I'll actually finish the Trinity Rock and Blues course as I only have one more level to do.

[Dr. Gonzo]

9 hours ago, Mel81x said:

Send pics when you're done. I thought all the RGs used some older version of the IB Edge system but its not the Pro so it looks a bit off. It's also a really horrible trem because from what I remember reading and seeing, when you try to bend the pitch higher the trem can get stuck and not actually come back up to where it used to be and this  causes all kinds of problems like neck warping and block issues as well.

I've started practicing my sheet music reading again and I think I am doing rather well. Spent the morning yesterday trying to learn "Too Young to Die" by Jamiroquai and it really did enforce a lot of what I learned when I was younger. Thinking once this is all done I'll actually finish the Trinity Rock and Blues course as I only have one more level to do.

I think the trem in it now is the Ibanez Edge Pro II. It’s either that or the IRT1.

I looked the guitars serial up - it’s a 2002 Ibanez made in Korea by Cort (who actually make pretty nice cheap guitars... so explains why I like the feel of this one so much). It was made in December though. In 2000-2002 the guitars supposed to have a 3 way pickup selector and the IRT1 trem. In 2003 they switched to the Edge Pro II & a 5 way selector switch for the pickups.

This December 2012 model has a 5 way pickup switch... which I think means it has an Edge Pro II. I just hope this means it won’t need any routing if I want to put a Floyd in. I do wonder if an Ibanez Edge would fit into it.

[Mel81x+]

1 hour ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I think the trem in it now is the Ibanez Edge Pro II. It’s either that or the IRT1.

I looked the guitars serial up - it’s a 2002 Ibanez made in Korea by Cort (who actually make pretty nice cheap guitars... so explains why I like the feel of this one so much). It was made in December though. In 2000-2002 the guitars supposed to have a 3 way pickup selector and the IRT1 trem. In 2003 they switched to the Edge Pro II & a 5 way selector switch for the pickups.

This December 2012 model has a 5 way pickup switch... which I think means it has an Edge Pro II. I just hope this means it won’t need any routing if I want to put a Floyd in. I do wonder if an Ibanez Edge would fit into it.

I don't think the original Edge would go in there because of the need for that locking nut? I could be 100% wrong though but I seem to remember watching a video of someone trying to upgrade their Jem JR and they ran into a similar issue.

[Dr. Gonzo]

4 hours ago, Mel81x said:

I don't think the original Edge would go in there because of the need for that locking nut? I could be 100% wrong though but I seem to remember watching a video of someone trying to upgrade their Jem JR and they ran into a similar issue.

Do the original Edge’s not have a locking nut? This guitars got a locking nut, I’m just not sure if the routing dimensions for the particular bridge would just let me put a Floyd in... or if I’d need to get an Ibanez trem.

I’ve looked at a lot of stuff online about various Ibanez trems and the routing for the different models. I’m still not even sure which trem is in this guitar lol. I wish I still had my white Jackson with a Floyd so I could just check if it fits (although then I’d have to set up 2 guitars lol).

I’ve set the bridge up a lot better than the condition it was in, after about 3 hours of fucking around with it. It’s a lot more stable now and it’s floating properly which it definitely wasn’t when I decided to fix the thing up. But I would like to fully upgrade this thing ASAP.

The more fun part to think about upgrading is the pickups. I normally use pretty high output pickups... but I think on this guitar I’m going to go with a set of medium output passive pickups. Got any recommendations for any neck & bridge humbuckers?

Also, is it weird I’m thinking about not having a tone control at all? I think I want the top control to be the bridge volume & the bottom being the neck’s volume.

[Mel81x+]

Just now, Dr. Gonzo said:

Do the original Edge’s not have a locking nut? This guitars got a locking nut, I’m just not sure if the routing dimensions for the particular bridge would just let me put a Floyd in... or if I’d need to get an Ibanez trem.

I’ve looked at a lot of stuff online about various Ibanez trems and the routing for the different models. I’m still not even sure which trem is in this guitar lol. I wish I still had my white Jackson with a Floyd so I could just check if it fits (although then I’d have to set up 2 guitars lol).

I’ve set the bridge up a lot better than the condition it was in, after about 3 hours of fucking around with it. It’s a lot more stable now and it’s floating properly which it definitely wasn’t when I decided to fix the thing up. But I would like to fully upgrade this thing ASAP.

The more fun part to think about upgrading is the pickups. I normally use pretty high output pickups... but I think on this guitar I’m going to go with a set of medium output passive pickups. Got any recommendations for any neck & bridge humbuckers?

Also, is it weird I’m thinking about not having a tone control at all? I think I want the top control to be the bridge volume & the bottom being the neck’s volume.

The original Edge's do have a locking nut and if yours does then its probably not the Edge Pro, I think that IB might have made other guitars with different configs in the same space but that just seems impossible for a Japanese guitar manufacturer.

To answer the question not having any tone control, I think I'd always want a tone control on a guitar just because it offers you range and flexibility in your sound.

For the pickups

• Neck - Gibson 57 Classic - As a person that cant stand Gibson now I think this is something I'd always recommend just because it has a great tone. The other option is a Seymour Duncan one which I cant remember off the top of my head but it has a Strat lead tone if you're into that kind of sound.
• Bridge - DiMarzio DP100 or EMG 58 for those loud and hot tones when you're playing rhythm. I've used the EMG on a guitar and I love how out of control it can get with the heat it packs. 

[Dr. Gonzo]

2 hours ago, Mel81x said:

The original Edge's do have a locking nut and if yours does then its probably not the Edge Pro, I think that IB might have made other guitars with different configs in the same space but that just seems impossible for a Japanese guitar manufacturer.

To answer the question not having any tone control, I think I'd always want a tone control on a guitar just because it offers you range and flexibility in your sound.

For the pickups

• Neck - Gibson 57 Classic - As a person that cant stand Gibson now I think this is something I'd always recommend just because it has a great tone. The other option is a Seymour Duncan one which I cant remember off the top of my head but it has a Strat lead tone if you're into that kind of sound.
• Bridge - DiMarzio DP100 or EMG 58 for those loud and hot tones when you're playing rhythm. I've used the EMG on a guitar and I love how out of control it can get with the heat it packs. 

There’s 3(?) kinds of Edge Pros it looks like, and one(?) isn’t double locking and the others are. I’m pretty sure I’ve identified the right bridge, finally. Weirdly, looks like the Ibanez Edge doesn’t fit - but a Floyd or a Gotoh double locking trem will. Btw didn’t know Gotoh made double locking trems. I’ll probably just get a Floyd though because of familiarity.

Thankfully there’s a load of resources online about this, because Ibanez certainly didn’t make keeping track of all of this easy  - god bless all of the Ibanez fanboys out there for keeping track of everything.

Is the Seymour Duncan you’re thinking of the 59? Didn’t think to consider a Gibson pickup, but seems like something to consider for sure.

I think the bridge pickup is the hardest pick for me lol. So many incredible options.

[Mel81x+]

5 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

There’s 3(?) kinds of Edge Pros it looks like, and one(?) isn’t double locking and the others are. I’m pretty sure I’ve identified the right bridge, finally. Weirdly, looks like the Ibanez Edge doesn’t fit - but a Floyd or a Gotoh double locking trem will. Btw didn’t know Gotoh made double locking trems. I’ll probably just get a Floyd though because of familiarity.

Thankfully there’s a load of resources online about this, because Ibanez certainly didn’t make keeping track of all of this easy  - god bless all of the Ibanez fanboys out there for keeping track of everything.

Is the Seymour Duncan you’re thinking of the 59? Didn’t think to consider a Gibson pickup, but seems like something to consider for sure.

I think the bridge pickup is the hardest pick for me lol. So many incredible options.

This is the part that always confuses me about the Edge because there are variations is which ones have the locking and which dont. I am pretty sure the Pro does and then the original does but the mid range one doesn't but I could be wrong again. I personally quite like Gotoh but just like you I have never experienced their trems just their awesome-sauce which is locking tuners.

I do think its the SD-59 as I did some research online to find it and came across this.

https://www.seymourduncan.com/pickup/59-neck

As for bridge pickups, man the world is your oyster now. Used to be a time you'd be limited and I do know you had a guitar in your bucket that was an ESP and I remember watching a video discussion with JHS where he explicitly said that running an EMG into the signal chain produced some incredible sound so I figure why not recommend it haha. As for me personally I think I'd go with the DiMarzio just because its more my sound.

My discovery into mics has been halted temporarily while in lockdown but I will be getting the Shure SM7B as I contacted a YouTuber I know and she said that the benefits of using it versus most other mics is that it really accentuates the vocals and as your friend said its great in a home-studio setup.

Send a pic before you get started I really want to see this beast. 

[Dr. Gonzo]

18 hours ago, Mel81x said:

This is the part that always confuses me about the Edge because there are variations is which ones have the locking and which dont. I am pretty sure the Pro does and then the original does but the mid range one doesn't but I could be wrong again. I personally quite like Gotoh but just like you I have never experienced their trems just their awesome-sauce which is locking tuners.

I do think its the SD-59 as I did some research online to find it and came across this.

https://www.seymourduncan.com/pickup/59-neck

As for bridge pickups, man the world is your oyster now. Used to be a time you'd be limited and I do know you had a guitar in your bucket that was an ESP and I remember watching a video discussion with JHS where he explicitly said that running an EMG into the signal chain produced some incredible sound so I figure why not recommend it haha. As for me personally I think I'd go with the DiMarzio just because its more my sound.

My discovery into mics has been halted temporarily while in lockdown but I will be getting the Shure SM7B as I contacted a YouTuber I know and she said that the benefits of using it versus most other mics is that it really accentuates the vocals and as your friend said its great in a home-studio setup.

Send a pic before you get started I really want to see this beast. 

Ibanez is great, but holy shit the way they name things or how they’ve got like 8 billion variants of things with the same name - incredibly confusing.

Here’s a pic from before I started doing anything on it. So it had the strings that were on it from the guy who gave it to me - he estimated he changed them over a decade ago. The blue specs on it are paint. I can’t get them off so I’m just keeping them as I guess it gives it character 

But it’s already in a bit better shape with new strings, the neck relief adjusted and the bridge set up.

[Mel81x+]

10 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

Ibanez is great, but holy shit the way they name things or how they’ve got like 8 billion variants of things with the same name - incredibly confusing.

Here’s a pic from before I started doing anything on it. So it had the strings that were on it from the guy who gave it to me - he estimated he changed them over a decade ago. The blue specs on it are paint. I can’t get them off so I’m just keeping them as I guess it gives it character 

But it’s already in a bit better shape with new strings, the neck relief adjusted and the bridge set up.

To this day I have never owned a fully black guitar. I can't do it for some reason and I have no idea why because I think they look so awesome till I hold one in my hand and think nah not for me. I need some accents or color on them and even my Gretsch has white outlays on it too and ... its back its a nice dark-red-mahogany finish not black haha.

Also, because I know some of us on here were at one point practicing and talking pedals take a look at this.

 

[Dr. Gonzo]

@Mel81x lol those songs sound weird clean.

I am thankful I got this trem in working order, because the ship time on the Floyd Rose I just ordered is (understandably) delayed. It’s understandable though - it’s obviously not essential.

I’ll probably hold off on getting the pickups. I was going to get a pair of Seymour Duncan’s - the ‘59 we talked about for the neck and a Custom 5 in the bridge. It’s supposed to be a good pairing and the Custom 5 (to my ears on the samples online) is a bit nicer sounding than some of the other options I was looking at.

I was going to get them used off Reverb to save some cash. But I think now I’ll buy them from my local shop once shops reopen - this is a tough time for smaller local shops and I’m still getting paid and working like normal. So I think if I can help them out that’s better for the music world than letting another cool small shop get killed off by international retailers.

It’s a bit shit, because the pickups are probably what this guitar needs switched out the most. But the world’s a bit shit right now and me and this project guitar can wait.

[Mel81x+]

2 hours ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

@Mel81x lol those songs sound weird clean.

I am thankful I got this trem in working order, because the ship time on the Floyd Rose I just ordered is (understandably) delayed. It’s understandable though - it’s obviously not essential.

I’ll probably hold off on getting the pickups. I was going to get a pair of Seymour Duncan’s - the ‘59 we talked about for the neck and a Custom 5 in the bridge. It’s supposed to be a good pairing and the Custom 5 (to my ears on the samples online) is a bit nicer sounding than some of the other options I was looking at.

I was going to get them used off Reverb to save some cash. But I think now I’ll buy them from my local shop once shops reopen - this is a tough time for smaller local shops and I’m still getting paid and working like normal. So I think if I can help them out that’s better for the music world than letting another cool small shop get killed off by international retailers.

It’s a bit shit, because the pickups are probably what this guitar needs switched out the most. But the world’s a bit shit right now and me and this project guitar can wait.

Its sad whats going on with small businesses. The music school I went to for a refresher is trying to do online courses but then I think to myself why would anyone want to pay to watch a video when they get the same content on YouTube. The real benefit of a class is the instructor fixing issues with your posture, technique, etc and that really can't come from an online session (I know I have tried). 

Once the world gets its feet back I think a lot of stuff is going to be back on track and music shops will take the worst hit because they'll have to start selling stuff and I can see things going up in price not down honestly. 

[Dr. Gonzo]

@Mel81x… I remember thinking this while I was researching the different Ibanez trems out there on the hunt to correctly identify mine. I just didn't care too much about it at the time because I knew I had a double-locking trem… but... what's the point of a single-locking trem?

Like why would anyone want one over like say a "normal" Fender-style trem system? Doesn't the tuning stability from a Floyd/Edge style trem come from the fact it's locked at the nut & the bridge. I just don't see what locking the strings just at the bridge, while they're unlocked at the nut, does any differently than a non-locking trem?

Maybe there's something I'm missing... but I think the fact Ibanez doesn't really make single-locking trems anymore, maybe means they were trying to solve a problem they didn't really solve with a single locking tremolo. Although, I'm not really sure - it also looks like Ibanez doesn't make any of the Edge-Pro bridges anymore, single or double locking. 

[Mel81x+]

36 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

@Mel81x… I remember thinking this while I was researching the different Ibanez trems out there on the hunt to correctly identify mine. I just didn't care too much about it at the time because I knew I had a double-locking trem… but... what's the point of a single-locking trem?

Like why would anyone want one over like say a "normal" Fender-style trem system? Doesn't the tuning stability from a Floyd/Edge style trem come from the fact it's locked at the nut & the bridge. I just don't see what locking the strings just at the bridge, while they're unlocked at the nut, does any differently than a non-locking trem?

Maybe there's something I'm missing... but I think the fact Ibanez doesn't really make single-locking trems anymore, maybe means they were trying to solve a problem they didn't really solve with a single locking tremolo. Although, I'm not really sure - it also looks like Ibanez doesn't make any of the Edge-Pro bridges anymore, single or double locking. 

So, this comes from some reading I did when I wanted to get an RG and I started reading about all the different types of trem systems Ibanez ever made and the whole reasoning for that Single-Lock trem system to even exist is because the Floyd Rose Licensing and Ownership structure expired in 2002. Until then they were the only name int he business who could do it legally and if you took it off them you had to pay them money for it. Come 2002 and Ibanez went back and got better licensing and then started creating even more variations with the double locking mechanism. 

Single-locks are horribly notorious for losing tune faster than a double and have major stability issues as well. Its also why some of the cheaper Japanese models today still do it in certain variants to keep that old trem alive their Edge system really is what you want from them because with a single-system you're asking for more damage than just tuning if you want to go crazy with your bends.