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Post by grampalerxst on Jun 14, 2020 5:07:48 GMT -6
Almost halfway through June already.
I got self conscious about bends after they got discussed in one of the other threads so my L-hand feels like I've been lifting weights with it all week from having spent extra time working on them.
Worked on the BLYCU challenge lick a little every day. It's coming along but don't have a chorus yet, just some disjoint ideas.
Faithfully grinding away on the Electric Gypsy Intro section. Seems like there's a distinct lack of "musicality" when I play it independent of the original, which is something I need to start doing more regularly.
Looking at the week ahead I'm hoping to finish up with lick 5 of the BLYCU challenge and keep everything else inching forward in parallel.
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Post by jack1982 on Jun 14, 2020 6:31:45 GMT -6
I had a good week of practice, my fingertips were actually getting a bit sore a couple of days lol. I'm still working on writing a solo for that Active Melody challenge, got about 1 1/2 minutes done now. It's funny, you can write a minute of stuff in a couple of days, then spend the better part of a week writing the next ten seconds. I guess you could call the first minute a "melodic accompaniment" while now I'm into the "guitar solo" part, above the 12th fret and with a few "cheap runs" here and there, so those constraints slow me down. I'm kind of to the end of the solo now, but there a couple weeks left before it's due, so I guess I'll see where the muse takes me  Planning on getting busy with lick #5 this week - so don't make me run any laps just yet Bruce  I was trying the Ableton DAW but I gave up on that. Besides it being unnecessarily complex to change the tempo without changing the pitch, one of the things I do very often is to loop the backing track and record take after take until I get one with an acceptable number of mistakes. I took a look at how to do that in Ableton and even the guy explaining it said "this is fairly complicated." Reaper does it completely automatically for chrissakes. I guess I'll put up with my microscopic VST plugins in Reaper, seems like a small inconvenience in comparison to just about everything in Ableton. |
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Post by bluesbruce on Jun 14, 2020 7:00:01 GMT -6
Kind of had a marginal week. I think I actually had two days where I didn't pick up the guitar at all - I find those to be the worst, because even if I tell myself "I'll pick it up for 5 minutes" I've found that (1) it usually turns into longer than that and (2) even five minutes is infinitely better than zero. Maybe the worst thing about days not picking up the guitar is that they seem to all to easily segue into weeks or even months... So it is vitally important to pick it up some every day! Did play BLYCU Lick 5 some - haven't really put anything with it yet.
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Post by grampalerxst on Jun 14, 2020 7:54:02 GMT -6
I was trying the Ableton DAW but I gave up on that. Besides it being unnecessarily complex to change the tempo without changing the pitch, one of the things I do very often is to loop the backing track and record take after take until I get one with an acceptable number of mistakes. I took a look at how to do that in Ableton and even the guy explaining it said "this is fairly complicated." Reaper does it completely automatically for chrissakes. I guess I'll put up with my microscopic VST plugins in Reaper, seems like a small inconvenience in comparison to just about everything in Ableton. I'm using Cakewalk by Bandlab. Nowadays it is free. I'd bought the old Cakewalk many years ago when it was barely more than a sequencer, and later upgraded to sonar with lifetime upgrades for $$$. Gibson dumped Sonar a year later, eventually sold it to Bandlab, and Sonar reappeared as Cakewalk by Bandlab for free (Grrr - that is why I will probably never buy a Gibson guitar). Anyway, it has a "comp" record mode where it does what you describe: loops through a section and allows you to record take after take, so probably similar to Reaper. Also, there's some fancy stuff associated with the mode where you can readily take fractions of different individual takes and meld them into a single take. I haven't tried any of that yet--it looks a little complicated and my goal isn't creating good digital audio files, it's learning to play. I do like you do, just keep at it until I get a take that isn't too awful.
If you don't mind my asking, what's the appeal of Ableton that got you looking into it?
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Post by Phil on Jun 14, 2020 9:28:36 GMT -6
Been working quite a bit on Jazz Blues recently including walking bass with chord "stabs" on Blues. Also learned another Jazz standard, "Night and Day." I'm getting pretty comfortable with chord progressions - memorizing them quickly and working in additional movement is starting to get easier. I'm not making great progress, but at this stage I'll take any progress at all as a positive. Jack, Ableton Lite was the first DAW I ever used. It came free with something. Maybe my amp? I switched to Reaper at some point and never looked back. Recently I've been reading about more and more people who have moved from very expensive DAWs like Pro Tools and Cubase to Reaper and love it. |
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Post by wannaplayblues on Jun 14, 2020 11:29:07 GMT -6
Well, I got another lesson finished this week from the other site - and recorded it today. At the moment I seem to have switched to enjoying the sound of the VOX AC30 with some slight dirt in the tone. It's what I use for most things now - so enjoy this one, it has a great feel to it! Also, take note of the new backdrop. It's what I mentioned last week. It's just fabric - but looks incredibly like real wood on screen as far as I can tell. See, my production values just keep getting better  Next it's improved video recording... better lighting... blah blah blah |
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Post by jack1982 on Jun 14, 2020 14:31:53 GMT -6
I was trying the Ableton DAW but I gave up on that. Besides it being unnecessarily complex to change the tempo without changing the pitch, one of the things I do very often is to loop the backing track and record take after take until I get one with an acceptable number of mistakes. I took a look at how to do that in Ableton and even the guy explaining it said "this is fairly complicated." Reaper does it completely automatically for chrissakes. I guess I'll put up with my microscopic VST plugins in Reaper, seems like a small inconvenience in comparison to just about everything in Ableton. I'm using Cakewalk by Bandlab. Nowadays it is free. I'd bought the old Cakewalk many years ago when it was barely more than a sequencer, and later upgraded to sonar with lifetime upgrades for $$$. Gibson dumped Sonar a year later, eventually sold it to Bandlab, and Sonar reappeared as Cakewalk by Bandlab for free (Grrr - that is why I will probably never buy a Gibson guitar). Anyway, it has a "comp" record mode where it does what you describe: loops through a section and allows you to record take after take, so probably similar to Reaper. Also, there's some fancy stuff associated with the mode where you can readily take fractions of different individual takes and meld them into a single take. I haven't tried any of that yet--it looks a little complicated and my goal isn't creating good digital audio files, it's learning to play. I do like you do, just keep at it until I get a take that isn't too awful.
If you don't mind my asking, what's the appeal of Ableton that got you looking into it?
I was interested in Ableton because I got a 4K monitor about a year or so ago, and although I got Reaper itself to display correctly on it, my VST plugins are displayed way too small.  You can drag the sides of the box to be larger, but what's inside the box stays the same size. In Ableton it looks like this - a little bigger lol.  Reaper also lets you edit together the best parts of multiple takes - it's especially easy if all the takes are on the same track, you just "split" the track wherever you want, click on one take before the split and another after. I'll probably end up sticking with Reaper, and just keep my reading glasses nearby lol (not really what I bought a 32" monitor to do). |
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Post by jack1982 on Jun 14, 2020 14:35:21 GMT -6
Great job on that wannaplayblues! Nicely played, nicely recorded, nice everything I like that background too, I'll have to see if I can find one with a farm field in the background |
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Post by blackcountrymick on Jun 14, 2020 16:03:28 GMT -6
Another nice job there WPB, a lesson a week of this quality is really something. I guess it's a real indicator of the progress you are making using Brian's site.
Not a bad practice week for me but have fallen short of a video, I have got the speed up to 100% but very scrappy, best tempo for me is about 90% but is still lacking in any sort of musicality. I also discovered that the backing track for the lesson has a mid section of 8 bars where there is no example tabs for so it would be good to see if I can compose something in the style of!! Another challenge!!
Talking of which, I have been dabbling with Lick 5 but not developed anything listenable yet.
So it's rinse and repeat for next week.
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Post by grampalerxst on Jun 15, 2020 4:11:33 GMT -6
I was interested in Ableton because I got a 4K monitor about a year or so ago, and although I got Reaper itself to display correctly on it, my VST plugins are displayed way too small. You can drag the sides of the box to be larger, but what's inside the box stays the same size. In Ableton it looks like this - a little bigger lol. Reaper also lets you edit together the best parts of multiple takes - it's especially easy if all the takes are on the same track, you just "split" the track wherever you want, click on one take before the split and another after. I'll probably end up sticking with Reaper, and just keep my reading glasses nearby lol (not really what I bought a 32" monitor to do). Ah, okay. That makes sense. What you described is pretty much what Cakewalk does, also lets you supposedly audition before you do any actual cutting and pasting. My monitor is pretty Plain Jane so I dunno how it would handle plugin graphics with a better display. Cakewalk is a pretty good DAW, but I don't know of anything that would cause me to recommend it over Reaper. |
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Post by Marc on Jun 15, 2020 23:51:18 GMT -6
I feel a little like that double rainbow guy and I'm seeing some effort recently start to pay off. I had a good week of guitar playing. I'm still working on some bends and trying to get them on the money. Main reason for that was in watching a gear guide to how to sound like David Gilmore, the reviewer said you had to get your bends right or you will not sound right. I guess it's true, tone is in the fingers. I might be a bad influence. grampalerxst I had another video send me down a rabbit hole. I was watching this video from Guitar Teacher REACTS on Scarlet Begonias / Fire On The Mountain" CORNELL 77' Grateful Dead LIVE. It's about an hour long but it got me thinking. First about 3rd hunting and being able to hit the 3rd of the chord being played sounds really melodic. The second that when you strip things down to simple ideas you have more ranges to experiment (fire on the mountain is a 2 chord song B and A). The third is I need to learn more songs. I sat down with my acoustic and tried to learn some Grateful Dead songs (i'm on a bit of a kick). Last time I did this I got frustrated with a chord, rhythm or lick and went back to my guitar books. This time, I emerged a few hours later with achy fingers with a hand full of songs under my belt. The effort I've been putting forth in learning some theory, triads, CAGED, and even some pentatonic scales are paying off. I've not been this excited about playing music in so long.
Double Rainbow rant is over...
wannaplayblues nice tune. Your video posts have had me looking at that other site, nice work.
@jack1982i've always been frustrated with how reaper displays VST's i feel your pain. I have been using Cakewalk by bandlabs for a year or so since i learned it was free. I recently got a deal on an upgrade of Presonus Studio One so that's been my new DAW of choice.
also truefire is having a blues special run, but one thing i've really enjoyed is the Rev. Jones blues history and trivia section. I've included a link to the youtube playlist
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Post by wannaplayblues on Jun 16, 2020 2:16:44 GMT -6
Thanks for all the positive comments. The other site is nice in that there are literally hundreds of lessons and you can pick and choose at your leisure. With a new lesson every Friday, you'll be hard pressed to be bored. Certainly allows you to change things up quite quickly and freely - but still always pushing forward in your playing.
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Post by wannaplayblues on Jun 16, 2020 2:50:33 GMT -6
My thoughts on Reaper... Recently I found out that Reaper is now supporting Linux (experimentally). Having heard so much about it, I *had* to give it a go.
The Good- Initial thoughts - I'm impressed. The layout and workings make sense to me
- My backing tracks sync with the bar lines - as long as the tempo is set right. I never managed to get this correct in my other DAW, but in Reaper it just does. Perhaps 'cos the backing tracks are made by people using Reaper too?!? (I'm guessing here). It's certainly easier to sync things up and see where my timing is out.
- Excellent licencing scheme - seriously, I'm impressed with how cheap it is in comparison to almost everything else commercial.
- BEST BIT - the audio just seems better. I don't know if it has internal equaliser or something, but the quality just sounds better (and the OS hasn't changed). Even my wife has noticed this.
- MIX is better by default. Another thing I've noticed, the blend/mix of the tracks just seems better by default. It's like the stuff I record just sits in the mix nicely - and no, I'm not doing anything, I don't have the skill.
The Bad- Exporting the audio is overly complex - especially if you want to specify Start and End points. I actually had to read the manual for this.
- VSTs are limited to me as I'm on an alternate OS.
- Some bits seem confusing - like recording another take on the same track makes layers within the track (so you can select portions, I get that) but how do you remove an entire layer from a track if Take2 was better than Take1
Notes
For clarity, this is my setup for recording - Guitar -> guitar cable -> Amp
- Amp XLR out -> XLR cable -> USB audio interface
The amp master volume can be set to zero as it has no impact on XLR out (silent recording achieved!)
- USB audio read by JACK audio server on Linux;
JACK is the Linux solution to minimal audio latency, I think mine is around 23ms (yes, milliseconds!!!) - Reaper reads audio from JACK
These are only my thoughts - your mileage may vary 
If it keeps on like this - I'll be buying a licence next month when the trial period ends. I think the wife will have a hard time refusing it as even she's noticed the overall improvement in sound quality.
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Post by grampalerxst on Jun 16, 2020 6:24:08 GMT -6
... the reviewer said you had to get your bends right or you will not sound right. I guess it's true, tone is in the fingers. I might be a bad influence. grampalerxst ... No worries, it's always good to circle back and revisit technical details periodically. I seem to have a cycle of focusing on something and getting it as good as I can at the time, then just using it while focusing elsewhere. Maybe a year or something will go by and over that time I develop the potential to do better at the old focus item, but I don't realize much of that new potential unless I go back and obsess over it again. My hands don't just vacuum up ability--I have to dedicate time and go build it up. It's a good time to get back into bends--I know that because I'm making some discernable progress in that area.
Good to hear you are also making progress and excited about playing. I've been feeling the same, and in my case it is thanks to Bruce and the challenge.
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Post by cunningr on Jun 16, 2020 9:38:59 GMT -6
Late to the game wife had me painting all week end, now cant move lol. Anyway starting on Freddie King Shes a Burglar. I am doing no justice to the tune start back in person classes this week, so I think it will help.
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Post by joachim on Jun 16, 2020 12:43:17 GMT -6
My thoughts on Reaper... Recently I found out that Reaper is now supporting Linux (experimentally). Having heard so much about it, I *had* to give it a go.
The Good- Initial thoughts - I'm impressed. The layout and workings make sense to me
- My backing tracks sync with the bar lines - as long as the tempo is set right. I never managed to get this correct in my other DAW, but in Reaper it just does. Perhaps 'cos the backing tracks are made by people using Reaper too?!? (I'm guessing here). It's certainly easier to sync things up and see where my timing is out.
- Excellent licencing scheme - seriously, I'm impressed with how cheap it is in comparison to almost everything else commercial.
- BEST BIT - the audio just seems better. I don't know if it has internal equaliser or something, but the quality just sounds better (and the OS hasn't changed). Even my wife has noticed this.
- MIX is better by default. Another thing I've noticed, the blend/mix of the tracks just seems better by default. It's like the stuff I record just sits in the mix nicely - and no, I'm not doing anything, I don't have the skill.
The Bad- Exporting the audio is overly complex - especially if you want to specify Start and End points. I actually had to read the manual for this.
- VSTs are limited to me as I'm on an alternate OS.
- Some bits seem confusing - like recording another take on the same track makes layers within the track (so you can select portions, I get that) but how do you remove an entire layer from a track if Take2 was better than Take1
Notes
For clarity, this is my setup for recording - Guitar -> guitar cable -> Amp
- Amp XLR out -> XLR cable -> USB audio interface
The amp master volume can be set to zero as it has no impact on XLR out (silent recording achieved!)
- USB audio read by JACK audio server on Linux;
JACK is the Linux solution to minimal audio latency, I think mine is around 23ms (yes, milliseconds!!!) - Reaper reads audio from JACK
These are only my thoughts - your mileage may vary
If it keeps on like this - I'll be buying a licence next month when the trial period ends. I think the wife will have a hard time refusing it as even she's noticed the overall improvement in sound quality.
WPB, I think your JACK buffer size is too high if you have such a high latency. I normally use 128 samples, which gives me a low latency and doesn't seem to give drop-outs. |
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Post by Marc on Jun 16, 2020 21:03:06 GMT -6
My thoughts on Reaper... Recently I found out that Reaper is now supporting Linux (experimentally). Having heard so much about it, I *had* to give it a go.
The Good- Initial thoughts - I'm impressed. The layout and workings make sense to me
- My backing tracks sync with the bar lines - as long as the tempo is set right. I never managed to get this correct in my other DAW, but in Reaper it just does. Perhaps 'cos the backing tracks are made by people using Reaper too?!? (I'm guessing here). It's certainly easier to sync things up and see where my timing is out.
- Excellent licencing scheme - seriously, I'm impressed with how cheap it is in comparison to almost everything else commercial.
- BEST BIT - the audio just seems better. I don't know if it has internal equaliser or something, but the quality just sounds better (and the OS hasn't changed). Even my wife has noticed this.
- MIX is better by default. Another thing I've noticed, the blend/mix of the tracks just seems better by default. It's like the stuff I record just sits in the mix nicely - and no, I'm not doing anything, I don't have the skill.
The Bad- Exporting the audio is overly complex - especially if you want to specify Start and End points. I actually had to read the manual for this.
- VSTs are limited to me as I'm on an alternate OS.
- Some bits seem confusing - like recording another take on the same track makes layers within the track (so you can select portions, I get that) but how do you remove an entire layer from a track if Take2 was better than Take1
Notes
For clarity, this is my setup for recording - Guitar -> guitar cable -> Amp
- Amp XLR out -> XLR cable -> USB audio interface
The amp master volume can be set to zero as it has no impact on XLR out (silent recording achieved!)
- USB audio read by JACK audio server on Linux;
JACK is the Linux solution to minimal audio latency, I think mine is around 23ms (yes, milliseconds!!!) - Reaper reads audio from JACK
These are only my thoughts - your mileage may vary
If it keeps on like this - I'll be buying a licence next month when the trial period ends. I think the wife will have a hard time refusing it as even she's noticed the overall improvement in sound quality.
Have you looked at ardour? if your running Linux, it seems like a fascinating project, i've been following for a few years. |
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Post by joachim on Jun 17, 2020 7:26:40 GMT -6
Marc, I've also tried Ardour - it looks really slick. If I had to learn a new DAW from scratch, I'd probably give it go...
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Post by wannaplayblues on Jun 17, 2020 7:34:28 GMT -6
WPB, I think your JACK buffer size is too high if you have such a high latency. I normally use 128 samples, which gives me a low latency and doesn't seem to give drop-outs. Will have a look at that - the lower the samples the more processor power it uses as it represents the delay cycles. Perhaps I can afford to lower it... |
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Post by wannaplayblues on Jun 17, 2020 7:37:16 GMT -6
Have you looked at ardour? if your running Linux, it seems like a fascinating project, i've been following for a few years. Yeah, Ardour is what I was using prior to Reaper. My thoughts are based upon my experience of the differences between the two.
As I said, I can't help but feel the mix, balance and track alignment were far better in Reaper than Ardour.
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