We record music. I focus on tape recorders, such as reel to reel machines like the teac 40-4, and four track cassette recorders like the tascam 414 MkII. Microphone preamps, tube mic pres, Ribbon mics, Cassette tapes, Guitars and Vintage guitar amps, great sounding mics- these are things that I feel deserve attention in the world of digital audio and DAWs. Not obsolete, these recorders are more viable now than ever, and should be used! Vintage gear rules!
Halloween
dance song cartoon is here! Haunted Halloween "Feed the Halloween Pack" is a scary song for you
and your kids to DANCE to! Do the Monster Mash!! It's a real
thriller....
Haunted Halloween "Feed the Halloween Pack" is written and recorded by Frank Olson:
www.vintagemusictech.blogspot.com
Happy Halloween!
Lyrics:
Verse
I haven't seen a soul since I crawled out of bed,
My legs move but I don't see any muscles there,
Chorus
I need to be on the Halloween path
I need to feed on the halloween pack
Verse
People scream when I cross their crooked path,
They haven't seen what I've seen or they would be scared
Chorus
Solo
Hahahaha!!!
I need a brain.
I don't care what it takes!
Get me a Brain!!!
Chorus
I just haven't had a chance to get my head on straight
I just haven't had a chance to get my head on straight...
Here's some Ambient Indie rock music... Deep and dark! For those of us who love big drums and distant guitars! I've allowed some judicious use of a few major label songs that aren't too popular!
Featuring:
The Flaming Lips - Race For The Prize (Official Music Video)
Here's a song I recorded COMPLETELY with the POD HD500X Mic preamp and a vocal patch I like to use. I used the internal POD Microphone preamplifier to record the acoustic guitar, drums, guitar solo- even the tambourine! All with a Shure SM57!
The first section is performance, the last half demonstrates how to hook up a mic to the HD500x and use the software preamp and fx.
First, you have to hook up your XLR mic cable to the back of the POD HD500X. Then set the trim gain.
Now, you have to go into the SYS/IO menu. Under input 1, you have to select Mic. Now the mic preamp will work for your channel.
Find the Effect "Vintage pre" and adjust the gain settings so you don't hear any distortion from your microphone in your headphones. If it's way too loud or soft, remember to adjust the trim gain on the back of the Pod.
Add reverb and delay if you like. Even the pitch shifter has a cool effect on a mic!
Let me know if you have any questions!
Also, subscribe here, if you're on Spotify!!
Here are the best Halloween songs for your party music! Top 10 includes straight off the chart hits for your dancing pleasure. Michael Jackson, Eurythmics, ELO, Ray Parker Jr., Danny Elfman, and a few surprises!
Here's a little Indie folk youtube playlist to tame your acoustic guitar fix! Plenty of acoustic guitar, vocals and room miked big drum sounds!
Have a great Fall, 2016
Featuring:
Daughter - Youth
Sons of the East - California
Dustin Tebbutt - Bones [Official video]
Amber Run - I Found
Kaleo - I Walk on Water (Official audio)
Avalanche City - Inside Out (Official Music Video)
Moldy Peaches - "Anyone Else But You" w/ Lyrics
Bon Iver - Skinny Love
Arcade Fire - Headlights look like diamonds (with lyrics)
Sons Of The East - Hold On [Official Video]
Plenty of acoustic guitar and some ambient sounds as well. Some deep and dark indie songs!
I was excited to try the iRig 2 guitar interface from IK Multimedia, since I've used an older version of Amplitube in the past with nice results. However, the more time I spent trying to use the device and included "Free" software(which is a download from your app store of choice) the more frustrated I grew. This continued to the point that I simply do not want to use the device, or the software app any longer.
I'll start with the advertisements, since that was one of the issues that was hardest to overcome. Upon downloading "Amplitube Free" the user is bombarded with pop-up ads to purchase upgrades to the software which promise more functionality. Further, IK Multimedia uses these opportunities to inform you that you could be using better hardware than you just purchased, by relentlessly advertising their UA or HD lines of products. Beyond annoying.
Watch the video, you'll see 4 advertisements in less than 60 seconds. Ridiculous.
Moving away from the software for a moment, I'd like to take a moment to talk about the interface itself. The overall feel is not bad, the edges of the seams feel a little sharp. The gain knob which peeks through the side, isn't protruding far enough to confidently turn it up or down. The same goes for the FX Through switch.
The knob and switch are recessed too far...
My biggest complaint about the actual interface is that the cable is too short. It's about 6 inches, including the plug, which is about 1 inch long. Add the strain relief connecting the cable to the device, and now we're at about 4.5 usable inches of cable. That is incredibly inconvenient. When it was plugged into my phone, I was constantly concerned that the weight of the guitar and amp cables was going to pull the whole unit onto the floor. IK addresses this with an added mic-stand-velcro-strap for the device. But wait a minute, if my iRig 2 is connected to the mic stand, where is my phone going to logically sit less than 4.5 inches away? Also, how long before the short, somewhat stiff cable destroys the jack on my phone?
That's a pretty short cable...
Well, back to the app. If you've made it this far with this device, you are a very patient person. The Amplitube Free app would be okay without all the Nag-ware and Ad-Ware, but I don't foresee a version without a bunch of upselling. That is a shame.
The Marshall amp clone sounded fine in the app, but I could generally hear the pulsing of the phone CPU. The two included delays did a good job of masking that, and they sounded very good. I was able to coax some nice tape delay sounds from it. The included amp was also very noisy at most gain levels. True, a real marshall amp is sometimes hissy at high gain, but not like the app, which is a bit over the top. A noise reduction pedal is standard issue with Amplitube Free, it does a decent job of eq-ing out the noise.
The tuner was not great. It took a few moments to even register the note, and then it never really wanted to settle on the actual tune of the note.
A distortion pedal is available for people who wish to go through the trouble of registering the device. No, thank you.
Conclusion:
I think a device like this is a bit of a novelty to begin with. It could be a fun piece of gear, but IK Multimedia has instead made it difficult to use with the "Free" version of Amplitube in hopes that end-users might be coerced into buying an app or hardware thats better or easier to use. To me, that says: "Stay Away." And so, I will.
