This conversation is going to send me to a Guitar Center to play around with some new equipment/configurations for awhile. And here I thought Christmas wasn't going to be that expensive...

Decent demo I just did with the POD X3 Live using the Big Bottom Amp model. It just sounds so beefy to me.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_so ... ID=7172532

Dude im liking the tone you got out of that alot, sweet song too, 'BIOTICA'. Meshuggah like
Been using the X3 live aswell and have achieved quite a few different tones to my liking, but that one is pure beef! Good work

Thanks man! My friend is going to be doing vocals over it soon too, I might just use his take and put it over the final version.

Sounds good to me bro, when its finished let me know i wouldn't mind hearing the finished version, got some of my band stuff being finished as we speak so i'll post up my samples of the x3 soon aswell.

I'd love to know the settings Devin used for Zilly though.

Decent demo I just did with the POD X3 Live using the Big Bottom Amp model. It just sounds so beefy to me.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_so ... ID=7172532

Dude im liking the tone you got out of that alot, sweet song too, 'BIOTICA'. Meshuggah like
Been using the X3 live aswell and have achieved quite a few different tones to my liking, but that one is pure beef! Good work

Thanks man! My friend is going to be doing vocals over it soon too, I might just use his take and put it over the final version.

Sounds good to me bro, when its finished let me know i wouldn't mind hearing the finished version, got some of my band stuff being finished as we speak so i'll post up my samples of the x3 soon aswell.

I'd love to know the settings Devin used for Zilly though.

You said you use an RG321ex if I read that right? I have an RG3EXFM1 and I absolutely love it. Fixed bridge with some Ibanez pickups that look and sound like EMGs. I love the damn thing and cant stand stop playing it. That demo was recorded with my ESP LTD M-207 though(awesome guitar)

The secret to my tone? Big Bottom model, Treadplate cab, 421 mic, boost+eq stomp effect. Tweak away!

If Ziltoid was done with the Pod XT then were Impulses used for cabinet emulation? I know Meshuggah uses those. I would be very surprised if the stock pod cabinet emulations were used as they're kind of blocky and have way too many digital artifacts. I believe ravalver lets you drop in impulses on the fly...

I've found the best sound for metal and solo recordings are when I use an engl impulse. Clean modeling I just use the pod cabinet emulator.

[The Dev]

Ziltoid was the treadplate with the default cab, close mic'd with a tube screamer.

When I get to the studio I'll have a closer look.

Really simple though, took me 5 minutes and I started tracking.

Hm...

I should get some awesome guitar stuff, and then I could be all like "Yes, I use my salmon stomper X4 for my crunchy sounds." Then I'd be cool like all of you. ;-; Hee hee.

[The Dev]

Well I doubt you'll find much support for the Salmon Stomper around here, thats some old technology...it had a good chorus though.

Devin... This is going to sound strange, but, may I ask a really, random question? It's nothing bad I promise you.

I... Can't think of anything witty to come back with. So I'll just imagine what the salmon stomper would look like.

All I've got is a Salmon head, and the eyes bulge when you stomp on it.

Ziltoid was the treadplate with the default cab, close mic'd with a tube screamer.

When I get to the studio I'll have a closer look.

Really simple though, took me 5 minutes and I started tracking.

Great!!!!



i went and took a look at the fractal axe in a store because of this, i'm gonna have to get me a copy, sounds great! hows all of this compare to guitarRig for you guys? or is that just a standerd plug in? not good at tube emulating?

Dev, Great to hear that your style is changing, molding and growing.............the amp and timefactor, i can imagine what clean tones youd get with the gretshe, really yummy stuff...

Oh man this post just about made my year! Remember, behind every great guitarist, is great bassist!! *snap snap* Isn't that how that phrase went, wasn't there a song about that?

What? No? Ok. Well, Devin speaks the truth here:

OK Bass...

I Freaking LOVE bass...as much as guitar, more sometimes. In some ways it's a very 'spiritual' instrument. I grounds me, if everything is a vibration, bass is the earth mover...nay the UNIVERSE mover...

My bass thoughts...

Yes to Massive Attack, Kai Ekhardt and Godflesh, Nay to Victor Wooten. Bass should play bass. Minimal, low, huge, subtle and organic. My favorite basses are Sadowsky modern 5 24s , Warwick Dolphin Pro NI (although the low string flops) and fretless 5s. In fact, FRETLESS is the sound, an alien fundamental. The 'producers' instrument. I DO NOT appreciate bass solos or bass noodling. Play a guitar if thats your deal. Hold the ladder if youre controlling the universal fundamental.

Put two guitarists in a room and within 3 minutes, they are usually both above the ninth fret, and getting increasingly louder. And while the dicks are out, the bass is like 'Do what youre gonna guys, because until I change my mind, we're all in C...'

I LOVE BASS.

I'm using a Demeter DI, a Sans Amp RBI, an SVT Classic, An Orange 'handwired' head, and a Mesa 1x15 4x10 combo cab.

In all honesty though, bass is in the fingers (No pick for me...fingers put me behind the beat in a really connected way)...and I feel the vibration in the body. So my favorite bass sounds as of late has been a good DI, and the RBI direct. (that fucking thing is AMAZING...and 250 bucks)

I feel much more 'myself' with the bass, as the best lines are simple and profound, the space between notes and the 'pregnancy' of the release. I want my bass to sound like the Hummer, and be immense. Dub.

I am using the Sadowsky (Perfect low string) and the Cirrus fretless on Ki, but I'm saving up for a fretless 5 Sadowsky.

I WISH the Warwicks would hold the low G better, I LOVE how those things look.

bassbassbassbassbassbasss

The producers instrument, there is something so incredible about that instrument. It's what the aliens play

Thanks for the lengthy response. I appreciate it - makes me feel quite a bit better about being a bassist. And I'd also have to agree with you that fretless basses are a thing of sonic beauty, and I consider them to be the "secret sauce" in a good song; but maybe that's just me because I listen for it. But in any case, the sound they create can make a good song great.
I am really really happy to hear that there's going to be some fretless action on Ki. That's a nice move Mr. Devin; I look forward to hearing the secret sauce

No question about it: finger-style all the way. Picks have a time and place, but playing finger-style on a fretless just sounds like .... buttah.

Last but not least: It's nice to know you appreciate bass players who DON'T slap. Slapping is.... *sigh* it's awful. In my humble opinion. More often than not, it seems like no one wants anything to do with you if you can't get 'funky' these days.


Side note: While Mendez of Opeth doesn't play a fretless bass (that I know of) I really admire his playing of a Marcus Miller signature jazz bass, with his fingers. At least at the concert I saw in October, he mostly used that bass. Very cool, since I expect the bassist of a metal band to use a pick on a 5 string (not that there's anything wrong with that!) But it was a pleasant surprise, dude is breaking the mold!

Ziltoid was the treadplate with the default cab, close mic'd with a tube screamer.

When I get to the studio I'll have a closer look.

Really simple though, took me 5 minutes and I started tracking.

Nice! I'm gonna have to try and emulate it.

Since we're still on the topic of nerdom and our Mother's our busy watching their favourite programs a safe distance away I gotta ask you guys for some advice.
I've started composing film music inspired by John Williams, Ennio Morricone, Danny Elfman, Prokofiev etc but it's kinda impossible on an 8 track. I need to get into computer music. I know close to absolutely nothing though.
Devin, you've mentioned that you've been composing some of this shizzle for the EP so you probably have all the best gear. I envy your studio so much after reading these last few pages btw.(not your production job though ) I don't even have an amp. I have to get by making porno musak! http://www.myspace.com/bryanmurphy1987 haha
Would a laptop be powerfull enough? I've heard apple are the way to go for music on computers. Do I need or should I use a keyboard? I'd be using notation as I'd like to be able to print out the scores when they're completed. I've read Sibelius is the shizznizzle I need for this and I'm already pretty much sold on this point but if anyone has any nightmare stories please share. A happy one would be fully appreciated but must contain no more than 3 bunnies and Carol Vordeman. I'd obviously love a very realistic sound as I don't see myself renting orchestras like Mr Townsend over here so it'd be great to be able to fiddle around with accents and dynamics etc. I've tried researching and found stuff about sampling and orchestral libraries. Also, what the hell is all this Logic, Reason, Cubase sequencer malarky.(I'm a bit behind the times huh) Am I right in saying that once you've entered your score in Sibelius you can then use the orchestral libraries and samples to create better/more realistic sounds? And you do this in a sequencer? Which sequencer'd be right for the job. I don't want to limit myself to film scores so It'd be spiffing to be able to make good fake drums(ha) and having a way to connect my guitar into the computer'd be excellent too. Just swell!
This sounds very expensive and is probably very unrealistic but I have the rest of my life to build this monster so I just need a bit of help getting started. Any advice or links to good sites'd be a great help. I've looked but they always assume you are a nerd of Ziltoidian proportions. I'll be working towards this happily for years to come.
Much love!

Also speaking of lead bass(I fricken' love that term) check out Spiral Architect.....................



............................that is all!

Since we're still on the topic of nerdom and our Mother's our busy watching their favourite programs a safe distance away I gotta ask you guys for some advice.
I've started composing film music inspired by John Williams, Ennio Morricone, Danny Elfman, Prokofiev etc but it's kinda impossible on an 8 track. I need to get into computer music. I know close to absolutely nothing though.

I have Sibelius (used to be into film scoring, actually--have varied my mediums a lot since), and that's really all you'll need, along with a good sampling library. Works like a charm, and you can use a keyboard with it if you like. I have a friend that wrote music to some unknown Xena-esque TV show and got paid a pretty penny for it, and all he used was Sibelius and East West Silver.

By the way, you really can't go wrong with Williams, Elfman (maybe Oingo Boingo), or Prokofiev. Also check out Stravinsky, Shostakovich, and the like.

Spiral Architect is pure wankery. Just like John Myung. It's entertaining to a point, but it's musically masturbatory, in my opinion.

More often than not, it seems like no one wants anything to do with you if you can't get 'funky' these days.

Well, then, make a trip to Austin, TX. We could use a bassist that isn't concerned about getting a 30-minute improv. slap solo on stage.