Was at a show a few weeks ago, the first band up was a local band who had a vocalist who was a master at cupping the mic. Between the second and third song, he said "Could I get the vocals turned down, I'm getting some feedback." I yelled out "Because you're cupping the mic asshole!" He didn't know where that came from, but responded with his middle finger and "Fuck off this is my band and my technique."
Ha! If I were the sound engineer for THAT gig & after seein' that vocalist's response to your comment, I would have turned his sound right the fuck down... ...to the point where he can't be heard at all.
I would've PUMPED him heavy in == ONLY == his monitor and muted him out of the mains. FUCK THAT GUY. Let him THINK he sounds awesome to only himself and nobody gets to hear him and later tell him he sounds like SHIT.
I was in a band with a left-handed drummer that played his kit as if it were configured for a right-handed person. It's not that he was skilled in the ways open-handed drumming. It was just awkward and sounded very clumsy. I asked why he didn't just set up the kit like most lefty drummers do. He said that when he started playing drums, he couldn't afford left-handed drums and learned on a right-handed kit. I tried to tell him that you just set the hats on the other side and set the toms in the other direction. He proceeded to take one of the rack toms and rotate it on its mount (cheap kit with the mounting arm going into the drum) to show me how you can't play the drum upside-down because that just wrong. I simply nodded and said "I see." I didn't bother continuing that conversation as I saw no point. Despite it being a fun project, I left that band a month or so later. This was about 15 years ago. I wonder if he ever found out the truth about "left-handed" drums.
9:17 I guess that's what you get for charging $100 for recording an EP. Cheap prices attracts cheap clients. Don't be afraid to charge what you're worth. I have my own business (not related to music, but it doesn't matter, it's business) and since I raised my prices, I work less, make more money, and I stay sane, because the price automatically filters out the cheap, annoying and unreasonable clients. My work is more appreciated and I give good service in return.
As always, you get what you pay for. A lot of people who have their own business have learned to charge appropriate prices. A tough lesson sometimes but you are right.
On the other hand though, don't get scammed by paying too much for a worse product. My band paid $1000 for our EP and the engineer kinda ripped us off. So there's a fine line to be had for sure
@@yoiamhere4737 Sorry I'm two years late, but in the future (and anyone reading this): Ask to hear previous projects before hiring any recording engineer/producer whose work you're unfamiliar with. This goes with any business, from septic tank repair to website design, catering to home remodeling. If they're hesitant to share their prior work--it's not worth haggling on the price.
The girls that buy charity shop acoustic guitars and take deep and "meaningful" pictures with them whilst looking away from the camera. With the caption "music is my life." every fucking time.
It's even funnier when they're holding the guitar the wrong way. I've *literally* seen that happen; a guy called the girl out in a comment on the post. Pretty damn embarrassing.
It's generally understood that flat wound strings do get better with age. Flat wounds are loved for their woody thumpiness that's similar to an upright bass tone. For instance, James Jamerson, the Bassist for Motown Records in the 60s and 70s, NEVER changed his strings until one finally broke after several years of use. Even then, he sent the broken string back to La Bella and asked if they could solder it back together and fix it rather than have to put a new set of strings on his bass. It's understandable that Glenn doesn't know that about flat wound strings since he works largely in the metal world where that type of bass sound is not usually desirable and round wound strings dominate. To his point, though, I would never buy used strings when I could just buy a new set of flat wounds for about $30 (depending on the brand) that will easily last for ten years.
Distro kid is such a good sponsor. A lot of people get sponsors that don't really seem to align with the content they're producing but this really seems to fit. Some great content glen!
Hey glenn, I fractured my hand this weekend, so am having to track my drums one handed, inspired by def leppard. this means my hi hats are all being done by the hat pedal, are there any production techniques to help record pedal hi hats? Thanks!
The guy was right about the flatwound strings. while roundwounds, the strings typically used for metal, loose all brightness over time and need replacing if you want that bright tone, flats are made to sound dull and warm so are better the older they get. I know everyone has different opinions on their perfect tone but that's the way the general consensus goes.
I use flatwounds on my guitar, and I only changed after 1.5 years because I wanted to clean my guitar, and figured it would be easier to get around the tuners and pickups with the strings out of the way. Other than that, I changed very rarely.
Every time I see a new episode of Stupid Musician Texts I smile and bless the day I stopped working for free and went for electrical engineering instead... I still do a couple of records now and then, but mostly my band's original music...
Funny though how they always get the idea to try to pay for anything with dope. I swear if I had any interest in MJ I'd probably be baked for the foreseeable future.
I have actually heard from some jazz guys that flatwound bass strings sound their best when they have been worked in and used for awhile. So in that case they do sound better when they arent brand new. Mind you flatwounds arent commonly used in metal or in a scenario where you need lots of that sparkle of new strings, but still just a different perspective on bass strings.
Man that last musician was incredibly disrespectful. I would honestly begin getting depressed with the behavior of musicians, nay, people like that. A little bit of humanity would do these guys a LOT of good. I hope the engineer found a niche he likes with good customers so he can forget this encounter. I sincerely hope that musicians like this get stomped down before they even get started in this craft. That stuff hits way too close to home.
I agree with everything....apart from the trigger part; they help out a great deal in mixing process as well has help cut through the blurring sound(s) coming from the bass/guitar amps. Not sure how people think it "helps you play better", when in reality, it would make it MUCH easier to hear if a drummer is shite, purely because he/she can't hide behind the wall of sound that is metal bass/guitar-playing. What is it with people and not accepting that drums are important, too?
Haha, came to the first episode from another channel a few hours ago, and had to watch them all. Great work. Love the way you pronounce the misspelled words, it makes illiteracy so tangible. Regarding the justification of cheap price 'because you just push buttons' (which appeared in an earlier episode), you can always break it down in the invoice: * Pushing buttons ... $5 * Knowing what buttons/knobs/sliders to push/twist/move, when to do it, and how to do it ... $(the rest)
Glenn, I have to thank you for repping DistroKid. I found out about them from you, and my experience has been stellar. It is everything I've been looking for!
As a drummer and audio engineer, i get what he is saying about foot strength. if you're not hitting hard enough, the bassdrum won't cut through very well. with that being said.. i use triggers for my live performances too... but... my sample is only a mid frequency kick sample too blend in with the lows of the bassdrum itself. I do this because i've found that the sound engineer at your local bar can't mix very well so i'm only using them to be sure my bassdrum is cutting better :)
I know this is super late, but I just wanted to chime in. Flat wounds and tape wounds do legitimately change timbre over time and they don’t stop doing so for years of heavy play. It’s slight but it’s a legitimate phenomena, and a lot of talented bassists do prefer older/dead flats because of that different timbre. Michael League, for instance, talks about dead strings a bit and how he doesn’t change strings until he absolutely has to (aka they break). I know no one cares, but I thought I would just chime in. Obviously selling used strings is ludicrous.
That last text pissed me off to non believe. Not only was the guy very nice and respectful, but he was willing to do an ep for 100 dollars! And yet the musician was a complete asshole to him.
$100 for a whole EP? shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit I'll take that. The producer I talked to about my EP said $200 a song for a full recording, mixing, and mastering. He's even cool with doing one song a month because I don't have enough money to do the full EP at one time
mysticblaz e Who has like 1200 bucks just lying about this time and age? I've been saving up for a year now to get an album mixed, I don't know about you, but for me 200 bucks is quite some money!
Lol didn't you already show us the bassist wanting to buy you cupping the mic thing? Lol! But i thing this text is so stupid you can really bring it up twice
But without this stupid musicians you couldn't do this videos and so we can call ourselves lucky that these idiots exists, and as long, as they just annoy their engineers with not being willing to pay they can't anything worse...like electing trump as a president, or voting the UK out of Europe...
Flat-wounds do get better with age, they're designed to be an incredibly warm, dull string but they have a little brightness to them when they're new. They're mainly used for old RnB and Motown styles and some jazz guys like them too.
A kick drum trigger is awesome for generating a tap tempo signal over midi to control the rate of flanger / phaser / tremelo / pan effects for live performances
With regards to triggers: A lot of death metal drummers I have heard of use them if they are using direct drive pedals because the action is too light to generate as much power as you would a chain drive pedal (hence why I like chain driven, more power). However it is possible to generate a very clean, natural sounding kick with the correct mic techniques and room size (look up the making of Carnival is Forever by Decapitated) triggers are a very 50/50 topic for drummers as purists would speak ill of them as if some mortal sin, whereas others say differently, I guess it is all about the style and sound you are going for at the end of the day. Keep up the good work and can't wait to see the next oldies but baddies vid.
Glenn make a video about a bad session, like cupping the mic, no string muting, letting cymbals bleed into snare mic, not playing to a click, etc. then compare it to a great session
That last one was horrible! OMFG, the engineer was already kind enough to explain and spell everything out without having to put a shotgun into his head. Poor guy!
Roundwound bass strings should be changed regularly to keep the bright tone and attack. However, tapewound and flatwound strings (like those labellas) are meant to have a duller tone, especially when used with fretless bass. Flatwound strings really do sound better as they age.
Glenn, The tone of the used strings is sometimes desirable if you are going for the super dull thud of a more traditional bass sound, especially if you are using flatwounds.
There are literally hundreds of signed touring bands that trigger their kick drums. (ATR, as I lay dying, nothing more, and literally hundreds more) They reason they do it is so whenever they do a really fast double bass run they have more control over the sound in the live mix. Those double bass runs are harder to hear on a raw Live drum. Extreme bands like infant annihilator virtually HAVE to trigger the kick drum.
I thought running my own smallish home recording setup and trying to get people to pay for engineering time was hard enough... Then I started my own indie game company... The story goes like this - I brought in a designer who claimed to have a 'portfolio' of ideas. I'm mainly a programmer, sound and music engineer, mathematician, and graphic artist (3d modeling, 2d sprites). This guy was thrilled to meet someone who could basically do everything from start to finish themselves, but said he had a 'comprehensive design document' for a digital collectible card game. The design document boiled down to 'A digital collectible card game'. There were a small number of mechanics outlined, but it was a page of story, and the technical info LITERALLY was 'I want to make a card game'. So, we talked, I told him to work on the important stuff, like actual cards, how the game actually works needed to be outlined better, and just... content. At least have one hundred cards before thinking about doing something like this. A month later, he had given me nothing, and comes back at me yelling his head off about the game not being done in that month period (which alone is absurd, I could do it, but games usually take multiple years for anything good). He literally said 'I want to make a card game' and expected me to do everything else. Long story short, he wanted to have me basically design all of the games he showed me in his 'portfolio', and they were all the same; 'A platformer like Mario Bros.', 'An Action RPG', etc. with some storyline that was even more useless because characters were not characterized, World designs were not designed... there was nothing. This asshole just wanted to have a way to do minimal work and then cash in on it when he decided to say something like 'THAT WAS MY IDEA!'. Needless to say we haven't worked together since this happened. The fucker won't talk to me even years later, and still blames me for this game not being magically shat out of my ass in a month for some competition he was going to enter it in. Sometimes dealing with musicians can be infinitely easier ^.^
Someone has probably mentioned this, but flatwound bass strings do mellow out and get a little sweeter with some age. This is a characteristic of flatwound bass strings and not bass strings in general.
I saw the cracked Line 6 panel from the spider IV you destroyed hanging up behind you and started busting up laughing 😂😂 sadly I have an older model of a line 6 spider IV it sucks.... lol I have to make due with it for now. Being a young musician on a budget sucks (dreaming of the day that I own a 5150) great channel Glen keep it up!! you're hilarious!
hey glenn, regarding the checklist in the last text, would that be something like: 1 4x12 guitar cab, 1 18in bass combo, drum kit with snare, kick, bass tom, crash, ride, and hi-hat, and 1 (vocal mic reference) mic? or am i missing something? it's just so the engineer knows what to amplify and record to set up his channels right? what was that cheap idiot thinking? it's common courtesy, isn't it?
I am the engineer in these texts. Yes that’s exactly what I was looking for. Sorry for taking so long to reply. Haven’t watched this video in 6 years lol
Hey Glenn, I'm currently having issues with my bass player at the moment... I'm currently in a band on our way to getting a record deal and we're trying to get some videos to this record company but our bass player doesn't seem to really ever show up to practice. The convos with him usually go like this... "Hey man you think you could come over to practice some songs?" He usually replies with "Nah man I got something to do then." I reply with "Alright what days do you have off or not doing anything?" and then he says something like Saturday and he texts me that Saturday saying he's bailing! But here's the thing... He's good friends with a girl I like and he's about the only way I can see her so that's just fucking up my decision making skills and I was wanting to ask you what I should do exactly cause your judgement i'm sure is WAY better than mine. Thanks for the advice, Cheers!
Well(any sentence that begins this way ends in idiocy), the used flat wounds is a thing. Mainly with oldies and r&b players. I heard an interview with a studio musician who hadn't changed his strings since the 70's.
I know it doesnt apply to most music styles, but for old fashion, fat, motown funk, dead flatwound strings on an old fender p-bass are the tools for that dead, thumpy jamerson sound. There is a pretty good market for old flatwound strings(5-10 years old).
Go watch Gojira at a festival and you'll change your mind about kick triggers. After hours of muddy, non-consistent, and lacklustre kick sounds, when Gojira come on and each hit pounds you in the chest, with a perfect compliment to the bass guitar, you'll thank Mario for controlling his sound. Any band that does fast double kick without them has never come close to that kind of sound quality in my experience, just a well of low end which doesn't let any guitar or vocals cut through the mix.
"Twice as loud" keep cranking em until you lost your hearing, coz everytime you want it "twice as loud", your ear will try to tell you to stop just right there.
Hey Glen, what in your opinion is the best way to deal with a bad recording musicians give you and expect it to be polished like a Grammy winning mix.... Im talking bout acoustic guitar mics picking up the room air-con, some audio that's already been dithered twice, etc ... or what would be a polite way of saying that 'a turd can't be polished...thanks
You have a tough skin brother. I absolutely live for these videos. I'm very much into recording. I do it as a hobby. It's fun and it has it's head aches. I show my friends these videos. Fucking hilarious and informative.
What year was that ad for bass? New strings last summer? You can get a cheap package bass for $200. Includes amp,strap,bass (in case someone asks) and strings with a giant note tell you to change your strings frequently.
Hey Glenn. I love your videos. I'm a guitar player/singer and I'm just dipping my toes into PC Recording. I'm not looking to have a state of the art studio right away, but I'd like to be able to have enough to program some drums, and get my instruments and vocals recorded for my songs. Basically, more of a writing studio. I was wondering if you perhaps have a video I missed for PC Recording that explains what all these programs are that are required? Or perhaps any books you could recommend? As someone who's new to PC recording, it can be a bit daunting and confusing at first. If you don't have a video like I described, perhaps a "Recording for dummies" video could be helpful and entertaining. Peace!
You should check out a video by Rick Beato. i wish i could recall the videos where he touches on it, but he talks about many bassists like fossil old bass strings, and he, himself likes older strings, as it adds a slight mute and the dreaded word "warmth." i don't claim he is THE authority, but he pretty sharp musically, and in production. i found it interesting as well. i am certain he also has newly stringed basses, as he has a shitload of instruments in his studio, to include 6-8 Les Pauls, among several version of Strats, Teles, etch. His justification is a variety of pickups and configs for several sonic options and reliability, i suppose.
Glenn labella strings actually do last a REALLY long time. James Jamerson one of the greatest bass players ever used those strings and never changed them. They're definitely not for metal but they get incredible Motown tones
He did change his bass strings. Youre quoting a myth. Motown really shouldn't be a model for much, unless you hate black artists and want them to know it.
well flatwound strings really last a hell of a time. They don't get better, but they last up to 5 years. I know that, because I play Cello wich has flatwound strings. The reason for them lasting so long is that dust, fat and other dirt can't get in between the windings. And I kind of get the point of "the older, the better". If you play flat strings, you want a very vintagy, upright kind of sound. So its supposed to sound old. The older the strings become, the older the sound becomes. But that's still "the older, the older"
love the channel Glenn. as hilarious as this stuff is you are not freakin joking. got my first couple clients coming into my home studio and one wanted to pay me in shirts... shirts really?? i'm sure the bank will take that for payment, right?? wowww
That last one was so cringe worthy, but then again, we've dealt with idiots like that before. Best to always stay clear and don't work on their project. Can you imagine what type of headache that would be?
You're forced to live in Windsor? Is it like a "my wife has a good job here" type thing or a "the bracelet around my ankle starts beeping when I leave Windsor" type thing?
flat wound strings sound like dead round wound strings right out of the package so yes, for a nice jazz guitar tone they do darken up and sound better after a week of playing on them.
Hi Glen I love these things, it restore my self image. Just when i thought I was losing it or maybe not having a full handle on life i get to see this show and the "imaginative thinkers" of the world of music. How creative! I want to meet some of them and ask them details about their bank accounts - I think i could make billions judging by their cranial capacities. Loving the show and keep up the good work Glen and co.
since drummers constantly complain about having to move their cymbals up 6 inches to reduce bleed in the tom mics what do you think about internal mics
Glenn, how do you deal with people who does not pay as promised or who does not pay on time or keeps delaying payments for a project after getting their final mastered copy? thanks love all of your videos......
Hey, I'm a huge fan of your channel and have learned a lot, in addition to bass player jokes (keep em coming!) How should I go about hooking up one head to two cabs? Is there any way you could explain how ohms work, regarding a guitar cab in a future video? I'm the only guitarist in my band and would like to mimic a full, two guitar sound when playing live. Also, is it okay to use two different cabs, to mimic a similar, yet contrasting set of guitar tones? I'm not sure if I should just have two of the same cab; I have a Marshall 1960a Slant Lead cab, but also am a fan of Mesa cabs. Also, what are your thoughts on having your own mic for your guitar cabs in regards to live sound? Do you have any experience with that? Thank you!
Glenn is the Gordon Ramsay of the metal genre.
metal is the gordon ramsay of genres
Oh my god, yes he is.
Nicholas Fornshell Gordon Ramsay has Michelin stars and world famous restaurants...Glenn's not exactly on that level.
I ate with Glenn at Grill 'Em All back when NAMM was around, and he said the same thing to my friends when he described his line of work hahaha
Arin Shadows That's awesome haha!
Was at a show a few weeks ago, the first band up was a local band who had a vocalist who was a master at cupping the mic. Between the second and third song, he said "Could I get the vocals turned down, I'm getting some feedback." I yelled out "Because you're cupping the mic asshole!" He didn't know where that came from, but responded with his middle finger and "Fuck off this is my band and my technique."
Anders Wedholm Ha that's great
As the old saying goes - it's how you use it...
The mute button probably would have fixed things! haha
Ha! If I were the sound engineer for THAT gig & after seein' that vocalist's response to your comment, I would have turned his sound right the fuck down...
...to the point where he can't be heard at all.
I would've PUMPED him heavy in == ONLY == his monitor and muted him out of the mains.
FUCK THAT GUY.
Let him THINK he sounds awesome to only himself and nobody gets to hear him and later tell him he sounds like SHIT.
I was in a band with a left-handed drummer that played his kit as if it were configured for a right-handed person. It's not that he was skilled in the ways open-handed drumming. It was just awkward and sounded very clumsy.
I asked why he didn't just set up the kit like most lefty drummers do. He said that when he started playing drums, he couldn't afford left-handed drums and learned on a right-handed kit. I tried to tell him that you just set the hats on the other side and set the toms in the other direction. He proceeded to take one of the rack toms and rotate it on its mount (cheap kit with the mounting arm going into the drum) to show me how you can't play the drum upside-down because that just wrong.
I simply nodded and said "I see." I didn't bother continuing that conversation as I saw no point. Despite it being a fun project, I left that band a month or so later.
This was about 15 years ago. I wonder if he ever found out the truth about "left-handed" drums.
9:17 I guess that's what you get for charging $100 for recording an EP. Cheap prices attracts cheap clients. Don't be afraid to charge what you're worth. I have my own business (not related to music, but it doesn't matter, it's business) and since I raised my prices, I work less, make more money, and I stay sane, because the price automatically filters out the cheap, annoying and unreasonable clients. My work is more appreciated and I give good service in return.
As always, you get what you pay for. A lot of people who have their own business have learned to charge appropriate prices. A tough lesson sometimes but you are right.
Where do you find clients?
On the other hand though, don't get scammed by paying too much for a worse product. My band paid $1000 for our EP and the engineer kinda ripped us off. So there's a fine line to be had for sure
@@yoiamhere4737 Sorry I'm two years late, but in the future (and anyone reading this):
Ask to hear previous projects before hiring any recording engineer/producer whose work you're unfamiliar with.
This goes with any business, from septic tank repair to website design, catering to home remodeling.
If they're hesitant to share their prior work--it's not worth haggling on the price.
100 percent
The girls that buy charity shop acoustic guitars and take deep and "meaningful" pictures with them whilst looking away from the camera. With the caption "music is my life."
every fucking time.
Could this comment be more accurate? I don't think so.
It's even funnier when they're holding the guitar the wrong way. I've *literally* seen that happen; a guy called the girl out in a comment on the post. Pretty damn embarrassing.
you have no idea how much it hurt to be reminded of the existence of that breed....
y'all act like guys don't do this too lol or the generic "douchebag guitar guy" at a party who only knows Wonderwall
hey at least the douchebag in question knows how to fucking hold the guitar!
It's generally understood that flat wound strings do get better with age. Flat wounds are loved for their woody thumpiness that's similar to an upright bass tone. For instance, James Jamerson, the Bassist for Motown Records in the 60s and 70s, NEVER changed his strings until one finally broke after several years of use. Even then, he sent the broken string back to La Bella and asked if they could solder it back together and fix it rather than have to put a new set of strings on his bass. It's understandable that Glenn doesn't know that about flat wound strings since he works largely in the metal world where that type of bass sound is not usually desirable and round wound strings dominate. To his point, though, I would never buy used strings when I could just buy a new set of flat wounds for about $30 (depending on the brand) that will easily last for ten years.
Mate, i'm a bass player, and come on the narrative abut aged strings is total crap... get some fresh ones.
Distro kid is such a good sponsor. A lot of people get sponsors that don't really seem to align with the content they're producing but this really seems to fit. Some great content glen!
Please like, share & subscribe!
Hey glenn, I fractured my hand this weekend, so am having to track my drums one handed, inspired by def leppard. this means my hi hats are all being done by the hat pedal, are there any production techniques to help record pedal hi hats? Thanks!
SpectreSoundStudios Fuck you Glenn ;)
SpectreSoundStudios - fuck you TJ!!
We need this as a shirt!
You used one of the texts that you used last time, just wanted to tell you. 6:33
5:31 I am now cleaning coffee off my desk. Keep up the good work.
The guy was right about the flatwound strings. while roundwounds, the strings typically used for metal, loose all brightness over time and need replacing if you want that bright tone, flats are made to sound dull and warm so are better the older they get. I know everyone has different opinions on their perfect tone but that's the way the general consensus goes.
Lewis Young I agree
Lewis Young THANK YOU
I agree, but I would never buy used strings XD tbh a fresh set of flats sounds better to me. Has more harmonic content.
I made a similar reply. Glenn definitely doesn't understand the different types of bass strings.
I use flatwounds on my guitar, and I only changed after 1.5 years because I wanted to clean my guitar, and figured it would be easier to get around the tuners and pickups with the strings out of the way. Other than that, I changed very rarely.
You know when I watch these I honestly become more baffled at the thought that these people exist lol I love this series. Thanks Glen!!
thank you past me for subscribing to this channel. I've learned so much, mostly how to be and act like a professional
Every time I see a new episode of Stupid Musician Texts I smile and bless the day I stopped working for free and went for electrical engineering instead... I still do a couple of records now and then, but mostly my band's original music...
I like Glenn's Marissa girl voice
The “Laugh My Fucking Ass Off” has me rolling every time 💀💀. Even after 4 years 😂
God forbid you ask a musician to pay for anything... it may have to come out of their drug fund!!!
Funny though how they always get the idea to try to pay for anything with dope. I swear if I had any interest in MJ I'd probably be baked for the foreseeable future.
I have actually heard from some jazz guys that flatwound bass strings sound their best when they have been worked in and used for awhile. So in that case they do sound better when they arent brand new. Mind you flatwounds arent commonly used in metal or in a scenario where you need lots of that sparkle of new strings, but still just a different perspective on bass strings.
Jazz guys aren't really known for their objectivity, rationality, or good taste.
It's a metal channel, why would he care about flatwounds? 😂😂😂
Turn up the volume nob? Don't you mean turn the gains ALLLLLLLLLLLL the way up!? joking, joking
DAKA ALLL THE GAINNNNNMN!!!' NOOOO MIIIIIIDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDSSSS
ALL THE GAINNNN!! METAL ZONE!!
METTAAALLL ZOOONNNNNEEEEE
ALL! THE! GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIN!
Gain is just what those Brits write on the Volume knob, it's like elevator for lift, right?
Man that last musician was incredibly disrespectful. I would honestly begin getting depressed with the behavior of musicians, nay, people like that. A little bit of humanity would do these guys a LOT of good. I hope the engineer found a niche he likes with good customers so he can forget this encounter. I sincerely hope that musicians like this get stomped down before they even get started in this craft.
That stuff hits way too close to home.
I agree with everything....apart from the trigger part; they help out a great deal in mixing process as well has help cut through the blurring sound(s) coming from the bass/guitar amps. Not sure how people think it "helps you play better", when in reality, it would make it MUCH easier to hear if a drummer is shite, purely because he/she can't hide behind the wall of sound that is metal bass/guitar-playing.
What is it with people and not accepting that drums are important, too?
Drums are the most important!! Especially in the studio! Mic-ing the drums is crucial and avoiding phase cancellation is actually kinda tricky!
How are we only on episode 15? I feel like not enough people are sending in their share of dumb musicians
In a world like this,it should be episode 30,not episode 50 because most people aren't musicians
Haha, came to the first episode from another channel a few hours ago, and had to watch them all. Great work. Love the way you pronounce the misspelled words, it makes illiteracy so tangible.
Regarding the justification of cheap price 'because you just push buttons' (which appeared in an earlier episode), you can always break it down in the invoice:
* Pushing buttons ... $5
* Knowing what buttons/knobs/sliders to push/twist/move, when to do it, and how to do it ... $(the rest)
"...with lies like that you should think about starting a religion..." priceless!!!
I love how Glenn mocks the British for their accents... while those proud Canadians still have the fucking queen on their money.
Glenn, I have to thank you for repping DistroKid. I found out about them from you, and my experience has been stellar. It is everything I've been looking for!
This from someone who advocates buying bass strings from the cold war.
As a drummer and audio engineer, i get what he is saying about foot strength. if you're not hitting hard enough, the bassdrum won't cut through very well. with that being said.. i use triggers for my live performances too... but... my sample is only a mid frequency kick sample too blend in with the lows of the bassdrum itself. I do this because i've found that the sound engineer at your local bar can't mix very well so i'm only using them to be sure my bassdrum is cutting better :)
LOL at the south park like sounding voices, recently discovered your channel and love the content. Respect from a fellow Windsorite music lover.!!!
I know this is super late, but I just wanted to chime in. Flat wounds and tape wounds do legitimately change timbre over time and they don’t stop doing so for years of heavy play. It’s slight but it’s a legitimate phenomena, and a lot of talented bassists do prefer older/dead flats because of that different timbre. Michael League, for instance, talks about dead strings a bit and how he doesn’t change strings until he absolutely has to (aka they break). I know no one cares, but I thought I would just chime in.
Obviously selling used strings is ludicrous.
Man after binging all these episodes I wonder if there's ever going to be more.
Dude that Marshall Orange combo is awesome! I want it for my noise set!
I can't believe how composed and professional the last engineer was. I would have fucking punched that dude in the face. Kudos to him.
Stupid Musician Texts are my absolute favorite!
That last text pissed me off to non believe. Not only was the guy very nice and respectful, but he was willing to do an ep for 100 dollars! And yet the musician was a complete asshole to him.
$100 for a whole EP? shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit I'll take that. The producer I talked to about my EP said $200 a song for a full recording, mixing, and mastering. He's even cool with doing one song a month because I don't have enough money to do the full EP at one time
your don't have 200$???? are you 16
mysticblaz e No I'm not 16. It's called having Bills and responsibilities. I don't have a free $1200 just laying around
mysticblaz e And I said I couldn't do the full EP at once. Not that I didn't have $200
mysticblaz e
Who has like 1200 bucks just lying about this time and age? I've been saving up for a year now to get an album mixed, I don't know about you, but for me 200 bucks is quite some money!
Lol didn't you already show us the bassist wanting to buy you cupping the mic thing? Lol! But i thing this text is so stupid you can really bring it up twice
+Humbucker 007 don't think so. We get a LOT of dumb bass ones!
I think you have, Glenn, I remember that one too :)
Humbucker 007 Yeah, he did, but it was just as fucking funny the second time .
I remember the exact same text being used fairly recently as well.
Still dumbass gold though
But without this stupid musicians you couldn't do this videos and so we can call ourselves lucky that these idiots exists, and as long, as they just annoy their engineers with not being willing to pay they can't anything worse...like electing trump as a president, or voting the UK out of Europe...
Flat-wounds do get better with age, they're designed to be an incredibly warm, dull string but they have a little brightness to them when they're new. They're mainly used for old RnB and Motown styles and some jazz guys like them too.
These things need to be much longer. I'm not getting enough of my Stupid Musician high to keep me going throughout the day :(
I like the sound of, when done right, blending both the acoustic drums with triggers. It's a totally different sound that is good
A kick drum trigger is awesome for generating a tap tempo signal over midi to control the rate of flanger / phaser / tremelo / pan effects for live performances
Or to compensate for a fatigued drummer who has played 12 shows in 4 days.
With regards to triggers: A lot of death metal drummers I have heard of use them if they are using direct drive pedals because the action is too light to generate as much power as you would a chain drive pedal (hence why I like chain driven, more power). However it is possible to generate a very clean, natural sounding kick with the correct mic techniques and room size (look up the making of Carnival is Forever by Decapitated) triggers are a very 50/50 topic for drummers as purists would speak ill of them as if some mortal sin, whereas others say differently, I guess it is all about the style and sound you are going for at the end of the day. Keep up the good work and can't wait to see the next oldies but baddies vid.
brill! thanks for the advice about the music tech course btw!
Glenn make a video about a bad session, like cupping the mic, no string muting, letting cymbals bleed into snare mic, not playing to a click, etc. then compare it to a great session
That last one was horrible! OMFG, the engineer was already kind enough to explain and spell everything out without having to put a shotgun into his head. Poor guy!
Oh yeah, this is my Afternoon Delight!
Roundwound bass strings should be changed regularly to keep the bright tone and attack. However, tapewound and flatwound strings (like those labellas) are meant to have a duller tone, especially when used with fretless bass. Flatwound strings really do sound better as they age.
musicians will never wise up.... but I will never stop laughing! please keep making these!
no glen there are so many modern genres where triggers enhance the natural drum sound to create punchy drums with a variety of timbré options
the la bella strings thing was the absolutely best joke i've heard today!
Hahaha!! That conversation at the end is priceless.
The background music is insane lol. The vocals are almost comedic
Lol, thank you for doing these videos Glen! Love your channel.
Glenn,
The tone of the used strings is sometimes desirable if you are going for the super dull thud of a more traditional bass sound, especially if you are using flatwounds.
There are literally hundreds of signed touring bands that trigger their kick drums. (ATR, as I lay dying, nothing more, and literally hundreds more) They reason they do it is so whenever they do a really fast double bass run they have more control over the sound in the live mix. Those double bass runs are harder to hear on a raw Live drum. Extreme bands like infant annihilator virtually HAVE to trigger the kick drum.
YESSSSS!!! I love this series so much
I thought running my own smallish home recording setup and trying to get people to pay for engineering time was hard enough... Then I started my own indie game company...
The story goes like this - I brought in a designer who claimed to have a 'portfolio' of ideas. I'm mainly a programmer, sound and music engineer, mathematician, and graphic artist (3d modeling, 2d sprites). This guy was thrilled to meet someone who could basically do everything from start to finish themselves, but said he had a 'comprehensive design document' for a digital collectible card game.
The design document boiled down to 'A digital collectible card game'. There were a small number of mechanics outlined, but it was a page of story, and the technical info LITERALLY was 'I want to make a card game'. So, we talked, I told him to work on the important stuff, like actual cards, how the game actually works needed to be outlined better, and just... content. At least have one hundred cards before thinking about doing something like this.
A month later, he had given me nothing, and comes back at me yelling his head off about the game not being done in that month period (which alone is absurd, I could do it, but games usually take multiple years for anything good). He literally said 'I want to make a card game' and expected me to do everything else.
Long story short, he wanted to have me basically design all of the games he showed me in his 'portfolio', and they were all the same; 'A platformer like Mario Bros.', 'An Action RPG', etc. with some storyline that was even more useless because characters were not characterized, World designs were not designed... there was nothing. This asshole just wanted to have a way to do minimal work and then cash in on it when he decided to say something like 'THAT WAS MY IDEA!'. Needless to say we haven't worked together since this happened. The fucker won't talk to me even years later, and still blames me for this game not being magically shat out of my ass in a month for some competition he was going to enter it in.
Sometimes dealing with musicians can be infinitely easier ^.^
Wow. Do these texts get worse for every video, or do I just go into denial between them? Studio engineers must need a lot of self control...
Joey Sturgis did my band's album.. it sounds beyond amazing. Like you said, nothing is ever good enough for some people.
Someone has probably mentioned this, but flatwound bass strings do mellow out and get a little sweeter with some age. This is a characteristic of flatwound bass strings and not bass strings in general.
I saw the cracked Line 6 panel from the spider IV you destroyed hanging up behind you and started busting up laughing 😂😂 sadly I have an older model of a line 6 spider IV it sucks.... lol I have to make due with it for now. Being a young musician on a budget sucks (dreaming of the day that I own a 5150) great channel Glen keep it up!! you're hilarious!
Get that amp yet?
Just ordered a shirt, Love your videos keep them coming :D
6:13 didnt this one show up in an earlier video?
+omegazeroINFI don't think so, but apologies if it did
Yes it did
Mochi It actually did
The nail the mix ad is the ONLY ad I watched the whole way through and searched for on youtube... Shit had me rolling
hey glenn, regarding the checklist in the last text, would that be something like: 1 4x12 guitar cab, 1 18in bass combo, drum kit with snare, kick, bass tom, crash, ride, and hi-hat, and 1 (vocal mic reference) mic? or am i missing something? it's just so the engineer knows what to amplify and record to set up his channels right? what was that cheap idiot thinking? it's common courtesy, isn't it?
I am the engineer in these texts. Yes that’s exactly what I was looking for. Sorry for taking so long to reply. Haven’t watched this video in 6 years lol
Hey Glenn, I'm currently having issues with my bass player at the moment... I'm currently in a band on our way to getting a record deal and we're trying to get some videos to this record company but our bass player doesn't seem to really ever show up to practice. The convos with him usually go like this... "Hey man you think you could come over to practice some songs?" He usually replies with "Nah man I got something to do then." I reply with "Alright what days do you have off or not doing anything?" and then he says something like Saturday and he texts me that Saturday saying he's bailing! But here's the thing... He's good friends with a girl I like and he's about the only way I can see her so that's just fucking up my decision making skills and I was wanting to ask you what I should do exactly cause your judgement i'm sure is WAY better than mine.
Thanks for the advice, Cheers!
you should do a stupid musician craigslits ads - its a gold mine
Well(any sentence that begins this way ends in idiocy), the used flat wounds is a thing. Mainly with oldies and r&b players. I heard an interview with a studio musician who hadn't changed his strings since the 70's.
i have no problem with triggers on a bass drum because half of the time i cant get my kick to sound decent
If an engineer offered me $100 for an EP I would pray to them everyday
love this series !
I know it doesnt apply to most music styles, but for old fashion, fat, motown funk, dead flatwound strings on an old fender p-bass are the tools for that dead, thumpy jamerson sound. There is a pretty good market for old flatwound strings(5-10 years old).
These guys are lucky to even have studios giving them rates like that
Go watch Gojira at a festival and you'll change your mind about kick triggers. After hours of muddy, non-consistent, and lacklustre kick sounds, when Gojira come on and each hit pounds you in the chest, with a perfect compliment to the bass guitar, you'll thank Mario for controlling his sound. Any band that does fast double kick without them has never come close to that kind of sound quality in my experience, just a well of low end which doesn't let any guitar or vocals cut through the mix.
"Twice as loud"
keep cranking em until you lost your hearing, coz everytime you want it "twice as loud", your ear will try to tell you to stop just right there.
on a second note, DON'T.
these never cease to amaze me :)
I have a friend that was trying to help a young band do some recording. The drummer had NO IDEA that drums are tuned. None.
Hey Glen, what in your opinion is the best way to deal with a bad recording musicians give you and expect it to be polished like a Grammy winning mix.... Im talking bout acoustic guitar mics picking up the room air-con, some audio that's already been dithered twice, etc ... or what would be a polite way of saying that 'a turd can't be polished...thanks
You have a tough skin brother. I absolutely live for these videos. I'm very much into recording. I do it as a hobby. It's fun and it has it's head aches. I show my friends these videos. Fucking hilarious and informative.
What year was that ad for bass? New strings last summer? You can get a cheap package bass for $200. Includes amp,strap,bass (in case someone asks) and strings with a giant note tell you to change your strings frequently.
Hey Glenn. I love your videos. I'm a guitar player/singer and I'm just dipping my toes into PC Recording. I'm not looking to have a state of the art studio right away, but I'd like to be able to have enough to program some drums, and get my instruments and vocals recorded for my songs. Basically, more of a writing studio. I was wondering if you perhaps have a video I missed for PC Recording that explains what all these programs are that are required? Or perhaps any books you could recommend? As someone who's new to PC recording, it can be a bit daunting and confusing at first. If you don't have a video like I described, perhaps a "Recording for dummies" video could be helpful and entertaining. Peace!
love your videos man
The last one was insane. The engineer was more than reasonable.
You should check out a video by Rick Beato. i wish i could recall the videos where he touches on it, but he talks about many bassists like fossil old bass strings, and he, himself likes older strings, as it adds a slight mute and the dreaded word "warmth." i don't claim he is THE authority, but he pretty sharp musically, and in production. i found it interesting as well. i am certain he also has newly stringed basses, as he has a shitload of instruments in his studio, to include 6-8 Les Pauls, among several version of Strats, Teles, etch. His justification is a variety of pickups and configs for several sonic options and reliability, i suppose.
Glenn labella strings actually do last a REALLY long time. James Jamerson one of the greatest bass players ever used those strings and never changed them. They're definitely not for metal but they get incredible Motown tones
He did change his bass strings. Youre quoting a myth.
Motown really shouldn't be a model for much, unless you hate black artists and want them to know it.
well flatwound strings really last a hell of a time. They don't get better, but they last up to 5 years. I know that, because I play Cello wich has flatwound strings. The reason for them lasting so long is that dust, fat and other dirt can't get in between the windings.
And I kind of get the point of "the older, the better". If you play flat strings, you want a very vintagy, upright kind of sound. So its supposed to sound old. The older the strings become, the older the sound becomes. But that's still "the older, the older"
love the channel Glenn. as hilarious as this stuff is you are not freakin joking. got my first couple clients coming into my home studio and one wanted to pay me in shirts... shirts really?? i'm sure the bank will take that for payment, right?? wowww
That last one was so cringe worthy, but then again, we've dealt with idiots like that before. Best to always stay clear and don't work on their project. Can you imagine what type of headache that would be?
I live for this content.
did anyone else hear "this video is probably sponsored by distrokid"?
In all fairness...I didn't know what it was until this lol
You're forced to live in Windsor? Is it like a "my wife has a good job here" type thing or a "the bracelet around my ankle starts beeping when I leave Windsor" type thing?
flat wound strings sound like dead round wound strings right out of the package so yes, for a nice jazz guitar tone they do darken up and sound better after a week of playing on them.
South Park 2.0
i love how you mention about your living place with utter contempt lmao.
Thankyou, You are Awesome
That part about the classified with the guitar amp made me nearly piss myself in laughter.
“My friend Joey Sturgis”? Man we all remember “the fans deserve better” video :D
Hi Glen I love these things, it restore my self image. Just when i thought I was losing it or maybe not having a full handle on life i get to see this show and the "imaginative thinkers" of the world of music. How creative! I want to meet some of them and ask them details about their bank accounts - I think i could make billions judging by their cranial capacities. Loving the show and keep up the good work Glen and co.
since drummers constantly complain about having to move their cymbals up 6 inches to reduce bleed in the tom mics what do you think about internal mics
this episode made me laugh out loud on many occasions thanks
Glenn, how do you deal with people who does not pay as promised or who does not pay on time or keeps delaying payments for a project after getting their final mastered copy? thanks love all of your videos......
Hey, I'm a huge fan of your channel and have learned a lot, in addition to bass player jokes (keep em coming!) How should I go about hooking up one head to two cabs? Is there any way you could explain how ohms work, regarding a guitar cab in a future video? I'm the only guitarist in my band and would like to mimic a full, two guitar sound when playing live. Also, is it okay to use two different cabs, to mimic a similar, yet contrasting set of guitar tones? I'm not sure if I should just have two of the same cab; I have a Marshall 1960a Slant Lead cab, but also am a fan of Mesa cabs. Also, what are your thoughts on having your own mic for your guitar cabs in regards to live sound? Do you have any experience with that? Thank you!