HOW TO GET A GREAT BASS SOUND IN YOUR HOME STUDIO
October 13th, 2007
The first step in getting a good bass sound is of course, having a good sounding bass. “Good” being a subjective word, of course. With that in mind, let me simply say that the bass should have a nice balance between a rich bottom end and an articulate top end, great intonation, nice sustain, and no rattles or buzzes as Wolfsheim mp3 download
A few basic things to know about recording basses; First, and maybe foremost, the player has a great deal to do with the sound. As with many instruments, it’s mostly in the fingers.
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Second, the natural sound of the instrument is important. If the tonality isn’t there to begin with, it’s difficult at best to fake it. All the tube preamps and eq in the world can’t hide a bass sound that’s dull and lifeless.
Third, the strings. Round from flatwound, brass verses nickel. They all have a sound. The sound you like will be a personal choice. But, let me add that the song you’re recording can and should dictate the type of sound you are going for. In other words, the bottom shouldn’t sound alike for every type of song
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Fourth, recording a bass guitar with a direct box sounds differently than recording the bass by miking the amp.
Fifth, the tone you get on the bass itself will play a major role in getting your sound. Don’t set and forget the onboard tone controls. Experiment.
Let’s start with a direct box. There are many different brands. Some sound better than others. Do your homework. Ask your friends or engineers you know which they prefer. Try to find the brand and model which gives you the most bottom end, while also giving you the most definition or attack on the mid range frequencies. My personal favorite at the moment is made by Sans Amp.
It’s usually best to use a compressor/limiter in line to keep your bass’s signal from slamming into the red on the VU meter. A 3:1 ratio with a fast attack and slow release usually does the trick. A little higher ratio will give you more “punch” - too much compression will make the bass sound squashed. As always, experimentation is the key. And yes, tubes do make a difference. They’ll arm up the sound, but they won’t perform miracles. mp3 music download
I’ve also noticed that many direct boxes don’t have a very fast slew rate. In plain English, that means the signal’s rise and fall time is sluggish. What that means to the sound is the attack of the top end is often diminished, not due to the tone of the instrument, but the inadequacies of the box. Keep your ears open, and try several models. You’ll be surprised at the wide range of sounds.
For miking the bass through an amp, I’ll use a Fender Precision Bass as my imaginary example, and an old Bassman amp. A classic combination. I like to mic the cabinet with two microphones. A Senheiser 421 facing directly into one of the speakers at point blank range, and an AKG 414 (or any other good condensor mic) about four feet back from the cabinet.
download Air mp3 The close mic will give a more direct sound with an accentuated attack, and the distant mic will give you more of the low end (it takes several feet of “air” for a bass wave to develop).
Just for kicks, you can try adding a direct box to the aforementioned scenario, and send all three signals to the same track.
download Ben Harper mp3The direct box often adds clarity to the whole sound that is nothing short of wonderful. Lesson learned: As always, experimentation pays. Be patient, be persistent, and most importantly, don’t print it to tape unless you love it . . . or your client is getting ticked-off that you’re taking way too long to get the sound!
NASAA Series 66 Exam Overview
October 9th, 2007
If you want to be able to both trade securities, and also be able to practice as an investment adviser to private clients, one way of reducing the cost and time necessary to achieve both of these career goals is to take the Uniform Combined State Law Examination, or Series 66 exam, which is administered by FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (formerly NASD)) on behalf of the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA). Instead of taking both the Uniform Securities Agent test (Series 63) and the Investment Adviser test (Series 65), you can kill two birds with one stone by taking the Series 66 exam to obtain Series 66 license. The test will require you to understand the Uniform Securities Act, which allows qualified brokers to trade securities in all fifty states, along with basic stock market terms and definitions, and rules for soliciting clients and handling their accounts. In addition, you’ll also need to understand risk, different investment types, appropriate investments for different kinds of investors, interest rates and their effects, retirement planning, investment law, inflation and deflation, portfolio management, and all other aspects of advising private investors.
Acoustic Guitar: Looking, Buying, and Keeping
September 28th, 2007
Sometime in 1995, a keyboard-playing friend of mine E-mailed me asking me for some help and advice in purchasing an acoustic guitar. Since we were separated by roughly 1400 miles, I couldn’t just hop in the car and go with him to the stores, pawn shops, etc. He was asking questions about price range, styles, name brands…. “No problem,” I thought to myself. “I’ll just look up the information on the WWW and give him an URL or two to check out.”
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To my surprise, I found no such easy resource online (at that time). In an apologetic E-mail, I gave him a few pointers and ideas, but then said to myself, “You know, I detect a need here….”
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And that’s how I started work on this project.
Now, approaching ten years later, I average over to 65 visitors/day, and still get emails from folks wanting similar information. Believe me, nobody is more surprised about this than I am!! But I’m delighted to be a resource for folks looking for information about a first instrument. It’s an honor and a privilege to contribute my knowledge, and make it available online.
I will offer a caveat, though: I don’t claim this as the be-all, end-all of acoustic guitar documents. Far from it. But I DO believe that it is a decent collection of ideas and information that I think a first-time guitar shopper would find useful. If you can tolerate my fairly conversational style of writing, then you should find this page of use.
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Yocon
September 21st, 2007
Pronounced: YOE-kon
Generic name: Yohimbine hydrochloride
Other brand name: Yohimex
Why is Yocon prescribed?
Yocon is used in the treatment of male impotence. The drug is thought to work by stimulating the release of norepinephrine, one of the body’s natural chemical regulators. This results in increased blood flow to the penis.
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Most important fact about Yocon
Yocon does not work for all men. Your doctor will determine if Yocon can be prescribed for you.
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Why should Yocon not be prescribed?
Yocon should not be used if you have kidney disease, or if you are sensitive to or have ever had an allergic reaction to yohimbine. Make sure your doctor is aware of any drug reactions you have experienced.
Special warnings about Yocon
Yocon is generally not recommended for use by children, the elderly, or men with heart and kidney disease who also have a history of stomach or duodenal ulcer. The drug is also not recommended for men being treated for a psychiatric disorder.
What side effects may occur?
Side effects cannot be anticipated. If any develop or change in intensity, inform your doctor as soon as possible. Only your doctor can determine if it is safe for you to continue taking Yocon.
More common side effects may include:
Decreased urination, dizziness, flushing, headache, increase in blood pressure, increased heart rate, increased motor activity, irritability, nausea, nervousness, tremor.
Fruits are the diet food
September 6th, 2007
The term fruit has different meanings depending on
context. In botany, a fruit is the ripened ovary together with seeds of a flowering plant. In many species, the fruit incorporates the ripened ovary and surrounding tissues. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants disseminate seeds. In cuisine, when discussing fruit as food, the term usually refers to those plant fruits that are sweet and fleshy, examples of which include plums, apples and oranges. However, a great
many common vegetables, as well as nuts and grains, are the fruit of the plant species they come from. No single terminology really fits the enormous variety that is found among plant fruits. The cuisine terminology for fruits is inexact and will remain so.
In nutrition, the diet is the sum of food consumed by a person or other organism. Dietary habits are the habitual decisions an individual or culture makes when choosing what foods to eat. Although humans are omnivores, each culture holds some food preferences and some food taboos. Individual dietary choices may be more or less healthy. Proper nutrition requires the proper ingestion and equally important, the absorption of vitamins, minerals, and fuel in the form of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Dietary habits and choices play a significant role in health and mortality, and can also define cultures and play a role in religion.
Some products prevent you not only from putting on weight, but burn fat. For example a well-known fruit – grapefruit, it lowers insulin levels and at this time you haven’t any wish to eat something. If you eat a half of grapefruit or drink 150gr. grapefruit juice with every food intake, you will reduce
on the average 2 kg. in two weeks. Besides, you can also mix up grapefruit juice with orange or lemon juice. These all will strengthen your immunity and open bowels.
Today a lot of people became to stick to the fruit diet. Such kind of activity is very popular and called fruitarianism. It’s the pursuit of a strict form of vegan diet that is limited to eating the ripe fruits of plants and trees. Fruitarians (frugivores or fructarians) eat in principle only the fruit of plants. As with other dietary practices, such as vegetarianism and raw foodism, some people consider themselves fruitarians even if
their diet
food is not 100% fruit. The reasons for this may be either they simply do not manage to reach this percentage, or that they still are on their way to reach it gradually, or they think or feel that a lower percentage (for instance 75%) is good enough for them. As long as the percentage is higher than 50%, they are (predominantly) fruitarian. Usually fruitarians who include foods other than fruit follow a vegan diet.
When discussing food, the term “fruit” usually refers to just those plant fruits that are sweet and fleshy (including plums, apples, and oranges). Botanically, though, some foods commonly called “vegetables (including the bell pepper,
tomato, and cucumber), as well as nuts and grains, are fruits.