| Author | Message | ||
| bumhucker
Member Username: bumhucker Post Number: 73 Registered: 3-2006 |
just an idea-----i was thinking it would be cool to have an area -maybe in the showcase or maybe a new topic--where we could post links to sound and vid clips of alembics? it would make it really easy for people-especially prospective buyers- to check out the sound of different basses. there is already a well organized area for pics-why not one for sounds? we could quickly and easily check out different basses. | ||
| lg71
Advanced Member Username: lg71 Post Number: 205 Registered: 3-2006 |
I have been thinking about this myself for a while, I mentioned it to Mica as well. Now, I can provide a custom/special "Alembic" player, everyone could download it on their desktop (Mac/PC) one for good, and the content would get updated automatically. I though of this for the same reason, potential buyers, sound palette, i.e what can be achieved with an Alembic... And for our personnel pleasure, for the love of the Bass guitar! I was going to contact Mica about this idea. I think it's brilliant, anyone could go on the Alembic website and download the player for free... and they could ear single, dual filters, no filters, series, various woods and so on... I said to Mica once that while it was nice to see pictures, when it comes down to it, hearing what the bass sounds like, is what we want/need! Don't you think? So, WE can help, all the members. And I am happy to advise/help anyone to get stared/hooked up for recording, at a reasonably low cost (I mean the equipment of course, I am not asking anything in return) Saying that, I have enclosed links to snippets in the past, and the only comment I received was from Dave Houck (thanks Dave), what I am trying to say, is that I am really wondering if everyone is on the same wavelength here. We often see comments and feedback on photos, but not much on sound... Anyway, give me a moment, I am going to get this thing together, hopefully before my Birthday. I'll try a sample of the player ASAP. Thanks, LG | ||
| lothartu
Intermediate Member Username: lothartu Post Number: 187 Registered: 8-2003 |
It sure would be nice to have a "media" section with "Video" and "Audio Only" sub-areas where people could post links. I get the feeling that my work productivity might take a nose dive if Mica adds something like that but I'm willing to take the risk. - Jim (Message edited by lothartu on November 06, 2006) | ||
| lg71
Advanced Member Username: lg71 Post Number: 208 Registered: 3-2006 |
It's ready, check it out! http://www.topfloormix.com/alembic.swf.zip | ||
| bumhucker
Member Username: bumhucker Post Number: 77 Registered: 3-2006 |
"Saying that, I have enclosed links to snippets in the past, and the only comment I received was from Dave Houck... " I know what you're saying-in my case, i have checked out a lot of clips and not commented. i think it's because if you look at a pic it's right there and you can easily leave a comment but a sound clip is somewhere else and it's another step to leave a comment. i like your idea-i am going to download that and check it out right now... (Message edited by bumhucker on November 06, 2006) | ||
| bumhucker
Member Username: bumhucker Post Number: 78 Registered: 3-2006 |
i tried to open it but it didn't work--i am a mac guy-do you have a mac version? | ||
| lg71
Advanced Member Username: lg71 Post Number: 210 Registered: 3-2006 |
I am using Mac too, it should open, it's a Zipped flash player. Can you unzip it? If you can, then you can launch it, I think you need the Flash 7 plugin, which is free. Let me know how you get on. | ||
| lg71
Advanced Member Username: lg71 Post Number: 212 Registered: 3-2006 |
If you are having difficulties with the previous link, got to the following page and PC/right click + download - Mac/Ctrl click + download, make sure you DO NOT DO a single/simple click (for a couple of reason, 1) it would open in full, 2) you could get some warning message due to new implementations in browsers...) Basically, it's a mini self contained Flash player, you can then launch it directly from you computer, as long as you are connected to the internet... It will update the "growing" playlist (as long as people get involved...) http://www.topfloormix.com/a_player.htm | ||
| hieronymous
Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 80 Registered: 1-2005 |
I've been posting links to my music here and there over the past couple of years, and I find comments to be rare. I also found that the fewer steps someone has to go to, the more likely they are to listen. Or maybe it's better to put it this way: the more steps that someone has to go through (as in "more than 1"), the less likely they are to listen. I don't know that a separate player is really necessary - as long as your mp3 is hosted somewhere, I think it's safe to assume that pretty much anyone with access to a high speed connection is likely to have a player in their computer anyway. So maybe if there was a forum specifically for posting links to music, and people would be expected to host their music themselves, and they can just link to it like this: circumambulate | ||
| lg71
Advanced Member Username: lg71 Post Number: 213 Registered: 3-2006 |
I am not sure if you understood the idea or the concept of this player? It's not your "everyday" player, this is something a bit more special and unique, it means that I can have your tracks showing on the playlist, yet, those tracks are still on your website as well as the photos... and everyone and download the player, friends, fans, customers etc... Even a great man like Stanley Clarke himself would be invited. I don't really like to come up with "useless" idea, of course anyone can I have a website an MP3s on it, but with this player, everyone can share the music, via one single player! Everyone will benefit from it, including Alembic. Would you like me to demonstrate how it'd work by using one or two of your songs? Thanks, LG | ||
| bumhucker
Member Username: bumhucker Post Number: 79 Registered: 3-2006 |
i downloaded flash player 9-the current one. still doesn't work. it comes up as a real player file that won't open. | ||
| lg71
Advanced Member Username: lg71 Post Number: 218 Registered: 3-2006 |
Ah! You must have Real player installed then, which may now be setup to open .swf files (flash files). Try a control click on my player, and once you get the pop-up menu, select "open with" and simply choose the Flash player. I think that should do it. I remember using Real Player long time ago, it was a bit notorious and setup itself to open every thing automatically (mp3 etc...). You could also do "apple + i" on the file, and chose, "open with" then select the flash player/application. I personally do not like Real player, the superior format is Flash for music and Quicktime for video, although Flash do video, but not as good as Quicktime. Let me now if it works. Thanks, LG (Message edited by LG71 on November 07, 2006) | ||
| adriaan
Senior Member Username: adriaan Post Number: 1112 Registered: 6-2002 |
LG, All players always want to setup themselves as the default for all formats. The nicer ones let you choose on installation, but the niceties are lost on 99% percent of all computer users. Try viewing videos in Firefox - to be frank, you stand a better chance with Internet Explorer. | ||
| lg71
Advanced Member Username: lg71 Post Number: 219 Registered: 3-2006 |
Adriaan, Thanks, I know that. I was just trying to explain Bumhuker what his problem could be. I still personally don't like Real Player, and I never liked it. | ||
| lg71
Advanced Member Username: lg71 Post Number: 220 Registered: 3-2006 |
Adriaan, On the subject, have you heard of the notorious problem with the EOLAS? It messed up a lot of websites with embedded players, like Flash or Quicktime... That's why I offered and suggested for members to download the player, as opposed to have it embedded on the page (hence, the "do not single click" message, although it could/would work with many browsers). The "hack" requires some Javascript, but sometimes people disable Javascript on their browsers, so it makes it harder for them. Scripts are wildly available on the internet, but I wasn't planning to embed the player, that's why I haven't done it "properly". The download option is great anyway, because the player can simply be emailed, it is as light as 72KB! Lighter than most photos on this forum... | ||
| bumhucker
Member Username: bumhucker Post Number: 80 Registered: 3-2006 |
i finally got it! i had to open it with safari and then update the security settings etc.. looks cool-sounds good--the tracks are great! | ||
| lg71
Advanced Member Username: lg71 Post Number: 221 Registered: 3-2006 |
I am glad, thanks a lot. Would you like me to get a couple of your track listed, so see what it looks like? It's a very simple process, all I need is the URLs, that's it! The songs stay on your website. You can have a photo for each track as well, it needs to be 130x130 pixels, preferably located in the same folder as your MP3s (just for convenience + to keep things tidy). | ||
| lg71
Advanced Member Username: lg71 Post Number: 222 Registered: 3-2006 |
Forgot to mention that a photo/picture is NOT necessary, but it's an added bonus, and an opportunity to show what Alembic you used in the track (yes, it has to be a track where you play an Alembic, otherwise it would defeat the object), and you could also have a second track with the picture of your band, for instance. - Although, as we are just testing/demonstrating it, you can on this occasion have any track you like... Until we hear from the Bosses, Mica and Dave. Then I can further explain the ins/outs, and how exactly and easily the player works, etc... | ||
| inthelows
Junior Username: inthelows Post Number: 13 Registered: 11-2006 |
LG and Harry ..both streams played fine, LG's I think media player opened it and Harry's opened with real player. Both sounded clean. I would think as long as the file sizes for archiving don't become a problem i.e. every member uploading every song in their personal catalog, I love the idea of expressing the sound aspect. We can look and read in this forum to our hearts content. Learn alot and share alot. Still it's not quite the same as hearing it. Any suggestions on software to convert analog media to digital(computer). I have tons of stuff on tape I'd love to digitize. Thanks....NLP | ||
| lg71
Advanced Member Username: lg71 Post Number: 223 Registered: 3-2006 |
NLP, good to hear that! Thanks for supporting + encouraging this project. Regarding your "A/D" conversion, I can help; First question, are you PC or MAC? | ||
| inthelows
Junior Username: inthelows Post Number: 17 Registered: 11-2006 |
LG...That would be PC running XP. And I think the Idea is Great! Thanks for the help. NLP | ||
| lg71
Advanced Member Username: lg71 Post Number: 224 Registered: 3-2006 |
NLP, the first step is to get a Soundcard, it doesn't have to be expensive though. It is really NOT worth using the built in Audio interface on your computer, trust me. What sort of media do you want to transfer? Tape only, tape + vinyl, or reel to reel... I have proposed to have a section dedicated to this on the forum, but I don't have the power to do so, so for now, we can always use the thread... | ||
| inthelows
Junior Username: inthelows Post Number: 21 Registered: 11-2006 |
Actually all the above. alot of reel to reel, some vinyl and cassete tape. Can the sound card be an external device or is there an advantage to an internal card. The reason being the PC is HP Pavilion 7320n slimline. Not a whole lot of room in there. NLP | ||
| lg71
Advanced Member Username: lg71 Post Number: 227 Registered: 3-2006 |
OK, for what you want/need, we should go for an external box, there are several reasons; internal/PCI card that have A/D-D/A converters on the card itself are lower quality, in many ways, noise/interferences being the number one problem. The only exception is the high end Lynx cards, but these are expensive and not needed for your application, although RME is good to, we want an external box, there are some in various flavor, PCI + break out box (converters + connectors on box), USB (don't go for that, poor performance) and Firewire (a great option, converters + connectors on the box, most popular these days). Sometimes, computers like HP, have problems with the chipset and you can have compatibility issues, for Firewire, the safest chipset is Texas Instruments, so if you were having problem with a fire wire interface, you could always add a Firewire PCI card, they cost around $10/20, this would be the extreme scenario. Now regarding what box, well, there are many options, and it depends on your budget. If you need phono input, you need an interface with phono inputs, there are few around, otherwise, if you have an amp or a mixer with the phono input, you could use that to go straight to your soundcard (line level). Do you want a self contained/all in one option, or do you prefer to hook up a preamp with phono inputs for the vinyl? At this stage, we concentrate on an external box. (Message edited by LG71 on November 07, 2006) | ||
| inthelows
Junior Username: inthelows Post Number: 22 Registered: 11-2006 |
I can use a mixer capable of phono and tape. An old SAE mkIX which also has EQ. I have a few others. I think at this stage I'll stick to components. NLP | ||
| lg71
Advanced Member Username: lg71 Post Number: 229 Registered: 3-2006 |
Anyone is invited to read this post, it should help you to understand the basics and the first steps, as we don't have a dedicated area, although I did suggest it, I am trying to help and advice members so they can get started, recording they own music on they computers at a reasonably low cost. OK, first and briefly, the 3 important things that you need to know about soundcards, in NO specific order: 1) sound quality (A/D-D/A converters... how good it sounds when you listen through it, and how good it sounds when you record through it), the determining factor here is "usually' the cost. 2) stability (does it crash, is it stable and compatible... ), this, doesn't always relate to the price. 3) versatility (ins/outs connections, type of connections... ), again, this, doesn't always relate to the price. You could have for example, a great sounding box, expensive, but not stable (crashes etc...), or you could have loads of ins/outs but poor sound quality, and so on... You haven't mention the budget, so let's assume that all you need is something that serves its purpose. I am going to recommend the card that I use, it's cheap, stable on my system (OSX) and versatile (it is PC compatible as well), sound quality is brilliant for the money. Here it is: http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FireWireSolo-main.html You can plug your mixer/amp output at the back of the card, you can plug headphones as well, it is self powered (Firewire), there is a volume knob that control the headphones as well as the main outputs (which is balanced BTW, a nice feature if you use nearfield monitors that have balanced inputs), so the output can go directly to some powered monitors/speakers, or to one of the stereo inputs on you Hi-Fi amp. It is compatible with Pro-Tools LE as well, and it's probably the BEST for the money, and it will stand up pretty well against other boxes at twice the price. Then you also have an XLR Mic input with +48V/Phantom power, so you can plug and power those nice condenser mic, as well as using standard dynamic mics... You also get a Bass/Guitar input, so you plug an record you instrument directly into your computer, as well as being able to listen to it through whatever is connected on the output, Hi/Fi amp, monitors.... This soundcard is a Firewire type and buss powered (NO PSU needed, although some laptops need a PSU, so it comes with one PSU anyway), it also has S/PIDIF (Digital) in/out, that's a VERY GOOD feature and a good way to get a killer setup, here is how: You can invest in a nice dedicated channel strip/preamp, that has a Digital out option for example, and you can connect it directly to you "cheap" sound card, while using the better converters form the Channel strip (bass/guitar, mic input)... then you record through it, you get a superior/much better sounding signal. Saying that, you can always plug a channel strip/preamp that doesn't have a Digital out, it will work fine, but it's just good to know that the option is there. Same can be done on the way out, for instance, you could get a Focusrite Twin track with the Digital option (in + out) and loop it through the sound card, so you monitor + record through the Focusrite, by using better converters, there are other options out there of course, but the important thing is to have some Digital In/Out on the soundcard at least. But for now, let's not get carried away or into greater details, it's just good to know that you can get a superior sounding system by knowing what to do... "cutting corners in a good way". Once you get the soundcard, come the software... In short, most people on the forum, or elsewhere, can turn their computer into a "project" recording studio, and record, edit, mix, "master" and so on... The crucial bits are; 1 x computer (obviously), 1 x soundcard, 1 x software, and a way of listening, headphones or amp/monitors... And one last important point, if you hook up a pair of active/powered monitors on your sound card, you can "through" away your Hi/Fi! Ia m not joking, you can play all your CDs on your computer, you can convert all your LPs and tapes and get them inside the computer as well, then you can archive them on CD/DVD at a higher quality, while you would convert them into MP3 to save space on the hard drive, for instant playback, if you need the Radio, you can just plug your tuner straight to the soundcard, and that's it, you can even plug the TV if you you have expensive/high quality speakers hooked up on the soundcard. Otherwise, if your Hi/Fi amp + Speakers sound great, simply plug the sound card through it, and you can always "get rid" of your CD player at least... I personally don't have Hi/Fi anymore, my whole music collection is on my hard drive inside my computer (always do regular backup though!), it's much more convenient and space saving. | ||
| inthelows
Junior Username: inthelows Post Number: 26 Registered: 11-2006 |
Very helpful. Thanks and as soon as I get some- thing rigged up and working I'll try a post. You've been very helpful and I appreciate it. NLP |
