veloman Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 Someone above mentioned Ibanez guitars. I remember them being advertised in a Grattan catalogue, or some such thing , back in the late 60's/very early 70's and, although I am not a guitarist, I don't think they were supposed to be very good. But then they seemed to re-invent them selves and became really good, a bloke I played with had one. Similar happened to Pearl drums IIRC; there was a kit in the front of the window at George Clay's in Broad Street; no one seemed interested and they were slowly moved further back out of sight. But they too had a resurgence, possibly helped by the fact that Rat Scabies (Sex Pistols ) used them and they became ace. The best kit I ever had was Pearl - better than Ludwig, Rogers etc. Clever marketing I guess. If you are from Birmingham and remember George Clay's shop, did you know he was a massive Villa fan? Followed all around Europe too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted August 16, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted August 16, 2020 My daughter has an Ibanez mandolin (that I bought for her). For a budget priced instrument it's very good. There's a never-ending argument that rages as to whether you're just paying for the name with Gibson and Fender guitars, and perhaps you're better off going for Squiers and Epiphones. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xann Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 This little app is described as by the online sampling communities. A recent update enables audio capture from Youtube. It's £4, and some MPC users are switching to it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted August 17, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted August 17, 2020 6 hours ago, Xann said: This little app is described as by the online sampling communities. A recent update enables audio capture from Youtube. It's £4, and some MPC users are switching to it. A brilliantly clever and ingenious piece of software, for making horrible music. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethRDR Posted August 17, 2020 Author Share Posted August 17, 2020 23 hours ago, mjmooney said: My daughter has an Ibanez mandolin (that I bought for her). For a budget priced instrument it's very good. There's a never-ending argument that rages as to whether you're just paying for the name with Gibson and Fender guitars, and perhaps you're better off going for Squiers and Epiphones. Music Man's budget range stuff is really good, I've found. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted August 17, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted August 17, 2020 1 hour ago, GarethRDR said: Music Man's budget range stuff is really good, I've found. Can't speak for other instruments, but it seems to me that the gap between budget guitars and top of the range has narrowed greatly in the past couple of decades. The sweet spot for me is somewhere between £300 and £400. Any less than that and the quality tends to be iffy. Above that, and the gap between what you're paying and what improvements you're getting gets ever wider. A £3000 guitar is undoubtedly superior to a £300 one - in components, build quality, etc. - but is it TEN TIMES as good? I think not. Sure, if you're a professional musician, you'll want the best tools for the job, and if you can afford it, why not. But for the rest of us - the semi-pros and hobbyists, the mid-range stuff makes the most sense. I have a £500 (secondhand price) US-built Fender Telecaster and a £150 far-eastern Epiphone Les Paul Special, and there's nothing to choose between them for sound and playability (if anything I marginally prefer the Epi). Same with acoustics. I went shopping last year and came away with an Epiphone J200 that sounded and played better than Taylors and Takamines at two and three times the price (you'll gather that I'm quite an Epiphone fan). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethRDR Posted August 17, 2020 Author Share Posted August 17, 2020 Pretty much bang-on, that. Most of my gear sits in that sweet-spot, and though I can hear/feel the difference in quality between my cheapo grab-it-and-go Squier Jazzmaster and the rest of my guitars, I'm a bajillion miles away from having the ear (or ability!) to justify anything boutique. Can get quite differing experiences in that mid-range too depending on where the guitar's been built, my Mexican Strat has my Chinese Tele beat hands-down on build quality despite coming in about £100 cheaper. If I ever did push the boat out I could maybe stretch to a Reverend, my tutor swears by his, they look the tits and would still be well under £1k. Ultimately, it all sounds the same after I've annihilated the signal through 15 different pedals anyway. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veloman Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 4 hours ago, mjmooney said: Can't speak for other instruments, but it seems to me that the gap between budget guitars and top of the range has narrowed greatly in the past couple of decades. Damn good point. It is the same with acoustic drums (IMO). The odd thing is that if the drum is "Made In Japan" as opposed to China, it tends to be the higher end kit; contrast that with (many) years ago when the reverse was true as regards Japan. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xann Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 Jesus Titty Christ! 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethRDR Posted August 17, 2020 Author Share Posted August 17, 2020 (edited) 8 minutes ago, Xann said: Jesus Titty Christ! ....think I'll wait for the VST version. It's like Sunn O))) covered by Skynet. Edited August 17, 2020 by GarethRDR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 36 minutes ago, veloman said: Damn good point. It is the same with acoustic drums (IMO). The odd thing is that if the drum is "Made In Japan" as opposed to China, it tends to be the higher end kit; contrast that with (many) years ago when the reverse was true as regards Japan. A good few years ago we bought a full set from that well known music specialist, the middle aisle of Lidl. Not a toy, a genuine real set, from memory they were a couple of hundred quid. We kinda presumed they’d be fairly awful but would test whether the nipper was genuinely long term interested. They’ve been superb. We’ve swapped out a couple of things over the years, we’ve acquired better pedals, a couple of better cymbals (or at least cymbals with known brand names on). But essentially it’s the same core set of drums. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veloman Posted August 17, 2020 Share Posted August 17, 2020 1 hour ago, chrisp65 said: They’ve been superb. We’ve swapped out a couple of things over the years, we’ve acquired better pedals, a couple of better cymbals (or at least cymbals with known brand names on). But essentially it’s the same core set of drums. Excellent; yep, IMO, cymbals are the key. You can fiddle around with cheap drums and get a decent sound out of them but cymbals are a different proposition . 20 odd years ago , they were either good or awful; Avedis Zildjian, Paiste and a bit later Sabian being good and the rest not (Super Zyn, Ajax etc) .But now the top brands have launched 'budget ' ranges and they are pretty good. If your nipper needs 'bits' can I suggest "Rockem", oop North, for good prices. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lichfield Dean Posted August 17, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted August 17, 2020 4 hours ago, veloman said: Excellent; yep, IMO, cymbals are the key. You can fiddle around with cheap drums and get a decent sound out of them but cymbals are a different proposition . 20 odd years ago , they were either good or awful; Avedis Zildjian, Paiste and a bit later Sabian being good and the rest not (Super Zyn, Ajax etc) .But now the top brands have launched 'budget ' ranges and they are pretty good. If your nipper needs 'bits' can I suggest "Rockem", oop North, for good prices. It used to be the case that Stagg cymbals were cheap t buy and cheap to listen to, but at some point in the last ten years they worked out how to make cymbals properly and they sound anything but cheap now. Lines like the Myra and the Furia are very very good instruments and much better value than Sabian or Zildjian. Most of my cymbals are now Stagg and I have zero complaints. They also do some very nice Black Metal ride cymbals that are nice and dry. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veloman Posted August 18, 2020 Share Posted August 18, 2020 7 hours ago, Lichfield Dean said: It used to be the case that Stagg cymbals were cheap t buy and cheap to listen to, but at some point in the last ten years they worked out how to make cymbals properly and they sound anything but cheap now. Lines like the Myra and the Furia are very very good instruments and much better value than Sabian or Zildjian. Most of my cymbals are now Stagg and I have zero complaints. They also do some very nice Black Metal ride cymbals that are nice and dry. Ah yes, I forgot Stagg , sorry. Yep , they have improved greatly and are a reasonable price too. You may know Arcade Music, Cannock - bloke in there is an advocate of their cymbals. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lichfield Dean Posted August 18, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted August 18, 2020 2 hours ago, veloman said: Ah yes, I forgot Stagg , sorry. Yep , they have improved greatly and are a reasonable price too. You may know Arcade Music, Cannock - bloke in there is an advocate of their cymbals. Have not been to Arcade Music. Might have to check it out sometime if it's recommended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted August 18, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted August 18, 2020 Those of you into home recording and orchestral arrangements might like this - Spitfire Audio BBC Symphony orchestra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xann Posted August 19, 2020 Share Posted August 19, 2020 Fearsome technique! On 17/08/2020 at 08:24, mjmooney said: A brilliantly clever and ingenious piece of software, for making horrible music. You can use it as much or as little as you like, Mike. This is total immersion, but it could be just you doing a tambourine line. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted August 19, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted August 19, 2020 (edited) 5 hours ago, Xann said: Sure, I know. Just me playing up to my stereotype for the laffs. Obviously, I prefer making more accessible, traditional stuff like this (headphones recommended). Edited August 19, 2020 by mjmooney 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xann Posted August 21, 2020 Share Posted August 21, 2020 (edited) On 19/08/2020 at 13:14, mjmooney said: Sure, I know. Just me playing up to my stereotype for the laffs. Obviously, I prefer making more accessible, traditional stuff like this (headphones recommended). Whoa, whoa, whoa. What's this? You'd sell 50 copies of that to the right Facebook group, on cassette. That might sound like I'm taking the piss, I'm not Edited August 21, 2020 by Xann Honest 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted August 21, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted August 21, 2020 Tee hee. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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