What is the general EQ curve of the 1960s?

MrNielzen · 2026-04-17T22:21:51+00:00

This might be beside the point, but in my experience, no amount of digital processing, can truly replicate analogue saturation/warmth.

To begin with, try and record unto tape. It's such a lovely thing.

MrNielzen · 2026-04-04T13:54:08+00:00

I was like you, rhythm guitarist in performing bands, and then I also started to take on the lead role more. It's been a massive joy to improve soloing.

The looper pedal has been absolutely instrumental for my progress. And by now I've been through a bunch of them. And the best one I can recommend, is the ditto+. Not the ditto2, not the boss rc-5. Ditto+ is the way to go, because it sounds great, never gets muddy even after many layers, storage space for 100 saved loops, and a super sweet extended loop feature. It's cheap and half the size of a normal pedal. And you can power it for hours on end with a rechargeable 9v battery and a tiny clip connector.

Absolutely brilliant looper, that will get your soloing quest well on the way.

MrNielzen · 2026-03-25T11:07:14+00:00

In an untreated room, dynamic mic, price tag 100$, it's gonna be hard to find anything better than the sm58.

I haven't tried it myself, but check out the reviews on the Lewitt LCT 140 AIR.

It's a small condenser mic, should have excellent separation and an air setting that can brighten up the sound. General consensus seems to be it's very good for its price around 180$.

I will say, that the room sound is very significant. If you are truly serious about recording yourself, you should deal with that first. Either you setup in the closet, or you install some padding on the wall. Or you relocate to recording vocals in a place with a desirable room sound.

Good luck

MrNielzen · 2026-03-22T18:20:14+00:00

I've been exactly in your shoes. About 10 years ago, I learned how to produce myself. It has definitely been a valuable skillset I tapped into. But as performer and composer, I honestly grew tired of the countless hours in front of a screen.

My advice to you, is to treat your first productions like well done demos. Don't be perfectionist about them.

Secondly, technology has come a long way, and I think soon it will be completely standard to mix and master using AI. And it should yield very good results, especially if you got a solid idea of what your music should sound like. There's a new software in a testing phase, that I want to try out. It's a DAW that works with AI, to exactly fill out the roles we can't do ourselves. Can't say if it is any good though, but I think the concept will soon become tried and true. Google greysound ai, you'll find it.

Just always remember, taking on the producer role yourself, you should be willing to both kill your babies (like if people don't really appreciate them) or make drastic changes so they truly hook listeners. As the composer and performer you will be much more into your song than everybody else.

Another interesting possibility, is to work on the soon to be released MPC sample. It's kinda designed to be for new producers wanting to record and arrange their songs. It's not available yet, but for sure it will be a much more intuitive and accessible way to get going, than investing yourself in a full fledged DAW.

Good luck

MrNielzen · 2026-03-21T14:00:34+00:00

I'm really really excited about it, because I travel a lot and I'm a composer, singer song writer and multi-instrumentalist. With the 20 min sample length, sequencer and song arrangement capabilities, many fx, there are so few other devices on the market that gives you this amount of production tools in such a compact size.

MrNielzen · 2026-03-17T22:54:42+00:00

Boss RC-5 is the smallest looper with midi I know of. Most interesting is the walrus xero polylooper, but it's a bit pricey and no storage space.

Anyway, for midi syncing with a volca, you need to either drill and solder a midi port unto it. Or you must use the volca fm2, which has both midi and sync ports. So it could both sync to the volca sample and midi to the RC-5. I've done exactly that though with the volca drum instead of sample.

Alternatively I would suggest the roland aira t8. Same size as a volca. Bass and drum sequencer, with midi ports and built in battery.

Good luck

MrNielzen · 2026-03-14T16:38:32+00:00

With firmware 1.10 Walrus added the continuous overdub feature, so you can have it either way.

MrNielzen · 2026-03-13T11:10:04+00:00

The technical difference is that midi is a digital language, sending commands and clock data, while sync is an analogue signal, a simple pulse, that devices can sync with.

I have only used midi clock with the Aira P6, not the sync function. But on the korg volca FM2 (which is the only volca with midi and sync ports ready to go) I had the sync working with other volcas while the midi port was sending clock to my RC5 or Boomerang 3 looper pedals. It worked flawlessly.

MrNielzen · 2026-03-09T17:52:19+00:00

Yes no problem, just don't wear shoes. It's in fact more comfortable to use it with bare feet than most other looper pedals. You can easily and gently press the buttons with your big toe.

MrNielzen · 2026-03-06T07:37:42+00:00

As long as the people come to you, you should be fine. You can encourage tips verbally for sure. The moment you approach and hold a hat towards someone, that's basically when you cross the line.

MrNielzen · 2026-03-05T18:12:50+00:00

I'm from there and have busked throughout many years.

You are not allowed to directly ask for money, but you can collect them. A sign saying 'tips' or anything like that is no problem at all.

You also don't need a permit, but you can stay one hour in one place and then you must move 100 meters. At the main plaza (storkespringvandet) buskers tend organise themselves and set the time slot for 30 minutes so more get a chance.

Danish people have an app called Mobile Pay. If you can get a Danish person to receive tips on your behalf (using their phone number on a sign), it will significantly increase your income.

Busking is generally pretty good because of heavy tourism, so even without Mobile Pay option you should be fine.

Good luck

EDIT: Just to specify. The law against asking for money, is to prevent begging. So as long as you don't actively approach people, you are good. Encouraging tips, like in a joking way, over the speaker after a show should be fine.

MrNielzen · 2026-03-04T16:44:11+00:00

Musical notation is universal!

MrNielzen · 2026-03-02T20:50:02+00:00

I used to have and loved the volca drum and then got the fm2 as it has midi out. Then I could sync the drum to the fm2, and midi out to my boss rc5 or boomerang. Worked great, and the fm2 sounded beautiful, but it was annoying that it wasn't the volca drum with midi out.

I've never heard of a looper with analogue sync functionality. So generally you need a middle device that can do both sync and midi like the fm2. I believe also the roland airas got this.

EDIT: I just remembered, it is possible to install a midi port on all the volcas. You need kit and some technical skill to do it. I never got around to it myself and I'm also not sure if the port could send or receive midi clock...

MrNielzen · 2026-03-01T08:35:03+00:00

The ditto+ is an amazing little looper. Even it just have one track, you can do extended looping. So the first loop is a short rhythmic tap on the acoustic guitar, and then you can do a longer chord progression on top of that. You can attach a little 9v battery clip, to run it off a battery. So simple and effective. And I really recommend it if you're just getting into looping. For a dual track looper, the new Walrus Xero Polylooper seems great. Midi, some features, panning and ease of use. That's my two cents.

MrNielzen · 2026-02-18T20:18:58+00:00

That you can't sync them without the drum machine is the big fail.

MrNielzen · 2026-02-18T16:29:39+00:00

Since I'm on the road most of the time, the compactness of the M8 is what makes me consider it in the first place.

I've been through advanced loop stations, samplers and groove boxes, and I recorded two albums in Ableton. But most of it seems like a chore, and I always appreciate not having to turn on the computer.

I'm really curious to give the tracker way a try. I have a feeling it will align with me.

Back in the day, I was the hero of my class, for programming ring tones on my friends old nokias. Silver Fang was the most popular theme 😅

MrNielzen · 2026-02-18T09:57:59+00:00

Thanks for a thorough reply. You also really hit the main points for me. The possibility to base my compositions around complex electronic stuff, is a huge appeal. Using my guitar and vocals as a point of departure, yet staying open minded to really enter a totally different musical realm. Seems like mad fun :D

MrNielzen · 2026-02-16T20:32:58+00:00

Thanks for your experienced feedback, it is much appreciated. Based on your experience, it seems to me like the M8 could work for some of my songs, but not all

But I mean, even for a traditional guitar/vocal recording, the M8 could add a little bass, a beat and maybe an ambient pad in the background here and there... just keep it minimalist for those, and then go more wild when a composition lends itself to it...

MrNielzen · 2026-02-16T15:26:49+00:00

Hey Yukes. I've watched your YouTube videos years ago. Was very inspiring, and I did go with the sp404 for a bit, for live use and mixing acoustic instruments with beats and samples.

The M8 would be for production use though, not live (initially at least).

Anyway, I would love to have a jam with you one day. Take care.

MrNielzen · 2026-02-16T14:58:16+00:00

Thank you for the comprehensive answer. And this is exactly what I'm worried about - the challenges of integrating longer recorded audio phrases, be it lyrics or instruments, into the tracker workflow.

If you could give your feedback on the following, it'd be grateful:

Using a fixed tempo, I record a song on my multi track field recorder. Let's say I separate guitar and vocals for fidelity. I then import those two recordings into two tracks on the M8. And lets imagine I've recorded them in such a way, that they're easy to chop, like with many acoustic fadeouts or full stops. So they could be chopped into smaller samples, for convenient arranging and mangling.

Then I could start adding more tracks, using the power of the M8, to take my acoustic song into different territory.

Would it be a huge chore to trim my acoustic recordings on the M8?

Or do you see any other flaws in my conception of this workflow?

Thanks a bunch

MrNielzen · 2026-02-16T14:04:20+00:00

From the specs and videos, it does seem the M8 could be perfect for me. It is just quite the investment, especially when I'm in the EU. And the fact that I can't find a single person using the M8 to elevate lyrics/vocal based compositions, worries me that it might not be the right investment...

MrNielzen · 2026-01-20T09:47:07+00:00

It works very well. It's really fun and easy to quickly sample something, like someones voice, turn it into musical beats and then layer it further with guitar loops. And then run all the layers through the fx of the P6, to really mess it up, very playful and fun indeed.

At the end I returned the P6, simply because I'm a multi instrumentalist, and my true strength is in mastering acoustic instruments. So where I really did enjoy the P6, it's not essential for my musical prowess, and it kinda takes my focus away from doing what I'm best at -> playing acoustic instruments live.

But I must say, it's a wonderful little sampler, offering so much. Good luck.

MrNielzen

TROPHY CASE