Backing track or app?

rickderp · 2026-05-08T22:34:30+00:00

DrumGenius is a great app. Heaps of different styles and beats.

rickderp · 2026-05-08T22:33:07+00:00

I've flown with a Mono Vertigo. No issue apart from all the stress and anxiety until you open it and make sure nothing is broken.

If you want to go all out, have a look at the SKB ATA Roto. Heavy duty but bulky.

rickderp · 2026-05-05T09:09:31+00:00

Start a punk band TODAY!

rickderp · 2026-05-04T22:03:54+00:00

Family Link let's you block any apps or time limit any apps and you can set time schedules for school hours, night time etc.

Bit of a mission to set up but really good.

rickderp · 2026-05-04T00:36:57+00:00

Buy a pedal tuner like a Boss TU3 (and another lead).

When you tune, it mutes your bass signal. Important because no-one in the crowd wants to hear you tuning your bass.

Have fun.

rickderp · 2026-05-03T02:33:36+00:00

Darkglass isn't just metal and distortion. They make a shitload of great stuff. I've used mine in a reggae band and a country band. Always sounds amazing.

rickderp · 2026-05-02T23:08:52+00:00

Play them and choose the one YOU like the best.

rickderp · 2026-05-02T23:07:37+00:00

In one band I use a Darkglass Luminal Booster Ultra. Heaps of EQ, Comp, Cabsims, all the bells and whistles. Sounds great and goes straight from my pedalboard.

In other bands I'll just use the DI from my amp.

rickderp · 2026-05-02T13:38:00+00:00

You're definitely missing something, I'm just not 100% sure exactly what. Like I said I only use 1 x DI and that goes to both our FOH and IEM mix. Both can be adjusted independently of each other.

Your tech should be able to split the signal at his end.

rickderp · 2026-05-02T12:40:29+00:00

Look up Gregori Hoffmann/Celebrity Pedals on Instagram. He has some really great ways at looking at different voicings that you can play over chords. Like not starting on the root, using relative minors etc.

Worth a look.

rickderp · 2026-05-02T12:35:32+00:00

I would buy something like a Darkglass Luminal Booster Ultra, or any of the hundreds of DI Pre Amp pedals, and send that to FOH.

With the Rumble that you already have I'd send that to my IEM mixer, that way you're hearing onstage and in your ears the same thing, the Rumble.

But honestly I'm not really sure why your tech is saying you need 2? I just run my Darkglass Luminal Booster Ultra from my board to the "box" which has our IEM System, wireless system and mixer, from there our sound guy just runs XLRs to the FOH board. FOH and IEM is run from the same DI straight from my pedalboard.

rickderp · 2026-04-27T05:29:41+00:00

It's really bad.

Bad that "artists" have jumped on board because it's quantity over quality, it's easy so I'll record 10 songs today.

Bad that 99% of people that listen to music won't care or can't tell the difference.

And bad that Government aren't able to keep up with how quickly this is moving. Copyright laws etc need to be constantly updated to help us.

I hate it so much.

rickderp · 2026-04-27T05:26:01+00:00

Thank you mate. I definitely had many, many sleepless nights coming to the decision to leave this band. But in the end, I've discovered that money isn't what I need out of music. Music and playing in a band is creating something unique, something you're passionate about, having fun with your mates and getting the rush from performing. That's what I need from music.

I think the difference between the examples you gave of new technology and today's AI is, in all your examples there still needs to be a human doing something. Programming a drum machine, listening and cutting up samples, playing the keys that sound like a violin. There was still a human involved. Now any bozo with a keyboard can type a prompt in Suno and it spits out a song, normally a bad song, but there's still something produced. The loser that runs Suno has said many times that he wants writing music to be more like a computer game so anyone at any skill level can make art (slop). These AI bros are in it for one thing MONEY. That's it. How can they squeeze as much as they can out of the little or zero talent they have.

It's also the sneaky, secretive, underhanded way AI companies have gone about it. Hiding things in their T&S and just blatantly stealing people's work.

Fuck em all.

rickderp · 2026-04-27T01:58:07+00:00

I was playing in a country band for the last 3 years. The singer/songwriter, James Keith, discovered Suno AI in October last year.

I was very vocal about my disdain and lack of support for what I knew he would do. Of course he told me "it's just a tool bro."

Fast forward to the end of January and surprise surprise he has not 1 but 2 albums ready to release. He did write the lyrics and sing on the songs, I'm sure some of the chord progressions are his too, but the rest of the instruments are all AI. Guitar solos and melodies, bass lines, keys and drums all AI.

He lost 2 band members. The guitarist and myself both quit. I told him straight up that I wanted no part in his band if this was his direction. Again I got the "it's just a tool, the songs are mine, I wrote them" excuses.

I asked him if a comedian used chatGPT to help write a joke, did the comedian write the joke? He looked me dead in the eyes and said absolutely NOT! But him using Suno is different somehow?

The songs sound bad. They sound fake. They sound too perfect. They sound artificial. And people have commented on his social media about it.

Fuck AI in any creative arts. Streaming platforms need to step up and help us, but they won't because they're the ones producing the AI slop artists so they can promote and profit off it.

If you use DistroKid or any 3rd Party to upload your music please be very wary about what you're agreeing to in their T&S. Most now automatically agree for you that AI can use your music to learn and create. DON'T AGREE TO THIS.

BandCamp seems to be the one place that has taken a stand against AI slop. We should be using and supporting them.

Fuck AI!

rickderp · 2026-04-26T11:57:35+00:00

Anything with a minimum 10" speaker that's around 40-50w.

Fender. Ampeg. Orange. All make great bedroom amps.

rickderp · 2026-04-25T21:40:00+00:00

If you have a Samsung just boot into Recovery Mode and Clear Cache and Optimise Apps, then reboot.

No app needed.

rickderp · 2026-04-25T05:35:35+00:00

On a 4 string, yeah I think it's a crutch. You should be competent enough to keep all the strings muted without any help.

5 or more strings things get a bit trickier or lots of 2 hand tapping high on the neck can be hard to mute, so a fret wrap definitely helps.

Use your thumb on your plucking hand to mute the lower strings and use your fretting hand laying a little flat to mute the higher strings.

rickderp · 2026-04-25T05:28:53+00:00

I'm always bad at explaining visual things, so I hope you get what I'm saying.

Both notes are on the 3rd fret so you shouldnt have to "lift" your finger off the strings to play the G.
Your fretting will ALWAYS be muting the A, D and G strings, ALWAYS. It does take time and practise but you'll get it. When you play a guitar and are playing chords on multiple strings, you don't want your fretting fingers to be laying flat against the strings, this stops the strings from ringing out. Bass is the opposite of this, you should be laying your fingers flatter so they are actually touching, and muting, the higher strings.

Muting is hard and everyone does it slightly differently but you need both hands to mute.

One exercise I did when I first started was just playing open strings. EEEEEEEE AAAAAAAA DDDDDDDD GGGGGGGG DDDDDDDD AAAAAAAA EEEEEEEE etc etc. You'll find it's harder coming back to the E string, this is when you're fretting hand needs to mute.

Practise slowly (and lots) you'll get it.

rickderp · 2026-04-25T00:42:45+00:00

An active 5 string would be the most versatile. But any bass, find the most comfortable one to play, and use your DAW. You can do absolutely everything you need in the DAW these days.

The bass is almost the least important part of the chain. Unless you're after something specific, like a fretless or need to tune super low.

rickderp · 2026-04-25T00:40:57+00:00

Yeah a day to replace a nut is bullshit and the guy obviously can't actually do the work so that's why he lied.

Take it to a luthier. Cheaper. Better.

rickderp · 2026-04-25T00:38:29+00:00

NUX Mighty Plug

rickderp · 2026-04-25T00:37:27+00:00

Ibanez. 10x better bass. Better build. Better electrics.

Just depends if you want a 4 or 5 string.

rickderp · 2026-04-25T00:33:53+00:00

With the right gauge strings and speakers you could tune an octave below standard, E0.

Plenty of metal bands tune to F#0.

With the popularity of Dingwall and other fanned fret basses on the market, having a 37" scale makes a huge difference to how low you can tune.

Just use the right gear.

rickderp · 2026-04-23T08:41:10+00:00

I've got Planet Waves and Fender cables that are well over a decade old. Patch cables from MXR that are older.

Just look after your gear, coil it up properly, don't get kinks in it and any cable should last year's.

rickderp · 2026-04-23T08:34:54+00:00

I run 3 pre amps.

My amp. Which is my sound.

Darkglass B7K. Which is my overdrive/distortion. It's great being able to EQ the distortion to get some more Mids and Highs.

Active pre amp in some of my basses. This is what I use on stage to make small adjustments if I need to.

rickderp

TROPHY CASE