Any musicians here?

[NoJobRob]

Does anyone here play, write, or record music? Music is a huge part of my life and I honestly wouldn't want to live without it. Tell us what you play, how long you've played it, and what kind of equipment you use. I'll start.

I play guitar, mainly electric, and a little bass for recording purposes. I started playing guitar in 1992 when I was in 5th grade. My influences were/are Randy Rhoads, Zakk Wylde, Dimebag Darrell, Joe Satriani, and Rocky George. I also do drum programming because drummers are hard to find. Not only are drummers a rare commodity because of the years of practice it requires and the cost of equipment, but good drummers are even more rare. And then finding a good one that plays metal is damn near impossible in Hawaii. LOL I want to get into playing keyboards a little, just so I can add some piano parts to some of my slower songs (think Type O Negative), and maybe even some choir too. I think that would add a cool atmospheric effect.

I play Jackson and ESP/LTD guitars, use Crate amps with Celestion speakers, Boss/Roland effects, and of course Dunlop for when I need some crybaby/wah sound. My main guitar tone comes from using distortion, chorus, compression/sustain, and a splash of reverb. When I solo I use a bit more reverb and maybe some delay too, and of course wah wah when I think it would be a good fit. I also like to drown my solos in reverb on my slower songs because I like how it sounds. It gives it a very wet, almost dreamlike sound.

I used to have a MySpace for my music, but since no one is on MySpace anymore and Facebook doesn't have anything comparable for bands, I no longer have an online presence.

Alright. Anyone else?

[Anthony1973]

I started out playing keyboard, then got into guitar when I was a lot younger. I found I could play just about any instrument (ocarina was one I learnt one day I was bored ) more recently I am just playing guitar with my fantastic lovely little garage punk band lost in last week. I recently snapped my ESP LTD Viper with Duncan Marshall pick ups (in my profile pic), so am now playing on hybrid strats I've put together, amongst other things.

I just love playing, its a passion, and hopefully I am improving.

In my spare room I have two hybrid strats (decent copies with fender hardware), a shiny new encore strat for jamming sessions, marshall DFX100 amp, line 6 floor pod, tanglewood acoustic (old and beatiful sounding) and my grandfathers (he taught me keyboard, god bless his soul) technics double keyboard (hammond style, solid and great) and an accordian, hohner I think. also a little mixer that i haven't gotten around to figuring out yet, and cubase package on the computer.

It is getting good now, we are on myspace... dunno if the moderator will allow the link

lost in last week | Free Music, Tour Dates, Photos, Videos

good to see another muso on here, should start a forum get each other gigs around the world... that'd be a blast, I can get gigs in Blackpool should anyone want! you can start a facebook page, we have one too, you can link myspace or youtube vids to the page, and actually play videos on there

[Anthony1973]

and if you want any keys putting on your stuff let us know what you would like, send me a raw file and lets make some sounds

[mikethedrummer44]

I am.

I play drums for a band I'm in right now, but I've been practicing guitar a few hours per day for a few months, and I'm really getting the hang of it. Planning on focusing more on guitar, because I like it better, and I think I've gotten to the point on drums where I can do anything that the rock genre demands.

You can listen to my band's absolutely horrible old stuff here.

Art in Thesis (EP out now! New song up!) | Free Music, Tour Dates, Photos, Videos

I hate myspace.

[Jon Tore]

Indeed! Music is pretty much the only thing I keep my spare time busy with when I'm truly free (and when I'm not, too).

You can hear my latest small unfinished project in my signature (or here), which will tell you something about what I'm into. It's all recorded in my home. (oh btw, some guys helped me out, playing with me here, but they're not my band)

I mainly play guitar - Gibson les paul standard (and a decent amp I got when I first started playing)

Keyboard - Some Roland E-70 thing where I abuse MIDI connection to the computer.

Bass - Squire jazz bass

Drums - Pearl set (not sure what everything is, but it's good drums that someone needed to get rid of, thus a ridiculously cheap prize.


Home studio - 4 mics for recording drums and amps: 2x Røde NT5, 1 Shure SM57 and one Shure beta 52a + Zoom R16 (8-track mixer/recorder/interface)


I'm very deeply into strange bizarre music to put it that way and spend many months on just a few minutes of a song.. some of my influences are:

Mats & Morgan Band
Return to Forever
Beardfish
[insert 70s prog bands here]
Opeth..

and much more.

[NoJobRob]

Originally Posted by Jon Tore

Indeed! Music is pretty much the only thing I keep my spare time busy with when I'm truly free (and when I'm not, too).

You can hear my latest small unfinished project in my signature (or here), which will tell you something about what I'm into. It's all recorded in my home. (oh btw, some guys helped me out, playing with me here, but they're not my band)

I mainly play guitar - Gibson les paul standard (and a decent amp I got when I first started playing)

Keyboard - Some Roland E-70 thing where I abuse MIDI connection to the computer.

Bass - Squire jazz bass

Drums - Pearl set (not sure what everything is, but it's good drums that someone needed to get rid of, thus a ridiculously cheap prize.


Home studio - 4 mics for recording drums and amps: 2x Røde NT5, 1 Shure SM57 and one Shure beta 52a + Zoom R16 (8-track mixer/recorder/interface)


I'm very deeply into strange bizarre music to put it that way and spend many months on just a few minutes of a song.. some of my influences are:

Mats & Morgan Band
Return to Forever
Beardfish
[insert 70s prog bands here]
Opeth..

and much more.

Opeth is awesome.

[Anthony1973]

If any of you can sing we have a band

[Jon Tore]

Originally Posted by NoJobRob

Opeth is awesome.

It is in its very own way my favorite band of all time!

[brendannz]

I like strumming an acoustic guitar, but don't really consider myself a musician, my talents more in the visual arts

[spacecadetglow]

Right here in the house. I lurve music.

I play a Takamine acoustic and a little Squier electric. Got a Vox amp. I don't know specifics. I also play a Yamaha electric keyboard.

Anyone have recordings? Here are mine.

Amy Shaw

[NoJobRob]

Cool stuff from all of you. I listened to one song from each of your sites/MySpace pages. I'm still working on my newer stuff (which will be a lot better than my old stuff), so I'm not planning on making it public for a while. I have my last batch of songs though, so I'll see about getting them up somewhere so you can check them out. The sound quality isn't as good as my new ones, plus back then I was just using a drum machine on a Digitech GNX4, so the beat stays the same throughout the entire song. That really limited what I could do. Now I'm using Drums on Demand and it's really taken the damper off of what I can do. I'm excited.

[NoJobRob]

Here's a moldy oldie. Don't be too critical. LOL This stuff is shyte compared to my new stuff.

NoJobRob's Dropbox on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

[Andrew Brunelle]

When I was in high school, I played the triangle, but they let me go because I kept missing it. I've never played an instrument, but I am an avid music fan. If I were to play an instrument, it would be either a guitar or a banjo. I used to own a harmonica, but wasn't very good.

[LostMyMap]

Well I used to play guitar a lot. I keep threatening to get back into it. Spacey has been inspiring me there. I still have three, including a '76 Les Paul Custom, all original. (No it isn't for sale)

And there will be a djembe in my future....

[old dead wood]

Started guitar lessons in 1963 after the initial Beach Boys / surf-guitar hits, and right before the Beatles. My teacher was Danny Weis, guitar player on the first Iron Butterfly album. Took up drums when I found out they were easier. Spent virtually all weekend nights during high school in a working band playing gigs: no dates, no girlfriends, no parties, etc. Quit in '73 to try to be "normal" (marriage, job, etc.): big mistake. Took it back up a couple of years ago. I am now 60 years old, playing drums in a dance band most every weekend. I just can't go into how vast and deep my connection to popular music has been. My childhood relationship to am radio pop-rock music hits here in the US in the late 1950's and early 1960's was sublime. My unbidden creative inputs were numerous, but my talent / abilities to act as a channel were limited.

[old dead wood]

Originally Posted by Jon Tore

Zoom R16 (8-track mixer/recorder/interface)

I listened to your music on your link. It's very good and the recording seems clean. Are you happy with the Zoom? Have you used many "mutitrackers" before? Any tape or computer recordings ? Were you able to mix AND master your recordings to your satisfaction? I have used Portastudio tape machines, stereo reel-to-reels, and recently a personal computer with 2 hard drives to record my stuff. I had so many cable and "buzz" problems with the PC that I now want to try a multitracker, but I haven't known anyone who could play me a sample of a recording made by same. Your recording encourages me. Thank You.

[aelle]

I'm a choir singer. Soprano. I love voice work of all types.

[sorter]

Drums
A little something from the 80s.
Not good but at least creative.
http://catharsisfilms.com/_zzzzz/Astronaut.mp3
(Not an embedded player. If your browser doesn't play it you're on your own)

[Anthony1973]

Originally Posted by spacecadetglow

Right here in the house. I lurve music.

I play a Takamine acoustic and a little Squier electric. Got a Vox amp. I don't know specifics. I also play a Yamaha electric keyboard.

Anyone have recordings? Here are mine.

Amy Shaw

here you go sgc

lost in last week | Free Music, Tour Dates, Photos, Videos

have a listen to any but the last one (stand down captain) as that is just the bassist and drummer trying to make a noise through their mouths... singing it aint (NoJobRob, I hope you wasn't unfortunate enough to pick that one to listen to!!).

we have another studio session in the pipeline to finish our album, I just love the freedom music gives you.

[NoJobRob]

I just noticed my song wasn't up on that site unless I logged in. wtf? LOL

[Summerbreeze]

Triangles are the way I roll.

I mostly live from performances at Buddhist temples.

~sb

[Andrew Gubb]

I've come to think of you as the guy who talks in obscure lingo now Rob

[Astral Capriccio]

For six years, I was producing music for myself and many others around the world, occasionally providing a recording service to a few people. There were a lot of collaborative efforts and it was an interesting time, but I grew weary of it and packed it up last year. However, I've been writing songs for myself and others (varying in genre) for a hell of a long time now, and it's not something I plan to end, though I am taking a break.

I did independently release an album last year via a label in France, and there was some talk of live performances, but I’m just not in the position, mentally, to deal with that right now.

I do have profiles online with my music, including Myspace, but I feel a lot of these websites are tumbling downhill.

[spacecadetglow]

Just finished my first new song in several months last night. Yippee!

...why does inspiration only come to me out of emotional turmoil? It's funny, because this song starts out really cheery and upbeat, and then descends into darker, quieter sounds. And finishes with a variation on the first chorus, only the second chord is slightly modified and changes the whole sound. I've never written anything quite like this, I'm excited!

[Astral Capriccio]

Originally Posted by spacecadetglow

...why does inspiration only come to me out of emotional turmoil?

It’s a bit of a pain, isn’t it?

I could complain to no end about my personal miseries, but I know that without them I’d be a void and voiceless, lacking the soul for expressive creativity.

I know a composer who has worked on major projects and though she is faced with endless trial, she too remembers that it's a bitter reality one needs to keep the heart beating in music.

[spacecadetglow]

Yeah. I just hate to think that a life of continuous suffering is necessary for creative output. That seems awfully limiting.

But you're totally right with keeping the heart beating in music. Brought tears to my eyes! So true.

[Astral Capriccio]

Originally Posted by spacecadetglow

Yeah. I just hate to think that a life of continuous suffering is necessary for creative output.

I understand how you feel.

The world of art and creativity is one big paradox. I once suspected that I’d lose my creativity with happiness, but then I realised I would never be happy without it.

A bit of a tangle that, don't you think?

In all honesty, though, I don't think that a person would ultimately lose their creativity through happiness - it's buried inside like a memory, however hard to find. I just think one must learn to tap back into it from a different perspective and master the controls. It's all a learning process.

[Andrew Gubb]

Originally Posted by spacecadetglow

Yeah. I just hate to think that a life of continuous suffering is necessary for creative output. That seems awfully limiting.

But you're totally right with keeping the heart beating in music. Brought tears to my eyes! So true.

I've done happy poems. I think it's possible.

You just need to be passionate about something. It can be good passion or bad passion... just has to be passion.

[elucidate]

I've been teaching myself to sing for 15 years, and I am learning to play cello. I also played piano from age 8-17. I wouldn't be able to play anything now though, haven't played in over 15 years.

[stormpsyche]

Am teaching myself piano. Am in Book 4 of the Suzuki method working on a 12-page song. Have a lot of work ahead of me to accomplish smoother, more connected playing. Another goal is to always hit the right key (my ears know it but sometimes my fingers need to be more accurate).

Played a little Jew's Harp when I had one.

Have played by ear since someone brought a piano in our house when I was six. Should have had lessons then.