I sent you a PM in this regard.

Hammeron wrote: So Dime was a Washburn man, well I never.
What did you cough up for that magnificent VMNT AOD ????

Yes, Dime was at a time a Washburn endorsee. I think he only later left for Dean. Hence the loads of Dean Dime models on the market today. BUT, Washburn should really think about re-issuing this guitar. If there's one I've ever regretted selling, it was the one pictured above that now resides with Paul. They are SO rare nowadays, and the prices have skyrocketed.

That VMNT had a tag of R15 999 on it if memory serves. But, knowing people helps so I ended up paying 6K for it, including a trade of a mint LTD.

PaulJ wrote:
One of the best guitars I've ever played, don't think I'll ever sell this one....

I should have never sold you that one!!! ? :'(

Anyway, mine (not my pic but anyway)
Dean VMNT Angel of Deth

Both the guitars I own today are in excess of the 12k mark.

Out of the two the best? By far the Gibson '61 Reissue SG.

No comments? Even bad ones?

Still missing vocals and main solo, but here it is...

http://www.reverbnation.com/standerproject/song/18679877-gebroke-demo-no-vocals-or-main

Thoughts?

Soundcloud definitely recompresses the audio. I found on my Soundcloud uploads the cymbals had that bad mp3 washy sound going on, although the originals sounded fine. So I switched to ReverbNation. No problem. They even allow you to build your own android app... For free.

I like it. Not my vibe musically but judging from the process you followed, excellent result.

It may be my laptop speakers but the vox seemed a little harsh.

Not to sound soppy but one of the last things my father said to me before he passed away at age 56 was "dont spend your entire life working for a boss. Find something you enjoy and pursue that fully".

Although I am still trying to figure out what that thing is for me, it's always at the back of my head.

Work is work and provides a measure of security, but also, in today's economy that security is false and relatively worthless. Go ask the droves of people being retrenched daily if their undying loyalty, hours of overtime and perceived job-security meant anything in the end. Well, from experience, that answer is a loud NO.

I think, as a culture, South Africans are inherently opposed to taking risks, as the fear of failing is so strong. Also, we've been taught to find a job and work until we die, basically. I see it all around me, and I'm not innocent. Loads of guys come up with good ideas but none of them ever pursue them. I myself have had some ideas, and passed on them....only to see, some time down the line, someone else doing what I intended and making a success of it.

We often also see people make a success of silly things, and think "thats no biggie....I could have done that". Well, see, there's the difference...the other guy actually did do it.

Anyway, getting back on topic, go for it!

Stubbs wrote:
Well I'm not sure I agree with that - what the hell was Lulu if not a means of just making more dough? Lars maybe, but James? Just look at his house.

Wait, let me rephrase: The band did not spare any expense during the production of this film...

So last night me and a bunch of friends had the opportunity to go see a pre-release screening of the heavily-hyped Metallica: Through the Never in 3D. This was organised by a local radio station. Apparently we were some of the first non-media people on the planet to see the thing, so cool, I guess.

So, for those interested, I figured I’d share my thoughts and some insights as to what this is all about.



I will try to not spoil too much though, but, the nature of the production really, in my opinion, does not lend itself to not spoiling anything. So rather, if you’re planning on seeing the film, and don’t want to know too much about it, or be confronted by spoilers, rather stop reading now.

From what I gather the concert footage for the film was shot in Canada a while ago. The premise of the film is that there’s a roadie that gets tasked with finding a truck containing an item the band will need during their show that night. However, this is communicated to the chap in the middle of the band’s first song. So, off he goes. From here the roadie’s night out and Metallica’s performance during this time is inter-cut.

At its core, this is a concert film. The stage show Metallica puts on is truly something to behold. Money is clearly no object to these guys. There’s just so much going on during the concert and every song they play has something memorable happening during its performance, from the Tesla-coils firing lighting above the stage, to the crosses raising out of the stage during Master of puppets, there’s lots of eye-candy production-wise going on during the stage-performance parts. The only real gripe is a relative cookie-cutter reproduction of the last 20 minutes as seen in Cunning Stunts towards the end of this new release. Think destruction scene and whatever occurred after.

Considering James Hetfield turned 50 this year, these guys still kick some mean ass. The playing is spot on and sounds excellent. However, with these productions you never know how much time is spent in-studio fixing up sections, or fixing up sound reproduction to make it sound excellent. Regardless, it sounds great and about as big as Metallica’s sounded live in ages.

The set-list is pretty much your run-of-the-mill Metallica classics. If you saw them live in SA recently you’ll know what I am talking about.

So on to the other part: the roadie’s story. Now, I understand Metallica (again) trying to do something different, but I really do not see the merit of the roadie’s mission. Sure, it’s brilliantly shot with some awesome, moody sections, fueled by Metallica’s music, but at the end of it all you kindof feel that it may have been better to just have left the “story” part out of it. The only real reason I can honestly fathom them wanting to add something like this in is to appeal to a new generation that cannot appreciate watching a band on stage, on a screen. So you get this sense that “we had to add a story to keep people entertained/interested”. Sure, like mentioned, it’s cool, and kinda weird. But at the end of it all you ask yourself “so what was all that for?”

Despite the relatively strange "story" which really does not add anything to the overall production, I found the film really awesome (yes, I am a Metallica fan). Imagine James holding the mic out to you, in 3D. Awesome!!! If you’re a fan, go see it!! Hell, if you’re not a fan, go see it. It releases on 27 September and will only be showing locally for a week.

Hey guys

So I recently ordered a cheappie online, and I am sure that when it arrives I will be swapping out the pups.relatively soon. Well, I'll see as the import of this thing is almost doubling the price but anyway....

I currently own a '61 Re-issue Gibson SG, which came loaded with Gibson '57 Classic pups. I love the way they sound so I am thinking of maybe dropping a pair in the cheappie also. Anyone know where I can find a pair?

Amazingly after my mail today I got a call from them.

Expecting the new stock to arrive by Tuesday. So told them that if I have not received positive news by Thursday, there will definitely be a cancellation.

Hey guys

Just over a week and a half ago I ordered some stuff online from a US store. (You'll see my thread eBay...would you)

I decided against eBay but bought the guitar from a store that also has an online portal.

Anyway, long story short, I paid them on 2 Sept. The funds cleared around 1 and 1/2 days later.

Since then it's been a runaround as my order was "In Authorization" long after the funds cleared. Why, I dont know????

Then it's status changed to "In Progress" but no indication of a shipping date. So, I eventually (after three emails) got feedback from the store:
The last model that was in stock did not pass QC. We did not want to ship you an item that had a defect. We are requesting the status of the next shipment due. As soon as we have a status we will email you.

Now I understand their logic but what annoys me a bit is that as the customer, they are not really being forthcoming and giving me, the guy who forked out the money, any options here. Like:
a) You can wait if you want to, or
b) You can cancel the order and we will refund you.
Nope. No such luck.
Anyway, this was two days ago. Now, its clear there's no rush on their side to get back to me. And reading between the lines, they are basically saying "you can wait".

Almost immediately after receiving the email response above, I responded requesting a refund as I may then just as well buy the guitar straight from the manufacturer. Sure, it will cost me a bit more but at least they'll have stock and all the like.

To date, no feedback from these guys. I have a feeling that I have stepped on some virtual toes on the other side of the globe.

So this afternoon I sent them this little nugget:
It's now 2 days without feedback as requested regarding the cancellation and
refund of my order.

If, by Sunday evening (15 September) I have not received a response in this
regard, I will deduct that my request is being ignored, and I will proceed
to contact my Credit Card provider to effect a chargeback as I believe I am
entitled to a refund, considering the unfortunate circumstances surrounding
my order.

As a customer I cannot be held to a purchase agreement if the item I have
requested cannot be shipped within a reasonable period of time. The order
was placed on 2 September and the funds cleared within 48 hours.

Regardless of the fact that I did eventually, after numerous requests
for feedback, receive news that the in-stock item was apparently not in an
acceptable condition and therefore not shipped, and that the order will be
held back until new stock arrives, there has been no further communication
with me in this regard whatsoever regarding timeframes etc. As a customer I
cannot be expected to basically just wait, as indirectly stated in your
email below dated Wed, Sep 11, 2013 at 7:26 PM.

Kindly get back to me in this regard?

Just wondering, what do yo guys think? Am I within my rights to request a refund?

Jacques_nasi wrote: Care to take me through your recording setup? ?

Well, I was hoping no-one would ask but to be honest my setup is really REALLY basic. I am basically running straight into a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 into Cubase.
Guitars: Gibson '61 SG and Dean Angel of Deth running through Guitar Rig using custom patches.
Bass: Yamaha (not sure of model)
Drums: Easy Drummer (lol)
Symphonic elements: Miroslav Philharmonik (I can recommend this to anyone wanting to add symphonic elements to their stuff. Best I've heard)
Some minor multi-band compression on the out BUS to clean and tighten it up a little. It's far form perfect I think but to be honest I know very little about sound production so I twiddle knobs till it sounds good to me, and work from there. hahahaha!

The one thing though that I can say helped my amateur productions A LOT, was investing in a set of monitors, and a set of studio, flat monitoring headphones. The monitors are M-Audio (around R3000 for the set), and the headphones KRK (around R1000). Before I got them I used a set of normal Sennheizer headphones, through which anything basically sounded good as it colored the sound quite a bit. It was only after I started using the monitors that I noticed my mixes sounding a bit better all around due to the extra work I noticed needed after hearing my stuff through the monitors. If you listen to my other songs at that link, which were all pre-monitors, you can actually hear the difference between those and the one I posted here. Fine, they do not have bass either, but you can still hear they sound a little too harsh, or too soft, or parts drown...or whatever. The monitors help a lot to give a good representation of how the mix actually sounds, which I did not have before. So, if I cannot hear a lead part properly now on the monitors, I know on normal audio equipment it will probably be way worse. But, I do still have a way to go.

But thanks for asking.

If you enjoy the stuff, and have an Android phone, feel free to download the Android App http://www.reverbnation.com/standerproject/app

Wormwood wrote: I really like the lead hook

Julian Emdon (LooneyAtTheGate) wrote: Its great, good production, nice vibe and kief riffs.

Jacques_nasi wrote: I like it a lot, to me everything sounds real solid, I like the arrangements and great lead tone. listening to this I just realize again how much I have to work on my own stuff to get it sounding near a decent level.

Thanks guys!

21Fretter wrote:nothing new.

Maybe it's time to bring out my Arctic Mating Noises and mix them in... ?
Hehehe.

Doing something truly original nowadays...not easy...so I am basically just dropping all my influences into one pot...

ThomasN wrote: Nice arrangements. It sounds pretty tight, well done man :bopping:
I really like the choppy intro riff!

Thanks man!

I bought one not so long ago. Marshalls was of no help. Ended up getting help from Music Mate. Paid around R1200.

ThomasN wrote:

symbolofmylife wrote: Hey guys,

I was looking for a specific guitar for some time and finally found one on eBay. I also checked with the local distributor and they wont be bringing that specific model over it appears.

So, my question: would you buy a guitar on eBay and have it shipped here?

Also, who's done it and did it arrive in good nic?

My response would be no. Never again.

I ended up buying the guitar but not through eBay. Bought from a store. When it arrives I will post details of everything as I see a lot of people here ask about it.