3 Tunes @ ambient gig with GP-10/Strymon Big Sky/Pigtronix Infinity/Boss RC-300

Started by aliensporebomb, July 12, 2017, 05:35:54 AM

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aliensporebomb

Tune One:


Tune Two:


Tune Three:


This particular show I used the GP-10 instead of the VG-99 to see how well that worked plus I also used two different loopers to have up to five loops happening at once, some forwards, some backwards.

This is 3 out of the 5 tunes performed but gives you an idea of how welll everything worked. 

Setup:

Soloist Guitar, Roland GK-3.

Boss GP-10 with external footswitch.
Strymon Big Sky reverb (after the GP-10 but before the first looper)
Pigtronix Infinity with external footswitch.
Boss RC-300.
Out to the board/monitoring.

Questions?  Just ask.
My music projects online at http://www.aliensporebomb.com/

GK Devices:  Roland VG-99, Boss GP-10, Boss SY-1000.

chrish

Unfortunately due to slow internet connection speeds I was unable to get the full sense of the composition.

However I was able to hear some of the  synth sounds . You've sure created some nice ambient Tones out of that gp10.

So is the GP 10 a suitable replacement for your VG 99 patches?

aliensporebomb

After this experiment my answer is: NO!

I'll the GP for gigs where time in setup and space is at a premium but the VG is still timbrally king for variety of tones.
My music projects online at http://www.aliensporebomb.com/

GK Devices:  Roland VG-99, Boss GP-10, Boss SY-1000.

Mrchevy

Gibson Les Paul Custom
Epi Les Paul Standard
Gibson SG 50's prototype
Squire classic vibe 60's
Epi LP Modern
Epi SG Custom
Martin acoustic

Princeton chorus 210

GT100
GR-55
Helix LT
Waza Air Headphones
Boomerang III

And, a lot of stuff I DON'T need

Hurricane


aliensporebomb

Pretty much all the patches are ones I created for the show - the main hex synth patch is a variation of the eno organ patch I've discussed before - I still haven't perfected it IMO.  The lead distorted patch in the second improv is one I created too.  The GP-10 is clean but doesn't have that shimmery brightness the VG-99 can get in some ways.  They're two different animals.  So I just need to run them both together!
My music projects online at http://www.aliensporebomb.com/

GK Devices:  Roland VG-99, Boss GP-10, Boss SY-1000.

Rhcole

I have a question on logistics. Do you stand because of the greater impact you have as a performer by doing so? I always play seated, it's the only way I can personally control multiple foot pedals. I just am not coordinated enough to tap dance around. Plus ambient music isn't usually very "flash" for showcasing your Van Halen chops...

mooncaine


aliensporebomb

My last gig at Art-a-Whirl I sat on a stool and played which is fine if you're in a wet hallway (it was pouring down rain that afternoon) on the way to various art galleries but on an actual stage it's not a super compelling visual presentation when you have actual lights to have a guy just sitting there.  Standing isn't completely optimal either - I had a laser light I wanted to add and decided against it at the last minute.  I had 20 footswitches up there to manage so it was a bit easier to go from switch to switch standing. 

So, yeah, visual presentation was part of it and the other half was practicality.  20 footswitches!  And that isn't the "biggest setup" I could have dragged out there.

Here's the art-a-whirl gig (part of it anyway to contrast):


Second camera:


Art-a-whirl was only using one looper and I was a little happier with the way it turned out musically.  At Convergence the camera was a little farther away from the stage and so it got that "PA in a room sound" whereas the camera at art-a-whirl was a lot closer and I cranked my PA up a bit so that people would be able to hear me up and down the hallway to the various art studios. 

Gear at Art-a-Whirl:
Soloist guitar with GK3, Gp-10, external footswitch, Big Sky, Pigtronix Infinity with external footswitch, PA

Gear at CVG:
Soloist guitar with GK3, GP-10, external footswitch, Big Sky, Pigtronix Infinity with external footswitch, Boss RC-300, PA

The RC-300 meant I could not only record the loops in studio quality in stereo but also have up to 5 loops going at once, some forward, some backwards.


My music projects online at http://www.aliensporebomb.com/

GK Devices:  Roland VG-99, Boss GP-10, Boss SY-1000.

Elantric

I have to stand up when Playing guitar as I move around quite a bit particularly during improvised solos -happens naturally

It's important to keep your head up and avoid staring at your fretboard (shoe gaze ) the whole gig and it helps to interact with the crowd - convey background history of each performance piece   (Tip jar get filled faster )

if I had to sit in a chair during the entire live performance id probably fall over on the floor mid solo

Hurricane

;D

Quote from: Elantric on July 15, 2017, 08:54:12 AM
I have to stand up when Playing guitar as I move around quite a bit particularly during improvised solos -happens naturally

It's important to keep your head up and avoid staring at your fretboard (shoe gaze ) the whole gig and it helps to interact with the crowd - convey background history of each performance piece   (Tip jar get filled faster )

if I had to sit in a chair during the entire live performance id probably fall over on the floor mid solo

8)

Elantric :

Yep you have to get that eye contact going to get those tips flowing , funny how focusing on a few people can win over an entire room .
Best tip ever was a few times a "C" note got pressed into my hand as well as a tip in the [ Kitty ] for my duet partner . Really blew my mind ,
especially the second time .

Explaining a song's history , or something anecdotal about what happened when you played this song at X place ectcetra . Funny story's
improvising off something that just happened in the room , or on the [ ROAD ] to the gig , you gotta work that crowd - they love it .
Don't be afraid to make fun of yourself either . a silly gesture can lead to great things in a performance I've found many times .

Depending on how my spinal column is feeling I like standing and moving with the groove too .

As my career evolved from sideman/harp to  frontmant singer/harp and now since mid 2000 guitars 
I love to get the body language going . Playing  guitar and harp seems to relieve the stress on my
spinal column and neck . It's quite the incentive to practice a lot believe me heh heh heh it's actually
therapeutic  :D .

These days it can be 50/50 on sitting standing , on a great/good night I stand  .

EZ :

HR

Bill Ruppert

This is great stuff.  Very beautiful.
AND not the sort of thing your spin around and smiling at the crowd while you shake your private parts.
Much less for a few extra coins in your tip jar???

What happened to this page????

aliensporebomb

That's the interesting thing - when I'm playing in a rock context I'm playing in a totally different manner - much more extroverted and jumping around more and speaking to the audience and even singing and playing a lot more overt "rocking guitar" stuff.   Definitely standing and a more athletic moving around aspect.

It's a totally different thing than the ambient stuff.  The ambient thing I've actually encouraged that people shut their eyes and listen or just relax or come and go throughout the performance.   When the show is over I often get questions from people about what I've done.  I sell CDs and talk to people and I found out one guy flew in from Delaware to see the performance and it was the highlight of his convergence.  Stuff like that tells me I'm on the right track when I'm doing that kind of thing.  I'm lucky I've got some venues that actually encourage "non-conformist" musical performances. 

Other performers during the convention are a balkan dance band, a celtic flavored rock band with songs highlighting humor, a one man instrumental synth outfit, a female early music duo with a second guitarist, you name it.  Anyway.
My music projects online at http://www.aliensporebomb.com/

GK Devices:  Roland VG-99, Boss GP-10, Boss SY-1000.

chrish

 yes ambient music requires active listening. Doing so allows the person experiencing the art to take an active role in interpreting the art, ie, creating the soundscape dream vision trance state. :)

Once on a long ski tour I asked a friend to listen to a few of my ambient pieces.

He said that the music placed himself swimming under water with
dolphins.

That was kind of cool for me because we were climbing a mountain covered with snow, which in itself produces a meditative state of flow, were time is experienced as a wave.

So I would be curious as to how you created that beginning tone on the 3rd video? It has a Yamaha cs80 like sound to my ears.