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DRRI has far more clean headroom than the blues JR which'll breakup quicker. They're different beasts really...they overdrive differently, cleans are richer on the DR.... I'm not that partial to the stock blues JR....but the DRRI has superb cleans. I find myself comparing all cleans to it, and am consistently dissapointed with others. The vibrato/reverb is very nice as well... I've heard some tube upgrades can make a difference...I'm gunna play around with some pre tube swaps & see if the hype's warranted.... edit: I've found the DR to be picky with pedals...I dunno -- some highly regarded dirt boxes I don't really like with it (direct drive, KOB)... I've settled on a FD-2 and a muff for my DR dirt...they mesh well and give a fair bit of variety IMO.

Originally posted by MrKnobs Several things to discuss. I don't own an AudioBuddy and have never used one, so I accepted Where's comments as correct and set about educating myself on the Audio Buddy. To my surprise, after spending about an hour on the manufacturer's and other websites, there was no definitive statement in the technical specs or manual indictating whether the AB operates at -10 or +4 dB. Worse, I couldn't even tell if the level control is a pad on the input or controls the output level. About the only thing I could conclude is that the Audio Buddy is very poorly documented. Yeah the audiobuddy's a bit of mystery to me as well...the knobs seem to affect the inputs, since they affect the behavior of the clipping lights...which implies that the output gain is constant or somehow proportional to the mystery knob . I guess they tried to dumb it down for your average user, and to their credit...it's a better sounding preamp than my ART tube pre (at least what I've recorded with my acoustic to date), which has more features (like input AND output knobs) You don't need anything expensive to fix this problem. You just need an attenuator cord or a couple of 50 cent resistors soldered together as a voltage divider. Last time I checked, Radio Shack sold a cable with a resistance attenuator inside it, or you can easily make your own with the two resistors, or possibly even one. Terry D. Thanks for the thorough explanation -- lots of food for thought. I got sidetracked from my clipping issue by this soundcard discussion, I'm thinking I'll upgrade my card regardless of the AB clipping thing.... I'll try the radio shack solution, or I'll just use my ART tube pre which can get down low enough to not clip. Or I'll try to move the mic away....I've got me some playing around to do in the 'studio' Thanks for the suggestions everyone, Much appreciated!

Originally posted by Paully The clinical definition is: 0 dBu Preferred informal abbreviation for the official dB (0.775 V); a voltage reference point equal to 0.775 Vrms. [This reference originally was labeled dBv (lower-case) but was too often confused with dBV (upper-case), so it was changed to dBu (for unterminated).] Or less formally(and incorrectly), could mean 'unbalanced'. Paul Thanks.... ....unfortunately as a non-technical person (when it comes to audio & electronics) this doesn't help me a whole lot, I'm more looking for 'high level' descriptions of the differences, in terms of the subjective 'measures'. this quote in particular stood out to me: That + 4dBu is somehow inherently

Originally posted by where02190 Do a search on +4dbu vs -10dbV, and you'll learn quickly this is absolutely false. I assumed so given terry's comment & the subsequent conversation about their implications on signal strength. ...but what about in terms of the subjective sound 'quality'? I tried googling those terms, but it's not very nice with numbers and units (dbu...) All I found was this: You may have heard that professional gear is

Originally posted by MrKnobs Best of all, invest in a slightly better soundcard or external sound device for your computer. MAudio makes some decent ones, and they will improve your sound considerably over most stock computer sound cards or onboard chipsets. Terry D. Can you elaborate on this? I've thought about getting one of those cheaper maudio 4 or 8 input cards that'll do 24bit recording, but I wondered what the point was...I figured...I only really need 2 inputs and input's an input and shouldn't color the sound at all Is the only difference the 16 vs 24bit? Is the sound quality that noticeable?

Originally posted by MrKnobs That's THE classic audiobuddy problem. It's not the computer card, it's the Audiobuddy. There's no fix other than back the mike up, as the clipping is happening in the Audiobuddy. Terry D. I suspect you might be right, because it has those 'near clipping' indicator lights...and it seems they're always on with the mic close.....

Originally posted by where02190 As in cheezy stock computer sound card with 1/8" trs connections? Sounds to me like you are plugging in a +4 output from your audio buddy into a -10 input on your cheesey sound card. There's nothing wrong with your Audiobuddy, you're overloading the input to your soundcard. Yes it's a cheezy 1/8" line-in from my 5 year old sound blaster using the kx drivers for latency. I suppose I could adjust the input in the kxcontrols..... (why didn't I think of that first?) Thanks for all the comments guys. One question: I never really understood relative decibel ratings. Is 0db a standard signal strength? So +4 out on the audiobuddy would imply that it's giving a 4db boost to '0db'? ...and -10 means it's 'expecting' a 10db weaker signal? I also have an ART tube MP which I don't get this problem with because I can turn it down enough (it's got a +20db switch that you can turn off) ...but I find the audiobuddy sounds better for acoustic/voice so I wanted to use it to mic this amp....

Yeah sorry guys, I should have specified what it's going into. It's going into the line-in of my soundcard & I'm using cubase (that shouldn't matter though right?) The levels are good with the amp on about 3 ...when it gets to 4 it's loud clean and 5 it's subtly breaking up (the amp that is...) the signal starts clipping at the amp around 4....I've got the mic placed pretty close to the speaker. ...what are the consequences of moving it back more? Do I lose high end? I know when I record acoustic stuff from farther it often ends up sounding thin and distant....

I'm recording a Deluxe reverb (22W combo) with a sm57 into an audiobuddy. Cranked the DR is fairly loud...and the audiobuddy's just got that one gain knob, and even when I have it as low as it'll go without being off, I still get bad clipping bringing it into cubase. I'm new to the amp miking thing...been using modellers or just recording acoustic/vocals where volume isn't an issue. ...should I just keep moving the mic back from the speaker or do I need a new preamp? I though moving the mic away from the speaker compromized the tone in some way Any suggestions would be much appreciated P.S. ...the 57 doesn't require phantom power right? ...is there any harm in providing it power anyway?

Originally posted by Poparad Rhythm and texture have more to do with endings than the harmony. You can end a piece on any chord you want to, so long as you set it up right. With rhyhm, you can hold the chords longer at the end (whole notes, half notes) rather than continuously strumming them (typically eighth or sixteenth notes). With texture, you can have certain people in the band drop out, or you can play chords that are thinner (less notes), or in some situations do the exact opposite: keep building up and just abruptly stop. Another common tool to use is repetition. Try repeating the last chord or two, or last lyric, or add a quick riff to the end and repeat it a few times (three is always the magic number, from jokes to music, our brains seem to be geared to hear repetitions of three). Dig out some tunes you like listening to and figure out how they end the song, and take notes. This man knows his {censored}...listen to him. It's funny because you articulated things that I do but apparently wasn't even aware of...Like i'll change my melody slightly leading into the ending such that it feels more 'concluding' than the standard melody it originated. And the rhythm I'll often adjust...there's the standard slow-down to a final chord DUNNnnnnnn...and the good ol' DUN DUNNNnnnnnnnn ....ok that doesn't really translate in text I started teaching this girl drums (I used to play) and I've given her concluding fills to do and I noticed that most of them are either a 1/16th, an 1/8th or 3/16th notes behind the start of the next bar/measure to make the "dun dun". The triplet or two behind works too if you've got that kind of a vibe going. I wonder if it's genre/style dependant

I think ending is more of a feeling thing. Subjectively feel out the impression you get when you hit that last chord. If it does what you want it to do then keep it. The most common ending is of course the first or last chord in the progression you were last playing...the 1 of the new bar as the ending but ending before that works too sometimes. Those are what I usually try first before feeling out something else.

Originally posted by MrKnobs Gotta work a little. I'll come back to this thread, like a dog to its vomit. Terry D. If you are makin' this {censored} up (which I don't think you are) ...you should quit the science gig (which I guess would also be made up ) and start writing. ...these tales read like a catcher in the rye style examination. The brutally honest introspection, while retrospective, is incredibly entertaining!