gchiaren's forum posts 789

What are your favorite music-related movies? I'm talking comedies/dramas/documentaries (NOT concert films unless it's an absolute classic that transcends its genre).

I'll start:

School of Rock (2003) - One of my favorite movies, makes me smile each time I watch it. The kids in School of Rock are endearing, funny, not to mention very talented (in real life as well). I'm not a huge Jack Black fan, but this is easily one of my favorite performances from him. I love how he teaches and motivates the kids how to perform a rock show using examples from all the greats, and how he imparts to them to use music as an outlet/escape from whatever is troubling them :)

Whiplash (2014) - If you haven't seen this, stop what you're doing and watch it. I think it captures and articulates so well what it takes to be the best at something and realize one's potential (that scene where he meets his girlfriend at the diner... wow. <-- DON'T watch the clip if you don't want a spoiler!!). Brilliant performances all around.

Sound City (2013) - Having a lazy moment so here's the copy paste summary: "A documentary on the fabled recording studio that was located in Van Nuys, California." (Dave Grohl is the central figure in this film)

It Might Get Loud(2008) - Another one I could watch over and over again. Sort of a gear-centric documentary, it cuts back and forth between U2's the Edge, Jimmy Page, and Jack White, as they talk about what the electric guitar means to them and what they look for in it.

Amy (2015) - I didn't know much about Amy Winehouse aside from what was made popular through the media, and now I think that's a shame after watching this bio/documentary.

8 Mile (2002) - Not sure how accurately this reflects Eminem's real story, but I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, it's another good one about perseverance when the odds are stacked against you. I have a lot of respect for Eminem so maybe I'm a bit biased with this pick :)

What other music-related movies should I be queuing up??

Yes, I second that. Actually, the brands are a good issue that weren't still completed. And of course, we should make product photo editing available ASAP

You guys will have item photo editing by mid next week!

Also, brand pages will be more organized into the categories the gear is in (kind of like artist pages have the sidebar), so you could for example go to MXR and filter by MXR delay pedals, MXR distortion pedals, etc. Working on that as we speak!!

Continuing the thread of should these be the same or different...

Proco rat and vintage rat?

http://equipboard.com/items/pro-co-rat-distortion-pedal

http://equipboard.com/items/proco-vintage-rat

Klon Centaur and Klon Centaur with the centaur decal?

http://equipboard.com/items/klon-centaur-professional-overdrive-guitar-pedal

http://equipboard.com/items/klon-centaur

Hey all, just wanted to let you know I merged a METRIC TON of duplicate items over the last day and a half... whew!

For those that don't know, there actually is a little "submit duplicate" tool, you can find it here: equipboard.com/duplicate_items/new.

A MAJOR, MAJOR, MAJOR thank you to luxiu, narcist, absentwalrus, and everyone else who has been helping us flag duplicate items. You guys submitting those helped soooo much, and already the items database on EB feels much cleaner and better because of YOU. A ways to go still, but we'll get there.

We've been hearing your requests loud and clear, and we know duplicate items is a major bummer of the site, and needs to be cleaned up! So we're doing just that. We'll actually improve the duplicate items submission tool so it's even easier to use, and more easily accessible from item pages. Viewing the actual duplicate item queue will probably be a mod-only thing... we're still working out the details so stay tuned :)

A side note: This isn't to say that we've solved the "how to deal with 900 different Telecasters" on the site problem... that's a bigger issue. This is more addressing the issue of merging very similar duplicates like "Gibson SG Standard" with "2011 Gibson SG Standard" and "Gibson SG Standard Heritage Cherry" (since those absolutely don't need separate item pages).

If the whole things gives me more possibilities in cases of editing and deleting stupid stuff, I'm in. I would really love to edit stuff. But I could only do it along the way. Could you sum up the things you'll have to do as a mod and the amount of work you have to put in?

Regarding the blood sample we need, be aware that we're very strict on testing for SEDs (Submission Enhancing Drugs).

Ok, jokes aside, lexman asks some good questions. Yeah, essentially you nailed it, being a moderator gives more possibilities to edit and delete things.

If someone's been with the site for a bit, has proven they are a good citizen of Equipboard and wants to look out for its long-term good/accuracy, and is generally cool to other users, we'd definitely consider them for moderator!

And please guys don't think there are stringent time requirements. You can moderate stuff along the way whenever you have time. It honestly is just a set of special powers that allow for a greater degree of editing and deletion than a brand new/non-moderator user would get.

Having said that, we're totally redoing what moderators are and can do. Back when EB first started, we gated ALL submissions, i.e. everything needed moderation. We appointed mods based on genres, so perhaps someone wanted to mod JUST house/edm, someone wanted to mod just blues and country. As EB grew, that system stopped making sense and the mods couldn't keep up with the number of submissions coming in, so we opened up submissions to everyone and defaulted them to being live. We also opened up editing to the entire community, and it works on a sort of checks and balances system.

It's by no means a perfect system, but it's still evolving. We're realizing it would be better if some users had more power to, for example, delete silly submissions outright. Anyhow, re-tooling the mod stuff is currently being worked on, but just wanted to provide more clarity around how it used to be and how it continues to change!

Very cool, thanks for sharing. Just downloaded, it'll be my soundtrack tomorrow. Will share my thoughts on it after a couple listens :)

Hey guys,

Just wanted to mention some upcoming changes that should facilitate managing good and bad EB submissions.

Right now submissions can be flagged with 3 states - correct, needs improvement (source/item/notes are bad), and needs review (which just means pending, or has newly been edited).

We're going to add a fourth state, "totally incorrect." Not sure of the exact wording, open to suggestions (not accurate, not correct, etc). These "totally incorrect" subs are going to go into a queue accessible by anyone who is an EB moderator, and moderators will have the ability to review and delete them altogether.

We're also going to clean up the moderator pool - clean up ones who are inactive (we've had some need to take a break bc life happened i.e. they went back to school, had babies, etc), and appoint some new ones, for anyone who is interested!

As always, let me know your thoughts/suggestions.

Whorse, this is VERY cool! Congrats, it's a big stepping stone for sure to get that recognition.

For those that don't know, Spinnin' Records is one of the "big guys" when it comes to house/edm/etc record labels. Here's the link to their Talent Pool, with our main man Whorse at the top :)

Whorse, how'd you manage that? I'm sure some of our community members would love to hear how you went about it. How'd you get your track out there and get votes?

I just listened to it, it's really solid, nice work. That vocal sample is great, as is your sound selection. Nice work on the mixing as well, sound nice and balanced to me. You've got a nice collection of gear... what are some of the main tools (synths) you used for this track?

I think you have the best semi-weighted 88-key controller out there currently :) Have you looked at the Akai MPK88? Is that within budget? I've read/heard good things.

At first, I thought it was nothing, but it seems to be some sort of mistake in the website where the original dash-mark wasn't recognised and became a question mark. Not to mention all the artists with no gear or images for them aligned to the band.

But it's a legitimate band. Should I just fix the name?

Please delete these:

http://equipboard.com/pros/antemasque

http://equipboard.com/band/at-the-drive-in

Deleted antemasque. Why delete At The Drive In? Is it the mistake in the name?

Nice. Though I can add a band to pros that still has not any but cannot for those who already has other(s).

Umm, wait... what? :)

https://media.giphy.com/media/123BaaX3Tl0Kn6/giphy.gif

Hey Equipboard fam,

We just released the ability to add new bands/groups to Equipboard! You can get to it by accessing the normal way to add artists, and then clicking on Band or Group:

http://i.imgur.com/c8OvEv3.png

It's pretty basic right now, but we'll add on to it and improve it after some feedback rolls in.

I dig it. Link for anyone that hasn't heard it.

Uh-oh, conflicting opinions. If they are different SKUs at music stores, I'd be comfortable adding them as two separate items.

I was about to add a Roland JP-08 to Jimmy Smith of Foals.

So I noticed we have the JP-08 module on EB. Thing is, Jimmy uses the JP-08 in keyboard format, as you can see here.

Should these be consolidated in the same item? Or separate? What do you guys think?

ps. Michael and I are seeing Foals live in Austin tomorrow, fuckyeah! Love that band 🤘

Did you guys catch this from earlier today?

http://i.imgur.com/JY2usiP.png

Here's the link to the original Tweet. We use this software called New Relic which helps us monitor the health and performance of the site. It sends out alerts when something is out of the ordinary, and suddenly it started going bananas. Sure enough, Mr. Joel Zimmerman sent a whole lot of traffic our way and temporarily took the site down. Good problem to have I guess :)

Some major parts of the site were built with his music in the background, so it's an honor for sure! He was actually one of the first pro artist pages we added to the site, back in the day when it was just a handful of us manually adding every single submission.

Deadmau5 has a history of really making his feelings known when he doesn't like something, so we're VERY glad Equipboard landed on his good side!

Thought you guys would dig this, particularly the mau5 fans :)

Here in Austin, Texas it's quite warm, especially since it's only April! Day starts out at 66°F (~19°C) and ends up close to 90°F (~32°C)

Ah so there you go how can it not be true? 😑

I've been hearing possible drug overdose, not sure who originally reported that though

I think this calls for a scumbag michael meme... 😆

http://i.imgur.com/DkGT25b.jpg

Hyperbits Masterclass looks great! How long have you been at it? And how'd you go about getting support from all those big names!?

This perhaps doesn't qualify as a LIVE instruction but we recently published a piece on how to make electronic music targeted at the beginner, and we recommend a few classes from Udemy and Lynda. We've had Equipboard staff members take those classes and absolutely love them, and go from zero to learning a DAW to making their first track or two in a very short amount of time!

If anyone is interested in checking out your Hyperbits Masterclass, maybe they should pick up a Udemy (or YouTube if you're strapped for cash) course on learning the ins and outs of a DAW first. I noticed on your FAQ:

How much prior experience do I need to take this course?

If you are an absolute beginner and have never opened a DAW before (or even know what a DAW is) this course is most likely not for you. However, anyone who has spent some time in Logic Pro, Ableton, FL Studio, Reason, or Cubase making music will gain a TON of value from this masterclass.

Anyhow thanks for sharing :)

This thread shall be generally used by the people who are new to the forum and would like to introduce themselves. I think there's no reason to start a new thread each time someone new likes to say hello.

Good idea. I'll sticky it to the top of the General forum. I'll throw my "hello" in as well 😄

I was born in Italy but currently live in Austin, TX, USA and co-founded this here website with mahhh man, my partner in crime @michael. I'm a tech nerd, developer, and musician, so in a lot of ways making Equipboard is the appropriate culmination of my passions.

I'm formally trained in piano, have produced electronic music, I'm a shitty drummer, but enjoy playing guitar most of all these days. Normally I'm a Telecaster guy, but as of late my go-to has transitioned to my recently acquired 1972 Gibson ES-325 with a beautiful walnut finish.

In terms of music taste, agh man I like so much stuff. I'd say I skew towards spacey/melodic/minor key music, whatever that means. Artists I love: Underworld, Fluke, Oasis/Noel Gallagher, Editors, Interpol, Mat Zo, Arty, Porter Robinson, Coldplay, Muse, and probably my all time favorite Depeche Mode. 🎵

Let's see, other stuff... I have two newborn twin boys, so they shall fight for the music gear inheritance (hopefully they don't pawn the entire thing when that day comes 😆). I love running, watching and playing tennis, Formula 1 racing, amongst other things.

If you wanna know more, AMA I guess!

What if I found a source which is only on Facebook?

Hey lexman, Facebook posts are great sources, and typically viewable by everyone. Especially if they are posted from an account of a pro/someone famous/verified profile/etc

Question for EB, except Lexman, boom, narcist and Jim and few other people - where are you? Mods, admins?

We are here!!! As jimmarchi1 mentioned, I did indeed recently have twin boys - well, more accurately my wife did haha :D (and yes, I’m trying to discern who’s gonna play what instruments). Anyhow, we’re a small team and I’m in charge of engineering, so everything kind of grinded to a halt!

I (we actually, I’ll speak for michael as well who if you guys don’t know is my Equipboard co-founder) want to take the opportunity to address several things in this thread.

At the start of 2016, we took some time to plan out the things we should work on with the site, largely based on you guys’ feedback. After all, you - the Equipboard community - is the lifeblood. I want to be completely transparent with you all - we needed to take a few cycles to figure out some revenue stuff. Equipboard is becoming a big site, with 2 million page views each month (and growing), and it’s certainly not inexpensive to run. You may have noticed some ads here and there, hopefully they’re not too much of a bummer but we have to plan out how many and where to put them. We also moved to a different hosting provider which was quite the undertaking (and I’m happy to say it went very well and the site only incurred about 40 minutes of downtime).

Also, you may or may not know this but if you read about a product on Equipboard and buy it through the links on our site, our work is sometimes (but not always) supported through an affiliate commission from the retailer (such as Amazon or Musician’s Friend). So we had some things to do to tighten that up. We are also actively working to make the links go to the appropriate place for our international visitors (nearly half of EB traffic), which is feedback we’ve heard quite a bit!

Oooook, so with all that out of the way, apologies for not chiming in more often in this thread, I anticipate that will change going forward. You guys are awesome and have compiled a massive list of feature requests, bug fixes, and all sorts of crazy things - we love reading all of it. The trouble is that we don’t have the engineering resources of a Pinterest or Facebook, so we have to be picky about what we work on.

Trust me when I say between Michael and I we throw out like 15 new ideas A DAY for Equipboard… but working on all of them in a timely fashion is not realistic. We want to continue improving the site, and we want to make it better for YOU.

With that said, we need to reel in all the ideas in this forum thread. One thought we had was reading through it from start to finish, and keeping a tally to find out the things mentioned the most, and start by working on those. We were also thinking of creating a poll attached to the top of this thread, so anyone can simply vote on what they feel should be the most important thing at any time (and it would give a voice to the people who don't like to chime in on the forum). Off the top of my head I can think of things like adding and editing bands, and better merging of duplicate items.

Phew, thanks for sticking with me on that wall of text, hopefully it gives you some context on the state of things, as well as things to come!

❤️ & 🎸,

gchiaren

ross_haber: I'm chiming in late, but Equipboard published an article lately, How To Make Electronic Music.

Specifically, there's a section in there that talks all about choosing a DAW. I've actually been looking for feedback on that article to make it as useful as possible, so if you get a chance to read it let me know if it helps you out at all! :)

Haha what a cutie. Does he play with dad's gear yet?

Swedish House Mafia-style flanged riser, if anyone wants to pick it up! (download enabled)

https://soundcloud.com/equipboard/swedish-house-mafia-style-flanger-riser

Hey, welcome! Are you just starting out? Intermediate? Advanced? What kind of music do you make?

And finally, got any questions for the forum? We have a very knowledgable (and helpful) community here :)

That's great whorse thanks for sharing!

I found a cool riser I had laying around, what's a good site to host a small .wav file? One where I can just upload it directly without it being reprocessed or converted?

Yes risers and downers i believe (specifically on apple logic x). How to access these? Please and thank you :) Ross

I think there are two ways you can kinda think about making risers and downers.

One would be to grab them off of sample packs. There are SO many out there but off the top of my head I remember using plenty of cinematic slams, uplifters, downshifters, risers and falls from Wave Alchemy SFX Collection 02. You just drag and drop the ones you want to use in your track, and if you want them to sound different than "stock" just manipulate and mangle them to your heart's content!

Another way would be to build risers and falls yourself using synths and effects. Even if you opt for sample packs it's never a bad idea to try making these things from scratch to broaden your skillset. Here's a nice tutorial for Logic Pro X to get you started:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9V-TaauI6s

Hope this helps :)

Hi Ross!

Do you mean techniques, or actual effects plugins?

If you're referring to techniques to "fade in and out of tracks effects and build-ups" can you maybe paste the YouTube link to a song that has an example of what you're asking about? :)

I love how @jimmarchi1 went all out but admin comes in with a simpler response. Never a dull moment here.

Hah! 😆

We should put a notice or something on the "create a new forum post" page that says:

If you're posting a "what gear should I get" thread, please include 1) budget, 2) your general skill level, 3) genre(s) of music you like/make/play

We can make this happen. Let's decide two things:

1. As michael pointed out, where in the item category hierarchy does it go?
2. What pro artist section would that map to? (Amplifiers? Music Accessories? Here's Slash for reference, he has all the guitarist sections)
   

I totally get that there are corner cases and we can make things infinitely customizable and complicated, but let's start with the simplest solution first, and work our way from there :)

Equipboard is undergoing a bit of a growth spurt and we're inundated with things to do! So simple is better, at least for now!

I need to know what keyboard has good for i bought for producing some new tracks :) Thank you :)

If by keyboard you mean MIDI keyboard controller, like to just input/play your notes, start here: http://equipboard.com/posts/best-midi-keyboard

Welcome :)

If you need help with any aspect of music producing in general, what gear to get, etc. make sure to ask here!

EquipBoard's system is actually kind of weird. I submitted Chris Bishop of Crobot, so it was a wonder to find that he wasn't recognised.

Hmm what do you mean, like, auto-recognized as part of the band he's in?

Classical pianist turned dj over here. Funny transition from Mozart and Beethoven to Martin Garrix, Hardwell and SHM. Music theory and practice. 9 years and an Advanced-Level certification in both.

How much (or how little) do you feel like it helps you in your songwriting/arrangements? I can see it going both ways - on one hand, your ear knows what sounds good, and you can come up with ideas all day. The down side is you could overcomplicate things. :) A lot of these house music producers (especially the ones at the top), I've noticed they keep things simple - both in terms of workflow and melodies. It's one of their strengths.

Hi! Ugh no we haven't built that yet. It's coming, though! What band do you need removed from Zayn Malik? Also, what bio text do you need? We can do it for you in the meantime :)

Welcome! English music is the best music :-D

I'm one of the Equipboard admins. Originally from Italy, but currently living in Austin, Texas where Equipboard is based!