Scott Henderson Discussion

[richdaigle]

I could gush about being a fan for almost 3 decades but respect your time! I'm binge listening to Guitar Wank(proud to say Bruce is a friend) I'm only on episode 34 as I write this. I've been hesitant to ask a question incase its already been asked in a future episode!
Here goes :
What playalong software are you using in your My Masterclass stuff...or are those recorded tracks? and maybe a quick rundown of your home studio gear ...from your DAW (I'm new to the lingo) plugins drum machines and analog to digital ins etc. Or at least a quick rundown of the most useful stuff (NOT GUITAR AND AMPS...I know right?) HA! I'm interested in musician friendly computerific stuff...I'm decent on computer but have a simple Jazz guitarist's brain.

Keep Ripping

Rich Daigle

[Scott Henderson]

For MyMusicMasterclass I've used both. On the tone videos I used the bass and drums from one of my albums, but for the blues video I used midi tracks which I made myself, then turned them into audio loops which were easier to work with in production.

I use Digital Performer to compose, create play-along tracks, and make albums. Most musicians use Pro Tools but I've been using DP since the first Mac so I know it really well. DAWs are basically the same, it's just about the learning curve.

When I make play-along tracks, they stay in midi format. At home I use a little Yamaha QY-100 for drums and a Korg M1 for bass and other sounds, and I enter the notes with an M-Audio Oxygen 8 keyboard. All I need for that is a very simple midi interface - a MOTU Fast Lane. I can play those midi tracks on my MacBook by assigning the sounds to the QuickTime synth which is built into every Mac - no midi interface needed.

For composing, I use midi for bass & drums, but I record guitar with audio. I don't want to burn out my amp tubes for composing or practicing so I use a small Korg Pandora PX5D, a little amp simulator with FX which fits in the palm of my hand - it's not made anymore but it sounds great and is easy to find. I use it for workshops since I can just plug it into my laptop, play along with my tracks and plug the computer into a keyboard amp or PA.

I have an expensive audio interface because I use it to record on albums. It's an Apogee Rosetta 800, which was used with a PCI card on older Macs, but now they make a separate Thunderbridge to replace the card - new Macs don't have PCI slots. My mic pre is also high quality - a BAE 1073, which is a Neve clone. I need a great mic pre for the same reason. If I wasn't using my DAW to make albums, there are many mic pre's and audio interfaces which are much cheaper.

That's all I can think of....