It's been four weeks since my last entry. We've moved from Week 9 or our six-week flat remodel into Week 13. With luck, the builders will wrap things up soon.
We're exhausted. We really are. We've had enough of being crammed into a small bedroom in a shared flat. We've had enough of the daily site visits to document both successes and screw-ups.
According to the latest revised schedule, taped up on the floor-to-ceiling radiator in the living room last Monday, we are supposed to move back in at the weekend. I don't see that happening. We have a toilet, but that's the extent of the functional plumbing.
At least there is light at the end of the tunnel, and the work that has been completed looks great.
And we haven't killed each other! Both of us are strong-willed... "stubborn" even. Acting as a "team" has historically been our greatest challenge as a couple. At some point during the build, though, we identified our individual strengths and have assumed appropriate roles. I handle structural and plumbing issues, Number Two takes care of the electrics and aesthetics.
I suppose that begs some elaboration. We started the remodel a few years ago. Drawings were made and a Schedule of Works was written. However, we were unable to find a builder who could deliver what we wanted within budget. At the time, our relationship was going through a rocky patch. At the time I felt the setback was a blessing in disguise, that if we'd been subjected to the stresses and strains of a building project it might have spelt the end for us.
That's relationships for you. Three years on and we're fighting from the same corner, working to turn our dream into a reality.
Tuesday 29 November 2011
Wednesday 2 November 2011
Good Things In Small Packages
I can't believe I'm so excited about this, but, this morning I discovered that an iPhone version of Apple's Garageband is now available! For the low, low price of £2.99!
When we moved out of our flat for the remodel, I put my guitars in storage. I also stored the sundry equipment I use for home recording. When you're a musician, even an amateur like me, having your creative outlet removed is tough. You feel bereft, adrift on a sea of blah-blah-blah. You get the picture.
As the build dragged on, the feeling got worse. One evening, after a couple of sneaky pints in Soho, a friend suggested we go for a jam at a nearby rehearsal room. We rented instruments and played, just for one hour. It was enough to pull me out of my slump. That weekend I paid our storage unit a visit, liberated my travelling guitar (a Les Paul copy) and a little dohickey thingamabob called an iRig.
iRigs are adapters which allow you to plug a guitar into your iDevice. You then fire up one of any number of amp modelling apps, usually equipped with a variety of effects pedals, multi-track recorders and so on built in.
With my main set-up at home, I never really explored using the iPhone as a tool for practice and composition. I've used it to fill in for an errant drummer on many occasions, but that's another story.
When I first got an iRig and the Amplitube app I played with it for a bit then put it to one side. The quality wasn't great and there weren't that many features. Between then and now, there have been many updates to the software. The app now has improved sound, a fourtrack recorder and music import to name just a few enhancements.
So, what other option did I have? I gave the iRig/Amplitube combo another shot. And it's great.
The biggest problem on any iOS device is the challenge of getting data from one app to another. For example, if I want to record a whole song on my iPhone, I need to first record the drums, say using InstantDrummer. I then need to wifi sync the clip to a computer and save it. Next, I do the same thing in reverse and bring it into Amplitube, bump it from the sounds library to a blank track and only then am I ready to rock. If you have access to a computer (which I don't at the moment) then it's a frustrating but workable solution. But what if you're jamming and the drums just don't work? You have to go back, re-program them, do the wifi shuffle and you're back in the room. It's hardly an all-in-one solution.
Historically, in recent history that is, your best option for portable recording was to lug around a laptop equipped with an audio interface and a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). Until our forced exile, I had thought that my next mobile rig would be something along those lines. My re-discovery of Amplitube and the knowledge that Garageband was available on iPad made me consider going the tablet route.
But now there's a full-featured Garageband that will run on my phone?!?
YES, PLEASE!!!!
Disclaimer: I'm not saying that I'm no longer considering an iPad. I do have fat fingers, after all. Plus, I suspect a full-featured desktop or laptop plus DAW combo may be the way to go for recording proper demos. Who knows. Maybe I'll be surprised.
When we moved out of our flat for the remodel, I put my guitars in storage. I also stored the sundry equipment I use for home recording. When you're a musician, even an amateur like me, having your creative outlet removed is tough. You feel bereft, adrift on a sea of blah-blah-blah. You get the picture.
As the build dragged on, the feeling got worse. One evening, after a couple of sneaky pints in Soho, a friend suggested we go for a jam at a nearby rehearsal room. We rented instruments and played, just for one hour. It was enough to pull me out of my slump. That weekend I paid our storage unit a visit, liberated my travelling guitar (a Les Paul copy) and a little dohickey thingamabob called an iRig.
iRigs are adapters which allow you to plug a guitar into your iDevice. You then fire up one of any number of amp modelling apps, usually equipped with a variety of effects pedals, multi-track recorders and so on built in.
With my main set-up at home, I never really explored using the iPhone as a tool for practice and composition. I've used it to fill in for an errant drummer on many occasions, but that's another story.
When I first got an iRig and the Amplitube app I played with it for a bit then put it to one side. The quality wasn't great and there weren't that many features. Between then and now, there have been many updates to the software. The app now has improved sound, a fourtrack recorder and music import to name just a few enhancements.
So, what other option did I have? I gave the iRig/Amplitube combo another shot. And it's great.
The biggest problem on any iOS device is the challenge of getting data from one app to another. For example, if I want to record a whole song on my iPhone, I need to first record the drums, say using InstantDrummer. I then need to wifi sync the clip to a computer and save it. Next, I do the same thing in reverse and bring it into Amplitube, bump it from the sounds library to a blank track and only then am I ready to rock. If you have access to a computer (which I don't at the moment) then it's a frustrating but workable solution. But what if you're jamming and the drums just don't work? You have to go back, re-program them, do the wifi shuffle and you're back in the room. It's hardly an all-in-one solution.
Historically, in recent history that is, your best option for portable recording was to lug around a laptop equipped with an audio interface and a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). Until our forced exile, I had thought that my next mobile rig would be something along those lines. My re-discovery of Amplitube and the knowledge that Garageband was available on iPad made me consider going the tablet route.
But now there's a full-featured Garageband that will run on my phone?!?
YES, PLEASE!!!!
Disclaimer: I'm not saying that I'm no longer considering an iPad. I do have fat fingers, after all. Plus, I suspect a full-featured desktop or laptop plus DAW combo may be the way to go for recording proper demos. Who knows. Maybe I'll be surprised.
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