Blog

Music

2011-11-26T21:10:30Z

I am really, sincerely, going to try to get some music up on my site. Many of you, especially my Facebook friends from back in California, have asked me repeatedly for some music. I hear you and I will try my hardest. Stay tuned.

New site is up

2011-11-24T19:53:13Z

Since Apple discontinued iWeb support I had to migrate my site. After trying several options including Wordpress, Tumblr and other hosted solutions I settled on Squarespace. While slightly more expensive than other options, the tools and design options are just better for what I want to do with the site and I can do it without managing a host server.

So, while the site is still a work in progress, hopefully I will be more active with this site to include music, lessons and more.

Stay tuned.

Hello, I'm a Mac....again.

2008-07-12T16:23:00Z

Previously I posted that I recently moved my studio computers from years of Windows to the Mac. I couldn't be happier except that it really pisses me off that I waited this long! Anyway, I am so impressed with the performance I am now moving ALL of my machines, except for a dedicated CAD Workstation to the Mac. I just got a new Mac Book Pro and have migrated all of my mail, contacts, etc. to the Mac platform with Apple's new Mobile Me (.Mac) service. As such, this Blog will be moving back to my original site over the next few weeks. Please note the new address: http://www.willroland.com.

The new site will have all of the same content, but I will have more control over the layout and I will be able to post offline, which is much easier now that I have my Mac Book Pro with me pretty much everywhere. The gig calendar, the reports on gear and other content will continue, and, since I didn't use this blog for comments, the transition should be seamless.

Please note that when the site is completely migrated, I will not be posting new content to this Blog. Thanks for visiting, I'll see you on the other side.

Mac update

2008-04-18T23:43:00Z

Well, I've had my new studio up and running, at least partially, for over a week now and all I can say is,"I should have done this years ago". The only downside is that my work load is so heavy right now that my studio time is pretty limited. But, this computer is a joy to work with. The stability, power and performance is providing a very comfortable environment in which to compose and produce music.

Currently I am running Logic Pro Studio 8 and Sibelius 5 with lots of great plug-ins. The system is so intuitive and powerful that I have decided to hold off on ProTools for the time being. There are several problems with ProTools LE as it is not currently supported on Leopard. Also, compared to Logic, ProTools LE is severely limiting and its production-oriented interface is not condusive to the type of compositional environment I prefer.

Also, I must say that the Apogee audio interface is stellar. At my core I am an audio guy and I am very frustrated with the mediocre audio performance provided by the majority of computer audio interfaces. But the Apogee interface is outstanding with excellent dynamic range, superior noise floor and a soundstage that is second to none. I am very impressed with this unit.

I'm a Mac...

2008-03-31T23:03:00Z

After years of fighting .DLL errors, system crashes, BSOD's, hardware incompatibilities and everything else that has impacted the creative process of writing and producing music, I have HAD IT with Microsoft Windows. I have given BillyWare years of patience, understanding and updates in the hope that I could have a working studio that would be 100% stable, efficient and transparent to the creative process. Well, I can't wait anymore.

My new studio is now Mac based as I have taken delivery on a new Mac Pro 8-Core desktop system. I will running Apple Logic Studio 8 for the creative work and Digidesign Pro Tools for production along with Apogee audio hardware and a Euphonix control surface. This studio will be rock solid, high performance and most of all, will allow me to CREATE MUSIC!!!

After years of hearing about how much better Macs are for music and video, I finally relented. Last summer I got my son a Mac Book for his music and school work as he went off to college and I cannot believe how much more stable and efficient it is. It is my firm opinion that Macs are simply better computers than most Windows-based machines.

For those of you who depend on me for your Windows systems, don't worry. Unfortunately, all of my business machines will have to stay with Billy, so I will have to keep my skills current on both platforms.

I will report more and post some music from my new studio as soon as I can.

Must See Concert!

2007-11-26T16:56:00Z

Dr. Marcos Machado, the world-class principal of several regional orchestras will be the featured soloist with the Meridian Symphony on December 1. You should not miss this opportunity to hear one of the world's best double bassists in the extraordinary MSU Riley Center. I only wish I could go, but of course, I am gigging that night. So, after the concert, come by Weidmann's Monkey Bar and enjoy some live jazz with the Steve Watson Trio.

New Bass!

2007-11-26T16:49:00Z

Hello everyone...and sorry for the silence lately, things are crazy busy right now.

I just stumbled onto a great deal on a wonderful instrument and just couldn't walk away. While my old bass was in the shop for setup work at a quality shop, I had the opportunity to play some of their hand-made workshop instruments. Theses were instruments that were pending transit to dealers on the west coast. The maker offered them to me at shop prices and after several weeks of driving back and forth to the shop, I pulled the trigger on a wonderful bass. I will post details and pictures later. Suffice it to say, I now have my first bass for sale. You can find the pricing and details here.

Gear Log: Seymour Duncan Antiquity II Pickups

2007-09-27T01:00:00Z

A while back I posted some info about my cheapo Fender Squire Jaco-style fretless slab I recently acquired. Don't get me wrong, this is a cheap bass, but I have to admit that I enjoy playing it. I love playing fretless and this bass is light and has a nice feel to it. It "fits" me well and satisfies my slab fix for a few tunes a night.

However, the electronics on this bass are not up to par for the kind of playing I am interested in, so I decided to upgrade the electronics. With the help of my friend Adam Perry at Morrison Brothers Music in Jackson MS, I am in the middle of the upgrade now. I put in two Seymour Duncan Antiquity II Jazz Bass pickups to replace the stock units. I played one gig with them so far and the difference is remarkable. These pickups are very clean and do not exhibit the mush I was getting before. Dominant double stops and 6ths ring loud and true all the way into the upper register.

The next step in the upgrade is to add active electronics and more tone control. For this Adam has ordered me an Aguilar OBP-3 active preamp, three band EQ controls, pickup blending and new volume controls. I will report back when the upgrade is complete.

Bass Player Buddies

2007-09-10T19:13:00Z

I have a lot of good friends around the country who are also bass players, including one in California who is a really good friend and a great player. Most of these guys know me as a guitar player since I didn't switch to bass until a few years ago. They have asked me for playing samples several times and I have never been able to provide much.

At a recent gig our friend Tom Ravinski came out to record some video of the band. From his tapes I extracted a few clips of my bass solos for my friends so they could laugh at me. I still consider myself a rookie bass player compared to some of these guys so maybe they can give me some pointers.

I will post these one a time as I can. All of these clips are at my regular Saturday night gig with Steve Watson's trio at Weidmann's here in Meridian. They were recorded on August 31, 2007.

This first post is of my solo on Sonny Rollins' great tune, "St. Thomas" on the fretless slab. This is the cheapo Squire Jaco Bass that I've had for a few months. I am in the process of replacing the electronics and my friend Ed Pope set it up for me so it plays like a gem.

In this band, since there is no keyboard player, I usually solo on every tune. This can be monotonous after a while so I try to find things to make the bass solos more interesting to a non-jazz audience. Typically, on a tune like this I like to play freely against the tempo during the solo. Mixing up the groove with tuplets and different feels makes it much more interesting. The problem is that this is very difficult to do unless you have a solid drummer who doesn't flinch with runs of 5-tuplets and 2-beat triplets running up against the groove. Fortunately I play with one of the best drummers around: Scott Kratzer. Great job once again Scratch!

Gear Log: New rig is complete!

2007-08-26T22:05:00Z

Finally, after months of waiting my new amplifier rig is in and tested with two gigs over the last weekend. The results? In a word....WOW! My previous rig for doubling was a Gallien Kruger amplifier and Peavey Pro 210 speaker. While this rig provides satisfactory results, I really needed more accuracy in tonal reproduction and a better soundstage. My new rig is all Euphonic Audio (EA) and consists of the brand new iAmp Micro300 amplifier and Wizzy 10 speaker. I have two of the cabinets which allows me total flexibility for different venues and gig requirements.

Before I get to the performance results, I should tell you that this rig is SMALL!!! The amplifier provides 325W at 4 or 2 Ohms, is about half the size of a sheet of paper and weighs 2.5 lbs! The speaker is a single 10" cabinet and weighs 16.5 lbs. This rig gives new meaning to the process of loading in and out of gigs.

This past weekend I had two gigs that provided a good test of the full rig. The first gig was with Carey Smith's trio were I played the NS Design electric upright only. The room was big and noisy with carpet and poor acoustics. I had the new Micro300 and one of the Wizzy 10's. There was plenty of volume and a huge improvement in accuracy, tonal range and soundstage. It was unbelievable. First test: PASS.

The second gig was at Weidmann's with Steve Watson's trio upstairs in a small, but noisy bar. This is my regular Saturday night gig and you never really know what the room is going to be like. I decided to take the full rig for this test: The NS, fretless slab (electric), Micro300 and both Wizzys since I usually use the Pro 210 in this room. I had the amp set up with a footswitch for doubling and was able to dial in separate EQ and gain for each bass. The tonal quality was absolutely amazing with noticeable improvement in the NS's somewhat synthetic tone. The stacked cabinets provided and even broader soundstage and there were comments that my bass sounded acoustic even from the back of the room. The gig got pretty loud late in the night and the amp never flinched. With the electric I was able to drive it into protection but I could not hear any impact to the sound as the band really cranked up with some loud sambas and fast swing stuff. Second test: PASS.

I should note that my current slab of choice is a cheap Squire Jaco-style fretless. I only play about 4 or 5 tunes a night on the slab, and this bass is fun to play. With the old rig this bass sounded pretty good, as its sonic deficiencies were masked by the somewhat "woofy" and colored GK/Peavey rig. With the EA rig, the cheapo pickups and weird resonances of this bass were apparent.

I still have yet to test the rig with the acoustic upright, although I typically use an Acoustic Image Coda for that. I will give it a try the next time I take the upright out.

This rig is stunning...awesome tone, pure accuracy and a soundstage that is beyond description. I absolutely love it! Stay tuned for more reports...