Vincent Ryan Borres

There's always a battle between individual stomp box guitar effects or the multi effects processor in terms of sound quality, price, durability, etc.  When I started playing in a band, I use to borrow effects because first of all I can't afford one and second it's very rare in my province (Capiz) in the Philippines to buy guitar gear or accessories such as stomp boxes.  I was using a Boss Distortion during those years and just that one single pedal until my good mate Louie asked his parents to buy him an electric guitar with effects pedal and that's where I came across the Boss Super Overdrive and Ibanez Flanger.  I love these two pedals in terms of their sound quality as well as durability coz until now they are all right apart from the Ibanez Flanger which my Mate said he couldn't find it so may be the lucky borrower who didn't return it became the new owner now.  Also I have tried a couple more stomp boxes like the DOD Metal Maniac which is a good supplemen...

Gear ready i.e. microphone, leads, USB cable, mic stands, etc. Guitar ready, tuned and conditioned for recording. Softwares installed and working properly.    USB audio interface which is Guitar Rig Session IO    DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) I am using EnergyXT other softwares that can be used are Cubase, Audacity, Garageband, Mixcraft, Amplitube, etc. It's time to RECORD! 1. Open and setup DAW by going to the OPTIONS or Preference or Setup and then Audio Device should be on ASIO (Audio Stream Input Output) and not on DS or (Direct Soundcard). Setup or adjust Buffer size to 264 and this is for the latency of the sound from your instrument to actual recording. Sample rate should be 44100 Hz. Record:  16-bits or you can choose 32-bits. Bitrate: 128 kbs or 256 kbs. 2. Plug in microphone and adjust the position from your acoustic guitar or towards your guitar amplifier.  No need if you're going to use AmpliTube, Garageband or Guitar R...

How I set up my mobile home recording studio. First off install EnergyXT which is a straight forward installation, very easy.  Then, install as well the Guitar Rig Session for the USB audio interface soundcard.  Then the plug n play MIDI keyboard which is Evolution MK-249C .  After the installation, try a test run of the software installed as well as the hardware.  Then I customized it or open the setup and create necessary folders and directories, etc. Now, it’s time to plug in the Shure C606 microphone and try if it’s working and if we need to tweak the EQ and reverb.   Also try plugging in the guitar or bass and see if it works.   Try to record some riff and layer some loops.   Save some loops that I created and see how it goes. Then after using my Philips headphones, I tried plugging in the ION CenterStage to compare the difference and see which part is louder or distorted or any adjustments to be made because sometimes when you use t...

My mobile laptop recording studio This does not mean having a portable handheld recording device and also this is not the proper recording studio, which have all the complete amenities and gear but what I mean when I say Mobile recording studio is that this is something that can be transferred to any location and set up as quickly as you can. Like for example, in my case, I don’t have a proper recording studio or room to record so sometimes I’m doing it in our lounge or other times I will set it up in our dining area or sometimes in our bedroom.   Also by saying mobile recording studio, in any case I’m moving to another place I can easily pack up things and bring it with me like for example I’m here in England as of now and if ever I’m going back home in the Philippines after my contract expires, I can easily bring my recording studio gear and equipment back home.   So, this is not an on-site recording studio or a portable recording studio this is just my own mobile l...

LP stands for Latin Percussion for those who wants to know.  I bought this new instrument called Cajon or back home in the Philippines specifically my hometown Roxas City, Capiz.... People calls this as Beat Box because it's like a box and you can create a beat out of it. LP Aspire is well made and has got a nice finish in terms of colour, texture and polish.  The sound quality is fairly decent especially for its price and category.  I did get a chance to play and compare the sound of the LP Aspire in Guitar Central Southampton .  Thanks to the guys there most especially Gary. It was a big help from you guys to letting me play with the Cajon, compare and decide which one to buy. There were two LP Aspire there that I tried one was £99, sounds more on the treble side and then the £119 which I got was more on the bass side.  This one is what I needed as we will be playing with just Acoustic and no bassist so with more bass sound coming from the Cajon, it wo...

This is how I record my guitar tracks part 1 outline: 1. Computer = Desktop or Laptop "When buying a gear, buy one that you can afford." Don't buy cheap gears that's not gonna last long or poor performance or quality.  Also never buy gear which is beyond your budget where you'll end up bankrupt or broke. 2. Software :  DAW (digital audio workstation) softwares.  To name afew:  Garageband, Cubase, Mixcraft, Ableton Live, etc. and in my case I am using EnergyXT . 3. Audio Interface :  USB vs Firewire Things to consider are number and types of connections.  Minimum of 2 inputs, one for vocals and one for instrument.  Then 2 outputs for stereo outputs.  Lastly, 1 headphone socket for a quiet and up close monitor.  I am using Guitar Rig Session by Native Instruments. 4. Microphone :  Dynamic vs Condenser Shure SM57 and SM58 but I am using Shure C606 .  Although, instrumental microphones or guitar microphones are not a n...

My first electric guitar package was Lyon by Washburn, mind you Im a big fan of Fender Stratocaster and my dream electric guitar is a Gibson SG or an Epiphone will do.  After a long battle of searching online and reading reviews about guitar from Google and which music store online to buy, again from eBay to Amazon to Digital Village, etc., I finally decided to just go to the nearest music store in Southampton to look, try and then hopefully buy an electric guitar. I tried a couple of shops which were adjacent to each other, The Guitar Store Online and then Becketts.  I tried to look at the guitars and was a bit shy to try one and because of my tight budget plus being the new kid in town, I was really shy to test their guitar.  But then, I conquered my shyness and tried a couple, and finally decided to buy this Lyon electric guitar by Washburn,colour black bundled with gig bag, 10-watt Stagg practise amp, strap, 3 plectrums and 3-meter lead from Becketts. The guitar ...

I bought this item roughly about two years time and I made the right decision., this amp/mixer never failed me in times of need.  I normally use this as PA system during parties like birthdays, during my wedding reception and other small-venue events.  It is loud enough when use indoors and fairly decent even when use outdoors.  This is a multi-purpose amplifier/mixer with built-in effects like chorus, flange, reverb, delay, etc.  I have tried using a Yamaha PSR 350 and tried using the effects especially reverb and it sounds brilliant.  Also have experimented with flange and chorus and still I was impressed, made a difference to the PSR350.  Also the mic inputs are excellent, three ¼-inch input with 1 shared XLR, all with independent volume and effects control.  There is a 5 band EQ with feedback detection button, 1 sub out, 1 line out, 1 RCA input for laptop/mp3 line in which I normally use during parties or for backing tracks.  This am...

I bought this Behringer Xenyx 1002FX on ebay and it was a total bargain. Comes in with the original box, manual, power supply and functioning rather perfect.  Really 100% clean and seems like brand new.  Very lucky purchase for me, and might as well for you guys just use the eBay search tab on the right hand side of this blog and search for your most love and needed gadgets and you might get the best deal for it. Now going back to this item, I bought this because I needed a mixer that has a builtin FX for my mini PA, which is ION center stage because it doesn't have any FX on mic input.  This is a big help also when I am performing with just guitar, mic and backing tracks via laptop, this Xenyx 1002FX is just the answer to it.  It really serves the purpose. Also it is worth mentioning that I also got a home recording studio and doing some experimental stuff and this one is a big contribution in terms of FX and mixing my recording plus additional i...

I needed a mini PA, something light and portable because presently I'm a part-time singer in a nursing home and I need a PA system that sound decent, not too loud and not heavy as I need to transport it if at all possible from one room to another.  I bought this item online from Maplin. It was smooth transaction quick delivery, although the box was like it was already opened and returned to them but still I go for it because I was intrigued of this item. Unboxing, checked if it was complete and looks like it was.  Tried to assemble the stands, speakers, etc and then now comes the leads what I got in my hand was the microphone lead and the lead for extension speaker wasn’t there.  I checked the microphone box and found that it was in there so may be the item was already purchased, opened and returned back to Maplin. I still continued and assembled/connect everything. There are three inputs; one for microphone, one for guitar or instruments, and an RCA input for iPo...

Digitech RP55 Modeling Guitar Processor Such a great multi effects processor.  It is small that it can even fit in a gig bag and the good news about this one is that it can run with 6 AA batteries and can last for 15 hours with continuous usage.  This one already got a drum machine so you can jam by yourself, practise your guitar phrasing and timing with this drum machine or you can perform all by yourself like a one man band.  40 user presets and another 40 factory presets which are: 1) Stacked                                                                  21) Bad Dog 2) Recto Delay         ...

Welcome to vrbpodcast Episode 4.  By the way, I would like to greet and say special thanks to the Filipino Community in Romsey for their love and support.  And although, the launching of Habagat Flood Aid tribute album was delayed for a day, it was all worthwhile that it's out now for download on OPM2Go.   Today, I'll be sharing to you guys on how I started recording my songs, my music and my podcast.  Well, it all started with a laptop, a hand-me-down laptop, which is Sony Vaio.  Then, I've searched in Google how to start recording or build a home studio.  I also searched and downloaded from torrents to torrents free recording software, which mostly are demo or trial versions hoping that it will take me somewhere or just to have a look and feel on how to record.  I have tried Mixcraft by Acoustica which they said is the Windows version of Garageband, and because I can’t afford to buy Mac Book there’s no chance for me to use the Garageband....

I was tricked on buying this USB guitar lead interface because they said it's built-in interface with a free recording software, which they did not mention.  Later, I found out it's Audacity which is true it's free and nothing special about it because indeed it's already free online without buying the USB guitar lead interface. Now with the lead itself, this one doesn't work or if ever it works, the sound is super delayed and there's nothing much you can do apart from adjusting your instrument's volume or tone. They are right in saying it is a Plug n Play because the computer instantly recognise the hardware and install it automatically in your laptop but then after it's installed and says Device is Ready to use, you plug in your guitar and then what?  Nothing.  Totally nothing because you won't even know what software to use apart from the above-mentioned Audacity and this one's free but it doesn't work the way it should be.  Lat...