Vivi22

A few weeks isn't so bad. I've waited months for some of my drums. Glad you got them to toss in a pedal for free. Even if it is low end, it'll do for a while. Eventually you may find it's holding you back, but when you're starting out you'll probably get a few good years out of it at least.That's assuming you don't absolutely love it in the end too, in which case you may never want to give it up. I've seen guys who can only play on the most high end pedals around, and others who swear by the stuff that costs $50. You just never know what will suit you.

Any chance of this database being updated for Steam ID's? Although I play some games online on my PS3, Steam games are where I do most of my multiplayer gaming. Wouldn't mind adding a few OCR folks to my friends list.

Not everyone owns HL2. I'm not sure why, but there are some crazies out there. If giving out free stuff gets them interested, then so be it.

Good luck my friend. I think you've made some awesome choices there. I doubt you'll be dissapointed with any of that gear.

Honestly, I haven't heard of those online stores with the exception of Massmusic. I don't usually buy online as I like my local music stores, and since I'm good friends with the owner and half the staff, they usually hook me up with some good deals. I've also never actually bought anything from Massmusic, but I've seen many people on a few drum forums I've frequented over the years have very good experiences with them, and even talked with the owner, Andy, on a few occasions in forums. He's a great guy, and seems willing to go the extra mile for customers. Also, if you go to massmusic.net, they have a form linked on the homepage for price matching, so I'd check with them to see if they can match the prices the other stores you linked to are offering. I may not have used massmusic before, but I wouldn't hesitate to if there was something I couldn't get at my local store. As for bass pedal recomendations, I'll post some links to some inexpensive options. Any of them will do the job well for the money. Pearl P120 & 120P: http://www.massmusic.net/shop/?shop=1&cat=1054&cart=7763780 Gibraltar Avenger & Intruder: http://www.massmusic.net/shop/?shop=1&cat=465&cart=7763780 Tama Iron Cobra & Iron Cobra Junior: http://www.massmusic.net/shop/?shop=1&cat=586&cart=7763780 Yamaha FP8110: http://www.massmusic.net/shop/?shop=1&cat=586&cart=7763780 For under $100 I'd say the best value is either the Pearl, Yamaha or any of the Gibraltars. If you went Gibraltar I'd go with the Avenger or the 9611DC or 9611SD. The 9611DD has a bit of a unique feeling drive system that isn't for everyone (by all means try it at a store if you can though and see if you like it). If you can spend slightly more than $100 then any of the Tama Iron Cobras would be worth the cash. They're Tamas high end pedals, and many people swear by them. Even though I play Yamaha pedals, I have to admit that the Tamas feel great and are one of the best constructed pedals around. They're built to last. Get to a store to get a feel for what you like if you can, but you can't go wrong with any of the ones I've recommended, and every pedal I've linked to is a great pedal in it's own right. Any of them would be a good buy.

Can't fault you there. I personally think that Yamaha's top of the line cymbal pads are the best feeling and responding out there. The three distinct zones on the ride pad in particular are great. Being able to play the edge, the bow, and the bell of the ride separately on an electronic kit is a god send, and I've never had a mis-trigger when playing on them in the past. I'm quite certain that neither the DXPIV or the SP will come with the pedal (they do have the pad though). Yamaha's bottom of the line electronic kit comes with a pedal, but I guess the assumption is if you're going for something higher end, you either already have a pedal, or know what you want, and would prefer not to get one with the kit. A decent pedal can be picked up in the $100 range though, and that'd be enough to last until you develop a sense of what works for your playing style. Ask and you shall receive. Here's a pic of the back of the DXPIV module: http://www.musiciansbuy.com/mmMBCOM/images/yamaha/yamaha_DXPIV_Rear_Module.jpg and the front: http://www.musicland.co.jp/static-image/topix/all_dtxpress/e-dr/06_dtxp4module_front.jpg It doesn't have a lot in the way of dedicated trigger inputs, but you can always split the tom and kick outputs if you want to add a pad or two. It's also got Midi out for recording with it, so you'll need some form of audio interface to get the midi data to your computer for recording, but you'd need one for any kit in this price range.

The DXPIV will some with everything you saw in the links except the bass pedal. What you saw at the shop was probably a DTXtreme IIS set. They usually sit in the $4,000 range. Massmusic doesn't have them on their site for some reason, but here's a link to the Yamaha website so you can see a set: http://www.yamaha.com/drums/drumproductdetail.html?CNTID=544643&CTID=5040587 The DXPIVSP uses the same high end cymbal and three-zone snare pads as the DTXtreme, but has a lower end module, and uses their low end pads for the toms. The rack the pads are on is also slightly different. It'd be easy to confuse the two if you're not really familiar with them, so I'd say you probably saw the DTXtremes rather than the DXPIVSP.

Trouble with the mesh heads is any kit with all the tom pads being the mesh headed variety will be out of his price range (or at least they were when I was shopping for an electronic kit a couple of years ago). Just to play devils advocate on the mesh heads for DJ's sake though; I personally can't stand them. Whenever I've used them it just felt like I wasn't hitting anything, and I could never get used to it. I've never noticed any difference in trigger response with them compared to Yamaha's rubber pads either, so whether you prefer mesh or rubber heads all comes down to the feel of the sticks hitting the drum. Get to some stores and start hitting to find out what you like. The most important thing for DJ, I think, is to get something that's good quality and with plenty of great features so that he can use it effectively for remixes, as well as for learning to play. Getting a good drum module is the most important part for now, since getting better pads can always come later.

I said it in the other therad, but I think it's worth saying again; if you ask me, you get more for your money with Yamaha than with Roland. With that said, if you're buying new with a $1500 budget, I think the Yamaha DXPIV is your best bet at $1200 here: http://www.massmusic.net/shop/?shop=1&cat=1625&cart=7754541 If you could swing the money for the DXPIVSP, then you'll get an added cymbal pad, and more realitic feelng and responding hi hat. If you can't swing something quite that expensive, you could always get the DXPIV and add a cheap hi hat stand and the RHH130 (I believe the RHH130 is there top of the line hi hat pad, but I'd check on that first before you buy) found here: http://www.massmusic.net/shop/index.php?rec=15&shop=1&cart=7754541&cat=1626&keywords=&match_criteria=&searchCat= Keeping in mind that you need to buy a bass pedal as well, you'd be pushing your budget for either option that gets you the better hi hat pad. I think getting the DXPIV is your best bet overall if you go new, and you'll always be able to upgrade pads later when you have a bit more money.

I'll direct you to this thread for starters: http://www.ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=14052 I gave some tips on what to get, and there's some good info on how to do it cheaply. If you have any questions after looking at that, then I'd be happy to help.

My sister owns a Macbook, while I've always stuck to PC's. While I find some Mac exclusive programs like Logic and Final Cut Pro interesting, I don't think the cost of a Mac is justified by them. I'm used to using a Mac now from playing around with my sisters, and even toyed with the idea of getting one myself in the near future. In the end though, when I can build a computer that will mop the floor with most Macs for hundreds less than Apple would charge me, and have plenty of Windows programs that serve the same purpose as any Mac program, and often work just as well, I couldn't justify buying one. I'll stick to building a kickass desktop that can handle all my gaming and music making needs, and save some money that's better spent elsewhere (like on said music software).

The series apparently throws Terminator 3 out the window, so her dying of cancer has no bearing on it. I saw the leaked pilot a couple of months back, and it seemed pretty good. I don't know if the pilot they aired was changed at all since I didn't get to see it, but there was certainly potential for something that's worth watching in the long run. Hopefully they manage to do something interesting with it and keep it up.

Are you using Firefox to block popups? I had to set Firefox to allow popups for that site before the forums would open in a new tab. Not sure why, but doing it worked anyway.

Before I found OCR, back in about 2005 I think, I was a sad, lonely, pathetic shell of a man. Now I'm a sad, pathetic shell of a man, but at least I'm engaged and get sex on a regular basis. Coincidence? Seriously though, OCR has helped me grow as a musician. I only played the drums when I first found the site and became addicted. It was thinking how cool it would be to make remixes as awesome as the ones on this site that drove me to take up piano. A couple of years later, I'm not so much interested in remixing (though I may try my hand at it someday) as I am doing original songs. OCR has helped me hone my musical ear, and get into some genres I wouldn't have tried had these remixes not been freely available and of amazing quality.

Good to hear. Hopefully I get the chance to try it for myself sometime soon.

A friend of mine got the game a week ago for the 360 which he bought just prior to Christmas, pretty much in anticipation of this game. It's a huge piss off that it took this long to come out in Canada. So after two months of waiting we were excited to finally have it and be able to hook it up. Unfortunately, we hooked up the 360 to find it didn't work straight out of the box, so now we're waiting on finding another Elite. I really want to try the drums in this game. I am a drummer myself so I want to see if there's any challenge there for me. If not, I may stick heavily to the guitar, which wouldn't bother me as the guitar immediately struck me as the best guitar controller I've ever held.

Happy to help. If you have any other questions feel free to ask me and I'd be glad to try and help, or at least point you to where you can get some answers.

Great find Sixto. This may be another great way to save a few bucks and get an electronic kit, while having some fun in the process. I may have to try this myself for fun in the future.

In that price range, the DXPL is probably your best bet if you want something new, but since you say you'd like something with some good samples and more than just midi capabilities you should probably go with something higher end. A better idea may be to either buy a kit used on Ebay, or piece one together. I've taken a quick look right now and there are some good deals on full electronic kits, and components on there. Here are some links to a few auctions for full kits and components just to give you some ideas of prices: http://cgi.ebay.com/Yamaha-DXPIV-Electronic-Drum-Kit-New-Boxed_W0QQitemZ180203784021QQihZ008QQcategoryZ38069QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/Yamaha-DTXpress-III-Electronic-Drums_W0QQitemZ190187483022QQihZ009QQcategoryZ64383QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/Roland-V-Drums-TD-6-V-complete-working-set-NO-RESERVE_W0QQitemZ330202136621QQihZ014QQcategoryZ64382QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/Yamaha-Drum-machine-DTXpress-III_W0QQitemZ280189405606QQihZ018QQcategoryZ64383QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/Yamaha-TP65-Electronic-Percussion-Drum-Trigger_W0QQitemZ230209852489QQihZ013QQcategoryZ64383QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/Yamaha-PCY65-Electronic-Percussion-Cymbal-Trigger_W0QQitemZ230210653015QQihZ013QQcategoryZ64383QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/DRUM-MODULE-ROLAND-TD-6V-MINT-ORIGINAL-BOX-AND-DOC_W0QQitemZ330201173905QQihZ014QQcategoryZ64382QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/Roland-TD-6-Percussion-Sound-Module-for-V-Drums_W0QQitemZ270200448987QQihZ017QQcategoryZ64382QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/Roland-KD-7-Kick-Trigger-Unit_W0QQitemZ280188803761QQihZ018QQcategoryZ64382QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem http://cgi.ebay.com/Roland-V-Drums-8-5-PD-6-Single-Trigger-Pad_W0QQitemZ270200493827QQihZ017QQcategoryZ64382QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem There are some good deals out there if you're patient, and I think it would be worth taking the time to piece something together. It may take longer, but it should let you spring for a good module and then get everything else pretty cheap. Keep in mind that pads are pretty standard so it doesn't matter if they're Roland, Yamaha, or something else; they should work with any module you get. And the most important part is a good module; if you get something good now, you can always get some cheap pads and simply upgrade them later, but no matter how good the pads a low end module will limit your options when recording and playing live. A lot of people seem to like mesh headed pads because of the feel and adjustable tension. In my experience they seem a little more responsive than rubber pads and have more rebound, but I've never really had a problem with response on rubber pads. Ghost notes, buzz rolls, etc. all seem to be triggered just fine on my electronic kit. The rubber pads take some getting used to since they don't really feel like real drums, but if you've ever practiced on a practice pad it's not all that different. It's mainly a feel thing, but I could never get used to mesh heads; it always felt like I wasn't really hitting anything. Where you say your budget is about $1,000 though, I'd say stay away from mesh heads for now. Even on Ebay, it'll be tough to get them cheap. Get out to a music store if you can sometime and try the various pads yourself, but for now, you're better off going with cheaper rubber pads and upgrading later if you choose.

I'll need a little more information before I can help much. What's your budget? Are you looking for something with a great module and onboard samples (or the ability to sample directly to the module), or just something to trigger midi on your computer? Just to give you some basic stuff to look at to get you started; I like Yamaha's DTXPress IV kits for modules, and the pads are pretty good too. They're made of softer rubber than they used to be so they're easier on the hands and joints. They run about $1200 typically. Also, if you just want something to trigger midi, you may want to look at their DXPL kit. It's about $700 which is nice if budget is an issue, but you get a lot more out of the higher end modules in my opinion, so keep what you want to use these for in mind. Roland has some comparable kits with their TD3 and TD6 kits. I have an older TD6 and love it, but when I was pricing up electronic kits a few years ago, the rolands were usually more expensive for about the same feature list because of the mesh headed pads. If I hadn't gotten my Roland set used and at a very good price, I would have gone with Yamaha in a heart beat. I think you get just as much from their kits for less. The only reason I could see going with Roland is if you absolutely must have the mesh headed pads.

You may find it gets better, but you seem to be in the same boat as me to be honest. I hate Sunshine, but still think Mario 64 is the greatest 3D platformer ever made. I went into this one with some high hopes after the initial reviews, and it didn't start out too bad with the exception of the fact that the first levels were way too easy. I kept playing hoping it would get better, but the more I played, the more I started to outright hate the game. I got to about 70 stars before I stopped. By that point, the game wasn't much harder than in the beginning, and I started to be more and more annoyed by the lack of camera control (especially under water). I've also come to realize that I hate the level design. Half the fun I had with Mario 64 was exploring levels to find stars for myself, and find ways past obstacles by myself. The levels in Galaxy are just far too linear in my opinion, and have little to go and explore free from the guiding hand of the camera. I'd like a lot less hand holding personally. I think the game's a decent enough platformer, but nowhere near the level of 64. I was just plain bored at only half way through.

Admittedly, I've only been writing my own music for a few months but I'll try to lend a hand with some general advice. It takes time to be able to improvise something and work out a song from it. I've been playing Piano for almost two years myself and my general lack of experience with the theory side of the instrument and melody can certainly make things difficult. That's why I try to listen to more piano and other instruments to help me learn more about constructing melody. I may not be able to pick out what notes are being played by ear, but I can certainly get a feel for the progression. Trying to learn some more theory, and really breaking down what you're listening to in your head can help a lot for giving you ideas. Also, it may be beneficial to try learning another instrument as well. You say you have trouble writing rhythm so perhaps taking up the drums or another percussion instrument could help not only round out your skills as a musician, but help you look at things from a different angle and result in more creative ideas. I've found that my knowledge of rhythm from the 8 years I've spent behind a drumkit have helped my composing a great deal. Don't be too quick to give up. Writing music isn't easy; it's something that can only come with practice and experience.

I played TFC often from when it came out right up until about two years ago, and played it occasionally until TF2 came out; never have I seen a respawn timer in that game. You must be thinking of something else.

Not surprising. The Source engine (on which all Valve games are currently built) uses DirectX quite heavily; something Macs don't support. Releasing on a platform without it would require some serious re-tooling of the games, which is probably why EA is handling the PS3 port.

1.) What is your favorite game series? Tough choice. I guess I'll have to go with Half-Life in the end if I get to include official mods and spinoffs. 2.) What is the game series you are best at? Either the Half-Life games and mods (I've been next to godly in each one at one point or another), or the Turok series. I was nigh unbeatable in Turok 2 as I could headshot anyone with the crossbow before they could react. 3.) What game from your favorite game series is your favorite? Probably Half-Life 2, though if it were longer, Portal would probably take it. 4.) What games in your favorite series do you OWN (Rentals and Past Ownership don't count, though you can include Past Ownership if you note those). HL, HL2, Episode 1, Episode 2, CS, DOD, TFC, CS:S, DOD:S, Deathmatch Classic, HL2: Deathmatch, HL: Opposing Force, HL: Blue Shift, HL2: Lost Coast, Ricochet, and Portal. Almost every Valve game made. 5.) WHY is your favorite game series your favorite, and why would you suggest others to look into it? I shouldn't have to say anything for this one, but the Valve catalog is filled with the most original and unique FPS games ever made. The redefined the genre with HL, did it again with HL2, and continue to do it with games like Portal. Anyone who hasn't played their games can't call themselves an FPS fan.