dannthr

Yeah, the Overhead Mic is pretty fuxxed. You printed all the vox on the overheads, so... here's a mix, can't do anything fun with the vox because otherwise I'll totally lose my cymbals, can't phase the vox out because you printed all over the stereo spectrum and all the harmonies so I can't just duck out a frequency. Upload a fixed OH recording and I'll revisit this, otherwise, here you go: http://www.dannthr.com/music/dannthr_mix_for_fun.mp3

The Overheads have Vox on them, like... a lot, I'd think it was bleed, except it sounds processed and printed. Can you check that? That the way it is?

Just ask Andreas what his settings were--most sample devs are more than willing to help out their customers in these sorts of situations.

We use two Firefaces and an Octamic in Control Room C at Pinnacle, they're lightning fast and are cross installed on Snow Leopard and Windows 7x64.

Tascam is just all around not great for drivers. There are companies making software/device drivers that have no place making them and are doing a terrible job. Tascam, Focusrite, etc. Should have been sticking to hardware. With that said, I've used my little M-Audio 2496 for years on a myriad of OSs (Win XP32 and 64 and Win7 64) and it's performed solidly! Now, if you want a great interface with great drivers (since money is no object) would be anything from RME (especially the ones that come with RME's virtual mixer) are worth serious consideration! 24-bit vs 16-bit: Essentially, the only thing you really get with greater bit-depth is greater dynamic range (approx +/-6dB per bit) but for Metal you're not really going to notice that increased dynamic range or be able to appreciate it, rather, and chances are you won't be able to hear it if you habitually listen to Metal music.

He's only getting Silver if he goes with your suggestion. I still push for Gold with the Close Mic upgrade. Silver leaves no room for growth.

Economics aside, Broadway Big Band is probably the quitessential Big Band Set. Do Classical/Cinematic articulations cross-over with Big Band? Somewhat, but not really. Sample-Modeling's The Trumpet, The Trombone, and the Sax Brothers are great for both Jazz/Big Band and Orchestral work, but they're really unusually flexible as far as libraries go. Lesser offerings include Vir2 Mojo: Horns, Screaming Trumpets, First Call Horns, Kontakt's Sax and Brass, etc, etc...

Drivers are for hardware, first of all, and drivers for new hardware is fine, it's just that companies don't always go about the whole process of updating drivers for old/legacy devices. For example, my scanner and my old Tascam audio interface, Tascam and HP no longer support these devices (I got them back in 2000, 2001 respectively) so they're not bothering to write drivers for them for Win7 x64. That's okay, I more than make up for it by having a great machine. Software, on the other hand, runs fine. I have versions of games and software that is only 32-bit. And some software, like my DAW, I install as both 64-bit and 32-bit because sometimes my old plug-ins run better with 32-bit DAW than with a 64-bit DAW. That's the only other possible incompatibility, by the way, is plug-ins, which are programs that interface with other programs. Plug-ins that are old 32-bit plugs have to be BitBridged so that they can talk with 64-bit programs. Usually that works fine, but sometimes it can cause goofiness. But it still doesn't beat having 16GB of RAM.

64-bit Windows runs an x86 emulation that is as good as any 32-bit version of Windows. The only incompatibility you may encounter has to do with hardware.

EWQL calls the stage mics Far mics. Far mics in Symphonic Orchestra are mics set up at the conductor's position on stage. If you get EWQL Gold, then you can spend an extra few bucks to get the CLOSE mics as an add-on, and then you can delete the Far Mic samples (I believe) and just keep the Close mics on your machine. The Close mic samples will be smaller because they do not contain the same length of release tails as the Far or Surround mic positions. Their release tails are smaller files.

I don't understand why you're willing to spend whatever it costs to make sure this stuff works on an outdated computer--you're setting yourself up for failure here. In the long run you will have wasted your money because you're much better off replacing your computer. Especially if cost is no objection.

64-bit versions of Cubase use an awkward Bit Bridge on 32-bit plugins that opens up a static panel over your project that you can not move or adjust or resize but that you can only close by clicking outside of the panel.

64-bit OS?

Hans Zimmer's score for As Good As It Gets is great, he went back to his Driving Miss Daisy roots.

Yeah, that's a perfect place for a compressor. In fact, it is not uncommon for that to be one of the FEW places you will find a compressor on your track. You don't need a compressor on everything. Additionally, good compression is done with a light touch. You can create your own multi-band compression if you want, just set up a sub-mix bus in ProTools, then create sends (for as many bands as you want) and then put them all on separate stereo busses and send them to Aux channels, start off each Aux Channel with a basic EQ that isolates the band you want to compress and add an instance of compression for each bus. BAM, home made multi-band compression. How do you think they did it without computers in the old days? Just don't ask me how to set up a home-made Mid/Side Mastering Setup.

Not to disagree with Zircon and I do want to emphasize that a well rounded education should be considered desirable--and I don't mean in music specifically, but in general, appreciating and understanding things like philosophy, astronomy, political science, physics, anthropology, chemistry, etc, etc can enrich your life and improve the way you approach solving problems in your life. Likewise, a well rounded music education can give you essential foundations in approaching music problems you may face with a career in composition. No university in the US currently offers a degree in video game sound design and interactive audio. With respect to music, the closest that you get to a highly competitive and thorough music technology program would be USC's Film Scoring Certification. The best any other school has done is created a music technology sub-program that supplements an existing educational degree--Andrew's Drexel, Capital in Ohio is taught by another friend of mine, NYU's master's program has a music tech degree focused in games. However, as you mentioned, you're wrapping up a communications degree, you have your degree, and a degree in anything is about as worth while in games as a degree in something specific unless it's programming. Seriously, unless you're an engineer or applied science major, the game industry just doesn't care if you have a degree. Least not of all, music. I would only pursue a second degree in music if you feel that is the only way you're going to learn how to compose. I teach at a recording arts school in Los Angeles, CA called Pinnacle College. It was one of the first recording arts schools in LA (under the name Sound Masters) and it has one of the first game specific Sound Design and Interactive Audio certificates and degree programs in the country. The accredited curriculum was designed by Lennie Moore (who has worked on numerous games including the highly anticipated Star Wars: The Old Republic) and instructs students in everything from Recording Theory/Science, to Post Production Theory/Application, to Game Audio Implementation in Wwise/FMOD, including actually implementing sounds into a live game build, etc, etc, etc. If you're looking for a school, there is one for you. Don't discount the value of a training program, especially since you've already gone through a degree program. I write music and create sounds for games, professionally, and I have a degree in Creative Writing--a Communications degree is not the end of the road for you and you don't have to start over again. As long as you're the type of person who takes any education and makes the most of it. I use my writing skills every single time I interact with current and potential clients and I find understanding Creative Writing and use of metaphor an essential skill when communicating something extremely abstract like music to a client.

You definitely have a giant brick here. I notice you have a lot of square waves, which can sometimes sound like clipping (as the effect of clipping basically creates a square waveform). I don't hear clipping, is there a spot specifically you hear it? I think this brick wall is killing your dynamics though--remember loud is about CONTRAST.

When mixing and mastering, it is crucial to get an even and unbiased frequency response from your listening environment. The reason being that accuracy counts the most when trying to balance the mix and create the final master for a variety of end user listening situations (whether people listen to your music on headphones, earbuds, car stereos, or expensive home theaters) and still maintain an optimal listening experience. To sum up, you need a great listening environment in order to create a mix that sounds best on all potential user gear. This listening environment is not exclusive to just your speaker system. The shape of your room can have a great effect on your perception of frequencies as well as the reflectiveness of your room can have a great effect on your perception of space/reverb and resonance. It's important that if you're serious about spending money on great listening gear, that you also spend time and money addressing the sonic nature of your listening room. This may mean treating your walls with absorptive paneling or diffusing arrays of reflective material, or it may mean renovating the wall shape to accomodate a non-parallel surface. For further information, please google "Room Nodes and Acoustic Treatment"

Hey folks, I'm selling my copy of Altiverb 6. It retails for 600USD and street prices at about 525USD. This is an official license transfer approved by AudioEase. Altiverb 6 is one of the most complete convolution reverbs engines out there with an exhausting and growing library of impulses (AudioEase updates impulses almost every month), an extremely flexible and tweakable interface, and one of the most relevant room placement emulation engines--it really is a top choice convolution engine. As a user, I found it essential for mixing anechoic or super dry samples like Sample-Modeling's The Trumpet and I was truly in love with impulses from the old Todd AO scoring stage. Also, great impulses from Disney Hall (which is a brilliant acoustic space designed by Geary) and 20th Century Fox's Scoring Stage. Willing to entertain reasonable offers. The transfer is pretty simple, just an iLok transfer from my account to yours and an email to audio ease with your details gets you access to Altiverb 6 and a massive library of impulses from halls, stages, theaters, and other live spaces to famous or infamous gear to sfx impulses like the interior of a helicopter cockpit or a massive hockey arena, etc. More info here: http://www.audioease.com/Pages/Altiverb/AltiverbMain.html Let me know if you're interested! Thanks,

You just need an image of a beat up worn out shoe being digitized into wireframe.

Digital copies via distribution networks like iTunes/Amazon are compressed. It doesn't matter if you think that you're downloading your mp3s at a great bitrate, it won't rival a CD. And a CD won't rival a well cut record. Physical wins as long as you're an audiophile. And if you're not an audiophile, you might as well be ripping crap off youtube.

Sorry to say the most convincing Trumpet and Trombone are not free but really fantastic. sample-modeling.com

John Williams Alan Menken Jo Hisaishi And everyone else.

Congratulations, man!

Cool concept, How are you mic'ing this?