Flexstyle

Get a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2. If your laptop isn't a Mac (and even if it is), you'll have a really hard time getting both microphones to record at the same time if you're plugging them in via USB. With a 2i2, you can record two channels at once. I own one, and use it all the time to record vocals--it's clean, drop-dead easy to set up (as audio interfaces go), and rock-solid. Also, for basic podcasting (if you're just doing some sort of voiceover with no extra processing or music, etc.), you don't need anything more than Audacity. Here's a link to that: http://sourceforge.net/projects/audacity/ If you need to do any sort of additional stuff, like adding music, etc., then look at Reaper. It's free to download, and it has an incredibly generous trial method: it just bugs you to buy it when the trial period runs out, without actually cutting functionality. Furthermore, if you haven't already purchased the microphones, I'd suggest you look at buying a couple of these: http://www.amazon.com/GLS-Audio-Vocal-Microphone-ES-58/dp/B000RKWTPC/ref=sr_1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1435207773&sr=1-1&keywords=es-58+mic You'll need to buy XLR mic cables no matter what, so you might as well not buy the USB mics as they won't do you any good if you're trying to use more than one. These ES-58 mics are great little workhorses--they're mimicking the ultimate workhorse microphone, the Shure SM58, and they sound nearly the same for a third of the price, and should last you a LONG time.

Congratulations to you and your wife (?) for another precious life to take care of--and congratulations especially to her for delivering that colossus of a baby! Also, as someone who lives in the city of Phoenix, I heartily approve of your name choice.

Wish I could be there to spin at the booth again for this one, but I'll have to make the trip in spirit instead of in person.

OCR-level good? Yeah, definitely feeling this one. I'm not sure it's your very best work, Justin, as I think the concerns voiced re: snare, repetition, are valid, but still it's definitely front-page worthy. Is stronk track. Many approve. such YES wow

If I had the money at this moment, I would spend it on this. Unfortunately, I have not got money.

Ooh, that's a good idea. Hoping I actually have time for this when it hits, lol. (I'll be out of the country for a couple weeks in August, with very limited access to music tools.)

I'm not an artist, so I can't give meaningful feedback necessarily, but I dig this stuff!

Oh. Right. I do now see the part where he said he didn't own Kontakt, haha. #derp Investing in Kontakt is one of the best things you can do as a computer musician but that's neither here nor there. The other orchestral percussion in my toolbox right now is from Nine Volt Audio, but I don't know if there's anywhere you can even buy their loops anymore, since they went out of business. The libraries in question were the Action Drums series, if you can find 'em. Good stuff for the most part.

Doesn't Rhapsody have an Essentials version that's sub-$100? http://impactsoundworks.com/products/orchestral/rhapsody-orchestral-percussion-kontakt/

Not having heard the original, all I can say is this sounds clean, I can hear a good arrangement, and I'm digging the throwback feel. Also, great choice of source--for sheltered former homeschoolers like me who've never heard of a game like "Lawnmower Man," this is a great introduction to a funky, not-as-mainstream source. Great work! YES

It is indeed some very sweet art. Downloading the MP3s right now!

Milo, you already know I love you guys, but.... THAT WAS FREAKING GREAT. I absolutely love how you guys integrated the themes, the jazz reharmonizations were on point, and the musicianship was through the roof. The video concept was really neat as well. Love, love, LOVE this one.

Ooh, groovy stuff! I dig it quite a lot. The slow burn suits the song well. Love the little organ stabs, and of course the bass work is fantastic, as I'd hope from a session bassist, haha. Love the vocal work. Full-sounding mix, great attention to detail. Nice work!

Super interesting, thanks for sharing! I'll be perusing this more thoroughly at a later time, I'm sure.

It's tasty and I love it. Really nice guitar work here, Stevo. My one complaint is it feels rather overcompressed--you could probably let this mix breathe a bit more and have a bit better dynamic range, to suit the emotion of the piece. That might partially solve Chimpa's complaint, too, about letting the song have a breakdown section at some point. Anyways. Nothing too major, beautiful arrangement, love the guitar tones. YES

Super creative combo of stuff, I love what you've done with the source (dat groove tho). I almost feel like the drums could have been fattened up some more with some different samples alongside the chippy stuff, but it works well enough as-is. Playing is good, arrangement is catchy, and there's nothing I can say that would prevent this from getting passed in my eyes. YES

Oh no, an 8 minute song. *gulp* Honestly, this was actually...really enjoyable. I like the personality you infused the entire thing with, and the ride you took us on was varied, dynamic, and interesting. After reading through Deia's vote, I'd really say the exact same things. Smooth out the transitions a bit, maybe shorten up and make it a little less of a trek to listen to, and improve the instrumental sequencing (and possibly some samples). No mix issues stand out to me, though. Really, the main thing that stood out to me was when it dropped to just a couple of instruments--a real orchestra probably wouldn't do that nearly as often, so you'll want to support the transitions with backing instrumentation more effectively. Fun piece here, just give it some more polish and send it on back! NO (please resub!)

I think I agree with Emu--it certainly "feels" like a NiGHTS remix, and it seems to use source effectively. The atmosphere is there, I love the treatment of the little bell arp, and it's super chill and enjoyable to my ears. Repetition doesn't bother me in this instance, since I don't think it gets stale. The production is spot on (at least in these crummy Skullcandy headphones), so no issues there. Love what you've done with the stereo field, etc. YES

I'm just chuckling at the fact that a user registered just so he could give his two cents on a five-year-old topic. XD (which is completely out of date, since both DAWs in question have matured drastically since the original post, haha)

I love my Corsair K90, but it's been replaced by the K95 (fully mechanical), which is even better. However, if you don't want the inordinate amount of macro keys, then the Corsair K70 or the K65 may be just the ticket for you. Cherry Red switches, which are very nice and tactile without the super-distinct "click." If you want a more distinct clicking feel, then look into something with different color switches--perhaps Blue or Brown. Steelseries, Das Keyboard, and even Razer themselves have good mechanical keyboards, although Razer uses their own custom switches, meaning they're a bit less standard.

Aww yeah, another excellent game-centric guitarist to subscribe to on YouTube! Love this medley, great work!

I love this so much. Like Sir Palpable said, "candy-coated" is a great description. It's sweet, it's shiny, and I feel like it's going to take several licks--er, listens--to truly appreciate the detail. Love the personalization you've given the melodies, and honestly I love the choice of source as well, haha. YES

dude, you're posting on OCReMix. There's a bunch of super high-quality music here, why are you still looking? In all seriousness, you can use Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Play, Pandora, whatever. Just find music that's done well and then listen to that, then mentally compare your music to it. That's basically it. If you want some recommendations as to well-done music, I'm sure a bunch of us can chime in--what genre are you looking at right now?

I like compressed, loud music. I get that it's not always appropriate for every genre, but I like the visceral feeling I get in energetic genres when it's squashed appropriately.