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analoq

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Posts posted by analoq

  1. I'd rather like a video that starts by tearing into misconceptions

    This is a must, I think. Very good idea.

    I could however break down EXISTING tracks and explain my thought process after the fact. How does that sound?

    I like this idea too. It could be expanded to include all interested remixers. They could make their own videos explaining a posted ocremix and contribute them.

    cheers.

  2. I like djp's idea. It's not easy for beginners to grasp concepts that you are executing in one DAW (i.e. Fruity Loops) and then apply them to their own (i.e. Reason)

    So keeping the videos as specific to OCR as possible would be most helpful, imo. Besides, there are plenty of videos on YouTube/etc that already cover general topics like beats/synths and often you can find them specific to the software you want.

    cheers.

  3. That's interesting to hear, because as I understand it Mac is pretty much the champion of Firewire and by far its biggest user.

    They are.

    Do you know if the problems you mentioned were exclusive to your versions of the devices? Perhaps they've been improved slightly?

    The problem isn't the MacBook Pro. The problem is the devices not in accord with the IEEE standard. Shoddy engineering on behalf of Presonus and TC Electronic.

    Apple had to tweak the power usage on the Firewire 400 port in order to accommodate the Firewire 800 port, but they did so in accordance with the standard. I do have an older chipset (Merom) so it's possible the newer chipsets (Santa Rosa) are more lenient in this regard, but you'll have to figure that out on your own.

    I just wish I could try them out...

    You can if you so desire. Get your MBP first. Purchase the interfaces from places with good return policies and keep returning them until you find something you like.

    That's what I did.

  4. You have a Macbook Pro, right? If you have a firewire port you should go for a firewire interface.

    Though, models Macbook Pro (ones with FW800 usually) have stricter power requirements on firewire interfaces than other laptops. Devices that don't conform precisely to the IEEE 1394 standard don't work reliably on bus-power. I've encountered this problem with the Presonus and TC Electronic devices.

    Mackie Onyx Satellite is an interesting concept; effectively having two complementary audio interfaces for two purposes. I owned one for a while, but the pod's mic pres just didn't fare so well on bus-power, maybe another MBP specific issue.

    You're right about dismissing MOTU -- they're great products but they're more than you'll need, my 828 ended up being more than I needed in the end. You're right to forget about the mixers as well, no good for portability.

    My current interface is a Yamaha GO46. I've probably owned more audio interfaces than anyone here, so take from that what you will. Though, I'd really like to try the Duet sometime.

  5. I more or less took the path that Kanthos suggested-- I studied CS and IS in college and took a music technology program on the side.

    What I found was:

    - I can write code for 8 hours a day, then come home and write more code for fun.

    - I can not write music for 8 hours a day, then come home and write more music for fun.

    I had more opportunities than most to pursue a career in music, but it would've destroyed a hobby I enjoy.

    I stuck with what I have the mental stamina for and now I easily find jobs and yet still have fulfilling hobbies.

    cheers.

  6. Read the first post of this thread. Ostensibly his look thru the guides is what prompted this thread in the first place. Unrelated:

    Only thing that bothers me is the Price O.O Like, Wow. 200-400$ is it really worth it?
    Yes, because making music has never been so cheap in the entire history of mankind.

    Just wanted to quote this, it's an important point that many people seem to not realize.

  7. Your problem is that the encoding process works like magic to you. Voodoo. You think you can quantify audio degradation in a perceptual codec using spectral analysis because you don't know any better.

    It's not just my opinion that your tests are worthless, you simply don't know how to test your hypothesis. It's as if you're using spectral analysis to see if the guitars are in tune or not.

    There is a scientific way to test perceptual codecs: Double-blind listening tests. Until you're doing that, you're just wasting your time and everybody else's.

    cheers.

  8. I agree that there are artifacts that won't show up in a graph that you will hear and dislike.

    You've got it backwards. Just because a spectral analysis shows loss does not mean there's an audible difference. Do an analysis of a 256kbit MP3. There will be loss compared to the original, but you will not hear the difference. MPEG Layer III represents audio perfectly (to the human ear, of course) at that bitrate.

    So far, I've only analyzed the first four, and it's only slightly confirmed my hypothesis.

    Stop while you're ahead. If you're only using software analysis tools then you're wasting time. Whether your hypothesis is right or wrong, it's useless information. More/Less frequency loss does not equate to less/more accurate perception. Perception is what matters.

    I've also found that mp3 compression tends to average and add sub-bass tones under 20hz, for some reason, which is not good for people who have sub-woofers that can reproduce 5hz sub-bass tones.

    Subwoofers are intended to represent the last octave of human hearing, i.e. 20-40hz. Most subwoofers will roll off anything below 20hz because our ears don't interpet it as a tone. So what's the problem with sub-20hz inaccuracy in MP3s? Answer: There is no problem. It didn't matter in the first place.

    I hope that was enlightening.

  9. I didn't even need to listen to the second sample; I knew the first one was correct because it had no audible artifacts.

    I listened on Grado RS2s thru a Yamaha GO46 connected to a very quiet MacBook Pro.

    I've had my ears professionally tested: my left rolls off after 18.5khz, my right after 19.2khz. Not perfect, but I take care of what I've got.

    I own custom-molded musician earplugs that I take to concerts, clubs and even the cinema.

    I own an SPL meter to make sure I don't monitor at harmful levels.

    I can metaphorically break boards with my ears, kung-fu style. If you think you can match me you got two choices: Either step up or walk off, bitches.

    cheers.

  10. I would have liked to hear the 128 vs the original wave as I could not tell the difference between the 128 and 320.

    It wouldn't have made a difference with WAV or FLAC. 256kbps or more is effectively imperceptible compression.

    even after reviewing the correct one with the incorrect one, I couldn't hear the difference. Knowing which one is a higher quality leads me on to believe I am hearing things, but I can't pinpoint what the difference is, if there is any.

    I don't know if all the examples are the same but for the one I listened to the percussion (not the drums) in the background was the give-away. It lacked clarity in the high frequencies and sounded less transient.

    cheers.

  11. pirate a couple of VSTS

    I'm sorry you're so young and stupid to think encouraging illicit behavior here is a good idea. Perhaps this isn't the right place for you? Find a forum with more adolescents like you to hang out at.

    After thinking about it for a while, I definitely want to go the route of decent midi controller + rackmount analog synth. Any gear recommendations for this setup?

    You're not going to make out very well with this setup. After you get the controller your remaining budget will limit you to B-level racksynths from yesteryear. You have the same problem as before but proportioned differently.

    I'm looking at this mostly in terms of intrinsic value. I'm assuming you just want to make music. If you're more after a hardware learning experience then any of the aforementioned synths will give you that.

    cheers.

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