theshaggyfreak

This is a REALLY good concert. I'm glad I got to see it and I highly recommend checking it out if you can.

My package from Santa Strader showed up yesterday and I got a nice cache of PS3 games! Thanks a bunch, Santa Strader! You rock! I need to do a bit of shopping and some crafting before I send mine out. I'm hoping to have it done in a week or so.

Okay, I'm officially signed up.

I'm always down for this. Sign me up!

It's actually fairly typical with a lot of interfaces. I have a Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 which has a total of 18 input channels. 10 of those channels are digital and require a separate piece of gear to use. 8 via ADAT and 2 via S/PDIF. These digital inputs are very common on a lot of interfaces including the Focusrite Scarlett 18i20. Right now I'm using the S/PDIF input for my ART Voice Channel.

Sometimes having a lot of inputs is nice when you have a lot of gear. That way you can keep various things plugged in at the same time and just get working when the mood strikes you. I have a total of 9 input channels right now and a chunk of those are taken up by outboard synths. I actually used to have more i/o but I got ride of an 8 channel strip of preamps (light pipe) that I didn't really need.

I've posted my first batch of MAG pics from this past weekend. https://plus.google.com/photos/+WilliamChrapcynski/albums/6059720536270186097

You wouldn't actually have to put the boundary mic that close the players. It basically picks up vibrations from whatever surface you put it on.

For that budget, I would really look at the two packages I suggested. I think this will give you the best set of options for your situation. Having a matched pair can let you experiment with different setup configurations unlike a stereo mic where you're stuck with a single placement. Something else you can experiment with adding into that mix is a PZM boundary mic such as this one: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SoundGrabber You could mix that in to your stereo configuration and it would probably help the low end response as well as give a bit of ambience.

Another technique for recording orchestral type stuff that isn't mentioned in that article I linked to to is the decca tree. This one can be a bit difficult to setup, though, unless you have the right equipment. I personally would just stick with a stereo configuration of some sort. The more mics you have...the more phasing issues you'll have to deal with and those are never fun.

It all really depends on your budget. If you're on a budget, I'd look at the Rode M5 stereo pair which is about $200 USD. If you can afford more, I'd look at getting the Rode NT5 matched pair which is about $430 USD. As far as technique goes, this makes for some good reading. https://www.academia.edu/693259/An_Investigation_into_Stereo_Microphone_Techniques_and_their_Applications

By the way, this is the guy that taught the courses that I took. He's a guy full of real world knowledge and gives a lot of helpful feedback. http://bennewhousemusic.com/

I got the certification for Orchestration for Film and TV a couple of years ago from Berklee online. I definitely got my moneys worth from those classes. The setup that they have really works as long as you're a self starter. I highly recommend it!

I have it and I was one of the beta testers. It does a fairly decent job at what it's trying to emulate. It's not perfect but I still have found it useful for creating some chip-like tunes.

You know, celebrity deaths rarely both me that much. There are a short handful, though, that hit me particularly hard. Jim Henson was one. Robin Williams has now beed added to that list. In some ways, I felt like we were from the same planet. I pulled these out of my closet this evening and smiled.

I'll probably bring a uke or two. Maybe a bass. Maybe a uke bass!

I'm in and ready to go!

I got the Minibrute well before the Micro was released. I kind of want both, though.

Very nice work! Great video too! It's nice to see someone put something together like this with some live playing. The Microbrute is an awesome little synth as well! I've had Minibrute for quite a while and love the little thing.

After some experimenting, I think I finally found a piece of software for PCB and schematics design that's not too difficult to use. It's free and cross platform as well! http://fritzing.org/

So, here's where I'm at with my build of the APC. I have all the major components and jump wires soldered into the solderable breadboard. As you can see, it doesn't take too many components to make this thing. Above that is the three 1/8' jacks attached to part of the casing (not my best drilling job). One is for audio out. The other two are for CV connections. On the left are the components that are left and most of those will be attached to the front of the case once I drill the holes. I'm waiting on a couple of pots to come in the mail to finish this off, though. Right now I don't have two 500k pots that are small enough to fit in my case. Once those come in, I should be able to get this all done quite quickly. The one nice thing I like about this case is that it has a battery compartment built into it. The finish product will be nice and compact. It not look absolutely pretty but it'll be fun toy to use for sound design.

From what I understand, one is better off looking at buying an off the shelf MIDI to CV converter. There's several out there already. I already have one in my Minibrute but I'll probably end up building a CV control keyboard as well.

My only problem with Sibelius right now is that it's owned by Avid and they haven't been doing so hot for quite a while. As far as writing with notation, I learned to read music many years before I even saw a piano roll. So, my brain is just kind of wired to visualize things that way. If I'm writing orchestral music, the ability to have notation in my normal DAW setup is better work flow compared to when I was using Finale. Yes, you can use virtual instruments in Finale but it's a mess putting it all together. My life would be much simpler if I could visualize certain types of music when using a piano roll but it always ends up slowing me down.

Doing notation in it definitely took some getting used to when coming from Finale. Certain functions took me a while to get used to but I'm very glad I switched over. I was previously started out a piece in Finale and then bring it into Reaper. While I do love Reaper, Logic just fits much better into my work flow. The plugins that come with Logic are fairly decent but I'm mostly using Melba Production plugins for the bread and butter type stuff and I use VSL for all the orchestral work. I'm still doing the majority of my electronic music in Reason.

One option is a battery powered solder iron. Now, these things are not going to heat up nearly as hot as a regular iron but they usually are good enough for working with small components such as the ones in these projects. People who buy them often expect way too much out of them. For my portable needs, I use a butane solder iron. They might see that as a bit more dangerous than an electric one, though.