MockingQuantum

Well dang it, this is exactly what was happening, and I knew it the moment I read it. YoshiBlade, do you have a volume pedal connected to your midi controller or whatever? Or a volume control on a midi controller? Some of them map automatically to CC 11 when used with Cubase, so it's entirely possible you were controlling expression data without knowing it. And yes, most MIDI CC info won't show up in automation lanes because they're specific to a midi clip/region, rather than to the entire track. Edit: One thing I do when I'm working on particularly complex projects that have a ton of MIDI CC info is to just keep certain MIDI CC windows open in the piano roll view at all times. If you go into the bottom section of the Piano Roll (Key Editor) window, you'll usually have Velocity CC messages displayed by default. If you right click on the grey area on the left side, there's an option of Create Controller Lane. I usually have three lanes at all times, one displaying velocity, one displaying Expression, and one with whatever else is useful at that moment, usually Modulation or Pitchbend. This way if you have weird behaviors, you can very quickly rule out velocity or expression as the culprit. Also on the subject of updating, are you saying you're holding off on getting Cubase 8, or that you're avoiding getting any patches whatsoever?

Seconding the MPK, if only because I have a friend who has gone through 3 Roland controllers. The first one he figured was a fluke, as it was an open box, the second and third ones were ones he bought new, then had replaced by Roland. In his word, they were great controllers until they ceased to function entirely.

Yeah, don't trust that any other DAW in the world will work remotely like Reason. The longer you spend with Cubase, the more you will likely appreciate that fact. (I'm totally biased against Reason) As for your volume dropping issue, I've never encountered it, but I'm also on a Windows machine. Is the volume difference instantaneous? Like, hitting play one time it's fine, then the next its really quiet? Or does the volume actually decrease during some playbacks?

Thanks for the info. Yeah, I'd love to get a quote, though honestly I don't know how soon I could pull the trigger on it. Truth be told, I may have the majority of what I'd need to make one, just not in anything smaller than an ATX case, which kind of defeats the purpose of what I was asking.

I'm not a streamer myself, but I wholly support having a one-stop thread for finding them. Thanks Nutritious!

Thanks so much for the huge post, zircon. It's a lot of information I've seen before, but you distilled it and framed it in a way I haven't given any thought to before. I've always focused on gross calorie count, and macronutrient percentage, but with how much I struggle with hunger, the idea of looking at it as a factor of calories per gram is kind of appealing. Also I've never sat down and actually tracked & calculated my own TDEE, so that may be one of the issues I'm having. @RealFolkBlues & zyko: Thanks for the words of encouragement. I'm starting to look into other methods of getting my head in the right place to support my weight loss efforts. I've focused so much on the numbers (weight, calories, days, whatever) and I think it's taken a toll on me. I know it's just as much about changing your lifestyle and perspective as it is about weight loss. I'm getting back into meditation, and I think that may be as beneficial or more than focusing on the mathematics of it all. Also I know I need to be reminded every once in a while to not stress and take it slow

Anybody have any good recommendations on a small form factor PC that doesn't break the bank? I want a relatively hassle-free solution for a local multiplayer Steam machine. None of the games I'm thinking of would be that performance-demanding, but that's hard to say for sure.

Wow, how did I not find this when searching? Thanks Neblix! Also, I've very nearly bought that book multiple times. @timaeus, thanks so much for that, I'm looking forward to giving it a spin when I have some time!

Hey Fit Club thread, I'm getting discouraged. I'm trying to lose weight, and I'm terrible at it. I've tried calorie restriction, intermittent fasting, changing my diet (i.e. what foods I eat), changing what time I eat, cutting out caffeine and alcohol, and no matter what I do, I am always, without fail, painfully hungry. I mean this in two ways: I never stop being hungry, no matter what, and I actually have chronic pain that, for whatever reason, is not as bad when I've just eaten. Anybody else experience anything like this? Any advice?

Wow, thank you both for the quick response. And Brandon, for the linked stems, just in case he happens to wander into this thread.

I really like Remixes that are pretty faithful to the original material but add more depth or new instruments in a musically interesting way. So I guess I prefer the original song to be the melodic foundation, but I like it when Remixers expand on the original song in a clever way. I guess I prefer shorter Remixes? I have a short attention span, any song (not just Remixes) longer than 6-7 minutes has to be fantastic to keep my attention.

Hello OCRers, what do you all recommend for getting some practice mixing tracks? I'd really like to get some practice in on just mixing and refining tracks that I otherwise haven't worked on. Is there any resource out there where people post stems or tracks for this purpose?

Hah, no, it'll probably be a MoPho, a Yamaha rompler keyboard, and maybe a couple of control surfaces. And maybe a bass amp.

I'm going to be selling some random gear coming up soon here, I just have get it all sorted and figured out.

I actually don't think I played Majora til they put out the GC version. It's why I got a GameCube in the first place. I wish I hadn't waited so long, but I actually never owned an N64. The first time I played it was after a long play session of Eternal Darkness, so I actually went into the game with kind of a creepy mood already, and I absolutely loved it. It's my second favorite Zelda game to date, and I think it captures a great feeling of adventure that a lot of game companies have kind of lost since then. It wasn't afraid to try something new (and dark) with an established franchise. And who doesn't love collecting masks? And the terrifying mask salesman?

I would, but I'm definitely still at the point that I think I'd just embarrass myself if I tried to collaborate with someone. I think I need to fail miserably on my own before I put anyone else in a position where they're relying on me to deliver.

Wow, so I'm currently on vacation, and I forgot how much I love swimming. I think I may try and find a gym or community center or whatever with an Olympic-length pool once I get back home. I just cannot care enough to get out and run everyday (plus it's tough in sub-zero temps) or to spend a ton of time on a treadmill or elliptical, but I could swim laps all day.

Seconding this, as someone who is pretty accurately described as an amateur. Or "hobbyist," if amateur is some sort of dirty word. If I may, I'd like to ask a question unrelated to the compensation discussion: I'm currently trying to transition from doing sound design for live theater to sound design for video games. I've done some of the latter, but only had one paid gig so far. Has anyone else had any difficulties in convincing potential employers that an artistic skillset from one field will actually transfer to another? I imagine a possible parallel would be like trying to find game composing work when all you've done is film/linear media, though I think that might be an easier sell than theater->video games.

I understand the disagreement on whether or not free work undercuts professionals who are trying to make or supplement a living wage doing this, but I would argue that to some degree, this self-regulates. People who want quality music and can pay for it often will; those who can't, won't. It's kind of a trite comparison, but it's like the old saying that friends who won't back you up when you're in need aren't friends at all-- employers or teams who would be willing to take someone who's offering their work for free or drastically undervalued may not be employers or teams you want to be working with anyway. I understand being frustrated when you bidded $300 a minute or whatever and someone undercuts you by $50 a minute, so the developer goes with them, but that's part of doing business. Bidding $300 a minute and having a developer go with someone who's asking $20 for the whole project? I'd say that project may not be the best fit for you anyway. Other work will come along. The caveat here is that I've never been a working composer, just a sound designer, so the stakes and availability of work may be considerably different.

To a point, you are worrying too much. You want food to cool as quickly as possible, as if it stays at room temperature for too long, it's possible it could support bacterial growth. Ideally, you want to get food to refrigerator temp within about four hours, which is pretty doable as long as you separate stuff out into smaller containers so there's more surface area. As long as you're not leaving it out for a long time before cooling it, it's probably okay. Soups or liquids can be more tough to cool down, since in theory anything with a lot of water in it changes temperature more slowly. I've had it recommended to me that if you make soup, you should put the whole pot in an icebath and stir it regularly til it's around room temp, then throw it in the fridge. I think even in this case you could get away with separating it into smaller containers and throwing it in the fridge. Or freezer, for that matter.

I love the Elder Scrolls games so much, I might consider giving it a shot now. I've never payed for an MMO, especially not a subscription one, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't sorely tempted.

I'm with Moseph on the suggestion to not use it for commercial work. What gets sticky here is that the End User is unclear, and that's where a lot of the licensing allowances apply. Here's what I mean: MusicGuy downloads some raw soundfiles from Moseph. Moseph says, "you can use them in whatever, or make a Soundfont out of them, that's cool." MusicGuy then does the same from MockingQ. Same license agreements. MusicGuy then packages them together and re-releases them. Upon re-releasing them, he changes who the end user is, and as such any licenses on the raw material don't apply to anyone else, unless the original licenses expressly say that anyone in perpetuity can use those samples forever in all projects, personal and commercial. So if you get them from someone else, there's really nothing protecting you from litigation, especially since on KVR the person who posted them even strongly recommended they not be used commercially.

Damn you for adding Alchemy. I don't have the money, but with Camel's doors closed, it's going to be tough to find.

Since it's been a couple of weeks, I figured I'd stop in an give a trip report on Convict Conditioning so far: Cons: -First of all, I don't think you'll see as quick of returns as you would with traditional weight training. Reps don't tend to increase rapidly, and some of the exercises in the different progressions don't actually "progress" that well, ie. you go from doing two sets of 30 reps in one type of push up, to doing two sets of 5 in the next progression level. It's not the end of the world, but you kind of have to take it on faith that you will see improvement. -Some of the exercises paradoxically require a certain level of balance and fitness prior to being able to do them at all. If you have much of a gut, a lot of the beginner exercises are sort of tough to do, just because all dem fat rolls will get in the way, so you can't track through the entire range of movement. Also, the program is split into different difficulty levels of six different exercises (the six are, basically speaking: Push-Ups, Pull-Ups, Leg Lifts, Bridges, Hand Stands, and Squats), but things like the Bridges and Hand Stand exercises require a decent amount of balance and core strength, even for their most basic forms. Pros: -I hate gyms, I hate weights. I have a super physical job, and when I did weight training, I never found that it translated much into greater strength for my job. I just got better at lifting weights. Admittedly, I probably went about it wrong, but with CC I'm actually seeing an improvement in how much I can do at work before feeling sore/tired/pain. Also, if you aren't one for gyms, or have a tough time making it to them regularly due to schedule, one of the main concepts of CC is being able to do it literally anywhere with as little as a chair and a 7x3 bit of floor. -The progression element, once you start going, is a really great motivating factor in itself. Probably no more so than weight training, but it's a good feeling to move from the wall push up to the incline push up to the floor push up or whatever. You actually feel a significant change in what part of your musculature you're activating, rather than just an increase in reps and weight. -It's impossible to do some of the exercises without engaging your entire body. For someone recovering from a chronic injury, like myself, this is absolutely essential. I was recommended this program by my phys. therapist for that reason, and it delivers. I mean, it's basically Super-Calisthenics, so it's not surprising, but it bears mention. On a related note, I've lost 10lbs since New Years. Pretty excited about that.

That's... fantastic. I will definitely check him out.