zircon

Count Jill and I in.

I use 880s, which are fantastic IMO... the 770s are probably good too. DON'T go with Sennheisers, they're not proper mixing headphones.

I last spoke with bLiNd in early May, when he was first diagnosed - even then he said he was too sick and bed-ridden to work on music, which definitely made me worried, but I wished him well and hoped he would get better. I can't even describe the feeling I have after seeing the message his girlfriend sent, and knowing that his condition has taken a turn for the worse. I consider bLiNd to be a good friend, a confidant, and one of the most talented musicians I know. I will be praying for his recovery.

Yes. Basically, the OCR forum member (who actually hadn't heard of VotL) was at some sort of event with Uematsu. Some random Japanese guy was wearing a shirt with the VotL project logo on it (presumably, custom made) and when Uematsu saw it, he pointed to the shirt and said "That's great!" or something to that effect.

I can hook you up with a digital version of this if that's what you wanna do Also, the release is now up to #11 on the JunoDownload trance charts!

Jill might not have gone into the details (yet) with regards to the track selection for the contest, but as I'm working on getting all the audio materials ready for it now, suffice it to say anyone who was asking for remix material earlier will be VERY happy with the selection and the parts provided.

Yes, it is! For those that missed it, "System" was the aforementioned two-track breakbeat EP, also released through Progressive Grooves and available through all major online stores. It features two tracks - a remaster of "Ladder to the Sky" from Antigravity, as well as a new track which I consider to be one of my best works, if not my single best. Very BT/Hybrid-influenced. Check it out on iTunes here.

Last May, I mentioned that I got a two-song breakbeat EP released through an electronic music record label - Progressive Grooves. I also hinted at a bigger release slated for the Summer, and now, it's available. If you liked any of my previous original works, or if you're a fan of trance/dance music at all, check it out! "Breathing You In" is an 8-track EP centered around the titular song, which features the vocals and vocal melodies of Jillian Goldin (aka pixietricks.) Also included is "Antigravity", also featuring Jill, and a remix of that. Here's the full tracklist: * Breathing You In (Original Mix) * Breathing You In (Original Instrumental Mix) * Breathing You In (Mikas Positronic Remix) * Breathing You In (Mikas Positronic Instrumental Mix) * Breathing You In (Indecent Noise & Andre Glensk Remix) * Antigravity (Indecent Noise Balearic Remix) * Antigravity (Indecent Noise Balearic Instrumental Mix) * Antigravity (Original Mix) The remixes are all excellent, and in my opinion, the highlight of the EP. Mikas' Positronic Remix is progressive trance, a bit more minimal and pulled back, but very cool. The Indecent Noise/Andre Glensk mix, which Global Trance featured in one of his DJ sets recently, is also done in a trance style, but it's much heavier and more anthemic. Both are great in their own right. The Antigravity Balearic mix is an interesting, downtempo trance take on the original track, which was more New Age to begin with. If you're into darker, atmospheric tunes, you'll definitely like it. The Breathing You In EP is available from just about all major digital retailers, though Beatport won't have it until the 14th of this month (doh!) Where do I get it? * Progressive Grooves Homepage (previews, links to all the stores) * Beatport * iTunes - Note that the track names don't show which mix is which for some reason, which was a flub on Apple's end, but at $7.99 for the iTunes Plus (no DRM) version, it's still a great deal. * Juno Download (MP3) * DJTunes * Amazon MP3 --- As of this posting, BYI is #23 on the JunoDownload "Trance" charts for the week and it looks like it's gonna hit the top 10! Progressive Grooves (the label) is going to be promoting this one heavily, which is definitely an honor. If you like it, drop them (or me) a line, post here, tell your friends, tell a DJ... I'd really appreciate it

Word on the street - according to another OCReMix forum member who saw him in Japan - is that Uematsu said VotL is "great".

Not trying to kill anyone's hopes and dreams... just telling it like it is. The music industry, whether you want to be a recording/performing artist, producer, or composer, is extremely crowded. It's very hard to find a well-paying job much less a career. If you want to make a living doing music you generally have to expect to work way harder than anyone else for the same pay, as well as apply a lot of non-music skills.

The issue is that many artists don't perform live, and can't perform live. Not to mention the OP wasn't even talking about traditional commercial music, he was talking about gigs scoring to picture or to games. By nature you really can't perform that kind of stuff live, or at least not easily. You get paid to write for a specific purpose. Did I mention that live gigs are paying far less in inflation-adjusted dollars than they ever have before?

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the whole "musicians shouldn't be paid" thing. Just... wow.

Because they didn't HAVE CDs or records back then. They made their money using as many income streams as possible. If they were alive today, they'd be all over MP3s, CDs, etc. Actually, we weren't...

How will making everything free help people get paid for their work...?

Yep, music is one of the most crowded fields out there.

KD ratio does not count assists :/

I got it right. I can hear the difference between 128 and 320, but it definitely depends on the tonal material. Some stuff makes 128kbps sound awful.

Ballin' in our new apartment. Pretty much the same gear as before, plus a Samson CO1U mic with shockmount + windscreen (shared with Jill), Tascam VL-S21 monitors, an Alesis mixer that isn't plugged into anything, and a nice Yamaha digital grand. The room looks a lot nicer though. Note the framed artwork for Antigravity and Origins. One more, just for fun... My mascot gnawing on one wire from a true mess. There's an 8-outlet surge protector completely filled, and above it, our modem and router.

Demos don't need a nerf. Stickies do 90-140 damage if you get hit with the full force. That's not enough to oneshot anybody and not really more powerful than the Soldier's rocket. It's VERY rare that I kill anyone with a single sticky, and the issue with multiple stickies is that once you detonate them (which typically only kills one person unless the other team is stupid) it takes a bit to set up another kill. Additionally, there are now three classes that can easily counter stickies - Demo, Soldier, and Pyro. Just move them aside.

I don't think Demos are overpowered. 1. You only get one "shot" with stickies. If you blow them up and they miss, or don't do their job, you can't just shoot again easily. It takes time to launch another volley and detonate them. 2. The launcher has an incredibly slow reload time. 3. Demos take massive damage from their own stickies, making them hard to use in close quarters combat. 4. Demos lack powerful direct fire weapons. Against a good pyro or soldier you're basically boned.

Whoops, sorry for the late response on this. For most purposes you don't need higher than 44.1/16, so I wouldn't worry about it.

I thought those soundbytes were from Unreal Tournament, not Quake...

You can actually turn the poly all the way down to "---" if you go less than 1, which means unlimited... that's what I usually do to avoid problem. Also, thanks!

Haha, clicked on this thread and Lucca appeared as the mascot in the upper right.

I'm preparing to take the GMAT, which is used as a qualifying test for MBA programs, within the next month or two. I just purchased a study guide and the difficulty level seems to be roughly like the "old" (2005 or earlier) SAT, or perhaps slightly easier. Has anyone else taken this test?