zircon

Why would FL need deep freeze? It has smart disable for ALL VSTs, which is arguably better, and it takes all of a few seconds to bounce down a track as necessary...

WAVES lets you download all their stuff for free, but you can't use it unless you have the right authorization - such as an iLok USB dongle. Unless someone downloads this, installs it, AND is using it with no problems, I'm fairly it's not the full thing.

Hey all you video/art geeks out there. I'm gonna cut to the chase - I am looking for someone to make a music video for my song "The Art of Zen" (click the title to listen to it). I'm NOT looking for a traditional music video that revolves around actors and/or the band doing this and that. I'm looking for something creative that doesn't involve people (or at least, not me) which will probably be grounded in CG or image/video manipulation. Some "tags" to describe what I'm going for would include: soaring, inspirational, motivating, peaceful, serene, flowing, bright, and evolving. If you listen to the song you'll hear what I mean. There is a sort of "darker" minor part but most of the song is uplifting. Here's an example video for an instrumental song, "Star Guitar" by the Chemical Brothers. The song and the video are both cool - I'm not looking for this level of synchronization, though some synchronization would be cool. And of course... compensation. Volunteers would be great, but I am willing to pay depending on resources needed, scope of the video, etc. Chances are we'll be leaning on back-end income a little more - we'll work out the details in private. If you're interested, please post here. Don't PM or email, I get so many that it's hard to keep track. Try to provide a general schedule of when you could work on it, a concept, maybe some sketches, and anything else you might find relevant. Thanks in advance!

www.soundtempest.net - which I've had for a good 3-4 years now - expired yesterday. I forgot to change my renewal preferences back to "auto", and apparently someone has registered it, even using my name (but putting some crappy ad spam type page there instead). I want my domain back. What can I do?

Ack, I'm sorry Jose, I have no idea how your name got dropped off the list. I wish I could do something to help you out w/ your accomodations also; if Jill and I were living in the area we would have opened up our place to you in a heartbeat. My best advice is that if you CAN go Thursday, you can pick up your badge 5-10pm Thursday night...

Source tunes: 212 It's Difficult to Stand on Both Feet, Isn't It? 104 Anxious Heart 114 Underneath the Rotting Pizza 219 Gold Saucer Man, I can't believe you went with this title. It's terrible. Anyway, I heard the earlier iterations of this in #ocrwip and I'm impressed with the final result. The sound quality is MUCH better than it initially was - the samples are pretty good, and in general the sequencing, rhythms, and processing are all rock solid. The guitar samples aren't the greatest, but they don't hurt the mix much. The weakest part is arguably the bell and synth stuff, which is wobbly and goofy. However, IMO, we've passed mixes with comparable production. There are no mixing/mastering or balance issues. Arrangement is something of a mixed bag, but I'll explain the cons after going through the individual parts. Here's the breakdown: * The start of the mix arranges "It's Difficult to Stand on Both Feet, Isn't It?" - instrumentation differences aside, the remix's bassline is more rhythmically varied, and the harmonies were made more interesting. :44 in particular is strong. * Next, at 1:03, "Anxious Heart" comes in. Considering the source is a simple one-instrument melody with two note harmony, the level of arrangement here is REALLY great. Tons of original and varied stuff was added. The key changes are executed tastefully when combined with the melodic variations, and the original solo thing at 1:43 is a nice touch. * 1:46 brings "Underneath the Rotting Pizza", which isn't heavily arranged, but has some additional chords that weren't there in the original, along with a more embellished bassline. * 2:06 introduces the classic "Gold Saucer". Again, the personalization comes from the organ/guitar harmonies, which are more varied and interesting than the original. Melody wasn't touched much, but the key changes are nice. * Lastly, "Anxious Heart" comes back at 2:22. A different part of the source is used, but it's still pretty heavily arranged with lots of additions and personalization. The weakest points of this remix would be the transitions, which for the most part are a little abrupt and cheesy, the short length, and the sudden ending. I would have liked to hear more original sections in the form of solos or new melodies/countermelodies. However, I really appreciate the amount of arrangement that went into this, even though four themes were used in less than three minutes. Additionally, despite the goofy samples, the mixing is tight and the guitar, bass, and drum sequencing are all quite detailed. I know this might be a contested vote, but I'm going with YES

I would grab the Korg X-50. This ran me $600 US and has been worth every penny so far. It's 61 keys, connects via USB for MIDI and plugin editing, has 3 pedal inputs, AMAZING sounds, etc.

Amazing remix... I loved it when I first heard it - the string samples are from Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra with the XP Pro expansion pack. I believe it's the Gold edition. Sam did some really crazy editing stuff, eg. taking some interval samples (fifths/octaves) and manipulating MIDI CC11 (expression) to fade between them to get that really amazing legato sound.

Three more tracks done, up to ET-6 now! Check out "Bazaar", track 5, at my MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/zirconst

Check the Presonus Firebox? You have the Firepod on there, but I think the Firebox might make more sense. The only thing it doesn't have from your list is the 4 TRS inputs - it just has two, though the XLR inputs in front can also accomodate instrument inputs for synths etc. Other than that, it's $300 and has rock-solid drivers. I love mine.

http://remix.supertux.com/songs/Fire_Emblem_EtudeforPianoinFSharpMinor_OC_ReMix.mp3 Maybe this one also.

Right, we're announcing the release date at Otakon. The release date itself is NOT Otakon. However, it is not far off.

Since I listen to so much electronic music, and I write a lot of reviews (both here and at Garageband) I figured I'd put the two together and start a regular "column" of sorts on my MySpace page. I'll be covering album and song releases by artists on all levels; be they unsigned and net-only, or major figures in the electronic music scene. Though I will be primarily writing about new releases (such as the upcoming Chem Bros album) I will also tackle stuff that has come out within the last year or two, particularly if it's music that I feel strongly about. After all, some singles and albums just go under the radar for some reason, when they really deserve more attention. Once again, the column is at my MySpace blog - http://www.myspace.com/zirconst. Feel free to friend me while you're reading. If you'd like, you can email me with suggestions of music you'd like to see reviewed. Include as much info as possible (artist MySpace/webpage, where to buy, what label they're on, etc) and email to admin (at) zirconstudios (dot) com. You can submit your own music too. I can't guarantee when and if I'll be able to write about any particular item, but I'll do my best. Enjoy!

Unfortunately getting physical distribution is very tough. You need to print a lot of copies first, which is very expensive... 1000 CDs with inserts, full color printing, shrink wrap, bar code (etc) can cost nearly $2000 after shipping and taxes. And you will need a lot more than that if you want to get in all the major stores nationwide. Then, consider that most distributors and retailers won't even talk to you unless you're a major label or have some significant credentials. Plus you would need to promote the albums on the radio, TV, in magazines, newspapers, and other forms of media simply to get the name out there - how often do you buy random CDs from artists you never heard of in a store with thousands upon thousands of CDS? Unsigned indie artists like us don't have a chance in the traditional world. The best we can do is go by word of mouth and promote online, but of course, there are hundreds of thousands of people doing the same thing, so it's a little grim... you guys (fans) are truly our strongest asset.

Yes. We'll be announcing it at Otakon.

Actually, this song has been remixed five times on OCReMix... http://ocremix.org/song/id/248/

Come on Wes, you gotta come! Do a hotel split outside of Baltimore, you could probably do it for <$50 a night. Spend spend spend spend spend spend spend

It wasn't what we requested... we asked for Saturday morning. I know it's inconvenient But I don't think we'll start at 10AM on the dot, there will probably be some setup time.

Yeah, let's play on East.

Correction: We're going on Friday at 10AM to noon, in one of their biggest rooms. Two hours!

We have not received any info regarding our panel time or date yet...

Happy birthday, Jeremy! (from both myself and Jill, since we don't have internet at our new place )

Probably won't be doing any more previews... we're definitely coming down the home stretch. I know I've been saying that, but we are. Lately I've spent a lot of time gathering all the mixer bios and photos for the website. We're almost done with that, which is important for the web design. We got one new mix, a medley by bladiator - it's awesome! More progress on what's left...

Err about what? And are you serious? I can't tell, I'm exhausted

haz/starla - we've left all your posts intact but from this point on please keep personal stuff to PM or... RL.