zircon

http://www.ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=7918

I'm glad everyone is getting their CD and that they're working properly! That was my biggest fear, that there would be some little printing/manufacturing screwup that renders all the CDs unplayable. Feel free to drop reviews @ www.cdbaby.com/zircon3 if you liked it! Also, I have a mailing list where I send out info on my upcoming releases, give free or preview/demo MP3s, announce contests, giveaways, new merchandise, etc. If you'd like to be on it, simply send an email with the subject "subscribe" to list@zirconstudios.com and you'll be added. The letters go out monthly to bi-monthly so you won't get spammed - promise!

pixietricks and I are going!!! She just bought our tickets. :D

http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=7681 for soundcard buying guide. Will the soundcard support Vista? Check the manufacturer sites. Some do, some don't.. most don't. Will you need an external power source? Doubtful, the Firewire and USB external interfaces I have seen don't need one. Plenty of audio interfaces come with XLR connectors. The Presonus Firebox (what I use) for example, the Digidesign Mbox as well. Vocals w/ a shotgun boom, um, you could do it but a condenser is usually preffered for vocals.

Thanks everyone for the support. One thing you can do... if you use "StumbleUpon", go here; http://adterrasperaspera.com/blog/2007/05/13/review-of-zircons-new-album-antigravity/ And hit "I Like It!" StumbleUpon is a simple toolbar addition to Firefox or IE that is basically like a communal set of bookmarks. As you flag pages that you like, other users who are looking for those general kinds of websites will be directed to it when they hit the "Stumble!" button on their toolbar. The more users that give the thumbs up to a particular site, the more visible it will be within the SU network. If you don't use SU... you should! It's cool.

Happy birthday! .. FF7 project remix plz?

CD Baby is pretty fast with shipping.. Mon or Tues at the latest for most of y'all, I would think. I really appreciate all the comments by the way from those of you who have already heard it in some form, or even just the previews. I have just one request... if you liked, tell your friends, tell your family, tell anyone else you know who might be interested in this kind of music. I really rely on word of mouth to promote my music. If you know any DJs, likewise, send 'em my way if they're looking for my kind of music. Believe it or not, despite all the orders + preorders I'm gotten (and I've already nearly outsold Impulse Prime in online orders, which has been out for almost 2 years) I have not even made up 25% of my investment just to manufacture this.

Hit "scroll lock" on your keyboard.

I'm on a very fast computer (e6600 2.4ghz) that is clean of spyware/viruses, relatively new (<3 months), and has 2GB of RAM. The last few days however Firefox has been acting up. It suddenly becomes extremely slow and unresponsive, basically locking up. It does this at sites that I visit all the time like OCR, Gmail, and KVRAudio. I have two extensions installed that I've had for over a week (DownthemAll and an image zoom thing). I've cleared my cache/history to no effect. I can only browse for about 15-20 minutes now before experiencing this. I usually only have 3-4 tabs open, too, and I've easily had 10+ before with no problems. What's the deal? Version 2.0.0.3.

Actually, Reason is probably one of the most popular programs out there...

Thanks, it's been taken care of. Go Paige, OA, etc!

I'm really not feeling the voices. As Larry said, they're cheesy and don't add anything at all. I think if you wanted to create ambience you could have just added various explosion/gunfire/roaring sound effects. Guitars are pretty well recorded and performed, but I agree with TO that the drums are just lost in the mix. Kick is really "flabby" and lacks punch/tightness. Snare, hats, and crash all sound good but could still stand to be brought out more. The piano is also a little muddy too - EQing up the highs would be good there. Bass sounds great though. I do like the changeups in feel throughout the track... seems like a good amount of dynamics and a solid arrangement. The breakdown at 4:15 or so was a welcome change. I would have liked to hear a little more of that. BGC's comment about cutting down on the first part of the song up to 2:33 as the material before that was really not as engaging as the later stuff in my opinion. I also think you guys could probably make use of string harmonies more, or even some synth choir or organ, to help fill out some spots. If not that, some more active piano playing and riffage would be cool as the song goes on. More guitar solos wouldn't hurt either.. I really liked the one towards the end! 5:49 is awkward and kind of low energy. At this point in the track I would expect things to be really built up but they're not. 6:15 is a weak point, could be removed entirely skipping to the higher energy section at 6:22. So, the long and short of it: * Work on the drumkit mixing more, but primarily the kick which is very weak * Piano could be brighter * Voice acting stuff is weak and could be cut out to make the track tighter * The first.. 1/3 of the arrangement or so could be tightened.. it's a bit boring at the moment due to the simplicity of the parts * Consider adding more active piano parts or some add'l overdubs (synth, choir, organ, whatever) to increase the intensity as the mix goes on I encourage a resubmit. NO

Hey, organ solo was me! I actually had a different tone before, using NI B4, but I since upgraded to B4 II and couldn't duplicate exactly what I had. Glad you like it though. Thanks all for the comments.

The original as we compared it was "Stone Temple Tower (Illusion)" - there's another version of the theme too I believe. I'm not sure what other MM mix you're talking about though, I just scanned the queue and decisions forum and can't find any evidence of it.

Awesome stuff, DLed and listened through all the way. Some fantastic mixse!

Yes, they received them 11am today.. orders ship within 24 hours so they should be going out very very soon. Also, BUMP, because the album is now officially released! You can now also pick it up on my own website in digital download form (WAV, DRM-free) as well as iTunes: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=253822789 Did I mention I now have an entirely redesigned website too? My man Cyan_Ide (www.style-type.com) coded and designed the whole thing - Flash AND HTML versions - from scratch. Just check out http://www.zirconstudios.com/ and see for yourself. The "Shop" link will take you to the place where you can pick up the WAV download of AG (as well as Impulse Prime and Phasma Elementum). Enjoy! And another round of applause for Chad, who has been a beast in putting together the whole website as well as all of the album art.

Ok guys I just asked my friend, whose uncle works at Blizzard. It's a Warcraft FPS in the style of Daggerfall.

No one likes games where you just follow orders, for one thing. Another thing is that, again, you can't have a persistent RTS world that runs anything like any current RTS because it would be WAY too easy even after a matter of hours for one person, clan, faction, whatever to build up immense power and crush new people instantly.

Generally speaking, the ideal is to have a set of good, "truthful" monitors, properly positioned, in an acoustically treated room. If you've done all this right, and the monitors themselves are high quality enough, you shouldn't need to rely on headphones for anything. However, most people don't have the money to afford top-notch monitors, nor do they have the money/knowledge to set them up properly or treat the room, which can result in various problems with the sound. This is why - in my opinion - a good set of headphones is an important tool for hobbyist producers, as there are very few variables and you are guaranteed to hear a pretty high level of detail. Of course you should also test your mix on some kind of monitors or speakers if at all possible. Even if it's just a consumer sound system with 2 small speakers and a subwoofer, it's better than nothing for "referencing" the mix. $30 headphones are not decent. I'd consider $50+ headphones (at a bare minimum) to be the borderline of "decent", with $100-150 or higher being "good". Ideally you want a semi-open design; not closed, as in my experience it creates too much bass buildup and is not quite as truthful. You also want it to cover your ear entirely, not just part of it, like some lower quality 'phones or headsets do. All that being said, you do have the gear to produce good music. Plenty of posted remixers have produced great music with much worse setups.

How the hell would an MMORTS work? If it were a persistant, ongoing world, players could spend months building armies + fortresses (or whatever) while new players get instantly obliterated and have no chance of obtaining new resources. Doesn't seem realistic.

If any of y'all have AIM/IRC contacts that would be helpful... still need this...

* Copyright is important and people SHOULD protect their rights. * Downloading copyrighted music for free is not necessary illegal. Some artists do allow for it. * Many music videos on YouTube are not legitimate. * Others on YouTube ARE legitimate and are uploaded through the record company * AMVs w/ music that have not obtained the proper sync/master use licenses for the sound recordings + compositions are technically infringing on copyright, so no it's not OK.

[Liontamer] Dope; aight;

Wrong. Protricity was well known here for, among other things, knowing absolutely 0 about music. He did everything by ear. You don't need musical knowledge to make a good song, provided you have a good sense of what sounds good. ..and that being said, I do echo the recommendation of trying to learn more about music as you go along. I do however think it's silly to start with music theory (etc). The best way, imo, is to start with something easy to work into it - loop based composition for example, with a program like ACID or Magix Music Maker.

Ok, so now it looks like Jill & I *will* possibly be able to come. Depends on our work schedules though...