Tim Smith

Hey Zargg, Yes the idea of getting more comfortable after you begin playing is something I can relate to. Thanks. Tonight I practiced the music and feel much more confident already. It's amazing how more practice helps.

My suggestion would be to see if you can find an EQ curve the audiologist used when they set up your hearing aids, then take the hearing aids out and EQ the master accordingly.I say this because I'm not sure about the effect close proximity will have if using headphones in addition to the likely discomfort involved. You basically have to tune your ears to a flat reference and then tune the headphones for flat EQ if you are critically mixing. Otherwise your ears will fool you about the mix. Headphone mixing also usually requires some kind of calibration like Sonarworks.

I have always liked this DAW and have kept up with the updates. Sadly I haven't been using it. Not because it isn't a nice package. Mixcraft users were going back and forth about the dated graphics and GUI awhile back. Mixcraft stepped up and changed the graphics while also adding additional features. It's right up there with the rest of the workhorse DAWS at the prosumer level. Pros probably don't use it. Probably the biggest issue I see which might not really be an issue is the fact that if a person is recording an album and decides to go to another studio this isn't likely something the studio will have. Since I still see it as one of the lesser known DAWS as I believe many do, it isn't as popular. This is probably why I haven't invested the kind of time it takes to learn it well. I had already racked a lot of time in Cakewalk before I bought it. Like any DAW the most used things to do are easy, when you dig deeper though it requires a time investment *unless* you only do the simple things in it. They include a lot of extras in it. Some of that boils down to free plugins and things that they included because they were free, there is also some good stuff in it. For the asking price though I still think it's well worth keeping around just in case you feel the urge to play in something else.

I guess technically they aren't strictly loops as you say. I sort of lumped them all together. Works the same way as IRON. Great tips on ways to build chords. The thing I found in using IRON was if my DAW latency wasn't set low it threw off me playing these in the pocket. Not sure why exactly but I just haven't felt a real connection with the VI forum the way I do here. Probably mainly due to the fact that I go back a long time here (even though they took my post count away). In these places I might know who someone is but not really KNOW them. I knew he was around and thought he was more over there than here. He isn't a frog anymore here though. Not sure what they made him kiss to wipe the spell lol.

Yeah that really sux. I have used Acronis for a long time I have never payed for any subscription and unless it's an only option for something I have to have I doubt I ever will. Acronis recently stopped backing up my data because after those last sample libraries I bought the drive I was backing to won't hold it all and it's 2tb. I was thinking of looking at what else is out there that can back up a computer with multiple hard drives to only one image like Acronis could. This has further pushed me over the ledge to do something else soon. Thanks for the heads up!

Hey Kev, You know I had forgotten I actually watched this video not too long ago already. I was checking out EZ bass at the time and this is one of the vids that popped up. Since I was watching mainly for EZ bass I missed important details about the Ujam bass. I remember Ried from the other forum although I don't go there much. I think he was a frog right? This is funny because I know an Irish flute player here who uses a frog too? Is there a significance to frogs I'm missing? In any case, the real Ried looks nothing like a frog. Whew! Nice video there Reid if you read this. I'm going to spring for the Ujam bass on this deal this afternoon. It's 40 bucks I can part with to have this. Hopefully the deed will be done before my wife walks in on me and asks me what I'm doing. I'm not generally a loops sort of guy, but in a pinch and if it fits I'll use one. Thanks!!

I appreciate the thoughts on this. If I drank copious amounts of soda I would straight up pee my pants on stage. Anything I drink runs right through me within like 20 minutes lol. I could pee my pants on stage? Ok that was a pessimistic comment Seriously that's good thinking because if I can play it beforehand I should be able to play it then. I have heard that maybe imagining yourself on stage doing it helps us to mentally walk through it. So long as I don't imagine myself peeing my pants up there. A pad might be in order, or maybe something to stand behind and a large notebook to carry at waste level when I walk down. When I have run across these things before and then seen pics or video of it later I look far too serious. Not like one of those looker girls with nice white teeth and a smile. I wish I could just smile but I look like I have a bad case of gas when I smile. I was able to at least play though and I guess that's the most important thing. Thanks for this. Not getting to hung up on the little things is what I hear you saying. 👍 This is great stuff!!! Thank you. One other thing I have learned and this comes from sometimes being up front all by myself and getting in the habit of thinking I had to "carry" things when more people are involved. Offloading responsibility is a wonderful thing. It makes far more sense to sit out on some things where no one will think anything badly of you than it does to attempt to play something we don't really have a handle on. I hate to tell you I've made that mistake before. Feeling for the key and the rhythm and looking like your feeling for it on stage isn't a good thing. No harm as you say, in omitting if you can't really play it or filling in with something you can play that fits 👍

I don't have any experience with their basses.I have Ujam electric guitars and drums. Both of those rock. Although I updated to Iron 2, I wouldn't say it's a huge improvement over the original. Since I am not really a guitarist it helps to have the pre recorded licks in some of my material. If these basses are similar I guess the usefulness would depend on whether or not the built in sample runs are useful. If I'm just going to play in a bass part I usually use Modo Bass. I have sat in front of a computer wasting more time than I care to admit checking bass loops to see what fits. Usually nothing does and I end up just playing a bass part with either my real bass or Modo Bass. For this asking price though I am very tempted to make the gamble. Most of the company videos on these products don't really get into the meat and potatoes of the thing and instead offer up a short splashy video to make us all curious about it. Maybe looking at a demo in use video would be helpful.

Any ways you cope with being nervous and apprehensive on stage? I was asked to play violin for my church's Christmas music. The song is a Getty song that has the tune "Star of Munster" as a part of the arrangement. The violin is a main part of the tune. The music is fast and I can only play it if I'm firing on all my cylinders. Usually when I play the tune I play it in a group of others who are all playing it too. In this case there might be two of us as the other violinist hasn't committed yet. I hope she shows up in some capacity to take others attention off of me. I am not eye candy. I am not a natural smiler. My "stage presence" doesn't exist. I don't have one. Aside from all of that though, I really need to be on my game that night as there will be a pianist, bass player, various vocalists, a drummer and an electric guitarist. ALL of them will be depending on my parts to work. I went over it last night and I can barely play it at the speed they want to play it. I had given up on the violin for a few months after a less than nice teacher experience. It wasn't until I was asked to do this I picked it up again. So there's that too. I need to bring the chops up and I only have until Dec 19th to do it. I must have played it a zillion times last night and I found a few places where the recording doesn't match the music. In addition, I learned the tune a little differently than it is presented in this music. I feel I need to unlearn some of the things I learned to play it as written. On piano or vocals I'm generally ok in front of people. On the violin though, you can't have the slightest uneasiness or it will show in the playing and it's a more difficult instrument to play. I'm only 7 years in with lessons on the violin so I guess I'm not entirely comfortable with it yet. I feel like I'm "on the spot" with this. It's probably one of the main reasons I learned the instrument. I don't see myself backing out of it now.

Hey David, Dude you live in Portland? 😲 I hope things are better there now. As to the music. What sample libraries are you using here? Just curious. Nice work and a very worthy subject matter.

Good Morning Gary, Thanks! Sorry I accidentally have two screen names. I used Mimi Page light and shadow combined with Shevannai sample libararies . Some patches are the Korg M-1 software version. The piano is part of a patch in my 88 Key Casio that was played in as audio into Cakewalk. Thanks Douglas. I noticed this as well. The original track had a tail......I will look into it to see why.

Thanks Gary. Yes let's do it! Thanks Steve. TBH I didn't know where to go with this for the longest time musically. Thanks for the suggestions.

This is pretty cool. I didn't get Max on the recent sale, though I considered it. Looks like it doesn't play with the standard version. *kicking myself in the butt for not buying Max*

If you bought even the smallest bundle IMO you could effectively eliminate most of your other plugins. ..................Not that we ever would.

I am on Reverbnation...I think because I haven't visited there for eons. Soundloud has a marketing arm as a part of what it is now. This seems to be their competition.

This is probably true.

Here are a few Black Friday sales I would love to see at 50% off but they never happen. Omnisphere 2- was 479- Now 199.00!!! Falcon 2.5 - was 379- Now 99.00!!!! Organteq- Modart Organteq- was 299.00- Now 149.00!! Melda Production entire plugin package was 2549.00- Now 299.00!! Native Instruments 13 Ultimate upgrade from any prior version- 149.00!!!! ( though I got 12U from a tip here for 99.00)And we will throw in the 88 key controller for an additional 399.00. We were so bad to ask over 800.00 for it. Steinberg Cubase- We have been greedy Germans. This is now a free DAW. Well ok......give us 99.00 for it? A future VI maker- Entire set of modeled instruments including entire orchestra, guitars, drums, pianos which all sound and respond better than sampled instruments and only take up 1gig in total. What would you be willing to pay for it?

I seen this on the 25th anniversary sale. It was 299. At this price it's hard to say no.

Congrats!

I am a do it your selfer too. I have been in this house so long that many things are now in need of a second refurb. You know.....with a house it never ends. My last project was a built in coffee and wine bar I built from scratch. It's separate from the main kitchen. I use that almost every morning for coffee. My next project aside from some trim work to a recent floor replacement will be to make a place for a free hot tub we were given. I had to order a few parts to get it to work. I have a gazebo I ordered from Home Depot because it was an overall better deal than me getting the materials and building one myself. The gazebo will be what I plan to put the hot tub under. First I need to make a base for it out of concrete...........and to think. None of this was my idea. After this MAYBE I'll finally get to finish my studio. These are still 3rd world problems. Oh and I don't think the live cam is such a good idea. Just sayin'.

I tend to flip through the issues I get mostly. One of their last mags had an article about compression and EQ , some artist I know nothing about ( and have no interest) and a few write ups on new low cost interfaces. They seem to be targeting the beginner. I still keep the sub around because occasionally there's something worth looking at and it's a whole lot better than flipping through Better Homes and Gardens. I'm probably at the end of my cycle though. I've read more technical articles on compression , EQ and general studio mixing than I can remember. Have no real interest in the next sampled instrument. I'm beginning to look more at modeled instruments . I have everything I need to do whatever I want to do, so in that sense I'm probably not a good candidate for the magazine. I remember when I drooled over some of that stuff, but now there's no excuse for not making music with what I have lol.

I like Melda plugins.

In the last issue I read CM was going to make it easier for online subscribers to get the extra files they included in the old CD using direct links. I attempted the other methods and they didn't work for me.

Nice shower. I kinda like a curtain in case someone walks in while I'm taking a shower. I can see your reflection in the glass. I am SO glad you are wrapped in towels 😮

Oh they call you so many things here i forget what you're real name is duh.