Shane_B.

Yepper. My mom used cast iron frying pans. Never had anything stick.

S1 started including the LA2A and LN1176 as well as a Pultec EQ and 1 other EQ I can't recall the name of as well as their own modern comp and eq. The one with square buttons on the face. All using hardware modelling they call State Space. You can also buy other bundles to add to it but I get along fine with the free stuff. I already had all the EQ's and Comp's that are in the Fat Channel that I paid for from Softube and Nomad Factory before they came out with the Fat Channel. But their free stuff is equal in sound quality and better in performance with zero latency. I mention it because it proves your point. There's only so many variations of these you can have. I never would have bought the ones I did if I knew the FC was coming.

+1 on Melda's Auto Dynamic EQ. It's my go to. I was on my original version from when I bought it many years ago. I checked their site a few days ago and it's up to V14.16 now. I downloaded it and it recognized my authorization and I was good to go. I really like several of their VST's. MAutoVolume is really good and so is MAutoAlign. I've only ever used the demo's but they're only $59 each. I should grab them sometime. I used MAutoVolume for bass and vocals before compression. It fixed my varying levels before they hit the compressor and every compressor I used worked better with a more even signal. Kept me from having to use envelopes to adjust gain. I also still like the Sonitus stuff. I still use the Comp and Reverb but not so much the EQ anymore. That said, all the stock stuff in S1 is excellent, particularly the Fat Channel. I couldn't believe it when they introduced it. It has 3 EQ's and Comps using hardware modelling and I can't tell them from the stuff I paid a lot of money for from Softube and Nomad Factory. And zero latency. The only 3rd party stuff I use when in S1 is Melda and iZotope. I've demo'd a few and agree with you. I still go back to the few that came with Dimension Pro and Studio Instrument Strings. They are the only ones I use. I can manipulate them in almost any way I want using PRV in CbB. I still do all of that in CbB and audio in S1. I dread the day I have to set up a new DAW because Dim Pro and Rapture are a nightmare to get running. I still use both regularly. Another thing I use in an unconventional way is Z3TA. You can use it in your FX chain and get some cool results. My best mixes all use those older samples and synths. And some of the SF2 stuff was great too. There was a web site called Hammersound.org that had tons of SF2's people recorded. The site is still there but all the links are dead. There was some really great stuff there that thankfully I have backed up.

If I were to be honest with myself, I think I am losing my hearing at an exponential rate. It slowed down for a while but as I get older it's going quick. I'd like to say it's from something cool like being in a band for 16 years straight, which I was, but it's actually caused from chronic inner ear infections. Been that way all my life. But as for Bapu's mixes. I'm serious, they are great. I can still hear a great recording, I just can't create it from scratch myself as well as I used to. I know the sound I want but I just can't achieve it. All of my music is right in your face where as good mixes/masters are transparent. You can't actually tell they are coming from the speakers. And a good test is like I said before, take a studio recording and crank the bass and treble all the way up in the car (assuming you have a decent sound system in your car). It should have more b & t but not boomy and piercing. Therein lies the trick to all this. Getting that part right. I think I'll throw a EQ with a smiley curve on it and some light compression and then mix. I have heard of master bus compression while mixing. Maybe my ears need an EQ boost of some sort too. Let's see, I'll be 50 in a few weeks. Subtract the 25 years I've wasted, multiply by 20 for hearing loss, divide by 10 for too much technology and the wrong listening environment, and I'd say by the time I'm 122 I'll get this down pretty good. 😁

Prime seems to be the way to go imo. You get free shipping on most stuff, tons of free music, over 10K movies, and you can add movie channels at a fraction of what Netflix is. I subscribe to Shudder through Prime. It's a horror movie channel that's bringing back the 80's horror scene. They took over the Creepshow Series, Joe Bob Briggs Drive In Movies, and others.

It's part of their CEP. 'Customer Elimination Program'.

The one about hand sanitizers is true. My wife is an engineer and interviewed at one of the big companies that produce them a long time ago. It's a marketing tactic. There is no difference between sanitizer and regular soap. Same stuff, different bottle.

There's a few I disagree with, but the biggie is the gym membership. They shut ours down when things were "bad". Then opened them up and things got "worse". Yet not a single person at our gym, the neighboring gyms, or any I ever heard about came down with it, spread it, or had any symptoms. I'd venture to say people who go to the gym are at far less risk. They're healthier in general and gyms are not sanitary by nature so you build up your immune system just by being there and fighting off all the things that gather on the equipment and flooring. I can't believe streaming services weren't on his list. They're all going up in price. Netflix and one of the services I subscribe to through Prime just went up. I just got high speed net so I can finally stream, but the novelty is wearing off. Probably going to ditch Netflix soon especially since the price hike. Edit: I just realized he did address streaming services. Don't know how I missed that in my first readthrough. Getting old I guess.

Ok. Had my coffee. Surfed the net. Gonna roll up my sleeves, put on my Bernie gloves, and dive back in. 🎧

I can't imagine he'd have any complaints.

Love it. Very relaxing.

That's encouraging to hear. You've got this down pat for sure. That song I posted the other day sounded pretty good to me on my headphones but when I listened in the car I was kind of embarrassed. It make me wonder if I'm just losing too much of the ol' ears. When I used O9A's mastering automation it basically made a smiley face EQ with a splash of compression and limiting. It barely made any adjustments to my mix. The adjustments I made to my original post looked like a frowny face in comparison, and it was still harsh. Glassy is the term I use. It's too crisp and too clear. I use the car stereo as a guide. You can crank the treble all the way up for pro recordings and you can hear a difference, but it's not bad. On my stuff it's rough. I'll keep plugging away at it. Got nothing but time on my hands at this point. 🤞👍

I can't hear below 100Hz anymore so I probably won't have much input anyways. 🦻 Besides, how's the saying go? Bass players and drummers should be seen and not heard or something like that. 🙈🙉 btw, there is a fantastic assortment of emojis here. 👍👍

It's settled. The debate is over. You can't mix and master 100% in the box. I've tried. It's been going on 25 years. It can't be done. It's funny. I used to use crappy headphones and tiny single driver Technics toy speakers using only a Realtek chip on my P3 mobo with only 2 or 3 hours to spend on a Sunday because I worked 6 days a week. My mixes and masters came out better then using Sonar Pro Audio 9 than my mixes do now using Yamaha HS-8's, subwoofer, AKG headphones, Ozone 9 Advanced plus over $2K in other VST's, interface 9,000 times better than I ever had, more time than I know what to do with to spend on it, using S1Pro and CbB. Maybe it's an age/hearing thing. There was a guy on the old forum who was extremely talented at mixing and mastering. He mastered everything using one of those inexpensive ART Compressors. I have one boxed away. I may give that a try. But boy, you'd think this would get easier with all the advanced hardware and software we have at our fingertips now days. I just did a song and posted the other day. The mix was ok for a first try and only using cans but sounded rough in the car. I used O9A's tonal control, did an automatic mastering, and nothing I do gets rid of that harsh digital sound. Bapu, your stuff sounds excellent as well as a lot of other guys here. Are you all ITB or do you use hardware when mixing and mastering? Please don't tell me you use LandR. Hah.

Looking forward to some epic bass solo's. 🤘

I wonder if this would work with upgrading Guitar Rig? I'm on V4, I see it's at 6 now but they want $99 to upgrade. Edit: Nope. It doesn't work.

There is some fantastic talent on Twitch. Sabrina's Solo Show is live now. She's awesome. Normally does 70's ~ 90's rock but she's doing a Disney night tonight. Plays guitar, kazoo, and has a kick/snare on foot pedals behind her.

Believe it or not I had a hard time finding a gif. Seems Win10 can prevent you from downloading images from certain places and this was the only one I could d/l out of the dozen or so that came up first when I searched. 👎

Nothin' eh? [Rodney's voice] Boy I tell ya, tough crowd. [/Rodney's voice]

Please don't laugh, but Yesterday Once More and Superstar by The Carpenters. I swear that woman's voice is what Melodyne used to calibrate their software.

You're bored? I've been sitting here since February 2020. I went to the county courthouse to get the plans for my house to see which exposed floor beams would support a noose for a 250 lb man. Pfft.