Colin OOOD

Hmmm.... that's really interesting It's given me some ideas but now is not the time for them unfortunately. It's a shame there isn't a forum function that will remind you to read a certain thread again in, say, two months time

According to the man himself, he was just writing music and realised at one point he had an album's worth. Blumenkraft doesn't sound rushed at all to me, in fact I don't think he's capable of releasing something he's not 100% happy with. His brain just doesn't work that way. If it did, don't you think we'd have had a follow-up already? Actually it's me that's the crappy friend; I haven't been to visit him and Zoe for months. Besides, I want to support my friends in what they do - that's why I bought HiD - and the Tsunami CD, despite having two tracks on it myself.

I heard it for the first time when I bought it a couple of months ago. It's not bad.

Cangrejo you contradict yourself, confuse things by saying "this part of what I say isn't a joke"... "this part was actually a joke and you took it seriously"... "most artists spend all their money on drugs so I'm going to download their tunes" - dude, I don't even drink; any other crass generalisations you want to make? You have made me lose interest in anything you have to say. I don't mind saying that your opinion is worthless to me - not least because you seem to have problems deciding what it is from moment to moment. Oh, and I have no intention of asking other people not to listen to my music, in fact this is the first time I've done it. But then, this is the first time I've had a conversation like this with anyone who is proud to say that they enjoy the fruits of other's creativity without offering anything in exchange.

The simplest way of doing it is to record in mono, from the input to which you have attached the microphone. When you subsequently play back the mono file, it will come out of both speakers. Alternatively (and here I'm guessing that Audacity is a sound editor), there should be a way of copying audio from one channel of a stereo soundfile to the other. As for your Reason problems, I'm looks as though it doesn't like some aspect of the soundfile you recorded. I don't think Reason will read 32-bit soundfiles so make sure you're saving at 24- or 16-bit.

When you buy bread, a proportion of what you spend goes back to the farmer who grew the wheat. So yes, you do 'feed the wheat'. Do you like drinking milk? Then feed the fucking cow. If you don't value what I - and people like me - do with our time then please, feel free not to listen to it. You are not special, and we won't miss you.

Audiorealism Bassline for me, all the way.

Those who think they can milk the cow without feeding it, shouldn't be a farmer.

Sorry Cinos. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON

I'm starting off for London very soon, just waiting for the ppeople I'm giving a lift to to turn up. Oh, and I'm also giving a lift to the person in the white dress in this photo: Be careful who you insult - they could be good friends of people you know!

Eh?? Isn't this the same Cangrejo that said: Sorry, but: Twat.

Bastards.

What he said, but in an English accent.

Shame...

[checks Cubase files for missing melodies]

It's not a tiny difference. When the album is finished I'll post a before and after. I'll also post the screenshots I took when I finally maxxed out SX during the mix, it's quite impressive in a sad kind of way!

I don't know, but if there are any tickets left by Friday I expect they'll be for sale there. Ticket sales are going well but there are still some left - that's all I know.

Especially if you're new to music-making, don't start a new track until you've finished the last one. It will take a lot of discipline but it's very important to be strict with yourself about this. In my experience, the major thing that distinguishes professionals from wannabes (apart from production skill, which you learn with experience, ie. getting tracks to a finished state) is that the professionals end up with tracks you can actually listen to from start to end, as opposed to twenty or thirty great 1-minute ideas. And no label ever released a 20-track, 20-minute-long album. Except maybe Nhjo's.

I'm not talking about mastering, I'm talking about the basic mix. The M-Class EQs etc. won't stop the Reason Mixer from being optimised for CPU usage rather than quality. If you keep all your faders and mixer EQs on the default settings, you'll get a clear mix (I did some really geeky tests to prove this; do a search on Psy-Forum and you'll find them). As soon as you make Reason have to attenuate or boost any levels or frequencies, by changing the fader positions or channel EQ settings, you start to lose clarity. But then, if you don't use EQ at all, clarity isn't on the agenda anyway! Rewiring instruments directly into another sequencing app (bypassing the mixer) brings back the clarity. Don't get me wrong, it's a fantastic app for composition - so immediate and flexible - and the plugins and instruments are all great, but I wouldn't mix for release in it. [EDIT] actually, it's perfectly possible to mix for release in Reason. It'll just sound miles better if you don't!

According to the party reports on Psy-Forum this week there is a one-word rebuttal to this point - Cosmosis.

Cangrejo - Do you include all artists (eg. painters, sculptors) in your list of creative people who shouldn't be paid for what they do, or do you reserve your scorn just for musicians? Your arguments are totally specious, but just to show willing I'll deal with some of your points. You're quite right. I don't spend 40 hours a week doing music. Just for the record, I've worked it out and Andrew and I spent 36 hours in the studio this weekend alone, from Saturday to Monday. We also played an hour's live set on Friday night (with added didgeridoo ) and I DJd for an hour too; it was 2 1/2 hours drive there and back for me. It was a benefit party so we didn't get paid a fee, just expenses. I also worked in the studio with another project during the evenings for 3 days last week, for an average of 7 hours a night. I make that 51 hours spent writing or performing this week; 56 if you count driving to and from the gig. So no, I don't spend "40 hours per week" at it. I also teach music tech for 11 hours every week, for which I have to drive maybe 8 hours in total - this is my 'day job' and pays my rent and utility bills, but not a hell of a lot else - my basic pay (not including travel expenses) is just over £500 a month, and six grand a year is NOTHING in the UK. I stay in this job because it gives me the time I need to do my own thing, and to take the pressure off the music to earn me my entire living. Not having to write means that when I do, I can express something other than "please buy my track because I'm hungry". Anyway, I guess you could say this week I spent 62 hours working with music in one way or another, and if you add in the necessary travel time that takes it up to 75. Kind of blows your 'exaggeration' out of the water, doesn't it. The fact is, mate, I effectively live below the poverty line here in the UK because I choose to spend my time making music and performing, rather than doing a regular 9-to-5 and earning enough money to have a comfortable life, and going to the pub (I don't drink) and having a girlfriend and all that shit you normal people do. I know for damn sure I'm not the only one. The scene is built on people donating their time and energy to giving people like you a good night out. All we ask is that if you enjoy the music or the parties or the festivals we make for you, you complete the transaction and show your appreciation by donating something in return that will help us get by and make more. May I suggest that this donation takes the form of a small sum of money? It's much more a flexible gift than, say, a loaf of bread or some roofing tiles. I'm tired of this. You either get it or you don't, and I guess you don't. I really hope that if you're ever lucky enough to get a full-time job you enjoy so much that you voluntarily work hours of overtime, your boss withholds your salary because you're having too much fun. Adios, cabron.

Sort it out dude, and let us know what you come up with. I want to shake the hand of the Psynews Ladykiller.