Ahhhh … Day Two of this blog. And the big question, what to write about? And even bigger … should I?
Well, the answer to that last one is, “Yes and No.” It’s the last day of 2012 and it brings to mind all sorts of things left undone. So, the “No” would relate to the possibility of countless useless ramblings on that subject. But, I do want to mention something about a subject that has kept me going, yet is far underutilized … my small project studio.
I do have a web cam capability on this machine I’m writing this from in my studio. But, I will not be turning it on soon because it would reveal a totally wild mess: books, papers, hardware piled all over the place. From an acoustic sense, I suppose it provides a high degree of scatter and dampening. But, from a visual aspect, it is not good. I am not sure if it will ever get “cleaned-up.” I would think if that were to happen, I’d be forced to install some acoustic baffles and absorbers … LOL.
But, all silliness aside, it is functional, though getting older. It consists of two PCs [Yes, no Macs, sorry. Though, if I had the resources to update it, I could see several Macs in the picture.], a number of nice microphones, vocal and guitar processors, a few near-field monitors and headsets. I also have an 8 channel mixer and stereo compressor/limiter for use during my shows broadcasted into Second Life. For instruments, I have a small MIDI keyboard and several guitars.
I use Cubase as my primary recording software. I have many others, but, prefer Cubase. I’m not going to argue the pros and cons. It just works well for me. Stay with what works well, regardless of what works well for others. I’m not selling software. I’m selling “me” and “my songs.” Period!
Having said that, I admit that I am not a professional Recoding Engineer. So, what comes out on the MP3 might not be the best mix. Oh well. If I kept tweaking it forever, it would never get done. So, at some point I cringe and say, “Enough!”
One last comment about the two computers. The one is a rack mounted machine dedicated to recording (well, mostly). The other is the floor unit I am working on right now that is primarily for general use and connects to the Internet for all those Internet related things. If I were to expand, I’d replace these two with more modern units and add a small “server” to broadcast a stream 24/7 of my songs and commentary, mostly into Second Life.
So, that’s it. Nothing fancy, just functional.
Oh, and what’s that comment about “mostly” on that rack mounted unit? *Sigh* When my video card failed on my floor unit and I had to replace it, none of my favorite games would run on the new card and drivers. BUT, they run on the rack unit just fine. I’m a big MYST freak. And really love to wander the worlds there periodically. So, I just wander them on a different machine now. It works J
So, until next time (next year?), have fun with what you do .. in any Life.
