Something old, something new

The new - Studio PC w/TOTL I7, 500g SSD (OS), Hi-speed graphics card, internal 2T HHD for storage, 29" HD monitor, and zero bloatware. Goes online ONLY for program updates. This baby is faaaassst. Running REAPER which is pretty efficient to begin with. Everything, especially VSTI's, even with multiple VST's attached, is instantaneous. I love it. I don't have any software to really push it so I'm thinking, maybe I'll give VARRANGER a shot. Hate to see all that horsepower go to waste.

The old - While moving files from my old studio machine, I ran across a lot of old stuff I was playing around with a few years ago. Some of the instruments (not me) still sound pretty good, especially the Korg stuff. I'm posting a sample below which is mostly piano, drums, and sax from my old PA1x pro along with el. piano from old triton classic, and organ from my old Nord C1. All are mostly retired now as I play my organ(s) (Keyb Mark 111 and Nord C2D) 98% of the time, even when I'm just home alone noodling. Never got around to mixing this since I was mostly just fooling around but I DO love this song by Anthony Newly - 'Feelin' Good'. These days I do it on organ (up-tempo) in my best Jimmy Smith impersonation.

https://app.box.com/s/nsntigq40mmq8el6botyjrf5dv1wxosn

chas

Lovely music... as allways its the player not the gear that makes great music.. however, with better gear that same great player can sound formidable...

I think with all that VST power, V-arranger combined with real VST power and the C2D, that sounds like a winner to me.... only requires a good GM2 source...

I was once on the verge of buying a C2D, but midi controll and no aftertouch kept me away from it. But i have seen someone using it live on top of a Nord stage 2 which was a hell of a setup, sparkling like nothing else..

Very nice music..

Cool, as are the specs on that new Studio PC. Curious what brand and OS? Win 8.1 or were you able to get Win7 Pro?

Steve,
Came loaded with Win7 Pro and a OEM dvd with 8.1. In the process of adding the SSD and trying to clone the factory (Win 7) drive, I totally screwed up the original (OS)drive and decided the easiest course was to do a fresh install of 8.1 on the SSD. Hint, make sure you create a 'repair' (system backup) disk before you start this type of operation (I knew that - just lazy). All the drivers for my (3) audio/midi interfaces (Alesis I/O 26 is my primary) worked just fine although they only specified up to Win 7. After all the hoopla here about band-in-a-box, I purchased a copy of BIAB 2015 (audiophile ver.). It's an amazing little program (well actually not so little) and a great instructional tool for someone wanting to learn different genre's, especially jazz.

chas

Oops, screwed up the 'render' and cut off the ending. Here's the full version.

https://app.box.com/s/8l3hyzxksuj93mar9wjfmu3rhv5a9cyx

chas

Chas, Great you got Win 7 and I hear you on a fresh install, sometimes that's the best way to proceed. Nothing like an SSD, I just installed one in my MacBook Pro, love the shorter booting time.

I had BIAB in 2008 I upgraded to 2009, but never continued the updates it is a good instructional tool. Randy aka Saxxman just upgraded to BIAB 2015 and has been raving about it. Enjoy!

GREAT stuff, chas ... would love to hear the upbeat version ...
Thank you for posting ...

PS ... what style is that ? ...

Keep in mind that windows 8 works best with either a touchscreen or a multi touch pad... And not with a mouse anymore... However you can get 3rd party programs that change your desktop and startmenu and windows back to the windows 7 and earlier look, which makes mouse operating more fluent again...

If you want a link, just ask and i will provide..

Thanks, for the moment I'm trying to make peace with 8.1. It has a W7-type desktop which I use so it's not too much of a hassle. My main cellphone (Nokia) is Windows 8.1, plus I have a HP touchscreen all-in-one in the guest room with 8.1 so I'm somewhat familiar with it. 8.1 is pretty fast (and stable) on this machine and besides, once you get into the program/app, it's transparent anyway. Keep that offer open, though. I may be singing a different tune a month from now .

chas

Chas nice work I enjoyed listening......
sax solos were way to low but overall nice job.

Thanks Donny, I probably recorded it after Diki told me my keyboard 'sax-playing' sucked .

chas

Diki Who?... if you recorded that song multitrack you might be able to go back in and pump up the sax track only?...
if not, time to rerecorded it that way again.....sometimes
second time around works out better,....good luck Chas!

Hey, hey, I luv Diki. He was brutally honest but you could learn a lot from him provided you had a really thick skin .

I'll do it again (for Tony) but on my KeyB in organ trio format. Maybe I'll try using one of those 'RealDrums' from BIAB or if not the BK7m drums if I can find a suitable drum pattern. I think the BK7m drums are quite realistic. Of course if my drummer comes over (he lives over 25 mi. away), naturally I'll go that way.

Yeah, it is multitracked and I could raise the 'sax' track but that would make the non-solo parts too loud. I would need to 'ride the faders' or edit the volume after the fact. I'm too lazy to do either, besides, it was just a 'throwaway' experiment in arranging anyway. But you're right; everyone should spend a little extra time for at least a rough mix after recording.

chas

Musicianship is one thing. Sometimes "feeling" is even more important.

The musicianship is outstanding, but the feeling that exudes from this piece is typical from Chas in everything he does and believes in.

One of my few regrets in life is that I didn't meet him many years ago.

However, I'm so glad we met here.

He's a person of real substance...a real Renaissance man.


R.

It's great Chas, if you like that sort of thing. And I do!

very nice Chas. The PA1X is still an amazing instrument and very intuitive. The piano cuts through the mix very well . and the drums and bass sound/programming are excellent.

Very nice bluesy feel.

Hi Chas

Don’t worry about changing your OS back to Win 7 as Win 10 is just round the corner and will be a free upgrade in the first year.

I have been using the Win 10 Technical Preview for some time and while it is not finished yet (Hence it’s called a Technical Preview) Microsoft has really cracked it this time, and it doesn’t matter whether you are a Desktop, Touch, Tablet or Phone user it all works seamlessly. (Vista was a cock-up that Win 7 put right and Win 10 puts right the cock-up that is Windows 8)

Regarding VST and vArranger (Or any 3rd party arranger) then to get the best out of styles you need to create a balanced sound set, which can be time consuming to create, however there has been one sound-set available for well over 20 years, and that is the GM sound set, (Standard) which can be found in both Halion Sonic from Steinberg and Goliath from East West, in addition unlike early versions of GM (Which just gave you basic sounds) they use top quality sounds (Way beyond your typical TOTL Arranger) so you will not be playing second fiddle to the professional market.

Hope this helps, and continue to enjoy your setup.

Bill

Thanks Bill, that's great information for all PC users. I guess my only concern would be, how backwards-compatible will '10' be? I have a lot of old, but good, equipment that only has drivers for up to Win 7 (although they seem to work fine under 8.1).

chas

What is a multi-touch pad, please...never seen one.

Laptops today feature multitouch touchpads that can sense in some cases up to five fingers simultaneously, providing more options for input, such as the ability to bring up the context menu by tapping two fingers, dragging two fingers for scrolling, or gestures for zoom in/out or rotate.