bouldersound, post: 439577, member: 38959 wrote: Which one? CU, CSU, DU, Regis? If you need any general info about the area let me know. I have friends who work at CU Boulder, one who taught at DU in the recording program etc.

I'm attending a place called Charis Bible College in Woodland Park. I'll be getting a degree in Bible study and then going through a worship and music arts class in my 3rd year. I appreciate your offer! I'll let you know if I need help with anything. :)

Jeremy Dean, post: 439579, member: 49624 wrote: I'm attending a place called Charis Bible College in Woodland Park. I'll be getting a degree in Bible study and then going through a worship and music arts class in my 3rd year. I appreciate your offer! I'll let you know if I need help with anything. :)

That's over 8,000 feet elevation. You might want studded snow tires in the winter. You'll definitely want lip balm and a water bottle. I think it was 16% relative humidity yesterday and winter is just as dry.

kmetal, post: 439469, member: 37533 wrote: But still until then, the hunt continues for a verb pluggin that's better than just ok.

You can get convolution reverb programs that aren't as expensive as Altiverb, Kyle. Some are even free.... And you can still load free libraries of famous emulations.

http://www.vst4free.com/free_vst.php?id=544

http://www.voxengo.com/product/pspace/

http://www.voxengo.com/impulses/

I'm not implying that these would be as good as Altverb, but you might want to try it to get used to working with a convolution type processor, and, ya never know, you might stumble on a few that you like.

kmetal, post: 439508, member: 37533 wrote: Donny! There you are man! We were wondering where ya been. Glad to see ya buddy.

I'm good brother. :)

My solo act schedule heats up this time of year, so I've been busy... plus, well, uhmm... I met this girl, ya see, and... :love:

Thanks for your concern Kyle. ;)

Sean G, post: 439476, member: 49362 wrote: I must confess, all the positive chat about Samplitude & Sequoia on RO from guys such as audiokid & DonnyThompson has really got me thinking that I may just head down that track with my next upgrade.

Just don't make the switch in the middle of an album project. LOL ;)

DonnyThompson, post: 439592, member: 46114 wrote: Just don't make the switch in the middle of an album project. LOL ;)

Truer words cannot be said, I have the awful experience of switching systems in the middle of a project, that was at the 85% mark. It took another year to get back to where we were when we switched.

Good to hear you're keeping busy all-around Donny. Rockin and Rollin' Rollin and Rockin' that's what I like to hear brotha

kmetal, post: 439601, member: 37533 wrote: Truer words cannot be said, I have the awful experience of switching systems in the middle of a project, that was at the 85% mark. It took another year to get back to where we were when we switched.

I was probably at the 35% mark when I switched.

I'd been working with Sonar 8 PE for so long up to the point where I switched to Samp; that I could pretty much get around it blindfolded, or at least, everything was pretty much second nature to me.

Samplitude Pro X is a very deep and powerful DAW, and it does indeed have a learning curve that is steeper than most other DAWs.... not that this is a bad thing, because it also has so many great features - but it does take some time to get to know, even for experienced DAW users.

I became excited about using it after Chris ( audiokid ) suggested it to me, and after actually hearing it, and comparing the differences in sonic quality, I was sold. I guess that in my enthusiasm, I just jumped in head first, thinking I'd be able to make the switch without much effort.
I was wrong. It damn near killed me - and it made my brain melt down more than just a few times - but, in the end, I think the album came out sounding pretty good, and I'm not sure it would have sounded as good had I kept using Sonar ( just my own opinion).

If I had to do it all over again, I'd have either stayed with Sonar through to the album's completion, or, I would have held off on the album until I'd grown more comfortable with Samp.

The upside to the challenge, was that I was forced to get to know the program because of the circumstances, getting the album done in a specified time period; had I not had a project with a deadline to work on, I may not have delved into it as deeply.

What ended up saving my ass, were hints and suggestions from Chris (and Tim Dolbear), along with the plethora of fantastic instructional videos from Kraznet on youtube. Once I found those, my life got a lot easier.
Had I not had access to those great vids, I'd have been in serious trouble. ;)

I switched from a power Mac for multirack, / D8b mixer for its automation and built in dsp, to a newer (used Mac) and digital performer /waves effects.

It was absolute hell. And it sounded worse at the end. Lol. Damn near killed my pursuit of audio as a career.

I've never had reliability issues w my personal gear (except pt m powered), and vowed to never be in the situation again, personally, professionally, or commercially.

I have a trick that works on occasion, and its completely dependent on the samples used and what their role is in the arrangement.

Sometimes the samples are so full and complete with their own set of effects parameters, that you'll never match these with any sort of live instrument or vocal added to them. The live stuff will simply sound flat against the samples and , of course, not blend well. You can try to match the verbs and eq's on the samples but its hard to accomplish without a huge library at your disposal.

Of course by the same coin, my trick will require hardware which you also may not have at your disposal.

I run the samples through a preamp back into ProTools, or if they are coming from an outside source, I also record them through a preamp. I find the True Systems to be an excellent piece for this. They don't color up the sample but it does add a harmonic 'order' to things. Then when you add live tracks, use the same signal chain and in doing so, you will AT LEAST have put a 'stamp' on the sound that is consistent through the arrangement.

Its a good place to start and does require decent gear but it also seems to tame the VST's while still retaining their unique soundscape.

Of course the BEST way to get a vocal to sit in a mix is to have the very best mic and preamp and compressor for the job. The right mic will be the 98% of the job before ever adding anything.