Thanks 64-bit Addressing!

Looks like the RAM upgrade was worth it:

Back In The Saddle Again

It's with great relief that I announce the end of my DAW troubles- I'm now the proud owner of a legitimate copy of Ableton Live!  Special thanks to Opax on the KVR forums for the good deal and the quick license transfer.  As a result, my almost two-week flirtation with Logic has come to an end for now, and though I found a lot to like about that particular package, I think I can definitely say that Live is where the heart is.  At least for me.  For now.  For sure?

Apparently the legal software bug bites hard, as I also picked up a second-hand copy of Native Instruments Komplete 4 on eBay today.  Who says you need a job to drop the big bucks, right?  I've been fiddling with a "demo" of Reaktor 5 for a while now, and considering the depth of that package alone Komplete should be totally worth the price.  Other than that instrument (and despite the significant cache of Absynth and Kontakt), I'm strangely most excited to finally get my hands on decent piano and organ emulations.  Probably not going to be the next Jimmy Smith, but a tonewheel or two will do me good.  Just gotta clear some space on the 'ole HD for the ~50GB Komplete install... yikes.

Shopping spree aside, with the DAW drought at an end, today I finally got back to the song I was "almost finished" with.  After a solid nine hour day of work, it's a lot farther (further?) along... and a lot farther from done.  Typical me to gauge progress by the amount of work I've created.  But that's just the way it goes with these things, and I'm willing to keep it under wraps for a while longer if it means a final product I can be happy with.  Or not unhappy with, which is probably a more achievable goal.  It'll be ready when it's ready.  I just hope "when it's ready" is soon.

More news on the band name when we return...

Don't Tell 14 Year Old Me...

...but I'm now the proud owner (and operator) of a 15" Apple Macbook Pro. Nevermind that I'm currently running Windows almost exclusively on it- it's still a pretty historical transition for me. So far it's been really great, and as soon as I sort out the little problem of Windows-only VST plugins, I'm looking forward to getting a little deeper into OS X too. For now though, I'm just happy to have a laptop that doesn't feel like it's going to rattle apart every time I pick it up (sorry Sony, but your little VAIO went home to Costco today. Adieu). Adventures in Computing!

In celebration of the change, I'd like to announce the release of my first cross-platform (sort of) track, which was started on the old laptop and finished on the new one. I give you:

South Without a Candle

I had a good time writing that last drum 'n bass track, so I decided to give it another whirl, and this one's the result. No commentary for now- I'll let the song speak for itself. Hope you like it!

7/1/07 Update: After a whopping half-day online, I've updated this track to RC2. The changes were very minor, but if you snagged RC1 hang on to it- it might be a collectible someday! ;)