After many hours of trying, I finally got my computer ready to record! There's still one software program I would like to have on here, but I can do without it for now. I am very happy this is a brand new computer, because I can actually record multiple tracks with effects enabled for playback, 24-bit resolution, 88.2 or 96 kHz, and still have plenty of CPU power left. I can finally record, and I can do it without mixing several mixdowns into one.
I also went out and bought me a new MIDI interface (Yamaha UX16) because my old one wasn't compatible with Windows XP and connected to a DB-9 serial port which my new computer doesn't even have. My new MIDI interface works great, except I'm disappointed that USB MIDI interfaces under Windows seem to have problems with timing, which I didn't know until after I bought it. This is a bummer for me because it means I'll have to live without playing with System Exclusive messages. If you're going to get a MIDI interface, get one that connects to a serial port if your computer has a serial port!
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Tired
I was tired today. I got about 4 hours or sleep, and I had to really make myself get up to go to work. I looked in the mirror, and I looked horrible! I've never seen my eyes so dark before. I'm sure some people would probably wonder if I did drugs or something.
I've been promoting some ideas of mine for FUS if Sonique turns the site over to me. I have really gotten off to a rough start though because a lot of what I've said has been misinterpretted. This is the kind of thing that used to happen to me all the time when I was a frequent visitor of Simon Wai's forums. It's never really been so bad at FUS, but this time it sort of blew up in my face. I kept my cool the entire time, even though I felt like telling them what I was really thinking at the time. Eventually I had the topic locked to calm things down. I'll reopen it soon with a new plan to replace to the old one that a couple people took overboard. I'm happy to at least have won the support of 3 people, and I'm hoping to win over more.
I'm very happy that The Sonic World has put up an article talking about my ProSonic engine. That's more exposure, and I'm happy about it. You can read the article here. I'm happy to have some more word getting out.
I've been promoting some ideas of mine for FUS if Sonique turns the site over to me. I have really gotten off to a rough start though because a lot of what I've said has been misinterpretted. This is the kind of thing that used to happen to me all the time when I was a frequent visitor of Simon Wai's forums. It's never really been so bad at FUS, but this time it sort of blew up in my face. I kept my cool the entire time, even though I felt like telling them what I was really thinking at the time. Eventually I had the topic locked to calm things down. I'll reopen it soon with a new plan to replace to the old one that a couple people took overboard. I'm happy to at least have won the support of 3 people, and I'm hoping to win over more.
I'm very happy that The Sonic World has put up an article talking about my ProSonic engine. That's more exposure, and I'm happy about it. You can read the article here. I'm happy to have some more word getting out.
Friday, April 07, 2006
Dude, I Got A Dell!
Woohoo! My new computer is up and running, and I must say that this thing is a lot faster than the other two machines I worked with for years. I have transferred some of my stuff over to the new computer, but there's more to be done still. I have decided to keep the older machines though for when I need to test software on something old.
I've never actually tried DOS emulation under Windows XP until now. I must say that although it works, it's a little slow! I was expecting it to be a bit faster. Using Genecyst to play Sega Genesis games on my computer will never quite be the same again.
I finally got my car to the garage today. The transmission has been slipping real bad, so the dealership is going to look at it. I am praying it won't cost as much as it could potentially cost. The only thing I know is the longer I wait, the worse it gets. So I figured it was time to get something done about it. They won't be able to actually look at it until Monday though.
I have taken a break from writing my ProSonic game engine by the way. I will resume perhaps in a few days, possibly a week from now. Everyone needs a break once in a while. I have other hobbies besides programming, and music is one of them. As soon as I can find my "Sonar 2" CD, I can install the program and begin recording. I don't know where it is at the moment. Sometimes, I don't know where my head is either.
I've never actually tried DOS emulation under Windows XP until now. I must say that although it works, it's a little slow! I was expecting it to be a bit faster. Using Genecyst to play Sega Genesis games on my computer will never quite be the same again.
I finally got my car to the garage today. The transmission has been slipping real bad, so the dealership is going to look at it. I am praying it won't cost as much as it could potentially cost. The only thing I know is the longer I wait, the worse it gets. So I figured it was time to get something done about it. They won't be able to actually look at it until Monday though.
I have taken a break from writing my ProSonic game engine by the way. I will resume perhaps in a few days, possibly a week from now. Everyone needs a break once in a while. I have other hobbies besides programming, and music is one of them. As soon as I can find my "Sonar 2" CD, I can install the program and begin recording. I don't know where it is at the moment. Sometimes, I don't know where my head is either.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
New Computer Coming
Alrighty, after 7 long years, I'm finally getting a new computer! I will still keep my two current computers because they are useful to testing programs for speed and such (which will be a big factor to test for with my ProSonic engine). The computer has been ordered and will arrive hopefully in a couple days. It's a Dell with these specifications:
- Pentium 4-HT at 2.8GHz (800MHz front-side bus)
- 512MB RAM (2 dimms)
- Windows XP Home Edition
- 80GB Hard Drive
- 12X DVD/CD writer
- Intel Extreme Graphics 2 IC
Now, I realize the Intel graphics chip isn't that great. From my understanding, it runs Doom 3 at about 5-6 fps. That's a drag because I wanted to finally get that game. Oh well, I will live. The computer at the very least is a heck of a lot better than both of my Pentium II machines.
I want to record a new song, but I have decided to wait for the new computer first. Most people probably don't realize how much of a pain it is to record on my fastest Pentium II machine -- I can mix about 5 tracks with effects, but after that, it drops out constantly because it can't keep up with the demand. So hopefully the new computer will solve that problem and allow me to get a new song out with more ease. I don't know what song I will do because there are too many I want to do. Plus I still need to get that instrumental version of my SatAM cover ready so Heart of Blue can sing on it.
That reminds me, check out his site at http://www.the-little-planet.com. He still has more to add to it, but he does have some interesting content there so far. I think it has the potential to become a good site.
- Pentium 4-HT at 2.8GHz (800MHz front-side bus)
- 512MB RAM (2 dimms)
- Windows XP Home Edition
- 80GB Hard Drive
- 12X DVD/CD writer
- Intel Extreme Graphics 2 IC
Now, I realize the Intel graphics chip isn't that great. From my understanding, it runs Doom 3 at about 5-6 fps. That's a drag because I wanted to finally get that game. Oh well, I will live. The computer at the very least is a heck of a lot better than both of my Pentium II machines.
I want to record a new song, but I have decided to wait for the new computer first. Most people probably don't realize how much of a pain it is to record on my fastest Pentium II machine -- I can mix about 5 tracks with effects, but after that, it drops out constantly because it can't keep up with the demand. So hopefully the new computer will solve that problem and allow me to get a new song out with more ease. I don't know what song I will do because there are too many I want to do. Plus I still need to get that instrumental version of my SatAM cover ready so Heart of Blue can sing on it.
That reminds me, check out his site at http://www.the-little-planet.com. He still has more to add to it, but he does have some interesting content there so far. I think it has the potential to become a good site.
Monday, April 03, 2006
A New Post! Yay!
First I must mention some changes to my proposed YM2612 plans for the ProSonic engine. Instead of 12 FM channels, I'm now going to support 16 (adding 2 to each emulated chip). This should work nicely for anyone who wants to produce Genesis-sounding music that has plenty of room to do what most people really want. I decided to write my own YM2612 emulation code. So far I've entered some values into some arrays in the code, but nothing too major. I'm hard-coding some of the calculations that will be involved in order to keep the code fast.
My day today has been pretty swell so far. I had economics, my favorite class. I had Java, and my teacher was back after being out for a week due to surgery. I got out of that class early, meaning I have an extended lunch break (woohoo!). I will be headed to work in about 15 minutes from the very moment that I am writing this. I'll get to take pictures of parts using my camera, and those pictures will go on eBay. They figured it would be a good idea to put some of the parts on the net so they could increase their revenue.
I'm still listening to "Workbench Workout" from my "Sonic Boom" CD. Gosh that is such a great song. I never understood why most people preferred the Japan/Europe Sonic CD music over the American version. The American has more of the pop/rock/r&b edge to it that fills my soul (no pun intended). I can't figure out why anyone would put the Japanese dance music over the American pop music.
Oh and I think grey is a nifty color! Okay, late April Fools... yeah that was lame, but I didn't play a joke this year and figured I'd say something stupid to make up for it. Don't everyone get excited at once.
My day today has been pretty swell so far. I had economics, my favorite class. I had Java, and my teacher was back after being out for a week due to surgery. I got out of that class early, meaning I have an extended lunch break (woohoo!). I will be headed to work in about 15 minutes from the very moment that I am writing this. I'll get to take pictures of parts using my camera, and those pictures will go on eBay. They figured it would be a good idea to put some of the parts on the net so they could increase their revenue.
I'm still listening to "Workbench Workout" from my "Sonic Boom" CD. Gosh that is such a great song. I never understood why most people preferred the Japan/Europe Sonic CD music over the American version. The American has more of the pop/rock/r&b edge to it that fills my soul (no pun intended). I can't figure out why anyone would put the Japanese dance music over the American pop music.
Oh and I think grey is a nifty color! Okay, late April Fools... yeah that was lame, but I didn't play a joke this year and figured I'd say something stupid to make up for it. Don't everyone get excited at once.
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