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To all the folks in the forum, and some names I remember, I had news about my brother. This is Marshall McDonald, Clark "Mac" little brother. My bro was known for his large number of posts and his genius IQ. My brother passed away suddenly on September 4, 2022 at home in Virginia.
I was in Tokyo, (I live most of the year in Japan now), and I was getting ready to fly back to States for a visit, and I had not heard from him in 2 days. We usually texted regularly. I called family in Virginia where he was based, and they went to his home with the police. He was an amazing human and big brother and I miss him everyday.

To say I learned a lot from and always had his loving support would be an understatement. He loved recording, and he was very proud of his contributions to BIAB.

As a member of the Air Force Drum and Bugle Corps at the Academy, his wife requested he be laid to rest in Arlington, where he is now. Clark Morgan McDonald. WITH HONOR.

Much love and thanks to all of you who appreciated my big Brother. You can find a video of his work on the Carnegie Mellon Robotics program on my YouTube. Docsaxman is the channel or visit my website for links.....marshallmcdonald.com

Best, Marshall

Last edited by docsaxman; 06/28/25 06:07 PM.
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Thanks Marshall for that information, however sad.

Mac was an amazing contributor to these forums, and was an incredibly experienced participant who helped others endlessly.

I am pleased that he has been recognized so well in his passing.


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Thank you for taking time to update us about Mac. I'm sorry to learn of his passing in 2022. Mac was a knowledgeable and valuable member of the forum who is still frequently mentioned. I hope you will return to the forum as often as you can.


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I've missed Mac from this forum for a long time. Being retired USAF myself, and a Vietnam vet, I am so glad he's laid to rest at Arlington!

God Bless you Mac

Larry


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Thanks Marshall
I appreciate you stopping by with the update.
Don't be a stranger. smile


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For those who don't know who "Mac" was, ... he was the most proflific contributer to this forum we have ever had. Here is the top dozen. No one close to Mac.
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Yes, as the person in second I can vouch for this, and it’s even more remarkable because Mac’s contributions stopped over ten years ago. Plus, these counts do not include the original BIAB forum; the posts from that were lost.


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Not just prolific.
He was knowledgeable and always wanting to help.

Many people on a lot of sites were helped by him.
That in itself is a great legacy, let alone all the other stuff he did.


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Originally Posted by rharv
Not just prolific.
He was knowledgeable and always wanting to help.
..................................

Exactly. He helped me a number of times.
RIP my friend.


Dad, how will I know when I've become an adult.

When your day is ruined because they rearranged the grocery store.

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I'm really saddened to hear about Mac's passing. He was an outstanding member of the PG Music community. Like many, in my early days with BIAB, Mac got me sorted out and up an running many times.
May he be resting in peace.
--Noel


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Marshall,
We are very sad to hear the news of Mac’s passing. He was a great source of help, support and inspiration for me and everyone on the forum. He talked about you a lot Marshall and was very proud of your musical accomplishments.
Rest in Peace to my friend Mac.


Have Fun!
Peter Gannon
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Thank you so much Peter, and thank all of you. I'm in tears as I read all the replies about my Big Brother. He lived life to the fullest. I miss him dearly, and he was gone too soon. I learned more from him than I can put into words about life and music, and he always had my back. He taught me that hard work, and learning to sing the music was the pathway to become an accomplished musician. Not a day goes by that he doesn't enter my mind. All of you are so kind, much gratitude. I never learned how to use computer programs like he did, so I'll be back for advice on BIAB. I like to practice, practice makes perfect. I still hit them almost every day.
Looking forward to learning how to use BIAB for my practice tools and lessons. I've just done the minimum study on how to use it, I created some songs and cycles, but I realize it could help my career as a valuable tool. Thank you everyone again.

Marshall McDonald

Last edited by docsaxman; 07/02/25 09:33 PM.
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Welcome to the forum, Marshall. We’ve really come full circle here. Ask away.

I play trumpet. Mac’s best trumpet story for me was the time he was first chair in an orchestra. He played his Bb tpt. The second chair player had a C trumpet but Mac was just transposing his C part. All good until Mac played a solo. The conductor said, wouldn’t that sound better on a C trumpet? Mac put his horn down next to his chair and took out the mouthpiece. He passed his horn - same one - under the chair to the other side, reinserted the mouthpiece and played the solo again. The conductor said, Much better! The 2nd chair guy who watched this went nuts.


BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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  • MIDI Styles Set 92: Look Ma! More MIDI 15: Latin Jazz
  • MIDI SuperTracks Set 46: Piano & Organ
  • Instrumental Studies Set 24: Groovin' Blues Soloing
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  • MIDI SuperTracks Set 47: More SynthMaster
  • Instrumental Studies 25 - Soul Jazz Guitar Soloing
  • Artist Performance Set 20: Songs with Vocals 10
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