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With all of our discussions about BIAB, RB, DAW's, VST's, Ozone, Reason, Rewire, Jamstix, BFD, synths, loops, etc, etc, etc, ...... the emphasis is on what tech you're using and less about music.




This is absolutely true. I've hit on that where I spoke of whether your music technology serves you, or do you serve it. But there really is nothing to stop all of us from moving into the 'showcase' forum and chatting more about composition and critiquing each others musical outputs. Actually - PG can help here; they should open up a forum called "Writing and Composition", where the emphasis is SOLEY on music. You would know that when you take your 'tech' hat off, this is the place to go to find like-minded musicians (the same ones on the forums you already know and love) that want to talk just about the music itself, without detailed discussions on tech.

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With the old Tascam 244 Portastudio, you didn’t have to be a “gearhead” or a “geek” to use it. There were no driver issues, software problems, confusing terminology or hardware conflicts.




...and, you NEVER HAD THE OPPORTUNITY to bring a virtual band into your living room. And you never tried to assume the role of a sophisticated recording and sound engineer with the capability to do things in your living room (or basement - don't know where you work) that could only be done previously in a large room full of VERY expensive recording equipment - sort of analogous to the size of the first computers build by IBM, and the size of the iPhone 5. Think of the size the iPhone 5 would be using the initial technology by IBM to build the early computers.

Bob - there's nothing to stop you from going back to the 'old days', except that you've eaten from the forbidden tree...thanks to PG, you know it can be done, and is within your reach, and you CAN'T TURN YOUR BACK to it - you WANT it, and you're willing to pay the 'software and hardware integration' costs - e.g. LOTS OF TROUBLESHOOTING TIME. The time we spend on driver issues and software problems and hardware conflicts is due to an immature product and the lack of quality assurance and testing between different vendors software and hardware product combinations. Think about how many different software and hardware developers have written or built circuits, and never tested them end to end with RB or BB in the middle, as the brain. YOU ARE THE END TO END TESTER, finding all the system integration bugs for these vendors. And it's really not anyone's fault (well, maybe we can blame the software and developers a little; if they followed all standards and specs perfectly there might be less issues overall). These software and hardware products - software apps, drivers, 3rd party circuit boards, hardware mixers, hardware effects, PCIe cards and sound cards, and USB cards and 1394 cards,yada, yada, yada are connected in ways to each other that would be impossible for each developer/engineer to test - and the scenarios, issues, conflicts, and bugs that arise could NEVER have been anticipated in advance. Actually - from this perspective, you should be amazed that things work as well as they do.

I've accepted that to have a home studio, and to really know how to use it, I've had to become more of a technologist.

Keep this in mind:

1.) You WANT a great backing band without the need to call your friends over, and thanks to PG, you know it can be done, and is within your reach...not that you don't want to see them, they're just too busy to come over as frequently as you'd need them given your 'musical appetite'.

2.) You WANT the COMPLETE CONTROL of your backing band, to be able to change any musician's playing style, or voicings, or phrases...and thanks to PG, you know it can be done, and is within your reach.

3.) You WANT to be able to record your backing band, and control the mix, and use all the advantages that a computer can provide in cutting, pasting, moving, and editing recorded music (be that analog, or MIDI)...and thanks to PG, you know it can be done, and is within your reach

4.) You LIKE, having a bunch of like-minded musical friends from all over the world that teach, help and inspire you to learn more about music and become a better musician, and are willing to chat with you every day over the forums...and thanks to PG, you know it can be done, and is within your reach

4.) You WANT to be able to say "there is a big learning curve to these products, and I conquered it"...and thanks to PG, you know it can be done, and is within your reach

5.) You LIKE tinkering with your computer, and getting sophisticated software to do what you want it to.

for 'the knowledge of good and evil'As you learned about me, I've realized that