So, again, I haven't written in a while. Uni has been hitting hard and not letting up and I've barely had time to do anything other than work.
However, the semester has now finished and I have the flat to myself for a week or so, where I'll be mostly revising for the exam period after Christmas.
As you might have guessed, the title of this post is both because of how long it's been since I wrote (see post Coming Back) and because of the new Hobbit film, which is mind-blowingly good! Being a huge fan of the whole franchise in general (Lord of the Rings Metal Medley) and growing up with the first trilogy, these newer films are an absolute pleasure to watch, to the point where I am building up excitement all year until each part comes out.
Seeing it (twice now) has given me plenty of inspiration for the album I'm writing, due to the music in the films being phenomenal. The mixing and mastering process is coming much more naturally to me now as well, which should pave the way for the second part of my Djent tone blog posts (Part 1).
I have now also become partnered with Zoomin TV on Youtube which is a significant boost to my channel and incredibly helpful (incidentally this is my channel if you want to check it out).
I'll keep up with the posting from now on as I'll have more time, as always, questions and comments are welcome. Thanks for reading!
Monday, 16 December 2013
Tuesday, 26 November 2013
Coming Back
Well, I haven't written in a while, mostly because of the mountain of tests I've been thrown by uni.
With positive news,today I had my interview with a Chemistry company in Belgium. This went pretty well (I feel) so I can now stop worrying and get back to the good stuff (i.e. guitar, games, internet).
I have also finished building my custom computer and it is a monster!
This has increased my recording power a lot, so I should be able to get more writing down for my proposed album. This has also given me more time to work on this, as I think I haven't posted for a week and a half or so, maybe two.
I am pleased to say that my Lord of the Rings medley, (here, if you're interested) has been getting a good deal of attention and positive feedback as I now have a Reddit account. I don't think I've ever seen a social site with so much user activity! This has rekindled the passion to write more music that I hope people will like, so stay tuned for more.
Again, thank you for reading, and comment below!
With positive news,today I had my interview with a Chemistry company in Belgium. This went pretty well (I feel) so I can now stop worrying and get back to the good stuff (i.e. guitar, games, internet).
I have also finished building my custom computer and it is a monster!
I am pleased to say that my Lord of the Rings medley, (here, if you're interested) has been getting a good deal of attention and positive feedback as I now have a Reddit account. I don't think I've ever seen a social site with so much user activity! This has rekindled the passion to write more music that I hope people will like, so stay tuned for more.
Again, thank you for reading, and comment below!
Sunday, 10 November 2013
Time Flies
What the hell, suddenly seven weeks have been and gone since going back to uni, and this'll be my eighth post. Turns out it's true what they say about time going by faster and faster the older you get. The endless testing and report writing barrage I've been exposed to recently has also exacerbated this feeling.
This has meant very little time for guitar and computer things unfortunately, though that problem with my custom build not turning on has been sorted. However, the motherboard needed to be replaced, making that tomorrow evening's project, paving the way for high resolution gaming and recording, obviously.
Also, recently, my flatmates and I have started to watch through the boxset of Supernatural, and discovered that it is awesome. There have been some DAMN creepy episodes so far (Bloody Mary and the scarecrow one as examples), and some good laughs, very excited to carry one watching!
In more music-related news, my Soundcloud is getting more and more attention, whether that's thanks to readers or not is unclear, but if it is, thank you! (Also, if not, then please give it a look and a share or something). The Toontrack competition is still taking votes, so if you feel like supporting my entry then you can still find the link in the post of that name.
I also may find myself in Belgium for 4th year, which would be hugely exciting, and slightly terrifying, but that won't be for another year at least (though this may come around way quicker than I think...)
As always, cheers for reading!
This has meant very little time for guitar and computer things unfortunately, though that problem with my custom build not turning on has been sorted. However, the motherboard needed to be replaced, making that tomorrow evening's project, paving the way for high resolution gaming and recording, obviously.
Also, recently, my flatmates and I have started to watch through the boxset of Supernatural, and discovered that it is awesome. There have been some DAMN creepy episodes so far (Bloody Mary and the scarecrow one as examples), and some good laughs, very excited to carry one watching!
In more music-related news, my Soundcloud is getting more and more attention, whether that's thanks to readers or not is unclear, but if it is, thank you! (Also, if not, then please give it a look and a share or something). The Toontrack competition is still taking votes, so if you feel like supporting my entry then you can still find the link in the post of that name.
I also may find myself in Belgium for 4th year, which would be hugely exciting, and slightly terrifying, but that won't be for another year at least (though this may come around way quicker than I think...)
As always, cheers for reading!
Sunday, 3 November 2013
Technology (Again)
From one of my first posts you will know that I was planning to build a reasonably powerful desktop for recording and occasional gaming purposes. Finally, after a couple of weeks, I have sourced, bought, and had delivered all the components. I enlisted the help of one of my more tech-savvy friends to help me assemble it today and I was all geared up to fire it on, when it just wouldn't turn on.
Now I'm not going to lie, I envisioned something like this happening as it was the first time I'd ever done anything like this before. It took us a good few hours (very fun, mind) to actually build it so I experienced a good bit of rage when attempting to power it on and having no luck.
After looking through some forums I can't find any help and I am loathe to dismantle it again to go fault-finding. If anyone of you has any advice or sites to look at for help in this area please don't hesitate to drop me a link.
In the interest of happier things, my solo entry to the Metal Guitar God contest is still active and it would mean a great deal if you could take the few minutes to vote for my entry, the link is in the post of the same title.
Again, thank you for reading and all comments are welcome!
Now I'm not going to lie, I envisioned something like this happening as it was the first time I'd ever done anything like this before. It took us a good few hours (very fun, mind) to actually build it so I experienced a good bit of rage when attempting to power it on and having no luck.
After looking through some forums I can't find any help and I am loathe to dismantle it again to go fault-finding. If anyone of you has any advice or sites to look at for help in this area please don't hesitate to drop me a link.
In the interest of happier things, my solo entry to the Metal Guitar God contest is still active and it would mean a great deal if you could take the few minutes to vote for my entry, the link is in the post of the same title.
Again, thank you for reading and all comments are welcome!
Sunday, 27 October 2013
Metal Guitar God Entry (Please Vote!)
So a while ago I mentioned that I was entering Toontrack's Metal Guitar God 2013 contest. Well I managed to coax a (hopefully) nice sounding solo out of my head and I recorded it. The voting stage is now underway, and as much as I hate to ask for things like this it would be incredibly helpful and greatly appreciated if readers could vote for my entry.
My Entry
I don't have aspirations for winning, frankly some of the other entries are absolutely fantastic. However, the judges after this stage are amongst my favourite guitarists from the metal scene, and for them to even hear me play would be a huge deal for me.
I can appreciate the likelihood of most readers not being avid metal fans, but, if it makes you feel any better, the track is very accessible and is only a 50ish second clip with no harsh vocals.
Now, enough plugging. I have it in mind to start the next djent tone tutorial post soon. If anyone has any ideas or questions about what I do in the recording process please don't hesitate to ask. Also if anyone wants to link their blog to mine or vice versa then drop a comment or message and I'll reciprocate!
Cheers for reading.
My Entry
I don't have aspirations for winning, frankly some of the other entries are absolutely fantastic. However, the judges after this stage are amongst my favourite guitarists from the metal scene, and for them to even hear me play would be a huge deal for me.
I can appreciate the likelihood of most readers not being avid metal fans, but, if it makes you feel any better, the track is very accessible and is only a 50ish second clip with no harsh vocals.
Now, enough plugging. I have it in mind to start the next djent tone tutorial post soon. If anyone has any ideas or questions about what I do in the recording process please don't hesitate to ask. Also if anyone wants to link their blog to mine or vice versa then drop a comment or message and I'll reciprocate!
Cheers for reading.
Thursday, 17 October 2013
Thanksgiving & Stress
First off, apologies for this post for being so late! On Sunday, I was in Edinburgh celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving with friends, which was amazing. A heinous amount of food was eaten, of course, but it meant that I didn't have time in the evening.
The other part of this post is dealing with Chemistry related work stress. At the moment there is a whole lot to do, and not a lot of time to do it in. My usual stress reliever is to write/play music or go to the gym, but the irony is that I haven't had time to do these things with my workload. But, in a recent development of optimism, I'm sure it'll be sorted.
What is tiding me over is the fact that I've decided on components for my desktop, and now it's ready to be ordered, which is probably far too exciting. I've also been showing my flatmates PC Minecraft, and I think they're hooked, so this should be very fun.
I will also be linking my entry to Metal Guitar Gods 2013 to this blog when I've recorded and uploaded it. It would mean a great deal if you could drop some votes and shares!
As ever, comments, criticisms (if you think I should be talking less about myself, let me know!) and feedback are always welcome! Thanks for reading.
The other part of this post is dealing with Chemistry related work stress. At the moment there is a whole lot to do, and not a lot of time to do it in. My usual stress reliever is to write/play music or go to the gym, but the irony is that I haven't had time to do these things with my workload. But, in a recent development of optimism, I'm sure it'll be sorted.
What is tiding me over is the fact that I've decided on components for my desktop, and now it's ready to be ordered, which is probably far too exciting. I've also been showing my flatmates PC Minecraft, and I think they're hooked, so this should be very fun.
I will also be linking my entry to Metal Guitar Gods 2013 to this blog when I've recorded and uploaded it. It would mean a great deal if you could drop some votes and shares!
As ever, comments, criticisms (if you think I should be talking less about myself, let me know!) and feedback are always welcome! Thanks for reading.
Monday, 7 October 2013
Technology & Money
Welcome back to the writings of my dysfunctional thought patterns. Again, this post is a day late as I've had a lot of things to do.
This post is an update on musical happenings and also a request for feedback.
My laptop has started to blue screen a lot when using my recording software. Updating the drivers usually is a temporary fix, but it's made me consider getting a desktop computer. Don't get me wrong, the idea of mega processing power and general smoothness had appealed to me a lot before, but now I can justify it a bit more. A bit. Now what I'm actually considering is building a tower myself by buying individual parts, so if there are any sites anyone can recommend for comparison, hit me up in the comments section.
Doing a bit of research on this already also caused me to rage a bit at how expensive Apple products are, as Macs are good for media etc. But, considering I could buy the parts for a pretty powerful desktop for ~£600, whereas the cheapest Mac laptop is around £700, I decided I wasn't prepared for this. Not to mention the iPhone being around the same price, for whatever reason. I also met the same problem with Alienware, with the price being disproportionate to the usefulness.
As far as music is concerned, I've been tweaking and fiddling with tones and have just about recorded 2 tracks for my album, with a great deal more still to write. Some kind of teaser might be uploaded soon so I can get feedback from everyone. I'm also considering entering the Toontrack Metal Guitar God 2013 competition, so be prepared for some plugging when I start submitting and please get involved!
As always, comment with anything you want to say, ever. I'm very approachable and usually can reply straight away! Thanks for reading.
This post is an update on musical happenings and also a request for feedback.
My laptop has started to blue screen a lot when using my recording software. Updating the drivers usually is a temporary fix, but it's made me consider getting a desktop computer. Don't get me wrong, the idea of mega processing power and general smoothness had appealed to me a lot before, but now I can justify it a bit more. A bit. Now what I'm actually considering is building a tower myself by buying individual parts, so if there are any sites anyone can recommend for comparison, hit me up in the comments section.
Doing a bit of research on this already also caused me to rage a bit at how expensive Apple products are, as Macs are good for media etc. But, considering I could buy the parts for a pretty powerful desktop for ~£600, whereas the cheapest Mac laptop is around £700, I decided I wasn't prepared for this. Not to mention the iPhone being around the same price, for whatever reason. I also met the same problem with Alienware, with the price being disproportionate to the usefulness.
As far as music is concerned, I've been tweaking and fiddling with tones and have just about recorded 2 tracks for my album, with a great deal more still to write. Some kind of teaser might be uploaded soon so I can get feedback from everyone. I'm also considering entering the Toontrack Metal Guitar God 2013 competition, so be prepared for some plugging when I start submitting and please get involved!
As always, comment with anything you want to say, ever. I'm very approachable and usually can reply straight away! Thanks for reading.
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