A Lot Going On

Wow. Months pass like weeks now! In any case, I am keeping myself busy with several projects, along side recording music.

Slowly patching up and recording new help videos. Now with Windows7 being so popular, it only seemed befitting to redo and make some new video help for this new operating system.

Spring is here and summer is not far away. Again, another year and it’s time for RV maintenance. We had a fairly uneventful winter and NASAV is in pretty good shape. Boy! A ton of leaves this year!

People keep asking me about the toolbar. Well, I do have plans to add new content to the toolbar. I have been watching its usage and analyzing the statistics to decide what content users would like the most. I also found a really good video service that works well all around the globe. However, it is not free. Still, I try to include quality content, not just the usual junk that can be found everywhere on the Internet. I hope you appreciate that.

I’ve been enjoying the Iron browser. Iron is slimmed down and runs well on legacy hardware with Windows7, but there are a few features it comes up short on. So, I still find myself wanting to use Flock for larger browsing affairs. But, Iron will stay on my hard drive.

Am shopping for a banjo, electric guitar and amplifier. I want to play publicly this summer. Also, I hope I win my Ebay bid on the 8-ch I/O card for my AW4416 recording console. Parts are getting harder to find as time creeps along. I really want to have 16-ch of balanced 1/4-inch inputs.

Meanwhile, my 01X digital mixer is right at home with both LogicPro9 and Tracktion3 on MacOS.

Will update again once I get some of these irons off of the back burner. I LQQK forward to a hot summer!

HHNET

Trying Live Writer Again

Well, back in the days of Vista, per se, I gave a whack at Windows Live Writer and my Blogger blog.

At first, I was dazzled by its simplicity and WYSIWYG user interface. But, after attempting to post a handful of blogs I began to experience detail issues with my blog and worse yet, when I would click the button to publish my blog, it would do nothing!

No need for me to say I wasn’t impressed and I quickly returned to using Blogger and what I call, “manually doing my blogs”. May be a tad more work, but it is solid and I can count on the results.

So, here I am again trying Windows Live Writer. But, this time I am using Windows 7. Ah, the glory!

How many operating systems must we live through in order to achieve our daily chores?

Actually, I was looking through a Windows magazine at the grocery store when I stumbled upon an article about a plug-in for Live Writer, called Zemanta. It’s a free download and it enables Live

Writer to analyze and follow your blog writing by offering relevant links, photos and blogs which you can immediately incorporate into your blog. The idea of this sounds amazing. The actual usage of it so far is not my cup of tea.

I think it’s important to add graphic elements to your blog. But, being a blogger myself, there is absolutely nothing wrong with writing a blog that has no graphics at all. Let’s get this cleared up right away… it’s not a right/wrong thing. But, is a blog with graphics more appealing than a blog without graphics? Yes. But, I blogged for years before I began adding graphics to my blogs. And, when I do post graphics into my blog, they are more than just relevant. I’m not real crazy about the idea of using graphics that sorta-come-close to what I am talking about. To me that is luke-warm at best. And with search engines like Bing, finding SPECIFIC graphics is not difficult at all. Which brings me to my question. Why didn’t Microsoft integrate Bing’s graphical search engine into Live Writer?

Okay, I’m gonna try clickng the publish button.

HHNET 

March 2010 Already Here

Seems like yesterday when I was only 7 years old. Life was much simpler and I had a wonderful childhood. My parents were married 53 years before mom passed. So, I had both my parents my entire life, including many years of my adult life.

Anyhow, I've got a lot of irons in the fire right now. Of course, it's important to me to accomplish things which hopefully secure making some of my dreams come true. To assist me in that process I am again listening to Tony Robbins, Personal Power II, now for the 3rd time. It's really great inserting a CD and hearing Tony again. So that's my motivational program right now.

It appears some people on the Internet don't approve of my new method of managing online drama and personality profiling. Whether it be facebook, myspace, paltalk or some other TCP/IP chat client, I have grown to a new place in my life. Life is short and regardless of how much happiness you have, you never can get enough. I am sick of people who are literally freaking out about their lives, and If you mention something about it, then they in turn disrespect you in kind. Whether it be drama or these insideous posts of profanity, consider yourself history. I won't tolerate it. I don't have to tolerate it and losing your online friendship (whatever that was) won't cause me to lose any sleep if you up and disappear out of my life. Mind you, most of you (so far) have removed yourselves from my friending. Meaning, I have not befriended anyone, or removed or banned anybody from any of my accounts. So, consider your little acts of immaturity your own doing.

Meanwhile, I am beginning to dabble with drum programming. The MOTIF_XS takes a little more work than I initially expected whereas it's a music workstation. But still, the end results are satisfying. Better yet, connecting my Korg_i3 to my XS renders instant, very cool, arranger automation. The Korg_i3 and MOTIF_XS are both nuclear_MIDI machines, so they pair well together.

Still, I am saving to buy Drum Core 3 which is an astounding virtual synth tool for creating solid, dynamic drum tracks in a pinch. Very easy to use and the drums sound top notch. You can mix and match using samples and/or MIDI so there is lots of flexibility.

The new 12-string guitar is a pleasure to play and it's good to be spending more time playing guitar than I use Paltalk. That's a good switch IMHO.

My tailbone is still bothering me enough that sitting isn't the most enjoyable thing to do. So, recording music has slowed down quite a bit. Luckily, I bought the right gear that allows me a lot of flexibility. And always the option of coming back to projects at a later date with total recall.

Spring seems like its already here. I look forward to more outdoorsy, walking, exercise and bicycling now that warmer weather is here.

HHNET

2010 - A Tad Behind - Almost Done

Hello and Happy New Year 2010. Wow, where did three years go? Three years? What is the significance? Well, I began ordering recording studio gear and instruments three years ago. The original idea of putting a project studio inside of a small 27-foot motor home was much more than I bargained for, but I made it work. I am looking at cameras so I can take new photos which reflect a totally different studio scene compared to ANY of the previous pictures. First off, the 4416 is where the 01X mixer used to be. The 01X is where the MacBook used to be. The 30-inch LCD got replaced by a 37-inch LED, near-field monitors are finally in the picture for mixdowns. I still have my Takamine 12-string guitar but the Ibanzez AEL2012 is the bomb! And the VoiceLive2 vocal processor has been really stealing the show lately, along with the MOTIF_XS being used as my soundcard. The versatility of having OPTIONS cannot be stressed enough. It's great to be able to jack directly into the 4416 recording console without having anything to do with a computer. Using the 01X is very much like that as well for it serves as a serious standalone hardware mixer and DSP without a computer. Yet, 01X and LogicPro9 on the MacBook is an easy to use awesome recording environment that is fully automated, and of course, having the mixer automation and hardware DSP of the 01X while using LogicPro9 cannot be stressed enough. It's nice not having to EVER use a mouse much. Using the 4416 tends to get the trackball into action on its myriad of data screesn. The 4416 is basically Yamaha's O2R mixer with a 16-track hard disc recorder strapped onto its back.

SEARCHING MY BLOGS
I've received emails and other queries as to how does one go back in time to read about or see photos of what I am doing with the studio. It's very simple. On my blog page not my blog on Facebook or elsewhere, but the Blogger blog with the black background and HHNET logo at top that says, "BLOG" sporting colorful icons down the right hand pane. Okay, at the top is a search box by the orange "B". You can simply type words like: studio or recording or 4416 or 01x or MOTIF etc. Those searches will render significant results.

Speaking of which just in the past week or so I've received nearly a dozen inqueries about photos. Well the only photos I have are OLD. I need to purchase a new camera so I can take new photos. I promise this is coming. So I have reposted some of the original studio photos below and captioned them appropriately. Hopefully, for now, this will satisfy your curiosity.






This was before removing the RV chairs. Also, this was the first official recording test using the Yamaha 01x jacked into Mackie's Tracktion3 DAW. Talk about fun! I literally had to climb into the cockpit like John Glenn's, "Friendship 7" space capsule!





















Chairs and center table removed. Table installed. 30-inch moved. MacBook not here yet. Table not drilled for 01x mixer or any cabling. Notice VoiceLive_1 at end and QY-20 up front. Near-field reference monitors not here yet. But studio is functional due to the overwhelming power of the Yamaha MOTIF_XS sampling workstation.


















Table drilled, 01x mounted on mixer stand uprising through table. MacBook is here. LogicPro8 functional. Near-field monitors not here yet. VoiceLive2 not here yet. Ibanez 12-string not here yet. Currently, AW4416 console now where 01x is. 01x is on 2nd mixer stand where the MacBook is shown here. MacBook is on table corner in the right of this photo. New trackball not shown which is used with 4416 console. Since this picture have gone through 2 wireless mice already. Finding the right one for the job. 30-inch LCD has been replaced by LG 37-inch LED. Lots of changes!














I fudged a bit on this panoramic, but you get the idea. Now with the AW4416 on the left and the 01x on the right, with the RODE NT1A jacked through the TC-Helicon VoiceLive2 pre-fader this studio has loads of options, DSP and routing up the whazoo! Note the "backlit" Yamaha 16-track QY-100 "backlit" sequencer. Also take notice of the Q-Mic scissor-boom supporting the RODE NT1A. Additionally, the RODE is routed via a Monster gold XLR-Y cable so it can be use on both mixing consoles and both MIC-PRES, pre-fader, without the need for a patchbay or cable maintenance.





















[click photo see read text] Interestingly enough, this organization chart which was created 4 years ago [1 year before purchasing equipment] reflects 95%+ of my current setup. The LCD monitor got replaced. The VoiceLive1 is now used for foleyFX and was replaced by VoiceLive2 as my primary vocal processor. The 2009 MacBook has replaced the Core 2 Duo PC. LogicPro9 replaced other DAWs. However, Cubase_AI4 remains. JBL EONs have not been purchased. I will purchase sound reinforcement in 2011. VisualSONIX™ which began in 1992 will not be my record label. I decided my record label will be NASAV_studios™, and my artist name appropriately, HappyHarryNET™.



SYNTHESIZER WORKSTATIONS









The MOTIF_XS is the backbone of my studio. This synthesizer sampling workstation serves many purposes and has outstanding connectibility including USB, mLAN firewire, Ethernet, TRS, and S/PDIF. On its own, the MOTIF can completely manage multi-track recording via both its onboard 1GB sampler or direct to USB memory WAV recording. The XP sports tons of gorgeous instrument samples and over 6,000 arpeggios for constructing and playing live musical styles which can be recorded into patterns and songs. Although the XS is a very complicated device, it is VERY intuitive and fun to use - and very easy on the ears.












IThe i3 is a wonderful arranger keyboard workstation. I bought mine in 1995 and it was ahead of its time and cost $2500 dollars which is now the commanding price of the MOTIF_XS6. The i3 is also a MIDI master controller and MIDI arranger/computer. I use the i3 to feed the XS rhythms on the fly, very similar to that of the Yamaha QY-100 but with easier access to MIDI control with dedicated buttons up on the deck.




































The Yamaha QY-100 is a powerful 16-track, portable sequencer. This unit is handy for composing musical ideas away from your studio, or when relaxing in bed or remotely say at a coffee shop. Also, the QY spits out real nice XG-MIDI compatible sequences which feed the MOTIF_XS and are lots of fun to make instrument assignments and create a good mix. Also [and this is a big deal] my QY-100 is backlit. This is NOT a factory feature and really assists with viewing the screen during use.


MIXING CONSOLES





















The Yamaha 01x is a 24-channel, standalone, fully automated, digital, hardware mixer with world class quality hardware DSP onboard. This mixer can be used remotely and it's mixes can be taken back to the computer for immediate integration. Motorized faders and total recall via Studio Manager serves as a superior control surface when using DAWs such as Logic which is hardwired to every 01x function, including [SCRUB]. Having MIDI, USB, S/PDIF and firewire allows the 01X alot of flexibility, connection and routing options with literally no brick walls.






















The Yamaha AW4416 is now nine year old technology. However, this unit brings Yamaha's O2R mixer with a 16-track hard disk recorder attached. Taking the 01x a step further, the 4416 has [AUTOMIX] which allows for incredible, unparalleled mixing options. Along with it's 56-bit internal precision, the 4416 spits out gorgeous 32-bit DSP. Unlike the 01x, the 4416 sports I/O expansion. I upgraded 1-slot with a Waves Y56K DSP card. It's 48-bit precision provides an astounding 8 chains of FX with 5 FX in each chain. Sporting two Motorola processors spin a whopping 2 Billion DSP operations per second! Keep in mind this hardware DSP has now been replaced by software on high end computer DAWs in modern recording studios. But, it's the identical technology record companies have been using for decades!


DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING (DSP) EFFECTS
























Click to see/read larger image. The Waves Y56K is nothing less than a dream come true for anyone wanting to have nothing less than actual-studio-quality DSP at home inside your recording console. This is the real deal, it's complicated, it takes time to learn, and it's worth every second of effort. The Y56K could easily replace common mastering tools. But, it also shines by providing DSP tools to bring out those vocals in your mix, remove sibilance and add punch to audio that otherwise would just be considered high-quality instead of sounding, "stellar".


VOCAL PROCESSORS & PRE-AMPS








TC-Helicon VoiceLive 2 now reigns in the vocal processor arena. This astounding harmony unit covers a lot of bases. First you have adaptive EQ which is a fancy way of saying you can press one button and the machine will then provide you with a mixing engineer who will manage your mic input by the nano-second. You can sing solo along with your guitar or keyboard OR you can unleash up to EIGHT harmonies including both genders. USB connectivity allows the VL2 to connect to DAW for your vocal command central. You can alter vocal processing and harmonies before and after the fact. This is a feature was previously accomplished only by overdubbing. Now it can be done in real time OR you can lay down a MIDI track and sit at your mixing console trying hundreds of vocal harmony arrangements on your tracks. Of course, it goes without saying, having used VL2 in your recordings, allows you to take your "signature sound" with you to your gigs. Whether it be Christmas at grandma's, the local pub or full stage performances, VoiceLive2 is up and running in seconds and provides, stellar consistency. VL2's technology is so good, that your singing will majorly improve. $1000 MSRP and worth every penny.










ART Tube MP StudioV3 is a fantastic value for $75 dollars. This tube mic-preamp is enough to spice up any mic-pre's that you have that need a jolt. Additionally, it has a variety of adjustable options which change the "color" of your sound which is very useful. If you don't have $800 dollars for a UA Solo 610, get a V3. For the record, I a going to purchase a UA Solo 610. Best single-channel-strip mic-preamp in the world.


MY 12-STRING GUITAR





















[click photo see full image] The Ibanez AEL2012 is a great 12-string. Sporting Fishman Sonicore pickups and Ibanez AEQ-SST Shape Shifter preamp with onboard tuner this guitar can electrically play acoustically neutral or hot, raw, electric! This guitar has Ivorex_II nuts which are much stronger and more durable than bone. Ivorex_II allows brilliant highs and more pronounced lows with less mid-range. I know this sounds like an ad, but after playing this guitar for 10 minutes, I can attest to this statement being true. This guitar has great intonation and holds it's tune well with new strings. Keep in mind that I am a very aggressive and fast rhythm guitar player. So my instruments gets a workout! I also appreciate the 1/4-inch and XLR outputs for versatility and options.




































CURRENT MICROPHONES


























Without spending $2,500 dollars the RODE NT1A is the quietest microphone available with 5dbA self noise and a whopping 137db SPL for under $350 dollars.





















After scouring for quality and durability, I found the Q-Mic Pro
scissor-boom with heavy duty springs manages the job. Period.





















In my recording space the Q-Mic 9-inch concave pop-filter does the job. You can see the Q-Mic rig setup in the photo below.













IAudio-Technica's ATM75 phantom powered condensor head-mic provides high quality and response while offering the convience of moving your head and body around during recording sessions. Although the ATM75 is no match for the RODE NT1A, except for "in your face vocal recording" you would be hard pressed to identify which mic recorded what in a mix.








A VERY functional recording studio using 6 ft x 5 ft of space!


NEW PHOTOS COMING SOON


HHNET

Happy New Year - Dancing Girl is back!

The site got busy and I had other focus so I yanked my dancing girL. At one point in time it was a moral decision to maintain a G-rated website. But, although minors do visit my website the fact remains, the majority of traffic to my site are in fact adults. Dancing girl began way back when in Florida. I knew a friend who was a dancer and I basically hired her so I could shoot 2 minutes of video that I could splice up and create a WMV animation that would play in 20 seconds when connected to the Internet using a 56k modem. True story. This flash dancing girl, I do not know who the author is. I spent appropriate time trying to find the author of this fine animation. If and when they come forward I will be glad to give them proper credit or remove the animation if that be their choice. Nevertheless, it is 2010 and dancing girL is back! • Happy New Year 2010 to each and every one of you!



Overall I am pleased with my web updates. Afterall, I have been dredging up ten year old sites and bringing them up to speed with the new theme. But, admittedly I am behind already. Hopefully all sites will be updated by Valentines Day.

Which reminds me, I want to revert back to adding holiday icons for the seasonal holidays. This adds a nice touch to the site and lets users know the site, is in fact, being updated. Right now, my thrust is writing and recording music. But, I continue to edit my sites as needed.

Most recently I added additional content to HHNET with Dan's PowerPoints. Dan Shalit is a good friend of mine who I met on Paltalk Messenger. He lives in Israel and sends me PowerPoint slideshows. I had also been saving some from emails and decided these animations should get a new type of exposure. So take a look. You can play them on PC or Mac and using NeoOffice on Mac works fine with one glitch, the music stops when you advance to frame 2. Still, I was glad to offer MacOS support. See for yourself.

Click to see Dan's page http://happyharry.net/danshalit


Until next time, may the wind be at your back.

HHNET

Recording Music

Enjoying Logic Studio 9. It's a wonderful package with so many musically useful tools. For myself, I am old-school. I tend to design, compose and record music in a linear fashion. Using the Yamaha MOTIF_XS and DAW software like Logic and Cubase, has given me incentives to stretch my musical legs and try some new things.

Still, when working vocal tracks I find it more useful to use a dedicated mixer/recorder, such as the AW4416 to record, mix and embellish, utilizing the Y56K sonic power. It's easy to transfer the tracks over to the Mac and import into Logic. On the flipside, Logic is certainly capable of these identical operations, however for me, it FEELS better to do it on the 4416 console. Plus automix is out-of-this-world totally awesome!

In any case, I'm not sure how often I am going to update my blog from now to summer 2010. My current goal is to record an entire album of songs. And I anticipate this consuming twenty (20) months of my time OR more! So I will not be providing weekly updates, nor will I be handing out demo-snippets of my new songs. You'll have to wait until the album is complete.

The holidays are coming in twenty days, so I will take this time to wish you and your family a very merry Christmas and happy new year.

HHNET

Septoplasty Rehab

Now five days post surgery, generally speaking I can say the Septoplasty procedure went well. However, now that I am two days from having the plastic wedge removed from my nose, I will be glad when this is over.

I am not having any complications, but I am uncomfortable during much of the day and night. Vicodine helps a little, but its painful period. This is accompanied with complete blockage with nose-breathing. This also creates an overall breathing-anxiety which would be terrifying if I didn't have medication to manage this."

Also, having this plastic wedge in my nose & sinus causes my entire skull and face to ACHE all day and all night which I am totally sick of.

I've done pretty well with regards to irrigating twice daily, taking my medication and following the post-op directions they gave to me. But, other than playing some piano on my MOTIF_XS, playing games a little on my 360, I've been in bed a lot RESTING. I like that XboxLIVE now has Facebook, twitter, last.fm and also Zune brings streaming 1080p video to XboxLIVE. so even though i'm sorta down for maintenancne right now, i am excited about new features for XBL that I can enjoy when I am back on my feet.

Recording is at a halt now and I don't feel well enough to spend the hours needed to finish website construction. I've been told, "Harry, you're well enough to be on Facebook - lol" My official response to that inconsiderate and disrespectful comment is, "fuck you". Consider yourself and your tweaky little family, removed. My life is too short and I don't have time for your stupid jokes not having anything to do with me. Furthermore, you have not even so much as said hello to me since your release from prison. Yet, who was writing you 15 page letters during your incarceration. Enjoy your Shorview, you don't need me.

It is my expectation that in another two weeks, I can begin getting back to recording and streamline the production process better. The MOTIF is serving as a wonderful, "idea machine" and I am also enjoying very much, working with musical "hardware" rather than software. It has been months now since I have used Logic or Cubase. I am enjoying the MOTIF's sequencer and sampling prowness along with the mixing and recording capabilities of the AW4416.

In any case, I'm reading a little, playing Peggle here and there and watching a few of my favorite homocide investigation shows, while I am getting nothing done. But mostly, I am resting and slipping in and out of naps all day and night.

First thing in the morning I usually breeze through some email and spend an hour at PCTech on Paltalk. By that time, I'm back to bed for rest. Now that Facebook, and twitter are on Xbox, I look forward to some of my future postings to be relaxing times as, more and more, I move away from the computers to dedicated equipment.

HHNET

Website Updates

Still burning the midnite oil updating websites to the new theme. Eight sites to go, and two new sites to come including NASAV_RV and NASAV_Studios.

The PC Help site is active while under construction. A bunch of new stuff to come to this area.

The HappyHarryNET Toolbar is now available on several of my site pages. Many people have asked where the link is to get the toolbar. Sorry for the late update. Navigating and finding things should be much easier now with the new website format and color coded themes. I also think they LQQK great!

FLUSH YOUR BROWSER CACHE
If you don't, you probably won't see the new changes to my pages. For your convenience, the HappyHarryNET Toolbar has a built-in browser cache in the "Privacy tab" which makes it easy to clear your cache to see site updates. When web browsing, this is a good habit to get into anyways so you don't miss out on website changes since the last time you were there. And, if you never clear out your browser cache, then when you visit a site, you'll be looking at the cached copy of the site from whatever date it was when you visited the site last.

Get the HappyHarryNET Toolbar PC | MacOS | Linux • my toolbar is cross-platform and works with all browsers except Chrome.

Music recording is chugging along nicely. Albeit, at a slow pace, but still I am pleased in all respects. No, I am not handing out "audio sneak peeks" of what I am recording. I promised myself, no demos until the release of my album upon completion. However, I will be recording new YouTube music videos with at least ONE coming before Christmas 2009.

For those of you here in the USA, I hope you're settling into Fall and looking forward to the coming holidays with your family and friends. For the rest of you who are not here in the USA, I gather you are already experiencing Winter and soon some of you will be winding into Spring very soon.

For those of you who read my blog, pardon my tardiness. I will try to blog more often. I've been pushing the clock to the max lately leaving barely enough time to sleep.

HHNET

Metro-Hysteria Stress

Finally back home after another trip into metro-hysteria. Our automobile required warranty repairs that were to consume the better part of Thursday.

Well things went sour pretty fast. The Ford dealer did not suggest a rental car, knowing they could not make the repairs in one day. The following day, the dealer called early in the morning, attempting to embezzle additional money from us when our purchased warranty clearly covered the work that was needed. Do yourself a favor and hire an attorney on retainer before you purchase health insurance!

Yes, our car got repaired. However, had we not paid the additional $480 hundred dollars [which began at nearly $600 dollars and I bartered them down to $480] the car would be 1)improperly repaired which affects the next time the vehicle is brought in for service regarding those same parts, meaning the warranty will not cover parts or labor, and 2)they would not release our vehicle back to us!

This reminds me of our criminal justice system where the district attorney offers a plea bargain which 90% of all accused accept, whether they are innocent or guilty, because if they don't the fines and time in jail/prison are so great, even an innocent person will take the plea. And they do. Go research THAT yourself.

Kathy and I are very glad to be back home. Besides the metro-hysteria, we're also recovering from second-hand cigarette smoke that we suffered amidst this obnoxious and insideous so-called adventure into the city. I'm still coughing and we're pretty wiped out.

Once I get my VA matters squared away, we'll be looking into getting 1000 miles further out after the holidays.

HHNET

Music Collaborating

One of the music forums that I frequent is having a collaboration. About a week ago I was sent secret instructions to construct a [bridge] in A minor, 120 BPM, modern rock. My instrument tracks are to be drums, bass and guitar.

Meanwhile, I am in limbo for my workstation is packed and ready for a swap with Yamaha, so I began constructing my arrangement using the QY-100 which is perfect for "in a pinch" situations like these when you don't have your regular gear to work with.

I have created the drum and bass tracks and have recorded them into the 4416 recording console and have applied EQ and L1 Limiter to liven up the mix. I will record acoustic-electric 12-string guitar as track 4 and remix. When done, I will burn a WAV file to CD-R and also upload the file to my FTP for the forum admin to download and import into their mix.

I can honestly say that spending my time involved with music is very rewarding.

HHNET

Nailed Again - Very Busy

Funny thing... I was just talking about this in PCTech last night, early this morning. I mean, about getting nailed and losing time.

Since purchasing the new recording console, I've been very distracted using it. It is really nice having serious audio processing power HARDWARE. Admittedly, I have not used 01x and Logic on the Mac since the AW4416 and Y56K arrived.

In any case, today I have been up 3 times already. Barely enough to take medication and I'm bailing out again. Had plans of course, but scrap that.

Lots of websites to finish and new ones to make. And, a whole album of songs to record. But, it ain't happening today. I shall succumb to the pain of getting nailed and [as usual] I shall see you on the flip side when this is all over.

HHNET

Kelseyville Pear Festival 2009

Saturday, September 26th, Kathy and myself met my good friends of 30 years, at the Kelseyville Pear Festival. A small town of less than 5,000 friendly, fun, people.

The weather was sunny and hot. The people and the live music was wonderful. And the ice cold pear-margaritas were absolutely delicious! We experienced the last few hours of the festival and then we mosied about four miles down the road to an excellent fine italian/french restaurant with live music. The seafood was out of this world and we truly enjoyed ourselves up until the the "check" arrived. LOL

Charlie and Carole are fun friends to have. Kathy and I majorly enjoyed their visiting us and our home. We are looking forward to socializing at their home after my next appointment at the SF VA hospital which is reasonably near their home.

HHNET

NASAV_studios - New Additions

Welcome home AW4416 - I've been waiting for you!



Well! It comes with no surprise to me, that I finally purchased a Yamaha AW4416. Along side my 01X this is a major plus, especially using its "automix" function. The basic design of the AW is a 24-input mixer, feeding a 16-track hard disk recorder, followed by a 16-channel monitoring mixer, all feeding a stereo bus. But, there's more. Besides it's on board studio-class DSP and FX processors, the 4416 has 2 I/O slots which can be fitted with 4-XLR, 8-TRS, 8-channel ADAT and Waves_Y56K.



The Waves Y56K shown above is one of the aforementioned I/O upgrades that I purchased for my 4416. This is serious FX processing power both for world-class effects and studio mastering.

SERIOUS DSP HORSEPOWER!
The Y56K utilizes two 120 MHz 56300 DSPs providing up to 2 billion DSP operations per second! The card supports 20 L1 processes and up to 8 chains of effects. Y56K also supplies 8-channels of ADAT lightpipe I/O which can be utilized for transfering WAV files directly to any ADAT-equipped computer. The Waves Y56K world-famous effects include:

+ Renaissance Compressor and EQ

+ TrueVerb reverb

+ L1 Ultramaximizer

+ SuperTap delay and DeEsser

These processors are all available in addition to the AW4416's on board DSP which utilize 48-bit internal precision on a 24-bit I/O. What does this mean? It means the quality is astounding! This is the identical DSP hardware that has been used in recording studios worldwide. Waves has become so popular, it has integrated into ProTools TDM and also sold as standalone plugins for PC and Mac DAW's. But, wait there's more! The Y56K also has a 9-pin serial port. There are 3 additional plugin effects which can be downloaded and transferred into the Y56K using a USB-to-9-pin serial transfer cable. The Y56K also supports snapshot automation, meaning the DSP and FX settings are all "total recall" just like my 01X automated mixer. Meaning, after hours of making adjustments and getting things right, if I get a headache and lose a week, I can return to the studio and presto! everything instantly returns to exactly where I left off! This is wonderful!

Hot dang! This is VERY exciting!

HHNET

NASAV_studios - Great New Stuff

Hello! I always prefer to include a photo or graphics. It makes for a much more interesting blog, it looks better and I would like to believe the people who take the time to check out my blogs enjoy them more because of the photos.

Anyhow, I was using bing.com and searching for an 01X shot and low and behold, here is MY own photo that I posted to a blog quite some time ago. It's a great shot and I decided to kick off this blog with it. Five years ago I dreamed and drew on paper, the idea of having a recording studio in a motor home. And I also wanted to record with Yamaha 01X, Logic and on a Mac. It is absolutely delightful that those plans came to fruition. Using Logic 9 on Mac with the 01X is pure bliss. There is lots of learning, so I will be purchasing some additional video help to keep the recording pace moving.

As with any plans in life, there can be delays. In my case, the delay has been with some key items. It's Sepetember and I am just now ordering my vocal processor, an Ibanez AEL2012 acoustic electric 12-string guitar and case, a ART V3 tube mic pre-amp and a pair of KRK near-fields to survive on until I can decide what I really want to mix and master through.



Now that Logic Studio 9 is up and running on my Mac, music and recording has already become a ton of fun. As I complete my initial studio purchases I continue to iron out various niggles and kinks that arise in any project studio, especially in the beginning days. But, overall I am very pleased with the pro gear that I have bought and how these devices are performing for me.

Currently, I am having a blast with this free AU plug called DrumCore_3. It's an amazing tool to assemble high-quality drum tracks that don't sound like your typical loops. For one they sample everything at 48KHz, 24-bit so everything has lots of punch and dynamics. Then they stylize the drumkits to match legendary drummers! This is not only very fun to use, but the shear quality of this system is wonderful.

Using MOTIF_XS and its arppegios and built-in samples can render some very dynamic drum tracks, and I do use them. But for my songwriting purposes, I am already finding DrumCore_3 to surpass using my XS at all for drum tracks. Actually, I am grateful for returning to Reaper's forum to check up on the Mac version, when I stumbled upon a user writing about DrumCore3 and he posted an .mp3 he recorded. I was impressed and immediately headed to Submersible's website.

In closing, I am very jazzed to be buying a new 12-string guitar. I miss playing guitar very much and look forward to getting up to speed quickly so that I can begin recording my guitar tracks and getting some live video to my listeners.

HHNET

NEW! HappyHarryNET Toolbar

Having my own toolbar has interested me for years, and now I have one! The HappyHarryNET toolbar is useful, fun and feature-rich! Having PC problems? Look no further. You are 2-mouse clicks away from PC help videos, pick-of-the-litter software programs and even fun-filled online games!

I am very particular about toolbars because most of them are bloatware and riddled with adware, or worse yet, you must remove them using HijackThis. My toolbar installs in seconds, does not irritate your operating system, and contains no spyware. You can also look forward to my toolbar updates that I am constantly designing to make your toolbar experience pleasurable!

My toolbar offers easy access to PCTech’s entire website, including newsletters from 2007, 2008 and 2009. These newsletters alone provide a bevy of PC knowledge and links to great stuff including software programs, food recipes and jokes! With your participation, PCTech newsletters can be alive again. Of course, my toolbar provides access to all HappyHarryNET websites as well. And malware cleanup tools are just one click away, so there's no need to run around the net or Google for solutions.

Below is a graphic banner I will place on my website to access installing my toolbar. HappyHarryNET is still under construction undergoing upgrades including a new theme and improved CSS for faster page loading.



happyharry.net/toolbar

As you can see above, it is very easy to tell other users about my toolbar. You simply say, “Happy, Harry, dot, net, slash, toolbar”. Can't remember?

happyharry.net - "visit a website with REAL content"

Remember, my toolbar is a community toolbar. This means, it is YOUR toolbar. If there's something you would like to see in your toolbar, let me know. I am very accessible. Visit my website and click on CONTACT ME.

You can also reach me using:

+ Yahoo! email
+ Yahoo! Messenger
+ Paltalk Messenger
+ Windows Live Messenger
+ AOL Instant Messenger
+ Facebook
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+ YouTube
+ ning.com
+ HappyHarryNET Forums

Wishing you a wonderful remaining summer!

HHNET

Website Overhauls

Finally got my home page re-themed and posted. The idea was to create additional space within the confines of my rounded-rectangle.

Also, I finally settled with a background color that I feel enhances both the black slate and the new custom yellow border.

Additionally, when I began using Fireworks I didn’t know how to center the website when there were Flash objects involved, so I kept things safe and adhered to flush left for the sites. It’s nice to be centered and have some scaling ability for both Mozilla and IE browsers. The CSS is optimized and pages should load faster. But right now, my main site URL is the only optimized page.

http://happyharry.net

HHNET

Recording Status

The table that I chose to use in the studio is made of a soft plastic material. It looks great and is very easy to clean. But, the first problem that arose was the microphone boom mount soon became loose, to the point I had to remove the mount altogether. So, whereas I am not a carpenter, I need to get a power saw and cut some small custom pieces of wood which I can bolt underneath and atop the table surface. This will provide a stable foundation to screw an additional mount that came with the microphone boom.

Meanwhile, it will be mid-August before I order the new vocal processor and 12-string guitar. For you shoppers these two items are: Voice Live 2 and Ibanez 2012. I have grown tired of hearing my own story. This is the part of my studio and recording plans which frustrate me the most, because everything has come to a screeching halt. Sure, I enjoy playing and practicing piano and continue learning how to use the MOTIF_XS, 01X mixer and LogicPro8 which will soon be replaced with LogicStudio_9. But, I am working on song number 1 and we're at the stage of recording vocals. Lots of vocals.

If you’re asking what is a vocal processor, or why do I need one?
The answer is simple. I am a one man show, and although many times when recording I will record my own vocal harmonies manually [that means that I will sing them myself] I have other musical ideas where having a quality harmonizer provides a bevy of ideas for vocal performances. This vocal processor has a MSRP of $1000 dollars so it comes as no surprise to have jaw-dropping vocal sounds, access to 6 effects blocks, USB connectivity for updates and programmability, harmony control via guitar, MIDI or MP3, up to 8 vocal harmonies or 4 doubled harmonies, separate doubling and harmony blocks, reverb, tap delay, uMod, T-Pain effect, megaphone, distortion, tone and pitch controls, plus the guitar effects block are totally separate from the microphone and harmonies. One of the features I really like is the onboard, computerized audio engineer. Adaptive EQ, gate, compression, de-esser, and digital microphone gain can all be applied to a microphone input with the touch of a button. Although I have learned how to apply EQ and compression using the onboard DSP in my 01X mixing console, it is a luxury to have such automated audio engineering to accompany my musical performances.

What does this mean at the end of the day? I can focus on my music and my singing, without the tedium of getting the microphone, “just right”. To add frosting to the cake, anytime I take my rig and play publicly, I take both my signature studio sounds and audio engineer with me. When I arrive at a new gig location, simply tap one button and the computer analyzes every aspect of the input channel and applies all of the necessary EQ, compression, de-essing, etc., without the usual need to manually set that up, or recall a previous setting that [still] is not correct for the current acoustics. This is a very nice vocal processor and I am very excited about it.

Does Working Hard Ring A Bell?

Recently, I heard a young person remark that they were tired of life, money and the opposite sex. They also stated the infamous phrase, “the best things in life don't come easy.” The truth being, many good things in life DO come easy once you understand some of the laws of nature. Still, being human beings, we can become stuck, feeling trapped, and wondering when are we going to get a break? When will our happiness be delivered?

I can personally attest to and give testimony that life challenges rarely cease until we have worked very hard to win the day. My life is riddled with a myriad of chronic pains, screaming headaches and baffling miseries, yet there is great satisfaction from working hard to overcome both my clinical hardships as well as to achieve victory accomplishing my goals. I find myself amidst these challenges in my dream to record an album of music. It takes hard work, very hard work, and steadfast focus to remain on track, to achieve the plan.

So when does this one-armed-bandit called Life pay back? When do you get that break? Where is the rainbow of happiness?

Perhaps, when something greater than yourself stirs your inner curiosity [and that alone] will motivate you so much, that getting sleep will then be your new challenge. In your passion about whatever it is that fascinates you, there is great happiness.

Music On Hold And Very Busy

Taking my dream of constructing a home recording studio and having those plans come to fruition have been nothing less than stellar. And on July 8, 2009 I began recording album song # 1. Whereas I wrote this song nearly 30 years ago, I chose to record this song in a linear fashion. So, it wasn’t long before it came time to record many vocal tracks which were planned to be appropriately processed through a high quality vocal processor. Unfortunately, there were delays in late June, including the purchase of the new vocal processor which led to my halting recording altogether. The plan was to begin recording this first song after I had purchased a new 12-string acoustic electric guitar and the vocal processor, but the timing didn’t flow as nicely as I had hoped. In any case, the framework for the song is recorded and I am now at the point where until these vocal tracks get recorded I am not prepared to continue. When I began recording, I promised myself that I would not get scattered and that I would maintain my focus on just the one song I am currently recording. Of course, I still play the MOTIF_XS for enjoyment and work on small projects using its built-in sequencer and mixing power.

As for busy. Well jee. I am actively updating and constructing replacement websites for all of my current sites. Many of these sites and pages are ten years old and are needing complete surgery to get ripped from their roots and placed into the new design shell and theme. Along the way, I had to learn a couple new web tricks and implementing them at first was not as easy as I had first imagined. But, designing on paper first always has its niggles by the time you get to actually coding it. And, although Web 2.0 helps, there are still browser-specific anomalies to contend with. All in all, this project is coming along nicely, but it keeps me very busy to the point where I have needed to all but eliminate my Xbox360 gaming time.

While breaking from web work, I have been spending time visiting my old stomping grounds at PCTech on Paltalk Messenger. I was recently invited back to be admin which I accepted. It was my feeling that “the kids” [that’s what I call the group] would enjoy having my personality and expertise, back in the room. I chose to burn a solid 32 hours rejoining the room and enjoy both old and new friends. However, my focus is not to manage assisting PC problems. I would much rather concentrate on  improving room morale with attitude adjustments and room entertainment. Already, there are enough admins to help fix PC problems. So, I felt my participating in a vocational capacity would be more beneficial to everyone than my simply dispensing help in a robotic fashion. Look forward to seeing you there.

HHNET

MOTIF_XS OS 1.5.1 Tests Complete

Some MOTIF_XS users have expressed a reluctance to install the latest version 1.5.1 OS firmware. after exhaustive testing [which included many system resets] my issues appear to have vanished. I am sorry that i have not reported back sooner to make this announcement. I am a disabled brain-injury survivor and my health eats up more of my time that I get to spend online or with my MOTIF_XS.

If you have not installed OS 1.5.1 because of something that I previously stated about it, accept my apology. what may be true for me may not be true for you. There isn’t any problem with OS 1.5.1 firmware.

If you have not already done so, take the time to upgrade to OS 1.5.1 and enjoy its new features. Be sure to always read the README text which clearly publishes all OS changes. Also, prior to installing/upgrading/downgrading firmware, always backup your data to USB DEVICE and after you perform a firmware update always perform a factory reset.

NOTE: When you experience a problem with your XS [beyond resolving it here] by all means exercise your factory warranty and take your synth to a Yamaha service center.

HHN