Third Take

After you install EZDrummer, you have to tell Sonar where to find it before you can use EZDrummer. This tutorial explains how to set up EZDrummer as a VST Plugin in Sonar. Read more

My recent hard drive crashes gave me the “opportunity” to start over from scratch and reinstall everything. I chose not to use Windows XP x64.

x64 worked, it was stable, and I got a lot of work done on it. However, my list of complaints has grown long over the last couple years:

1. Cakewalk has dropped support for it in new versions of Sonar
2. Microsoft treats it like a stepchild
3. Waves doesn’t support it
4. Antares doesn’t support it
5. Toontrack doesn’t support it, and in the past few EZ Drummer updates, the groove audition tempo has been broken
6. M-Audio only kinda supports it
7. Bit-Bridge worked 98% of the time. The 2%, while rare, was frustrating

When I built this DAW, I went with x64 and 64-bit Sonar because I wanted to be on the cutting edge. I knew there would be some compatibility problems, but I believed that Microsoft and Cakewalk were standing behind this platform. While it did work very well, I’ve felt like both companies let me down in the last couple years. I paid a lot of money for x64, an OS that has been largely abandoned as a prototype or proof-of-concept OS.

So, now that circumstances have forced me to start over, I decided to go with good old 32-bit Windows XP Professional as my operating system. I am already enjoying updated M-Audio drivers, a working EZ Drummer, and a few plug-ins that wouldn’t work under Bit-Bridge. x64 is no more.

I had two hard drives in my computer – both Western Digital Caviar SATA drives. One was for programs, and the other was for Sonar audio data. The audio drive died around the first of the year, and I had a miserable time getting it replaced under warranty.

The other drive, with my programs on it, died this week.

It’s also under warranty, since I bought them at the same time. When the audio drive died, I could at least use my computer for other things while waiting on the warranty replacement. This time, the computer is dead until I get a new drive and reinstall Windows and all my software. I’m not sure I can wait a month for Western Digital to fulfill their warranty obligations.

I think I’m just going to buy something else. And it won’t be Western Digital.

EZ Drummer 1.1.6 available in the Toontrack User Area

Fixed in version 1.1.6:
- improved transmuting
- access rights to shared directory opened on Mac
- residual CC data at end of tracks no longer extend loop
- improved tolerance for non-ascii characters in home path on Mac
- additional fixes to copy protection

It’s late at night, and I’m messing around on the guitar before I go to bed. I’m tired, and work is going to come all too quickly tomorrow morning. Just as I’m telling myself it’s time to call it a night, I play something that makes me stop and sit up – some fragment of an unwritten song, a riff, a melody, or some other hook. It’s what artists call inspiration – that magical moment of creativity that could lead to a finished work.

The unfortunate reality of our times is that the world does not stop when we get an artistic idea. I still have to go to work in the morning, and the sooner I get to bed the better tomorrow will fare. Yet the promise of a new song hangs in the air, and I know from experience that it will be forgotten if I leave it now. But I have a “recording studio” right there in the room with me. Is it ready to go? Read more

What’s the one piece of gear every studio has? A lava lamp.

In my modest home studio, I’m usually recording myself, my band, or my friends. We all know we’re recording in a converted bedroom, and there are no expectations for it to look or feel like a “professional” studio. However, that doesn’t stop me from trying to make the studio as comfortable as possible. Recording is fun, but it is also stressful, and marathon days can be grueling. A few comforts can make a big difference in fatigue, attitude, and end result. Read more

I’ve been looking at those little portable recorders for a while now. I keep hearing how good they sound, so I ordered a “warehouse resealed” Zoom H2 from Zzounds. I want to use it to record rehearsals and shows, so the band can assess how we’re sounding. I think it would also be cool to record things in the wild and make “found sound” loops ala Califone.

Evidently, there’s also a new Zoom recorder coming out, the Zoom H4n, that will be a step up from the H4.

The RPM Challenge is simple. Record an album in 28 days, just because you can.

This is the first I’ve heard of the challenge, but it’s eveidently been going on for a couple years. Can you write and record 10 songs, or 35 minutes of music, in the month of February?

I can think of a million reasons why I can’t, starting with my busted hard drive and ending with the recording project my band is in the middle of. But I love the spirit of the competition – set a goal, make the music, and finish the project.

My hard drive that crashed – a Western Digital Caviar SE – did so under warranty. I am in the process of trying to get it replaced by Western Digital. I created an “Advance Replacement” RMA on December 31. It is now two weeks later, and they still haven’t shipped a replacement drive. Their website says only that my order is “delayed.” I can’t get a human on the phone.

It is bad enough that I lost some work because a hard drive failed just over 2 years after I bought it. I had recent backups, so the loss isn’t that big – but it’s still annoying. But with this slow service, my studio has been out of commission for 2 weeks, with no ETA for the new drive.

I remember when Western Digital drives used to last a decade. I still have a 120 MB (yes, Megabyte) WD drive that works. But it’s not looking good for their new drives, or their customer service.

Anyone have good luck with another HDD manufacturer? I’m thinking about just buying another (non WD) drive at retail so I can get back to work.

Update: After several emails with customer support and getting escalated to a supervisor, WD finally made it right. They’re shipping me a replacement drive right away, that is actually a little better than the one that broke. Thanks, Western Digital.

Update 1/22: They finally shipped me a drive yesterday, 22 days after submitting my RMA.