The Blowout

By G | Published: 26 March 2005

If the tires on your vehicle are over 8 years old, consider replacing them now. There are other ways to fail besides worn tread.

I was extremely lucky this blowout happened at the end of a 56-mile mountain highway roadtrip, while turning around in a cul de sac. The front tire, bearing the weight of the turn, simply popped like a balloon. Changing the tire at 4:00 am was made easier with the help of my friend’s brother (thanks Brad), who happened to have a proper jack in their garage. With only 10 PSI in the spare tire, I crept down the hill to a closed gas station, which luckily had an automated air and water station. Unfortunately, it wanted two quarters, so I had to limp over to 7-11 first. Ah, the galmorous life in the music business.

Then I had the fun of driving 56 miles back home, wondering if any of my other aging tires were about to come undone. Luckily not, I made it home, and then to Big O the following Monday. New shoes!

Did you know tire stores are closed on Sunday? I didn’t. Why is that?

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24 Inches of Glory

By G | Published: 22 March 2005

My 2405FPW 24″ LCD display arrived this afternoon!

It looks fantastic in initial tests running DVI @ 1920 x 1200 from my PowerBook (not its final home). No dead pixels, no stuck pixels, very bright. Gamma and overall color temperature are pretty good at native settings. Grays are slightly red, but I’ll calibrate it later. This is for the new studio G5, but I would be perfectly comfortable doing graphic design with it.

I’m even more pleased with the deal. Dell’s MSRP on this monster is $1199, which is already good. The nearest comparable display is over $1600. But if you have a little patience, wait for one of their sales or stackable coupons. I nabbed this puppy for $810, with free overnight shipping.

As a proper Mac user, I might look for a way to obfuscate the ugly Dell logo at the bottom of the bezel. But the screen is so big, and the bezel is so thin, that it’s barely noticeable at all.

By the way, you have a dirty mind.

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Plug-In Stand-Ins

By G | Published: 15 March 2005

One of the reasons I’m dropping Pro Tools is that every TDM plug-in carries a two-fold price premium for no good reason. I built this rig in the Mac OS 9 days, and I’m now dying to move to OS X, so the upgrade cost for each and every plug-in is also annoyingly expensive. Aside from being a drain on customers, this also seems to discourage independent programmers from coming up with interesting new plug-ins.

I’ve spent the last year seeking out replacements for my current tools. I figured I’d need all new bread & butter basics to replace the Waves 3 bundle and McDSP plug-ins I’m used to, but I’ve discovered some very cool new goodies on the way! Check them out, keeping mind that the Waves 5 TDM Platinum upgrade is $1600 MSRP, which still doesn’t include the full multi-band version of L3:

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Wrod Porbelms

By G | Published: 15 March 2005

Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? We awlyas thought slpeling was ipmorantt!

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Shopping

By G | Published: 13 March 2005

I’ve been shopping a lot lately. Not because I like to spend money, but because I like saving money. That’s actually kinda fun.

Shopping for what, you ask? (Go ahead, I’ll wait.)

A new studio—from the ground up, assuming a computer is the center of any modern studio. I’m currently running a dual G4 Mac with Pro Tools TDM PCI cards inside to supply audio bending DSP power. It’s a great system with zero problems, but I’m discovering that I don’t work in the Pro Tools way. I actually run Logic Pro as a front-end for the TDM hardware to make it more friendly to MIDI instruments, which means easier song-writing, etc. Pro Tools itself is like a big multitrack tape deck. It’s fantastic at recording and editing lots of stuff like a generic studio, but it’s not suited for creative expression, trial and error, and quick fun. I’m also using more and more virtual instruments as I’ve discovered they sound great and they are far easier to manage. But they run on the computer’s own CPU, not the expensive TDM cards in which most of the power in my current rig resides.

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Love, Angel, Music, Baby

By G | Published: 24 November 2004

(aka LAMB)

Wow! I haven’t liked a pop album all year, and I was tired of being negative on new releases. But Gwen Stefani’s new album is great from many perspectives. Of course, if you don’t like Gwen, this won’t magically seduce you, so feel free to skip it. Yay freedom!

The songs have great melodies and interesting vocals. The production is different from anything out there right now, and a lot of it distills the best elements from the 80′s. New Order and Freestyle fans will find a few interesting tracks near the end of the album, including guest appearances by Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook. This is not just another No Doubt CD, it’s a very cool electronic project with great songs and a kick-ass vocalist.

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Beware Etronics.com

By G | Published: 25 June 2002

I purchased a cordless phone from Etronics.com in October 2001. My purchase arrived with scratches and smudges, and worse, no manuals or warranty info. I managed to clean it up, as I would any refurb, since it was a really good refurb price (about 55% of original MSRP). Their prices on other items seem just average.

When I finally reached them the first time, they claimed that they don’t sell refurbished products. I took them at their word. All I really wanted was the user manual and warranty. Easy!

Dear Mr. Gutierrez:

Thank you for your e-mail correspondence. We apologize for the condition in which you received your merchandise. We do not sell used or refurbished merchandise, so I’m not sure why there would be scratches on the unit. In any case, we will be sending the manual and any other paperwork right away per your request, and we apologize for any inconvenience.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us again.

Susan
Etronics.com
Customer Service
(800) 541-1490

Everything was cool, they were going to send it right away. Weeks pass. Nothing.

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