BlogThe usual and unusual happenings involving me and my musical projects

The Moose Head Over the Mantel News

neo | Aug, 12 2017 at 4:29 UTC | News

While not a new development, tracks from the upcoming feature film The Moosehead Over the Mantel have been added to the projects section. It was a great honor to work with Jessi and Bryan of Inappropriate Films on this feature. I don't have information regarding an official release date, but I will definitely make updates as information becomes available. For the time being, check out the trailer below. (Note: I did not contribute music or FX for this trailer.)

 

Hosting Change News

neo | Aug, 12 2017 at 4:29 UTC | News

The site has been a bit stagnant for awhile, partially due to projects, partially due to site issues. To help combat this, I've fixed some of the issues and moved to a new hosting provider. As for projects, more to come on that later.

Getting Back into Shape Thoughts and Opinions

neo | Jul, 6 2014 at 11:12 UTC | Thoughts and Opinions

There was a time in my life where exercise was a bit more of a priority, but sadly this has not been the case for a while now. I have been trying various things throughout the year, but I haven't had a ton of success with creating a habit.

My latest thought was to try out something recommended to me a few times, high-intensity interval training. It seems to fit in with what works for best me, doing as much as possible in a short amount of time. At this point in my life I don't have the time, or the drive really, to spend 30+ minutes every day on exercise.

My biggest concern with this was finding a way to keep the intervals while doing the workouts, so I wrote a small web-based application to help keep things straight. I'm hoping that process will make me feel a bit more connected to the routine, and make it a bit easier to stay on track. 

Recent Projects - Spring 2014 News

neo | Jun, 18 2014 at 3:13 UTC | News

My blog has been a bit quiet as of late, partially due to time constraints and partially due to an error within the system. I didn't quite have enough time to look at it.

During the last few months, I was involved in some more projects with Keith Famie at Visionalist. I worked with Keith back in 2013 on The Embrace of Aging, the male perspective of growing old. It is a fantastic series that I highly recommend checking out.

I was also, somewhat recently, asked to compose another piece for my friend E-A-Ski. While the piece style wasn't new to me, the release medium was; it was officially the first piece I wrote specifically for an audiobook. While I don't have many details on the book's release, I do have the piece to share. Enjoy!

"Fixing" an Issue with MIDI Filters Tips and Tricks

neo | Jun, 18 2014 at 3:59 UTC | Tips and Tricks

For a long time I was experiencing issues with the volume of instruments loaded within Kontakt. The volume slider liked to jump to a certain position, which many times was nowhere near the original preset volume. I generally dealt with the issue by setting the output slider within Kontakt to counteract the volume change, as I assumed it was based on a playback state or an event that I just couldn't seem to find.

I have since found out this is not the case. It appears that the volume slider on my MIDI keyboard has gone erratic. While I could replace the keyboard, it seems like it'd be a waste to buy a new keyboard just because one slider, which I actually never even use, has gone bad. I felt like there needed to be another way to work around this problem.

One solution I did find was disabling the volume slider through the advanced functions of the keyboard. This worked great, until I found out the setting was reset when the keyboard was powered down. This wouldn't be a huge issue if it weren't for the fact the advanced function settings are really difficult to work with. I really didn't want to have to go through the manual everytime I restarted my computer.

My current solution was utilizing a feature I didn't previously know existed in Cubase: MIDI filters. Within the "Preferences" window, there is a group of settings dedicated to filters for MIDI controls. By simply adding the volume slider into the filters, I no longer experience volume jumps.

Obviously this "fix" wouldn't be for everyone, as I'm sure many people utilize the volume slider. (I happen to have a second controller I use for volume, panning, etc.) But, it definitely is a nice feature to know about.