Memorial Day

It was Sunday, i postponed my guitar classes so i can go pay my respect to my RIP grandmother in Nirvana Memorial Park. Once a year, i'm actually looking forward to it. under the hot sun, many people, full of cars. THe wheater is so hot, it can make you go insane. But i really look forward to it. To some people of my age, they don't really care much of ancestors, lost ones and etc.. They said to move forward and make money as all that is what really means in life.

To me, they are still stuck in the rat race, not knowing what life can be. haha pity them.

Anyway, i was walking with my grandfather, a guy that don't need to work much in his life. He told me on that day t\while looking at the hills from the park, he told me some names about the hills. Where he and his brother make way and live in there for a few years during the Japanese Occupation. They followed the Komunis because their parents are force to work for them. The 3 stars. Come to think of it, he lived a hard life. Praying everyday only for survivor. TOday kids pray to have a PS3 tomorrow, and don't like to eat. The world changes? or human changes?

He still live now peacefuly in the same house for 20 over years. the porch is narrow and long.

I still remember i spend some of my primary school holidays in that house. the motorcycle i sit as he brought me to places where i can buy sweets or bubble gums.

Recording 2

About the recording processes, i normally program the drums 1st, then i flag the verse, chorus, pre-chorus..etc so i have a very clear motive on what where and when i need to record. i will then record the bass, make sure the bass string is new or only 1 year old, we don't normally change bass strings often. Very costly, about RM100 per pack( mana boleh tahan change every month) :(

Ok , then i will listen to it back and make sure the bass fit the drums fullfilling it's job. Then i will record the guitars, rythm then fills then solo. For solo, i will record more then 10 times, and take the best take or edit the best parts together. hahaha, then the vocals.

When it comes to mixing, rule number 1, apply a compressor to every track.

Then EQ, then balance all. Mixing depends on each situation.

Then i will rest for a few days, and then come back for a listen on the final mix. Sometimes you will listen to it differently. So i will come back a few times until i'm satisfied.

Recording Part 1

i thought of sharing my journey of Recording. it's been quite a long evolution (for me) to come to produce good quality recordings as it all started with a Pentium 2 pc with a Rm15 sound card that have no brand at all and a multiFX zoom707 2 , a cable and a guitar. i learned that i can record using my pc. that time i'm using Cakewalk's pro audio software. very easy, everything's click and record to fancy stuffs like plugins or whatever. the drums i will use drum loops that i can find from the net, of course it's very limited.
ok, here goes.
1) you need to have a good understanding of the material you are going to record. The song, you need to know all the arrangement from hair to toe, i mean verse 1, verse 2, chorus...etc
2) your players need to know the parts of what they are going to record. No mistake can be save while mixing. if it ain't good, record again.
3)Sound - Change your guitar strings, get a very good multiFX with amp sim. if you are on a budget. If not, get a good 5K mic and a 15k amp. Everything need to sound very good to you before you record it. again, if it ain't good, don't record until you get it good.

those are the 1st tips, ok about my hardwares.

i'm running Sonar 8 from cakewalk on a pentium4 pc with 2gigs of DDR ram. Window XP and a multimix 16 USB 2.0 (audio interface/mixer) connected via usb. i also have a midi controller, by a yamaha keyboard and connect using a midi to usb cable(you can get it in ebay, very cheap). I'm using podX3 from line 6 as my amp sim, great stuff. 78 amps 48 cabs, can you imagine?
oh ya, did i mention it can have a dual tone and a stereo output, means i can run 2 rigs in 1 time. too good to be true. but sometimes for great distortion i use my digitech Black 13 running straight to the mixer for that extra bottom end.
I'm using a AKG pre 200 condenser for my vocals and acoustic guitars, and also Sm57 & Sm58's for their use. Cables, you need to have good ones, invest in good ones, cheap china ones really gives you hiss and hums.
That's all about my hardware

Man's Best Friend

I'm a person that is really into dogs, when i'm 6 years old i grew up with 2 dogs. When i'm having an afternoon nap, there's a dog beside me sleeping together. Now i have 2 dogs, 1 which is a Dalmation mix breed, Yoshi. Unlike his mum, he is all black with a white spot on the chest.

Very playfull but he can really take care of the house. Any strangers will be afraid of him barking.

The second one in the family is Mini poddle "Mika". Also very playfull, maybe i'm blessed with playfull dogs. this one sleeps with me every night. wakes we up every morning. I come to realize that i'm less stress spending time with them. They make me at ease.

A Good Person

When you are little, you have dreams. Normally you would. A doctor, Lawyer , Manager. All the position your parents will brain wash you in being. They tell you that being those can earn you money, or can save people's life and be a good person.
Good Person.
Everyone aim for that. but 90% end up being the bad ones. Some doctors, lawyers are there for the money. Who's not? to doctors, everyone dies, everyones' sick. Who the Fu%$ i care? you come see me, you paid me bloody money. No money no talk. So he watched you die if you have not money or medical card enough to pay him. So he can goplay golf during the weekends. Drive a bloody big muthaF%&# BMW, with good plate number like 899, or 1111 or 8888 and he can spend all those money in his Giant house, feed his family and dozens of girlfriends out there somewhere which his wife don't bother cause she has so much money she don't care about love anymore. As long as her bank is loaded with RMs. She don't care. So WTF?? so much for being someone that saves people. WHen you ask them, they said. Hey , i'm working for a living man. SO what? it's ma money dude. i can do what i like.
SO this is what it is? A good person.
All lies, when you are little you tell the truth, when you get older you lied. You lied to mostly everything in your life. I like to bring my mum to church everyday, ( so troublesome, why can't sister bring her), i am a caring father to my children ( i regret to have children).
The older you get, the more lies to tell yourself and others. It doesn't stop.
A good person
Even monks now ask money from you when you are having lunch in a cafe, said to build temple. But he gamble in 4d every wednesday, saturday and sunday with your money.
A good person
Even the prettiest girl in the world will cheat.
A good person
Is there any left?

Viking

The Guitar of my dreams, (every guitar also my dream one)

The Hagstrom Viking.

Gonna get it 1 day, Frank Zappa used this.

I must, 1 day , own it.

Free CNY Drinks, food & a little more

I was driving down to the old Jaya Jusco with planning to buy stuff for CNY, you know cookies, coca cola, 100 plus , cookies, whatever people will eat when they come to my house during the CNY holidays. Then i come across a man holding a carton of 100 plus , running with it. As i look around with confusion in my brain why the man is so "Kan chuong" i found a lot of cookies and drinks on the side of the bus stop outside Jaya Jusco as if it's free to take'em all. Well, i got excited and make a quick "U" turn and stopped my car next to it and ready pickup as many as possible without even thinking of why where how these things are here. Many people are doing the same thing in my head, so why wait?
2 cartons of 100plus and 5 boxes of cookies, that's the most i can fit into my MAB304 Proton Iswara, the car that brought me places and stayed with me since i started to work.It's been 7 years now, Old faithfull. I was happy, cause i got things without using my money. I can save it up for the angpau i guess, it's going to go also. How much money you have, it's gonna go anyway.
So i'm heading home, driving and singing along with my radio. Suddenly, i saw a bunch of kids, about the age of 10 or 11. Walking on the dividers of the highway, they were wearing grey jumpsuits and a mask with dreadlocks. Almost like corey taylor's one in Slipknot. They were all walking like a bunch of rascals ready to do something not right. Ok, i said to myself. Better get back and ignore it. When i came to the Traffic light at Hospital Pantai, there's a group of motorbikes waiting on it, and the riders are another group of kids with the same uniforms. holding weapons, jackhammer, axe and something else.
I'm already shivering, cold sweat on my forehead. What the hell is going on? Who are these kids? ok, i stayed cool. Like i always do, no smile no expression on my face. I learn to do that during school. I have not much friends. So i stay the same mood all day long minding my own stuffs.
I keep about 10 meters away from them. Thinking to myself, "i tak kacau you, you don't kacau me" As the green light lid, they took off. Good, i'm saved.
So i drive along, after the trafficlight, the whole situation is chaging, it's dark, i mean very dark. Like the whole Melaka is out of electricity. then i saw a motorbike crashed in a way you would image that the driver would have been death.As i drive slowly through, i saw a couple. A man and a women, thier heads are smashed together and thier body is twisted together like a Ying Yang logo, pale faces and blood everywhere. then i saw a car crashed too, 50% of the lenght of the original, a man squating down covering his face and blood covering every inch of his skin. The car is burning. i drove a little faster hoping this will end. Then i saw as many as 20- 30 people pale face, with eyes opened lying through out the side of the road dead. kids, grandma , man, women, all kinds. they seems to look as me with thier dead faces. then a bus crashed in the most horrible way. It's upside down as if the bus driver sped and hit the divider. pale faces, blood everywhere.
Then i thought of the drinks and free stuff i took. Was it for them?