banjosforpeace

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this thread.

 

Does anyone know of any third party - not Sony - software for transferring MD audio to PC via USB?

 

Thanks!

I don't know if this is the right place for this post.

The fading announcement banner at the top of these forums causes problems in the arcade. There was a discussion about it in this thread. http://forums.xisto.com/topic/83631-topic/?findpost=1064301670=
Could the administrators take a look at this issue? Thanks!

The (Nearly) Ultimate Music Posting Guide

 

For several years, indie and established musicians relied on MP3.com as their primary off-site music host. While there were a small number of other similar sites, and MP3.com had its share of problems, it was still THE place to get your music posted. It also allowed artists and music fans to create "Stations" where customized playlists could be created and shared with the world. Vivendi Universal eventually bought MP3.com and ultimately shut it down only to rebuild it as a site for "established" artists, leaving all of the indies out in the cold. Since that time, other services have gone away as well. Some have come and stayed, some come and gone, some came, went and returned again. Each has a different set of pros and cons. Each offers varying methods of hosting, streaming and promotion of the uploaded music. Some have perks like contests, calendars, blogs and mailing lists.

 

What is this?

This post is not a tutorial, rather a resource list of places to make music available for download. I will provide as much detail as possible, with as little editorial content as possible.

 

Who is it for?

I know there are some bands that have their sites hosted at Xisto so this is for you. It is also for forum members that may be web designers who create sites for musicians.

 

What software do you need?

There have been a few posts in the forum about CD ripping and mp3 converters. The most recent of which can be found here. http://forums.xisto.com/topic/82629-topic/?findpost=1064294464=

 

music.download.com - CNET purchased much of the MP3.com system and is gradually becoming as comprehensive as MP3.com once was. Like MP3.com, submissions must be approved by the music editors after they are uploaded. Unlike MP3.com, the approval process is much more stringent. This keeps a lot of silly, inappropriate and nonsensical junk from crowding the servers and artist lists. Also, music.dowload.com has the highest standard bit rate of every service I looked at, requiring all submissions to be a near CD quality 192kbps. Streaming is not yet available, but is apparently on the way. So far, the site is purely about music, not tour dates, blogs, CD sales or playlists. Just an artist bio, link to the artist's official site and up to 50MB of free, downloadable music. Registered users can rate songs on a 1-5 star scale. All free.

 

MySpace.com - The popular online community also has an extensive MUSIC section. As an artist, you get image hosting, a blog, a tour dates section, link to your official site, artist bio and an XML audio player with up to 4 of your songs on it. The streaming audio quality is 128kbps and the player is among the easiest to use. MySpace is primarily designed for interaction with other MySpace users, enabling artists to send messages, post comments or send mass bulletins to their friends and fans. Free.

 

purevolume.com - Purevolume is sort of a free-for-all music community. Though you will find up and coming national artists and some established stars, mostly anyone with a few minutes and some noise in mp3 form can have a Purevolume page. There is an approval process for new members but you will find plenty of hobbyists posting homemade tracks only for fun. You get an artist page, gig list, photo area and a pretty good streaming audio player. Basic package is free. Premium accounts are available.

 

GarageBand.com - The original premise of GarageBand.com was an annual contest to determine which act would be signed to the GarageBand record label. Anyone could submit an original song for free and have it reviewed to climb the charts toward winning. Now you either have to pay to upload a song or do enough reviews to earn uploading credits. You also get standard gig listings or you can pay for extra gig promotions. Your mp3 can be 128kbps or higher and their help section is useful for making sure you encode your music properly. A basic page is free. Premium services are available.

 

IUMA.com - One of the longest running Internet artist communities has had a bumpy ride over the years, from server problems to occasionally disabling artist submissions. Still, you get a basic artist page and if the server is working right you can upload a few 128kbps mp3s. Though, I've had nothing but trouble trying to download mp3s from IUMA.

 

SoundClick - One of the first services available to artists is also still at it. Though they never really seemed to get a strong footing and they suffer from a rather dated look, they still offer a community feel. User-created stations, similar to mp3.com, are a highlight. Streaming is available to everyone but you must be a registered member to download mp3s.

 

Sonicbids - Premium service with a free trial period. Sonicbids lets you create a full online press kit and give talent buyers the ability to book you right there. Non-registered users are free to listen to your 160kbps mp3s, watch Real or Windows video, see photos, a bio and calendar. Take the tour. Read the pricing carefully.

 

Starpolish - Good free alternative to Sonicbids for bio information, a great mailing list tool, and calendar. Music is limited to three song clips, not complete songs. They maintain a great resource list for developing your career.

 

There are several other smaller sites to consider. I will add to this thread in postings to come. A good example of how an independent artist uses these sites can be found on the Free Downloads page of captivating Nashville singer/songwriter, Serena Matthews' web site.

 

Starpolish - Good free alternative to Sonicbids for bio information, a great mailing list tool, and calendar. Music is limited to three song clips, not complete songs. They maintain a great resource list for developing your career.

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CORRECTION: Starpolish DOES allow full songs. Three of them.

That is really kind of incredible. This helps you visualize the scale of a story and what is being pushed as headlines. Very cool and useful.

I just had a strange thought. Giant squid have never once been filmed in their natural habitat. Never seen in action. But someone eventually could...I started thinking about the chance of anyone on a submarine crew ever witnessing a giant squid. They would be the most likely candidate for such an opportunity. I also imagine that they would have some sort of technology that could "see" one. After all, you can use a electronic fish finder to spot a 5 lb. bass, how could you not have something that could spot the movement of a 65 foot creature?I suppose that every bit of info from military submarine missions is considered classified so even if one has been spotted, I doubt it would be spoken of. Especially if a giant squid was seen in waters where submarines we not really supposed to be.

Giant squid are perpetually fascinating. Here's another thread: http://forums.xisto.com/topic/81653-topic/?findpost=1064286769=

I love your art!  "Primitive"?  Gosh, I wish I could do things the way you do them!   I used to use PSP when I was using a PC, but PSP doesn't work on Macs.  I love my Mac but sometimes it's difficult to find a cheap product that will work on it!  I use adobe when I do any art, which is a rare thing because I am terrible with the mouse.  I wish I had a graphics tablet!

 

I love the posters you did, especially the last one on the first posting.  The new one on the second posting is very good also- I love it!!

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Goodness! Thanks very much! I'm blushing.

 

I guess I consider what I do primitive because I use PSP, which not a lot of people seem to use these days, and because I can't really draw anything. I mostly manipulate a photo by trial and error and then layout fonts over top. The one with the helicopters is based on a picture I took with my junky digital camera out of my front window when the Marines were in town doing an urban warfare exercise. The wires and street light just happened to be in the shot so I worked them into the poster. A little tweaking and some copy & paste later, I had a whole background ready for a text box.

 

Someday I'll make my own fonts, but for now I'm in love with the lettering used on classic concert posters. Those old-looking western or dirty looking fonts are soooo pleasing to me.

 

I still don't know if I'm going to use this one. I may try a few more for that Juy 8 show.

Fantastic! And your tutorial is great, too. It helped me figure out some things I've been wanting to try. I really like the way you create texture. I'm going to practice doing base coats until I figure out what looks good.

I'm a hack only doing concert posters and web graphics. I'd love to be able to create art, like you do.

I put some of my posters here. http://forums.xisto.com/topic/83632-topic/?findpost=

Thanks for the kind words, overture! You're right, they do look better when they are large and printed on paper. The first two we're done on 8.5" x 14" in full color. Yep, even printed, the first (western-style) one did seem a bit crowded, but passable. The second turned out much better. The third one was printed in quarter sheets on 8.5" x 11" in black and white on Golden Rod yellow.

 

Here's one more that I did yesterday. I don't know if I'm going to use it yet. I'm trying a few other designs.

 

Oh and if this was printed, it would have a .25" white border. So would the black and gold one above.

 

Anyone else work with Paint Shop Pro? Yeah, I know I'm primitive. I consider myself only a hobbyist, not an artist. It works for me.

But I shouldn't have to disable this every time I go to Xisto. Really, I think Xisto should change it to not take up so much resources.

 

How about a less interfering news fader (not necessarily a fading one, ), like one that scrolls in and out, that would take up much less resources than fading, adn would not contribute to any detrimental effect on the website, it would, at least to me, make Xisto much more attractive. The only thing negatve I have to say about Xisto is that it is a little slow, otherwise Xisto is great.

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Amen! I agree. I appreciate how the fading banner is supposed to catch our eye to iinform us, but it does interfere a little. Maybe a much faster fade or having it blink once or twice would be enough and not tax my system.

 

Thanks for the tip VJgamer!

I think we'll be gouged $150 a month for the next five years if we want ASDL2. In the future, we'll probably see some sort of cable-based variant to ADSL2 that is similarly over-priced.Sorry about the cynicism. I can't stand how much it costs for broadband.

It could be a driver issue with graphics/monitor, also wouldn't rule out DirectX until the games are posted.

 

Since laptop makers actually incorporate their own video driver for laptops, it's not quite generic and most likely won't work on different laptops nor is it easy finding a driver that will work other than from the laptop vendor.  This could be a problem if it's poorly designed.

 

OpenGL games also could have this result, but this is due to the video drivers not working correctly with OpenGL instructions.

 

I wouldn't rule out a driver problem.

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This happened to me playing Return To Castle Wolfenstein (OpenGL). After a few minutes the whole computer would shut down without a warning. I got a new hard drive, did a fresh install of XP Pro, installed all of my software, updated the OS and all of my drivers along the way, then installed RTCW. I never had the problem again.

 

Either the OS and registry were getting buggy over time or I had a conflict with the drivers (and configuration) that I couldn't pinpoint. The fresh install on the exact same hardware and almost identical hard drive took care of it.

Freakin' awesome! I want this at my house, too! If I could get my hands on the industrial-strength hydraulics and gear system, boy would I have a big ol' time! :P

I think that nLite is more easier to use and is much more easier to use than Paul Thurrott's one. It shows menu's to add all kinds of stuff to the installation, like device drivers and of course bug fixes and patches.

 

http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

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I can definitely see the advantages of both. nLite seems so clean, though.

 

Either way, useful info for all of us. Thanks!

Here are some posters I've done for our band. I'm using PSP7 for almost everything.

 

4/20 show poster:

 

Blank regular poster:

 

4/20 handbill using poster layout:

 

Feedback is welcome. Thanks!

I would like to add a second voice to this issue! I, too, have noticed this problem. Is there a remedy?

This is creepy and moving. Very well done. The sketch-like style of it gives it a great rawness. Did you say this was digital? Wow. Looks like painted canvas to me.What did you use?

This problem can sometimes be related to printer drivers. Check out: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us

That is just about the best little trick I've seen in a while!

What OS are you using? Different versions of Windows have different clipboard controls.

You say old??

 

so how about that - I have still running C64 and SX64 (SX64=C64+CP1541+5" color monitor + flat keyborad and everything in suitecase that weight about 20kg - I don't know but I would say rather rare thing [there are some pictures...],

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Wow! I remember using one of those 20 years ago. That's so cool. I wish I had one to play with right now. My C64 is boxed up.

 

I have a few old Commodore 286 & 386's from the late 80's. I also have my first AMD 486 that can still hum.

 

Ahhh nostalgia or clutter? I can't decide.

 

I'd give all of my goofy collection and current 1.3G AMD system for a AMD64 setup with the trimmings. No question.

This IS practical for end users. For the few people still using C64, this is a nice, user-friendly environment that's far nicer than anything else except for maybe GEOS. But GEOS is older, bigger and has less features... The sensor usage is impractical, but on a computer like C64 or Apple II, it's great.

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Yeah, I always forget that there are some of those still in some form of everyday use. I remember when Commodore in West Chester, PA shut down and they auctioned everything off. Sometimes I forget that they are still out there.

i have one of those net models.

i'm quite dissapointed.

mp3 support... rrrright. all your mp3's are converted to their attrac format, which i kinda dislike.

recording... no digital copying afterwards. sucky. no mic in but a line in, you need a self-feeding mic.

 

anyway, i'd never buy one again, although the battery lasts long and the quality is good, it lacks recording support.

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This is what I'm finding. The 707 seemed good at first but now seems to be lacking. Right now it is barely serving its initial purpose. Any recommendations on any MD model you can get for under $150 that will really do a taper-quality job?

hi, I have used minidisc equipment a couple of times. Whenever I did use it, I used a Sony MZ-N1 and a Sony ECM-MS907 Stereo Microphone. I highly recommend this microphone as it sounds great. I too was disappointed with the fact that you can't use a usb input with the minidisc player, but manually recording the tracks into your computer isn't terrible, provided you have a decent recording program on your computer. I recommend soundforge. I don't know what else to say, but good luck with your future minidisc use!

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Those ECM-MS907 mics are really nice! I'm on the lookout for one of those.

 

There must be some sort of way to get around the USB transfer issue, either with software or by some means. I've been transferring them manually, as well but I would prefer to do it all digitally if possible. I'm still looking for input on an alternative method.

 

Thanks for the reply, thatyou!

How about this? When you get a physical frying of the power supply - with actual smoke - it can be pretty easy to fix. You can crack open the PS and find the toasted part, often a capacitor, unsolder it, read the numbers on it and buy a replacement at your local electronics store. Simple enough, right?

If you don't get an actual burn-out, it can be hard to spot the problem without testing equipment. Look closely at the tops of the capacitors (the ones with a silvery looking top) to see if they have bubbled up to look rounded on top instead of flat. That's usually a sign that the cap has blown.

Usually it comes down to one part frying, so a full rebuild isn't necessarily what is needed. If multiple parts are fried, that is the result of something really nasty like a near-direct lightening strike or a fan dying which stops the PS from cooling and can melt several parts rather quickly. Sure, shelling out $50 for a new PS is great if you can do that, but it isn't always possible for some and others just like the challenge of a repair.

Oh, and sometimes it will be something as stupid as the power switch breaking on the inside. Happened to me once and thought it was the power supply.

I have been learning much about power supplies lately. You can read about one of my fun adventures here: http://forums.xisto.com/topic/82088-topic/?findpost=