MrKnobs

Before your post identifying it as the CreedPit, I browsed their forums and saw several Pits so I applied for all of them.

Apparently there is one "Pit" that seems to be focused on depravity. I went ahead and requested that one as well. This morning they rejected my application; not sure how to take that.

I guess they either don't know me very well or were afraid if they let me in I'd take over the place.

Terry D.

I've applied to be a member of that forum. We'll see if they accept me.

Terry D.

Perfect. I'll attempt to join that forum. Thanks, Anita!

Terry D.

P.S. I reread this entire thread last night including my groupie "novel." I have never edited it before, so I tidied up a few things, including one embarrassing accidental reference to a person by both his real name and his fictitious name in the same post!

I also noticed a distubing jump between the Red story and the Janis story. I really need to write some sort of segue or transition so that will make sense to the reader.

There are a lot of sections that would make more sense and become more interesting if I hadn't been constrained by the 10,000 character per post limit. Many times I'd finish a chapter and the length would come out 12,000 characters or more. I had to do some brutal editing which is partially responsible for the terse style.

Just what I was thinking.

My plan was to go over there and introduce myself, and see if I can charm them.

And I'm thinking of starting on another story.

But first I need to know what ezboard it is. As in P***.ezboard.com, the three little numbers where I put the asterisks.

Or, alternately, the subject / name of the board.



Terry D.

I'm not at all upset.

But I would like to go over and chat with some of the folks on that other forum and get their feedback.

You really don't know the forum name?

By the way, am I allowed to know your first name? I very much appreciate you forwarding the responses to me.

Terry D.

Really?

Please provide a link.

Thanks.

Terry D.

Thanks!

I'm surprised more people didn't find the story offensive, but then real life is often gritty and vulgar. At least mine is.

Terry D.

Originally posted by where02190 Sure if you don't care about the quality of the audio.

 

Resistors have a tone now?

 

OK, so splurge and spend a buck apiece and buy two precision, metal film resistors instead of the carbon ones. Although personally, I think the carbon ones sound more "vintage."

 

You do understand the difference between +4 and -10 dB is voltage level, right?

 

Please tell me you're kidding.

 

Terry D.

Jeff -

Thanks so much for the kind words. It means a great deal to me that I was able to connect with you and all the others who have taken the time to comment on this thread.

Many times while writing the story I became concerned that the style I was using was too terse and too first person. Ultimately, I decided the story (which really happened exactly as written) was compelling enough without any amateurish attempts on my part to embellish it. I'm so pleased that apparently I was able to stay out of the way of the story in the process of telling it.

I wrote this primarily to get it off my chest, but I'm happy that it resonated with some of the readers' own experiences.

Thanks again,

Terry D.

Originally posted by where02190 And the reson why the poster has a mismatch is because the pre out is +4 while the soundcard in is -10. It is a very big deal, it is the "deal". With a +4dbu input sensitivity soundcard there is no issue.

 

Then it's a very big deal that can be fixed with two fifty cent resistors or an $3 attenuator cord from Radio Shack.

 

Terry D.

As long as you aren't him.

Terry D.

Originally posted by d0zerz Can you elaborate on this? I've thought about getting one of those cheaper maudio 4 or 8 input cards that'll do 24bit recording, but I wondered what the point was...I figured...I only really need 2 inputs and input's an input and shouldn't color the sound at all Is the only difference the 16 vs 24bit? Is the sound quality that noticeable?

 

Several things to discuss.

 

I don't own an AudioBuddy and have never used one, so I accepted Where's comments as correct and set about educating myself on the Audio Buddy. To my surprise, after spending about an hour on the manufacturer's and other websites, there was no definitive statement in the technical specs or manual indictating whether the AB operates at -10 or +4 dB.

 

Worse, I couldn't even tell if the level control is a pad on the input or controls the output level. About the only thing I could conclude is that the Audio Buddy is very poorly documented.

 

Regarding the computer sound card issue:

 

As others have said, the quality of cheap A/D converters varies quite a bit. Noise is especially an issue. At work I have a $5000 Larson Davis A/D converter, a $200 Echo Indigo PMCIA converter for use in a laptop, and of course the sound chipset that came in my desktop computer.

 

The noise floor on the desktop's sound device is absolutely horrible compared even to the Indigo card. Part of that, no doubt, is because the inside of a computer is an extremely noisy electrical environment to design for.

 

Nevertheless, MAudio's 2496 is very good quality for the price (I have this card in a machine at home), which was under $100 last time I checked. Not only do you get the better quality converters, you get 24 bit depth and up to 96kHz sample rate, and some modest software with the package. I don't use the little version of Cakewalk or whatever came with it, but I do appreciate the card's onboard mixer software and display. If you had that, for example, you wouldn't be asking us where the overload is happening, you could look at all the pretty colored VU meters.

 

To me 96k isn't all that important, but 24 bit is great. 24 bits lets you be a little less apprehensive about your recording levels, lets you mix quiet sounds with really loud sounds without any problem, lets you track vocals and bass with no compression and compress later without worrying about too few bits in the quieter passages, and just plain sounds better - not a subtle difference at all.

 

Another thing that the MAudio card gives you is a SPDIF input. If you ever get an outboard preamp or reverb or some other device that has a digital output, you'll be able to go straight in via SPDIF with bit accurate results. Bit accurate means the digital file the 2496 records from it's digital input will be exactly the same as the digital output the preamp sent.

 

Regarding -10dB vs +4dB: This is just not a big deal from your perspective. The only thing that makes it a big deal in this case (if indeed this is what your problem is) is that you have a signal mismatch between the output of your AudioBuddy and the input of your computer soundcard.

 

You don't need anything expensive to fix this problem. You just need an attenuator cord or a couple of 50 cent resistors soldered together as a voltage divider. Last time I checked, Radio Shack sold a cable with a resistance attenuator inside it, or you can easily make your own with the two resistors, or possibly even one.

 

Terry D.

Watch out for Monster_Magnet. He'll be around here somewhere, posing as a girl.

Terry D.

Oh, I don't think it's all that bad. I like girls.

Terry D.

That's a scary animated gif!

Terry D.

The usual, what was customary at the time.

She doesn't seem angry, though. All is groovy.

Terry D.

It was Joe, TheBeatButcher but we've settled our differences.

I think maybe it would be appropriate on this thread to just make a little PSA (public service announcement) on the dangers of publishing autobiographical material containing personal details of those still living.

I met a lot of groupies back in the day, so I guess it was inevitable that after "publishing" my groupie story one of them would find her way to HC Forums.

THIS is the result.

And I'm sure there's more to come.

But don't freak out, nobody's gonna boil a bunny or anything, everything's cool. Kate's just having a little fun with me and I guess I owe her that, considering what I did to her.

Stay tuned.

Terry D.

You too!

And by the way, WELCOME to the HC forums.

Terry D.

Originally posted by d0zerz I suspect you might be right, because it has those 'near clipping' indicator lights...and it seems they're always on with the mic close.....

 

There have been like 1,000 posts on AudioBuddy clipping over the years on this forum and others. It's a well known problem.

 

However, if you're lucky, it could be what Where is saying instead. Be sure you're plugged into the line input of your sound card rather than the mic input, of course.

 

And open up your soundcard control software. If you're lucky, there might be some colored meters to look at. If so you can see the clipping if it's happening at the computer input.

 

If not, just connect the Audio Buddy output to something else you have handy (like a power amp, guitar amp line input, etc) and listen for the clipping.

 

Best of all, invest in a slightly better soundcard or external sound device for your computer. MAudio makes some decent ones, and they will improve your sound considerably over most stock computer sound cards or onboard chipsets.

 

Terry D.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read the story and comment on it.

Your encouragement means a lot to me, as my day job forces me to write up to 10,000 words/day of technical material. I find that very soul draining vs. this sort of writing, which is quite cathartic for me.

Many, many people have apparently read the story and I've received more than a hundred PMs, emails, and comments on it. Most have been encouraging (as your note is), but some border on downright hate mail.

Just a few minutes ago, I received some particularly nasty condemnation regarding my 20+ year "age inappropriate" marriage (to the woman at the end of the story) from someone I considered a friend. How karmic and how comforting that you, a stranger, would take a moment to let me know you saw through the rougher passages in the story and found the story of love, kindness, and redemption within.

Thank you so much for your timely remarks, and congratulations to you on your wonderful marriage and children. I'm sure your success is due in no small part to your kind nature and insightful, open mind. Hearing that a reader connected with the story is what every writer lives for.

Thanks again,

Terry D.

That's THE classic audiobuddy problem. It's not the computer card, it's the Audiobuddy. There's no fix other than back the mike up, as the clipping is happening in the Audiobuddy.

 

Terry D.

Does SFW mean "so f*cking what?"

Terry D.

I realize that, but it doesn't seem to work except on "special" threads.

Terry D.

How did this thread suddenly sprout five stars? I've been away for a few days taking a training course with no internet access and suddenly I see stars.

I suspect the mods may just assign stars, it doesn't seem like voting at the bottom of a thread does anything

Terry D.

Bumping this for a friend who wants to read 'em and is forum challenged.

Terry D.