![]() It’s common to sample a few notes directly then digitally extrapolate the pitch to fill in the other, non-sampled notes. ![]() In the early days of digital sampling, file sizes were a much bigger limitation than they are now, but reasonable size still has plenty of advantages. Some of you new to VSTs and sampling might think, “aren’t all notes sampled individually?” That’s a big nope. There’s one piano, a Steinway grand, with nearly every note on the keyboard sampled individually. This is about as basic as a piano VST gets, though you do get ADSR (attack, decay, sustain and release) adjustment capability. Literally, from the University of Iowa, comes the Iowa Piano. If you need to brush up on your rendition of “Chopsticks,” now’s the time, since each of these plugins has something to offer with a price tag you to which you can’t say no. ![]() There’s not only a decent and free piano VST out there. There’s some great news for those of you lusting for luscious piano sounds on the cheap. What it really comes down to is the sound for studio or bedroom producers. True, much of these costs have to do with the mechanics of building or replicating piano keys, something many VST users forego in the name of convenience and affordability. Oh, and you want that in a FREE VST? Is that even possible in a you-get-what-you-pay-for world? A flip through listings of digital performance pianos reveals prices topping $5,000 and if you want to fork out for a new Steinway concert grand, expect to part with about $150,000. Encapsulating the magic in digital audio samples, combined with a compelling way to play back these samples with grace and subtlety is something of a holy grail for plugin developers and VST users alike. ![]() The tone, timbre and depth of a well-tempered acoustic piano has perhaps the widest expressive range of any instrument this side of a complete orchestra. ![]()
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![]() ![]() Rutt and Tuke run into the bears multiple times, the group hitching a ride on a herd of mammoths to quicken the pace to the salmon run, but the moose are left behind when the bears move on. The two are hunted by Denahi who, still unaware that the bear he's pursuing is his brother, is determined to hunt down Kenai. As the two eventually form a sibling-like bond, Koda reveals that his mother is missing. The two bears make a deal: Kenai will go with Koda to a nearby salmon run and then the cub will lead Kenai to the mountain. ![]() He gets caught in a trap, but is freed by a chatty bear cub named Koda (voiced by Jeremy Suarez). ![]() Kenai quickly discovers the wildlife can talk, meeting two brother moose, Rutt and Tuke (voiced by Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas, in a send-up of their famous characters Bob and Doug McKenzie). She does not speak the bear language, but advises him to return to the mountain -"where the lights touch the Earth"- to find Sitka and be turned back to normal, but only when he corrects what he had done she disappears without an explanation. Kenai falls down some river rapids, survives, and is healed by Tanana (voiced by Joan Copeland), the shaman of Kenai's tribe. Denahi arrives, mistaking Kenai as dead, and believing the bear is responsible, vows to avenge Kenai by hunting it down. The Spirits, represented by Sitka's spirit in the form of a bald eagle, transform Kenai into a bear after the dead bear's body disappears. He chases the bear up onto a mountain and kills it. Vengeful, Kenai heads out to avenge Sitka. Kenai and his brothers pursue the bear, but a fight follows on a glacier, during which Sitka gives his life to save his brothers, although the bear survives. He believes his point is made a fact when a bear takes some salmon. Unlike Sitka, who gained the eagle of guidance, and Denahi, who gained the wolf of wisdom, Kenai receives the bear of love, to which he objects, stating that bears are thieves. The particular animal it represents symbolizes what he must achieve to call himself a man. Sweeney)- the eldest brother, return to their tribe in order for Kenai to receive his sacred totem, a necklace in the shape of an animal. Three brothers: Kenai (voiced by Joaquin Phoenix)- the youngest brother, Denahi (voiced by Jason Raize)- the middle brother -and Sitka (voiced by D.B. The film is set in a post-ice age North America, where the local tribesmen believe all creatures are created through the Spirits, who are said to appear in the form of an aurora. A direct-to-video sequel, Brother Bear 2, was released on August 29, 2006. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature, but lost to another Walt Disney Pictures release, Pixar's Finding Nemo. The film was the third and final Disney animated feature produced primarily by the Feature Animation studio at Disney-MGM Studios in Orlando, Florida the studio was shut down in March 2004, not long after the release of this film in favor of computer animated features. In order to be human again, Kenai must learn to see through another's eyes, feel through another's heart, and discover the meaning of brotherhood. He tracks down the bear and kills it, but the Spirits, angered by this needless death, change Kenai into a bear himself as punishment. In the film, an Inuit boy named Kenai pursues a bear in revenge for a battle that he provoked in which his oldest brother Sitka is killed. It is the 44th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. ![]() ![]() The 3.5 liter V6 motor makes 281 PS and features many of Honda's technologies to improve efficiency such as Variable Cylinder Management (modular displacement or cylinder deactivation for cruising) and an Active Control Engine mount to reduce vibrations felt in the cabin. Starting up that engine, there's a bit of a note from the large and potent Earth Dreams V6 if you remember Honda's Formula One efforts in the late 2000's, Earth Dreams was emblazoned on their cars then, though only now is that technology making its way into showroom cars. Audio is excellent as the Accord has 6 speakers and a subwoofer to boot. ![]() I did find it odd though that the larger, non-touch screen display still doesn't have functions like DVD playback or navigation. The small LCD in the middle of the dashboard is actually a touchscreen display, and can control the audio, among other things. All controls and buttons are where they instinctively should be. Settling into the driver's seat, the Accord is one car that's easy to get familiar with. The front seats feel great and comfortable, while the back really is where it's at with legroom aplenty. The dashboard somehow reminds me of the one aboard the previous E-Class, particularly that large center display. The surfaces, the plastics, the choice of materials all gave off an impeccable feel of quality. Inside the new Accord, it is likewise clear that the cabin and the materials have all been upscaled several notches over the previous generation. The edges and creases in the previous model have been smoothed out if anything, the paintwork and the new, more dignified approach to design somehow reminds me of a Lexus. Style-wise, it is clear that the Accord is not a total departure from the previous design, though Honda have worked to streamline the look of the car overall. ![]() |
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