I came across a really nice artist by the name of Sam Dishington today. He is possibly more well known as being in the death metal band Separatist. On his worship project called Quiet Waters, he basically wanted to write and record some worship music coming from his heart. This is a most intense disc. It is psychedelic, ambient and at times very solemn, but very intimately worshipful. Definitely a record that you should know about.
I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me. ~Jesus
Friday, March 28, 2014
Quiet Waters
I came across a really nice artist by the name of Sam Dishington today. He is possibly more well known as being in the death metal band Separatist. On his worship project called Quiet Waters, he basically wanted to write and record some worship music coming from his heart. This is a most intense disc. It is psychedelic, ambient and at times very solemn, but very intimately worshipful. Definitely a record that you should know about.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Theocracy Debut Album Reissue
I just wanted to bring to your attention that Theocracy has re-recorded and re-released their debut album with drummer Shawn Benson. On the first run, it was singer Matt Smith doing all the arrangements, which if you listen to it, will likely be blown away. Now they have redone it with real drums. Check it out!
Buy Here
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Derek Close - The Beta Sessions
Just want to give a quick update for my friend Derek Close. He has a new release out right now called The Beta Sessions. Derek Close was formerly the bassist in the Washington-based Grunge band My Cat Puddinhead. He has physical copies of his new album available or you can get it as a digital download.
Derek's Music
Friday, February 21, 2014
A Proclamation...
"Let us not glide through this world and then slip quietly out of it
without having blown the trumpet loud and long for our Blessed
Redeemer. At the very least, let us see to it that when the Devil
gets news of our departure from the battlefield, he throws a
thanksgiving party in hell."
-C.T. Studd
without having blown the trumpet loud and long for our Blessed
Redeemer. At the very least, let us see to it that when the Devil
gets news of our departure from the battlefield, he throws a
thanksgiving party in hell."
-C.T. Studd
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Great Testimony About Abortion
Several years ago I shared my testimony with a friend, and she
commented that it sounded like a "Chick Tract". At the time, I was
unfamiliar with your publications, but I have recently acquired a lot of
the "This Was Your Life" tracts for distribution around my hometown.
Before I was a Christian, my husband pressured me to have an abortion that I didn't want. I knew it was taking the life of my baby, but my husband's threats to leave me if I went through with the pregnancy, scared me into a decision I immediately came to regret. As I lay in the recovery room following the abortion, I tried to will myself to die. The guilt was so overwhelming, I felt that the only way to pay the price for my baby's life was to die myself.
I spent the next three years constantly thinking about suicide. The only thing that kept me from actually going through with it, was the strong conviction that I would go to Hell for what I had done, and that thought terrified me. My life was a nightmare. I worked at a medical lab that received the "products of conception" from abortions performed at several local hospitals. I couldn't escape the reality of what I had done. I daily saw the mutilated bodies of babies, victims of their mother's choice. It was horrifying!
I searched in the New Age Movement for answers to my grief. They promised peace, joy, and contentment, but they didn't offer the one thing I needed: relief from the guilt I carried so heavily. But I knew that I had crossed a boundary and put myself at odds with the God of the universe, and His wrath was going to descend upon me at my death.
Then one night I had a dream that changed my life. In my dream, I died and found myself standing in a long line of people outside the gates of Heaven. There was a man sitting at a high desk with a book open in front of him. He began to read an alphabetical list of various sins and told everyone who had committed each of these sins, to step out of the line. Since abortion begins with "A", it was the first sin he read. NO! I said. "There's been a mistake! The abortion wasn't my fault....My husband made me do it. It's his fault, not mine! I was in a panic as I pleaded with the attendant nearest me. He calmly looked at me and said, "The abortion was your sin. Your husband had his own role in that event, and he will be held accountable, but the abortion, itself, was yours." I prepared to argue, again, when suddenly I realized that no one had put a gun to my head, bound and gagged me, and literally forced the abortion on me. Although it was under protest, I was the one who ultimately consented to the procedure. I could have said no, and faced the consequences, but I didn't, so the abortion was truly my sin, and not directly my husband's fault. As I acknowledged my guilt, I stepped out of line. I asked the attendant where I needed to go, and he pointed away to the left, and then I noticed for the first time, in the distance, a lake of fire.
I woke up screaming, in a cold sweat. As I lay in bed, shaking from the realization that I truly deserved to spend eternity in the lake of fire, a new resolve came over me. I was no longer afraid to die and face Hell, because I knew for the first time that it was the only place I deserved, so I made up my mind to take my life and willingly accept the punishment I had been shown. But God had other plans.
A few days after the dream, I ended up at a Christian concert(of all things!), and there someone shared with me that I didn't need to take my own life to atone for my baby's death. That two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ bore the punishment I deserved as He died a painful, horrifying death on the cross to pay for my sin. The price had already been paid, would I accept His death on my behalf? I said, "yes" to Jesus at that moment, and was flooded with God's grace and forgiveness. I cried for joy as I received the relief I had been searching for, and discovered the wonder of salvation. I was instantly released from the guilt and pain I had carried for so long. What a Savior!
Anyway, that was over ten years ago, and I am still amazed at that amazing grace that saved a wretch like me. Those who are forgiven much, love much, and all I have to do to renew my love for Christ, is to remember how great a love He has for me, that He gave Himself up willingly for my sin. I would love to reach other women burdened by the guilt of abortion, with the forgiveness they can find at the cross.
Before I was a Christian, my husband pressured me to have an abortion that I didn't want. I knew it was taking the life of my baby, but my husband's threats to leave me if I went through with the pregnancy, scared me into a decision I immediately came to regret. As I lay in the recovery room following the abortion, I tried to will myself to die. The guilt was so overwhelming, I felt that the only way to pay the price for my baby's life was to die myself.
I spent the next three years constantly thinking about suicide. The only thing that kept me from actually going through with it, was the strong conviction that I would go to Hell for what I had done, and that thought terrified me. My life was a nightmare. I worked at a medical lab that received the "products of conception" from abortions performed at several local hospitals. I couldn't escape the reality of what I had done. I daily saw the mutilated bodies of babies, victims of their mother's choice. It was horrifying!
I searched in the New Age Movement for answers to my grief. They promised peace, joy, and contentment, but they didn't offer the one thing I needed: relief from the guilt I carried so heavily. But I knew that I had crossed a boundary and put myself at odds with the God of the universe, and His wrath was going to descend upon me at my death.
Then one night I had a dream that changed my life. In my dream, I died and found myself standing in a long line of people outside the gates of Heaven. There was a man sitting at a high desk with a book open in front of him. He began to read an alphabetical list of various sins and told everyone who had committed each of these sins, to step out of the line. Since abortion begins with "A", it was the first sin he read. NO! I said. "There's been a mistake! The abortion wasn't my fault....My husband made me do it. It's his fault, not mine! I was in a panic as I pleaded with the attendant nearest me. He calmly looked at me and said, "The abortion was your sin. Your husband had his own role in that event, and he will be held accountable, but the abortion, itself, was yours." I prepared to argue, again, when suddenly I realized that no one had put a gun to my head, bound and gagged me, and literally forced the abortion on me. Although it was under protest, I was the one who ultimately consented to the procedure. I could have said no, and faced the consequences, but I didn't, so the abortion was truly my sin, and not directly my husband's fault. As I acknowledged my guilt, I stepped out of line. I asked the attendant where I needed to go, and he pointed away to the left, and then I noticed for the first time, in the distance, a lake of fire.
I woke up screaming, in a cold sweat. As I lay in bed, shaking from the realization that I truly deserved to spend eternity in the lake of fire, a new resolve came over me. I was no longer afraid to die and face Hell, because I knew for the first time that it was the only place I deserved, so I made up my mind to take my life and willingly accept the punishment I had been shown. But God had other plans.
A few days after the dream, I ended up at a Christian concert(of all things!), and there someone shared with me that I didn't need to take my own life to atone for my baby's death. That two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ bore the punishment I deserved as He died a painful, horrifying death on the cross to pay for my sin. The price had already been paid, would I accept His death on my behalf? I said, "yes" to Jesus at that moment, and was flooded with God's grace and forgiveness. I cried for joy as I received the relief I had been searching for, and discovered the wonder of salvation. I was instantly released from the guilt and pain I had carried for so long. What a Savior!
Anyway, that was over ten years ago, and I am still amazed at that amazing grace that saved a wretch like me. Those who are forgiven much, love much, and all I have to do to renew my love for Christ, is to remember how great a love He has for me, that He gave Himself up willingly for my sin. I would love to reach other women burdened by the guilt of abortion, with the forgiveness they can find at the cross.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
The Great Commission - Free Tracts
If any of my readers are ready to actually go out and start more proactively fulfilling The Great Commission, then I have a great resource for you. There is an organization called Fellowship Tract League that has several tracts available for FREE. This is so nice because all you have to do is go online, pick them out and they'll come right to your door. Jesus said,
I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth! Go
to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them
in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world.
~Matthew 28:16-20
Tracts can provide a good way of planting a seed in someone's life. If you can, don't just stick it on a door or under a windshield wiper. People may respond better if you actually make a connection first.
LINK to Fellowship Tract League
God bless!
~Matthew 28:16-20
Tracts can provide a good way of planting a seed in someone's life. If you can, don't just stick it on a door or under a windshield wiper. People may respond better if you actually make a connection first.
LINK to Fellowship Tract League
God bless!
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Acoustic Treatment For Home Recording Studio
As a student of audio recording, I subscribe to a site called Audio Masterclass. I read an article today that I thought would be helpful to my readers. It covers the basics of how to achieve better acoustics in your studio. Read on...
If you would like more information about Audio Masterclass follow this link:
www.audiomasterclass.com
A brief
introduction to acoustic treatment for the home recording studio
When you
have achieved good soundproofing in your room, you will need acoustic
treatment to make it sound good both for recording and monitoring.
By David
Mellor, Course Director of Audio Masterclass
Acoustic treatment and soundproofing
are two totally separate concepts. To start thinking about acoustic
treatment, imagine a room constructed from thick concrete - walls,
floor and ceiling. It's soundproof, but it sounds terrible because of
the strong reflections from the hard, parallel surfaces. So let us
consider how we would apply basic acoustic treatment to this room...
Acoustic treatment should achieve one
of two things. Either it should make the room sound pleasant, or it
should make it as dead as possible. Sounding pleasant is best, but it
is difficult to achieve in small rooms. In a small room, such as the
smallest bedroom of your apartment or house that you want to convert
to a studio, it is often more practical just to deaden it as much as
possible. The reason for this has to do with the frequencies of the
standing waves that are created in small rooms, but that's a more
advanced topic for another occasion.
Suppose though that you have a fairly
large room, around twenty square meters or more. It's still made of
concrete remember. What you want to do is get rid of the ugly
reflections and replace them with a pleasant acoustic ambience in
which to make music.
What the bare room has is a small
number of very strong reflections. Small number - very strong. This
is important. So firstly you would need to consider absorbing some of
the reflected sound. This can be achieved in two principle ways...
Porous absorbers
It's easier to give examples of
porous absorbers than to embark on a long-winded scientific
description. Carpets, curtains and cushions are all great porous
absorbers. The "Three C's" of acoustic treatment perhaps.
But there's a cheaper material that makes an excellent porous
absorber - mineral wool. You will find this at a builders' merchant
in the form of loft insulation. It's intended for thermal insulation,
but it works extremely well for absorbing sound too. Fiber glass loft
insulation can work too, but mineral wool is more commonly used
professionally. The only downside of mineral wool is that it sheds
fibers and must be contained behind a fabric barrier. But you would
want to do this to make it look good anyway.
Porous absorption is great, but it
has one limitation - it only works well at medium and high
frequencies. To work well at low frequencies it has to be VERY thick,
or spaced away from the wall. A room that is treated only with porous
absorption will be dead at high frequencies but still reverberant at
low frequencies. Subjectively the room can sound rather oppressive,
to the point of not being a pleasant place in which to work. Having
said that, a room that has only porous absorption will be better than
a room that has no absorption at all. Those bare concrete walls,
remember?
Panel and membrane absorbers
Panel and membrane absorbers are
basically the same thing, but the way in which the terms are commonly
used changes according to the nature of the material used.
What we would normally call a panel
absorber is a wooden panel mounted on a frame that spaces it away
from a wall. The space behind the panel is completely enclosed. Sound
energy is absorbed in the meshing of the wood fibers as the panel
vibrates in response to sound. The panel absorber can be tuned to a
specific range of frequencies, according to a formula that includes
the mass of the panel and the spacing distance. It is perfectly
practical to tune panel absorbers to work well at low frequencies,
where porous absorbers struggle.
What we would normally call a
membrane absorber uses a flexible surface, such as a material with a
rubbery consistency. Where a hard panel will reflect some sound
energy and mid and high frequencies, the flexible membrane will
provide absorption in itself, regardless of the air-space behind. It
too can be tuned, but the panel absorber is more precisely tunable to
specific problem frequencies.
Diffusion
Absorption isn't the whole of the
story in acoustic treatment. Going back to the bare concrete room
with just a few strong reflections. These will occur at certain
frequencies dependent on the dimensions of the room. Having just a
few strong reflections, creating resonances at certain frequencies,
is subjectively unpleasant to the ear. It is much better to have many
weak reflections, which will create a diffused sound field within the
room.
This can be done with hard, irregular
surfaces. You can buy diffusers, or make them yourself. A bookshelf
filled with books of different sizes actually works quite well and
provides a combination of diffusion and absorption.
In summary, good acoustic treatment
consists of a combination of porous absorption, panel/membrane
absorption, and diffusion. Although the very best results will be
achieved through scientific methods and calculations, surprisingly
good results can be achieved through educated guesswork and
experimentation.
One more point...
Although professional recording
studios have separate recording rooms and control rooms, at Audio
Masterclass we recognize that most home recording studios have just a
single room. Ideally the requirements in terms of acoustic treatment
are different for recording and for monitoring, but there are methods
and techniques that can be used to get the best results according to
individual circumstances.
David MellorCourse
Director, Audio Masterclass
Wednesday, January 1, 2014 |
P.S. I have personally been dedicated
to Audio Education since 1986. Audio Masterclass has been online
since 2001. We have helped literally thousands of our enrolled
students make better recordings.
(end of article)
If you would like more information about Audio Masterclass follow this link:
www.audiomasterclass.com
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