BrunoTheThird

@banefirelord: Ah, glad you made it safe! Yeah, putting the ordeal of moving aside, you may actually be better off where you are now, I agree. It's not great, but yes, blessings counted.

You don't seem the type to easily go cuckoo, but I'll cross my fingers anyway, ha. How are you going to keep busy? Reading and stuff, or did you bring a console/PC with you?

Aw, that's so kind of you! I redeemed Pac-Man CE 2; really appreciate that, thanks so much. I will play the hell out of it, it's in good hands. Have a great day/evening!

@banefirelord: Totally, I hear you. You have every right to feel hurt; it's a sudden and extremely inconvenient turn of events no matter how you look at it. Anyone would feel a betrayal. You clearly don't want to put your dad at risk, either -- it's just a big headache for you. I'm really sorry, man.

I have to say that you've shown great character by having such sympathy for your friend even when their mental health has directly affected your own, and in such a high-anxiety situation. With an attitude like that, you'll always end up on the right side of fortune.

Keep us posted, please. Stay strong, and know that you have people thinking of you here!

@banefirelord: Well that's a big kick in the teeth... I'm sorry you had the ground disappear beneath you like that, and I'm sorry your friend's own issues have had this massive effect. I really hope you get something figured out soon and it's smooth sailing after you've overcome this shit-hill. I'm sure you will.

For what it's worth, good luck to you and your dad tomorrow. Stay strong!

@quipido: People like you help keep the world safe. Thanks for being vigilant and helping those in need. Good luck to you!

@49th: I really hope it isn't, even if you feel sure it is. I'm so sorry you're in pain and your body's having to fight shit off left and right. Hope those anti-biotics really help and I wish you the easiest recovery possible; keep us posted if you can.

I chew ten Oreos without swallowing, then spit the contents into one filling-free Oreo, thereby creating an Oreo with Oreo-flavoured filling.

I obviously don't do that, but it was fun making you read this.

@csl316: You're welcome, it's a real gem.

The first thing I did was buy FL Studio - Producer Edition, and spent a month learning basic stuff like how to quantize (sync the music with the DAW's tempo), how to chop beats up, basic panning, etc, plus learning all the useful hotkeys and whatnot. Same goes for any DAW. Ableton and FL Studio are the most popular ones on Windows, I believe. Once I was comfortable and familiar with it, I started to invest in VSTs and learn/apply more intermediate mixing/production techniques.

VST Recommendations:

1. Native Instruments Komplete 12 comes with high quality pianos, basses, etc., but also three of the most popular instruments/suites ever: Massive (an extremely versatile synth), Monark (a high-quality bass-synth inspired by the mini-moog), and Battery 4 (an amazing drum sampler with heaps of kits to play with). Together, these three were a musical playground for me, and crucial for getting my feet wet quickly. For guitar nerds, it also has Guitar Rig 5, which is great. Just plug in a guitar and go. I just use it to run my bass-synths throught its bass amps, though... always delivers.

Once you have mastered Monark, you may want to expand your bass-synth options. Monark is amazing, but a little limiting after a year or two. I bought a VST called SubBoomBass2 which has a vast selection of bass-synth sounds and an XY pad for quick sound-shaping, and it sounds ridiculously good.

2. LABS - a free VST with a lot of organic, beautifully recorded instruments made by the legendary Spitfire Audio.

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I would advise avoiding purchasing any dedicated reverb, compression, EQ, or other thirdy-party effects VSTs until you've learned how to use the ones included in your DAW. In fact, you may never need to upgrade. I WILL, however, recommend a couple that really add an analogue feeling to your music, and stop it feeling so cold or digital:

1. J37 Tape - this lets you add a little noise and other desirable qualities associated with classic genres. It makes your music sound like it was recorded on a tape machine, basically, like they did back in the day.

2. Decimort2 - GREAT for turning dry or dull sounds into dirty, distorted monsters very quickly. Sounds amazing on drums. I use it on every single Trip-hop and electronic song I make.

I am playing Yakuza Kiwami and love it, despite Majima's CONSTANT interruptions. I played 30 hours in 2 days, it's great.

I am more excited about what I'm going to be playing, though...