It's wierd how synchronicity can surface in a feller's life... Right at a time when my musical head is evolving towards the more "classical" end of things, products and technologies converge to make it possible... Namely, this Vienna Library, Hans' incredible library of sounds, the new capacity to build relatively low-cost, high-powered computer clusters, and, finally, the amazing Altiverb, and other Impulse Reverberation systems, (including VSL's own MIR system) to create virtual room sounds without using reverb. As a result of all these converging technologies, music that's been rattling around in my brain for two decades, repressed and shunted aside like an unwanted stepchild will actually have a chance to enter the world and be judged. To that end, and today is the day it gets turned on for the first time, I've built the following system in my loft: A Sony DMX R100 surround-ready mix console; a cluster of 10) 2.4 ghz PCs (9 of which will run Gigastudios--the 10th will be running VST softsynths and Nuendo), a ProTools/Logic Mac system, a 2000 sq ft room, an analog input rack of neve, telefunken, manley, pultec and fairchild, with a three-way mic rig of km54s and a u67, plus an elux 251 and some dynamics... whew! it makes my head spin just to think about. And the computer cluster can grow continually, quickly and cheaply as needed, thanks to AMD motherboards. This place is gonna....rock, sort of. Just as soon as I figure out how to work it. Wish me luck.

db