Founded by my good friend and fellow New Grounder: https://lostchronology.newgrounds.com/

This group is there to discuss the negative side effects of image generators and AI art like spamming of AI content, scamming of clients who are not aware that a work is AI generated, ethical discussions like data-sets being used and discussion on solutions for these different problems which we face. This group is not only for artists, but also for art enthusiasts, programmers, ethical people in the AI field who want to help with solutions and others.

Discord Invite link: https://discord.gg/4We4CNkbrj

Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/ArtistProtectionToAI/

Just in case it wasn't apparent, I am open to contributing to multimedia projects. If you have an animation or game you want music for, PM me about any tracks I have that you want to use. Just let me know a few simple things: The general theme of your game or animation. Whether it’s SFW or not. Whether it’s a paying prospect or if you are asking for a freebie. If I agree to be part of your project, I will provide a download link for the track you want or you can acquire the track through the bandcamp links I provide under each submission. Keep in mind, I can also easily isolate small sections of a tune and make loops out of them, if that is your preference.

Good luck with your projects. : )

Updating my recommendations for plugins and other music stuffs.

https://www.soundtheory.com/kraftur One stop shop for loudness. Add a decent brick wall limiter after and you're good.

https://www.sonible.com/smartlimit/ fantastic multi-band limiter

https://www.sonible.com/smartcomp2/ great tool for many purposes.

https://babyaud.io/smooth-operator-plugin my goto for taming/exciting

https://soundghost.net/product/jumble/ great easy to use, simple, sample based grove machine

https://www.waves.com/plugins/element#element-tutorial-with-yoad-nevo one stop shop for old school trance and techno synths

https://www.waves.com/plugins/l2-ultramaximizer#how-to-limit-mixes-masters-peak-limiters great for individual tracks to catch peaks

https://www.waves.com/plugins/linear-phase-multiband-compressor Great for a little transparent smoothing and glue

https://www.meldaproduction.com/MSaturator a must for adding loudness and warmth without eating dynamic bandwidth

https://www.meldaproduction.com/MLimiterMB useful for controlling bass levels

https://d16.pl/phoscyon2 the BEST 303 emulation I have ever used, period.

https://sixthsample.com/deelay/ might be the only delay plugin I actually need

https://www.molecularbytes.com/mbcms/index.php/products/atomicreverb great for natural subtle verbs. Activation is a bit annoying though

https://babyaud.io/spaced-out-plugin one stop shop for quick wow factor. Quick and easy to use.

https://www.loopmasters.com/ very hit or miss but the resent pack of Ukrainian vocals I got was ace.

https://www.applied-acoustics.com/chromaphone-3/ expensive but very nice

https://www.tokyodawn.net/tdr-nova/ too useful not to have and it's free.

https://www.naniplugin.com/ one stop shop for all distortion needs. quick/easy use. Comes with free boobs + a banana.

https://bertom.gumroad.com/l/denoiser extremely useful multiband denoiser

https://a1audio.alexhilton.net/a1stereocontrol very simple but a must for keeping phase issues out of your bass or drum bus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Roddenberry

In defense of Gene, he may not have always practiced what he preached, but anyone who’s being honest can tell you, it’s never about the perfection of the artist, it’s about the perfection of the artist’s vision. Gene’s vision was of a future no longer chained within the paradigm of racism/sexism/materialism. Original 1960s trek was camp as hell but hidden within it’s dated 1960s production lay the gems of Gene’s vision. This one scene was arguably more racially liberating than anything next gen or current trek has ever done: https://youtu.be/2BBOWsWODX4

Though life and the industry often got in the way, Gene understood what a real progressive show would be. He understood that words only have power, if you give them power. During the run of original star trek, Gene was asked about Uhura and the message he was trying to convey. Someone said to him point blank “you know Gene, I know what you are doing here”, Gene simply smiled, put his finger to his lips and replied “shh”.

It seems Gene knew he was preaching peace and that the industry didn’t want it. This is likely why he was so apposed to the direction the writers of next gen wanted to take the show years later. Forbidden words and displays of blacks and whites at odds. It is this “drama” that keeps everyone held in the racist paradigm. Gene didn’t want next gen to be like that. He didn’t want “good dramatic television” full of “character conflicts”. He wanted next gen to be truly progressive. Showing humanity, we didn’t NEED conflict among ourselves to feel accomplished. Gene wanted to show people what humanity could look like once we had given up our addiction to drama and truly stepped out of the negative paradigm. It all starts with your entertainment shows.

If you want peace/unity in real life, you show peace/unity in fiction. If you want words of hatred to have no power in real life, you show those words of hatred in fiction being said aloud having no effect on those who hear them. Inversely: If you want conflict/division, you show conflict/division. If you want words of hatred to have power, you show those words invoking an effect in those who hear them. Pain, fear, rage, conflict to the point where the word must be forbidden. This forbidding elevates such words into the immortal realm of gods and religions. Skeptical? So were some trek fans but what word comes off as more powerful? One that is said in plain English and nobody even flinches? Or one who’s mere abbreviation invokes fear, hatred, conflict, rage? It’s simple psychology. It matters not the claimed “moral” of the story at the end of each episode. What the human subconscious remembers, is the conflict. The drama. The power of a word made legendary by it’s forbidden status.

Many hated Gene for understanding this.

Even trek fans were glad when he was out of next gen production and the show took off in popularity round season 3. The fans wanted drama and they got it but they were all duped. The same entertainment industry that wanted to kick Gene off his own creation, is the same industry that, to this day, feeds you images of blacks and whites, men and women, at odds. Drama. Conflict. Forbidden words of power. While this industry claims to work towards ending racism/sexism, they knowingly fuel the fires. They know most people believe it when they lie saying “we are trying to end racism/sexism”. They know, so long as they keep you all divided fighting amongst yourselves, they can rule and make slave of you all. Regardless of your race/gender/orientation. You wont likely even realize it’s happening. Make no mistake, the “progressive” industry isn’t progressive. It WANTS to keep us in the paradigm of racism/sexism/materialism. It wants to keep us addicted to drama, conflict and fearing words.

While the modern woke mob will probably try to cancel Gene’s character through revisionist history, some of us did not miss that little scene with Uhura. She delivered that line in a way that showed in no uncertain terms, she was not slave to the emotions of an old negative paradigm. She was not mad, not sad, not afraid, or even offended, she was enlightened. She was FREE. That word of hatred had no power, because it was no longer given any power. It was not forbidden. It was not feared. The word of hatred died out in the open. Withered in the shining calm of mental enlightenment. It was one of the most liberating, peace making things I have ever seen. It still brings a tear to my eye. Though I first saw it in very old washed out reruns as a child, it’s impact was monumental. I will never forget that moment. I will never forget what mister Roddenberry tried to do.

Rest in peace Gene. : )

Tell Congress to Stop “Mandatory Filing” for Supplements

https://www.protectkratom.org/congress?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=615dce5c-5c71-444a-94db-4196d791fa3c

That link is provided by a specific herbal protection group but this bill will effect ALL supplements not just that one herb! The FDA wants to regulate vitamins and supplements in general now. Regulate is just another word for control for profit.

The big pharmaceutical companies don't want the competition of inexpensive herbal remedies or vitamins getting in the way of their profit margins. Pharmaceutical companies use the FDA as a gate keeper to stop any product that would threaten big pharma. Many people including my self rely on inexpensive safe herbal and vitamin based products because western chemical medicine failed us or made our problems worse. There is only one week left to make your calls/emails.

I don't usually post political journals but this one's very important. If they force mandatory filling, most alternative treatments will be regulated out of existence and what's left will likely be made "by prescription only". Meaning far less selection, more red tape and MUCH higher prices. Big pharma tries to scare people into giving them more power. "this man killed himself by taking an entire pound of vitamin C. You see, you aren't capable of not killing yourself stupidly. Regulate everything for your safety so we can rule you and make shit loads of money". The same kind of propaganda that demonized weed for years till we all found out, it was mostly made up stories and really dumb extreme examples that were the only proof showing how "dangerous" it was. Terns out the truth isn't what they told us. No different now with herbs and vitamins.

The FDA isn't in the habit of approving cures or things that are effective yet inexpensive. Cures have long been known to be "unprofitable" since the patient isn't forced to continue buying meds if they have been cured. You might be surprised how many common products classify as supplements. Even stuff as simple as herbal tea, cough drops or natural bathroom products will likely be on the chopping block. Anything that currently says "not approved by the FDA" on it's packaging will likely disappear if mandatory filing is enforced and big pharma will NOT be giving you anything inexpensive and effective to replace it.

This word is one to remember: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Machiavellianism

Machiavellianism Ma·​chi·​a·​vel·​lian·​ism | \ ˌma-kē-ə-ˈve-lē-ə-ˌni-zəm: is a malevolent personality trait whereby a person will exploit, abuse, and manipulate to achieve their goals. Machiavellism is one of the traits in the Dark Triad; along with psychopathy and narcissism. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_triad

Those 3 traits are probably the most important bit of human psychology to memorize and become good at identifying. Everyone knows what a narcissist is and what a psychopath is but I seldom see anyone talk about Machiavellianism. I can't count the numerous times myself or others I've known have been victimized by THOSE type of people. The worst part is, you usually don't realize what's happening, till it's too late and you get that knife in your back. They usually present themselves in such an appealing way. The way that totally disarms you and your peers, gaining unquestioning trust.

Machiavellian Personalities: https://www.learning-mind.com/machiavellian-personality-signs/

These people are cowards who excessively rely upon an unspoken 2nd triad of social tactics:

#1 plausible deniability: The ability to deny any involvement in illegal or unethical activities, because there is no clear evidence to prove involvement. The lack of evidence makes the denial credible, or plausible. The use of the tactic implies forethought, such as intentionally setting up the conditions to plausibly avoid responsibility for one’s future actions. {Details/extended reading: https://politicaldictionary.com/words/plausible-deniability/ }

#2 alinsky tactics: "Ridicule is the most potent weapon. There is no defense. It is almost impossible to counterattack ridicule. Also it infuriates the opposition, who then react to your advantage." If the target is a concept, if you attack the person who is most effective at presenting it, you have personalized and polarized the concept and can thus attack the person’s most controversial weaknesses. On the person, don’t let up the pressure, ridicule them, threaten them (because power is mostly what the enemy thinks you have so the threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself), avoid the issue because that is their knowledge, avoid what they know and you don’t know, get them into what you know and they don't. Attack them for not living up to all of their ideals regardless of how small, because no one can. Make sure your people enjoy insulting and humiliating them, but don’t use the same tactic all the time — it will bore your people. {details/extended reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rules_for_Radicals#The_Rules }

#3 the Hegelian Dialectic: Cognitive dissonance/controlled opposition/PROBLEM — REACTION — SOLUTION in that firstly you create the problem; then secondly you fan the flames to get a reaction; then thirdly you provide a solution. The solution is what you were wanting to achieve in the first place, but wouldn’t have been able to achieve under normal circumstances. {details/extended reading: https://kennethmdouglass.com/the-hegelian-dialectic/ }

When you encounter people of the dark triad, kick them OUT of your life. Call them out immediately on their manipulations and do NOT let them bully you into thinking you are in the wrong for doing so. They are abusive social predators, if ever there were ones.

Stay safe.

Peace.

lol Ok so I got recommended a youtube video that claimed, 528Hz is the master frequency of the universe and it's the center of the electromagnetic spectrum and the only frequency where visible light is the same as sound: https://youtu.be/0nO48UIzLk8

There are so many things wrong in that video. To start: Audible sound ranges from 20Hz to 20,000Hz. The section of the electromagnetic spectrum that consists of visible light is 400–790 Terahertz.. Visible light is measured in Terahertz not Hertz. Terahertz is abbreviated as “THz”. 1 Terahertz = 1,000,000,000,000Hz. There’s a range of 390THz for all colors in the rainbow. Half of 390 is 195. 195 plus 400 is 595. The dead center of the visible color spectrum is 595THz or 595,000,000,000,000Hz. The video is off by 67,000,000,000,000Hz. Anyone who can: Do simple math, use a calculator or perform a simple internet search, can easily find this out. Visible light is trillions of Hz higher in frequency than audible sound. 595THz is not even the dead center of the electromagnetic spectrum as a whole. The entire electromagnetic spectrum ranges from less than 1Hz to over 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000Hz or 1 times 10 to the 25th power Hertz.

The video claims the solfeggio frequencies are the core of the universal structure. This requires these 9 tones to be in harmony with each other, otherwise the structure would be unstable and fall apart. Like a building made of ill fitting bricks. The video says straight out though, that 2 of the solfeggio frequencies when played together are dissonant. Dissonant means not in harmony. Tesla said the key to the universe is 3 6 9. The solfeggio frequencies have 3 as a common whole number multiple but not 6 or 9. When played together many of the solfeggio frequencies are dissonant with each other. You can check this on a goniometer with 2 tones playing simultaneously, with each tone panned to an opposite stereo channel. (Yes I have done this in logic pro x). Truly harmonious tones when combined in this way, will create a stable waveform, not something that stutters and shakes with instability. You can literally SEE it.

So this video claims there’s this global group of bad people who changed music tuning to 440. People who control every mainstream form of media and communication. Every mainstream platform. That includes youtube. If the video was correct, it wouldn’t be up on youtube for everyone to see. It wouldn’t stay up for years on end. It wouldn’t be in my recommendations feed which is created by an AI owned and programmed by those very same bad people who rule the world and whatever.

This video compares radio static to being the “bad thing” you’ve been tricked into listening to. No mention at all that radio static is actually what nature sounds like. Human technology doesn’t create static. Static on your radio is what radio sounds like WITHOUT humans broadcasting. That static, that sounds like rain, is the sound of the Aether. The universal ocean. The video is so in tune with the natural universe, it uses one of the most natural sounds in existence as an example of something “bad”.

Oh and the video plays music over it. Guess what that music is tuned to? Not the solfeggio frequencies. It’s 440Hz even temperament. The exact thing the video is saying will kill you. Anyone can check it by playing reference tones on onlinetonegenerator.com

Thanks to modern DAWs, you can compose, edit and produce your music all by your self. It takes some know how and practice but it’s not prohibitively difficult, nor expensive.

Now many will tell you that "do it your self" production isn't good enough. That no one will like your tune if it never gets passed leveling stage. That you MUST get professionals to process/mix/master your tunes.

I say nay.

Don’t let anyone convince you that your art isn’t good enough without the “professional” treatment. If you are competent enough to do good leveling on your tune, you are already at 90% completion in the music making process. If your music isn’t good enough by then, it’s not good music to begin with and you do not benefit from pretending it is.

Before I continue I should explain some terms: "Tracks" often refers to audio channel assigned to individual elements or instruments. "Leveling" is the act of adjusting the sonic character and volume of each instrument or element in the tune, so they all fit well with each other. This is usually done by applying the appropriate production tools to each individual track such as: compression, expansion, equalization, limiting, automation, effects, gating, noise reduction, phase correction, ect. "Mains" refers to the stereo channel that all tracks flow into. "Monitoring" refers to properly designed and adjusted speakers that do not color the sound so they don't mislead your mixing decisions. "Room treatment" is the application of properly calculated acoustic materials so the room doesn't color your sound/mislead your ear. "Headroom" is simply how much level you have left before a sound maxes the meters and begins to clip (clipping bad).

Mixing is fine tuning the sonic character/color/balance of the tune. Mastering is polish. Nothing less but nothing more. I rarely see people ask: Will the mixing/mastering steps change the melody? The beat? The lyrics? The arrangement? If you have done a good job leveling your tracks, the answer is most definitely no. It’s just polish. It might surprise a lot of people but some of the most memorable pieces of music in our lives were not “properly mixed and mastered” by today's standards.

Now will professional polish make your tune sound better? Sure. It gives a piece of music that mirror finish. Before you spend a ton of money on professionals though, consider this: Most listeners aren't audio engineers. They neither care nor know what kind of processing has been done to your music. They only care if the music tickles their fancy. If it's good music to begin with, it will. A large part of what you are buying with professional processing is a stamp of approval from people and an industry that DOESN’T care about you, DIDN’T compose your tunes, AREN’T fans of your music and likely WONT ever purchase or support your art in general.

Expressing yourself deeply and honestly. Finding and connecting with your audience. Gaining exposure and revenue. THESE are the things that matter the most. If you are going to pay a professional to do something for your music, you'd be much better served hiring a promoter to get yourself exposure. Buzz is WAY more important than whether or not your tune is super polished.

But what about being loud? Streaming services standardize the playback volume of music. Spotify for instance, runs at -14iLUFs. So all you need to do is make your tunes "loud enough" and that's not hard to do. You don't have to mix to -4iLUFs or something ridiculous if you can't or don't want to.

If you are disappointed with the overall sound or loudness of you tune, take the time to master proper leveling techniques and don't rule out the power of proper plugins for the job. If you take the time to apply the right tools to each track and use a few critical plugins on the mains, you might be surprised just how good your tune can sound all by your self. Some of the most powerful types of tools I've found did NOT come with my DAW.

Here are some of my goto tools:

https://www.meldaproduction.com/MLimiterMB (though it acts more like a compressor it's great for controlling an overly bassy mix without trashing quality)

https://www.waves.com/plugins/l2-ultramaximizer#how-to-limit-mixes-masters-peak-limiters (indispensable tool for bringing your mix up to competitive loudness)

https://www.tokyodawn.net/tdr-nova/ (fantastic for individual tracks that have nagging EQ problems)

https://www.meldaproduction.com/MSaturator (for adding presence/loudness to wimpy sounds without eating headroom)

https://babyaud.io/smooth-operator-plugin (great for adding just a touch of expansion/compression to a mix)

https://www.meldaproduction.com/MLoudnessAnalyzer (indispensable tool for analyzing iLUFs loudness on the mains)

Last and not least is a fast response real time spectrum analyzer. Like this: https://www.meldaproduction.com/MEqualizer I don't own that last one because logic has one already built into it's channel EQ. It is however THE MOST USEFUL TOOL YOU CAN HAVE. Because no matter what you can or can't hear, you can ALWAYS SEE what's going on.

The biggest advantage to having your music professionally mixed and mastered is professionals have proper monitoring in a properly treated room (a very expensive thing to do). Not having this is the biggest oversight and weakness of DIY at home producers. It doesn't have to have such a huge impact on your music though. If you learn to use a real time spectrum analyzer, you can SEE what a pleasing sound profile looks like. You can SEE the major "problems" in your mix. You can see how effective your solutions are. This is a great way to get good leveling and even a little mixing done by yourself. You can use it on individual tracks/instruments as well! A lot of professionals will bad mouth "mixing by eye" but it is a fast and most importantly an at home ACCESSIBLE technique to get a tune well over the 90% mark.

I got most of my plugins and info for a fraction of the price I would have paid a mix/master engineer for processing just one album. : )

So youtube’s algorithms literally REFUSED to let me post this response. Jee, I wonder why?:

"People get annoyed when “experts” claim that the real life world/universe are digital. That real life is made up of a finite number of bits, just like what's in your computer. That it's actually analog and infinity that are the illusion. People get annoyed at that because it’s not scientifically sound. It’s a religious belief. A belief that sells an imitation as equal to or better than the real thing. Real physics continually points towards evidence that our reality/universe is continuous and infinite, not finite. Your computer is what creates illusions in a finite resolution. A mimicking of reality. A quick on line search of “the infinite fractal nature of the universe” will show, the whole word is not made up of finite bits like in a computer.

Doesn’t matter how high the resolution of digital. Analog means analog. Digital means digital. They are 2 fundamentally different things. That’s why we have 2 different terms. One is limited to the finite resolution of your computer, the other is not. Or have these “experts” discovered the end of the universe? (No they haven’t) Or perhaps a magic computer with infinite resolution? (No again) By the way, computers have 2 kinds of “bits” 1 and 0, the real world has how many types of “bits”? I suppose these “experts” have looked at your skin under an electron microscope and seen the 1s and 0s? It’s a joke, no they haven’t, because they aren’t there.

You can believe you (a human) aren’t analog but it’s about as true as flat earth. The human body IS continuous. There is no real end to the size of the particles you are made of. Every smaller particle is made up of even smaller particles, endlessly. Every time people claim “they found the smallest particle”, a decade down the line or so, science finds something smaller. The only thing that changes is our technological ability to “see” or measure smaller and smaller realms of the universe. A photograph is only made of pixels in a computer. Analog film developed by straight chemical processes (not an office printer) doesn’t quite work that way. When you hear live performance of analog instruments, there is no sampling rate.

I respect “experts” freedom to believe in what ever religion they wish but call it what it is: A religion."

No one can be free, who is not god of their own mind.

Believe it or not, most people who believe in god, don't actually believe anything. They believe what they are told. Because believing in god requires faith and faith is a function of the mind, one can not truly believe in a god, if said person is not already god of their own mind. Fore only someone who is god of their own mind can make a proclamation of faith with authority.

The new age teaches to become god but this concept’s context can be misleading. Being god of your own mind isn’t the same as being the “one creator god of the universe”. They are 2 different things. It is also not the same as solipsism (nothing exists outside of self). The outside world (the universe) and the individual (self/mind) exist separately at the same time. The 2 can work in opposition or unison. Be connected or disconnected.

A person can be a stable creative force in the universe, like a god, but only if said person is god of their own mind. Because creating stable lasting things in the universe, requires understanding the inner workings of the universe. Working with them not against them. This requires one to have god like authority of one's own mind. Otherwise one is a chaotic force, destroying as much as one creates, which in the end is a null effect on the universe. In the end, those who do not claim lordship over themselves, remain effectively nothing.

Since truth is beheld in the mind, one can not obtain lasting truth without being god of one's own mind, since all truth can be made a matter of relativity without the mind’s authority to assign logic in the form of deductive reasoning. When someone or something else is god of your mind, you are subject to that god. Slave to that god. If a person is god of their own mind, any concept or "truth" beheld is subject to themselves and no other authority.

https://youtu.be/k6lIx41uAJE?t=8

These examples alone are IMO plenty reason enough the Greek philosophers of old should be mandatory reading. : )