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Gearjunkies Home Blog http://blog.gearjunkies.com/blog/1_gearjunkies_home_blog bambamstudio 2008-11-20T12:03:37Z your procuction a marketing wonder? check it with Music Xray software http://blog.gearjunkies.com/blog/1_gearjunkies_home_blog/archive/72_your_procuction_a_marketing_wonder_check_it_with_music_xray_software.html <div class="bodyCopy"> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.platinumblueinc.com/tabid/67/Default.aspx">Music Xray</a> from <a target="_blank" href="http://www.platinumblueinc.com">Platinum Blue inc</a>. is a new technology that allows music professionals to see their music and their market in ways that were impossible until now. With these new insights, better decisions can be made regarding the potential market success of a given song.</div> It has long been known that music and math are closely related and that in a sense, music IS math. Recent research has shown strong evidence that most hit songs conform to a limited number of mathematical patterns. These patterns cannot be detected by the human ear much in the same way the doctor cannot be see with the naked eye that which the medical Xray reveals. More than 90% of singles that are released and promoted by music labels do not chart and do not provide the labels with a return on their investment in spite of sounding and feeling like potential hits. This leaves label executives, producers and musicians themselves scratching their heads wondering what went wrong. Now, we are able to point to the mathematical properties of the song as a strong indicator of potential success. Music Xray does not tell you if a song sounds like a hit. That’s an evaluation for the human ear and mind. It also doesn’t tell you if the artist is appealing or if the label knows how to get a single into the market. It does tell you however, if the song has the "optimal mathematical patterns" to become a success, a necessary but not singly sufficient condition for having a hit.The Introductory level of directional an analysis. $10 per song, so you want to know if you have a big selling song? check it <a target="_blank" href="https://www.musicxray.com/tabid/60/default.aspx">here</a> General 2007-06-25T16:41:55Z bambamstudio Sad news from ImageLine - Arguru has passed away http://blog.gearjunkies.com/blog/1_gearjunkies_home_blog/archive/71_sad_news_from_imageline-arguru_has_passed_away.html For those of you who didin't know Arguru, he was a plugin developer at ImageLine. Imageline is the company behind the FL Studio software. Arguru created plugins for FL Studio and was a big contributor of the latest ImageLine software, Deckadance! Before his engagement at ImageLine he developed amongst others the DiscoDSP softsynth. So truly a big name in the music software scene.<img style="5px;" alt="arguru creator at ImageLine" src="http://blog.gearjunkies.com/blog/resserver.php?blogId=1&resource=arguru2.jpg" />Juan Antonio Arguelles, known simply as Argu, passed away on Sunday June 3rd as a result of a tragic car accident. His work has given tremendous inspiration to thousands of musicians, allowing them to create music using FL Studio.<a target="_blank" href="http://www.flstudio.com/blog/60_blog.php">Imageline</a> Gearjunkies 2007-06-06T05:24:52Z Auxillary EMI records is gone http://blog.gearjunkies.com/blog/1_gearjunkies_home_blog/archive/70_emi_records_is_gone.html Like the final track on Sergeant Pepper, like the Beatles themselves, the end for EMI came with a sob and a sigh. At tea-time on Monday, the world’s oldest record company declared losses of £264 million and no hope of recovery. A sale was announced to Terra Firma, an equity firm which will strip the ship for early resale, probably to Hollywood rival, Warner. A century of record history and the heart of British music was tossed onto the auction block with no regard for public sentiment or the devastating cultural consequences that attend the destruction of tradition.<div align="center"><img src="http://www.umojarestaurant.nl/layout/partners/EMI_logo.jpg" /></div> The sale price itself tells a large part of the sorry story - £2.4 billion is exactly half what EMI was worth seven years ago, when it sought an equal merger with Warner. Since then, CD sales have crashed – down 20 percent in the US in the first half of 2006 – and a succession of expensive signings, both artistic and executive, have ended in record payoffs. Maria Carey was sacked for £18 million after miserable sales, and the bosses who fired her were themselves chopped at Christmas. Eric Nicoli, the present chairman, will not depart unremunerated. To survive in what Nicoli called ‘challenging’ conditions, a company needs luck and EMI’s had run out. Robbie Williams never came close to justifying his £80 million deal , the Beatles Love remix fell short of expectations and Coldplay’s Chris Martin revealed the pressures that EMI was putting on its artists when he attacked ‘the slavery we are all under to shareholders’. Creative priorities had taken second place to share price and EMI’s technology was typically behind the times. The company almost went bust in 1954 by resisting long-playing records; it was the last label, in 1983, to adopt CD; and lately its download strategy has been sluggish. A Canute-like stubbornness was part of EMI’s charm, and of its innately British character. This was a company that made producers come to work in striped trousers; as late as the 1960s; George Martin remembers artists being sent home from Abbey Road for being improperly dressed. The Beatles, however, were no fluke. Rejected by every other label, they flourished in the peculiar EMI blend of classical discipline and progressive experiment that spilled onto Abbey Road tea-tables as musicians of all types jostled for session-break refreshment. Nowhere else could a passing string quartet have been dubbed onto a pop ballad, as it was in Yesterday. Nowhere else could Yehudi Menuhin, who recorded the Bach double concerto as a lad with his teacher Georges Enesco, have turned up 50 years later (before my incredulous eyes) with a 12 year-old Chinese pupil, Jin Li, demanding to perpetuate the legacy. Nowhere else was music nurtured amid the somnolence of Victorian mansion blocks. EMI was a unique alloy of past and future, pull and push. Ever since its foundation in 1898 as the Gramophone and Typewriter Company on Maiden Lane, behind the Savoy, it buried innovation behind a bluff façade. Head office forbade Fred Gaisberg to record Enrico Caruso; he went ahead anyway and created the first record star. The tempestuous Maria Callas could not have worked with any other label, valuing its sedateness as a counterweight to her furies. The Beatles did not call their album Abbey Road for nothing: it was the crucible of their art. The studio, a tourist shrine, was eerily quiet when I strolled past yesterday; it is locally rumoured to be up for development sale as soon as the parent company’s fate is settled. The removal of EMI rips the heart out of British music. As our only major player on the world stage, the third or fourth largest label internationally, its very existence served as a fulcrum for indigenous activity. Indies flourished in London from the 1960s on, but they could not have come into being without the centripetal energy of EMI and they cannot now survive without its clout. OnceEMI is gone, opportunities wither and creativity wilts. New bands in search of a voice will head for Hollywood, where the deals are done.The British sound is relegated to the level of Denmark’s. At EMI Classics, the writing is on the wall. Warner shut down its classical wing last year by means of an overnight email. If EMI falls into its clutches Simon Rattle, Nigel Kennedy and Ian Bostridge become homeless. Whatever the future holds for recording, this is the end of its island story. Weep as we may for the burnt-out Cutty Sark, a ship can be rebuilt and its objects retrieved from storage. EMI is a piece of heritage that died this week without protest or lament. No government grant can replace the dual loss of experience and opportunity. One man could have saved the company with a small dip into his personal fortune, but Sir Paul McCartney is otherwise preoccupied and evidently disinterested. EMI has gone the way of all stragglers in a cultural revolution. Its collapse was probably inevitable. But its extinction threatens to leave Britain a land without music – a culture without a musical voice in the coming download civilisation General 2007-06-03T11:58:08Z bambamstudio And the greatest synth ever is ........! http://blog.gearjunkies.com/blog/1_gearjunkies_home_blog/archive/69_and_the_greatest_synth_ever_is_.html Months and months we have enjoyed the fantastic series of our friends at SonicState with their Top 20 greatest synth. After much research and voting they gave us much pleasure in listing these amazing synths. Viewing the series with all the vintage beauty was very enjoyable. If you have missed any of the 8 episodes they can all be viewed at <a href="http://www.sonicstate.com/top20/" target="_blank">SonicState</a>. The TOP 20 in reverse order: 20.The Solina Kicking off the Top 20 at number 20 it's the ARP Solina. Produced by Dutch Organ manufacteurer Eminent as a bolt on for their organ range and later snapped up and improved by ARP, the Solina is as much a part of the 1970's as Skylab, tank tops, Richard Nixon and Starski & Hutch. Its sounds include horn and trumpet but the string was the thing with its pads and washes appearing on countless anthems during the golden era of disco, jazz-funk and beyond. Hear the full story from The Cure's Roger O'Donnell and Future Music's Jack Waterson. 19. Roland SH101 The first of many Roland's on the chart is the SH101 in at 19. The grooviest little Japanese monosynth made the most of it's single oscillator, but it's step sequencing just fell short of the mid 80's MIDI revolution. It was adopted by the ACID fraternity, guest appearing on a raft of early Techno & Rave outings as a soundalike TB303. 18. VCS3 (The Putney) It's Unique. It's Singular. It's Iconic. It's at number 18. This cute little monosynth housed in its distinctive wooden casing has a huge cult following and the significance of the Electronic Music Studios range in synthesizer history is undeniable.. Goldfrapp's Will Gregory and Portishead's Ade Utley enthuse wildly over this strange box of tricks that's as British as John Cleese eating Fish'n'chips with HP Sauce. By the way, yes, we know that there are also photos of Synthi A's and AKS's in this piece, please don't email us. (But thanks for caring!) 17. Clavia Nord Lead The Nord Lead is redder than most synths. Infact the redness of the entire Nord range cannot be understated. Nord synths are extremely, infact terminally RED. But let this redness not detract in the slightest from their importance and place in the history of modern synthesis. This polyphonic, multitimbral range with its Virtual Sound Modelling, analogue simulation and knob-rich control panel has spawned a deluge of imitators since it's mid 90's launch when it started its lineage that lives on today through the Nord Stage 88 and 79 and Clavia's virtual software. Synth collector and journalist Steve Huthwaite shows off his impressive synth collection and talks about all things Clavia. Oh, and we included some nice shots of Sweden to add some atmosphere to the piece! 16. E-MU Proteus 1 I know. Rack mounted modules just ain't that sexy. And as for the Proteus? Surely it's just a butt-ugly passion killer? Well, if you were trying to get some pop chart action in the early 90's, this 32 voice, 16 part multitimbral 1U rack mount gave you beer goggles and a hard on every time you went to use one of it's 16 bit ROM samples. Pianos, strings, guitars, horns, organs, drums all at your fingertips as well as 6 individual polyphonic outputs... Well hell-o, Proteus! 15. Roland Jupiter 8 The second and by no means the last Roland on the countdown is the Jupiter 8. Alot of folks may have given the JP8 a higher chart position, which illustrates just how fierce the competition for places on the Top 20 Greatest Synths has been. Anyways, The JP8 arpeggiator became the sound that was synonymous with the early 80's, pebble-dashing HI NRG dance tracks, library compositions and hits by Thomas Dolby, Simple Minds, OMD, Jan Hammer and of course Duran Duran. Chart topping Synth prefect Howard Jones sings the praises of everybodies favourite non-MIDIed, 8 voice, polyphonic, easy-to-programme, be-slidered, dream synth of the early 1980's. 14. Yamaha CS-80 In this segment we see Vangelis demonstrating the versitility of the Yamaha CS80. This 8 voice polyphonic beast had 22 presets (you'll recognise them all), independent hi and lo pass filters and a ribbon controller for extra expression. This huge analogue beast was only really affordable to the rock elite and although tremendously innovative for the mid 70's, it was quickly superceded by the Prophet V as the synth-to-the-stars. Listen out for it's unique sound on Bladerunner and David Lynch's Dune as well as countless Stevie Wonder and Jean Michelle Jarre records. Oh, and why is Vangelis dressed like he's just been to a wedding? 13. The Mellotron The Mellotron had to be included on the chart if only for it's remarkable contribution to the story of keyboard instruments. The tape replay system first appeared in the States on the Chamberlin and was later ‘adopted' (verb meaning copied or borrowed: ie. Stolen. Well, kind of) by three brothers, Leslie, Frank and Norman Bradley of Streetly Electronics in Birmingham UK for the Mellotron. The Bradley brothers adapted and improved the tape replay design which became popular with British Invasion bands like The Beatles, The Kinks, The Stones and the Moody Blues. Infact Mike Pinder of the Moody Blues started out testing Mellotrons at Streetley Electronics long before the keyboard was used to create the eerie, seductive string wash on the seminal 60's track Nights in White Satin. 12. Roland Juno 60 The second of Roland's affordable high quality synth range of the early 80's was the Juno 60. It's predessessor, the Juno 6 had no memory and was easily out classed by it's closest competition, the Korg Polysix. This later release featured 56 memory patches, but still no MIDI. The 24 dB/octave low pass filter and a three-position non-resonant highpass filter gave the Juno 60 distinctive and lush sounding bass and pad sounds that even outdid it's successor, the be-MIDI'ed and digital 106. 11. Oberheim OB8 The big and brassy OB8 was the last in the series of synths that included the OB-1, OB-Xa and the OB-X. Although MIDI-less, the digital buss system offered unprecedented connectivity for the time, allowing it to talk to the DSX sequencer, the DMX drums and other OB synths. It had 120 patches of memory, an 8 note arpeggiator and syncable VCOs. Apart from the Prince and Van Halen examples mentioned by Dave, the Oberheims were regularly used by acts like the Police, Paul McCartney, Thompson Twins, Simple Minds and KLF. 10. ARP 2600 OK, slight mistake here. Goldfrapp's Mr. Gregory cited the ARP 2600 as being the system used on the movie Close Encounters whereas that was more likely to have been its predecessor the 2500. But, hey it's a great story anyhow so just enjoy it and let's remember that the 2600 has an even greater film legacy as it was used by Skywalker Sound to make the bleeps and widdles for the R2D2 voice in Star Wars. Hey-hey, movie buffs! This semi-modular, monophonic patch-cabled beast was produced in direct competition with the Moog modulars of the early 70s and became so popular that its fearsome reputation survives to this day, a quarter of a century after the demise of the ARP foundation. 9. Access Virus German synth lords Access introduced the uber cool desktop 'A' model in 1997 with the Virus 'B' mopping up all the success in 1999. The ‘B' was a 24-voice, 3-oscillator upgrade with 82 realtime FX and a 32-band vocoder. OS 4.0 was introduced to the range in 2000 (free to download) and upgraded the Virus into one of the best analogue modelling synths ever produced. The Virus KB was a full sized keyboard version with handsome wood panelling and the Virus Rack was released in 2001. 8. Roland JV-1080 One of Roland's most popular synths crashes in at number 8 on the countdown. You could find this 2U rack mounted unit in just about every jobbing composers studio in the mid 90's ready to add its lush pads and washes to any number of library or film score compositions. This ominous black box housed a 64 voice 16 part multi timbral workhorse with 640 patches, 128 performances and an expansion card slot for extra Techno, Orchestral and World music sounds. Sonic State's own Nick Batt reminisces about using this beast on his remixes as part of the dance duo, DNA. 7. Korg MS20 This dinky little 2 oscillatered monophonic lead and bass synth was mid range to Korg's MS10 and MS50. Its hard-wired patchable design was reminiscent of the ARP 2600 system (see episode 4) and although in a different league, the MS20 offered flexibility, portability and affordability for a whole new generation of synth-heads in the late 70's. Its classic looks and knob heavy front panel gave it instant cult status and it enjoys frequent renaissance periods with every new generation of electronic musicians. 6. Roland D50 The D50 competed with the DX7 and M1 with its PCM samples and Linear Arithmetic Synthesis to herald in a new era of digital sound technology in the latter half of the 1980's. It was the first keyboard with on-board digital reverb, and added chorus gave a unique width and depth to the D50 sounds making it as popular and desirable in the 80’s as a ‘Relax’ t-shirt and a George Michael mullet. 5. Korg M1 An obvious favourite of the professor’s (!!), the M1 defined the term ‘workstation’ to a host of 80’s musicians and became one of the best selling synths of all time. With demos by William Horne and an exclusive interview with Keith Emerson’s engineer (Gmedia Music’s Chris Mcleod) we outline the importance of A1 synthesis, and the iconoclastic effect of the M1 on a generation of composers and music producers. M1 users included Mike Oldfield, Rod Argent, Gary Numan, Banco De Gaia, The Orb and Depeche Mode. 4. Yamaha DX7 It's the early 80's. Michael Jackson's Thriller and poodle rockers like Def Leppard and Motley Crue dominated the charts. The Eurythmics release Sweet Dreams, New Order release Blue Monday and Yamaha release their DX range of FM synthesisers. This was a very different time, folks, and the flagship DX7 becomes one of the most popular digital synths ever due to it’s crystal clear sounds and emulations of acoustic, string, wind and percussion instruments. But it outraged and alienated many with it’s indecipherable interface and split the synth world asunder with a raging debate that is as fierce today as it ever was. 3. Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 Perhaps considered the quintessential synth of the 1980’s, the Prophet 5 was the flagship of Dave Smith’s Sequential Circuits range. It had 5 voice polyphony with 2 oscillators per voice, patch memory storage and 40 (count ‘em) glorious presets. Apart from introducing micro processing, polyphony and patch memory to synth design, Dave Smith was also the driving force behind MIDI (in fact he coined the phrase). 2. ARP Odyssey At a time when modular synths were elitist, unobtainable and hideously expensive, the Odyssey offered the perfect alternative. This lightweight portable 37 note duophonic keyboard could be used for studio recording or in live situations. Although racked with tuning problems, many bands and artists took this rival to the Mini Moog out on the road in the early 70's, where it forged a reputation that lives on to this day. The Odyssey was produced in 3 models. An off-white version, a black and gold version and the most common, a black version with orange livery. Later versions had good CV/gate interface and the mark 2's were fitted with XLR outputs. And here it is, ... the Greatest Synth ever: 1. Mini Moog Without a doubt the Mini Moog displays all the qualities of greatness that you could hope for in a single instrument. When it went on the market in 1970 it changed the face of modern electronic instrumentation forever. It's features and layout were innovative, groundbreaking and meticulously designed. By the time the prototypes had reached Model D, many of its idiosyncrasies had been ironed out and musicians and producers alike were able to enjoy it’s unparalleled sound.<img alt="minimoog" src="http://blog.gearjunkies.com/blog/resserver.php?blogId=1&resource=minimoog2.jpg" /> Its arsenal of features include a 4-pole (24 dB/oct) low-pass with the typical cutoff, resonance, ADSR envelope and keyboard tracking controls. The filters were the envy of all other synth manufacturers and rivals ARP were slapped with a lawsuit for attempting a straight copy in the ARP Odyssey. The modulation possibilities range from the sublime to the extreme and with 3 oscillators and a choice of waveforms all the necessary tools are present to create a wide range of synthesised sound. Add to this external sound processing, A440 reference tone, a sleek wooden casing and lots of sexy knobs and it becomes clear why the Mini Moog comes out top of the pile. To view the whole text and/or the video episodes, visit our friends at <a href="http://www.sonicstate.com/top20/" target="_blank">SonicState</a>. Months and months we have enjoyed the fantastic series of our friends at SonicState with their Top 20 greatest synth. After much research and voting they gave us much pleasure in listing these amazing synths. Gearjunkies 2007-05-23T06:49:36Z Auxillary Gearjunkies at MySpace http://blog.gearjunkies.com/blog/1_gearjunkies_home_blog/archive/68_gearjunkies_at_myspace.html Yes, you can be our friend too! From this day, <a href="http://www.gearjunkies.com" target="_blank">Gearjunkies</a> has his own place at <a href="http://www.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=music&MyToken=278a9a97-a573-4dd2-b1e0-9258f4a70232" target="_blank">MySpace Music</a>.<img src="http://www.bigdandbubba.com/images/myspace_logo.jpg" /> So wanne be our friend? Add us at <a href="http://www.myspace.com/gearjunkies" target="_blank">www.myspace.com/gearjunkies</a>. Our Myspace website is still under construction. Now on Ebay 2007-05-21T02:33:09Z bambamstudio Buy your own pop band: ninteens band Rednex for sale http://blog.gearjunkies.com/blog/1_gearjunkies_home_blog/archive/67_buy_your_own_pop_band_ninteens_band_rednex_for_sale.html It's a first - even for show business! A successful pop band with dozens of international Top 10's and No.1's in over 15 countries is actually for sale.<img src="http://www.popbandforsale.com/Cotton2_200.jpg" /> the buyer gets it all: -The Music - the Trademark - the Band -The Tour - the Record Deals - the Web Site -The Record Releases - the Plans - the Contacts -The Contracts - the Styling - the Catalogue (all previous hits and recordings) -And of course… ... the opportunities… ... the future... <table width="400"> </table>Rednex is one of the classic party bands that emerged in the mid 90's. They have sold over 10 million records and scored No.1's with hits such as Cotton Eye Joe, Old Pop In An Oak, Wish You Were Here, Spirit Of The Hawk etc. <a href="http://www.popbandforsale.com/popbandforsale.html" target="_blank"></a> <div align="justify"> In 2006/2007 they had another three gold-selling Top 10's (Mama Take Me Home, Fe Fi & AnywayYou Want Me) and continued their never-ending tour with nearly 100 performances. A new album has just been recorded and will be released through Universal Music in September 2007.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">The price? The starting bid is $1.500.000</div><div align="justify">More info: <a target="_blank" href="http://www.popbandforsale.com">www.popbandforsale.com</a> or on <a target="_blank" href="http://cgi.ebay.com/Rednex-The-Band-Is-For-Sale_W0QQitemZ300101366356QQihZ020QQcategoryZ50973QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem">eBay</a></div> Now on Ebay 2007-04-17T11:12:49Z bambamstudio Servers are moving... http://blog.gearjunkies.com/blog/1_gearjunkies_home_blog/archive/66_servers_are_moving.html The moving of Gearjunkies has started. This week we will have finished moving over the Gearjunkies.Network (where you login) and the main Gearjunkies website to our new and flashy Sun-machines! Tonight you won't be able to login, as the Gearjunkies.Network is moved to its new destination. We expect everything to go flawlessly... hey, that's how technology works right? :) Gearjunkies 2007-03-20T15:11:01Z dopey MIDI is the future of game audio http://blog.gearjunkies.com/blog/1_gearjunkies_home_blog/archive/65_midi_is_the_future_of_game_audio.html Jason Page and Michael Kelly spoke to GDC attendees about creating next-generation audio on the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.us.playstation.com/PS3">Sony Playstation 3</a>. In a surprising discussion, Sony's Jason Page admitted that the future of video game music may be based in technology that's considered antiquated by most: <st1>MIDI</st1>. Many developers have been moving away from <st1>MIDI</st1> to pre-recorded, orchestrated background music, but in the process, the interactivity of game music has been sacrificed. The incredible processing power of the next-generation consoles has changed the rules of <st1>MIDI</st1>: gone are the days where <st1>MIDI</st1> sounds like R2-D2 singing. <st1>MIDI</st1> samples used by consoles can be just as good, if not better, than the samples used on dedicated synthesizers. Because <st1>MIDI</st1> loads in real-time, it retains the interactivity that composers like <a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koji_Kondo">Koji Kondo</a> would need, and it would allow games to load more quickly.<o> </o> <st1>MIDI</st1> in the next-generation could potentially retain the same fidelity that an orchestrated score might have. With the increasing need for interactive 5.1 and 7.1 music and audio in games, the sound of "chip music" may change quite drastically in this new console generation.Source <a target="_blank" href="http://www.joystiq.com/2007/03/08/midi-is-the-future-of-game-audio/">www.joystiq.com</a> General 2007-03-12T15:11:33Z bambamstudio If you like Synth Pop, the BBC loves you! http://blog.gearjunkies.com/blog/1_gearjunkies_home_blog/archive/63_if_you_like_synth_pop_the_bbc_loves_you.html If you really, really like Synth Popmusic you have to check out the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/events/future/topten.shtml" target="_blank">BBC 6Music</a> website. This music channel for alternative music has a very cool Top Ten for you. Here's the chart in full: 1. Gary Numan/Tubeway Army – Are Friends Electric? 2. A Flock Of Seagulls – Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You) 3. Duran Duran – The Chauffeur 4. John Fox – Underpass 5. Daft Punk – Da Funk 6. Kraftwerk – Trans Europe Express 7. Gary Numan – Metal Who 8. Naked Lunch – La Femme 9. Men Without Hats – The Safety Dance 10. Kraftwerk – The ModelBest of all is you can listen to the tracks in FULL and any time you want. Isn't the internet cool or what? Just enjoy them as I did, over and over, and over! The BBC gives us the top ten Synth Riffs ever. General 2006-12-04T06:05:24Z Auxillary Server issues... http://blog.gearjunkies.com/blog/1_gearjunkies_home_blog/archive/62_server_issues.html Gearjunkies is getting bigger and bigger, which is pretty cool, but lately we're suffering from serious server issues. We're trying to deal with this in the best possible way, but in the meantime we apologize for our downtime. This is not what we want! Right now we're patching and tuning the server to keep up with everything, but we're working out a bigger plan that supports future growth to the site. This is especially important because of the work we're already doing for the Gearjunkies 2.0 site, offering an even better and more exhaustive way to give way to your gear lust ;)In the meantime, bear with us.. we're working on it! Gearjunkies 2006-11-26T09:40:46Z dopey