Learned about Soundfonts. These files carry the extension sf2 and are a collection of sounds that can be loaded into the memory banks of a compatible soundcard, such as the the Soundblaster Live. Soundfonts can be used to enhance the quality of MIDI playback at the hardware level, while additionally reducing latency and allowing for real-time play. Soundfonts can be uploaded to the card through the use of Vienna SoundFont Studio. You will either need Cubase or the official Creative drivers in order to upload Soundfonts to the sound card.

HammerSound has an extensive library of free and commercial soundfonts, though some of them are now defunct. For piano, I prefer the Steinway Model-C Grand Piano by Warren Trachtman.

Subscribed to Giganews. They provide unlimited downloads for twenty five dollars a month. Experimented with and introduced myself to professional audio applications; all have steep learning curves. Installed Propellerhead Reason and Sonic Foundry ACID Pro 4.0. These are loop-based music production tools much like FL Studio. It’s useful to have Sony Pictures Digital Loops for ACID as well for starter audio samples.

Also installed Cakewalk SONAR 3 Producer Edition and Steinberg Cubase SX. These products are MIDI sequencers. They are also extremely powerful when using Virtual Studio Technology (VST) instruments such as The Grand. And in the domain of music notation software, Sibelius 3 wins hands down. It is also fairly easy to use if you’re familiar with Noteworthy. I would eventually like to get the Kontakt Player Gold MIDI extension as well.

To fully utilitize these products, you’ll need the third-party kX Project audio drivers for the Soundblaster Live. These drivers provide the necessary Audio Stream Input/Output (ASIO) interface to reduce sampling latency to reasonable levels. You could also use the ASIO drivers provided by Cubase if you want, but kX is free and its latency is much lower.

Returned to Atlanta in the early morning. Adam successfully picked me up from the airport. Juan attempted to pick me up, but my flight came in late and he had to go to class. I imagine that I owe both of them a dinner at some point. I spent most of the day sleeping, sorting mail, and getting back into the swing of things. It’s good to be back.

The Manuel Tienda León shuttle picked me up from the apartment around five in the morning and took me to the station, where I hopped by bus for an hour or so to Ezeiza. US citizens have to pay a moderate airport tax in order to leave from Argentina. They accept US dollars. The flight with Air France to the Santiago airport went without a hitch. This time, I already knew what to expect when I arrived. The ten-hour layover was spent reading The Da Vinci Code and striking random conversations with the airport custodial staff in smiles and broken spanish. Met some interesting random passengers too. The Delta flight left for the United States around nine at night. I finished the novel on the way there.

Returned to Buenos Aires sometime in the early afternoon. It’s my last day here. Lots of downtime, but Roslyn and I were both worn out from the long bus ride. Italian lunch at the Rigoletto Cafe with spaghetti and a creamy pasta sauce. Dinner was a toss up between the Clásica y Moderna and the Notorious Bar. Both had live music, but we chose the latter because of Baltasar Comotto, a band that primarily plays jazz, soul and funk. Their music can be described as a cross between Stevie Wonder, Charley Parker, and Kurtis Mainfield.

Late breakfast at the Café Martínez. Ham and cheese sandwiches and friends are always a popular choice here in Argentina. Also had a very rich capuccino with chocolate and honey. The afternoon was a shopping affair at the Galerias Pacificos mall. It’s in a ritzy part of downtown Buenos Aires. The mall architecture is old, but beautiful. Roslyn and I purchased some nice shoes at the Mistral shop inside.

Although there are exceptions, entertainment doesn’t begin until early, one or two, in the morning. So we toured the Village Recoleta shopping center, the Plaza Naciones Unidos, and Plaza Francia, while ocassionally hopping to the local Locutorio, or Internet place, of which there is almost one in every block. The rate is about one peso an hour.

Dinner was had at the Hard Rock Cafe at one in the morning in the Buenos Aires Design shopping complex. The guitar shaped bar is a nice touch. What makes this particular Hard Rock unique is the constant presence of late-night live bands. The performance tonight was spectacular, with an interesting blend of Jazz and Modern Alternative. Reminded me of a cross between Reel Big Fish and Dave Matthews. Maybe. Still getting used to the culture and night life here.

Six hour layover in Santiago, Chile. It seems like a nice city to explore but transit tourists unfortunately aren’t allowed to leave the SCL airport. And things are a little confusing because no one speaks English here. Not to mention that my Spanish is awfully rusty. Anyway, the Air France flight to Buenos Aires was pleasant. The plane is one of the newer Boeing 777s, and has a neat touch screen console for every passenger. Roslyn met at the airport. Customs was not a problem at all. We left for her apartment via the Manuel Tienda León bus service. It’s a great location, right in the heart of the city. Small shops and restaurants for every interest everywhere you look.

The night was spent with an introductory tour of the neighborhood of Recoleta, where we passed over the Footbridge to the Universidad de Buenos Aires, home of the facultad de derecho. It was also in this vicinity that I had an amazing dinner at the Juana M. restaurant – a delicious bistec de chorizo with a creamy mushroom sauce, complemented by vino tinto and a salad bar. The service here, as with all restaurants in the area, was excellent. The strength of the US dollar simply provides an unbelievable amount of buying power here in this economically troubled country. At three pesos to the dollar, a little money goes a long way.