# The Return of Solid State Symphony! Update Available



## tcollins (Dec 31, 2012)

Hello VI-Control friends!

Solid State Symphony is a virtual orchestra created using samples derived from analog synthesizers instead of acoustic instruments. An early version was released in 2006, but was sounding a bit dated (ironic) and needed scripting to bring it to life. I also took the opportunity to record the samples in 24-bit rather than the original's 16-bit. This process, along with the editing, scripting, and GUI design took well over a year to complete.

Why in the world would we need an orchestra based on analog synth sounds? Well, it's kind of hard to explain, so I thought we could use...

The Back Story:
Imagine it's 1979, and you just got your first real composing gig writing the score for the City Planetarium's presentation of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nci6s8AGbhs (&quot;The Mysteries of Uranus&quot;). Great! Only there's a problem- it's clear that they are expecting a "big orchestral sound", but the budget doesn't allow for hiring a quartet, much less an orchestra. And you haven't even got a string machine anymore (ever since your Orp Omni "accidentally" flew out the back of your van). You were just about to turn down the gig, when you saw it at the mall piano store- The Orchesphonic System 340 Synthesizer! This 200 oscillator beauty could play several sounds at the same time, and even had a built-in step sequencer. You were sure that you could make room for it if you just got rid of the sofa. And the recliner. But, sadly, the $100,000 price tag (based on about $500 per oscillator at the time) put it out of reach. As it turned out, you were able to talk the music store owner into letting you use the mega-synth when the store was closed for a reasonable rate. The score was completed on time, the Planetarium folks loved it, and you learned quite a bit about our solar system's 7th planet!
Well, the Orchesphonic System 340 never existed, but if it had existed we would have sampled it, and it probably would have sounded like.....
Solid State Symphony, The Analogue Synth Orchestra!

Just to be clear, Solid State Symphony really does exist, and it has a unique, warm sound that is much more detailed than you might expect. It's also great for layering with acoustic orchestral sounds and for using as a sketchpad while composing. And it's only $40. Please check out the walk-through video below to see if it could be useful in your template. Everything in the video was played in real time, although I edited the final sequence to keep things moving. No additional processing (except limiting) was used. There will be special pricing for owners of the original Solid State Symphony, so please send me an email if this applies to you. Kontakt 4.2.4+ Full Version required.
Thanks,
T C
indiginus.com





EDIT: Here's a walk-through of Solid State Strings, which is part of Solid State Symphony-



UPDATE: Version 1.2 coming later today. Please email me with your original purchase data. Someday we'll have some kind of automated system for this, but please bear with us in the meantime.

Here are demos of some of the new presets:

*Warlord.* Features Big Drum sequence triggered on any key in the C1-B1 range. Note that during the first half of the piece only 2 keys are down at any time.
Epic fun.



*Big Drum.* Sort of timpanish/taiko-esque. The notes I'm playing are somewhat arbitrary, but the tone does vary a bit across the keyboard.




*Titania.* One of the moons of Uranus. Can't help myself.



*Impressionist.* Some 5ths in the orchestra. I like this preset because it makes me sound much more sophisticated than I am. 



*Outer Rim.* Billions and billions of ways to use this!


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## TheUnfinished (Dec 31, 2012)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Jan 1, 2013*

That looks like a huge amount of fun, well done! And it sounds damn nice. Sudden need to write the soundtrack to a 1980s children's TV programme!


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## mark812 (Dec 31, 2012)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Jan 1, 2013*

Fantastic GUI.


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## Wes Antczak (Dec 31, 2012)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Jan 1, 2013*

This is what I was thinking about the other day when people were discussing the Zebra soundbank. It's wonderful that we will now have both! Without a doubt I will be on board. Glad to see this project is now complete. Congratulations!


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## lux (Dec 31, 2012)

that was a fun project, welcome back!


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## Craig Sharmat (Dec 31, 2012)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Jan 1, 2013*

Love the way this sounds and works from the video anyway. 40 bucks, seems pretty darn cool.


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## dpasdernick (Dec 31, 2012)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Jan 1, 2013*

Wow! This is fantastic. You gotta' love a company that makes such cool instruments and has a sense of humor. From their website:

_What would a virtual orchestra have sounded like if all you had to work 
with was analogue synthesizers? It was a question that Indiginus felt 
compelled to answer. Why? Well, probably because we're not very good 
at market research, _

I am going to buy this for sure. Well done guys!

Darren


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## Sid Francis (Dec 31, 2012)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Jan 1, 2013*

First I thought it was a joke, making orchestral sound from analogue but: amazing how sweet this sounds. I am tempted to layer it underneath my orchestral libs....


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## damstraversaz (Dec 31, 2012)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Jan 1, 2013*



Sid Francis @ Mon Dec 31 said:


> First I thought it was a joke, making orchestral sound from analogue but: amazing how sweet this sounds. I am tempted to layer it underneath my orchestral libs....




I must admit I feeling that too !


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## George Caplan (Dec 31, 2012)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Jan 1, 2013*

anyone who can incorporate the mysteries of uranus into a sample library blurb will get and deserves to get 40 bucks. that aside this is worth every cent of 40 bucks for anyone and in particular for sketching and coloring out.


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## mk282 (Dec 31, 2012)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Jan 1, 2013*

Hahah, Mysteries of Uranus, I laughed my ass off.


Awesome work, awesome sound! My $40 will fly your way.



BTW, what was (or were) the analog synth(s) used to create the sounds?


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## TakeABow (Dec 31, 2012)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Jan 1, 2013*

I've had my eye on this for a while. Demos sounds pretty good.


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## Wes Antczak (Dec 31, 2012)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Jan 1, 2013*

Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I thought this was something that at least some people have been doing for years. I mean layering synths to sometimes get a new timbre or to reinforce certain aspects of the orchestra. 




damstraversaz @ Mon Dec 31 said:


> Sid Francis @ Mon Dec 31 said:
> 
> 
> > First I thought it was a joke, making orchestral sound from analogue but: amazing how sweet this sounds. I am tempted to layer it underneath my orchestral libs....
> ...


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## MaestroRage (Dec 31, 2012)

what an absolutely amazing and fun sound. Bought!


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## Alex Cuervo (Dec 31, 2012)

Holy moley that's fantastic! Looks like I'll be breaking my New Year's resolution on day one. Ha!


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## NYC Composer (Dec 31, 2012)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Now!*

That is so excellent! I just sent the link to 5 friends and will buy myself. The genius of this is that I had no idea I needed it til you made it!


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## tcollins (Jan 2, 2013)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Now!*

Hi eyeryone,

First, I'd like to thank our customers for their support during the release of Solid State Symphony! 

I really had no idea how well this product would be received, and I was "shooting in the dark" as far as features and the interface. As usual, all testing was done in our own studio while working on scoring projects and general music production. I welcome suggestions on improvements and new features.
I had thought about adding a "Custom" or "User" option to the menus of the Gated Pad, Pitchmod 1 & 2, and Bass elements, which would point to special "User" Groups where you could import your own samples. Obviously, this feature would require hitting the "Wrench" button and a basic knowledge of Kontakt's editing capabilities on the user's part. In the end I decided against it (didn't want to complicate things), but if anyone is interested it would be simple to implement.



mk282 @ Mon Dec 31 said:


> BTW, what was (or were) the analog synth(s) used to create the sounds?



They were actually mid-eighties poly-synths. They were chosen because of their warm sound that seemed especially well suited to creating orchestral sounds. That, and they happened to be in my studio! :wink: 



Wes Antczak @ Mon Dec 31 said:


> Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I thought this was something that at least some people have been doing for years. I mean layering synths to sometimes get a new timbre or to reinforce certain aspects of the orchestra.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Yes, it was common practice in the early days to layer analog synth "strings" with early sampled strings sounds, which often had a harsh edge to them. Now I'm showing my age. For instance, try layering the sustained strings from the Kontakt Orchestral library with Solid State Strings and use the mod wheel (or expression) to control vibrato.

TC


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## dinerdog (Jan 2, 2013)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Now!*

Layering did get a great sound (so many records had that sound), but I know for me, once I stopped using hardware the ease (and sound) of layering stopped. This brings that back without the midi hassle.

BTW, still loving (and using all the time) your acoustic guitar libs. : >


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## EastWest Lurker (Jan 2, 2013)

This sounds more musical to me than 90% of the mockups I hear done with high end libraries.

Great work, TC.


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## germancomponist (Jan 2, 2013)

EastWest Lurker @ Wed Jan 02 said:


> This sounds more musical to me than 90% of the mockups I hear done with high end libraries.
> 
> Great work, TC.



 

tcollins, this is very cool!


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## Leosc (Jan 2, 2013)

What a great instrument. Kudos, Tracy!


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## mk282 (Jan 2, 2013)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Now!*



tcollins @ 2.1.2013 said:


> I had thought about adding a "Custom" or "User" option to the menus of the Gated Pad, Pitchmod 1 & 2, and Bass elements, which would point to special "User" Groups where you could import your own samples. Obviously, this feature would require hitting the "Wrench" button and a basic knowledge of Kontakt's editing capabilities on the user's part. In the end I decided against it (didn't want to complicate things), but if anyone is interested it would be simple to implement.



This would indeed be very cool to add.

Might I also suggest using .NKA files for storing presets, as well? This makes it possible to have many more presets for all the various sections you can store presets in (ui_table presets included).

This feature works best in K5 because of the introduction of the new async_complete callback, though. So the patches would have to be updated to K5. But you could have K4 version alongside anyways.


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## toomanynotes (Jan 2, 2013)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Now!*

I agree totally. In the right hands this is lethal. :twisted: 

Great sounding stuff. Thanks..i cld do with something that doesn't tax my system for quick mock ideas. Cheers.


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## chimuelo (Jan 2, 2013)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Now!*

This is brilliant. Tomita type demos will be great.

I saw the name in the thread and though it was so ingenius I had to check it out.

Solid State Symphony....that's priceless.


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## Sid Francis (Jan 2, 2013)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Now!*

SSS is available obviously, very early in the morning here and I am off to work. But check the new string demos! This will definitely lie underneath some of my strings


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## ptrickf (Jan 3, 2013)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Now!*

...must...resist.....oops..it's in the cart. Oh might as well get it.


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## toomanynotes (Jan 3, 2013)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Now!*

how many instances would i have to open to use all instruments? what is the minimum ram requirement ?

Thanks


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## EastWest Lurker (Jan 3, 2013)

OK, I am starting to play with this and it is brilliant. Love it, love it, love it!


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## doctornine (Jan 3, 2013)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Now!*

Is it possible to any more fun than this with $40 ( other than having a very bad hangover ) ? I think not.

It's wayyyyyyyyy cool o=?


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## tcollins (Jan 3, 2013)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Now!*



mk282 @ Wed Jan 02 said:


> Might I also suggest using .NKA files for storing presets, as well? This makes it possible to have many more presets for all the various sections you can store presets in (ui_table presets included).
> 
> This feature works best in K5 because of the introduction of the new async_complete callback, though. So the patches would have to be updated to K5. But you could have K4 version alongside anyways.



Yes, it's about time to look at K5- especially for the new ways to store presets, but also for new ways to route effects. I'll break into the K5 script manual soon!



toomanynotes @ Thu Jan 03 said:


> how many instances would i have to open to use all instruments? what is the minimum ram requirement ?
> Thanks



Well, the demo is only one instance, but you could use several instances on different midi channels for strings, horns, automated elements, etc. I can run several instances on a MacBook 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo with 4 GB ram OS 10.5.8 without any problem.

TC


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## Alex Cuervo (Jan 3, 2013)

This thing is INCREDIBLY FUN! I'm loving it.


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## radec (Jan 4, 2013)

same from me fantastic fun and sounds great. freakin love it so far


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## Leosc (Jan 5, 2013)

SSS is such great fun to play. Easily one of the best libraries I've purchased in recent times.


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## toomanynotes (Jan 6, 2013)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Now!*



toomanynotes @ Thu Jan 03 said:


> how many instances would i have to open to use all instruments? what is the minimum ram requirement ?
> Thanks



Well, the demo is only one instance, but you could use several instances on different midi channels for strings, horns, automated elements, etc. I can run several instances on a MacBook 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo with 4 GB ram OS 10.5.8 without any problem.

TC[/quote]

thanks T


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## Will Blackburn (Jan 6, 2013)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Now!*

Looks brilliant


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## jtenney (Jan 8, 2013)

TC, I show my age too, as I participated in the very early Denny Jaeger string sampling sessions (in Berkeley California). I really like the sound of SSS and hope to try layering as others are doing. Thanks for the great work!

later,
John


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## EforEclectic (Jan 8, 2013)

SSS is a great value at $40 for what you get. Easy to make sound good, and layers in nicely with traditional libraries (and fits in great in other genres of music too outside of orchestral work)


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## tcollins (Jan 11, 2013)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Now!*

I added a video walk-through of Solid State Strings in the original post.

Thanks,
TC


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## 667 (Jan 11, 2013)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Now!*

Very cool! I have the "Analog Orchestra" freebie and it sounds great. I've been watching and waiting for this full release!

One suggestion on the walkthroughs: if you allow higher res in youtube you can get better audio quality. 480p and higher has a lot less compression on the audio as well as better video.


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## tcollins (Jan 12, 2013)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Now!*

I'll admit that YouTube baffles me. The first video shows the "HD" option, but the Strings video doesn't. I followed the same upload procedure for both. If anyone has a clue why this is please PM me so I can fix it.
Thanks!
TC


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## kgdrum (Jan 12, 2013)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Now!*

Solid State Orchestra is a great idea and sounds wonderful!
I will buy this in the next week or 2,it looks like It's fun to use as well as very useful library for the arsenal.
Are there any plans to add additional articulations like pizzicato, marcato, staccato etc....in the future?
Thanks 
KG

:mrgreen:


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## dpasdernick (Jan 12, 2013)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Now!*

I just bought Solid State Symphony and am totally happy with it. Great concept and fun for noodling around.

Tracy, thanks for making such an inspiring affordable instrument. I hope you can add on to it in the future.

All the very best,

Darren


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## Marius Masalar (Jan 12, 2013)

Holy crap! This has really matured nicely :D

For reference, back when Tracy released a "lite" version of this as a teaser, I wrote the following tiny ditty using just that lite strings patch and some synth arps:

[flash width=750 height=110 loop=false]http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F44861078&secret_url=false&theme_color=c8d1de&color=0066ff&comments_color=0066ff[/flash]

Guess I have to pick this up ASAP. Tremendous work, guys.


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## playz123 (Jan 12, 2013)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Now!*

I'm impressed. Even if one doesn't take the bargain price into consideration, this is definitely worth purchasing. It's great for creating mock-ups, providing inspiration and can even be used 'as is' in some situations. And I'm especially fond of two of the synth patches as well. Choral 1 played softly gave me some great ideas I can use with the new Mercury Boys Choir, and Outer Rim, at C5 and above, provides a very Kitaro-type sound that will work well in new age music and beyond. And I really like the interface; so easy to see all the controls, it's very colorful without being gaudy and the layout works extremely well. I know a few other developers who could use some help in that department.  Well done...and thank you!


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## TGV (Jan 13, 2013)

This is well done indeed. The overall sound is a rather synthy, but individual sections can sound pretty good indeed. And those loading times...


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## shakuman (Feb 13, 2013)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Now!*

Awesome! o/~ ..Thanks Tracy.


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## Alex Cuervo (Feb 13, 2013)

TGV @ Sun Jan 13 said:


> The overall sound is a rather synthy, but individual sections can sound pretty good indeed.



Hilarious.


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## tcollins (Feb 16, 2013)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Now!*

New update!
I posted some new videos in the original post.

New features:

-Added expression (CC#11) control of volume, individually adjustable per element.

-Added high velocity range setting for each element (rather that just low velocity).

-Big Drum. Big cinematic boominess. Can be played across keybhioard or in Rhythm sequencer.

-New orchestra, pad, and rhythm presets.

-You can now load custom samples in specially labelled Groups for use in PitchMod and Gated Pad elements.

-New preset nkis.

Please just email me with your original purchase data, and I'll send you a link!

TC
[soundcloud]https://soundcloud.com/indiginus/bear-river-open[/soundcloud]


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## Ah_dziz (Feb 16, 2013)

I'm gonna have to buy this and get my 80's synth score on.


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## ceemusic (Feb 17, 2013)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Now!*

Good news, looking forward to the updated version.
I find SSS very useful for many situations & chores.


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## NYC Composer (Feb 17, 2013)

*Re: The Return of Solid State Symphony! Only way better. Available Now!*

I just havent had time! Im a buyer, very soon


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## ptrickf (Feb 17, 2013)

Fantastic update on an already great instrument. Cheers, Patrick.


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## NYC Composer (Feb 20, 2013)

Bought. Awesomely fun to play, love the breadth and depth of the oscillators, lots of neat tricks. Well done.


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## Maestro77 (Feb 20, 2013)

Hi Patrick. I assume if I just bought SSS today that the update was included in my download? Thanks!


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## tcollins (Feb 21, 2013)

Yes, if you bought SSS after Feb 17 the update is incorporated into the download.


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## Maestro77 (Feb 21, 2013)

Thanks Tracy. This thing is a blast to play, really enjoying it.


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## mpalenik (Feb 21, 2013)

This sounds at least as good as my Roland XP-80 (which I haven't used as anything but a midi controller in a few years). I love the interface, too. I'm definitely going to buy this tonight.


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## Ah_dziz (Mar 31, 2013)

Finally got around to buying this. It is super rad!!!!
It should get plenty of use over here.


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## tcollins (Apr 1, 2013)




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