There is no doubt that Rock Band has been huge success in game, hardware and DLC sales. Several fans in the Rock Band community have requested EA to construct a double bass pedal. Double Bass Pedals are especially affective where speed is needed on the bass drum (i.e. Metal, Rock.) Being a fan of Rock Band, and Metal I thought to give this one a try.
It’s exceptionally simple to “construct” a double bass pedal for Rock Band. All you need is a headphone Y-adapter from Radio Shack, and an extra drum pedal. A drum pedal can be obtained by borrowing a friend’s pedal, or by purchasing a new drum set (not recommended.) You may also obtain one by using EA’s support site and “replacing” your drum pedal for $20. To construct the double bass pedal simply connect the headphone Y-adapter into the drum kit and bass pedals. Double check your connections and make sure everything clicks into place.
Here is a photo of my Rock Band double bass pedal:
Double bass pedals should help in bass heavy songs (i.e. Metallica, NIN, Iron Maiden, etc.) If I were a dummer in real life I’m sure I would have had better results. This double bass pedal setup requires you to alternate both feet quickly. The Rock Band pedal is designed to work in singles. This means open and closed circuits with no in-between middle contact. If one pedal is pressed down, Rock Band will not register the second pedal. In order for this to be effective one foot would have to be completely lifted off the pedal before the other is pressed. This requires speed, and precision, none of which I have.
Based on my drumming “style” (and lack of practice) this was far too dificult. I also felt the need to press harder on the pedal then usual. Perhaps this was caused by my frustration in effectiveness. Until Harmonix/EA releases a double bass pedal, this is your best option. Though I was disappointed with my results, I’ve seen excellent results from others using this method. For now I will continue to practice my single bass pedal technique.
[rating: 9/10]
Today, thanks to the lovely people over at Helio; Santos and I ended up getting hooked up with screening passes to Shoot ‘Em Up. I had recently saw the trailer, but once I arrived to the theater I realized that I knew nothing about this movie. So, maybe I was the perfect target audience to watch the movie, because I didn’t have any preconceived thoughts or opinions about the movie; now that I have seen it, this is what I thought…
**SPOILER ALERT**
The movie begins with Clive sort of hanging out on a bench, eating his carrot, unphased by the pregnant woman who happens to run by him– CRYING! He’s such an oddly monotone character and I must admit that I’ve alway wanted to see the human version of Bugs Bunny, who happens to be a great shoot. He aides some random woman when honchos are trying to kill her, he helps her give birth and somehow manages to shoot the umbilical cord to finish the delivery process. Needless to say, the woman ends up getting killed, so the rest of the movie he’s protecting this newborn child [Oliver] and trying to figure out who the hell is trying to kill him.
In order to feed the baby, he takes him to a brothel where Monica Bellucci’s character works. They help make men’s fantasies a reality, she handles the Freudian needs of men, though not explained in the beginning she’s lactating and he wants her to help protect the baby. She refuses and somehow the bad guys, led by Paul Giamatti’s character, end up finding her anyway. She has no information, but of course they’re hard-headed and don’t listen. It’s okay though, because Clive is always a hero in this movie. He shows up out of nowhere and kills off every bad guy in the movie. In some very unbelievable ways. The audience couldn’t help but laugh at a number of murder scenes. You may ask yourself, why?
How about, stabbing multiple people in the eye, chest and mouth with a carrot. YES, a CARROT! Somehow he has a whole stock of carrots throughout the movie, “it’s good for the eyes.” Also, how about shooting one guy multiple times in different parts of his body to make his reflexes shoot someone else? Or elaborate set-ups within a time span of 5 minutes that kill off about 30 extras. hahahaha. The movie was awesome you guys… I couldn’t decide if this was the best movie of the summer (since to me King of Kong and Live Free, Die Hard have that title), but so far I believe it’s the best movie of the fall.
I should’ve started this review earlier since I am not sleepy and feel as though I’m not telling you everything I should about the movie… I also spent some time searching for a movie review plugin (which I have now found). Since I try to watch a new movie per week, I thought the plugin was a necessity for this site. Thanks to [Channel-ai] for the plugin. I gave the movie 9 stars because it was simply that entertaining!
