SSB

Some of the samples get blatty on the harder attacks, but it's a remarkable example of what can be accomplished in a normally robotic-style-bad-whatever area.

http://media.putfile.com/lonlon been busy, slight update. Changed some volumes, velocities and panning, changed the guitar sound, other little things.

@OA This is nowhere near final. Consider this version 0.1 or something. Posted this bit to get the exact criticism you are giving ;o I'll fix it up and post an update soon. Also, do you think the velocities in the second choral part sound OK as they are?

which part do you recommend bringing down the vocals? whole thing? Will work on humanization too. thanks.

The phrasing sounds a bit awkward at times, though that's not necessarily a bad thing. The entire intro section seems like it should be played with a very rubato feel. I'm not sure if that's what you're going for with it. Some good harmonies through out. My only real complaint so far is the quality of the samples. Humanizing it should fix some of that. Most notably the awkward attack on a lot of the notes.

7/23 update http://media.putfile.com/lonlon http://media.putfile.com/Epona-wip This is essentially a back track so far, a very rough cut with no real kind of an ending yet.I haven't decided yet if I want to have a leading instrument do the main melody or if I want to record some bluesy vocals (I'm not sure if I'm the most amazing singer in the world but I can give it a shot). I don't exactly have a great choir sound to use so this one will have to do, though I rather like its less-than-professional; it reminds me of the ahh sound in the original piece. Issues I am aware of that will be fixed: - Fix up the introductory chorale deal so that the changes don't sound so abrupt - Adjust various balance issues - make transitions between sections smoother - Vary drum parts All things considered, though, I'm happy with the direction it's coming. Any opinions here? I managed to stick to all free sounds for this one, too ;o

As a fair warning, creating a large song using lots of EWQL sounds will REALLY eat up your RAM. 1 GB will let you run it, but if you want to use a lot, you're out of luck. Especially if you want to use the keyswitches. I'm stuck with 1 GB for right now and it's killing me.

Those fills are awfully robotic and generic. I'd also say that bass drum sounds a bit uncharacteristic of the genre, but then again I don't hear the rest of the piece so I can't say much for sure. Get more cymbals and snares going, don't be afraid to make your midi drummer go wild once and a while.

I'm a Fruity Loops kind of guy, but I want to see what else is out there. FL is very midi intensive when you need it to be, but Cubase just has a frighteningly different interface, and, from what I have observed so far, is more targeted toward taking recorded stuff and mixing it together. I don't even see a piano roll or notation editor. Am I just missing a lot or is this not the program for me?

Just noting that this should be in the WIP section, not remixing.

Ok, thanks for the info. I'm looking to do a massive memory upgrade soon anyway. I have usually just been using separate channels but that really cluttered up my work area, and even that took a toll on my meager 1 GB of RAM. Thanks again.

I actually noticed that with the Rare Instruments I ordered. Didn't know if all operated like that.

I see sample libraries advertised all the time with different articulations. Are these generally accessed separately? As in, would I have to make one channel for sustained and another channel for staccato and switch between them? That seems impractical, and I THINK I've seen mechanisms where you can switch articulations within one channel, but I don't know how that works really. So my main question is what programs are able to utilize these features best? Can FL Studio handle it effectively?

I really like the feel of this and think it does have a lot of potential. But as it is now, the one thing that strikes me most is that the rhythms all sound pretty shaky. A lot of the time overall it just feels as if the notes are just kinda wobbling around the beat. The arrangement is mostly solid. No big complaints there. I wouldn't call it complete yet, however.. I don't have much else new to add from the previous comments.

http://freesound.iua.upf.edu

Hi. I'm looking for an effective 'ticking' sound. I have something pretty particular in mind so I'll describe it the best I can. Imagine like the tick of a clock, but not so harsh. Like a thin tick with a little resonance to it that will work well with a rhythmic passage. Imagine what a song with a clock type theme would start out with.. a ticking of a clock, but then over it is a rhythmic ticking sound. I know this still pretty vague though very specific. But if anyone can decipher my little rambling prose then I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

At places it all sounds just.. not together rhythmically. Actual arrangement is solid, though. Keep it up.

This whole 4/4 beat over a 3/4 melody isn't going over to well with me in this one. I think the track would flow much better overall if the beat was changed to 3/4 That's just me, though. Others may like the rhythmic dissonance.

Well, after toying around with these things I can conclusively say that THE biggest challenge to making the transition into digital music is learning exactly how to make these things sound the way you need and then learning to apply them all together in concert. This is really pretty tough

That's another thing I've wondered a bit. When it comes to these drum sounds, what are they mostly packaged as? For a long time I used nothing but soundfonts. Fairly recently have I ventured into the world of VSTis, but I still find that I never work with individual wav samples or anything. The concept of getting a bunch of different sounds and putting them together myself is just completely foreign at this point. Is that common, or do most people get bundled (for lack of a better word) sounds?

Thanks for the advice, Yoozer. I'm working mainly with FL Studio. I'm not a guitar player, though ;o ns kit does seem pretty spectacular for an acoustic kit. I'd also like to find some of those techno-ish drums.. ya know? I'm not a techno person so I don't know what to call it, but the point should be there

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I'm checking out all that you've listed.

I don't mean the OS stuff. Beryl is amazing. I mean most of the free software you get. I for one think Rosegarden LOOKS terrible, and Ardour is just painful to see.

The only bad things in open source are the terrible GUIs on EVERYTHING

Now let's just say I consider myself fairly competent musically. I really love digital music done in certain styles and I'm always wondering exactly how certain sounds are pulled off. Unfortunately, my experience is entirely acoustic, so any remix I try to do ultimately emulates an acoustic sound, but really I want to try to integrate that into some awesome digital stuff. I mean, what's the point of writing music on a computer that can be performed live and sound much better? I've looked around a bit, and I know the basics of VSTs, but I am still a complete noob with respect to where to get what and what sounds good and what does this and that and all that other noise. Moving from live experience to digital is an intimidating experience. New lingo gets thrown in all over the place and you see knobs and wheels that you never thought should exist. So here I am, completely clueless as to where to find these amazing sounds you guys seem to have. I can never seem to find a good drum kit, pads and leads always sound tinny and cheap; it can really get discouraging. So I guess the short version of what I'm saying is where can I get some really good VSTs that are more digital than recreations of acoustic sounds? Thoug I'd just like to add this problem is deeper than just "WHERE TO FIND!" It's more asking for advice than specific locations. What to do rather than where to find specifics.