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Tensei

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Posts posted by Tensei

    Xenogears: Humans + Gears - History

    in Projects

    Posted

    Soooooooo. Awakening. Megacollab. Arrangement Near Done. People who want to play guitar? I got myself and Fishy down already, we have room for 1/2 Rhythm Guitars, a Clean/Acoustic, and a Bass.

    I'll give you chumps one week to sign up before I start recording "For Realsies" because I want this sucka to be done and over with already.

    OCR01667 - Final Fantasy VII "Too Much Fighting"

    in ReMix Reviews & Comments

    Posted

    Well, this mix is really GOING ways. Starts of nice and funky with the organ and the swirling synths, follows up with the OBLIGATORY Rhodes solo (wtf are rhodes anyway?) and then breaks down into the Glockenspiel+voice sample. And then..TOTAL MOOD SWING, whole thing becomes pressing, darker, MORE EVIL!! into a really cool crescendo.

    I can see how hard it can be to implement a similar build-up/mood change into your mix, but you've really nailed it very well here, and it makes the mix sound really big, epic, etc. WHICH IS GOOD. Keep on mixing, you beautiful, beautiful Swede =3

    lavos sketch

    in Post Your Game ReMixes!

    Posted

    Arrangementwise this is all very nice. Good call on the bassline and the other instrumentation as well. Unfortunately, percussion is still where this lags (productionwise, the sequencing is, of course, pretty good).

    The kick has barely any lower-end body, which would be suitable if you're going for rapid-fire double bass rolls, but here it just has very little energy, and doesn't do much to keep the beat going. I'd suggest a substantial boost in the 50-60 Hz area (up to 10 dB if necessary).

    The snare sounds quite thin and subdued as well. I'm not really sure what the cause of this is, since it's already quite wet with room ambiance. If anything, a boost around 100 Hz might help to bring out more of the body. It could also be attributed to the fact that the snare isn't being played at a high enough velocity on the off-beat, which IMO would be quite suitable for this style (Along with a nice reverb-tail).

    The Hi-hat, and most of the cymbals are very loud and up-front. A roll-off around 600-1000 Hz is definitely necessary to keep them from cluttering the mix. Aside from that, some ambiance and a few less dB would definitely help make them sit better.

    OCR Genres!

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I hate to parrot the OCR policy here, but wasn't the genre search something that was left out on purpose? If you add a feature that allows you to search by genre, you'll obviously only look for mixes from genres you know you enjoy, so you will probably miss out on a lot.

    What I like about OCR is that, apart from the whole remixing-of-game-music-business, an extremely wide range of musical genres is represented on this site, and it really opened up my musical taste for genres ranging from IDM to Acid Jazz. If there was a search by genre, I would have searched for Metal and be done with it, which is why I'm grateful for the lack of a search by genre, because it really broadened my musical taste. This is why I'm not really sure about the usefulness of this feature :/

    DnB tips in FLStudio?

    in Music Composition & Production

    Posted

    Wiesty, are you sure you are actually talking about DnB? Have you ever heard DnB? Why would you want to change the velocity note by note for a 'real' feel when you're aiming for electronic drums?

    Ontopic:

    Oof, you're not exactly picking an easy genre to get started with.

    The basis to good DnB are good samples, it's easy as that. I can't really help you with that, but try to find some good DnB Sample CD's, it will make the processing a lot easier. As for selecting a sample, make sure your kick sample peaks at around 100 Hz and your snare sample at 200 Hz, that way both of them will have the typical fat DnB impact.

    The way the samples/loops are used is usually deceptively easy. Make sure your 'main' single hit snare and kick don't play too often (I'd say the snare should only play 2 times a measure at most and the kick drum maybe 4, though some DnB guru like Navij11 might correct me on this). What's layered over this are usually lots of hi-passed loops/breaks etc. that give the beat 'sheen' i.e. they make it sound like a breakbeat :)

    Getting the bass right is a bitch. It's usually based on a detuned saw-wave/square wave, except it uses a lot more layers than that (I used about 12 different synths for one bass patch) and it has lots of individual processing and movement on each single layer (chorus, distortion, LFO filter movement, phaser, etc.). After you've made a suitable bass patch, be sure to add another layer in the final mix, consisting of a single Sine wave which will be the sub-bass.

    The way the drums and bass usually interact is through Side-chain compression, which is why I suggested you don't let the main snare and kick play too often, since the bass wouldn't be audible at all then. With the right settings, side-chain compression makes your drums punch through the mix and your bass will start to pump.

    I'm not an expert on DnB, but if one of the DnB remixers I've seen around here (Ellywu2, Navij11) makes it in here, I'm sure they will tell you a lot of stuff I didn't even know about. You could try PMing one of them. :)

    The Music Recommendation Thread

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    (Melodic) Death Metal

    Arch Enemy - Excellent Production values, arrangements of near-prog metal complexity, virtuosic instrumentalists and an AWESOME female vocalist make this band a must-hear for anyone who isn't instantly turned off by growled vocals. Also, they're catchy =)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4sk8Eyy-ns

    In Flames - The veterans of the genre, they're still going strong nowadays, except they've made their music a LOT more accesible (catchier lyrics and melodies, less emphasis on heavy riffing etc.). If you watch this video wait at least until the chorus before you decide it sucks, because it's just that damn awesome.

    Children of Bodom - By far my favorite band from this genre, perhaps even my favorite band period. Their music is a unique melange of different metal subgenres, but all that matters is that their music is absolutely stunning, their leadguitarist/vocalist has some incredible solo's up his sleeve, and yes, their songs are possibly even catchier than the previous two bands =)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J7iThdiXQ0

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUOE9wYamfg

    Power Metal/ Synth Power Metal

    Dragonforce - How can you be on a forum centered around video game music and not suggest this band? They're loud, they're fast, and they try to mimic classical NES/c64/atari/whatever sounds with their guitars, so what's there not to like?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6cK-nDd_bI

    Sonata Arctica - One of the veterans of the genre, but judging by their latest single they're still awesome as ever. Amazing Synth & Guitar soloing, very emotive and evocative vocals & melodies are what defines this band as 'epic' =3

    S.S.H. - Pretty much the artist that defines Synth Metal for me: Sampled guitars, incredibly high tempi and high energy synths are what he's all about. His sequencing is some the best I've ever heard and all his songs have an uplifting, energetic quality to them (hence why I put it under power metal). Known mostly for doing stunning remixes of videogame tunes, and adding several minute synth and guitar solo's to them, definitely check him out :)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojGDgnGAtTk

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U75szPTGoBw

    Okay, maybe there's a way to help out us total n00bs

    in Music Composition & Production

    Posted

    I'm going to be assuming in this tutorial that you've already messed around with a few sequencers and DAWs, you have access to some 'decent' VSTs and soundfonts to help you out, you know some basic theory about harmony, melody, scales and the like (possibly the ability to read notes), and you know at least partially what I mean with words like "Chorus, Compressor, Delay, Parametric EQ". If not, then I encourage you to look through the tutorials in your DAW so you know at least the very basics.

    As a final note: Due to the midi sequencer I'm using you're either going to have to be able to read notation or guitar tablature to keep track of what I'm doing. I will be adding sound files for your convenience though :)

    The right track for the job

    I'm pretty sure this point may differ VERY much from mixer to mixer, nevertheless I think there's one 'rule' that pretty much everyone should adhere to: ONLY REMIX THE SONGS YOU LIKE! It's easy as that. I think the problem that so many projects are progressing that slowly is because people want to get in on it, so they quickly pick what's left, and don't even listen if the song is workable for them.

    And yes, even though it's good to be able to adapt to material you might not find very enjoying, I think by far the best results come from the nostalgic songs you can still remember today, even though you played the game where you heard them years ago.

    What I look for in a remixable song is a catchy hook, since I tend to be a very melody-based listener. In the concrete song I'm remixing in this tutorial (Cave Story - Last Battle)The bassline during the intro is a dead giveaway for me; it's extremely catchy, and it has a sort of ominous build-up quality because of the rising melody. Another part I like is the melody backed by the chromatically descending chords that comes in exactly half-way. Overall there are no arrangemental sore spots for me, and EVERY part of the source seems quite viable to incorporate in the remix, which makes this a very good source.

    Of course this is a very subjective question, and you might not like this source at all, but still; whenever more than 50% of a source seems memorable to you, it should be a viable source. Nobody is expecting you to incorporate the ENTIRE source, but 50% should be a bare minimum.

    After picking a viable source, it's time to go midi-hunting on a site like VGmusic.com. Whether to use a midi as a basis or not is a question of personal preference. Avoid doing it because of laziness; if you think something's too much work to do at THIS early point, you can just as well give up. If it means transcribing the source by ear, definitely go for it, since it will give you a great opportunity to change around the melodies and harmonies while you're at it.

    In this case I chose for using a midi as a basis because I wanted to keep the source's structure in tact, and I DEFINITELY wanted to retain that wicked bassline from the intro (as well as most other melodies). By now, you should already have started planning and have some musical idea's in your head, and you should have decided on a musical genre for the mix.

    Structure, concept, etc.

    For your first mix, pick a genre that is EASY, keep in mind your restrictions in terms of theoretical knowledge and the capabilities of your DAW and VSTi's. Don't bother trying to do something orchestral or classical just yet (unless you're a composer with EWQLSO, and good knowledge of orchestration, and if that's the case, why the hell are you reading this? Well, except if your forumname is Bustatunez of course ;)).

    By far the best thing is when you play a live instrument (electric guitar?), and you tend to play a lot of stuff from a certain genre (Garage Rock, Thrash Metal?), in which case you should be QUITE aware of the conventions of that genre (i.e. What sounds right). Besides that, you'll be aware of the capabilities of your instrument and how to have it play a convincing role in the context of the rest of the mix.

    As for song structure, try to start with whatever arrangemental idea comes to mind first, even if it's an idea for the chorus or verse of the song; you can build your intro and other stuff up around that later, since it's way easier to do that if you have a steady base to fall back to. If it makes it easier for you, it's perfectly alright to take one of your favorite songs in the genre and use it as a model for yours.

    Arrangemental hospital

    Right, let's cut the crap and get to work. :)

    I'll go pretty in-depth into the intro because it has the most complicated drum patterns of the whole song, but I won't go into the other sections that much since they're all basically built-up the same way as the intro.

    We can start with the intro right away, since we have the bassline from the source. The source tune is quite fast and short (a bit more than a minute at 190 BPM), so we'll have to elongate some parts, because 190 BPM is quite a useful tempo for the genre we're aiming for (Extreme Power Metal), so we're keeping that the same. We'll extend the original 8-bar intro to a nice sixteen bars. The bassline remains the same, except it now gets repeated 4 times instead of twice.

    6jp32wh.png

    Our 4-bar bassline from the source tune. (click for sound)

    Of course, the downside of this artificial 'elongation' is that the intro would become a bit too repetitive if it didn't have any development, but we'll leave that role to the synth and drums. We'll also have to keep in mind that the bass isn't meant as a lead instrument, yet it plays the main melody here, so it could give us some complications during the mixing if the other instruments parts would get too complicated.

    The next part is easy for me; we have to add a chord backing, made up of rhythm guitars. I don't apply any theory here, I just mess around on my guitar to figure out some nice chords to back up the bassline. I've kept the phrasing (just open chords) this simple to prevent the guitars from drawing the attention away from the bassline.

    6sbxesx.png

    These are the chords I came up with. It's quite a cliched progression, but we can argue that Power Metal is a cheesy genre, so it's all good. :)

    Note that I've used inversions of typical power chords to emulate a seven-string guitar for a heavier sound.

    Now, for the hardest part, the drums. I could write a whole book about drums, and I could spend the better part of today writing just about the basics, but I won't. For the sake of my own sanity I'll just assume whoever reads this knows every different part of the drum kit (in terms of sound, name and function) and already is able to make his own drum patterns to some degree. If not, please find a tutorial somewhere, look on wikipedia, experiment with making rock drum patterns, then come back and read this.

    Drums are usually vastly underestimated in the whole context of a mix, and it happens all too often people just come up with a boring one/two-bar pattern and loop it throughout the entire mix. My personal philosophy on drums is that besides driving on the song, they should act as a mood-setter, and vary between 'laid-back' and 'intensive' to accent different parts of a song. Of course, a little virtuosity never killed anybody, so you should feel free to act like your virtual drummer is the best one in the world (though he should still be human!) and give him some jaw-dropping fills and drum solo's to work with.

    It would be way too much work to analyze the drum patterns I did in the intro, so I'll just give a brief overview; The patterns are seemingly very random/chaotic, with lots of fills and accents on the bassline until bar ten (where you get the snare+crash cymbal playing on the beat), which sort of has the purpose of setting a steady groove and giving a sense of development.

    At this point you should already be worrying about the humanization of the drums; add snare rolls, bass-drum rolls, flams, cymbal chokes. The way to really get a feel for this is to listen a LOT to bands with good drummers, and focus on the fills and drum patterns the guy uses.

    I'm sorry I can't give more than these pointers on drums, but to me the whole drum sequencing process is just very intuitive and it's hard to put it into words and analyze it. I think it's best to illustrate the importance of good drum sequencing by posting two examples of the intro:

    One with what I consider well-sequenced drums

    and One with a copy+pasted single bar pattern

    Finally, the synth. Typical Synth strings are more rule than exception in Scandinavian Metal, so if you want to go in that direction, adding some sustained chords is a great way to achieve the archetypical epic scandinavian vibe. There's really not a lot to be said about the synth strings in the intro, they play another cheesy chord progression in a very nervous staccato rhythm until the crucial bar ten, where they start playing whole note sustained chords. Again, sense of development in an intro that would otherwise be very repetitive because of the guitar chords and bassline.

    Complete Intro with Synth Strings

    Ok, so I think that's enough for now, if anyone liked it I can write a follow-up detailing the rest of the arrangement, and maybe after that get to the production, consider this a pilot episode :)

    Okay, maybe there's a way to help out us total n00bs

    in Music Composition & Production

    Posted

    Tell us how you wrote a given remix. That's right, from bottom to top. Starting from the MIDI you imported or composed all the way up to the fine tuning, mastering and decision to submit.

    I think this is a good idea, and if you don't mind I would love to give insight in the creation of my most recent mix (even though bla bla no posted remixer yet, etc). I used a MIDI sequencer, FL Studio and Reason in the creation process, and I put a lot of thought into the drum sequencing and processing, so I think it would definitely be helpful if I gave a step by step walkthrough through the creation process. Here's the end result by the way :)

    I do think it would be better if a lot of other remixers would take the trouble to do a similar 'walkthrough' since after all, no-one does everything the same way, and it could be helpful for veterans too.

    PILOT EPISODE

    VVVV

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