dannthr

Inversions: http://www.musictheory.net/lessons/47

C - G - Am - Em - F - C - F - G Have fun!

I think what you're thinking, Calum, is a Bbmin7 to a BMaj7 3rd inversion. Which keeps the Bb in the bass.

Yeah, an inverted 7th chord can be pretty confusing--you can even argue calling it something else. F#min flat 6 or DMaj 7 first inversion, etc... The inversion is what gives it that minor quality, creating a minor interval between the bass note and the next note up, the bass note to the 3rd note up is a perfect 5th, and a minor 6th between the bass note and the top note, which is technically the root note. The BMaj 7 is in second inversion has a strong major feel to it. The bass note to the 2nd note up is a major 3rd, the bass note to the third note up is a perfect 4th, the bass note to the top note is a major 6th, and the interval from the 3rd note to the top note is a major 3rd. Both chords are anchored by the F#, creating a context that makes them feel like they belong together, but they have a really nice juxtoposition in character.

Did you add any new plug-ins or change where Cubase looks for plug-ins?

Well, the symptom is that you start on the 0 degree phase (up-slope), then your second long cycle starts on the 90 degree phase because the LFO is not retriggering the phase and you're ending your previous wobble on the down-slope. Here's a crude graph: I don't know your particular synth, but there might be a setting to RETRIGGER the LFO on a new note, this should start on the up-slope/0 degree position.

A recording studio's value lies in its recording space and its recording gear (mic pres, mics, channel strips, etc). There's little point in hiring a recording studio to produce your work. For mixing/mastering, I would go to a professional mixer/masterer, who more than likely does NOT work at a control room in a recording studio, but rather works in a mixing room with great gear and a great listening space. Know exactly what you want going into the session, know exactly how long it's going to take. Wasting time in the studio is money down the drain. Be assertive and concise and understand how to adapt to problems without creating them.

It's a dynamic microphone, you've probably had to pump the crap out of the gain just to get decent signal boosting your noise floor (as mentioned before). It's good for live because it won't pick up every little detail on stage, but it's power comes from the sound pressure levels themselves actually actuating the diaphragm and sending signal, so they're better for louder instruments or instruments that project sound well (vocals, brass, drums). (Not violin) This has nothing to do with it being a Sennheiser brand mic. I would suggest a Large Diaphragm Condenser microphone if you're going to do a lot of vocal, guitar, and violin recording at home/home-studio/studio. The Prosumer/lower-end Sennheiser brand LDC would be the MK4: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MK4/ A friend of mine who does pro Violin recording in his home has a pair of Shure KSM42s or KSM44s (can't remember which), but I would hire him for a top tier violin recording any day. At Pinnacle, we have an AKG C414, I really like it for all of those things (guitar, voilin, voice), though I prefer to pair it with a ribbon mic for warmth.

A good orchestra based music machine will prioritize its specs in three ways: - Lots of RAM (Orchestral samples can be some of the largest samples and require a great deal of space) - Fast Drive Speeds (Orchestral based instruments are large and will need to stream from your disk in real-time) - Many separate sample drives (Orchestral based compositions have large instrumentation and with simultaneous disk streaming, optimum performance is gained through spreading the stream load across multiple drives) CPU performance is important, but not as important as these with the following exception. A good Orchestral based machine will have high quality reverb FX, Compressors, Limiters, and EQs. Your Sound Device should have excellent ASIO drivers which supports very small buffers.

ProjectSAM is years out of date. Orchestral Essentials should have been called ProjectSAM's Greatest Hits 2002-2010. Symphobia should have been called Orchestrationphobia, as it's a library designed specifically for people who don't want to spend time with instrumentation. It's only useful for people who have to write 10-12 minutes of music a day for TV and need a lot of one-button-wonder patches. For what it offers with respect to substance, it's about 4 times overpriced. ProjectSAM's Orchestral Brass Classic stood for years as the best orchestral brass library around, but has since been outclassed by more recent libraries. I would not recommend any currently available ProjectSAM library as a starting point for any student looking to delve into the orchestra, who wants to learn about orchestration and how to write music better. What is your budget, and what kind of music do you want to make?

I think this thread is misnamed. I suspect that the real question is this: "How do I find my compositional voice?" Searching for yourself within the greater musical context is something that you will need to accept as a life-long journey, one which will be of constant transition. Understanding your compositional voice requires a great deal of exploration and reflection. You will need to draw upon your influences, preferences, and personality to define a voice and even then, you may find yourself wanting to sound different. I would suggest that you start your journey by approaching your music as it comes naturally to you in your head (not easy, that's different, but naturally, as it manifests in your imagination). If you feel your voice is incoherent, then you should study work you feel best reflects a strong coherent compositional statement, one that you like, admire, or even aspire to. Study by examining its construction and composition closely, then set out to write a work in that style or design. This is how you explore. Reflect upon your immitative creation and find the threads that speak to you, keep those with you as you continue your exploration. Eventually you will find that style that is uniquely yours with the understanding that you will persist on this transformative path and never stop learning more, engaging in study and reflection, and trying to define your voice.

Nuendo is really more of a DAW for post-production. It has a ton of features that are workflow necessary for large-scale features. I would kill to have Nuendo with the Cubase upgrade (Cubendo as I like to call it). It's better to think of it as the analog to ProTools HD but I think it's much better considering Avid has lost its marbles.

Get something made with a FATAR keybed, you'll never go back to anything else.

Well, our brains can do a lot to rationalize a decision. But the ultimate decision has to be made by your ears.

I would like to recommend the Equator Audio D5 Near Field Monitors. http://www.equatoraudio.com/D5_Studio_Monitors_with_DSP_300_Pair_p/d5.htm There are several reasons these make for effective home studio monitors: 1) First of all, if you're working in a small space, you don't want anything bigger than a 5" driver. This will keep your direct signal focused and your reflections down. 2) The D5s, as with all the Equator Audio Monitors, are coaxial, which means the tweeter is built within the woofer giving you far less phase distortion on the cross-over. This is really important in a near field and small studio monitoring system because the distance between the source and your ears is going to be small, meaning that a normal biaxial system is going to have a much greater relative separation than in a large studio setup creating possible phase distortion with the mere movement of the head. 3) The D5s employ onboard corrective DSP. Speaker transducers are not created equal, because of this, rigorous testing is undertaken to measure the frequency response curve of each speaker. With cheaper brands, this frequency response curve threshold is wider than with more expensive brands because the more expensive brands end up throwing away transducers that don't meet the narrower specifications. This is a lot like a sushi chef, the better sushi chef throws away more fish, raising his production costs. With Equator Audio speakers, not only do they have a narrow threshold, but each monitor has its own DSP which applies corrective EQ to ensure that every pair is absolutely matched and has identical frequency response (each speaker has its own measurements fed to it and then corrects itself). 4) The D5s are sold direct from manufacturer. Their retail cost through major retailers like Guitar Center was going to be $750/pair, but prior to entering into contract with distributors, he sold so many off his own website, that he decided to move more of his sales there, keeping his D5s at $300/pair and also dropping the Q8s (8" speakers with room correction software) to $500/ea (from $1500/ea). 5) Equator Audio isn't a "nobody." Equator Audio is founded by Ted Keffalo. He was one of the initial members of Alesis and worked on the Alesis One monitors, and he was one of the co-founders of Event Electronics before selling to Rode. Here's the converse: A 5" driver doesn't have a lot of bass support, the D5s roll off around 50-60Hz and it would be a good idea to give them a sub (no bigger than 10") if you want some bass support--this usually isn't a big deal in a small studio space, but if it is, there you go, that's my recommendation. Here's my experience: The D5s for me have been extremely detailed, revealing, and accurate, they're great for critical listening, but I don't have a sub, so I would still prefer to test my mixes on a larger system before shipping to a professional client--with that said, I've done a lot of work on these, I think they're great, and they definitely outclass any other pair you can get for under $1000. EDIT: Also, they have a 60-day money back offer, since you can't really "try" them out at the store.

Wordbuilder acts as a filter, re-assigning your MIDI data to different notes and different channels.

I thought they had a kid recently...

Also, he's married to Whinnie Cooper.

It sounds like it's an homage preset, in which case I wouldn't use it, if I were you, but I would USE it to understand how it worked, how it was made, and tweak it until it was my own.

I have a second monitor for my DAW's mixer--put that in your apple and plant it!

Have faith in your own ability. Be assertive and confident. Be responsible and deliver a great product. If you fail to deliver, you will burn that bridge. You will more than likely never be hired by that person again and you don't know who he talks to or knows. If you say "yes," you better fucking deliver.

Indie film directors are not like Indie Game Designers. Indie film directors are so DIY oriented that they put their fingers in everything. They can be really trying and if you're getting paid, it's going to be hard for you to pick your battles. Focus on serving the film and not the director, make sure he knows this about you, and don't be afraid to stand your ground. Understand that from his perspective, it's HIS film, so you will ultimately have to yield to him, but make all of your choices DEFENDABLE and EXPLAINABLE, so when you do feel like it's important to stand your ground, you have ground to stand on. Mickey Mousing. Mickey Mousing is something you don't have to deal with in games. Pacing and flourish, hits without sacrificing theme or motiv--these are challenges specific to film. The most advanced game engine attempts to get somewhere close to this for film--in film it is perfected. In games, you fire and forget music loops, in film, you know everything, you are omniscient, and mickey mousing can be very tiring if directors want it all the time. I've always had more revisions working with film directors than game designers. Have fun.

I tell my students there are three things they need strength in to get work: Technical Skill: You have to know what you're getting into, even if you don't know everything, if you don't know anything you're probably going to blow it and even more likely is that if you've never shown that you can do something, they're not going to assume you can. Apparent Talent: Talent is the layman's way of explaining creative product. Really, this is a lot of hard work and practice refining your craft and creative muscle, but to everyone else it's this magical sprinkle dust you were born with--you just have to look really talented. Network: People don't advertise for this sort of work, at least very rarely, rather they just ask themselves "who do I know who can do this?" Chances are, they know someone, do they know you? Your job is to be known as much as it is to be good and moreover, you're job is to be known for being good. If you do not have all of these three things, you probably won't get work. Tough, dry cookies.

If you don't know how to do something and you say "yes," you better fucking deliver.

Kontakt can import SFZ, but I'm not sure how much the SFZ format will support the original Kontakt scripts and functionality. Which means that it still might be better to get the Kontakt native version when you can.