Rozovian

By trim, do you mean subtle edits or starting from scratch?

Aybody notice something different about the first post?

Whipped together a quick audio demo for it. A terrible one. Only used unmodified instrument presets I made before, no levels mixing or EQ (except on the master track). I also uploaded the instrument itself. Anyone interested go have a look. I have no idea if it'll even work for you, 106K isn't a lot of data. If it doesn't, lemme know and I'll figure something out. (remember, it only works for owners of the full version of reaktor. if it still doesn't work, make sure you're running the latest version or reaktor) terrible mp3 demo and reaktor .ism file here.

Been keeping busy, saving the album for the listening party, but my hours are thoroughly messed up. Hope I'm awake for it.

Your beard controls ppl, Stevo? How? It's not even that long.

lol Needs more Big Boo tho.

Okay so a quick forum search reveals ppl like the things Reaktor comes with, and the many user-created synths and effects. How many like to make their own things in Reaktor? Cuz I do. Gonna edit this later, link to my synth. Seems like you need the 5.5 update of Reaktor to run it, and the free Reaktor Player can't open user-created content anyway. Just FYI.

Game devs are kind'a to blame for this too. Not saying there's nothing wrong with pushing the envelope of audio and video, but the focus does kind'a stray from the core of what games are. Back in teh day ppl had games that focused on game mechanics and the act of playing was key. Then we started getting stories that weren't just a justification for gameplay but something in themselves. Anyone who's accustomed to just playing might be bothered by the story, and someone accustomed to stories might be irked by the lack thereof. Now we have interactive cinema where you play a little so you can watch the next bit of story. And with that emphasis of graphics comes the consumers' expectations of higher-end graphics. The graphics and story emphasis conditions you to work for a cinematic reward and a continued narrative rather than to enjoy the gameplay itself, and that's probably part of why younger gamers have difficulty appreciating older games. That and "it's so ugly". I have a post on my blog about what makes a game good, and the first point I have there is control. Modern games feel different because they control different. Too different for some to appreciate? Maybe. But ultimately I think it comes down to how younger gamers simply aren't exposed to the old games in the same light as we were. To us, they were the best technology had to offer, to them they're archaic hand-me-downs. They're just not cool.

A limiter just prevents peak, it doesn't alter the frequency balance or anything but the volume. You might be using samples without a lot of inherent impact, or you might not be processor them right. Try boosting the bass drum in the 100-200Hz region, see if you get some more punch out of it. Also try layering it with other bass drums. Furthermore, you could side-chain it to other tracks so that when it hits, they duck. it gives it a little more room to be loud, but more importantly creates the illusion of it being much louder by ducking the other tracks. Also, make sure you're not muddying up the low end with a bunch of other sounds.

Oh good, more time for other stuff this month. Like family and xmas albums.

Wolt->Smash Bros->Super Metroid->vgm remixes->OCR Basically. Tho the music of Monkey Island and some other games got ingrained in me long before any of the above. I had a 15 years or so break from the music from some version of Zool, and the music kept popping up from time to time until I decided to dig up the track. But Super Metroid got me into vgm remixes, which led me to vgmix and then here.

That thing I'm working on... inspiration decided otherwise. I now have over 3 minutes of a different source for the album. I should be getting xmas gifts and working on my boss themes track, but nooooo......

Computer power doen't matter much as long as it's enough. When it's not enough, everything turns slow and has all kinds of problems. Still, until you get one of the bigger, more demanding samplers/synths, you could do just fine with something with the specs of my old laptop. I wouldn't run Omnisphere or Kontakt on it, tho, so if you've got plans on getting those before upgrading/replacing the computer, you should get something a little more powerful. For recording you'd need a good mic or two, a good soundcard / audio interface, and a quiet, fairly reverb-free room to record. And cables and stuff, of course. Someone that actually does a lot of recording should probably jump in and mention anything I've forgotten, but these should work all right.

If you pick up a midi keyboard, the only thing it'll do is send midi data to your computer (by whatever cable applicable (usb or midi)). Dunno for sure but I guess most modern keyboards would come with an option of plugging it into the computer and controlling your computer instruments with it. What do you mean by downloadable samples? The kinds that go into the keyboard or the kinds that go into the DAW (in your case FL)? Not gonna tell you what to get but unless you're gonna do live performances with the keyboard and need new samples for that, you're probably much better off with soundfonts and other software samplers. Until you can clarify your needs some more, this is all I can tell you.

Your analogy fails once you try to fit in physical instruments, software instruments, effects and stuff into it. I agree that there should be a proper introduction to this stuff. I've been trying to write one (along with Zephyr who's somewhere around here), and... well, it's been sitting in a half-finished state for a while now. But basically, aside from the computer and the DAW, you'll need software instruments (unless you're gonna record everything from real instruments, in which case you need recording equipment and playing skills). They come in a variety of flavors, such as orchestral sounds, electronic sounds, rock sounds, world music sounds... There's free stuff ranging from crap to decent (just look for soundfonts and check search in KVRAudio's database for freeware), cheap stuff ranging from crap to good, and expensive stuff ranging from subpar to excellent. If you have the money, I'm sure you can always think of something new to send it on. The instruments I listed before come from some big names in the industry. Eastwest seem to focus on orchestra and other non-electronic sounds. Native Instruments have a lot of different products, most of which are available in their Komplete package deal. Which is worth a lot more than you'd pay for it. Spectrasonics only really have three products, but they're great. At least judging from the one I have. Probably my favorite plugin. Then there are products like Superior Drummer, Addictive Drums, BFD, Pianoteq, Symphobia, VSL, Zebra, Alchemy, and so many other products you can spend your money on. I'll also mention zircon's Impact Soundworks. Some DAWs come with a bunch of instruments and effects bundled or built-in. Some of them are good, but generally not on the level of the really pro stuff.

As you build your studio, you will be getting bigger and more power-hungry tools, so you will at some point need to upgrade/replace the computer anyway. I did my round 2 GMRB track on my old laptop, with 1.5Gb RAM and a 1.67GHz processor. It's enough to make ocr-level music with. Anything more will just make everything run smoother when you add heavy instruments and effects to your projects. If you get stuff like Kontakt, QLSO, Omnisphere or something, you'll need the memory and power. Can't point you to a checklist, but check out the DAW you like and make sure your machine meets the req specs for it. As for everything else, it depends on how you're gonna work. I made music for years without a midi keyboard. Having one isn't necessary, but it does make some things easier. Same with just about every tool out there that doesn't come with the DAW itself; not necessary, but probably useful. This even includes software instruments. You don't _need_ QLSO, but if you're gonna make orchestral tracks, it's pretty useful. You do know that having the tools and knowing how to use them are two very different things, right? Also welcome.

Probably good news. Awesomely phrased.

I'm feeling out of focus tonight, but two things: Brass need humanizing and more prominent attack which Gario already pointed out. The feeling is sweet. Fix stuff. Make awesome. Give more feedback.

For those of you without finished tracks but wondering about your wips - SEND ME NEW ONES!* I had a hard drive crash a month or so ago. Still trying to put stuff together. My wip folder was lost. My wav folder is safe. My own tracks have lost audio files but the midi and instrument data is all there. *) Hylian Lemon did this. He's cool. ALL PROJECT MEMBERS; I WANT YOUR EMAIL ADDRESSES!! This is because most of you probably don't read this thread*, and so I don't have to use half a dozen different methods to get important project info to all of you; info such as release schedule changes and upcoming deadlines, missing track notes/remixer bios, strange medicine, and contact info for the ppl who volunteer their ears for your wips. *) I know how smart it is to ask for email addresses in a thread not read by those whose email addresses I need the most. Shut up and get me your email. I'll probably open up a handful of tracks I'm a bit unsure of tonight. If I open up one of yours, just get me a wip and I'll take it off that list. Full public tracklist coming soon. Yes, for real this time. Soon as in this year. You can laugh at my messy coordination attempts until then. More info on our prospective wip deadline and project schedule coming soon. Soon as in later. (this info will be in the first post when I add the tracks to it. not gonna go edit it now. busy/lazy.)

Actually, yes it might. Go record something in an anechoic chamber. Realistic listening environment? Not really. Realistic, authentic, acoustic instrument sound? Yes. Depending on the character of the sample and the mix, additional reverb might or might not be a good idea. Just saying.

Quite an improvement over the first version, but there's compression and EQ problems all over. Use an EQ to cut out the lows from the instruments that don't need them. Of the ones that need them, figure out how much they need, it's probably less than you currently have. With unnecessary lows cut away, you'll have an easier time working with volume. Then you should work on the volume. It's better to mix it pretty soft and raise it with a limiter on the master/output track than to have to push it down in the output stage. Drop everything 10dB, mix the volumes as follows: Mute everything except two lead/foreground tracks, pull down the volume of one of the remaining two and raise it until it's at a comfortable level where you can hear it but it doesn't get in the way of the other one. Unmute one of the other tracks, pulld own its volume and raise it until it's good. Keep doing that with the other tracks. That way, you should end up with a more balanced mixing. And then, use a limiter at the output/master stage as the LAST effect. Raise the volume feeding into this effect (called input gain if the limiter has a knob of its own for this) until it sounds squashed and terrible, then pull it down until it sounds good again. If necessary, compare it to some well-mixed tracks (you won't get yours as loud without problems, but if it's not a lot softer it's good enough, volume-wise). Those solos have a Willrock-vibe I like, but the sound of the instrument isn't that good. While much of the sound design here isn't good, enough of it is passable for this to become a mixing practice track. But find a better sound for the guitar parts. You're learning supahfast, keep it up.

Terrible guitar. The prominent percussion thing you're using is pretty dry, needs some reverb. Yes, needs more source. Whatever the lyrics will use from source, having more tracks using stuff from source is good. Not much else to say. Interesting idea.

Haha, those arpeggios make it sound more like a Kikuta track than a Mitsuda track. Too conservative, yep. The choir isn't that bad, and it fits with the sounds you already have there. Not believable but still enjoyable. Improved production, especially more foreground-background distinction and some EQ carving to give each track some space and clarity, would take this track far. Not onto ocr tho. It's basically the original with new sounds and veering off in a slightly different direction some time after over half its current length. Needs more you.

Seems like clashing notes or just really weird harmonies. You should check that. Interesting bass drum rhythm, might have a little too loud lows. The sound design is a bit simplistic, but it works ok. Seems mixed a bit low-mid-heavy, needs more highs in the instruments. Your loud lead towards the end is too loud, seems to me like one of your problems with this track is making leads and foreground stuff stand out - easily solved by making some of the other tracks more background-y. Interesting. Could be good.

Some loud resonances in your lead, too loud lows, some of the sounds could use some reverb and EQing to sound more distant (the drum parts in the intro stand out as all being pretty upfront, you could push some of them back a bit). Cool sound, cool idea. This is a source that might not be that easy to remix without either making it too similar to too dissimilar, but I think your approach can strike a good balance.