Flexstyle

Alright. I've scrapped my first idea, and I rather like this second idea. There are currently zero dubsteps in it, for all you wubble-haters.

See, now, that means I can't just bow out for this round. Them's fighting words, boy.

ahahahaa YES. And if it's not this week that kills me, it'll almost certainly be the week after that. I'm travelling out of town that weekend to play at a convention, leaving me with EVEN LESS TIME THAN THIS WEEK to do anything.

Man, I dunno guys....this might be the week I drop. We'll see. School and work are both stupid-crazy right now, and I've got several obligations over the weekend as well.

This. I don't mind FL's recording capabilities at all, at least for a one- or two-mic take.

Re: your planned specs. That 8-core AMD processor will probably do a good job for you. If you're able to spend more, an Ivy Bridge-series Intel processor will probably be even better, and they tend to be incredibly long-lived, but your current plan should be plenty sufficient. Video card-wise, I'd recommend something along the lines of this (AMD R7 260X) or this (nVidia GTX 750 Ti). Both will run you between $150-170, and should last you for several years, as long as you don't expect too much after a few years. As far as AMD vs. nVidia: expect to pay a little more for nVidia cards at the same horsepower level as AMD cards go for. AMD cards are usually faster for the money, but have been historically less stable than an equivalent nVidia card. If your rig is mainly used for audio, I'd recommend you spend a few dollars more and get an nVidia card, as it'll most likely save you some headaches during the setup process. RAM-wise, 12 gigs is probably plenty, unless you're going hardcore with some gigantic libraries. Nexus 2 is a solid purchase any day of the week, especially since there are so many expansion packs for it. Komplete 9 is also a solid choice, as well, though, especially since it's going to be much more solid in terms of the diversity of sounds you get. If you asked me, I'd recommend Komplete over Nexus, for what it sounds like you want. Keep in mind that Kontakt (only one of the many included plugins) is nearly worth the asking price alone, let alone the included Guitar Rig, Massive, FM8, and others. Also, Native Instruments (the maker of Komplete) is an incredibly ubiquitous brand, so you'll have no trouble at all finding free sound and preset banks, whereas Nexus banks tend to be a bit more pricey. Hope that helps!

YESSSS! I don't have to use Bingo Highway!

That's where I'm at, and that's also where Bahamut is at. That's all I know.

I've got room for two more people in my room, if anyone's wanting to come but doesn't want to pay out the nose for lodging.

While I absolutely agree that the Risk of Rain soundtrack is fantastic, I'd caution you against looking for a lot of response in this forum. If someone digs it, they'll probably just do it, but there are a LOT of requests that go unfulfilled. (also: a lot of requests just kinda sit here for a long time before anyone posts, so have patience, grasshopper!)

I figured there'd be a few folks who were put off by the wubbles, as I know they can be polarizing. I mostly made this track with live sets in mind, actually, as I've got a couple other songs in my rotation that are about this tempo, so they needed a buddy. Don't worry, I don't plan on relying on wubs very much from here on out. Need to live up to mah name!

I seem to recall this being covered in an episode of OCR Talkback, and I think you're right. Also, as someone who's ReMixed a small chunk of an epic song from a modern OST, I think I can comfortably say that OCR has no problem with submissions only using a small portion of a track, as long as the song flows together properly.

I don't see anything wrong with posting it; go ahead! Just as long as you're phrasing it in such a manner that makes it clear it's still an early WIP. It helps if you're specific about how you're getting stuck--having trouble with a transition? with structure? etc.

Awwright, I'm pretty much done! I'm gonna probably give it a day to marinate and get some suggestions from certain folks, but I'll be sending it in tomorrow night.

I remember hearing this when Jake sent it to me as a mostly-done WIP. Still as tight as I remember it--love that tasty drum and bass processing!

This is probably my biggest "surprise" mix from the batch. While I was mastering, I heard this one, and it kinda caught me off-guard. Since it doesn't have a bassline to speak of, I was a bit suspicious of the hole in the spectrum, but somehow it manages to make for a fantastic listen anyways. Love the perky mallet work throughout, and that percussion is just funky.

Why d'ya think I chose Ice Cap? That sucker blends with literally EVERYTHING! I, for one, am relieved to hear this.

Me, while mixing this week's track:

Things are going about as well as they could be with the limited amount of time I'm working with. Should have something really cool ready by the time I turn it in!

I think I side with the YES-ers on this one in that I do hear the sources being there in sufficient quantity. It's close--borderline, even--but it's obviously a remix of Sheldon at least, with Catfish being mostly a suggestion inside the mix. I'm not sold on the horns, strings, or the piano, but the fact that it's a very synthetic mix kinda allows them to get away with the un-realism. The piano, in particular, lends itself well to the more processed sound of an electronic cinematic piece. I don't take any issue with the mixing--it's clean and I can hear everything plenty fine. I especially dig the electronic percussion stabs, as they're well-placed and hit good and hard. This one was tough, and I had to think for a while, but I think I'll go with.... YES (borderline)

EVERY week is classic hardware synth appreciation week.

So, I've gotten started on my second track...and this is gonna be GOOD. Get ready for possibly the funkiest, grooviest, head-bobbin'est, foot-tappin'est mix I've ever done.

If you two were a band, this would be the demo version track that's released on the "Rarities and B-Sides" album. As in, it lacks the massive polish that the hit record had and the pure energy that the live performances give off, but the listener can still tell that there was something special in the first version as well. Yeah, the drums aren't as huge as they could be, but that adds to the charm in my opinion. The guitars? Also not massive, but instead they've got much more of a close, intimate feel that works nicely with the dry drums. I can almost smell the stale coffee in the small-room studio. The synthesizers and keys all sound like they came from one of those big all-in-one workstation keyboards that may not necessarily have all the best possible sounds, but it has a LOT to choose from--you know the ones--all the keyboardists drool over them, but then it turns out some freebie VSTs and a bit of studio magic can make something that's a bit better. Great "sketchpad" though, since everything's there. Could it be better? Sure! It could be freaking massive with maybe some more polish, better drum tracking/sequencing, some orchestral backing, and bits like that. Is it good enough for the site as-is? Absolutely. Basically what I'm saying is that I dig it, it's got a lot of character, and I think it's easily over the bar, equally in terms of arrangement, instrumentation, and production quality. YES

I think for me, this is a case of a bunch of little things combining to push it in the wrong direction. I'm hearing a lot of crowding in the midrange, as that's where the meat of the bass lives, it's where the snare lives, and it's where most of the melodics live as well. This is exacerbated by the fact that the track is highly compressed, so everything kinda mushes together even more and becomes a bit fatiguing to hear after a while. I'm also not a fan of the drums, or rather the hat pattern repetitiveness. The hats are loud, they have little in the way of dynamics, and it sounds like the same 16th note pattern the entire time, punctuated only by a couple 32nd note fills once in a while. I do dig the arrangement, and I would love to see this on the front page, but at least one of these issues would have to be fixed for me to sign off: - Overcompression - Midrange crowding (piano + lead + snare + bass + hat + kick = mess) - Hat patterns Let's see this back soon! NO (resub!)