Flexstyle

Wow, that actually looks really intriguing. The included plugins with the paid versions are kinda the extra icing--Ohmforce makes some pretty good stuff. Wonder if you get the VST versions with purchase, or if that's what they are in the first place? I'm tempted to pick it up just because of that, and then let the software mature over time. EDIT: And Ecto, I think this is a bit different, in that you won't have to worry about a net connection distorting the sound necessarily. Parts would just kinda show up.

So, there are a few things that I want to point out with this one. First, the mix is a bit on the muddy side. That’s a fairly easy fix, though, as you should only need to sort out how the bass and the kick relate to each other, then adjust the balance of everything else. What I mean by that is that you gotta decide which one's going to be the very sub-bass frequency carrier, and which one's going to be a bit above it in the spectrum, and then EQ to taste. I gotta second Vig--the mix does have some distortion at times, and I'm thinking it could be because you're crowding your limiter with mid-range frequencies--or you're just not using a limiter at all. That could be helped if you take some of the harsher mids out of the Rhodes, I think, but careful how you go about it. Other mixing stuff: the chippy blips sounded decent, albeit just a bit piercing for the rest of the song's vibe (maybe roll off the high end a bit? not a huge deal, though) but the sax sounded buried and a bit too low in the mix. Speaking of the sax, it also sounded pretty artificial. There’s definitely a place for the sample you used, but you’d be helped by pitchbending some of those grace notes in there, rather than allowing the attack to hit each time, as that makes it sound noticeably unnatural. Finally, my biggest issue with this track is that I can skip around and hear basically the same thing each time. There’s almost zero variation between each time the main melody is playing: it’s the same lead instrument, the same bassline, the same basic beat, and this happens multiple times throughout the track. Gotta keep it interesting, yo! I’d advise that you shorten the song a bit, and focus on making each section stand out. It’s fine to revisit an idea, but give it some variation the second and third times around. Do some noodling on the melody, or at least introduce some extra percussive elements or something. Also, do keep in mind that you’ll want to pick out a new name for the track. OCR’s submission rules state that submissions can’t be named after the source track, game title, or yourself. If you’re having trouble thinking of a good title, just post around in the Workshop—I’m sure someone there would be happy to throw some words around for you. In summary: 1. "Naturalize" the saxophone with some pitchbending. 2. Clean up the distortion. 3. Add some extra variation as the song progresses. With those three big issues, you'll be in good shape--plus, if you take on some of the smaller stuff, I think this could be a fantastic, deep-jazz-house track for OCR's front page! NO (Resubmit)

Basically this, 100%. I've played in a couple bands before, and while I know I'm nowhere near the skill level of most of the people I see on stage, I know that I'm the right guy to be playing this part, right now.

The Frozen Synapse soundtrack by nervous_testpilot is a fantastic thing to hear while driving.

Strader, if you want me to set up a forum on my webspace, I'd be happy to do that.

OA and I will have ours done within a week.

Interesting article. I didn't realize that the '90s was where the shift to the "14-30 years old" demographic happened. I thought that was always the case, but what do I know--I was born in 1991. Good stuff, thanks for posting, Wes! (Side note: the web design for the article made it a joy to read.)

It's the scenario in which someone feels wronged by a company who hasn't actually done anything besides protect their intellectual property, I think. This whole attitude of "well, you're doing it wrong, so I deserve a copy of your software" that's so prevalent in the internet group-think. Okay I'm ranting a bit, but it's this entitled mindset that fuels the piracy, not the hardware.

Not necessarily. My understanding is that you can get a replacement, but it is a process. Thankfully, I've never had to deal with that process, so I'm still a happy camper--plus, I don't actually ever move my iLok around, so it's ALWAYS on my main studio rig. That concern is a legitimate one, I think. Thankfully, it's a stable piece of hardware, and the only concern I have is related to its physical, latitude-and-longitude location, which I religiously protect.

Yeah, basically just everything Avaris said. Moseph was praising hardware keys, not bashing them, if I'm reading it correctly. I'll just be over here continuing to make music when my system goes offline due to an ISP hiccup. Plus, I got my iLok for free when I got ProTools 7 way back when. Seriously, don't make life harder for yourself just because of some baseless pseudo-moralistic crap. It's cool if you don't want to fill a USB slot, but anyone who says it's any more of a hassle than that is just drinking some messed-up Kool-Aid.

Sweetwater is completely legit, so (without having seen the giveaway in question) I assume that whatever they're doing is on the level.

I got nothin' against iLok-based stuff. It's been super-easy to work with for the past five years for me.

Hey all, I just wanted to post about the Groupees.com MAGFest bundle. Lots of excellent MAGFest-related music for download at name-your-price (minimum of $1), and the money goes to support Typhoon Haiyan charity. Oh, and I'm the next bonus to be unlocked. So that's cool. http://groupees.com/mag

Not that this chart is the be-all, end-all of graphics card recommendations, but Tom's Hardware is generally pretty solid when it comes to reviews 'n such. November 2013 Graphics Card Buying Guide It's a great place to start, at least.

They started it.

I'm about to start streaming the remixing process for Docaty Mountain Railroad, at least for a couple hours (hopefully). http://www.twitch.tv/flexstyle

DAT VOCODER. Seriously, this is quite enjoyable. Nice work!

Today is a kind of day.

This is probably JR's best work yet. Highly recommended.

Oh hey, this track! Looking back on it, it's still one of my favorite tracks, but I definitely didn't give it the mixdown it deserves. Too muddy. Oh well. Tends to still fit in very nicely in my sets, though, haha.

Needz moar bass punch. Other than that, I dig it!

Hey man, thanks for posting. Just to let you know, marking a thread for Mod Review means that you've already pushed it as far as you think you possibly can, and that other forum users have already given you feedback during that process. My thread-prefix-changing powers seem to be a bit MIA right now, but you'll want to change this to a "Work in Progress" or "Finished" or something instead for the time being. PM me or something when you've gotten some feedback, and I'll be happy to lend an ear! EDIT: Powers are back. Changed for you.

Basically everything here. I used to program my own drums from complete scratch, and I wasted a lot of time doing it. With all the loop libraries I now own, I can get on to the business of actually creating a genuinely great SONG, rather than nitpicking over the insignificant details. Plus, sometimes loops are the single best inspiration point there is. For me, it's hearing someone else's idea, and then going, "well, if THAT happened, then I should add THIS thing as well!" I've got a bunch of songs that have started life as a loop that I riffed off of. Also, some of the loop libraries out there enable me to use sounds at a quality level that I'd never have been able to achieve otherwise. Some of my taiko drum and tom libraries, for instance, or maybe some really good guitar or ethnic or texture packs. I can program some of it, but it's not going to be as good as the live person who sat down and recorded it for me. Finally, loops save time when I'm in a hurry. I compose music professionally at times, and I rely heavily on loops when doing those projects. I can create a product that sounds every bit as polished as anything I've ever done, and I can do it quickly, thereby allowing me to go out and write even more music after that's done. tl;dr Not cheating. I paid for 'em (or downloaded 'em legally), and the license explicitly states that I have a right to use for whatever I want. My music doesn't sound too similar to anyone else to be a problem. I win.

Rayman. I had the first one for PC, and it was redbook audio. I could just chuck it into my CD player and listen to that glorious soundtrack over and over. I also had a few other games, like a superbike racer and an F1 racer that also had redbook audio. Listened to those things so many times as a kid....