Flexstyle

Why a shorter snare/clap would be better in this context: the prolonged appearance of the high/mid frequencies emanating from said clap sample clash with the other high frequencies produced by the bassline, hats, and melodic elements. Remember, a clap is basically white noise with a bit of transient shaping and maybe some filtering. Therefore, it takes up a LOT of the spectrum. tl;dr long claps r moar muddy 4 mix.

I really don't like that clap at all. Too much sustain, not enough attack, and it's a bit muddy. You're going to run into people on the panel who think the same way, I'm fairly certain. It's leaking into the territory of the bass and kick without actually sounding like it belongs, sonically. Also, the entire song sounds a bit too overcompressed, and a bit too crowded in the low-mid in general. Arrangement-wise, I don't really see this passing the panel, as there's very little variation once the first half of the song passes by. The second drop is basically the same as the first one, which tends to be a no-no. Add some extra variation, or at least change up your bass and beat to give it some extra flair. Adding in some nods to other sources would really help, too, since Lavender Town is such a sparse source. The production is passable, although not super-tight. Definitely better than a few unfortunate dubstep OC ReMixes that have come before it, though, so history is on your side. Basically, the song feels a bit muddy to me, and the arrangement leaves me wanting more about halfway through. Give us some extra pizzazz, make it really pop!

Hey, fellow Arizonians! I've been invited to play two nights at Kikori Con over Veterans' Day Weekend (November 9-11). It's an anime and Asian culture convention, and I'll be reppin' OCR while I'm there. If you're nearby (or if you're a Valley resident), come on over and join me! 3-day pass is $45, and day passes are between $25-30, depending on the day. My sets are going to be somewhere between 10 PM and 2 AM on Saturday and Sunday night.

My general process includes (but is not limited to) the following methods: - Take the middle of the source track and use it as the intro. This lets listeners know that "hey, this is a familiar track, but WAT THIS IS A NEW ARRANGEMENT WAT WAT." Basically, just rearrange the source's sections to fit whatever structure you're going for. - On the note of that above, maybe even combine sections of the song. Take a melody from one, and then use another section of the song as the counter-melody. Even better, take another source and use THAT as an addition. This makes it seem like you're super-innovative when all you're really doing is a glorified mashup. - Take a recognizable melody and elaborate on it. Maybe elaborate a couple different variations with different instruments. This is helpful in two ways: it lets you squeeze more remix time out of a small section of source, and also lets the world know that you are creative and funky. - Take one instrument in the song (the bassline, for instance), and turn it into a lead line with some modifications. You can squeeze a TON out of a source if you just give each of its elements their own time in the spotlight. - Don't be afraid to add a little bit of original work interspersed with the source material. See previous comments re: creativity and funkadelicality. The above is phrased rather facetiously, but that's honestly the basics of how I approach a game remix. It's stupidly simple once you really boil it down, but the kiddos love it so I keep doing it.

I think with the animated .gif format, you might get a bigger audience once you simply *do* it. I say go for it.

As a non-guitarist who dials up guitar tones a lot for mixing purposes, I'd say one thing I've learned quickly is this: you never need as much distortion as you think you do. Remember that distortion tends to create harmonics of every frequency coming into it, which means that you can get muddy in a huge hurry. Also, reverb and delay, while they sound cool on a solo guitar, can make problems in a mix very quickly as well. Basically, less effects = more better. EDIT: Don't feel shy about posting an example for the purposes of getting technical feedback on a specific aspect of production. I don't see any problem with that, and everyone else should be able to help you a lot more easily if they have something to go off of.

This one took me a while, and I'm rather proud to share it around. Hope you dig it! https://soundcloud.com/flexstyle/policy-of-truth-flexstyle-vs

Depends on your price range, and what you're using it for. I can give recommendations from anywhere between about $350-2000, haha.

Man, I woulda gotten on this so quickly if you'd posted in Production. lrn2thread,nub. I've had great success with ASUS laptops thus far--have owned two myself, and have gotten them for all my family members whenever they ask. So far, everyone's happy, and the usage is very similar to what you're describing. However, I know the Lenovo Thinkpad T430 is a great laptop. This one comes with Win7 Pro, a great battery, 4 GB of RAM, an optical drive, and a 7200RPM, 500 GB drive. The drive speed is important, as that'll be the difference between "I HATE IT" and "IT'S ADEQUATE." If you REALLY wanna get something quick, find a solid state drive. That'll bump the price up a notch, though, usually. Usually, I'd recommend spending at least $750 on a laptop if you really want it to be worth anything, but I can probably find some decent deals somewhere if you want me to look a little more closely. I can usually find a good coupon code here and there. Also, keep your eye on sites like Woot, Dealzmodo, GdgtDeals, etc. They often post links (or offer for sale) a killer deal or two on laptops, electronics, etc.

I remember when I first heard this in the relevant project forum a few months ago. My mind was completely blown. The song is still as fresh and funky as ever--my only gripe is that the piano solo is very basic and doesn't bring the funk as much as everything else. Still, it's a FANTASTIC track and one certainly worthy of getting down with!

Go to Name.com (or any other legitimate registrar) and see if your domain is available. Purchase it. Direct it towards the nameservers on your hosting package (if you don't have one, I recommend Hostgator). Profit!

Oh hey, I've got a set at MAG12. http://magfest.org/magfest-12-dj-lineup-part-1

I've already backed this, can't wait to hear it in full!

I'm actually in the process of building a spreadsheet that'll help me lay out what needs to be done. Key, BPM, style, etc. for each planned remix.

Part of what I'm putting together for guidelines will make this possible. Short answer: YES!

Dear VSTBuzz: I hate you. Sincerely, Flexstyle's wallet. Dear VSTBuzz: I love you. Sincerely, Flexstyle's creative juices.

<MODREVIEW> 1. The mixing is decent, but I still feel like everything's a tad bit crowded. This is more a function of the arrangement, and not of the actual mixing, since there are several instruments playing at the same time that take up the same sonic space. Also, a bass instrument of some sort, while not essential, would definitely help to round out the sound. Maybe introduce it partway through the song. 2. It still feels really mechanical, especially with the plucked....trills? I think that's the term. Those don't sound terribly natural. I know it's a function of the patch you're using, but it could use a bit of tweaking. 3. I concur with Tim, in that the arrangement, while containing tempo and key changes, doesn't really evolve very much. The patterns all sound the same, even if in different keys and at different speeds. It's a very "flat" sound. Plus, the transitions between those changes are quite abrupt, and really need to be smoothed out with perhaps some additional writing and even extra percussion fills. Good stuff thus far, but it does need a decent amount of work as well. </MODREVIEW>

It's...funky AND br00tal? I dig it so much. Nice job!

Officially, I'm very interested. Since I'm one of the more experienced EDM producers on the site, and since I've been itching to direct a project for a while now, this sounds right up my alley. I'd need a co-director or two, since there's no way I'll be able to do it just by myself, but other than that I'm pretty sure I can do it.

Really like this mix. It's a very clean sound, and the whole "voice-as-an-instrument" thing works really nicely.

I used to play the crap out of a game called Nerf Arena Blast. Not airsoft, but even more innocuous than that! I also used to play a paintball game. I forget what it was called, though.

Meet the Workshop Moderators! The purpose of this thread is to give any would-be workshop denizen the ability to best utilize the staff here. In other words, here's what you need to know about each one of us! Each of us are here to help you grow as a musician and (hopefully) into a posted ReMixer. However, not all of us operate the same way, and we each have different backgrounds. Some of us are in different time zones, and we all have projects, lives, family, and music of our own to attend to. Nonetheless, the reason we're workshop mods is because we each have a passion for helping others improve. ambient (yes, with a small "a") Real name: Alex Gventsadze Location: Georgia Occupation: Professional Services Preferred method of contact: PM Also reachable by: TBD Five OSTs I recommend: Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, Streets of Rage, Streets of Rage 2, Tekken Tag Tournament 2. About me: Far from a professional musician (though I have a bit of a background in classical piano and upright bass), my involvement in any kind of creative process associated with music is limited to what I do on OCR. I mainly focus on electronic music and could offer only limited input when it comes to other musical styles. I've been a part of the OCR community since the early 2000s. Argle Real name: Adam Kirby Location: Tinley Park, IL, USA Occupation: Programmer analyst Preferred method of contact: PM Five OSTs I recommend: Chrono Trigger , King's Bounty: the Legend, Rayman, Kirby's Epic Yarn, Super Mario Galaxy About me: just a dude who likes to make teh remixes. Been at the music thing for over a decade. I play violin and guitar but I consider that secondary to composing computer-based music. I try to write in a variety of genres to prevent myself from getting bored, and would like to think I can give feedback on pretty much any genre. Look forward to helping people out! Gario Real name: Gregory Nourse Location: Palos Verdes Estate, California, USA Occupation: Electrical Engineer (Student), General Contractor Preferred method of contact: Skype (TheGreatGario), PM Also reachable by: AIM, Newgrounds PM (Gario), FB Five OSTs I recommend: Dragonseed, Megaman Soccer, Final Fantasy 8, Utopia (SNES), Saga 2/3 (Final Fantasy Legends, in USA) About me: I have my degree in Music Theory and Composition from UNM (back in 2008... hard to believe it's been that long already), and as such I've actually had a lot of experience listening to all sorts of styles of music (both tonal and atonal). As such, one area I'm particularly keen on is arrangement, voice leading and orchestration of the track. As of 2008 I've done a lot of work on my own learning the ins and outs of production, so I can give some solid advice on that front, as well. I'd like to be as diligent as possible on these boards, though unfortunately I've only had time to browse them actively once a week, roughly. If you send out a PM I'd be happy to direct some Mod Review justice your way, though - a friendly request often serves you well! Rozovian Real name: Ad G Location: Finland Occupation: TBD Preferred method of contact: PM Also reachable by: AIM, Skype, email Five OSTs I recommend: Seiken Densetsu 3, Halo 3 ODST, Bastion, Super Metroid, Mirror's Edge About me: I complain about the compression in your mix, and leave figuring out source usage to the other mods. And I have a beard. XPRTNovice Real name: Joseph Zieja Location: Northern Virginia (changes almost yearly) Occupation: Voiceover Artist Preferred method of contact: OCR PM at the moment Also reachable by: Skype, mIRC sometimes, pigeon OSTs I recommend: Xenogears, Persona 3 About Me: Relatively new to OCR (joined January 2012), but I've been a musician for over 20 years. My highlight seems to be the amount of instruments I play (at widely varying different skill levels of course), which include 4 saxophones, clarinet, guitar, mandolin, trumpet, french horn, flute, piano, and oud. I'm also a voiceover artist and fantasy/science fiction author on the side (hopefully some good news about my books coming in 2014). I'm glad to be a part of the OCR community and now I'm thrilled to be a part of the staff as well. I look forward to growing with you all. WillRock (Judge) Real name: William Harby Location: UK Occupation: Composer Preferred method of contact: Skype (WillRock07), PM, Facebook Also reachable by: AIM, IRC Five OSTs I recommend: iunno About me: Dunno. You guys can look me up here. Also work as a composer for edgebee studios. Got a degree in music tech. Etc. Reason i'm posting here is because I don't frequent the boards, and i'm technically still a WS Mod. but I DO like to look and help out people with their tracks, particularly if they come to me in person. Its better to send me a direct message (AIM/IRC/Skype) rather than PM because otherwise I may think "i'll look later" and not get around to it, but contact me and i'll more than happily help out anyone who needs it. I wouldn't class myself as particularly great with a specific area of critique but i'm a good all rounder and can probably give a decent idea if something will pass the panel or not. Hit me up on Skype!

iTunes tracks are DRM-free these days. No sweat playing them on my Android phone, for instance. I don't see what the big deal is.

I can't not like music. Rhythm has been a key part of the fabric of my being since I was tiny. I love sound, I love stringing sounds together, and I like when this is done in manner that involves some kind of order.

I'd love to comment, 'cept there's no link!