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Flexstyle

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Posts posted by Flexstyle

  1. Yeah, actually, that may well be all you need for now. You'll want to upgrade to a better interface when it comes time to do any sort of serious recording (because that way you can choose your microphone, etc.), but all the actual processing of the orchestral samples 'n such will happen with the processor. That's why having a good processor is so important.

    And hey, you can always try out your Roland device, and if it ends up not working very well, just upgrade. From what I can tell, though, it should do the job just fine.

  2. Yeah, just make sure Windows is set to use your built-in soundcard as its default. You can set your DAW to specifically use the other soundcard instead, and it works just fine that way. I suppose quad-core isn't REQUIRED, but honestly, there are some really good options out there, and you'll save yourself a lot of trouble that way.

    If you want, I can probably put together a list of parts on Newegg or something and give you the specs for a custom build. Building your own computer is a really rewarding experience, both because you'll save money and because it's more fun!

  3. If you're going to be doing music (especially any recording of instruments), get a card made for music, rather than gaming. I've had really good luck so far with my M-Audio Delta 1010LT, but it's a bit old and uses ol' PCI. If you've got a spare PCI slot (rare on some computers these days, depending on the motherboard), it's still a fantastic card. I'd recommend something like one of these:

    http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/FireStuMobile/ (FireWire)

    http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Delta1010LT/ (PCI)

    http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/KompAudio6/ (USB 2.0)

    The way I have my computer set up is to where it uses the integrated audio on the motherboard for everything but my DAW, and my DAW then has full use of the add-on soundcard. Everything's routed through a small mixer, where I have headphones and speakers plugged in for monitoring options.

    As far as other components go, I'll second the recommendation for 8 gigabytes of RAM (what I have), and at least a quad-core processor of some sort. An i5 or a higher-end AMD quad or 8-core chip should do the job pretty well, too.

    Hard drive space? I'm almost at the end of my five terabytes. You'll need as much space as you can possibly afford.

    Video card doesn't matter too much, but having a decent one helps if you're going to be doing any gaming on the side.

  4. Selling my current laptop, cos I'll be upgrading to an ultrabook here shortly. Anyone want it? Yours for $850.

    SPECS:

    - 6GB RAM

    - Intel Mobile Core i5 (Sandy Bridge) processor

    - 750 GB hybrid SSD drive: acts like an SSD on bootup and when certain, oft-used programs are launched, but still has the storage of a standard hard drive.

    - Windows 7 Pro

    - 15" Full HD (1080p) screen

    - Blu-Ray reader/DVD+CD burner

    - Dedicated 1GB nVidia GT540M video card with Optimus (switches to integrated low-power graphics when not gaming)

    - Decent sound for a laptop

    - Battery is as good as when I first bought it--gets about 2 hours on high power, fully-everything-blasting, and a good 5-6 hours when in power-saving mode (with wi-fi on).

    It retailed new for about $950 when I got it last year, and I've added the $180 upgrade of the hybrid drive since then as well. Let me know!

  5. Probably a toothed wave of some sort with a LOT of filtering. Sounds to me like the bandpass filter cutoff is following the keyboard (e.g. A2 has one cutoff, while E4 has a much higher cutoff).

    You could probably get the same effect by sampling a single note that sounds like that synth, and then pitching it up and down with some vibrato. Pretty simple to do in FL Studio, at least.

  6. I wasn't that happy with the source usage since the original song has many sections and you elaborated on very little of it. Still, the section that you picked was nicely developed.

    I do want to mention that there is nothing in the OCR guidelines that says someone must use a certain percentage of a source track. As long as the submitted track uses some sort of discernible source material for at least 50% of the remix, it's kosher.

    Plus, the song we picked was really more like 12 songs in one. :-P

    Props to UDW for the arrangement, btw--all I did was write a new drum line, and replace some samples with my higher-quality stuff. Had a blast doing it!

  7. Actually, as I'm re-reading the original post, I do see the phrase "all deadlines are at 12 PDT." So it was specified. However, it would be much more convenient to say "voting ends at 12 PDT on Tuesday, August 14," just because, personally, I don't want to have to read the entire post to get one small bit of information.

    So yeah, small details. :<

  8. Yikes--I'm glad it ended up not being an issue for my team, but when I read that "voting is until Tuesday, August 14," I assumed that it would be in the evening, not at the very beginning of the day. That absolutely needs to be clarified, since today is still, if I'm not mistaken, August 14. In my (and, I suspect, many other people's) experience, whenever "until XX day" is mentioned, it's assumed that the period ends when the day does.

    That said, congrats to all involved, and thanks to MW for moderating this pilot episode. :)

  9. Btw, you guys need to post your sources, I want to hear what you're remixing!

    source:

    (we used the riff at 5:13)

    Just so there's no confusion. :)

    I should also mention that generally speaking, as long as a ReMix stays interesting and incorporates some kind of source for more than 50% of the song, it has a strong chance of passing the panel, from what I've observed (obvious factors like production and instrumentation notwithstanding).

  10. Actually, that brings up a good point...how exactly should we be evaluating source usage? Should it be based on the OCR guidelines (Not too much, not too little kind of thing)?

    What do you mean by "not too much?" As far as I'm aware, there's no such thing as "too much source." Now, being too similar (cover-ish) will get a mix frowned upon, but never will anyone decry a mix for incorporating too much of the good stuff.

  11. I don't think musical composition scares me at all--if I'm attempting a new genre or chord progression or melodic/textural idea, I look at it as a fun new challenge.

    That said, sometimes the sheer amount of work I need to put into translating the music I hear in my head into a working sequence is daunting. I'll start a project, have an awesome idea in my head, but then push my chair back a half hour later having only completed the one drum pattern I wanted, or something.

    I should probably put together a template of SOME sort, heh. Problem is, I don't like using templates because I see that as railroading myself into using the same sounds over and over, which I don't really like to do. MUST HAVE NEW SOUNDS. :<

  12. I'm sure I'll take some flack for this, and I'm sorry if I'm the lone dissenting voice, but here's my two cents: I'm not a fan. The same lead synth permeates the track throughout (and it's a bit grating), and the bass work is pretty ADHD and unpolished. The mix sounds flat to me, and the drums are, I'd venture, way too simple and dry for this genre. Personally, I'm a bit confused as to the panel's decision on this one. I'm sure I'm missing something, but what is it?

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