Flexstyle

Since nobody's replied, I just want to say that this is super cool and thank you for sharing!

Unless my financial situation changes (or I get accepted as a DJ--we'll see, they won't be announcing that for a while), I'm unlikely to attend.

My track was meant to be a very "movie soundtrack" sort of song--hence a couple of "nothing going on" spots as well as the sudden transition. Those were completely deliberate. I had a mental picture of someone like Jason Bourne doing a covert ops thing and then being discovered and running away from international spy police or something. I make no apologies at all for the song, because it's exactly what I heard in my head.

Seriously. Don't forget, y'all, your vote is worth a first-place vote to your team if you're participating! We should see at least 39 votes per round, otherwise you're all missing out on points you COULD be having.

Listening through this one again and I can't believe how well it's aged. I still love it. So glad this was my first in-depth participation on an album on OCR, because I'm incredibly proud to have helped with it.

aww hellz yes, we need more Psy on OCR! Definitely got some cool squelchy synth stuff going on. I'm hearing enough source usage to be happy, the production is good enough...I could nitpick, but at this point, what's the use anyways? YES

+1 to all the above, plus I'd add this extra bit of feedback: I know you said you programmed your drums, and that's fine--most people here do that as well. However, I could tell that there was practically zero attempt to humanize those drums. You gotta give me something besides the kick, snare, hats, and cymbals always being at the same velocity, man! A real drummer doesn't hit everything exactly locked to the grid, and even the tightest drummers absolutely don't play every single drum the same way at the same loudness--it's the dynamics that can really make a piece. Gotta get me some love on dem drums. Keep all this good stuff in mind, and definitely visit the Workshop forums--you'll get a lot of really great feedback there as well. Good luck! NO

Flexstyle Mind Flip~ (Cyber Peacock in Final Weapon [X4]) Vector Point Engineering Sigma Fortress (Blizzard Buffalo in Final Weapon [X4]) Sword of the Scavalier (Ground Scaravich in Final Weapon [X4]) Desert Catz

Because kvetching about the judges in a community thread makes the process go faster

I might be around for an 8 PM EDT sort of thing.

Let's see.... - SFRG competition - a game soundtrack (Fantasy Strike) - some producer work for a Universal Music subgroup - finishing my Smash Bros remix album commissioned by Smashbits - finally getting Super Cartography Bros released here at OCR - noodling around on whatever I want - producing a worship album for my church - getting my next album together and that's just upcoming/current on the music side of things. Aside from that, I just got back from Asia, have done and will be still doing some panels and DJ sets at various cons, and am trying to keep making enough money to be able to afford things like rent and phone and electricity. As a freelancer, things are a bit up-and-down. So yeah. Busy-ish, wish I made more money, but I'm also not going hungry. Life's pretty good.

Wooo! Can't wait to do this one!

Guys, I can't believe how happy I am with this week's track. Seriously, I can't remember the last time I was this hyped to share something with OCR.

This week's track is likely going to be one I submit to the site. Super happy with where it's at right now. Just gonna let Jordan master it and then I'll be shooting it over to Shariq.

Getting serious early-stages BT vibes from this one. Production is great, soundset is great, and I'd use this in a DJ set in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, I'm not seeing that it makes any substantial arrangement changes from the original. It's practically the same structure, there's no variation on the melody, and even the sounds chosen are all very similar. I'd love to see this get a little more interesting with how you interpret the original song, rather than just giving it a facelift for 2014/2015. Do some riffing on the melodic themes that happen throughout, and I'm on board. I'm probably one of the very biggest EDM advocates here on the site, so please don't take this as a knock against anything you've done--I just think that for it to fit with the site's arrangement requirements, you'll need to do some more work. NO (please resub!)

This has basically got the sound of OCR circa 2006, but I think it works well enough here as well. The boxes are checked: production is passable, source is definitely used effectively throughout, can't really nitpick too much. I think it's a bit odd-sounding if taken as a traditional EDM song, but that's not really the point here. Not getting any opposition from me! YES

I think I get this concept, maybe a little more than Chimpa did, and I suspect that coming into this with fresh ears (I haven't heard the original submission) means I'm a little less critical. The flute doesn't bug me as badly, and that would be a quick fix in a pitch editor anyways--most DAWs include one these days. I do agree that the mixing and production needs to be much better, though. Guitars would be much better served by being double- or quad-tracked, in order to get a much bigger sound. Drums need to be much punchier and "bigger" sounding in general--you'll want to stop by the workshop in order to get some input there, I think. Synths need to be executed more in line with the energy level you're trying to get. That intro definitely needs to be given some TLC in order to lose the stiffness. I am, however, digging a lot of your orchestral sequencing. You've got a good feel for dynamics on that side of things, and I think if you were to collaborate with someone who could execute the production and metal sides of things, you might have something super cool. Essentially, this has some seriously cool arrangement ideas, but the execution just falls down. I'd love to hear this arrangement given new life at some point, but it sounds like you've got a lot of production work to learn before you're able to nail it yourself. Don't get discouraged--that's what the workshop is around for, and it's not like you have to get it absolutely perfect in order to pass the panel. Just gotta kill those big issues off is all. NO

Oh my.

I like this source and am quite happy with where my track is going.

Flexstyle - Desert Catz Laser Power (Shield Sheldon in X-Hunter Stage 1 [X2]) Caffeine Shoveling Hunter Turtloids (Rainy Turtloid in X-Hunter Stage 1 [X2]) X's Demise (Spark Mandrill in X-Hunter Stage 1 [X2])

I'm picking up the mantle for the Desert Catz this week. Expect strange things.

Hey, not bad! Sounds like it would fit pretty well in the existing Smash Bros, and worked really nicely in the video, too. Great work!

Flexstyle - Desert Catz MMMDop (Slash Beast in Doppler Stage 1 [X3]) Tropical Relaxation Method (Cyber Peacock in Doppler Stage 1 [X3]) Beetle Dopplerganger (Ground Scaravich in Doppler Stage 1 [X3])

My first proper interface was an M-Audio Delta 1010LT, which was a PCI interface with mostly RCA inputs and outputs. The drivers have proven to be incredibly stable, and I still use this on my desktop production rig under Windows 8.1, believe it or not. However, it'll be phased out soon whenever I get a new computer, as this definitely won't work with newer computers. I'll second anyone's recommendation for the Focusrite Scarlett series. I personally own a 2i2 and an 18i20 (and yes, I've used this to a great extent in the past, but I am a professional recording engineer, not a hobbyist). The Scarlett series has built a well-deserved reputation on being some of the best bang for the buck you can get--with clean, uncolored mic preamps, very stable drivers, and a nice suite of included plugins, you really can't do any better for the money on any of their interfaces. However, here's some things that I hadn't immediately considered when I purchased the 2i2, for instance: I wish I'd gotten the 2i4. The price difference is not much, and with the 2i4 you get a second set of stereo outputs, as well as MIDI I/O. If you have a piece of gear that doesn't come with a USB port (a lot of older MIDI peripherals, such as synthesizers), or if you're just finding drivers to be a big issue (like I've found with my Akai keyboard on my Yosemite MacBook Pro), then it's nice to be able to just plug into the regular MIDI port and have all the issues disappear. Plus, if you're ever doing some sort of live performance, or just want to have a separate headphones mix from the regular stereo mix, then having the extra set of outputs is nice. My 18i20, of course, is spectacular, and I can do anything I want with the darn thing that I need these days. It's also DEFINITELY OVERKILL for anyone who's not recording 8 inputs at once and trying to do crazy output routing. Some other interfaces I would recommend someone consider if they're looking for a new one in a fairly reasonable price range include the Steinberg UR series, the Native Instruments interfaces (used by my alma mater, the Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences, as part of their new student gear packages these days), and a few others. I can't personally name anything to stay away from, but I do want to caution my fellow PC users that you check and find out if you're able to use a FireWire interface or if you're stuck with USB only. My recommendation for a starter interface would probably be the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 or the 2i4--the 2i4 will probably last you longer and be more versatile in the long run. The drivers are very stable, the installation process is a piece of cake, and it will work well no matter what your DAW is--with the possible exception of Pro Tools, which I've heard has issues with the Scarlett series. I can't confirm or deny that yet, although I should be able to test if anyone wishes me to do so. It's true--I've done good work with just a built-in audio interface and ASIO4ALL. However, that is extra overhead, and I'm simply able to do more no matter what with an external audio interface. With an external interface, I can plug in any microphone I wish, and start recording quickly. With a built-in interface, I am very limited in what kind of sounds I can get. With an external interface, I know that the sound quality is such that I can trust it, and a built-in interface probably won't be nearly as clean. tl;dr Get a good audio interface if you're anything more than a super-green beginner. If you're serious about this at all as even a hobbyist, then an audio interface will be something you find incredibly useful.

Flexstyle - Desert Catz Bounce Too High (Vanishing Gungaroo in Palace Ground [X]) Firefly (Shining Hotarunicus in Palace Ground [X]) Electric Moves & Cephalopod Grooves (Volt Kraken in Palace Ground [X])