Gario

Funny coincidence that I was addressing the EQ problems as you wrote that, halc - I'm hoping this version pretty much solves the mixing, there. The guitar leads have been balanced out, I spent as much on the drums as I'm willing to (humanized the hats + did a little velocity work on the bass drum + snare), and the song is a little easier on the ears (because I don't want to take away the power behind it). Oh, and I caught your comment on the beginning just now and threw in a little lick there, Emunator, just for you . I know the synth at 1:26 is awesome, but there really isn't too much room for any more lead work with it. Believe me, I tried, but it really doesn't fit anywhere else. I don't believe it takes away from the song at all - on the contrary, I think it works well as a schelling point of sorts. You should take a gander at the Laguna track I did here a couple of months ago, Halc - it was full of all sorts of awesome synth leads (part of the reason I didn't put as much in here - trying to diversify my approach a bit). Rocket Slam Unless there's anything significantly wrong, I'm calling this done, here. Thanks for all the help .

... but fuck it. Happy Birthday, WILLROCK! How's (almost) being legally able to drink feel? Or are the drinking laws significantly different in the good ol' UK? ANYHOW, happy birthday!

I've liked this one for some time, now. Sorry I didn't respond here - I didn't see you get this one up here. Not much else to say here, except I expect it to open up to a song with something that fills the soundscape more, but that's more a problem with my own perception than with the song. Always liked it, and always find myself going back to it on my hard drive. Nice work. You won't see this message at least until the middle of July, so... yeah, still feel like commenting on it.

Good luck with your work. Just letting you know if people aren't too enthusiastic about joining you, though, it's because of these albums already up (and the other one that's in the works) make it seem like a redundant idea. Of course, they're not exactly what you're planning (all vocal rather than freestyle electronic or orchestra), but they're close. Nonetheless, I wish you luck - I recommend looking at a list of available singers on here and PM'ing a couple of them to see if any are interested. I also recommend posting some WIP's of your work (or finished work, if you have it) in the VG Remixing forum (or 'original WIP'; whichever is the case) and linking to those, from here, so the singers understand the quality of music you're going to put them on. All of this being said, I wish you the best of luck - we can never have too much David Wise on here, .

Thanks for the details on that, Hewhoisiam. I'll certainly be taking another look on my drum track, and your advice will help considerably. Stay tuned!

I like the clarity of the track, now - the EQ'ing is quite clean. The extra likes and such that are through the track add some flavor to it all that I can appreciate, so nice work with it . The change-up in style roughly a minute into it helps it along quite nicely, too. I feel all the changes you made changed it from 'cover' to 'ReMix', so I believe you're fine, in that aspect. The bass presence isn't too hot, atm. With the driving sound that it has, the bass should be stronger. Bring em' out. The echo at the end is a bit annoying - clean up the cutoff, there. I know you can do it . Otherwise, it's great. Love the sound. I hope people are missing out on this only because the other track we're working on is taking everyone's attention away . Great stuff!

Source: Terra's Theme In all honesty, though, it's the most used sources from FF6, so how couldn't you know? Don't worry bout that, dfalk; it's not overused. It's just that good.

I don't know for sure about the details of that definition (you're probably right, though), but I understand you're right about the midi support. Generally, something that support midi sequencing is called a 'Sequencer'. Not sure what the difference between a sequencer and a tracker is, but I know they're two different things. Perhaps it's the interface?

Terrible shame USA didn't get to the final round. Ah well, always next year... On a side note, this is probably the first year I've ever been interested in Soccer. If I watch it in the future (which I might) it'll all be thanks to how well the good ol' American team did here. Just didn't like having no team to root for, you know?

Can't help with the soundfonts (I use Reason - it's a whole different animal). However, I can take a look at the track. Let's see... Yeah, there are some neat ideas in here, for sure (I liked the introduction of the bass, there, with the space and all), but it's certainly undeveloped. Drum samples would be a huge boon to the entire beginning (a thicker tom & a thinner hat would be great, there, just so you know what to look for). The production is murder, here - clipping everywhere. Turn down the instruments that fuzz out, like the square wave & guitar synth (called 'Clipping', by the way) until the fuzz is gone. Then try mixing the tracks and such so instruments are in the front or back using the mixer, all while avoiding the clipping. It's tricky, but it makes a good track into a great one. I'm going to take it a step further and say get rid of the square altogether. It's not a bad instrument, but it's terrible in this context. Try another instrument that isn't so pure sounding, there. I'm sure FL comes with at least a couple of instruments that you could use instead. The soundscape is pretty empty, at times. If you have open space, it's alright, but too much kills a song. Up to the square the space isn't bad, but you really need some textures and such filling the space after a point, or else you'll lose your audience. As for places to host, Box.net & Tindeck.net are both great for that. I believe Fireslash made a site just for WIPs, as well, posted on the sticky in the forums, so you can check that out, too. Hope this helps you a bit - good luck!

I was imagining something with a name like that to sound so much more gruesome. Ah well, lol. All that aside, the Sonic 2 sounds are all there, for sure. It sounds a little peppy for Sonic 2, IMHO, but it's still quite good. Always nice to hear Sega fonts in music - chiptunes, while good, are a little overdone . Nice work

I'll look at the drum track's note emphasis and see if I can humanize it a little bit without killing myself. I suggest you look at the tom solos and realize the bass drums are there as the lowest 'Tom' - it's a drumming trick. 'Upper toms' 'Lower Toms' 'Bass Drum'... that's how I get my shape. I dunno, Level 99... for some reason the way you lined up that solo sounds off in the beginning, to me (I think that's what I was hearing when I said that before). I feel better about the version I spliced and re-aligned, if you don't mind it too much. Emunator, the version that I posted is the one that requires the review (this one, in fact). Give it to me straight; I think it's fair to say it's at a mod-review stage, though .

Finally got the thing mixed, addressed the string problem (as much as I can), brought the drums to the front, EQ'd it, etc.. I suspect it's still a little muddy, but it's getting close to the final product. Oh yeah, and don't forget to praise Level 99, too - his guitar took this from 'suck' to 'awesome' Here it is - give me some crits, tell me what to fix and I'll go send it off to the J's Rocket Slam

I'm in the area, Kyle, and I've got a car (at least, I'm in SoCal - Riverside is an hour or two away, pending on traffic). I could give you a ride, as soon as I finalize my decision to go (financially I look good, but I gotta look at how work will look at that moment in time). Can't help you for the place to stay, though - I'm still looking at that, myself. Chances are getting better that I'll attend; just gotta get a few more things iron'd out.

It could've been rejected on the grounds that it took too long to get there . A year and a half to get to the panels... Gotta be a record, lol.

Mmm... I'm liking this. The percussion work is quite excellent (one thing a lot of people have trouble with, tbh), and the sample quality is great (I would like to know which VST you used - I may look into getting it, sometime soon). The synthwork is pretty simple, though. Combining the wonderfully full sounding orchestra with the popcorn-like synths doesn't do it for me. The synth you use for the theme in the beginning is quite bland, as well. Look for some nice fat synths instead of the synth that blends with the reed instruments (Perhaps it's a trombone + an oboe? If that's the case, they don't sound too hot, I'm afraid). I'll agree with Anti-Syne and say that the arrangement is a bit predictable and conservative. You need to expand on the theme into something original, or at least arrange the structure in such a way that it doesn't resemble the source so much, if you want to get on OCR. Even if you don't want to get on OCR, you'll need to vary the textures far more than they are - while the instruments are pretty, they're used for the same purpose far too often. The strings, for example, are used to strike on the anticipation the whole song. It's great to build into the song, but using them throughout like that not only sounds lazy, it numbs the listener to the effect. Vary the use of the strings (even considering cutting them out periodically) and they'll sound fresh and interesting. The synthwork & the woodwinds have similar problems. The percussion is great in this regard, though. The samples, while great, need some dynamic work in order to sound even more human. You've got a great start with them and they sound close, but they tend to play in the same dynamic range. Vary it to emphasis the music better and you'll get much further with everyone. Personally, I love the song. It could be much better, though - it has a lot of potential. Keep it up!

You've heard my view on it before, so you know I like this piece (and was impressed to see it on the panel some time ago). If DJP wants a name for it, 'Modern' would be alright, and so would simple term 'Atonal', lol. Not quite contemporary anymore, though... but I'm getting off track here. Some of the instruments are slightly unrealistic (the ww's in the beginning, in particular), and like the J's said the dynamic variation would've been nice (it's a bit static), but that's about it for any possible criticism, really. I encourage everyone on here to listen to this, for sure - the second non-tonal piece to be put up on here (the first goes to the all-percussion piece by DrumUltimA). Take a look at it, peeps .

I saw that this passed the panel. Great job with that, 'cause it's excellent! See you on the front page

Glad you changed your hosting. Alrighty, let's hear what we've got... Hardpanning is... tricky to balance, and you haven't successfully done it, here. Center your panning more, because hardpanning is unsettling to the ears, unless it's either used for special effect or it's properly counterbalanced with another instrument on the other ear. The beginning is quite nice - I like the piano + flute you had going, there. It's sequenced quite well. The other instruments that come in after... not so much, but it has an excellent start. Spend as much love with the velocities and such on the other instruments and a winner you will be. The drums are weak. I'd help, but my programs are not compatible with FL at all, sorry . Change the drums so they're not so... bland. The instrument itself is bad, the bass EQ has no power, the snare EQ doesn't allow it to be salient, they're too quiet, and the sequencing is poor (I mean, there are all sorts of more interesting beats you can make, there). I know you understand they're poor, to start with - just take what I said as advice and try to change those things up The balance is better, in this mix. Some of the textures could still be put farther into the background, though. Not by much - just enough to emphasis the melodies a little better. The Song of Storms is a little odd, in there. When it goes into something different it's fine, but the direct rip that plays first is a bit distracting. I suggest you change up the first iteration so it's similar, but not precisely the Zelda song. The guitar is... um, fake. Nothing wrong with that, but I recommend looking for a guitarist to help you out with it. If you don't want to, please beef out the sound with better distortion, pitch bends (to add a more human sound) and some EQing to the mids/highs in order to make the sound produced more distinct. Alrighty, hopefully that helps you out. It's far and away an improvement to the last one, so keep it up )

No metal man. That's good. The beats are considerably heavier and the soundscape is dirtier. That's good. With the soundscape, though, be careful - now that you've got the synths sounding more 'heavy' they tend to muddy the soundscape. Too many instruments are playing in the same EQ range, so you need to clean it up and give it some space. Glad to see you working on it .

Sorry, I tried working on something for a little bit last night & this morning, but I couldn't get anything off the ground. I was working a shitload on other music and got burnt out. I can't get anything done today because I have plans for the entire day that can't be moved for this (believe me, I would if I could). Really, though - there's still a few hours left so someone can take advantage of this time and make something! Love your track, by the way, Nase

But, bu... No! This thread is a STAPLE of the OCR WIP forums! It must not... die... *uuuwaaaaaaaa* *death throes* *thread dies* Alright, I'm off to the REAL thread to listen to the album now

The orchestration is quite nice, especially since that's in high school. The compositions are a bit static, but that seems to suit you just fine. It's not a bad thing, but it's something that's nice to be aware of. The conducting is a little bit odd, but that's probably due to inexperience, I'm sure; you'll get better quick. A pointer for the future - conducting with one hand is great if you're going to use the other hand to signal the performers on significant cutoffs & entrances. Otherwise it can confuse the performers and lead to them ignoring your actions. Looking at the performers that are going to enter/cutoff specifically when you signal them is a nice thing to do, as well. This is an excellent song. It's difficult to get people to perform work, in my experience, so I'm glad you got people willing to play your stuff

Sooooooo... I'm very late to this party, but I'm thinking about coming out there. It's very tentative, at the moment (as in 'I have no clue what my financial situation will look like, when the time comes, but I think I'll be alright'). I just moved out to the Southern California region, so I'm suddenly more available for little ventures like this. Looking at the rooms... they're not too bad. Yeah, give me a week or two and I'll have a more definitive answer on this. It's looking very tempting, right now. Always wanted to hit the tables out in Vegas .