Gario

Well, having the bass section covered is certainly a good start. Once this weekend rolls around I'll start checking out who's still around, who I know, etc., and see how much support I can garner outside of just people who stumble across this post. By the way, do you guys read scores? @DS394 @The Nikanoru It's a good thing to know, considering that's the primary way to get people to read the music.

Correct, SOS battles seem to cover EV training fairly well. They also have an increased chance of shinys occurring, as well, and they provide you with the chance to get hidden abilities, too (again, much like the group battles in XY). I still enjoyed the big ol' 5v1 pokemon battles that you could get, though.

So in other words, you and I, lol. Apologies, I didn't see the eval tag when I first saw this. Also, I'll add that I look forward to the rap that will overlay it (and, in fact, the track DOES seem well designed for it), but it's tough to give you any guarantees on whether it'll be accepted until I hear it with vocals on it - if something were off with the vocals (mixed poorly, clashes against notes, etc.) it would be missed until it hit the panel. I'm having a difficult time downloading it - that's something that I like to be able to do with tracks with more complex or unfamiliar EQ spaces (like, say, Trap and it's bass - I can't hear it effectively on my current setup). I love NG to death (have my own artist profile there, in fact, lurk the Politics section quite a lot after PPR died down here), but sometimes their audio portal makes things tricky. An outside link to an Mp3 would be appreciated, such as a box.net or dropbox link. All that being said, here's a mini 'eval' - I can't really make any promises without looking at the waveform, hearing how the lyrics work with it, etc., so I'll need the external link and the version where you rap over it before I can give a proper evaluation. A basic look over it, though, looks like you have a pretty decent backing to your vocals, though. There are some elements that stick out as being repeated for too long (such as the repeating quarter note sine in the background that never lets up the entire song), and it's difficult to see if the soundscape is filled properly (again, difficult to hear this very bass heavy style on my setup without looking at a waveform). I imagine that there will be a lot of variety added to the track with some vocals above the track, which would greatly alleviate some of the static nature of the track currently. I like a lot of the elements that come in and out - there's quite a bit of subtle motion that occurs throughout that keep it pretty interesting even without the vocals. I think you really need to drop your rapping skills on this before I can have a solid idea of how it all ties together, but I see this potentially being an awesome trap/hip hop track. Keep me updated on it!

Hey there, beautiful OCR people! OverChoral ReMix! It's an idea that I've been juggling for many years, and yet I've either never had the time or got too distracted with other projects and such to get it off the ground. Since I've been in pretty solid shape over the last year, though, I've decided to give this a real shot. There is a LOT of talent on here, and this is something that I can see coming together and really creating some spectacular music that no one in the community has ever heard before, but it's also something that no one can do alone, either. We need an OCR community choir, and I'm here to offer direction to this group. I will likely be messaging a few people that have shown some form of interest in this effort in the past, but I'm also inviting anyone and everyone to give this a chance, if they have any inclination to do so. If you've ever sung in anything in the past, you will most certainly help. If you can read sheet music to any degree, you will be an absolute asset to this initiative (though I'll work with you if you can't read sheet music). If you can compose and want to supply the group with a VG arrangement, I absolutely insist you send it our way (once we've become established, of course!). To give you an idea of how this will work: If someone produces a solid choral VG arrangement (score, lyrics, etc.), we will sing it, and I will mix it to make it sound like we're singing in a choir. If needed, I will figure out a way to conduct for everyone (brushin' up on my conducting skills!), and I will help with diction (pronunciation), as necessary. To make something like this work, we need to have a solid mix of voices. This includes: - Sopranos (Presumptive range: Middle "C" to "A" two octaves above) - Altos (Presumptive range: "F" below middle C to middle "C" an octave above) - Tenors (Presumptive range: "C" below middle C to "G" above middle C) - Bass (Presumptive range: "E" an octave and a half below middle C to Middle "C") This will not work without at least two people per range, though we can use more than that if others decide to participate (and I hope that they do). This sort of thing has been done before (think FF4 album's Fabul's Men's Choir), and I won't lie that this idea was inspired by this, in some sense. It has also been done on a far larger scale by Eric Whitacre (which turned out beautifully, by the way). This will hopefully be somewhere in between those two examples in terms of scope. I absolutely look forward to working with anyone and everyone that is willing to be involved in this. Currently, I have one arrangement that we can work through, in order to see how well this works in practice (and, let's face it, to make a kick-ass choral VG arrangement, to boot), and I'm hoping that in time we can make more music like it if it works out well. Post in here or PM me if you're at all interested! Be sure to provide your vocal range that you can work comfortably in. Let's make this happen. Members so far: Sopranos: Peíorele* Altos: Rexy* Wildfire* Final Kingdom* Tenors: Gario* Flexstyle* Bowlerhat* Wiesty* Basses: DS394* The Nikanoru* Anorax(?)* Note: Those marked with * have confirmed that they can read sheet music.

I'll have to pay more attention to that Pelego place, it seems. I've caught a number of shinys in XY while doing hardcore EV training with those group battles (they show up a lot more often in those, it seemed), but they don't have those in Sun/Moon, unfortunately.

Go Virt, keep being an awesome dude.

Nobody likes your commie attitude and taste, Modus you commie.

Actually, a perfectly fair question; it's difficult to put into few words. Fortunately, someone actually asked me the exact same question yesterday (because of my comment here, no less!), so I'll share what I explained with him (with a few edits, for clarity): "Plain, unimaginative and/or boring sound design" is what vanilla generally means. There's some subjectivity to it, of course, but it does have some objective base to it. It's helpful to think of it using a basic litmus test: A. Is it an easily recognized, overused preset (like Supersaw) or a pure waveform (saw, square, etc.)? If so... B. Is there a particular reason for it, like trying to emulate a particular sound (squares to emulate NES) or style (Supersaws for old school electronic music)? If not... C. Is there anything in the texture that makes them otherwise interesting (Quick arps, gating, etc) that might be muddy or messy with more complex instruments, or against itself? If the answer to the first is 'YES' and the other two is 'NO', doing something with the sound design of the simpler instruments will objectively make your music sound more rich and complete, without losing something in the arrangement in return. Do know, though, that this does NOT mean use a different sampler/synthesizer/etc.; it means do something with your tools (envelops, layering, etc.) that makes the instruments more interesting. Consider two of the three points in that litmus test in some detail: if you're actually going for a particular sound, then that not only justifies the use of simpler sounds, it may even require them ("8-bit" and "Fake-bit" is a genre that requires square waves for that sound, for example). Also, sometimes the use of pure sounds is necessary in order to apply more complex textures: doing hyper-fast 64th or 128th note arpeggios with virtually anything other than basic square or sines WILL sound like trash with more complex instruments. One final point that sums all of this nicely: Above all else, make your choices sound intentional rather than incidental. If it sounds like the composer made a purposeful choice on the sound design/synth/instrument rather than chose an instrument/synth just to carry the notes, it'll probably sound correct.

This is the best return to OCR ever.

That is something that is very, very cool that I had no idea existed. Always great to learn new things - the e-bow is quite unique. You used it well, I have to say.

I'll admit, this is one thing Sun and Moon handles with a bit more grace than the prior generations. Story integration with more consequence than just "being the very best" is tricky to pull off when you set out on an adventure that is defined by such a strict structure (eight gyms, elite four, champion). The structural layout for Sun and Moon is considerably more flexible, which makes for a more organic experience. Still love XY, though - it's a great game, too.

Depending on the arrangement (as in, if it would fit), I can offer some elaborate chiptune leads and/or wankery, if you would like. It would be fun.

Only finished my first play through last night, actually. It's not a bad thing to just take your time on it, in my opinion - it's pretty enjoyable. It's not like the lion's share of competitive online play will start until the Pokebanks open up, anyway.

Sorry that your track hasn't been judged quite yet; it does take some time for something to get to the panel (I think we're about 5 months behind, atm), and another bout of time for the judges to actually listen, critique and give their YES or NO on it. It's done the old fashion way (with people listening and figuring out if there's anything that makes it unacceptable), so that can take some time, as well. If you're ever curious to how it'd do on the panel prior to submitting it, you can post a track in here next time, and when you feel the track is in good shape to submit tag the thread with "EVAL". You'll get relatively immediate feedback from one of the Workshop Mods (a.k.a. Rozovian and myself, lawl), so you won't have to wait until it gets to and through the judges panel before you find out how it did. It's a nice little system for things like this, and it might help for next time. On a QUICK listen, I would gather this would likely be sent back for the vanilla synth design in the first half and sometimes off putting rhythms (particularly the bass against the arpeggiation at 0:25 - 0:40 - it might be purposeful, but it's quite off-putting; later it doesn't sound as out of place), but the arrangement ideas are pretty sound past 0:40, and the production and mixing are solid. In all honesty it may or may not pass the panel, though I'd lean toward asking for a resubmission based on the off putting rhythm as listed and rather plain sound design. Glad to see it on here, though - nice to be able to hear it before it gets to the panel.

Huh, this actually rocks pretty hard. I like the arrangement, and I think the production is relatively well done. You've got some great tone on your instruments, and everything sounds well humanized (well, except perhaps the piano, but it's hard to tell since it's hard to hear). I like the guitar work in this, though the mixing is pretty unbalanced. It's hard to hear things like the organ work, lead guitar, synth, etc. while the rhythm guitar is mixed so close to the front. This would benefit greatly from a re-mixing and remastering across the board. Bring out the lead instruments while they lead, and push the background elements so that they don't dominate (though are still easily distinguishable). Great work so far - I hope to hear a re-balanced version of this soon!

You got some nice piano chops goin' for you. I recognize that form, too - looks like you have some formal piano education behind you, too. I'm not at all familiar with the source (which is a trailer), but it's a very pretty song. Thanks for sharing!

So wait, did you use a bow to get that swelling effect? That'd be pretty slick if that were the case - never heard of a bow being used for a remix before. The album was consistently good overall. I felt the rhythm guitar's tone sometimes didn't feel very defined, but otherwise it was a solid experience. Thanks for sharing!

Wait, you're Amazing Brando? ... Awesome, a fan of both your solo work and infamous pairing with Duane. As for the Metroid 3 album, I haven't gotten through it all yet, but it seems like a pretty tight series of covers. I'm actually pretty surprised how you apply the guitar to most of the sounds throughout - the volume swells and such actually sound kind of alien. I'll keep listening, see how it all is. EDIT: Oh, I like what you did with that mini-boss theme. It's a very minimal source that I've worked with once, I know that one is quite tricky to keep interesting, so I give extra kudos to your handling of it. That "Wrecked Ship" track. Damn, it develops very nice throughout. While it sticks pretty close, it changes things up just enough to keep it interesting throughout the track. Might be my favorite of the album, unless one of the tracks later catch my ear in a similar way.

Ack, this ended on Nov. 30th, not Dec. 2nd. Wanted to do something with it - the Super Bomber Man theme that plays throughout the baseline was something I wanted to play around with. I mean, technically I still CAN, but I'm lazy and don't have a drive without a compo to play too. Ah well, I can still vote.

Will bring significant news on New Years day. ... I'm partly posting this information in order to hold myself to that promise. In the meantime: Yes, this project has been going on for a long time, but it hasn't been forgotten or abandoned yet. No, the directors do not want to let it go quite yet, because they still love the music that's already in it, and the sources are rich in possibility. Yes, the directors have been busy with life events (especially Bahamut), but that part has been less of an excuse for at least myself lately. Yes, this project has been going on since before the announcement of the Lufia DS remake, and continues long after its release. And finally: Yes, this is still a project that is being worked on, even if it's been dormant for a long time. I don't want people to feel abandoned on this, and I don't want to have people give up hope on it, so I will lay out the plans for this project's future on January 1st, 2017. Keep an eye out, especially if you feel like you want to contribute to it in some form or another.

If Jorito and LBC wanted to direct this effort, I will vouch for both of them in terms of musical ability and quality control. I hope they get this ball rolling again.

Interesting bit of trivia: this one track forced OCR to change its standards on length and file size, adopting the current standard we know and love today due to its sheer overwhelming awesomeness. Such is the way things go sometimes, and I don't think a single person is worse off because of it. Except Pretzel's hosts, but whatever. ANYHOO, This is a great arrangement - takes its time and does so in such a way where it doesn't really lose you. The harmonies are rich, and honestly it never falls into the temptation of bringing everything in at once and blasting you, either. I like a good blastin' from time to time, but I appreciate the music that lets you just enjoy it in the background, too. I like it a lot. Do give it your time and attention, this track deserves it.

Great choice of source - the MMZ games all have great music, and yet it seems suspiciously under-represented in comparison to the more classic series. They must've been too difficult to get through for people to hear the great music that came from them, that's the only explanation. It's a good idea for an arrangement, but the execution sounds like all the different instruments are playing in different rooms. Some instruments (like the drums) are just too dry in comparison to the other instruments, and others sound very rich and wet (like that steel string guitar at the beginning). I hear some effort to humanizes your instruments, but that lead overdrive guitar sounds thin and sampled (even with the effects you added). I think making all the instruments have a similar level of reverb to one another would help alleviate your issues considerably. Nice work, though - that game needs more love than it gets normally.

Sounds a little like a classical guitar arrangement, with the accompaniment and lead playing all at once. The performance could've been cleaner, and the timing could've been better for the melody line, but it's definitely a cool idea you have going there. The tab for it is a nice bonus, I might add.

... It would've actually made the soundtrack sound like "The World Ends with You" at times, which isn't a bad thing at all, lol.