hewhoisiam
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Posts posted by hewhoisiam
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First off Rozovian, thanks for the review
I've been kinda impatent here waiting. You sir, have made my day.I'm playing with the sort of 'mastering' aspect of cakewalk and I've done a little bit with it. (Captian's log: Day 3 of exploring Cakewalk) I also found out the importance of using different buses so that you can add different effects to groups of sounds. I have a more 'mastered' version of this, but it's not changed enough to merit a re-upload.
The origional is a short intro. Then the melody you hear playing on the first instrument, then the second, then repeated. There's really nothing at all else to it, I kinda went 'yeah, this'll be simple, I can't mess it up as a first piece' If I had only known.
A lot of people (who I'm noticing are using FL, much to my dismay) are putting something like effects in as breaks. I'm trying to get some effect-like transitions in cakewalk, but so far no luck.
I'll work on this with a focus on getting some variation in there. I ought to really take a break from the work itself, learn the software here and there, and see what other people are doing with it. "Good artists borrow, great artists steal - Dom Famularo"
NINJA EDIT: And here I'd totally forgotten about SSBB! I'm looking at the old Gameboy game for reference. Dunno how I missed that! Good call!
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I'd like to have some of the SFX from the original game. Is there a good way/easy place to get them? (The track name 'hot head' is from when dedede actually gets angry, you see the jet of smoke from his head, and you get the SFX I'm looking for)
Okay, I have some questions about things that I hear people do, mostly in FL now. Mostly something in the way of smooth transitions maybe? I also need to look into panning effects. If anyone knows good tutorials for Cakewalk, that'd be pretty sweet also. I think I could stand to get better at layering some sounds.
Likewise, if anyone wonders how I did something. I'd be glad to help. Tryin to get some discussion going, comeon! Help me out here:-P
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Maybe not aggressive. But it seems to me that most are. Some really laid back chords under a DnB line can sort of take the edge off. Youtube is great for getting/bouncing ideas, both good and bad. Check this out:
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You want your review right between the eyes, eh? Okay, I can do that. Let me put my angry face on.
If that wasn't enough of a disclaimer, I'm going to be an asshole reviewing this! The first thing I notice about this is: It's the FFVII battle theme. And this is what I mean: The melody is exactly the same, and on the same instruments. It's a blessing and a curse that the FFVII flows and works well. But you gotta change SOMETHING in there. I'm feeling the copy paste love hard here.
The D&B bit is very loud, you did hit that nail on the head with volume. But other than in a few areas, it seems to me again like the FFVII battle theme. Just louder. Drum is my forte. (that's a double pun god damn it, that's some clever shit right there) So, you've added a 16th note to the bass drum here and there. WHERE IS YOUR HI-HATS! DNB LOVES THEYS HI-HATS! And you need something else to make a dnb origional. A 32nd note flam on those neglected hats. Massive insanly fast hat/snare/bass builds. Cuts in the middle where you have just dnb with no melody at all. WHERE'S ALL YOUR GOOD STUFF? The CONTENT?! Did you lose a track or two encoding the mp3?
As far as bass goes. Other than a loud bass drum, you didn't do anything with the bass. Which is a shame because the battle theme doesn't have anything great in the way of bass and you can REALLY get creative there. YOU DIDN'T, but it CAN BE DONE.
At this point, I have to point out that you said. -Maybe if I replace the original playstation midi orchestra and change a lot of stuff, but I doubt I'm going to do that- and requested a harsh critic. Now for the salt. Where did I put my salt and lemon... How much time did you put into this? I mean, I value effort above everything else. I'm feeling a lack of effort motivation on your end of things here. Maybe you need to be more clear in your description AKA 'this was a test that I did in 5 minutes' or 'I'm just bouncing ideas off you guys'.
But not hey, I need a harsh critic to tell me that I copy pasted a track into my editor, cranked up the volume on the drum track, and added 3 echo effects.
Mmm, okay. Now for the good bits and the happy face
I do so enjoy the FFVII battle theme. And this was a chance for me to hear it almost verbatum. The loud percussion had a few nice ideas here and there. And there was some scratch effect here and there.
Final explanation: I don't like being on the giving end of harsh reviews because I alwalys feel like to be able to dish it out I should be amazingly godlike. Sit in front of a computer and have it bow to my will. Mixing music like HALO in mere seconds by knowing EVERYTHING in my programs of choice by heart. I like to think that I work towards a goal of getting better, and everything I do is better than the last thing I did. I think giving harsh reviews CAN be counterproductive, but it can also be one hell of a motivator.
And that's all I have to say about that. I hope you found it helpful. BE MOTIVATED!
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worked for me. Right click. Copy link location. Paste in browser.
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I'm a huge fan of Final Fantasy mixes! They were the first VG mixes I stumbled upon back in the day... Ah nostalgia.
The Good
For the slow sort of plodding, trudging mix. It never drags or feels painfully slow.
I love the choice in instruments.
If I got this right, you're putting three great songs together for a song so awesome that it can walk around shoot laser beams from its eyes while bench pressing a city bus and still getting the girl in the end. It's gonna be a huge challenge...
The Bad
0:55-2:17 has that repeating bell pattern that goes on forever! Consider making it twice as long and changing it so it's a 2 measures long, or something. I like the rest of the things going on in this section.
I'm somewhat confused on the layout. I'm assuming you would pick one of the 3 songs to kinda be your 'main' song; then use elements from the others in the work. Layout wise, I hear 1) main evil theme 2) birth of a god 3) battle. And it seems to try to go from 1 to another like 3 different mixes back to back, rather than once consecutive idea.
My advice would be to pick birth of a god and the main evil theme. Go from the main evil slow intro into birth of a god in double time. Use elements of the battle theme along the way to help fill the gaps. In my mind, birth of a god and the main evil theme are close (in the game, they're both sephiroth themes and have similar elements/feels/grooves)
The Ugly, erm I mean. Other Thoughts
I don't know if you've considered tempo changes to help out a few places where you change ideas/songs, I'd worry about layout first though.
I'm not saying you can't go from main evil to birth to battle in order like that, I just am not sure how to advise you if that's the way you want to go about it. I've heard songs that do that (Dream Theater comes to mind, and I did have a Final Fantasy Battle medley that did 4,7,8,9,10 one after another. I uploaded it to mediafire here: http://www.mediafire.com/file/nmtnjy2zm5n/Final Fantasy IV, V, VI, VII, VIII - Battle Theme Megamix.mp3
I like the ideas and sounds you have so far, if you get the issues with layout worked out, I have no doubt this could be amazing.
-He
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Thanks splinter. I played with it today and have an update. Fake guitar is fake, is very fake. Is shame fake-tastic. I used the roland Groove Synth on the bass this time. I'm playing with it and a few other synths that do guitar much better. I've touched maybe like 1/10th of 1% of the sounds and things I can do with this. I'm still
and it's 
I open a menu and it's got 500 pre made sounds, not to mention that I can tweak ALL of them.NINJA EDIT: I really really need to get something set up to be able to hear this properly... My setup now is, less then ideal. I have not 1 but 2 speakers, that are designed to be plugged into a CD player. I'm using 2 1/4 to 1/8 adapters, one from my stereo, one from an old hookup I had, to have LEFT in one crappy speaker, and RIGHT in another, different crappy speaker! Once I got this to a MP3 and could hear it, it's totally different. Especially the oscillator on my chord track, which is kinda important.
ANYWAYS, thanks for your time, give this new track a listen if you get a chance.
-he
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Another day's gone by, and I've been playing. I have an updated track here with various changes.
http://www.mediafire.com/file/0mmnm4mhmni/HotHead.mp3
I went down to my drum kit to figure out what I wanted on this beat
which I'm much more happier with. Also, this hopefully actually progresses, unlike the first attempt.Still under construction, questions and comments welcome/appreciated.
-he
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I like ett! Rock rock on! Still an OCR nub, I think this'll be like my 10th post, beware:<
Old school intro reminds me of early rock, esp with that walking style bassline. Very vintage and works like a charm. Then, it's right into jamin with the good Dr.
I can't believe I managed to miss Dr.Mario back in the day, ah well...
Likes:
INTRO! MMMM!
Feel and energy! This is just a lot of fun to listen to.
half-time at 0:30-0:41 leading to the walking line 0:41-0:52
triplets at 1:10
1:21-1:22 What is that noise? I need to steal that for mine own...
The end? TRICK END! I like the trick end.
Criticisms:
This is more of an observation: the solo over guitar with frequent breaks can disrupt flow. The bass line really pulls things together and it works well here.
I like the kit you've chosen as far as snare/kick/cymbals, but the toms come across to me as being very same-ie, esp at 0:11 and 1:15.
0:53-0:59 Something seems off, but I can't put my finger on it:?
2:10-2:13 This drum solo/fill is very simple, too simple for my taste in a song like this. If simple is what you want to go for, try putting a tom hit or two with your bass drums.
Suggestions:
The tempo changes at the end are lots of fun. At 3:12 after your first slow down, you return to your old tempo for one last go on that bass, before your second slow and end. Consider going faster than your original tempo just in that little bit, to really drive the point home. Reminds me of Dream Theater TBH
The L and R panning is fun at the end. I want to play with something like that in surround, but I have no idea how
I alwalys like the feel of moving slowly around rather than R L R L R L. Just my preference though, I'm a surround sound geek. -
This was done playing with cakewalk sonar. Not much done in the way of original writing, mostly just a midi file that I'm playing with to learn the software. Questions and comments appreciated.
-HeWhoIsIAm
NINJA EDIT:
Another day's gone by, and I've been playing. I have an updated track here with various changes.
http://www.mediafire.com/file/0mmnm4mhmni/HotHead.mp3
I've decided to update these posts as I'm going along. This is just a where I'm at now and goals update. I'm going to reply (shameless bump) when I get the new stuff out. This is as much for me to keep it together as for anyone wondering WTF is he doing
1) I'm dissecting the SSBB song to pull out the harmony part (at least I hope that's what I'm doing)
2) Going over chord progressions in the song and in general (I'm admittedly rusty here. Should have paid more attention in music theory)
3) Learning the software, emphasis on: mastering and ears.
Things I'm noticing from: SSBB official music http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34QL_NyYHy8
***I AM TONE/PITCH DEAF!***
1) The melody is not constant. It starts out 'thin' and is embellished with other instruments for a fuller sound at the end (echo especially) Piano, then simple brass, then full brass it seems like.
2) Flute or other highs on the 'high bass twangs' At the end of the bass line. I'm going to steal that idea.
3) Official track is at 168, I'm thinking about slowing mine down more (currently 165), maybe 155, 160 or so.
4) When the harmony part I'm playing with comes in, it comes with a marimba. And I'm not quite sure what it's doing. Copying the loud part it easy, the background little things, much more harderer
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It's DeDeDe's theme from Kirby's Dreamland 2. If you don't mind all the stuff I said before.
1) This is not complete
2) This may never be complete
3) This is mostly for my learning, less for actual OCR release (may be wasting your time)
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Greetings, salutations, and I love this:sleepdepriv: face!
So, I have this thing I can post, but I have some questions first:
This thing isn't really a remix, it's more like a MIDI's journey through Cakewalk. I took said midi and played with it, changed instruments, played with soft synths. Did a half hour of mixing over the past 8-10 hours. Learned all about erm, everything. The only writing I did was totally re-wrote the drum track. (being a drummer, I hated the original) And throw a very simple chord thing in quarter notes in one spot where the thinger started repeating. Very little actual writing/mixing went into this.
In terms of flow, it doesn't. There's an intro. And then an idea, another idea, and my chords added to the first idea. THEN all that is repeated. When I say not a remix, I mean not really a song in structure
BUT if you like listening to a plain MIDI, you'll love it. (sell the weaknesses as strengths! I saw this in a movie once)NOW though, I'm going 'this isn't very good' And it isn't. Don't get me wrong, it's not that bad, It's just that you'll see a very much lack of understanding of some of the finer points of the software. I had times going I really like what (insert name here) did there; but I don't know how to do it
And it's not original, and it gets stale, and it's just not done or anywhere near what I'd consider up to snuff. Which is why I'm not entirley sure this is a good spot for it.Really, I want to post it for just 2 reasons. Questions is the first and main reason. And the other is baby steps. Just starting out, dusting off my brain from high school jazz band, remembering how this works. I'm pretty sure no one starts out a god at this, but everyone has to start somewhere. It'd be a good 'where do I go from here?' for me while I scour the intranets for tutorials. (reading through zircon's again couldn't hurt either)
I'll watch this thread for a reply.
Thanks
-Hewhoisiam
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Erhm. In calling it done before it was done, FL doesn't like it anymore. I get no midi sounds.
under midi settings F10
E-DSP MIDI port [EC00] sync
Microsoft whatevermadodad
GS waveable
input: (not using this at the moment)
E-DSP MIDI port [EC00] (generic controller) active
AUDIO TAB SETTINGS
Output E-MU ASIO
Internal 44100 6-point
Did I miss something here? I can hear the wonderful what's new thing in FL. I just can't hear my midi playback.
NINJA EDIT: Port settings defaulted to the wrong port. So, problem solved >.>
In other news. The output to this is L and R 1/4 jacks. I'd like to hook up to standard headphones. So 10$ at radio shack to get a splitter and a 1/4 to 1/8 extension. Well as it turns out, this cable that I got to combine my outputs 1/4 Female Female into 1/4 Female, is actually for use like a mic splitter. And is mono. So I still just get 1 ear. This is designed to go Female in, to 2 female out. So, since I'm lazy and I really want to use headphones instead of moving my speakers and board up here. Is there a good 4.99 radio shack solution to combine these into 1 output?
NOW, I told you that to tell you this:
EM-U offers one, there's a 1-800 number to call. Call that number, it will tell you that it's disconnected, and give you 3 other numbers to call. 2 of the 3 numbers are directory assistance, and the other 1-800 number is disconnected. The directory assistance numbers don't go where you want to go, and have you speak your instructions. "who are you trying to call?" EMU SYSTEMS "Hillshire Farms? Is this correct?" NO "please restate" EMU SYSTEMS INC "Igloo coolers incorporated?, is this correct" NO After a bit on white pages dot com and emus site. I got a number for repair of their legacy systems, and learned that there are no people to actually talk to. I called Tampa Bay Florida, which is the HQ for repair their legacy stuff, and left a message. Biggest waste.of.time...ever.
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When I do that, it outputs through the emu to the headphones, I'm wondering if there's a way to get it to output through the 5.1 jacks on my onboard card.
Thanks for the quick reply
-he
NINJA EDIT: You'll be happy to know, I have fixed my L output problem. It would appear that if you read the wires, and plug them in correctly, you can get both ears out
L out was correct. R out was R in
Now I get what I want, cept wondering if I can output into 5.1.Thanks again.
LAST NINJA EDIT: For clarification: Onboard is set to default, emu is enabled and working. Digital and SPDIF (or whatever the acronym is) are there and not doing much. input is set to EMU, but I have no input at the moment (may see if I can pick up a cheap keyboard somewheres, this all mouse thing is a bit tedious)
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Hokay, 4th post. I hope this is a good spot for my doom question of doom.
The disclaimer: In re reading this I realize I sound like the guy looking at a corvette and going 'yes, it's nice, but does it FLY!?' The difference is, this really might fly. Or it might not, either way, I'm not sure till I ask. Bear with me, thanks in advance.
So I got an emu 0404, because my onboard sound is not that great for anything having to do with midi. Now, pay attention, because this is where the story gets fun:
1) My motherboard is an ASUS Rampage, it comes with on board audio that isn't really onboard. (http://www.pcgameshardware.com/screenshots/medium/2008/07/ASUS_Rampage_Extreme_9226.jpg) a nice picture of a board. As you can see, the audio fits like a sound card, but still uses the CPU for the work, unlike a soundcard. I was sold on this board at first because the suppreme fx ii has a good sound. Since I wasn't really going to be playing with anything midi at the time, I didn't look into it's midi capability.
2) Now, I installed the 0404 yesterday, without disabling my onboard. After a few driver and software updates, here's where I'm at: 5.1 surround onboard outputting to my headphones. EMU outputing to desktop stereo speakers.
***Both cards work (Vista 64 bit) I get both of them in the playback devices menu, all fine and detected. If I disable one or the other in the playback menu, the other plays back. (winamp plays through the onboard in 5.1 surround. If that's disabled, EMU plays it back)
***I can get FL to output to speakers through the EMU. Which lets me use all goodies I couldn't use before.
Now, I told you that story to tell you this one. This is the me story. I want these things:
1) I would like to have everything play through these 5.1 headphones, which are hooked up to the onboard sound, but use the emu for my midi needs. (hey, lets be fair. I don't think there's a way to do this. But it IS what I want. If I can't I'll go from the output of my speakers into a mixer and out into real speakers in 5.1 It's just big and loud for the actual writing)
2) I don't mind the onboard fx ii for my everyday sound. I'd rather not disable it, plus I use it for my standard ventrilo stuff.
AND IN CONCLUSION! THE BIG WALL OF TEXT LEADS UP TO THE FINAL QUESTION: Is there an easy way to have my standard onboard card do everything except the 1 or 2 programs I'm using for mixing, and hear the EMU card through my 5.1 outs on the fx II?
Thank you for your time.
-HeWhoIsIAm
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This is my 3rd post, so beware. I did find a checklist... Sound card comes tomorrow for me and I can start messing around.
ARRANGEMENT / INTERPRETATION
[ ] Too conservative - sticks too close to the source
[ ] Too liberal - not enough connections to the source (too much original writing)
[ ] Too much direct sampling from original game audio
[ ] Borrows heavily from non-source material (eg. a theme from a movie)
PRODUCTION
[ ] Too loud
[ ] Too quiet
[ ] Low-quality samples
[ ] Unrealistic sequencing
[ ] Generic/cliche sound choices
[X] Drums have no energy
[X] Overcompressed (pumping/no dynamics)
[ ] Mixing is muddy (eg. too many sounds in the same range)
PERFORMANCE (live recorded audio/MIDI parts)
[ ] Timing not tight enough
[ ] Wrong notes, general sloppiness
[ ] Poorly recorded
[ ] Bad intonation
STRUCTURE
[X] Lacks coherence overall (no "flow")
[X] Not enough changes in sounds (eg. static texture, not dynamic enough)
[ ] Pace too plodding
[ ] Too repetitive
[X] Too short
[X] Abrupt ending
PERSONAL COMMENTS (positive feedback, specifics on checklist criticisms, any other thoughts)
Specific areas:
intro - 0:28 Consider some dynamics as you bring new instraments in. Even if it's just a little bit.
0:29-0:51 I like the build here to your first idea. Done very well.
0:52-1:07 Great sound and feel in this section, but it's only 15 seconds long. Just as I'm starting to get into the melody, it's gone. Don't be afraid to play with this, to me this is the highlight of the song. If you're looking to add length to the track, I'd definatley consider expanding here.
1:08-1:32 I like the add ins and the sounds. Right now though, the song seems to have long transitions with little content to get into. Consider shortening the breaks between ideas to help the song flow, while expanding some of the melody sections.
1:32-1:36 It may just be my prefrences, but I'd rather hear dynamics then 32nd notes. And a buzz here at the end is sort of obnoxious. Adding some bass drum with that snare may help the dynamic without the fast notes.
1:37-end This is the bit with the 4 measures repeating. It ends up being kinda same-ie here, which is to be expected. The drums are simple and really stand out as being blah to me.
In general: Dynamics are my buzzword of the day. I would like to see some dynamics added to generally smooth out the intros and transitions. You go from (bass drum)
1 &a2 3 &a4 in the begenning to 1 3 & 4 at your first idea. Which works well and has a nice driving rock feel. Towards the end where you have the 4 measures looped over and over again It feels more empty with only 1 a3 (if that's the sound you want okay, but something needs to happen somewhere here to keep that driving feel of the rest of the song) It's hard to suggest things at the end because it's just the 4 measures. 0:52-1:07 has this very nice low sound that does some melody. It seems to have vanished towards the end, and I liked it. I'd like to see this guy added to the end to help out that lopsided drum beat. If it makes it back in, you may want to back off with the repeating pattern or you'll get too many sounds.
Overall it sounds good. Gotta finish the end before you can really get into disecting it and changing bits.
Hope this helps.
-Hewhoisiam
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Don't mind me, just testing this sig. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.
NINJA EDIT: Hm. A bit rough around the edges. I'll have to fix that.
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I'm new here
From the first and last (page 1 and page 201) I got (start numbering here)
1) Always talk about the most funnestest of issues, there will be flame. There is always flame.
2) FFVII is the bestest game ever. People who say otherwise are poo poo heads.
3) Start new topics early and often. It doesn't really matter what topic it's in. It gives the Mods something to do when they have to move it. I know they love that.
4) Feed the trolls. Wouldn't want hungry trolls.
5) The 'terms and conditions' box you check when you sign up is a formality. Not really so much rules as guidelines, and not really so much guidelines as words that you're too lazy to read. The agreement should be: DO YOU SEE THESE WORDS AND UNDERSTAND YOU CAN'T CLICK NEXT WITHOUT CHECKING THAT BOX?
6) I am obviously some sort of insane super hero that is better than all of you. The sooner you come to terms with this, the better off for all of us.
7) US is a term best used when you agree with me. For your sake, you should always agree with me.
EIGHT) punktuation an spelling another stoff is not necesary u no if u just type stuf that some 1 wil figuri it out 4 u an u won have to worry bout junk like that so jus type stuff out n hit teh reply button 4 win!11!!!
9) Constructive critisism is: This sux! Learn 2 <BLANK>!
10) The louder person wins the argument.
Ten is all I feel like coming up with. My soundcard gets here Monday and I get to put that on and start playing around with it. I'm trying to dig back into my nostalgia and decide what I want to work on first. I'm considering doing something from Armored Core: For Answer, which is what I'm playing now. If it plugs into a wall and plays a game, I have it. Atari through PS3. As far as replies and reviews go, I'm pretty lazy, so if I take the time to actually think out and articulate what I mean, it's a good day. If and when I reply, I prefer long sentances with wordy descriptions complete with punctuation and usually spell checking. I reserve the right to not reed 1337 5p34k or cell phone text messaging, and not care what you said, even if it was directed at me. I'm a self described ass. This will become MORE aparent the longer you all tolerate me. In my defense I have been asked if I'm alwalys an ass, and the answer is no. I do have to sleep sometimes... As for right now I need to get away from the lazy and make an OCR signature.
In conclusion:
Hi!
Here I am!
-hewhoisiam
It Rains in Besaid - FFX-2
in Post Your Game ReMixes!
Posted
I don't think you'll need to kill the rain, just bring it down to where it's barley audible, then fade it up and down during quiet parts. As is, it's too loud to be good ambient noise, but it's a great idea, top points for originality.
The Besaid theme is relatively short if I remember right, I'd say if you're trying to add length, play with the intro. The first idea that comes to my mind is a half time feel for an intro. You can add a lot of length quickly with it, and as far as mood goes: Rain, slow start, then the sort of happy song. (You'll have to forgive me, I'm only half familiar with the source, so I'm not sure how much of your intro is original and how much is from the game)
As far as drums go (insert shameless self promotion as a drummer here) A few well placed FFF accents could add a lot to that congo beat. The accents let you really keep the driving repetitive feel without something like a traditional drum fill. Congos and Bongos also complement eachother well if you want to go with something a bit more complex, or layer them to get a different accent sound.
The end just sort of cuts off. I know I harp on dynamics a lot, but I can really see again adding some length here, slowing down to a half time feel and lowering the dynamics for a nice gentle fade out to the rain.
I'm still learning about the finer points of mastering and that trained ear that says 'too much lows, highs, reverb' So I can't offer much advice there. Lows means something I'm in danger of stepping on, highs might fall and hit me in the head, and reverb is the new soda made by the Coca-Cola company:razz: