Calum

WORLD 1 - 1 THEME - with more wub! http://soundcloud.com/calumbowen/super-ubi-land-earth-level

Thanks radiowar, I agree that the 3rd one is dramatically louder than the rest. I think it's cos i limited it really really hard and the pumping that came from that actually sounded quite good so i was able to push it further as the side-effects were pleasing. But along with that i think the balance between the instruments was also a bit off. Hmm! Yes - a warmer bass could do some good on the second one! Thanks for giving feedback!

Ah! I'm very glad you've posted. I would never want to discourage someone even though I tend to be fairly unreserved with feedback. You will go very far with an unrelentingly positive attitude and open ears : ) Make it sound however you like! But a cadenza sounds pretty awesome. I'd say be playful with it! Also sit down with the material - take one of the most prominent melodies (not too much of it) and play around with it - see if you can put it in a major key or a minor key - can you make that melody the bassline to a new melody you come up with? JENOVA has a lot of material in it - lots of exciting rhythmic stuff too which you can used. Audacity is a good start! One thing i found was that there was no "snap to grid" or a very user friendly metronome. You can work around it but the kind of timing issues i'm hearing could be easily resolved by having more accommodating software. I believe "reaper" is free. Others will be able to chime in on that front. oh yeah, DAW is digital audio workstation - so yours is audacity right now. You'll be open to more sequencing options with reaper or anything else which can help if you want to go in other directions. Hmmm! It's a big step up from portable recorder to mic + mixing desk (or however else you connect it to your computer). I was once using a USB Samson Go Mic which was cheap but didn't a fair job! If you think inevitably you're going to invest in some microphones then go for it! I should let others make suggestions on that front though. Out of curiosity - where are you placing your microphone in relation to your cello when you record? As for now, you could definitely do with adding some subtle reverb (so it gels, feels like its in a hall BUT not so much that you can really hear it) to some of your cello tracks. You could also use some EQ - it seems your recordings are lacking beef - mid/low end - definitely be careful not to overdo it. With the resources you have though - you're doing well! It sounds good, just a little rough and ready! I can hear the potential in this and would love to hear some soaring Yo Yo Ma lines with stellar production! Anyway! keep at it. I'm all ears if you have any updates.

Great initiative starting a project like this. I'm happy to crit your JENOVA take. Overall, theres some solid performances in there! Some timing issues at the start and a few bum notes throughout but as you state it's just a rough recording. There's very little in the way of your interpretations. It's great that you're doing multi-track cello covers however other than the altered instrumentation and the live performance aspects, I think you could do a lot more with the arrangement. Production is a big thing here. I'd be interested to hear what your recording set up at the moment is. The only clips i can hear (from your kickstarter) sound a little rough - are you using your webcam mic? Also what DAW are you using? It definitely sounds like you could do with some EQ/Compression and certainly a healthy dollop of reverb as it all sounds very dry right now. I've had trouble recording cello myself in the past so i'm not sure what to suggest about mic placement or types of mic but i'm sure someone here will have a better answer than that. All together, i admire your initiative and you have some impressive playing but everything right now sounds a little rough around the edges. I wish you the best of luck with your project and getting acquainted in these parts! If you smooth out the rough recording and get even more creative with arrangements I could see a lot of people being really interested in the stuff you make! And a lot of people wanting to collab with you! P.S. this would be the right place for the JENOVA clip but perhaps not posting the kickstarter. Try community?

marvelous idea! I think you'll get a lot of people wanting to collab and this is the perfect place to come to improve your production skills - it's where i learn most of what i know! So enjoy yourself, be active and you're bound to come on leaps and bounds. Welcome.

although i'm in bed now and cannot get to a piano. The only advice i can give is that it sounds like all of the chords are the same but transposed to different root notes (parallel chords). You know how you may get a pad or organ sound already set up with a chord which you can play starting on different notes. If i'm not mistaken (which i very well may be) it sounds like that! So work out the first chord and then you'll only have to find the bass notes of the rest and slap the same chord extension. I could take a guess - Some kind of minor7/9... also but i could be wrong. Mind you, i could be wrong about the whole thing... but it seems to sound like that to me!

It's strange how everyone (most people) are so humbling in music. I had the experience of being quite intimidated by another composer on a project only to find that they had quit with one of their reasons being that they were intimidated by my compositions! It's weird and needless and hurts people's creative output but its certainly difficult to avoid. I suppose there are so many facets to the vast history and present of composition, production and performance that its easy to find something you don't do as well as someone else and beat yourself up about it! It's a blessing that there's so much to learn and explore in music but also a curse when you feel inadequate by its vastness.

you've got some very nice composition chops. I think the main issue i'm hearing is using samples with slow attack when they sound as though they need to have a fast attack. It may be your samples but from hearing some of them later in the song i think you definitely have access to samples with more suitable/malleable attack envelopes. (I'm talking about the brass melody in the A section mostly). This is wonderful writing though. Got the SMG sound spot on!

Writing does not scare me but i know a lot of people (I found them on my university course) who are seeking some sort of validation before they can show music to someone or finish something. A friend of mine who is an amazing composer... he got the highest mark on my course for composition and his stuff is really well thought-out and intelligently written. I love his music. BUT he's great at finding excuses. He'd say things like "I don't know about the internet like you do" to me as an excuse as to why he hasn't put himself out there as a composer. Or "i'll never be John Williams" (he loves John Williams). Turns out he doesn't write a lot, or perhaps he scraps a lot. He's waiting until he has the validation of a masters course from the royal college of music before he's "allowed" to write music. It's sad because he'll have missed out on so much by restricting himself before that point, if he gets there. A lot of people are like that - even if they are VERY VERY WELL qualified like my friend, many people get intimidated out of writing music and they shouldn't! Getting over a fear of failure or an inferiority complex is vital to improving!

here's 3 tracks stitched together. i'm not that well-versed in these genres but i'm pretty into them so any feedback would be really valuable! http://soundcloud.com/calumbowen/thingsimworkingon

New Track: WORLD 1 - 2 THEME This is in the same world as the "earth level" and shares similar instruments and tempo. It certainly owes a lot to mr. kondo!

Putting some of my favourite games together - thanks you! Well recorded/mixed live stuff and well sequenced midi. (Props on the video as well) Everything's pretty solid but there were a few tiny things which stuck out with the vocals: 1:52 - vocals are a tiny bit flat hitting the first note (i think). 3:22 - humming was generally quite loud but here the performance seems to falter a little. Generally i found the vocals a tiny bit lacking in energy in parts of the song (e.g. 2:05) 3:08 - drum fill - velocities are either the same or too similar and come off as strangely electronic on the semi-quaver snare hits. BTW This is me super nit-picking - you guys did an awesome awesome job. Just a few things that stuck out to me.

Hey guys, i'm working on a soundtrack for a retro/kinda kiddy platformer: Main Theme Shop Theme I'm conscious of the pieces right now lacking coherence as a whole. I think the main thing will be toning down the bass and drums on the earth level and also making sure all of the drums are from the same kit throughout the soundtrack. Any feedback on coherence or anything else would be greatly appreciated as these are very much WIPs! PLAY THE EARLY DEMO HERE (At the moment it's using mostly mario sounds but this is just for some visual stimulation)

Oh yes! I nearly forgot about this - i'll make sure i get something to you asap

fuuuck! The flute! This is very reasonably priced and nice sounding stuff!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kta2l8loLXY&feature=player_embedded any and all parts of it! It is still unlisted on youtube as I would like to take advice from others before putting out a final version (I'm also waiting on a tiny bit more gameplay footage). What do you think of logos? Even spread of genres? Does anything go on for too long? Is anything unnecessary (it is 9 MINUTES!)? Anything unclear? Thanks in advance to anyone with any feedback.

done! good luck!

Ahh! I'm hopeless with Kontakt but i assume if you have one track for tambourine...? or are all of your orchestral percussion parts on one track? I'd suggest doing them on different tracks (although that may lead to RAM issues) purely for control - you probably won't want to EQ the tamb exactly the same way you want to EQ the cymbal etc! I've had tracks just close on me forever - the only way i got back is by opening up one of the autosaves and working back up from there. Sometimes files just kinda mess up like that! it's very annoying though. If you can manage to open it to make the changes i'll definitely give it a listen.

Thanks mickomoo - i remember hearing a lot of your music - you've come a long way! You had a great attitude starting off - eagerness will take you everywhere! I'm keen to hear more of your stuff now. This is great advice... from reading tape-op i thought i'd better get a subscription to a mag just so i can see what's going on really - i've got 2 copies of computer music sitting on my desk right now - i was surprised how relevant all of the stuff was and how much of it i could test out etc. I will search for that thread mickomoo or even start one of my own.

The Balance is better now. Maybe i'm crazy but it sounds like the drums are panned to the right a little bit too much - might just be me. The whole thing sounds a lot better now - there's still something up with the whole mix but i can't quite work out what it is - it may just be the samples, hmm... either way, nice speedy fix - it made a lot of difference!

Oh yes Katamari for sure, how could i forget that! Bust a groove also does it for me purely for the memories - dancing alone to natural playboy...

1:05 - 1:48 is excess to me. Unless you lose a significant amount source by cutting it I say... cut it! (of course you don't have to take my advice) That section seems to have chords that don't work with the melody and a melody which seems very undefined and meandering. I'm personally not a huge fan of the break-beat style drums however regardless, they still don't fit with me at the moment. I think one thing that would take your mix to the next level is that it sounds like you have about 4 or 5 instruments in this mix. Not as a means of showing off (as the number of tracks you use really means nothing unless you need 'em) BUT in my ff6 mix i had around 75 tracks! You don't need that many at all but i think in order to thick out some of the chords, get more variation, layer the drums etc. (something that would really make this mix a lot more interesting) you gotta add some more tracks! The end as well seems very unfinished and accidental - it doesn't end with the same energy as it started/maintained throughout - it just kinda stops. I think the drums could do with being calmed down a little - i think they're great for the first 30 seconds. The bit at 2:00 can remain as a kind of wild out of control section and i think it'll have even more impact if the drums are more in control beforehand. I should say when i mean controlled i don't mean looped so definitely keep things interesting but not over-the-top. It's 4am so i'm being critical and nothing else. I mean, the track really it does a lot of things right and i love around 2:00 and the main bass line and sound is pretty much spot on! however there's a few things that stand out quite clearly in the mix.

Glad to see you offering up your talents Joe and welcome!

Trailer: Tambourines sound too dry - the strings + organ sound like they're in a church but the tambourines sound like they're in a sound-proofed studio - they could do with some reverb. The Organ is a little overbearing. Very nice at 1:15! I like this moment. Maybe think about having more high-end. Right now the organ is dominating, bringing up the volume of the mid-low. The very end is a little strange - maybe the timings are just a little off - it sounds like the hit comes just after the final beat? The main cymbal sounds a little dry as well and sounds like a drum kit cymbal. Action: The levels are a little out - the melody instrument (violins?) is way too loud and the drums & accompanying instruments are way too quiet. The big run at 0:14 and 0:22, while it sounds great it's a little too loud so it sounds unrealistic. The melody trails off around 0:35 - it doesn't sound like you know what the melody is here and you're just moving around aimlessly. Also the articulation on the trumpets seems a little weird - they're crescendoing and stopping really quickly - try a more sustained patch or longer crescendo. Very nice drum sequencing at the end and throughout really but the drums are way too quiet and the melody is way too loud. Good job overall - the samples sound good but the way you mix and sequence them gives them away at times. The main error is balance here.

I wrote it all in sibelius (6) and then exported as PDF. : ) The title sounds a little harsh - i forgive you for not giving feedback. hahaha.