timaeus222

You might want to check the bass on your mix. I think it's too high. Also, sidechain your bass with your kick. I'm kind of hearing the kick, but not really. Considering it's for a game, everything else sounds fine.

Very small mistakes, but I love the harmonies you have going on! I agree with ProtoDome: the change to a major key halfway through is awesome! Yeah, don't lift your hands at the end so quickly. Just let it fade out naturally. You don't need much more reverb, but instead, try for more of an expansive room feel. You have the right reverb. Just give it the feel of a (really good-sounding) auditorium. You should get ArtsAcoustic Reverb if you don't have it.

Here is the updated version. New things done to the arrangement, stronger drums as compared to the rest of the instruments, and other miscellaneous edits. I do have a question: What do you mean by the fact that you have a "softer listening volume" and "louder listening volume"? Did you just pick two numbers to remember for your computer's master volume setting and use each while mixing? EDIT: I think the bass at 1:34 - 1:51 is too loud. Just something I thought I noticed. It's a different patch from what I used earlier, btw. https://www.box.com/s/eh9avztkmfx8vutdzjkx - V3.5 https://www.box.com/s/9dd9bgudok0163c1jdbq - V3.1 https://www.box.com/s/56z9dxmfxunrmikontgo - V3 https://www.box.com/s/37d1v1usjn1meiyrtf61 - V2.9 https://www.box.com/s/2ca7cd69192e4e8ccb43 - V2.8 https://www.box.com/s/3b0f7355c2e35291d612 - V2.7 https://www.box.com/s/4d5394ecc48204411b1a - V2.6 https://www.box.com/s/dcab54cace89d8bfbbbd - V2.5 https://www.box.com/s/8744fdd33600fecf3187 - V2 https://www.box.com/s/a292f4b302116d4bf027 - V1 (Bumped twice)

Maybe instead of turning it into a medley, you could just make a new arrangement and create a longer song out of a short source. It's usually a good exercise to see if you can make a longer remix than its source.

Alright, and now that I'm home, I'll check out the song. That sounds really awesome. It's a bit short, though. If you're just intending on showing us, then it's great on its own!

For future reference, an explicit forum sticky says, "one topic per song, one song per topic"... in the title. And just to clarify if you read Rozovian's post: I believe he meant "multiple tracks are allowed if and only if they are a compilation such as an EP or an album. Multiple unrelated tracks don't count."

I'm surprised that you think the drums aren't loud enough; I actually made sure the drums were heard the entire time, especially the snare. I suppose I could try layering the kick, but I've worked with the snare on this particular track wayyyy too many times, tbh. xD I'll probably do some mild sidechaining for the kick, as you suggested, then layer in a high end kick and lower the bass frequencies a bit. I was thinking about it earlier, but I wasn't totally up to it until now. I'll try boosting the snare a bit. I left some headroom on the mixer knob just in case. I also lowered the bass' bass frequencies a bit. As for the mid-highs resonance, I think I know what you're talking about. I have a slightly resonant PWM square-saw wave playing both some harmonies and some of the chiptune arpeggios, so that might be the thing to fix. I was kind of hearing that, but I didn't think much of it until now. I'll do the actual arrangement edits later, when I have more time. In the meantime, I believe I've fixed the other things. I'll put it up later. I got... *drumroll* college jazz ensemble tryouts. =D

He just means a better way to connect distinct sections of your song so that people aren't startled by a sudden change in the song without some sort of "warning".

I'd recommend checking out samples from the Roland TR-808, TR-909, and TR-626 sometime. There are some really nice congas and shakers from that.

Well, since mods are not really noticing this topic yet, I might as well first fix that levels issue I was talking about earlier, and other things I happen to notice. Edits: - Fixed the apparent organ level issue (although I couldn't find out why it happened; the notes looked fine to me). It might just have been a rendering error, I dunno. - Adjusted the lead's and bass' reverbs. - Did slight EQ work on the strings. - Improved the solo (made some legato parts more staccato to show off the vowel switch). - Slightly adjusted the timbre of kick and bass. - Improved the hiss on the decaying snares. Less hiss, more punch. - I put some compression on the breakdown percussion. - Other minor tweaks. https://www.box.com/s/9dd9bgudok0163c1jdbq - V3.1 https://www.box.com/s/56z9dxmfxunrmikontgo - V3 https://www.box.com/s/37d1v1usjn1meiyrtf61 - V2.9 https://www.box.com/s/2ca7cd69192e4e8ccb43 - V2.8 https://www.box.com/s/3b0f7355c2e35291d612 - V2.7 https://www.box.com/s/4d5394ecc48204411b1a - V2.6 https://www.box.com/s/dcab54cace89d8bfbbbd - V2.5 https://www.box.com/s/8744fdd33600fecf3187 - V2 https://www.box.com/s/a292f4b302116d4bf027 - V1

I am generally against ultra-repetitive songs like this, but here's what I got to say: Good things: Decent automated filter effects. The poly trance saw at 2:00 and other similar spots feels sidechained as well as the bass, and that comes off as strange to me, but not too bad. Bass sounds great. I liked the breakdown at 4:20. It was probably my favorite part in the entire song. It's too bad it was so short. "Not good" things: Repetitive, sparse soundscape. The arpeggios at 2:31 continue to repeat for far too long. It was cool at first, but each time it replayed in the same way, it got less and less cool. If the bass notes were simplified at 4:00, it would have helped. The instrumentation remains essentially the same throughout, and demonstrates some static textures. The delayed cymbal ending is also cheesy, as mentioned by the judges.

Yours is better by a margin. His had some sporadic dynamics. He was also mistaken in that he didn't read the video title. *coughTeasertrackcough* That's all I have to say.

Well, some things I'm noticing: Something's iffy with the low-mids. It might be the low percussion. I don't know if it's a timpani or something else, but that's what it sounds like. The other thing is to quantize your notes so they don't seem so off. Offsync them later, but only by a little bit. Do it when you're done with all the other issues. That's what I got.

I finished the V3! Mod review time! The notes at 0:51 - 0:54 feel louder than they should be though. I think I missed some velocity edits there. In case any mod notices that, I've noticed it too. I'll automatically fix it in the next edit. Things to notice: - The solo has a custom finalized lead! It's based on Zebra2's HS Lafta Yoga. - Minor velocity tweaks here and there, making sure nothing sticks out. - Various EQ fixes. - Some compression edits, like on the kicks and snares. - The hi hats have a more natural rhythm and volume. The sample itself is also different. - The vocoded lead might sound different now because of the new EQ on the modulator. https://www.box.com/s/56z9dxmfxunrmikontgo - V3 https://www.box.com/s/37d1v1usjn1meiyrtf61 - V2.9 https://www.box.com/s/2ca7cd69192e4e8ccb43 - V2.8 https://www.box.com/s/3b0f7355c2e35291d612 - V2.7 https://www.box.com/s/4d5394ecc48204411b1a - V2.6 https://www.box.com/s/dcab54cace89d8bfbbbd - V2.5 https://www.box.com/s/8744fdd33600fecf3187 - V2 https://www.box.com/s/a292f4b302116d4bf027 - V1

In that case, you'll be happier in a few minutes. *nudge*

Another important thing is knowing what the basics of one really is, just in case it helps you get any new ideas on easier ways. A wobble bass is just an LFO modulating the cutoff frequency of a synth. Any textural additions are up to you. And yeah, it's also important to realize that the synth may just be not restarting on new notes because of the way it's programmed. Zebra2 is another alternative. It's half the price of Massive.

If it was only velocity-sensitive, I'd expect it to look like "synth-action" keys, the kind that is really thin. Even so, there wouldn't be any point in making a keyboard with keys looking like that if they were "synth-action". It definitely looks like it's more weighted than "synth-action". Unfortunately, after asking someone who still has it, they said it is "non-weighted", but it's not a total turnoff for me. I'm used to playing a normal sized piano, but I'm sure I can adjust. As long as it fits my station and my fingers, I'm okay with it. I'm a pretty careful person. I don't think it'd break if I play it too much. In fact, there are these headphones I have that I haven't come close to breaking yet, and it's been over 6 months. Some reviews say that they broke it in 1-3 months. Maybe some reviews you read were by people that weren't the best candidates. I'm also confused. http://www.amazon.com/Korg-MicroKey-37-Key-Midi-Controller/dp/B0043C599S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346370055&sr=8-1&keywords=korg+microKEY Here, it says Product Dimensions: 26 x 3.2 x 7.2 inches ; 2.2 pounds. http://www.amazon.com/Korg-MICROKEY37-37-Key-Midi-Controller/dp/B007VQIGPW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1346370055&sr=8-2&keywords=korg+microKEY Here, it says Product Dimensions: 12 x 1 x 10 inches ; 2.2 pounds. They look exactly the same aside from one having USB in the name and one not. I've also heard that it's 56 cm wide, and its keys are 44 cm wide. Can anyone confirm what its dimensions are? EDIT: I've decided to buy it. EDIT2: I like it, btw. It fits all my needs.

Well, I, for one, do not condone masking the lack of musical talent through virtual studio edits if the artist is going to have to play live at some point. If the song or album is intentionally electronic, i.e. cannot be replicated using real instruments, then, that's fine. However, if there are real instruments mixed in with synthesized ones, I'd prefer the BPM to make it at least sound playable. As for autotune, I only like it if it's used tastefully. Fixing occasionally off notes is not okay, IMO, if it's noticeable. If you're going to perform vocals for your song, then either do as many takes as necessary or ask someone else with a fitting voice to perform for you. I'd much prefer it if autotune is not used. Vocoding is similar, but a more flexible alternative. Autotune is merely for correcting pitch, adding kind of fake-sounding harmonies, and possibly (but should not be for) for any timbre shifts between genders. Vocoding tunes the vocal part to a carrier, and is a staple of electro music. If vocoding is used tastefully to gel in a song for which it makes enough sense, then sure. However, the limitations and inferiority of autotune's algorithm to vocoding make it a turnoff for me most of the time. And about Dragonforce... well, to be honest, if they did truly speed up their guitars, wouldn't it be noticeable for raw recordings? If it wasn't, then they would have had to work with MIDIs and use some pretty freakin' good guitar VSTi's to get a natural tone and playable sequences after a BPM change. I might or might not be mistaken, but generally when changing the speed of audio clips, they tend to sound pretty obvious and bad. Anyways, that's my 1000 cents (typed from an iPad 2 keyboard, lol).

I love the chord progression at 3:24 - 3:34! =D The rest is typical Will.

Whoo, I finished the arrangement! Things to notice: - Polished the "bubbles" sound. - Notched the lead at certain spots in the EQ. - Made the 3o3 arp more noticeable. - There was a different bass pattern earlier at the 1:12 transition; I ended up swapping that to a later variation of that transition, so now the 0:17 and 1:12 sections generally have a legato bass line, and the 2:26 section has more of a staccato bass line. - 1:34 - 1:51 is definitely new and needs work. - 1:51 - 2:08 has a new lead. - 2:08 - 2:25 is the solo. - The 2:26 transition has some overtones to lead in to the final climax variation. - Then of course, the final climax leads to the ending. In the meantime, for V3, I've finished editing 1:34 - 1:51. I'm currently polishing the solo lead timbre, miscellaneous velocities, and the hi hats rhythm/humanization for the V3. https://www.box.com/s/37d1v1usjn1meiyrtf61 - V2.9 https://www.box.com/s/2ca7cd69192e4e8ccb43 - V2.8 https://www.box.com/s/3b0f7355c2e35291d612 - V2.7 https://www.box.com/s/4d5394ecc48204411b1a - V2.6 https://www.box.com/s/dcab54cace89d8bfbbbd - V2.5 https://www.box.com/s/8744fdd33600fecf3187 - V2 https://www.box.com/s/a292f4b302116d4bf027 - V1

I'm not the person to ask for this, but it seems that this gives the expectation that the sound would be routed to mixer tracks 3 and 4, and in this, it's routed into mixer tracks 4 and 5. Were you wondering about that? Go to the gear in the fruity wrapper and make sure the one that goes into mixer track 3 is "--", not "1". Then change the next "2" to a "1" for the sound currently going into mixer track 4.

I refined volumes, velocities, and EQ some more, and I got an even cleaner sound. Like I said, though, the arrangement itself isn't done. I do currently feel like I can continue with the arrangement on my free time, though. This first week of college is killing me. Dx Things to notice: - 1:12 sounds different now in the bass sequencing. More staccato. - Velocities are cleaner, so the things that should be heard are heard correctly. - Hi hat sample changed; the brushed open hi hat, not the hi hat paired with the kick. - Harmonies are taken back a bit at points where they are too loud. i.e. the breakdown section. - Lead in the intro is softer and crescendos. It also starts low passed and then the low pass is automated out. That way it is more of a band passed intro. - The organ-style section is fixed up a bit. The saw lead used in the first half is now 4 voices instead of 11, so it's less prone to excessive detune and is more clear. https://www.box.com/s/2ca7cd69192e4e8ccb43 - V2.8 https://www.box.com/s/3b0f7355c2e35291d612 - V2.7 https://www.box.com/s/4d5394ecc48204411b1a - V2.6 https://www.box.com/s/dcab54cace89d8bfbbbd - V2.5 https://www.box.com/s/8744fdd33600fecf3187 - V2 https://www.box.com/s/a292f4b302116d4bf027 - V1

What do you mean by "I'm not hearing the chords properly"? Are you having trouble finding the right chords to use for a certain section? I'm hoping it's this, because you should try to use different chords than those from the OST.

Looking at it again. At 0:27, the sidechained saw wave that comes in has a really high resonance level. Try reducing the resonance and detuning it a little. The synth that pops in at 0:54 and 1:12 is a little treble heavy. Try low passing it slightly. There should be a lead in to 1:12; at least, that's how I interpreted the direction of your remix. Then you should beef up those drums. Go for a big beat type of sound, considering a more obvious lead comes in there and ups the expected energy. 1:38 sounds like a breakdown section, or it sounds like it could be one. Try creating a lead in to it, and putting a long decay cymbal or something to that effect. The sidechained saw wave should be gone by now; keeping it for that long makes the piece sound more repetitive. The sine lead at 1:38 sounds a bit shrill. Try layering in a square wave and having the sine wave only create the tone, not actually noticeably playing the pitches. The sparkly pad that comes in at 1:56 has lots of high end. Try tapering off the EQ with a mild low pass. 2:10 - 2:12 is bare, and should have some notes leading into the next section, which sounds like the first part of the outtro to me. Aside from that, I don't notice much else.

I'd say the lead at 1:15 should be more legato, and only retrigger when needed. Try thinking of a smooth way to implement legato while taking that out at specific times. You could look at at 1:39 for the idea I'm talking about.2:17 could have a different mallet lead. I think the mallet impact there on those samples are a bit hard, so try out some other ones. I also agree on the ending. It could end at around 2:50 or something. Looking good so far though. Keep it up!