timaeus222

I'm always available if anyone wants me to contribute some electric geetar, synth lead/pad/bass/solo/whatever, piano, non-metal drums, and orchestral strings. And I'm game for helping with production as well. Oh, and @Prince uf Darkness needs to do something here.

The piano's pretty resonant in the intro at 0:00 - 0:25, specifically around 525 (± 50) Hz; oddly enough, it's not much of a problem at 0:12 - 0:14. Might want to check why that could be, because this problem gets pretty significant later on. Pay close attention to that frequency range on Fruity Parametric EQ 2; it's a visual EQ, so if you focus on that frequency range, you should be able to see it get bright. Brighter = louder. At 0:25 - 1:18... things get really loud. You're maxing out the limiter there, and you have overcompression (this is important). Lots of low end clutter near 100 and 300 Hz, to the point where I can't listen to it without thinking it's going to damage my ears. Try disabling your drums temporarily and rethinking your volumes. I would suggest you to not boost anything, and instead lower the mixer sliders of everything by about 8 dB, turn up your computer's listening volume a bit, mix like that for a while so that you can hear the now-quieter elements in the track, turn your listening volume back down when you're ready, and slowly raise the sliders back up until it sounds like a normal loudness for typical listening. When doing so, listen closely to try to notice whether or not there is a "pumping" feel to the track. If so, your instruments are stacking to push up against the 0 dB ceiling, and you should stop raising your instrument volumes. See if that helps. It's a bit hard to tell under all the clutter at 0:25 - 1:18, but I'm pretty sure you're using FL Slayer, which is not going to be a VST that can help you sound like Sixto; probably the closest thing to him is Impact Soundworks' Shreddage IBZ, which is a sample library that he played electric lead and rhythm guitar for. It's basically a virtual instrument that you can utilize to emulate a real instrument. It costs $119, but one might expect to spend an additional $399 on Native Instruments' Kontakt to use it; you only need the free Kontakt Player though, so... the price is really $119 (not $518). You'd basically would have a customizable guitar emulation that has the possibility of sounding perfect; the only thing you'd have to do is learn how to use it well... but you have lots of time, I think. Your drums are actually pretty good, and it's probably the best component of this track. I like the glitching. At 1:56 - 2:24, I hear the same resonance as I mentioned about the piano in the intro, but it's more significant. Finally, at 2:35 - end, we have the same overcompression issue as 0:25 - 1:18. Overall, kind of hard to say much here, but mainly, you should pay closer attention to the volume meter in your mixer and notice when it smashes against 0 dB---that's what it's doing at 0:25 - 1:18 and 2:35 - end. Also, try to use Fruity Parametric EQ 2 more. It's one of the most useful EQ plugins I've ever used, because it's visual. Brighter = louder, and you might be able to EQ some things that you may not even hear, if you're good at using it.

@XPRTNovice Seems like the latest version so far is here, recent up until Dec. 21.

I never said it was precisely the same sound. I said, "I got that by . . . ", meaning "here's my attempt". The general quality of that sound is that it's a bell sound with one octave for "body", one octave for brightness, and one octave for the metallic "sparkle", plus some reverb for ambience and delay for nuance. So, I approached making the sound thinking like that. It doesn't have to be exactly the same, because we don't know what the soundsource was. This was an attempt.

That's the same exact one I was referring to...

Well, I got that by layering three octaves. A mid percussive sine wave (for the "body"), a mid-high glockenspiel and vibraphone (same octave), and a high percussive sine wave (for the "sparkle"). It's simple to make the sine wave layers, while the glockenspiel is Ethan Winer's free soundfont, and the vibraphone is from Fluid R3 GM, another free soundfont. I played the vibraphone, then the mid sine, then the high sine, then the glockenspiel. Then, I played all of them together without any (external) effects, then with NastyDLA MKII (which I already told you about), then with NastyDLA MKII and only Fruity Reeverb (1), then with NastyDLA MKII and only ArtsAcoustic Reverb. https://app.box.com/s/p6t6zce9n6qqmxem00bkxhanlbf063fy Keep in mind that there was no external EQ whatsoever, though you should still EQ this.

This is really loud and can be reduced by 2~4 dB. It actually clipped at 0:10. The EQ is also pretty hyped up in the upper treble and it gets a bit painful to listen to. Other than that it seems good so far.

Make a link of the youtube link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLUeulBwX9eutgBkcYyR31X6Swj9iShv4p&v=nITKmpRKUEU If you want to get rid of it, you can hover over the video and click the upper-left "crosshair" symbol on the video, and then press the Delete key. Alternatively, you can click in the textbox, press Ctrl/Cmd+End to get to the end of the textbox, and then press Backspace, and that should do it eventually.

Thanks @nitrozsz for the kind words!

Keep listening. They keep coming. Try ocr.rainwave.cc.

ReForged has plenty of foundry objects sampled for Kontakt. You actually do get WAV files though, so you can use the library as WAVs. (fyi, there is a free sample provided) http://impactsoundworks.com/products/electronic/reforged-cinematic-metallic-sound-design/

You can just click Edit and adjust your post.

Made it to 57.

oh, the percussion sound that plays in place of a snare. I'm actually not sure how to make it, but it seems metallic with maybe some plate reverb (which may sound metallic sometimes) or something to match the industrial genre aesthetics. Maybe @lazygecko has an idea?

At 0:15? No, it's some sort of short sampled EDM "cheer" sound. You can't. Not in a way that sounds "great" anyways, and not in a way that can be fully described in a short, concrete manner. The short answer is that you'd need good sample quality, and the time and dedication to practice and get your sequencing skills up to par with the sample quality. You'd need an actual, dedicated orchestral sample library, on the order of a few hundred to a few thousand USD, such as East West Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra ($195~995), Vienna Symphonic Library (plain expensive), Spitfire Albion (~$500), and so on, and a lot of practice writing actual music. Depending on how good you are at figuring out what you need to improve on as you work with these instruments, it may take a few months to a few years. It's not easy, and it's not overnight.

Yeah, I have to say that I barely hear the guitars as well. I only hear the upper midrange of the rhythm guitars. I'll second the brass comments at 0:21; the sequencing is bleeding together, like many people are competing with each other. I'm also finding the violin at 0:43 to be awkwardly sequenced, because I can't quite tell what notes it's supposed to be playing. It's basically almost playing certain notes, and then there's kind of a change of mind in the middle of the note, like the "player" is falling behind.

1. Well, you could also listen to the ReMix for the musicality of it, without comparing to the original if you don't want to. 2. Because OCR hosts it in higher bitrate and at its original volume. And you can then bring it with you even when you don't have internet where you are.

Yeah, the vocals are pretty much in the forefront while the instruments in the background are just really pushed back, like you don't want people to listen to them. I liked your soundcloud version much better. Just saying. So you should submit that version to OCR.

Well, it's a pretty conservative arrangement; it sticks very closely to the original, pretty much verbatim actually. Also, phaser is easy to overdo, and I think the phaser is overdone on the lead; the saw lead at 0:29 lacks impact. The guitar is also pretty lifeless and noticeably... what, FL Slayer? Though you probably won't work on this more, I think you should work on the judicious usage of particular effects, and just bringing your own creativity into your arrangements. Try writing without using a MIDI, and imagine contributing to a more liberal arrangement.

I agree that it was pretty conservative and that the early saxes were pretty wide and upfront compared to the narrow accordion; I also think the sax solo was odd being mixed wide (when that, if not for the volume, kind of draws attention away from it a little bit). But I do think the sax solo helped get it over the bar in terms of interpretation, and while this is a pretty faithful arrangement, I liked the guitar, solo sax, and drum performances the most. The drummer seemed especially excited. Those fills!

The transitions sound better now! At 1:01 in the original, compare that to 1:03 in your ReMix; you should see the similarity in the steel drums you used as a lead. To help keep the arrangement from getting too conservative, even something as small as changing the lead can help differentiate from the original. But you could also just add some "trills" every now and then on the steel drums (like at 1:05.8 - 1:06.9, or 1:08.5 - 1:09.2) and that would help a little as well. You should then also notice the similarity in the bells at 1:08 in the original and the bells you use at 1:10. This applies all throughout 1:03 - 1:30. At 1:30 - 1:38, the steel drums could also be a bit more humanized. They seem almost quantized, if not all the way quantized (rigid rhythm), and the straight 8th notes are the main thing I'm pointing out here. Maybe some triplets or 16th notes at specific points (like at 1:32.8 - 1:33.0 and 1:36.0 - 1:36.5)? The notes are also pretty much verbatim here, and you have a chance here, that would help quite a bit, to write some original arpeggiated leadin notes. Maybe an upwards scale on the steel drums at 1:36.8 - 1:37.8 to parallel the piano? The lead at 1:52 is also clearer. The staccato helped draw attention to it, though the melodic contour could be more focused/less meandering at 2:03.5 - 2:05.1. I find that normally, the bass defines an underlying "implied" chord progression for the lead, and outlines the chords that work with the lead, so I think it would help to change the bass and chords to match the motion of the lead at 1:52 - 2:05. To me, 2:19 - 2:39 sounds like it could be a climax. Also, the lead notes on 2:46 - 2:54 remind me of an outtro; as a result, if 2:46 - 2:54 had the same drums as 2:40 - 2:46, and the bass at 2:46 - 2:54 was less stuttered, I think that would help give 2:46 - 2:54 a more focused direction that's more cohesive with what came before 2:46 and after 2:54 (specifically, leading towards the ending). Overall, it's definitely improved; you might also want to get a mod review to see what someone like Rozovian or Gario thinks.

Yeah, I'd have to agree with DevilBeats; the poly supersaws you have can have more interesting filter motion, and maybe some rhythmic interest to get them to provide the hype you're trying to bring. I keep wanting to hear a Reese or a more interesting bass as well, in addition to the semi-random wub bass you bring in every now and then. Also, you should add more variation in the second half where you have a lot of copy+paste. Go all the way; don't just stop here. (And the ReMix stops without fading out all the way.) In terms of Sound Design, this is maybe 70% there for me. In terms of arrangement... maybe 60% there. Needs that variation in the second half to differentiate from the first half.

This is some rap I can get behind. I watched phoenix wright playthroughs as a kid () and recently took a Criminal Justice class, so I have a better idea of how court proceedings work and can understand this better. Awesome piano playing, and I don't think the lyrics were overdone.

This track has become a 'classic' for me. I downloaded this a few years ago, and here I'm coming back to it. I forgot Diggi Dis even did this. But it still sounds like him!