Chimpazilla
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Posts posted by Chimpazilla
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Thanks so much Rozo. I knew you would be able to help with levels and mixing. I was concerned about the bass myself, now I will work to rein it in.
Would you mind telling me precisely where you hear the problem with the plucked thing, so I know exactly which thing you are talking about? (I think it is my Omnisphere "glass segovia" which is a nylon guitar hybrid, but I want to be sure) And I believe this instrument is also guilty of the "overly clear" comment?
And should we keep this on mod review until I am done with these fixes, or change back to wip, or how should we do that? (I don't want to be a mod review hog, haha!)
Thanks again!
edit: back to wip status for now. Rozo, I hope it is ok if I ping you again when the changes have been made. Really want to go all the way with this one!
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Forest of Purple Mist - mod review version 1
This song is finally ready for an official mod review!
Two areas of concern that I have for this version are:
1. the intro - it now contains 9 layers of strings! I think it sounds rich and full. Is it working?
2. the busy passage before the outro - I've carefully automated volumes so instruments each get a turn to play prominently (or somewhat so) before fading to the background. Is it still too busy, and if so, what do you recommend I do to thin it out? I love all those parts and don't want to delete any if I don't have to.
Any other suggestions to get this song submit-ready are greatly appreciated!
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(just in case someone is unfamiliar with this track) -
You are really talented. This is great. Wonderful dynamics and varying moods here. Wish it had been longer, enjoyed it!
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Oh wow, where's the bass? If this is dubstep I want to be nearly overwhelmed with bass and I'm struggling to hear it. I wonder if that "whinyness" Rozo mentioned would be alleviated somewhat just by bringing up the low frequencies. No wait, still a bit whiny. Maybe bring in more mid frequencies on those high synths and turn their volumes down.
Cool track though!
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Yeah, tho changing tempo is usually unnecessary and easily screws with the timing of delays and other effects. It's easier to keep a steady tempo and just change the dynamics and occasionally trail behind or run ahead with some instrument.
Good point about messing up delays... so disregard tempo change suggestion. But definitely some volume autos.
Rozo... nice to see you back in action!
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Nice track. The entire thing needs humanization. Those strings especially could benefit from some volume automation. (think "swells") In particular, there is an abrupt (and unnatural) cutoff at 2:29. The song could speed up and slow down, go softer and quieter too, this would all help. I believe this is what Rozo means by "pretending to be a conductor."
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Congrats! I have a friend whose track was accepted in December. Still waiting. Plan on six months!
edit: no judges forum? wow cool... ok so I have no idea.
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Wow Pokie, this is lovely! Really nice instrumentation. The only thing I hear that isn't perfect is that flute, when it leads it is too thick somehow, have you doubled it with something? Or just multiple flutes? It sounds unnaturally full. I cannot criticize any other thing! You are using EWQLSO if I recall.
It's a shame it is such a cover. Why not do some interpretation, starting with the second iteration of the main melody, the one played by the horn at 0:25? Shouldn't be that hard, it could be as simple as reversing the note progression. Then at 1:02, where you have harmony, write something unique! Change the chord progression and melody, just for a few bars. (come on, you can do it!) Then the flute could play the main melody again, or change it up slightly. I think you could do a lot here with several slight variations and maybe one big variation.
Nice work, I enjoyed it!
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Best of luck and great job on this!
edit: listening again... if this doesn't get posted I will be utterly shocked.
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Lady of the Lake - updated 9-20-13
Nearly ready for submission now.
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Hi all! I recently got Omnisphere and this was my first attempt at using it. This song started out as a straight cover of Lake Hylia just to try out my gorgeous new sounds. Then I got the idea for the time signature change in the second half, and added an original-ish intro.
I know this needs quite a bit of production work and some of the timbres would need to be changed or replaced... no need to bust me too hard on those things. (also I'm struggling with some rendering issues) My purpose in posting it now is to see if anyone likes it, and if the second half makes up for the coverishness of the first half. Does the arrangement have any potential? If not, I will just count this as good practice.
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Yeah, this is great. I still love that synth in the second part. And wow that is some groovy drumming!
I do hear those clicks, are they there in playback or just render? I just learned a trick this morning, if you have rendering glitches, you can just record the song on Edison and skip the rendering process altogether. Worked for me!
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From my experience I've found that you can learn a lot from people of any skill level. Don't limit yourself or others by setting invisible lines of class and status. Sometimes I get more help from non-musicians who don't get hung up on technical things but instead can tell me if a song feels right to them for whatever simply worded reasons.
As musicians we always seem to give feedback by applying our own methods and principles to a composition/instrumentation/mix, and sometimes that isn't really the best type of feedback.
Wow, this is a great post. I think by "class and status" maybe you meant skill level? (or maybe posted vs. not-yet-posted vs. not-getting-posted-anytime-soon haha)
I've gotten great feedback from suprising sources. My 84 year old mother was the one to tell me my bassoons were too loud in my current mix, and she was right!
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I can't believe you guys made this over a weekend... it's really cool! Love the glitching! I like that arp, maybe you could just make a unique variation of it for part of the time it plays, making it less repetitious? The bass is indeed a bit lacking. Add something, or let what you have there be louder and/or play a little lower in frequency. I found it a tad harsh in the very highest frequencies, those hats really push the limits, that's my only crit. Nice work!
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Yes that is better humanized! Still more could be done I think. Some of the left hand parts still sound pretty static. (although with this style, maybe that's what works) It seems to be better humanized in the beginning and not as much later on, from what I can tell. (just listened three times) The break may be a bit *too* soft now... but it is moving in the right direction. It's a tricky bitch, I know.
Also make sure your chords are not perfectly snapped to the beat. Let each note in the chord be off just slightly, leaving one on the beat (I usually let the lowest one stay pretty close to the beat). Move the notes slightly later, never earlier than the beat (from my experiments, that just makes a mess).
What piano vst are you using, I don't know if you ever said what? Is it just a soundfont? I recently got TruePianos and it is quite versatile, I love it. It costs about $200 though.
I sure do love this arrangement!
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Thanks, I appreciate the kind words! I have a piece on OCR at the moment (Do Droids Dream of Ramboids?) and I have a Portal 2 remix I did being posted soon. I definitely want to get more things posted in the future though.
Ah I see... awesome! And congrats. Well keep up the good work! Your music is a pleasure to listen to.
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I don't know of any... you just have to think like a piano player, experiment a lot, and also you need a vst that is responsive to note velocity tweaking (or you have to know how to use your midi cc messages, which I sadly don't). What piano vst are you using? And I think you said you played the parts yourself? And what daw are you using?
This humanization issue is a sticky wicket on many many songs here... the issue is magnified for you since your entire tune is piano... the humanization (or lack of same) is really exposed... but you'll get there, I just know it.
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I always feel like that's cheating for some reason. Perhaps I will reopen these project files at some point and extend a lot of my remixes a little and make them viable for OCR submissionHow is that cheating??? I do that quite a bit. I think it makes it interesting! I typically select two or sometimes three complimentary themes from one game and mash them up in some way... use a backing groove from one song and the melody from another, or as I mentioned write a transition or bridge or passage using a separate tune. As long as they blend and transition well, and as long as you have personalized it all sufficiently and made it into a cohesive mix, I think this is a great strategy. For me at least, it has made creating arrangements easier and faster. Not cheating at all.
edit: caveat - make sure the song isn't a straight "medley." This won't work. If you use a completely separate source tune in the middle, make sure to return to the original you started with for the ending.
Your work is absolute quality... you belong on OCR! Check out their submission standards and jump in here. I predict you will get posted in no time.
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Now THAT'S what I'M talkin' about!!!!! Those echoes just make that transition utterly perfect. I think it's ready. I'm not a mod though... maybe you could ping a mod, just for the final blessing and throwing of holy water on this?
I'm really wishing you luck with this but wow, I think it'll pass.
edit: I see you did get a mod review. Do fix the velocities if you can, it can certainly be done, if I can do it, certainly you can!
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That reverb is perfect, wow... pianos coming from every which where... gosh... lovely...
I have only one crit now. In the middle, no wait, about 1/3 of the way through just as the fast part ends (sorry no time marker), right before the *gorgeous* slow part begins, it feels a bit like an ending! I'm guessing the judges won't care for that... I suggest making those last 10 (I think) forte staccato notes trail off into continuing echoes instead of ending abruptly with just reverb. The keyword here is "continuing." I think that would fix it, and connect it, and make it sound like there is more to come which there definitely is.
Ending = perfect.
Love love love this track. Best of luck with the judges!
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Well I like the whistle! Let's see if others do too. If the concensus is that it just sucks, I'll delete it.
As for the "grotesque" strings, you mean the detache strings, before the oboe begins? Do you just not care for the sample? We can switch that out.
edit: I'm having a friend record wavs of those strings using EWQL Hollywood Strings. (the string pad that follows is already recorded in Hollywood Strings) Should be good!
another edit: I appreciate these crits! But please be specific. "The snare could use some tweaking" means, what? Is it too woody? Too thick, thin? Pitchy? Tail too long/short? What tweaking do you mean? Also, "instruments too low" is probably a valid crit... but specifically which ones? I agree the piano is low and I love it so I'll bring it up some. I've been very careful to make sure the leads have their space... but if something is really too low, I'd love to know what exactly so I can fix it. Specifics are always more helpful than generalities! Thanks so much.
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Chimpazilla, I love the nature samples you added!
I think the sample of the bird tweeting at 2:19 sounds off and strange, though.
Also, the hihat during 0:50-1:45 and 2:33-3:06 sounds very mechanical, it could use some more humanization and/or fills.
A very good mix, though. I thoroughly enjoyed it! Good luck
Thanks very much! That "bird" tweeting at exactly 2:19 is not a bird at all, but Link's "
," followed at 2:24 by Epona's whinny reply. I always like to add some sounds right from the game (although I made the Epona whistle myself, couldn't find a wav anywhere)I can certainly add some hat fills, I'll look into that. Thanks for the kind words!
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Forest of Purple Mist - Jordanrooben / Chimpazilla collab version 1
I am very pleased to unveil this new version of Jordan's Faron Woods remix. I have loved this song since he first posted it here. Jordan has been kind enough to allow me to take the reins on this song for awhile. Quite a bit of loving care has been put into it. As you can tell, I did a little more than just drumming!
Jordan and I are both very pleased with this version and would like very much to submit it. Constructive criticism is requested and appreciated. We will leave it in a "wip" status for awhile before bumping to mod review. Please tell us your thoughts! And enjoy!
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Definitely too coverish to submit - that's the thing with most of my remixes. They're either too short or too faithful - just figured I would share here on the forums.
But that is an easy fix! Just select a complimentary theme, and write a bridge or interlude using that theme, then back to the original theme and voila, instant remix! (with some personal interpretation, of course) Please keep going, this really sounds terrific.
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Wow, cool and cute!!! Yes it does have an intimate "crazy orchestra" feel. I like the purposeful "mistakes." I didn't find the bass too loud on my monitors. Very nicely produced. The choir however seems better suited for a darker piece, even with the staccato phrases, it is reminding me of the
Even the attack is wrong on the choir, too slow, not keeping up with the super upbeat instruments. Hhhmmm, something is needed there, but maybe something more lighthearted. Nice track! But probably too coverish if you are planning to submit it... can you add some original stuff, or throw in parts of a second melody?
Forest of Purple Mist - Faron Woods from Zelda: Twilight Princess - Version 8
in Post Your Game ReMixes!
Posted
OK Rozo, I gotcha. Will do.
I'm finding in Omnisphere that although the sounds are amazing by themselves, often I'm having to totally delete effects and turn of half of the patch each time. Haha! Well I still love it.
(I just got Komplete 8, too... whoopee!)