Chimpazilla

Great tips and ideas here, thank you!

Oh boy a new mix featuring PI511 on piano... this is gonna be good... *listening* yes it it! I love this soooo much!!! My only crit is that I think the piano could be a tad brighter, it seems to be just a tiny bit too dull for how awesome the writing is. It blends in quite well... too well? I wonder if anyone else agrees or is it just me? Otherwise it is produced beautifully. I enjoyed it! Nice work guys.

Nice Moseph... I'll look forward to your review of SSP! Hey C&C, nice to see you, interesting blog!

Did you end up getting Session Strings Pro, and if so do you like it? I was looking at that too, a good friend told me it is a very good small ensemble library, he said it was similar to Lass First Chair. I just got Komplete 8 not long ago, so I figured I'd fool around with the Kontakt factory instruments first before venturing into Session Strings... but I'd like to know more about them too. I didn't miss out on the sale though, I bought Damage. It's fun. What did you end up getting from the sale?

Or join the masses of us using good old FL Studio!

I just bought Damage this afternoon. (half price plus $30 coupon) Should be interesting!

You did this in half an hour???????? Wow... completely lovely... what string library are you using? I can't find anything to complain about... at all... so nice. Possibly too coverish... not sure though... (and I love SPM) Really, half an hour? *impressed*

It was a vibraphone, and it has now been tamed, thanks! Sorry you don't like the oboe... I love it, it is what initially drew me to Jordan's song. I can push it back with some more reverb... Rozo said it needed more brightness... arg, I don't know what to do with it to make everybody happy... I guess I'll just strive to make myself and Jordan happy. And no, not pointless... I appreciate it.

If you could describe specifically what sounds "off," that would help (I know that can be tough to do). Too much/little of any particular frequency? I've already tweaked this sooooooo much... played with eq, effects, extra reverb, etc. I want it to sound like it does, but GOOD. I'm just now playing around with some mild compression and may have it sounding a tad better...

Thanks so much... will fix those bells... ah the oboe *darnit*... it has been a sticky point because it is a real sample layered with a soundfont, and the soundfont is the weak link but must stay because the other samples drop out on the low notes. I'll have to try to improve the overall timbre... any suggestions to try?

Forest of Purple Mist - possible submission version OK friends... this will be the submission version unless someone can point out a real dealbreaker! Any fine-tuning mixing crits would be appreciated... writing is completely finished. Thanks, and wish us luck!

Pokie, don't be down on yourself, I know you do have some great samples already, and you are really good!!!

Thanks guys for these very kind words and really great ideas! I will absolutely try them all when I do make the time to get back into this mix. I'm so glad you guys liked it. So, Emu, you're a judge... is the first half too coverish? Does part 2 make up for it? (purely an arrangement question there) And Emu... gosh an Arizona remixer... I was just thinking this morning how much I would love to have a local remixing friend. That is truly fantastic! Friend request accepted! And Eradicate, yes I hope we will be hearing some new stuff from you. People like you (and everyone who has commented here) are what make this forum such an amazing place to be.

Awesome! I feel like I'm playing WW right now! Perfect. Too short!

Oh gosh, I've accused you unjustly, sorry! But yeah, that is exactly what that preset sounds like. I love it... it just sounds very distinctive! I don't understand how bitcrushing gives the ya sound? Sorry I haven't used bitcrushing at all, and have never created a ya sound myself! What are you using to sidechain? Don't use peak controller... what a bitch that is. Use Fruity Limiter. Here is a wonderful tutorial on that. As for using eq, it is crucial to let each instrument have it's space. If the kick is strong at 70Hz, give it a wide q 1db boost there, and give the bass a narrow-ish 2db cut there. Do the same for the bass. Is it strongest at 100Hz? Boost it 0.5-1db there (wide q) and cut the kick by 1-2db (slightly narrower q) there. Same goes for the other instruments when they are playing together. Make sure nothing but kick and bass are playing in the low regions by rolling off everything else below 200-250Hz, then look to see where each instrument has it's strongest presence, and *gently* cut (small and wide) room out of the other instruments in those places. You shouldn't need to cut leads too much (except rolling off low end), unless there is something annoying about it. Cut your background stuff (gently) to accomodate leads. Hope that helps.

Hey E, nice to hear from you again! *affixes "Truly Awesome Review" sticker to E's shirt* This is the other mix, it is a collab and is in the final stages now. I'm having some friends with "expert" ears help me final-balance the low end, and I'm going to post one more version of it here before submitting. Thanks for asking. Yes, giving proper feedback is an artform unto itself. You've got it down! When someone does something right, I like to let them know. You did something right. Will you be making some new music? I hope so. I still need to listen to your older mix, will do that soon.

I like the music box-like intro! Ah, Harmor's "decimated voice," I love that! It's really easily identifiable though... as EK said, maybe you could change that up here and there. I don't find it terribly muddy, make sure you HP below 30Hz or so and carve out room between about 200-400Hz, that should cover most of the mud. Yeah, the bitcrushing could tone down, or automate on/off for a very cool effect. The drums are just a tad dry. The snare is most noticeable. Just turn up the reverb/delay a touch on that, and the hats too. The kick gets a little lost behind the bass, is it sidechained? Also where does it hit hardest, give the bass a tiny cut in that area. The other instruments/synths sound good and I like the glitching, it isn't overdone. As for repetitiveness, I'd say if the judges had no problem with it, you're good to go on the arrangement. I like it a lot! Best of luck with round 2 in the panel.

Yes PI511, you certainly DO play piano!!! (and I'm wishing you a huge success with your recently submitted track!) Thanks for that tip, I'll lower the velocity in that section. I've got a few more fixes to do, then one more post here. Thanks for the kind words!

Thanks EK, I'll check that out. I'm going to post it here one more time shortly, for a few final opinions... it's nearly ready to sub I think.

Nice to meet you, Eradicate! And it looks like a hearty "welcome back to OCR" is warranted! I have read the three reviews you have given in the past 24 hours, and I must absolutely commend you for having the ability to give a Truly Awesome Review. Few know how to do this as well as you do. I am planning to write an extensive article on how to give and receive feedback, and I'd like to use some of your words as examples of how it should be done! Your posts are friendly, thorough, encouraging, thoughtful, specific, and helpful. PERFECT. I'm impressed. Just had to say that. My handle "chimpazilla" is actually my (recently deceased) dog's nickname. Keli was a fawn boxer who constantly "chimped" (a little whiny sound that was quite annoying!) for attention, food, etc. She chimped so darned much that I nicknamed her "Chimpazilla." Then of course I liked that name so much that I stole it for myself and assumed it on the internet! So, what's up with "Eradicate?" As for my song, thanks so much for that lengthy review! Those were some amazing ideas there, definitely worth looking into when I dive back into this mix. (currently giving the final glossy coat to another track to be submitted soon) I've also just recently purchased Komplete 8, and I'm sure there are some sounds in there I could use to spiff this one up quite a bit. Thank you so much for this response, it was truly excellent. Looking forward to more interactions with you here on OCR.

Oh gosh... listening again... what a lovely arrangement, even with some instruments removed... so nice. But... I think you are only going to get so far with your software... you'll need to be able to automate and use effects to get it really sounding good. I hope you'll consider getting yourself FL Studio or Cubase or Logic or ProTools or one of the other DAWs. It will take you a little time to get up to speed... probably not that long though, I suspect (you know what needs to be done, with a proper daw you'll have the tools available!). And you'll get tons of help here. Wow, really nice composing work.

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!)

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!

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! edit: source - (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!