ShadTK

So, EWQL is now selling CC2 on a downloadable option. Which mean I can now buy CCC2 without paying 800$ in taxes. Which means I'l totally getting this thing. Although I can get myself some decent judgment on my instrument choices for the pack (with loads of youtube reviews), there is one thing I'm not sure how to evaluate: the optional SSL/EW FX. Apparently, the 70% discount isn't applied on it, adding the original 99 bucks price to the bundle. And I haven't been able to find a video that explains what does it do in specific, or if it is worth the purchase. So, anyone have any opinions on that one?

Oddly enough, I've found the answer for this with another question Why do I like games? For years I wondered why I liked playing VG's so much. I never had a favorite genre, or a favorite art style. But I simply loved some games, without being ever able to tell why. Until I realized that I loved the music of every one of these games. Earthbound, sonic, touhou, kirby, zelda, etc... Every time I mentioned them, the first thing that would come to my mind would be their theme motifs, rather then any art, character or gameplay characteristics. To quote sound designer Water Murch:"Film sound is rarely appreciated for itself alone, but functions largely as an enhancement of the visuals. By means of some mysterious perceptual alchemy, whatever virtues sound brings to film are largely perceived and appreciated by the audience in visual terms. The better the sound, the better is the image." This "mysterious alchemy" is exactly what I love, and what I wish to uncover as I study music. As for if I pass this for my mixes... I unfortunately can't tell, as I am still not confident enough to just go on jamming songs. I have a few compositions, but every one of them was created out of necessity (BGMs for games com gamejams), rather then my own initiative. One day I'll overcome this "block" I have for composing/mixing.. but as for now I'll just keep studying.

Oh. Well, I didn't knew much about how the hard drives worked, but if I can still use it in both systems I guess it's EWQL to go in the end. By the way, what is the general opinion on Complete Composers Collection 2? at least as for the PRO edition, it seems twice as expensive without adding too much, aside of the reverb software... But I'm not a very good judge. The only VST I own are Studio Instruments from Cakewalk. Haven't seen anyone comment about CCC2 around here so... What are your thougts on it?

So, after 1 year saving up some money, I've gathered enough to buy EWQL Complete composers collection. I couldn't be more happy about it, as I've been whishing for that pack since forever. But... Now that I think of it, I can only buy EWQL For either a MAC or a PC system. Currently, I have a Dell XPS 4370, and to be honest, I'm pretty happy with it. As of now, I wouldn't mind buying CCC for PC. But If I ever plan on migrating to MAC, then I'd be throwing aways 1200 bucks since PC EWQL isn't compatible with mac. If I do buy a MAC, however, this means I'll also have to buy some new software gear (as I currently use cakewalk sonar producer). Which would make me have to wait yet another year, if not more, to buy EWQL Complete composers collection again. (Not to mention they released the CCC2, which is even expensivier then the first one) So I'm kind of clueless here. Any advice?

On topic of AKG k240, I have a question: What's the main difference between AKG k240 and AKG k240 MKII? As far as I saw, they have the same attributes... I don't see what justifies the extra 100 dollars aside of a design change.

Short story: How do you guys take care of your headphones? Especially when traveling? Long Story: I'm getting tired of having my phones break every 6 months. I used not to care much about it a few years ago, because I only purchased 5$ philips phones and though they were nice. Then I got to listen with my pair of AKG 414p, and it was like a whole new world to me. However, I started to have cable malfunctions with AKG about 9 months after my purchase. I've tried to fix it, but without much success. They tend to break again 2 weeks after I fix (aways the left speaker). So then I got a pair of Bose IE2 Earbud. Couldn't be happier with them, as they had similar (if not better) quality then my AKG, and were more portable. They broke last week, same problem with malfunctioning cables(only the left speaker is working now) , only had them for 6 months. Now with the AKG I was aware that I misused them. I didn't cared much about how I plugged/unplugged the phones, and the cables aways got stuck on tables while I was walking. It was no wonder how they broke. But I took every care I could with the Bose pair, yet they broke even faster! So now, before I use yet another 200 bucks on any headphones/earplugs (I live in brasil, headphones around here are about 1.5 times the normal price due to taxes), I want to know. What can I do in order to NOT have these phones break once again? Money don't grow in trees, and I can't afford buying a new pair of phones every 6 months.

Oddly enough, that site was the first thing that popped up when I was searching more info about one hour compositions. I'll try to join, although I don't think i'll be available at the time. Anyway it is nice to know this kind of stuff exists.

I think the consensus here is on One hour compositions, as far as everyone said. Although I'm still not so sure on how to approach this - grab a picture and attempt to make a theme song for it, improvisation ahoy, picking a musical style a day... there are quite many possibilities. Having a notepad to note ideas down doesn't seem like a bad idea either.I already have a notepad for writing everything down, anyway. Guess it is worth the shot. Thanks for the ideas guys. I'll try to eventually come up with something more formal for this. If anyone else have opnions they want to share, feel free. I think this kind of topic may be useful for many others.

I've been thinking about this for a while. Piano have stuff like hanon or czerny works that keeps your mind and fingers sharp by offering a daily exercise routine. I'm pretty sure that similar works exists for guitars/violins/trumpets/etc My question being, do you guys know any daily training methods for staying sharp and familiar with your DAWs and/or mixes? Or have you created your own routine of warmups before just banging your head into the software and listening to whatever goes out of it? Or is this just silly, and I shouldn't be comparing piano techniques to DAW manipulations?

I just realized today, but cakewalk is having a sale on sonar X2 studio upgrades http://www.store.cakewalk.com/b2cus/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=10-CXSR2.00-20E Although I'm not sure how much of a saving is that. Sales goes through march 31. According to the email: How to redeem: Please enter promo code Studio50 before you check out to get $50 instant savings on SONAR X2 Studio. Offer ends March 31st.

According to a friend of mine, some of their videos DO end up on youtube. At least he said he saw some of their old courses via youtube. Maybe some students upload the videos after the classes are done?

I'll try to do that kirby, thanks for the hint. I just wish the thing would stop being so random, sometimes it just allows me to drop and pick stuff normally, sometimes it refuses to work because inkscape is open. INKSCAPE. My notebook actually have a soundboard, but it doesn't use ASIO. Guess I'll put some money at a sound card them... not really that bad, but Spending is spending anyway. Hopefully my picks will pay off. Thanks for the help, guys.

Allright this is getting ridiculous. Is asio4all really THAT picky with device disponibility? Everytime I open SONAR, I'm forced to close everything else on my computer, otherwise asio simply refuses to work. I can understand some programs really should conflict with asio (skype, games, youtube pages), but literally EVERYTHING that makes a noise render asio useless. Everytime I want to do music, I need to close chrome, steam(which I use for communication as well), pretty much everything. This also hinders my hability to see tutorials as I try. I was thinking if buying a sound card would help at all. Something like either Fast Track Ii, M-audio Fast Track 2, Fast Track C400, or even Scarlett 2i2. Seeing as I do not own a licensed DAW, the fact that they come with a bonus of pro tools SE / Ableton would be handy. But they cost 200/200/340/320 dollars around here, so I'm not sure if it is worth the shot as I don't record live stuff, nor I have a mic. Any ideas?

I was going for song writting, but It'll cover most of the lyrical part of the songs. I can only choose between music production or song writting, so I had to cut it down for the while. If I enter, i think I might just download the videos for future reference. wouldnt be a bad idea. Loved the introduction to sound design, though. I know this stuff about soundwave types should be basic, but I was never able to search much about it. clarified a lot for me. I'll need to do some exercises to figure out what is what though. Does anyone have an exercise list on the matter or something?

So, This weekend I took the global game jam challange, and served as my team musician. I composed these for 2 games that were being made: https://soundcloud.com/shadtk/fat-heart (Game in question being this one: http://globalgamejam.org/2013/fat-heart) And this other track, for a puzzle-ish game: https://soundcloud.com/shadtk/missing-hearts unfortunetly it wasn't implemented on said puzzle-ish game because the programmers were not able to implement it in time. Both composed with sonar x1, using sonar VST's and EWQL orchestra gold. And these were also the very first tracks I managed to finish on Sonar. Any feedback for future reference is appreciated. Thanks!

An easy fix to stop the video from lagging on the browser? How exactly? I just download the video on my computer, and the downloaded version never glitches. but then I lose the random question time.

It does look quite interesting, and not that expensive too, all things considered. I'll wait for the opinion of more experient VST users though.

I'll be signing in for songwriting, introduction to digital sound design, and introduction to music prodution, without a doubt. I just wonder, do the classes happen at specifical times of the week, being necessary my presence in the computer in order to access it within the time window, or are the classes recorded and released for you to read whenever you get the time? My schedule is pretty tight, and I while I'm not afraid of sacrificing a few hours of sleep, I just wonder if I'll be able to attend on those. Regardless, it's really interesting. I'm also going to check some of the math courses, as I love math just as much as I love music, but that's besides the point.

People should probably open topics like this frequently (which is why there are so many topics on what -genreofgear- should I buy), but i'm opening a new one again because I'm really lost here. I'm trying to raise money to fund all of my music tool needs (these includes both physical gear, virtual gear, and education), at least to start doing things, but I'm not sure of what to invest first. Right now, all I have is a dell XPS 15 4370 for my computer a yamaha piaggero NP V60 as my keyboard and MIDI controller (Without the piano pedals) A set of AKG P414 phones And an shitty eagle violin(FOr study purposes - I still have no idea how to play the violin) I got no microphone (as I don't think I'll need one anytime soon - I don't know how to sing yet, my violin isn't anywhere close to be recordable, and I can just synthetize my keyboard) And my software of choice is cakewalk sonar X1 (although I haven't bought the licence yet.) As of now, I've been able to raise R$1400,00 (which would convert to about 700~800 dollars), and with all my expenses I think I can store up to RS100~200 a month (which, again, goes for around 50~100 dollars, respectively). I won't be able to make much progress into music until the end of the next year anyway, because it'll be the last year of my university, so it'll be quite a busy year. Regardless of that, I'll still be trying to make something at my free times (And I'm still having keyboard/piano classes anyway), so investments can still be made. Right now, my objectives are to buy an official license for sonar, and, well, this ( http://www.soundsonline.com/Complete-Composers-Collection ). I know, the second one is quite a heavy thing for my wallet, and considering import taxes (that is if EWQL imports stuff), the overall price will raise in about 60% (so I'll have to pay about 1500 dolars ~ R$3000,00) I also want a cello after I learn how to play the violin, because DAMM do I I love cellos. After all this backstory, my question: Should I keep storing money for the softwares i mentioned above? Should I use some of the money I have saved so far into something I may be able to use in short-term? Or should I aim for something completly different? My aim is to create OST's for games and animations, by the way. while I haven't posted anything from my own yet, I plan to, whenever I get the time to finish my projects (or leave the at least audible)

Thanks a lot for the help guys. And thanks for explaining a bit about how to install VSTi'd, Jordanus. My biggest headache when it comes to music software is installing then, rather then actually using then. I'll try out both of the synths you suggested, and I'll also try to get sfz to work. If it still refuses to work, I'll post here again. Thanks a lot!

I'm not sure if this is on the right place, but I'll ask anyway. I've been messing around with Cakewalk sonar X1 for a while. So far, I'm loving the software (It's much more detailed then FL in my opinion, but still easier to use then reason 6 or similar softwares). My objective is to complete at least one track before the end of the year. But I have a problem: Soundfounts. I don't have much money to spend on music software right now (as much as I would LOVE to grab a copy of anything from EWQL. And yes, sonar isn't original, at least not yet), and I don't really have much experience on installing VSTi's or soundfounts. I've used Sonar standard instruments to create my stuff so far, but I'm in need of an orchestral drum sound. I've found a soundfount that should fit like a glove, but the extension is .sf2. Apparently, SONAR x1 have no synths that can run .sf2, aside of the sfz+101, but whenever I select the soundfount I want, nothing happens. No sound is loaded, and I can't use the synth on any of my MIDI lines. Yadayadayada, question: How do I use soundfounts effectively on Sonar X1? Should I download some extra VST, or am i doing something wrong with the sfz+, or something else...? Thanks for your attention.

That looks pretty interesting. Online classes are aways relevant. Looks pretty expensive too... by what I saw, it's like, 4000 bucks for the 3 classes you took? Thinking about it, the price is fair, but that doesn't mean anyone can get that money by snapping fingers. I can only wonder, though, do they support international students? I'm interested in taking the classes (as soon as I get the money), but I'm from brazil. Even if I can pay with an international credit card, I'm not sure if they accept students from that far away. Can anyone confirm me this? I couldn't find it on the FAQ.

how come I haven't found those pages when I scearched well, it was usefull, in any case. thanks. Ya, I'm thinking of using horns and battle drums or some instruments of this kind. this should do the trick. I'm yet to learn A LOT about virtual instruments and how to use them properly, so I'll have to mess with them in a way or another. Thanks for the suggestion. And these guys are pretty good. I liked their style.

Good morning/afternoon/night. I'm currently working in a game project in which the protagonist is a viking-based character. Because of that, I've been researching about nordic music, classical viking instruments, etc. I know there's the "viking metal" genre, but that will simply not fit in the game, as it's just a simple cartoony plataformer, and the main character is far from badass. I also don't think a piece in that genre would fit even the menu screen. My question is, does anyone know any kind of classical "viking" music? The thing they used to listen to? Classical instruments that they used would be nice as well. If anyone knows both the instrument and where can I get a free VST for it, I'd be very thankfull (I can't even afford to pay for the reason I'm using right now, let alone buying instruments for it) EDIT: Viking-based character themes are also welcome. Getting to know what other people did for their vikings would help a lot. Sincere thanks, ShadTK.

Propellerhead* sorry for the typo, didn't noticed when I posted it I wanted to know, do they hold promotions or discounts often? I've been experimenting with many music making softwares, and so far, Reason was the one that I liked more. FL studio is good, but I personally disliked it. And Cakewalk sonar X1 don't allow you to do much in the demo version Also, is it possible to learn a decent amount of things with reason demo? As far as I saw, the only downside on the demo is that you can't save your files (or was it open projects, or both. I don't recall it). Are there any other drastical limitations that would get in the way of learning the basics of the software? I'm quite sure I'll take a while to learn everything (I don't have much experience with music programs. and by not much, I mean no experience at all. I also have noone close that know's anything about composing music via softwares, my only guidance will be the internet), and reason is quite expensive for me at the moment, so I wanted to know how far can I go with the demo only.