Master Mi

Normally, I'm not so keen on fan-made projects when it comes to retelling complex Japanese video game stories. But this one really packs a punch: It retells the story of the very first Metal Gear game for the NES in a very detailed and faithful way, apparently also containing a lot of information that was only mentioned in subsequent Metal Gear parts and turned the Metal Gear universe into a dense plot full of twists and turns. The drawings here are also really on a first-class level (there are also some animations as well), so that you could almost believe that Hideo Kojima himself was involved in the project and had also written the script for the latest part of a "Metal Gear (Solid): Digital Graphic Novel". The only thing that tarnishes the professional and passionate realization of the project are a few minor grammatical errors in the subtitles, which, however, do not cause any real problems in understanding the plot. On the other hand, the extremely credible narrator role and really matching voices of the dubbing actors as well as the many atmospheric soundtracks, which apparently consist in part of original soundtracks from the Metal Gear universe as well as extremely successful arrangements (even the captivating intro with the ambient Metal Gear Solid Main Theme should give connoisseurs of the Metal Gear series goosebumps), really bring out the best in this retelling project. And it looks like the creator or creators behind the project are also working on other retellings of subsequent Metal Gear parts (or other projects such as a retelling of the story of Final Fantasy 8): https://www.youtube.com/@TheLoresmith ... I'm almost surprised that Konami and Hideo Kojima haven't yet made any major and solid announcements about making a really epic movie of the Metal Gear series (preferably animated) or perhaps even bringing it to cinemas worldwide in several parts. And before they dare to make a completely new Metal Gear game, I would also be very happy about a sophisticated next-gen remake of the first two (official) Metal Gear games for the NES and MSX2.

In this picture you can see my self-made electric guitar mount construction for the door including my Ibanez GRG140 electric guitar suspended from it. ... As you can see on closer inspection, I have already attached the whammy bar (vibrato lever) here - a part of the T102 vibrato system that also comes with the electric guitar, with which you can influence the sound of the electric guitar in many different ways by changing the string tension at the bridge, regardless of whether you simply want to play exotic-sounding clean electric guitar chords with the typical wah-wah effects or imitate the roaring engine of a racing car. Apart from the really successful paint job on the electric guitar mounting construction in matt white (a big thank you again to the passionate painter and her excellent work), this is pretty much exactly how I imagined it - the electric guitar always within easy reach in the immediate vicinity of my current studio environment and always in my own field of vision, to keep reminding myself to learn to play the electric guitar, to practise regularly and to keep improving so that I might even be able to include the one or another litlle electric guitar part in my compositions and remixes in the next few years. ... ... and finally a picture of the electric guitar holder construction with suspended electric guitar in side view. ... At this point, I'm really glad that I had the brilliant idea during the design phase to extend the over-door guitar mount construction in the lower area so that the electric guitar rests stably on the construction and doesn't start to swing or even bump against the door. This means that my first electric guitar hangs as safe on the electric guitar mount as a freshly hatched, well-protected baby in a stork bag. ... Now that this task has finally been completed satisfactorily, I will soon be able to devote more time to my real concern, namely learning to play the electric guitar professionally step by step. ))

Cleaning up the mix panorama-wise (and creating special atmospheres with narrow pannings, hard/wide pannings and the pannings in between) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Good news. Over the last few months, I've made further progress with the mixing and composition for my upcoming remix "Wings Of Freedom" for the game Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7, which I'll explain in detail below, along with my thoughts on various approaches to mixing and some corresponding audio examples. But for now, here's a rough summary of the things I added or changed after the last audio excerpt: A) The electric bass, which I had previously given minimal latitude from the center to the sides towards more stereo width, I have now positioned uncompromisingly in the center without any further stereo width. This has led to a significant improvement in clarity in the lower frequencies as well as to an even better separation between bass and drums (especially important in the later part of the remix, where some additional instruments enter the lower frequency range). Contrary to my fears that this would make the bass sound too stiff and lifeless, this phenomenon did not occur, probably because the aux reverb send for the bass, which I've panned hard to the sides as usual, still caused a certain amount of movement in the stereo image. Since the source signal of the bass and its reverb blend together in terms of sound, the bass reverb also moves the fully centered bass a little in the stereo image - and all in one with a much cleaner lower frequency area. B) I made a few bolder EQ low-cut filter decisions at some instruments and their reverbs, for example at the viola and the acoustic guitar chords, which sound a little bit brighter und which leave more room for the instruments with lower frequency ranges resulting in a slightly cleaner mix. C) I did some changes at some reverb settings for some instuments, for example at the acoustic guitar (the one that plays the chords), where I reduced the the amount of reverb in the aux reverb send a little bit. The mix sounds cleaner, more based and powerful now, especially when some other instruments with stronger reverbs (like a harp, brass or electric guitars) kick in. It also created a different impression of depth I like pretty much. D) I drastically increased the dynamics of a few instruments via MIDI velocity dynamic settings to make them sound even more realistic, vivid and soulful, especially the acoustic guitar playing the chords. At this point, a big thank you to the guitarist @pixelseph, who pointed out to me that the acoustic guitar for the chords in the former version still sounded too unrealistic or too much like a VSTi. By the way, I've optimized the guitar strings' attacks even further so that the acoustic guitar escalates a bit more in exactly the right places, hits the virtual strings more aggressivly or produces a nice and natural-sounding crescendo in the chord progression. I would also be really happy if you could perhaps add something to my thoughts regarding the panning of the electric guitars a little further down in this text. E) To increase the artistic value, I drastically improved the composition (notation, timing and articulations) for some instruments, especially for the piano intro or for the harp parts (which are not in the audio samples here now, but which you will soon be able to hear in the finished version). When I once played it to a somewhat more cultivated foreman on the building site, who is a musician himself and masters several instruments (as he always wanted to hear what I was working on musically), he said that the piano playing reminded him of a certain composer or pianist (unfortunately I've forgotten the name that I have probably never heard it before). I took that as a compliment. And the piano intro and harp parts got indeed really good. F) I composed completely new stuff for a few more instruments. I won't reveal too much at this point. But the few new instruments you can already hear in the audio samples below are a brand-new vintage lead trumpet (always wanted to check out and use this really cool new Vita instrument from my DAW Samplitude - plays around minute 0:06 in the first audio sample) playing against the already known trumpets, and a majestic, powerful and kinda heroic sounding French horn (playing after minute 0:20 in the first audio sample) that leads from the more classic and orchestral part into the slowly raising power ballad part of the track. I really enjoy the results I finally got with the new composition attemps. G) Especially for these new instruments I created a wider panning, but I also thought about changing the sound and the panning for the electric guitars (the electric guitars that kick in around minute 0:35 in the first audio sample). And with this I will come to the main topic of this post I've already mentioned in the title of this posting. Keep in mind that I've continuously kept all (!) aux reverb sends and most instrument signals (except drums, bass and maybe the piano) out of the center area of the mix to get a clarity like this. Since the instruments also have different depth levels in the mix, I created an aux reverb send for each instrument (except for the drum elements - there's only one aux reverb send for all drum elements, but I might experiment with this a bit and also change it in the coming versions). … But first, I'll give you a little impression of the new things and improvements with a proper audio sample that kinda represents the current state of the composition and mixing for my coming Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 remix "Wings Of Freedom": 1) Less hard panning for the trumpets & standard panning for the electric guitars ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CC - FF7 (Excerpt) - Electric Guitars Standard Panning & Trumpets Less Hard Panning.mp3 As you can hear, you also have a little bit more clarity in this version than in the last audio sample from my previous posting (apart from the enhanced composition). ... I didn't change too much things at the panning for the electric guitars here. I've panned the already existing trumpets around 30 dB more towards the left side (this means that these trumpets are around 30 dB louder on the left side than on the right side, just to get a rough imagination of the panning and stereo image of the signal - so, no fully hard panning, where you will also hear a bit of the dry signal of this instrument on the right side), while the aux reverb send for this instrument is panned around 90 dB more to the opposite (the right) side. On the other side, I've panned the new vintage lead trumpet around 30 dB more to the right side, while the aux reverb send for this instrument is panned around 90 dB more to the opposite (the left) side. And this is the version I prefer at the moment. … But I also tried a few different panning approaches I'll show you in the following audio samples. And I tell you my thoughts about them and explain to you why I favour most of the panning, mixing and sound design decisions in the first sample. 2) Hard panning for the trumpets & standard panning for the electric guitars ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CC - FF7 (Excerpt) - Electric Guitars Standard Panning & Trumpets Hard Panning.mp3 In this audio sample I just changed the panning of the trumpets and the panning of the lead trumpet (but not the panning of their aux reverb sends). And I chose a really wide panning for both of them. I've panned the already existing trumpets 90 dB more to the left side. And I've panned the vintage lead trumpet 90 dB more to the right side. With the aux reverb sends of the instruments panned really hard to the opposite sides of the dry signals of the instruments, this creates a really great feeling of distance and lots of clarity in the mix. But on the other side of the shield, both trumpet sections lost a bit of their power (this really disturbed me when listening to all the different panning versions on my HD MP3 player and on other devices). Guess that's why you shouldn't put mighty brass instruments that are supposed to represent some sort of power and heaviness in the mix (similar like bass and kick drum) fully to the sides if possible. Since both hard panned trumpet instruments are kinda panned like the also hard panned reverb aux send of their opposing trumpet sections, it could also be the case that one trumpet instrument gets weakened by the reverb from the opposing trumpet instrument a bit. … But how about a much narrower panning as a contrasting mixing approach for both trumpets? 3) Narrow panning for the trumpets & standard panning for the electric guitars -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CC - FF7 (Excerpt) - Electric Guitars Standard Panning & Trumpets Narrow Panning.mp3 In this version I've panned the already existing trumpets only around 5 dB more towards the left side. The vintage lead trumpet I've panned around 5 dB more to the right side (and again, no changes at the hard pannings of the aux reverb sends for both trumpet sections). This one actually sounds really good concerning the two both opposing trumpet sections - this makes a really powerful sound of both trumpets. But the reason I decided to rather go for the version showed in the first audio sample of this post was the fact that the viola (panned 3 dB more to the left side) and the electric guitar (panned 3 dB more to the right side), both of which can be heard quite clearly in the first 5 seconds of the audio sample, already have a really narrow panning (and this sounds good for the whole rest of the mix - so, I didn't want to change the established panning in these sections). And a too narrow panning of both trumpet sections would conceal the likewise narrow panning of the viola and the electric guitar a bit. … If you take a closer look, the choice between narrower and a wider pannings of instruments and other sound signals may not seem so easy in some cases. For example, I recently listened to the soundtrack "Everlasting Love" as a cover by the band Love Affair in the official audio version and the official video version. The official audio version sounds like this: Actually, I would have thought that this version would sound more appealing to me. But the hard panning of the brass (apparently extremely far to the left) and the drums (apparently extremely far to the right - and then as a whole drum kit) somehow alienates me a little in terms of soundscape. It sounds very clean in terms of mixing, but because the instruments seem so spatially separated from each other, the spatial impression and the musical context are somehow lost a little, while the power of the drums and brass also doesn't come across quite so convincingly. I find the official video version with the narrow panning, which actually sounds a bit like a mono mix to me, somehow more convincing in terms of soundscape: As far as the mixing and panning are concerned, it doesn't sound quite as clean as the official audio version. But the drums and the brass in particular come across as really powerful. But one version that really convinces me in terms of panning and the overall mixing is the original version of "Everlasting Love", which was sung by Robert Knight and which I got in the following version as a reference: In this version, the panning sounds much looser, finer staged and more natural to me, whereby extreme pan settings for the individual instruments have obviously been avoided and something like a spatial coherence of the instruments in the overall sound image has been preserved. I also really like the mixing and panning of the much later released cover version of "Everlasting Love" sung by the German-French pop singer Sandra: ... But now let's go on with my own panning experiment. 4) Trumpets + reverb aux sends with identical panning & standard panning for the electric guitars -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CC - FF7 (Excerpt) - Electric Guitars Standard Panning & Trumpets + Reverb Aux Sends Identical Panning.mp3 In this version I've panned the already existing trumpets (like in the first audio sample) around 30 dB more towards the left side - but I also panned the connected aux reverb send around 30 dB more to the same side (without involvement of the center of the mix, of course, but no hard 90 dB panning of the aux reverb send towards the opposite side of the related instrument). A similar panning attempt goes for vintage lead trumpet, which I've panned around 30 dB more to the right side, just like its related aux reverb send. This is a rather good example of how you shouldn't pan the trumpets, at least not in this specific case with my aspiration to get powerful, assertive and clean sounding trumpets in this part of the mix. In this case, you can hear clearly that both trumpet sections get clouded, washed out and weakened by their own aux reverb sends. Of course, there is no rule not to mix like that. If it meets your expectations and the imagination of how the mix should really sound like in your vision, it's totally fine - for the viola, for example, I've exactly chosen a pan setting like this (instrument and its aux reverb send are both panned around 3 dB more to the left side), and it kinda sounds like I wanted it to sound (because I wanted the viola to sound less relevant and less dominant in relation to the other instruments in this part of the mix). For the lonesome French horn after the trumpet sections, this panning approach also works pretty well - so, I used it for the French horn as well (until I probably find a way that might sound even better). … So, in my opinion, the composition, the panning and the mixing of the trumpet sections are considered done for now. ... Now let's go to the part with the electric guitars (the two electric guitars kicking in after around minute 0:35 in the audio samples - the electric lead guitar and the clean electric guitar). That's the point, where I'm still not fully sure how to deal with the sound design of the electric guitars and the panning. But maybe @pixelseph or another electric guitar pro can deliver some nice food for thought here. So, let's go back to the previous audio samples with the standard panning for the electric guitars as a starting position. In these versions, I've panned the electric lead guitar with some ping-pong delay from my guitar amp plugin Vandal (direct insert effect) around 5 dB more to the left side, while its reverb aux send is panned fully to the right side). And I've panned the clean electric guitar with a similar ping-pong delay from Vandal (also direct insert effect) around 7 dB more to the right side, while its aux reverb send is panned fully to the left side). With the sound of the clean electric guitar sound I'm already really satisfied (for the panning there still might be still some better options) - no big or even nasty pedal and effect chains there (not even distortion, just a really nice and clean electric guitar sound with a bold low-cut filter setting, a nice ping-pong delay and a little bit of reverb via aux send with an even bolder low-cut filter). ... For the electric lead guitar on the other side, I still think about changing the panning and the sound of the electric guitar. I also think about creating a much more dynamic electric lead guitar sound. At the moment (in the previous versions with the standard panning of the electric guitars), the electric lead guitar comes with an activated overdrive effect pedal (see small blue box over the pedal effect, which means that the pedal effect is active) from my Vandal guitar amp plugin, which looks like this in my DAW: As you can see, the drive knob of is pedal effect is not even turned on a little bit (for the sake of better dynamics). But the tone and level are turned up maximally (this gives the electric lead guitar its strong sustain and a slightly more assertive but still controlled sound). ... But how about making the sound of the electric lead guitar a little more dynamic, more natural and less processed as a lead setting and changing the panning of the guitar? 5) Less hard panning for the trumpets & hard panning for the electric guitars ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CC - FF7 (Excerpt) - Electric Guitars Hard Panning & Trumpets Less Hard Panning.mp3 In this version, I've panned the electric lead guitar around 90 dB more to the left side, while its reverb aux send is panned fully to the right side. And I've panned the clean electric guitar around 90 dB more to the right side, while its aux reverb send is panned fully to the left side. For the sound of the electric guitar, I decided to deactivate the overdrive pedal effect completely and change the settings like this: As you can hear in the audio sample, the electric lead guitar with the completely deactivated overdrive effect pedal experiences a much greater fine dynamic staging (the guitar sound becomes a little softer and quieter towards the end of a longer played note), whereby I have turned up the pre-gain knob minimally and the post-gain knob much more to make the long notes sound a little stronger and longer instead of letting them slowly fade out shortly after half of the played note (which would be rather disadvantageous for the desired assertiveness of the electric lead guitar in the mix). I also turned the Curve knob in the voicing section of the guitar amp plugin all the way down so that the low frequencies are filtered out of the signal even more. What bothers me enormously in this audio sample, however, are the occasional somewhat harsh tonal outbursts of the guitar sound in the higher frequencies, which is probably due to the fact that treble and brilliance were already boosted via timbre in the instrument editor, via the EQ plug-in and then again in the guitar amp plugin Vandal itself - a rather cutting, extreme sound setting, which was possibly softened and made a little "creamier" in the previous audio samples by the activated La Crema overdrive effect pedal. Let's see, maybe I'll be able to fix this by lowering the high frequencies a bit or by adjusting the velocity dynamics of individual notes that break out tonally. Otherwise, I would perhaps leave the sound of the electric lead guitar as it is in the previous audio samples. … But as far as the hard panning of the guitars in this audio sample here is concerned, I have to admit that - in contrast to the not entirely convincing hard panning of the trumpets in the second audio sample in this post - I really like it here in this part. However, the hard panning for the electric lead guitar still sounds a bit strange to me. But the hard panning of the clean electric guitar, which just plays as a melodic accompanying instrument, comes across really well here. Let's see if there are further advantages in the sound if both electric guitars are panned less hard, similar to the less hard panned trumpets in the first audio sample of this post. 6) Less hard panning for the trumpets & less hard panning for the electric guitars ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CC - FF7 (Excerpt) - Electric Guitars Less Hard Panning & Trumpets Less Hard Panning.mp3 In this version, I've panned the electric lead guitar around 30 dB more to the left side, while its reverb aux send is panned fully to the right side. And I've panned the clean electric guitar around 30 dB more to the right side, while its aux reverb send is panned fully to the left side. So, two electric guitars have a similar panning like the two trumpet section - with the only major difference that the trumpets play a little bit behind the two electric guitars (even if a direct comparison is difficult, as the two instrument groups do not play at the same time). This version with the not-so-hard panning for the electric guitars also sounds very pleasing to me, although I could also imagine the version with the hard panning for the electric guitars here. … And to fulfill all my wishes regarding the electric guitar section, I had another thought some time ago. How would it be if I mixed the electric lead guitar with the preferred narrow panning (slightly to the left side) similar to the first samples in this post, while I mixed the clean electric guitar with a hard panning (to the right side)? And to restore the balance in the stereo image, I would simply compose an additional track for an electric guitar (another one in a clean or crunch setting, perhaps with an additional wah-wah effect or similar stuff), which, with slightly longer pauses and a slightly lower pitch, would once again have a kind of dialog with the other clean electric guitar and be panned hard to the other side (to the left). With the clean electric guitars, I would simply put the aux reverb sends to the opposite sides of the corresponding instruments as usual. And with the narrow panned electric lead guitar, I could either also connect the aux reverb sends fully to the opposite side of the instrument - or to both sides. I think I'll try it out during my coming composing session. With this mixing appoach, I might be able to create a similar soundscape like in the song "Everytime We Touch" sung by Maggie Reilly - with the voice (would be my electric lead guitar instead of the voice), which has a rather narrow panning somewhere between both sides, and with one clean electric guitar and another slightly distorted electric guitar panned hard to the left and the right side. And a soundscape like this is really beautiful in my opinion: … If you have the one or other feedback or inspirational thought on this topic, let me know. ))

With this picture you can get a better idea of the purpose of the recently painted over-door construction for the electric guitar mount that I designed and built some time ago. ... As you can see, it is located on the living room door, which I have permanently blocked because I didn't want to move my home studio, including the rest of the furniture, too far back into the room - mainly for reasons of space, but also for stylistic reasons with regard to the ambience of my living room, which I like to have a little more airy and light-flooded in the area of the transition to the balcony out of habit, as in my previous apartment, and I therefore didn't want to squeeze the furniture so far into the back corner of the living room just to be able to open and close a single door that I don't actually need or that I didn't have in the same place in my old apartment. But I tried to make the best of the space available in my new apartment. And the result is a solution that I really like. Because apart from the resulting, rather spacious walkthrough-room connecting the living room with the bedroom, and which now lets in even more sunlight, the previously rather annoying door is now the future carrier of my first electric guitar. ))

If hackers already have huge rabbit ears, this is often a sign that their ears have already been pulled a few times. But no, I never had any problems with viruses, malware or any hacking attempts even after the official Windows 7 updates expired (I still get some from time to time - but they are mainly antivirus updates for Windows Defender). In fact, this has somehow felt like the most malware-free and computer-performing time in my entire life. If I have caught some nasty bugs (like some guys of the Verfassungsschutz with the stern-looking upper-lip beards who obviously still worship the ill-humoured leaders from the 30s and 40s leaders), then it's probably because I've commented "too positively" on the powerful, fanfare-like brass playing in a well-known workers' hymn: But now that you are as good as in the club, comrades, the donut hackers from the Committee Against Communist Activities will have to increase their human resource capacities enormously. That buys us all time to work on the next soundtrack against Shin-R... erm, a soundtrack for love, justice, fluffiness and a future worth living. )) (I'm just imagining how weird the story would be if Trump, Biden, Elon Musk, George Bush and Dick Cheney transformed together like a rusty Decepticon Transformer into some 5-headed mech hydra with Skynet surveillance to go into the final boss battle with their crusty elitist propaganda chants against the based beats of OC Remix >>> "Me, a god - versus you, a piece of shit." - until the hair-shifting OC beat drops and Donald gets even balder than his biggest enemy of all time, the bald eagle...... Hahaha...... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7_OWYrLVOU)

@WarezWolf Ah, 'kay, I didn't realize at the time that "live user" referred to Ableton, which was the name I knew the DAW by. I also didn't know that even Ableton (just like Samplitude and all the Native Instruments VSTi products) was developed here in East Germany - really interesting. But once you've been working with a good, stable, properly equipped and smooth-running DAW for a long time and you've figured out, learned and internalized all the functions, I would really stick with this DAW in the future. If this CLAP software architecture proves itself in contrast to the well-known VST interface - and the opportunities and application possibilities already look promising - then after a few years the majority of other DAW developers will also follow suit and implement this system. On the other hand, Steinberg could also develop an upgrade for its VST-based system, which will then also enable multi-dimensional plug-in parameter and envelope chains such as CLAP. So, no reason (hehe) for fitful sleep 'n' apocalyptic "the composers without the newest features die first" dreams. ... "Patience is the key to paradise." (Arabic saying) ... So, new developments like this don't really knock my socks off too much. I'm always a few years behind the times, so to speak, and I'm still completely satisfied with good old Windows 7 Professional, my still really powerful PC environment (Intel i7-6700 quad-core processor system, 32 GB DDR-4 RAM, a pretty energy-efficient GTX 750 Ti as a still useful oldtimer graphics card and a still pretty much free 2TB HDD) and of course with my DAW Samplitude Pro X4 Suite, which is 4 versions behind the current Samplitude version (all this saves a lot of time, money, nerves and you avoid those really annoying Windows reinstallations or Windows upgrades - including required mainboard and other hardware upgrades und reinstallation of all the software after every few years). Since I've already got all the software and hardware stuff I really needed and wanted during the last years, I'm really content with that. I'm much more focussed to develop some legendary composition skills and to finalize my (during the last years conceived and especially during the last 2 years further developed) dynamic mixing concept I named "Life Force" (I'll show the results with a remix I might already finish towards the end of this year). ))

If you are looking for your first DAW, also check out Samplitude Pro X(8) Suite if you own one of the newer Windows versions: https://www.magix.com/int/music/samplitude/suite/ It comes with: - an incomparably huge amount of high quality content - a really logic and intuitive interface for a good learning curve, with some of the best metering devices on the worldwide DAW market (this also includes several stereo and surround metering devices, vectorscope, spectral measurements, spectral editing and sophisticated peak and loudness metering - or a tuner for instruments) - also a kinda flexible and user-friendly interface you can put together like you wish and also save it as a preset - several skins (would recommend the dark Carbon Skin, which looks really stylish) - one of the most complex MIDI editors - around 80 GB of really good VSTi (lots of them in the great Independence sampler) and synth content for nearly any kind of music genre (no loops - just around 80 GB of pure sample content) - and besides the standard plugins, Samplitude Pro X Suite also comes with some really outstanding plugins like Independence FX (this plugin collection alone is huge stuff - from normal reverb, plate reverb, convolution reverb with a visual interface to place sound signals within the selected room as you wish, several kinds of delay, chorus, flanger and phaser, compressors, filters, gate and distortion plugins, equalizers, preamp, cabinet and mic modelers or even a vinylizer), Analogue Modelling Suite, Vintage Effects Suite, Convology XT Complete for a large amount of impulse response presets, or the good ol' Vandal: Virtual guitar and bass amplifier plugin, with which you can form your real electric guitar or one of the included VSTi electric guitars (would recommend the excellent electric guitars with lots of articulations and editing options in the Independence sampler) into kinda any possible guitar sound (if you really want to go "rockin"). Usually the enhanced Suite version of Samplitude (if you go for Samplitude, always go for the Pro X Suite version with around 100 GB of content - it is far bigger than the standard Pro X version with just around 20 GB of content) is around 600 bucks (Bitwig Studio is around 400 bucks and comes with around 12 GB of content). But at the moment (until December 8th) there 's a special offer for the enhanced Samplitude Pro X8 Suite for just around 200 bucks. There's also a free trial version in the link if you want to check out the interface and some core functions of the DAW.

By the way, I forgot to mention what really good soundtracks the Dissidia Final Fantasy series had to offer. As this is one of the core topics on OC Remix, I just wanted to share a few outstanding Dissidia soundtracks that I remember particularly well (I tried to get some high quality versions of the soundtracks that might not have always the English title in the video link - but I will provide a proper translation of the song titles in my text): 1) Prelude (or rather "Prelude - menu -", a remix of the famous opening theme that shows up in kinda every Final Fantasy game in many different versions) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In my opinion, it's one of the best Final Fantasy Prelude themes ever composed. But there are many further arrangements of themes in the Dissidia games that might sound very familar to you. 2) Sprouting (or rather "Sprouting - arrange -", a really nice arrangement of a well-known track from Final Fantasy 10) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Beautiful soundtracks like these can be heard in the first two Dissidia games (this one is from the very first Dissidia Final Fantasy game), for example, when you play the story mode for a certain character in the dungeons or on the overworld. You'll even have to play the stories for the individual heroes from the various Final Fantasy parts several times, because there's a lot to discover, unlock and buy (from what I remember, apart from new characters or antagonists from the Final Fantasy series, new outfits and original soundtracks, there are also things like new weapons and equipment, rare items, espers that can support you in battle, etc.), depending on how well you play the dungeons in the story mode. The bonus stuff you get at the end of a dungeon depends on how well, tactically clever and in how many moves or with how many points you complete the dungeons. But you also want to explore the dungeon on the first try to get all the visible and also pretty valueable treasures in there. However, anyone who thinks that the game is already over after completing the prologue and the character-related story parts is very much mistaken. That's when the interesting part of Dissidia's story really starts, which unfolds in further, non-character-related story complexes, where you also have a free choice of character, if I remember correctly. 3) Battle 1 (or "Battle 1 - arrange -", an arrangement of the Final Fantasy 9 standard battle theme) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Since the Dissidia games (at least the first two parts) are story-based beat 'em ups, you will of course listen to a lot of pretty cool battle and boss battle theme arrangements during the fights. 4) The Decisive Battle (or "The Decisive Battle - arrange -", an arrangement of the boss battle theme from Final Fantasy 6) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the arrangement of a famous and pretty driving boss battle theme you know from Final Fantasy 6. ... But there are also possibilities to unlock some original themes from the Final Fantasy series as well and listen to them in some sort of a jukebox or during battles, for example: 5) Omen (or "Omen - original -", the legendary opening theme from Final Fantasy 6) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Even as an original theme from the past days, this composition still has its charme. 6) The Landing (or "The Landing - original -", a theme from Final Fantasy 8 that plays the first time during the attack on Dollet) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is one of my favourite themes from Final Fantasy 8. For those who don't know, there was an early version of this theme called "Raid on Dollet" for an official demo (I think it still was in the PC version of the game I bought as a present for a friend back then), but it was obviously removed due to some similarities to a soundtrack from the movie "The Rock" - I assume they mean the soundtrack called "Hummel Gets the Rockets" (the part after minute 0:51, for example): ... But in Dissidia Final Fantasy, you also have a lot of really dynamic and soulful arrangements, for example the following two tracks: 7) A Moment of Rest -------------------------- On the first sight, this kinda sad piano composition seems to be a new soundtrack exclusively composed for Dissidia Final Fantasy. But it's an arrangement of the Game Over theme from the very first Final Fantasy. 8) Find Your Way (or "Find Your Way - arrange -", an arrangement of a Final Fantasy 8 theme) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I really love the mystical vibe in this arrangement of a well-known Final Fantasy 8 soundtrack. This one is from Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy (spoken "Dissidia Duodecim Final Fantasy"). ... There also some really good soundtracks that were exclusively composed for the Dissidia Final Fantasy series, for example: 9) Cosmos -------------- This is the theme of Cosmos, the goddess of harmony, who opposes Chaos, the god of discord. She is supported by the Warrior of the Light and the other heroes from the different Final Fantasy series, while Chaos rather brings the villains and antagonists of the Final Fantasy series into the battle. 10) The Messenger ------------------------- I can't really remember at which point this soundtrack plays in the game. But since it has a similar compositional structure (just in the form of a heavy rock version) and a similar spiritual message like the Cosmos theme, I think this could be a soundtrack related to Chaos. 11) Massive Explosion (Arcade Version - or "Massive Explosion - arcade -", a soundtrack from the arcade game version of the new Dissidia Final Fantasy from 2015, which was later ported to PS4 and got the game title "Dissidia Final Fantasy NT" that also included this version of the song) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The name of the track might sound like a movie title from the kinky hardcore porn movie corner. But in fact, it's one of the heavier Dissidia Final Fantasy NT hard rock tunes I really love. 12) Massive Explosion (Arranged Version - or "Massive Explosion - arrange -") -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In addition to a few other interesting versions (also some really good instrumental arrangements) of this track, this one was exclusively composed for Dissidia Final Fantasy NT. For the vocal part in this version of the soundtrack, the game developers have apparently even hired a real opera singer, namely the Jamaican-Indian lyric soprano singer Nadine Benjamin. There's also a really epic strings version with vocals of this theme in Dissidia Final Fantasy NT: ... To summarize, you could say that the Dissidia Final Fantasy games are worth it just for the excellent soundtracks alone. But the story, the really good fusion of beat 'em up and convincing RPG elements as well as the extremely large amount of content, bonus content and unlockables (especially in the first two Dissidia games) make this game series an extremely worthy and extraordinary Final Fantasy spin-off. So I would be really happy if a next-gen title of this series in the style of the first two Dissidia games were to be released for Playstation 5 sometime in the near future.

The painting of the over-door construction for the electric guitar mount in a matt white is now finally finished. And I'm really satisfied with the result. )) ... The master painter who carried out the work and who had quoted me a price of 100 to 150 euros for the paintwork after my previous inquiry, subsequently even lowered the price to 90 euros. But out of sheer joy at the good craftsmanship and as a small token of appreciation for a job that wasn't easy and that I might have ruined on my first attempt, I added another 20 euros and paid 110 euros. I always do this with such commissioned works when I notice that people make a real effort with their work and obviously don't just see the quick buck, but have passionate dedication and high quality in their focus or even go about their work with a really blatant spirit of perfection. Because it is precisely in superficial and lifeless societies, where the focus is increasingly shifting to quick money, profit maximization and other forms of selfishness, that quality, longevity, a genuine spirit of innovation and valuable content (both in products and services as well as in people themselves) often fall by the wayside. ... As you can see in this picture, I have already attached furniture glides in matching colors to the wooden construction, which should protect both the door and the electric guitar from scratches and other forms of accidental damage.

I recently stumbled across a kinda mystical soundtrack from Final Fantasy 14 with a pretty famous melody from Final Fantasy 1. The track is called "The mushroomery", which is a really immersive remix of the soundtrack "Matoya's Cave" from the very first Final Fantasy. This not only gives you the power to manage your all-important house cleaning without magic brooms that do all the swish-swish-aroo. It is also - together with a bit of good ambience ala soft light, candlelight and the scent of incense - a really pleasant soundtrack for studying (not only for studying the arcane arts). In this case, I'd recommend a radically extended version of this track: I guess this is my contribution to a Happy Halloween. ... PS: If anyone has a good tip for a really terrifying horror movie (not some blunt splatter stuff - rather something with an interesting story and some subtle psychological horror that goes straight to the core), let me know. ))

Mi was highly ambitious 'n' got somethin' new for ya. )) This time, I really went straight into the acoustic guitar section and put the mighty fire of dynamics and articulations in there. It sounds soo much better and really vivid now - and I did it without completely butchering the virtual steel strings (kinda fits my Life Force mixing concept as well). I didn't even thinkt that I could get surprising results like these out of the VSTi. So, huge thanks for mentioning this stuff as a guitarist, things I wouldn't even have recogized in the whole mix. As a bonus, I also composed a completely new and kinda heroic part with french horns (as well as lots of other new stuff that is not in this little part - but I still have to keep some secrets as a music wizard for the coming track ;D). ... Here's the audio sample (you might have to play it and reload the site to listen to the full sample with the length of 1:07 minutes - same goes for all previous samples): CC - FF7 (Excerpt) - Acoustic Guitar Next Level.mp3 I'm really looking forward to your guitarist's opinion on this (after a good amount of nightly sleep, of course). The next upload for my Crisis Core: Final Fantasy remix "Wings Of Freedom" will be the full track with a length of around 4:21 minutes. ))

It would be great to see the Playstation 5 dream come true with another Dissidia Final Fantasy installment of the story-driven beat 'em up legacy: https://noisypixel.net/tetsuya-nomura-wants-new-dissidia-final-fantasy-game/ I was not a too big fan of Dissidia Final Fantasy NT for PS4. Although it was technically really good, it had far too much focus on just a challenging arcade gaming experience and no big focus on a big story, additional gaming content and unlockables. ... But the first two Dissidia games for PSP were awesome - really innovative gaming experience, each main character and antagonist can be levelled up and equipped like in a real RPG including learning new special techniques, magic etc., good story that unfolds more and more over time, lots of content, new and pretty interesting gaming modes, new difficulties, tons of unlockables and up to 500 hours of playing time. Here's a little preview of the first minutes in the very first Dissidia Final fantasy game for PSP: ... And here is a little video review of the second game, Dissidia Duodecim Final Fantasy (which also contains a whole overworld map, a new story plus the content from the first Dissidia): It would be great if the developers would just make a next-gen remake of Dissidia Duodecim Final Fantasy for PS5. But let's see what the future holds. I'm already looking forward to another Dissidia game. ))

Over-door construction with electric guitar mount ------------------------------------------------------------- This is the electric guitar holder construction for a door that I designed and built during my recent vacation. It's basically the side view of the raw construction, which is lying on the floor here and which will be painted a nice matt white by a master painter in the next few days. ... The main reason for building such a construction was that I had slightly different spatial conditions regarding my home studio after moving into my new apartment a few years ago - conditions that were actually quite advantageous after a lot of space planning. And in the new apartment of my cooperative housing association, I wanted the home studio to be in the largest room, the living room, again - especially to ensure the best possible sound propagation in terms of optimal music enjoyment and the best possible mixing potential. The living rooms in both apartments were even similar in size (about 3.5 to 4 meters wide and about 6 meters long). But whereas in my old living room there was a pure wall in front of my home studio, in my new living room I have a door leading to the bedroom at this point. I therefore had to move the studio a little way into the room to ensure an unobstructed passageway. However, as there was still a small table with a printer, radio and an ocarina to the right of the studio (and I wanted to keep it that way), I simply blocked the door behind the small table as a permanent solution and effectively turned the two rooms into a continuous walk-through room. The advantages of this are that the room now looks noticeably larger and more spacious, natural sunlight can shine into the room from both sides, you can also let your gaze wander into the distance from time to time and ventilation is better and quicker. A larger room with additional sound-absorbing elements such as carpet, wallpaper and furniture is also guaranteed to absorb unwanted sound reflections. And as the door to the right of my studio is now virtually permanently blocked, I thought to myself that there could hardly be anything more funky than having your very first electric guitar always visible and within easy reach just to the side of your studio so that you are always reminded to practise regularly. On the other hand, this way you have avoided drilling holes in the wall and entrusted the functionally deprived door with an almost sacred, spiritual task. ... Well, actually I would have preferred to buy a ready-made solution like the guitar holders from DoorJamz Guitar Hangers here: https://www.guitarhang.com/ But as these are probably designed more for American doors with different shapes and dimensions, apparently can't be ordered completely in white and there have already been isolated reports from buyers where the mounting elements have discolored the guitar, there seemed to be no more obvious way for me than to get down to business myself, armed with a small arsenal of tools. ... The planning and design of the construction, all the shopping and the building itself took me a good 2 days in total. The construction turned out really well for the fact that I mostly finished it outside in the dark evening hours with a flashlight, as it would have rained heavily again in the following days. I used whole, unglued wooden slats made from cheap, very light and easy-to-work spruce wood from the DIY store. For the guitar mount, I opted for a white wall mount from K&M because not only do they look nice (they go really well with the white body of my electric guitar and my white door), they are also very sturdy and the flexible brackets, which fit almost all electric guitar models, have stoppers at the end to prevent the electric guitar from slipping out unintentionally: https://www.thomann.co.uk/km_16280_white.htm A good friend gave me the really helpful tip of using sleeve nuts for a good and secure screw connection of the guitar mount to the wooden construction. These are available with flat heads, look pretty inconspicuous in terms of design, fit snugly and securely in a drilled hole in the wood and can be tightened very well from both sides in connection with an appropriate screw. On the back of the wood (the opposite side to the K&M guitar holder, so to speak), I drilled a small recess in the wood with a Forstner bit so that the screw head and washer disappear into the wood and don't leave any unsightly marks on the door. The rest of the construction consists largely of glued wooden elements screwed together with ordinary wood screws. In terms of length, the construction (approx. 70 cm long) is designed so that the top part of the headstock of the electric guitar (which is almost 100 cm long) resting in the holder is almost flush with the upper edge of the door, while the lower part of the electric guitar on the body is once again really well supported and stabilized by the extended piece of wood and protected from excessive swinging or hitting against the door. When the paintwork is finished, I will also attach a few furniture glides in the appropriate places to cushion the loads and forces exerted by the wooden construction on the door and the electric guitar. ... I was actually thinking of doing the paintwork myself (for cost reasons alone, especially as painting the small wooden structure will cost another 150 euros). But as I don't have much experience in painting (especially not in a way that would make it look really professional), I don't have a suitable space for painting (especially for this really unpredictable time of year), I didn't want to stock up on new equipment and tools for this one-off project that I would probably hardly ever use, and above all I didn't want to mess up my construction for a daring attempt at painting, I decided in the end that it would be better to shell out the cash. As a result, I was able to do some final housework at the end of my vacation, such as cleaning the windows and my bike, which means I'll have a bit more free time again in the near future and, above all, a clear head to finally devote myself to the things I'm actually passionate about - namely composition, mixing and sound design. ))

Ibanez Gio GRG140-WH - finest Japanese electric guitar technology with flawless sound, solid build quality, nice features and a really stylish design ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I kept putting it off, but in August 2024 I finally got down to business, ordered the long-awaited electric guitar from a well-known music store in my hometown - and in the last days of August this year, the extremely hot Japanese baby finally arrived at my home. Of course, my eyes lit up like those of a child who gets to celebrate his birthday, Christmas and New Year's Eve in one go. ... The Ibanez Gio GRG140 offers the following core features: - volume pot (to control the volume or to create volume-based effects such as tremolos or swells) - tone pot (for controlling the tone color from icy cutting to comfortably warm, full sounds or for creating wah-wah effects based on them) - T102 tremolo system with tremolo lever (should actually be called a vibrato or pitch system or lever, as this allows you to influence the pitch of a played string by changing the string tension and to create really cool electric guitar effects) - 2 Infinity single-coil pickups (for cutting, treble-heavy sounds) - 1 Infinity humbucker pickup (for powerful, warm and voluminous sounds) - 5-way pickup switch for controlling individual and combined pickups according to the following switching behavior from neck to bridge pickup: 1st stage >>> 1st single coil 2nd stage >>> 1st + 2nd single coil 3rd stage >>> 2nd single coil 4th stage >>> 2nd single coil + upper coil of the humbucker pickup 5th stage >>> both coils of the humbucker pickup Further features of this electric guitar can be found here under this link: https://www.thomann.co.uk/ibanez_grg140_wh.htm ... If you're interested in the background and history of Ibanez guitars, or if you're wondering why a Japanese company chose this rather Spanish-sounding name for its world-famous acoustic and electric guitars, you can take a look at this Wikipedia link here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibanez … As this is my first electric guitar, I naturally read through the instructions and notes on operation, care etc. first. And since I had already practiced using my Rode NT1 studio microphone via my audio interface and my DAW, connecting the electric guitar (which can be connected to the audio interface via the Hi-Z input with the higher electrical resistance) was no big deal. I made a few settings in the DAW and added my guitar amp plug-in Vandal to the corresponding track and after a few more settings I was able to get some nice 'n' smooth clean electric guitar sounds as well as heavier leads out of it, depending on the settings in the amp plug-in. Tuning the guitar using the integrated tuner in my DAW Samplitude Pro X4 Suite was also completely uncomplicated, quick and precise. Nevertheless, I still have to learn how to play and master such a stringed instrument properly over the years. However, as I already had some previous knowledge of electric guitars and had also written the one or other remix composition with electric guitar VSTis over many years, after a few hours I was already able to play my first small melody with various playing techniques such as legato, hammer-ons, pull-offs and slides, alternating between the index and ring fingers on the fretboard and using my right hand to strum the strings. However, I was still unable to play a beautifully shaped vibrato in the first few hours of playing with my raw beginner skills. But maybe I'll let you hear something from my first beginner lessons in a while. … The most difficult task so far in dealing with my first electric guitar was - no kidding - removing the protective adhesive foil from the pickguard without leaving pieces of foil sticking under the pots, which then make such annoying rustling and crackling noises when turned. I hadn't expected such obstacles - it's probably like the idiot test for electric guitar beginners. I watched a few tutorials on how to remove the foil as completely as possible, with the useful advice that you can sometimes unscrew the pots or, in the case of my guitar model, remove them straight away. Fortunately, I had bought some electric guitar accessories some time beforehand (see utensils in the small box on the right), including various picks of different shapes and degrees of hardness, guitar sliders made of different materials with different sound characteristics and some fingerpicks, which all can be used to implement additional playing techniques and create versatile sounds. I then used the finger picks to carefully lever up and remove the pots all the way around, remove the last remnants of the foil and replace the pots in a uniform position. … However, I haven't yet built the planned guitar holder construction for the door in front of my home studio at my new home, which in retrospect I'm actually quite happy about, as I can now take proper measurements with the electric guitar on site. That will certainly take a few more weeks before I even get around to it. But when it does, it should be good. I had an extremely suitable electric guitar holder with movable brackets and integrated stoppers at the ends (see right-hand side of the picture) to prevent the electric guitar from accidentally slipping out, which I would like to install in the planned wooden construction for the door, delivered directly to my home together with the electric guitar. The local music store Musikhaus Korn in Dresden's Neustadt district also made the delivery of the goods very easy, quick and relaxed. In addition to the original manufacturer's product packaging, the delivery also arrived in additional, very robust packaging made of fairly thick cardboard. … Now I basically just have to learn to play the electric guitar professionally. And somehow I'm really looking forward to it, especially as the next short vacation is just around the corner. But first comes the work and then the pleasure (or maybe a healthy mix of both). ... If everything goes well and I practise diligently, there could be another little rock star here in 5 years' time. ))

Thanks for the helpful tips. I'm sorry that I haven't found the time to improve the soundtrack in the meantime - but I'll keep it in mind for the next update. I wouldn't have noticed the acoustic guitar chords - but now that you mention it. I actually only left the MIDI velocity dynamic range there at around 15 out of 127 parameter points. I even had a larger MIDI velocity dynamic range in this guitar passage before, but somehow it drew too much attention to the chords and somehow it sounded really weird in places, especially since from a certain velocity level onwards a rather prominent articulation of the instrument was triggered almost as if without a smooth transition. But maybe I'll get something useful going if I just accentuate a few chord notes with a much stronger or weaker MIDI velocity dynamic attack or - as you roughly said - add an occasional gentle slide. ... Incidentally, my first real electric guitar just arrived a few weeks ago. )) In a few minutes, I'll post a picture of the guitar stuff with some text in an earlier thread of mine on this subject.