Master Mi

I found a really impressive Terranigma remix and a radically vibin' Manic Mansion remix on YouTube lately:

Just from the point of the artistic level and the joy and intensity of a creative journey, AI is even worse than using premade loops. You might be able to get something that sounds good 'n' ready for the masses of listeners - but you'll never be able to put all the compositional details, thoughts and feelings from inside your imagination into the realization of the soundtrack. And if you don't have the knowledge and experience in music theory, composition, mixing and sound design, you won't even have an idea about what's even possible in the soundtrack you create. For the most part, AI draws on things that already exist, on things that are known or have been grasped by the human mind. A fine consciousness of a vital life form in combination with a high level of creativity, on the other hand, might be able to recognize things, energies and phenomenons that are still unknown in this world, and to create some really new 'n' unique stuff. ... Or to put it in some more romantic words of video game poetry: Creating video game music or remixes with AI technology is like feeding the plastic/wax fruit to the hungry, music-loving Green Tentacle in Maniac Mansion. Even if the Green Tentacle likes the artificial stuff and already feels stuffed after eating it, as a hungry composer fueled and inspired by true life force within and around you, you wouldn't feel vital, nourished and satisfied if you ate the stuff yourself. ))

Good visual mixing tutorial for beginners and pros to better understand the possibilities and tools for mixing and creating specific spatial images ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A few days ago, I stumbled across a really interesting and useful tutorial video from David Gibson that explains some of the really important tools of mixing in a very sound, understandable, in-depth and most importantly visual way (which really helps to understand the process, tools, possibilities and little details of mixing): The video is quite long, a bit trippy at times (and quite funny in places) and looks kinda dated (like an instructional video from the 80s or 90s) - but it's full of grounded logic and sophisticated, yet easily accessible mixing knowledge. Interestingly, the video not only provides basic knowledge about the process of mixing and imaging itself, but also goes into some physical background and the "Why am I actually doing it this way?". What I particularly like about the video is that it doesn't show you a specific way to mix, but rather gives you a fundamental understanding of the mixing basics, which opens up a multitude of possibilities to realize the mix according to the concrete idea in your head or your inner feeling. It should therefore not only be of interest to beginners who want to approach the subject slowly, but also to advanced users who have already gained years or even decades of in-depth experience in the field of mixing. ... In addition, I was also able to implement a few groundbreaking improvements in my specially developed mixing concept through a large number of experiments some time ago, which not only greatly improved the clarity and spatial range of the mix, but also finally improved the translation of the mix on ordinary hi-fi stereo systems in a way that's pretty close to how professional mixes sound on these devices. Since my job life obviously turned back to my regular 4 working days per week after a longer time of 5 or even really nasty 6 working days per week (due to a pretty high sickness absence rate in my company I didn't want to leave the remaining colleagues high and dry - and so, I could already save up some extra hours for the next winter) and the soothing fact that I could also settle the major shitload of tasks 'n' stuff in my privat life within the last months, I might have some time again to catch a recovering breath and present my results soon. Maybe I'll already write some smaller parts during the coming weeks after work and upload the whole content soon after. Since I wasn't really able to work on my music projects for around 3 months now, I'm kinda on fire to finally do some composition and mixing stuff once again. I will upload it in a new post - including some further audio samples of the latest results - in my thread "Cleaning up the low-end and low-mid sections in a mix - with single track EQ, master track EQ, EQed aux effect sends and other methods" as soon as possible. You'll also find the thread under this link in OCRemix: https://ocremix.org/community/topic/52614-cleaning-up-the-low-end-and-low-mid-sections-in-a-mix-with-single-track-eq-master-track-eq-eqed-aux-effect-sends-and-other-methods/

In Celtic Era 2 from Eduardo Tarilonte - one of my most appreciated VSTi developer - you have some really well-sampled Celtic instruments including the Irish bodhrán. It costs quite some money - but with the high-quality VSTis in this collection it's definitely an investment in your future as a composer: https://www.bestservice.com/en/celtic_era_2.html If you wanna listen to some specific instruments from Celtic Era 2 (in addition to that, the instruments from the first Celtic Era should be also included in the package), check out this link (bodhrán samples from around minute 10:35 to 12:50): I hope I was able to help you in this case. ))

That's right. That's why I try to avoid listening to soundtracks and other audio programs on devices with extreme frequency boosts (especially treble and bass boosts) and rather prefer listening devices with a more linear frequency response. Another way to keep your ears alive is by mixing and listening to audio programs without dynamic compression and by listening to them at lower volume levels on a regular basis. Make sure to keep this volume level. As soon as you get the impression that the volume level isn't enough anymore that's the right time when your ears should get a longer break of silence. I tried Sonarworks for my studio headphones long time ago - but I didn't like it. I didn't like to change the presets everytime when switching between headphones and studio monitors. And I didn't like the result of the sound. It sounded more exciting after calibration, but also in a kinda weird and artificial way. I would expect that it may sound more boring, less spectacular after calibration, and that it would show me much more the weaknesses of my mixes. But it sounded more explosive and polished. I don't trust tools that make my mixes sound instantly better without having done anything in the mix. My own experience at mixing - not specifically at mixing with headphones, but at mixing with studio monitors. Let me explain what I'm talking about... ... My second pair of kinda useful studio monitors - the Presonus Eris E3.5 - had a bigger bump in the bass and higher mid/treble section: Back than, my mixes sounded like this: Not too bad - but still far away from a professional mix. ... Then I got the Yamaha MSP3 with a much more linear frequency response and a really good midrange: Just some time later after getting used to my new Yamaha MSP3, my first mix created on these studio monitors sounded like this: Much better and cleaner. Even the bass frequencies you might expect to hear less in the mix on the Yamaha MSP3 with the much more linear frequency response is way cleaner and much more assertive in this mix compared to the previous track. ... Just wait for my upcoming Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Remix (my second big mix on the MSP3). In view of my increased mixing experience and a few new mixing possibilities that opened up to me some time ago, it will really exploit the potential of the Yamaha MSP3 and, apart from the compositional creativity, even surpass the mixing quality of the original track. I'm really looking forward to finally finishing the remix (I'd say it's already 90 to 95% finished). Unfortunately, my private and professional life has been taking a toll on me with lots of work and additional hurdles, so I haven't really had the time and peace of mind to continue working on the soundtrack for almost 2 months. But I hope that my somewhat extended Easter will give me the necessary time, peace and creativity to continue working on the track and to present the final results some time later. ))

You might be looking for an audio interface (which is some kind of a professional sound card unit for music production). The big advantages of an audio interface over a standard sound card are: 1) high sound quality and accurate, truthful sound and frequency response 2) high functionality and much more connection possibilities depending on the interface and your budget (like several connections for instruments, microphones, headphones, studio monitor speakers, USB and MIDI connections) 3) improved latency (no big delays at live recordings of voice and instruments) and much better DAW performance 4) Since audio interfaces are improved sound cards, you won't need to buy and upgrade soundcards anymore. A current audio interface might still be good for music production (or just for listening to music, gaming and cinematic experiences) in 20 years. 5) With external audio interfaces you're kinda independent. New system software, new PC - usually no problem. Just install audio interface drivers, connect the audio interface via plug & play and it will usually work with most other PC systems. I would rather save some money for your future audio interface, because it will have a big impact on your possibilities as a musician or maybe even as a whole band. And I would always recommend an audio interface with a good separate current supply, one that doesn't come from standard USB connection 'cause it might also affect the sound quality and audio definition - I experienced this phenomenon when using headphones at two different audio interface models of the same series: Steinberg UR22 (USB current supply) and Steinberg UR44 (separate current supply), where the Steinberg UR44 provides a better bass, mid-range and high frequency definition (and I still think it's because of the better current supply). If you just need some connections for instruments or microphones as a solo musician or a smaller band, I'd go for the Steinberg UR44: https://www.musicstore.com/en_US/USD/Steinberg-UR44-/art-PCM0012773-000 If need even more connections for a bigger band for just a few more bucks, have a look at the Tascam US 16x08: https://www.thomann.de/gb/tascam_us_16x08.htm?shp=eyJjb3VudHJ5IjoiZ2IiLCJjdXJyZW5jeSI6NCwibGFuZ3VhZ2UiOjJ9&reload=1 Both models are excellent Japanese technology - you can't go wrong with them and they might last for some decades. ... PS: I wouldn't bother too much with separate hardware mixing consoles these days. They take lots of space for work you can easily do with your DAW software or with a nice multifunctional MIDI keyboard, which has a separate mixer unit and lots of other stuff like programmable drum pads, buttons, knobs, faders, transport console. Nowadays there are many good multifunctional allround MIDI keyboards that aren't really expensive: https://www.thomann.de/gb/m_audio_oxygen_49_mk5.htm

Something final -------------------- It might be already a bit late. But I wanted to let some nice surprises about the Final Fantasy 7 remake project out of the pile before the release of Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth and provide the final trailer and gameplay material from the official side. For the sake of suspense, let's start from the smallest to the biggest surprise. ... 1) The Story So Far trailer --------------------------------- This is a rough summary of the first part of the Final Fantasy 7 remake project. ... 2) The last launch trailer ------------------------------- Nothing overly outstanding - just wanted to add this final launch trailer for the sake of completeness, as it was released shortly after I wrote this comment, just in time for the game's release. ... 3) The final trailer ----------------------- So, this is really the true final trailer for Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth. ... 4) The State of Play trailer --------------------------------- This is a pretty detailed presentation of Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth with a strong focus on the different regions you travel to in the game, different gameplay mechanics (like graphics mode vs. performance mode, unique character abilities or the new party level feature), mini-games and side quests and music (since we are members of OCRemix, get ready for over 400!!! soundtracks in Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth). It also includes the final trailer from before. ... 5) Full Nibelheim demo ----------------------------- I was really wondering if I wanted to post this already because it's kind of a bit of a spoiler. But I just found it really fascinating how they realized the Nibelheim flashback in the Final Fantasy 7 remake project, that I just wanted to show you how well the storytelling contributes to the atmosphere of the game apart from the graphical, sound and gameplay top performance. Since the Nibelheim flashback will take place in the city of Kalm pretty much at the very beginning of the second part of the remake, I don't think it's too bad to post a more detailed and rather long demo video, which is part of an official playable demo of the game. There is also a similar demo for a section of the Junon region. But since it takes place a bit later in the game, I won't post it here. ... Enjoy the new content. )) And don't make the mistake of spending your days watching blindly YouTube videos about Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, as some people have already had the privilege of playing the game all the way through before the release this week and there are already a lot of scenes up to the end of the game in circulation. The era of the internet is the great information age, but unfortunately also a time of countless leaks of information and spoiled surprises.

According to my information, the Harman curve has nothing to do with a flat frequency response. It rather represents a bathtub-like frequency response (overpresented bass and trebles, cut back mids) for pleasing ordinary consumer hi-fi listeners. And it was created by the Harman company, which holds famous audio technology brands (or parts thereof) like AKG, JBL, Bang & Olufsen or Bowers & Wilkins. The explanation seems to be bit too uncritical (especially for things like mixing/mastering purposes) for my taste - but the background information of the creation of the harman curve is kinda interesting: https://headphonesaddict.com/harman-curve/ I'm really looking for studio headphones with a really flat frequense response without any sound optimizing tools. They might sound "dull" or "boring" for consumer listeners - I prefer the term "less overexcited" and "more truthful". But if you manage to create a mix that sounds exciting on studio headphones (or studio monitors) with a flat frequency response, the mix will sound much more explosive, exciting and clean on all the other hi-fi systems preferred by consumer listeners. Important for clean mixes is also a good representation of the mids when doing mixing and mastering stuff. If the mids sound really clean in your mix on a listening device with flat frequency response, you have already done one of your biggest tasks in the whole mixing process (resulting in a pleasing listening experience when playing the mix on consumer hi-fi systems or Harman-curve-related audio devices). "It's all in the mix, especially in the mids." So, besides looking for studio headphones with a flat frequency response it might be also useful to look for studio headphones with rather overrepresented mids (and reduced bass/treble) than studio headphones with overrepresented bass/treble... similar like with the legendary Yamaha NS-10 studio monitor phenomenon. The Yamaha NS-10 were/are kinda midrange-heavy studio monitor devices which share the legacy that some of the best mixes in the world since the 80s have been done with these legendary speakers. The legacy: The sound (in comparison to newer high-end studio monitors): The frequency response measurement: It kinda reminds me of the frequency response of my Yamaha MSP3 studio monitors: (And I was also really impressed after my first mixing results with these little precision tools.) ... So if you can find professional studio headphones with a similar frequency response, you are guaranteed to be on the safe side as a mixing engineer in a similar or perhaps even better way than with studio headphones that have a neutral sound or a flat frequency response. And you probably won't suffer as much from ear fatigue (unfortunately a rather common problem that occurs when mixing with most headphones over a longer period of time).

The huge influence of the ear pads on the sound of studio headphones ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ It was quite a while ago when the original ear pads of my Sony MDR-7506 studio headphones - consisting of an exaggeratedly thin layer of extremely soft artificial leather - literally fell off with crumbling greetings after only a few years of use. The Sony MDR-7506, which I still appreciate for their extremely good audio resolution (even if the stereo panorama they offer is rather narrow than wide and the frequency response tends to have slightly emphasized bass and somewhat sharper treble), were my first better studio headphones at the time, which really impressed me with the sound compared to my previous consumer headphones, so I naturally wanted to continue using them from time to time and therefore decided to simply replace the ear pads. However, I didn't want the somewhat short-lived, original ear pads again. This time I wanted some really long-lasting ones that also didn't generate so much heat in the ear area. So I bought some fluffier velour replacement ear pads for the Sony MDR-7506. And they weren't bad either, apart from the fact that they were a bit itchy when worn for long periods of time, they severely limited the bass response, which meant that the sense of spatiality was lost somewhat, the isolation got way worse (I could metaphorically hear the pigeons fart, so I guess velour pads are generelly not the best choice for closed-back studio headphones) and they were even tighter around the ears than the original ear pads. And, dude, I don't have some kind of huge rabbit ears - I swear on the mystical legacy of Big Chungus. So, the Sony MDR-7506 ended up being less used or even unused for a while, especially after getting my Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro studio headphones, which are still the best studio headphones I've experienced over all the years, especially for mixing purposes. But during the last weeks - after checking my newest mix with them - I had the idea to give 'em another chance and look for some bigger, better and more comfortable ear pads. I looked for hours, finally came across these ones and bought these after recognizing that these ear pads might satisfy all of my expectations: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C9T7QFKT/?th=1 (just recognized that they are about twice as expensive here in Germany compared to US) And, yeah, these cooling gel ear pads even surpassed my expectations: 1) They kinda brought back the pretty tight sound I experienced with the original earpads (maybe the bass response is just a litte bit stronger now). 2) They are much more comfortable than the original ear pads, much bigger and thicker (no nasty feeling of tightness or pressure around the ears), you don't sweat under these ear pads and your ears don't get hot like with the original ear pads (at least not during winter days). 3) And even the soundstage feels much bigger and wider now! (This really surprised me, but it might have to do with the larger size and thickness of these ear pads, where the sound has more space to roam between the headphone drivers/membranes and my ears.) I still won't use these headphones for regular, critical mixing stuff, but definitely for temporary and final checks of my mixes, for listening to music or maybe watching some terrifying horror movies. So, I'm really glad I could save, repair and even improve these awesome headphones. ... Another good example of how the ear pads can radically affect the sound of the studio headphones are my Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro. Back then, I ordered them in the Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro Black Edition (completely black design with black ear pads), simple because I thought they looked way cooler than the original silver edition with silver ear pads, and they really matched my black home studio design. And yeah, they sounded really great - high audio resolution, great depth and sound stage, fair frequency response with a kinda full, very deep bass (at least I thought that this frequency response was flat like the frequency response graphs for the Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro I've seen in the internet showed me). Time passed and I used them for my first mixes. But I still wondered why I wasn't able to create such powerful mixes as other composers had done with them. Maybe it was also due to my mixing skills at the time, but I don't think that was the only problem. And years later, I've read an important customer feedback of somebody who also bought the Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro Black Edition, where after consulting Beyerdynamic, the customer stated that the Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro Black Edition has a different sound (much bassier - the bass also seems to cover the midrange) than the original silver model. However, the customer also noted that after attaching the silver ear pads on the black DT 880 Pro model, the black DT 880 Pro model sounded like his silver DT 880 Pro model - with a much more analytical sound and a much better presentation of the midrange. But you should be careful, because there are at least 2 different types of silver velour ear pads that are used for the DT 770/880/990 series and for similar Beyerdynamic headphone models: - the EDT 770 V (they are mostly for the clocked-back models like the DT 770 Pro) - the EDT 990 V (they are especially for the semi-open and open-back models like the DT 880 Pro and the DT 990 Pro) Since there is nothing like a "EDT 880 V", the EDT 990 V ear pads are the right choice if you want to replace the ear pads of the DT 880 Pro: https://north-america.beyerdynamic.com/edt-990-v.html (just recognized that they seem to be around twice as expensive in North America compared to Germany) Lucky Mi... I didn't need to buy the silver ear pads at the time because I already owned a third pair of studio headphones - the open DT 990 Pro with silver velour pads (so with these three studio headphones I finally had a pair of closed, semi-open and open studio headphones). Since I didn't like the sound of the DT 990 Pro that much (the treble was much too harsh, the soundstage and the representation of depth and 3-dimensional stage felt rather less impressive and less realistic than with the DT 880 Pro), I swapped the silver ear pads of the DT 990 Pro for the black ear pads of the DT 880 Pro. So, the DT 990 Pro got the black ear pads (and sounded even worse with them), and the DT 880 Pro finally got the silver EDT 990 V velour ear pads. And I was really impressed with the sound of the DT 880 Pro afterwards - very relaxed and natural sound, great midrange presentation and very relaxed but very defined bass (almost sounded like better audio resolution), very analytical, detailed sound with a very accurate, razor-sharp representation of depth and panoramic stage. After that I fell even more in love with the Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro (especially in combination with my Lake People G109-P headphone amplifier, which can drive these high-impedance headphones even better and unleash the higher potential of these studio headphones) - probably one of the best studio headphones for mixing purposes, but also for simply listening to music and watching movies. Even the newer DT Pro X studio headphone series (I tested the DT 900 Pro X in a music store a while back) couldn't really match the insightful, analytical and linear, truly natural sound of the legendary DT 880 Pro - maybe I'll write about my big studio headphone test marathons another time. And I'm still impressed by how big the difference in sound and listening experience can be just by swapping the black velour ear pads for the silver velour ear pads from the same manufacturer. I mean, I don't think it's mainly due to the color of these headphones, but it might have to do with a slightly different velour surface/texture and a different softness of these ear pads that make a big difference in sound and listening experience for the same pair of studio headphones. ... As a result, with professional studio headphones that already have a good audio resolution, it sometimes seems to be enough to simply replace the existing ear pads with more suitable ear pads that soften the prominent frequency ranges instead of replacing the headphones as a whole. So if the bass is pumping way too much, the treble is way too overemphasized and shrill, or if the soundstage lacks width, it might help, for example, to use much softer, much larger (for a slightly larger diameter for more space around the ears) and thicker (for more distance between the drivers/diaphragms and the ears) velour ear pads suitable for this headphone model.

There 's new trailer for the highly anticipated Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth, the second part of the official FF7 remake. I guess it's the final launch trailer before the planned release of the game at the end of February. The trailer is only about a minute long and doesn't show too much new, apart from: - a familiar Nibelheim scene - a brief glimpse of the Midgar Zolom (the giant snake in the swamp area between the Chocobo Farm and the Mythril Mine) - and a giant creature, which reminds me a little of the Weapon at the bottom of the sea, the Emerald Weapon (but it's almost likely that there will be further Weapons as additional challenges in the remake of FF7, especially since the spin-offs in the Final Fantasy 7 universe sometimes had their own unique Weapons, for example Omega Weapon from Dirge of Cerberus or Jade Weapon from Before Crisis)... And, dude, put an ear to the "Those Who Fight" battle theme in the Rebirth version - it really blew me away. (Just reminded me these days that I wanted to continue working on my battle theme remix "Fighting Fantasies", but the Crisis Core remix has top priority for now, apart from 1 or 2 other projects.) So, here's the trailer: I think that this game will be a gigantic audiovisual experience, embedded in a masterfully told story. ... Besides, if anyone has always wanted some of these atmospheric snow globes with a Gold Saucer design, here's your big chance: I'm really not a fan of all this decorative dust catcher stuff, but I've still toyed with the idea of a snow globe for the winter season some time ago. )) Nevertheless, I think I've seen enough snow for now after the last few winter service side missions.

How do you pan aux reverb sends in the context of the panning of the instrument or main signal source? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After finally getting aux effect sends working in my DAW some time ago, I've increasingly integrated them into my mixing approach due to the improved clarity, sound quality and enhanced sound design possibilities they can bring to a mix. But there's one thing I'm still not quite sure about - how to arrange them in the stereo panorama (especially in the context of the panorama of the instrument or source signal) in the best possible way. I've had various thoughts on this and am currently drawing on different approaches, for example: A) Panning the aux reverb send just like instrument/source signal (so that the relationship between the instrument/source signal and its reverb send is not torn apart too much - could be useful if too much is already happening in the mix outside the panning of the instrument/source signal, but also disadvantageous if there is already too high a density of musical events in the area of the panning of the instrument/source signal) B) Bringing the aux reverb sends away from the center of the panorama to the sides (might increase the carity of the track a lot - since I rarely pan instruments fully to one side due to the loss of spatial information of instruments panned like this, it could be useful to rather pan reverb effects more or even fully to the sides) C) Panning the aux reverb send a little bit more to the side (on the same side as the source signal - e.g: source signal is panned + 3dB to the right, then the reverb send could be panned + 10 dB to the right - can be useful if the instrument in its panorama area needs a little more punch/less reverb and there is still some room for the reverb send in the panorama a little bit further to the right) D) Panning the aux reverb send fully to the side (on the same side as the source signal - amplifies the effect of variant B somewhat, but the spatial relationship between the source signal and its reverb send is lost to a greater extent) E) Panning the aux reverb send fully to the opposite side (the far extreme on the opposite side of the source signal, for example, if the instrument is panned + 3dB on the right side, the aux reverb send of the corresponding instrument is panned hard left - this does not seem to disturb the spatial relationship between source signal and reverb to such an extreme extent, while at the same time, the assertiveness of the instrument/source signal drastically increases in the mix) D) Panning the aux reverb sends just where you've got lots of free space, how it fits your needs as a sound creator and like it sounds best (guess this sounds like some kind of a text book answer) So, how do you handle the panning of aux reverb sends? Do you have a general solution for this or do you rather use an individual approach depending on the instrument/signal source, music genre or the specific intention of sound design? … For showing some practical stuff let's go to some further audio samples of my Crisis Core remix I'm currently working on. During the last weeks I could make some huge progress with this track - not just with the mixing, but also by composing lots of new stuff after playing, recording some further melodies for old and new instruments via MIDI keyboard and finally editing the content with the MIDI editor of my DAW. Although the audio samples are still a few steps behind the actual mixing and compository state of my remix, the mixing of most instruments was already done at this point. But I still had an issue with the electric guitar, where I wasn't sure how to pan the guitar reverb send the best possible way. Just to give you an fundamental idea of the mixed instruments which appear in the following audio samples without any further changes (if I remember correctly): - electric bass (plays almost fully in the center with a slight stereo width of around 2 % in order to make the bass sound a bit broader and with a less stiff spatial impression) >>> aux reverb send of the electric bass (a minimal scoring stage convolution reverb with low-cut filter) is panned like the instrument itself (still not sure if the mix sounds better when bringing the subtl bass reverb more to the sides) - acoustic drums (play a bit more in the background between center and sides - stereo width should be around 50 % - source signal also has a reverb insert with a subtle EQed concert hall convolution reverb, which also makes the kick drum more powerful) >>> aux reverb send of the acoustic drums (a subtl cathedral convolution reverb with heavy low-cut filter to add some airy vibes to the drum kit) is panned to the sides, leaving out the center (you will hear much more of this great effect shortly after the intro of my remix - it's not in the following audio samples) - viola (panned around + 3 dB to the left side, source signal contains delay effect and also a smaller low-cut filter) >>> aux reverb send of the viola (a subtl cathedral convolution reverb with a smaller low-cut-filter) is panned like the instrument itself - acoustic guitar chords (fully panned to the sides, leaving out the center, a smaller treble boost from a vintage EQ is used on them) >>> aux reverb send of the acoustic guitar chords (a delayed hall reverb with moderate low-cut filter) is panned in a similar way like the instrument - trumpets (one of the new sections I've composed for this remix, panned around + 7dB to the left side, source signal contains a heavy low-cut-filter and a subtl, already low-shelved cathedral convolution reverb) >>> no aux reverb send is used for this instrument ... And now comes the critical part with the raw clean electric guitar, where I'm still looking for the best solution concerning the mixing. In all audio samples the electric guitar source signal (panned around + 3 dB to the right side) goes through my guitar amp plugin Vandal (with a smaller overdrive stomp box, a special Alnico cabinet simulation and a stronger ping-pong delay effect) and a moderate low-cut-filter. The used aux reverb sends for the electric guitar after audio sample 1 contain a subtle cathedral convolution reverb with a heavy low-cut-filter. The differences in the electric guitar section are shown in the following audio examples with different mixing approaches for this instruments: 1) No aux reverb send - guitar reverb comes via direct plugin slot insert from guitar amp plugin ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) No aux reverb send - guitar reverb comes via direct plugin slot insert from guitar amp plugin.mp3 ... 2) Aux guitar reverb send panned like the guitar ------------------------------------------------------------ 2) Aux guitar reverb send panned like the guitar.mp3 … 3) Aux guitar reverb send panned about 7 dB more to the right side than the guitar -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) Aux guitar reverb send panned about 7 dB more to the right side than the guitar.mp3 .... 4) Aux guitar reverb send fully panned to the right --------------------------------------------------------------- 4) Aux guitar reverb send fully panned to the right.mp3 … 5) Aux guitar reverb send fully panned to the left (the far extreme on the opposite side of the source signal) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) Aux guitar reverb send fully panned to the left (the far extreme on the opposite side of the source signal).mp3 … Since I didn't like the sound results I got with a standard method for mixing electric guitars (like panning the source signal fully to one side and panning the reverb send fully to the opposite side - as it seems to have been done with the electric guitars at some points in this really awesome Maniac Mansion remix composition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-6Le36mlDA - but somehow I can't stand the sound from mixing appoaches where instruments - especially lead instruments - are fully put to the sides), I almost think the mixing approach from audio sample 5 works best in this case (especially at the point where the trumpets kick in). … But let me know your opinion about this topic and my different mixing approaches. … Besides, I just thought it couldn't even harm to additionally upload the... 6) Latest update of the remix section showed in the previous audio samples ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) Latest update of the remix section showed in the previous audio samples.mp3 In this version (which is based on audio sample 5) I slightly enhanced the trebles and brilliance of the trumpets and the electric guitar (so they can shine a bit more in the mix and so, they are also put more to the front as the lead instruments of this part), and I spiced up the drums section with a few variations.

After a long time, I finally found out why aux effect sends such as aux reverb sends in my DAW regularly pushed the DSP (digital signal processor - the internal CPU of my DAW, so to speak) in my DAW Samplitude to its limits, including dropout-related scratching noises (although they should actually require fewer computer and program resources compared to direct effect inserts) and I simply couldn't really work with the aux reverb sends (which are extremely important for a clean mix). It was solely due to a general setting in my DAW, namely the setting that determines how many processor cores your DAW should have available. I had set 8 cores at the time - but my Intel Core i7-6700 processor system only has a maximum of 4 cores (I had probably confused the number of cores with the number of threads). In any case, after I had fixed the problem purely by chance at some point by changing this setting, the aux effect sends suddenly worked perfectly, stably and with a much more efficient use of the ressources related to the DSP. ... Maybe this can also help somebody else. So, if anybody has some trouble like this in its DAW, make sure to check all the program settings. Just one single setting like this can make a huge difference. ... This thread can actually be closed. The main topic of this thread will be continued on a larger scale in the thread "Cleaning up the low-end und low-mid sections in a mix - with single track EQ, master track EQ, EQed aux effect sends and other methods" - a thread you can find much faster with the help of this link: https://ocremix.org/community/topic/52614-cleaning-up-the-low-end-und-low-mid-sections-in-a-mix-with-single-track-eq-master-track-eq-eqed-aux-effect-sends-and-other-methods/ ... In this new thread I also provide (and still will provide) some (further) audio samples in order to show how the mixing quality improved after finally (and primarily) using separate aux reverb send channels for the instruments/source signal tracks (where you can especially change just the reverb with things like EQ/low-cut-filter, different pannings and other stuff - but without touching/changing the sound of the instrument source signal) instead of using direct reverb effect inserts in the plugin slots of your instrument tracks (where the instrument and the effect/reverb get processed together alongside the order of the inserts in the plugin slots).

@Sengin I finally came up with a pretty bulletproof method for figuring out the key of this (or any) soundtrack - I think I'll write an extra post because it might interest others as well. So, your soundtrack has all the notes of D major and its relative key of B minor in common (my other two guesses for A major or E minor were wrong because at least one note in those keys sounded wrong in the context of the soundtrack). Since the piece sounds much better and more harmonious with a D major chord than with a B minor chord, the actual key of the piece should be D major. D major means that the following notes are completely safe to play: D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#. With the help of this, you should be able to compose your own alternative lead melodies, countermelodies, basses, chords, etc. for your remix.

Awesome, dude. )) Really amazing working spirit, even at the possible vacation times at the end of the year. Problem's totally solved - no further request incoming for 2023 (at least not from me). Guess it's always wise to have a passionate white IT mage in the party. ... ----------------------------------- "Well... that was impressive. You have earned your reward... and your freedom." ----------------------------------------------------------------- As a reward you radically deserve a decent 7-course dinner. But since I've almost finished mine, I'd give you the radically legendary "Joy 'n' Fluffiness Gold Award" instead, which has been successfully treasured in the depths of the internet: Carrying it like a daily accessory in your life, it should be some kind of a lucky charm which might lower your attack and defence stats or even block your amgery (limit break) bar, but it will reduce your stress level, drastically boost the kinda mystical "luck" stat or even unlock some good ol' memories music-wise. ... But now you need to take a well-deserved break from work and have a good nap (just the special final fantasy regulations in employment law), have an interesting video game evening with friends or family, put on some good music or even continue composing your own passionate music project. ... Happy New Year to the OCRemix community. ))

I had recently uploaded a few audio files of mine (4 MP3 files with 192bit/s) in the thread "Cleaning up the low-end and low-mid sections in a mix - with single track EQ, master track EQ, EQed aux effect sends and other methods" within the "Music Composition & Production" section of the forum for the purpose of presenting different mixing approaches in my comment field. The uploaded audio samples worked perfectly at first, but then suddenly stopped playing - until I found out that they only stopped playing after I had logged out with my OCRemix account. After I logged in, however, they worked again and could be played. For a quick search of the audio uploads - these can be found under this link in my comment from December 27, 2023: https://ocremix.org/community/topic/52614-cleaning-up-the-low-end-und-low-mid-sections-in-a-mix-with-single-track-eq-master-track-eq-eqed-aux-effect-sends-and-other-methods/ ... Then I tested the whole thing with my own image uploads and a video upload of mine (to be found in the thread "Creating a realistic impression of depth in stereo mixes" in the forum section "Music Composition & Production"). And there - even when I was logged out - I was able to view the uploaded images and watch the uploaded video myself. For a quick search of the video - it can be found under this link below my comment with the small underlined subheading "Visual tools for creating a realistic impression of depth in stereo mixes" from April 17, 2023: https://ocremix.org/community/topic/49135-creating-a-realistic-impression-of-depth-in-stereo-mixes/ ... Don't know if it follows some kind of intention that only uploaded content like audio samples in a comment field can't be played when logged out. But maybe it's just some unintentional stuff that can be fixed.