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I've made an update of my Lufia remix recently (the things I've changed within version 1.5 you can see in the upload description). This time it also comes with a video that consists of in-game scenes of the final battles gainst the Sinistrals. Here's the link of version 1.5: >>> >>> https://clyp.it/gmmrf0zz

Nice feedback. Concerning the loudness of the electric guitar: I've listened to the track via speakers, headphones and mp3-player (in-ear buds) and it was really okay for me. But you're right - I could tourn the loudness of the lead stuff at least bring down for about 1 dB. What do you mean with: "The notes cut off too early in my opinion, which may be leading to the overly stiff sound. I feel like they should flow a bit better."? Should be a few more overlappings or just make the notes longer until "note-on-note"?

So... finally, I've managed to improve my rookie drum skills to a much more advanced level of drum composing skills - which will help me a lot with my video game remix projects in the future. That's how level 2 of my drums skills sounds like. This time I've also created a screen recording video of my playing drum VSTI (instead of just a picture) for the Youtube version - so, you can follow most of the drum elements in my drum solo project much better. Backgrounds and futher informations you can find in the description of the Youtube upload. There 's also a clyp link with an uploaded 320 kbit/s file for the die-hard audiophiles. --------------------------------------- Newest version of my track: 1.1 >>> >>> https://clyp.it/dqb5rrty

This is a little rock remix of the opening theme from the Pokémon anime series. It's my first remix of an anime soundtrack after making a few remixes for several videogames. I'm not the typical die-hard fan of Pokémon - but I loved the anime when I was a child. Pretty fluffy and hearty stuff with a nice touch of adventure. Some time ago I've listened to the opening theme of the anime once again which has a really decent melody I still like - and I thought that this could be a nice track for improving my virtual guitar skills. So, I put some effort into the articulation of every single guitar note. Sometimes I tought for hours about where the different articulations or playing techniques (like long played notes, hammer-ons, tappings, slides or some FX guitar sounds) might fit best within a short guitar sequence. But I got into it after some time and I think this helped me improving my music production skills a little bit - especially for creating much more realistic guitar sounds. Thanks to my really awesome virtual guitar amplifier Vandal I could give the guitar sound its totally unique style and make a decent final touch with a little bit hall reverb and a little bit more pinging stereo delay - really good combination for reverberant but also strong, assertive guitar sounds. I've also enjoyed working a bit more with velocity dynamics to bring some more life and vibrance into the track - but it's still pretty tough for me to find the right balance between the velocities of the different tracks within a song. Already a velocity value change of just 10 out of 127 can make a perceivable difference between hearing single notes in the whole mix and not noticing or at least not feeling them anymore. But I will work on this in the future. Just as usual I've mastered this remix at EBU R 128 loudness standards and used absolutely no compressors or limiters for keeping the full, natural sounding dynamic range and best possible hi-fi sound quality. So, check this stuff... Original Intro Theme: >>> ---------------------------------------- Newest version of my remix: 1.0 >>> >>> https://clyp.it/ymrif5kn

I've tried some stuff with the whammy bar emulation stuff to get it as realistic as possible. 1) The tip with articulation setting is pretty good. The best results I've got with hammer-ons, tappings, fx guitar sounds and harmonics. Harmonics can be pretty nice to wham out longer notes into silence if don't have an aftertouch function at your midi keyboard (to control the velocity of the key after hitting it). 2) Use a vibrato/LFO on the guitar sound (at my sampler I can set that the vibrato/LFO of the guitar sound with a defined frequency begins 0,7 seconds after playing the note, for example - can also automate that stuff). 3) Bevor you do anything with the pitch wheel make a jump of at least 4 or 5 semitones (upwards or downwards) and keep holding both notes after playing them (don't have to hold the note at harmonics of course) - for example play c2 and jump to f2 (or to fis2 or a2, for example). A jump from c2 to h2 (or "b2" at international rules) doesn't sound too nice as well - because after b comes c again (no distance of at least 4 or 5 semitones). If you want to jump between different octaves some combinations sound differently nice (for example - never jump from c3 to e1 and hold the keys - doesn't sound good - but if ya do the jump from e1 to c3 it may sound fairly nice). 4) After doing the jump with hitting the second note/key >>> move the pitch wheel and you'll get some awesome rock guitar whammy sounds. 5) If ya want to have it even more realistic try some volume automations in a similar way the pitch wheel is going to get some tremolo effects like in the video link (there's a pitch AND a volume/tremolo stuff going on - I guess it should be called "pitch tremolo bar" over just "tremolo bar" - maybe the reason they 've found with "whammy bar" a completely different name which is not too long and complicated).

At the moment I'm trying to improve the amount and quality of the articulations of my VSTI guitar sounds in my DAW. There's a lot of great stuff you can do with the keyswitch buttons, the mod wheel, the pitch wheel and all the possible automations of course. But one thing I haven 't found out yet. It's about how to emulate the techniques with the whammy/tremolo bar of electric guitars which can give some really awesome sounds >>> It's stuff like this I mean: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAeD9-J8exk According to my knowledge a whammy bar is a device on modern electric guitars that allows the player to give or take tension from the chords/strings of the guitar. Different tension of the strings means that there is (at least) a pitch shift is going on - and as it seems (sounds) it 's a much different pitch shift than normal bendings and vibratos you perform with your own hands directly on the strings. So what's the big secret of the whammy bar if you want to emulate this in your DAW - or is there something like a special VST plugin for this?

Yeah, I know - but what I hear depends also on the device (speakers & the sound in the room, headphones) I'm listening to. At my speakers and headphones, both was fairly okay - at your headphones or speakers the harp might have been a bit too loud. That's why I never fully trust what I hear through my headphones and ask the spectroscope additionally. For the next version I think I'll try a little compromise for the loudness of the harp between your as well as my acoustic perception.

Recently I was totally in the mood to make some remixing stuff for the good ol' beat ' em up series Battle Arena Toshinden for the very first Playstation generation - one of the few fighting games which haven't had just good gameplay, cool characters, great special effects and a pretty interesting background story - no, the Toshinden series have also had really awesome BGM tunes which are really made for fighting. So, I decided to make a little remix for Sho's Theme from Battle Arena Toshinden 2. Here it goes... Original game track: >>> ---------------------------------------- Newest version of my remix: 1.2 >>> >>> https://clyp.it/3dj3to2t All the other informations are in the description of the uploaded content of the Youtube version. Enjoy & give me some feedback.

So, for the orchestral drum ensemble I think I will add some reverb to let it sound less hard (actually forgot to make any reverb there - it's 100 % dry - sounds much better with about 10 to 15 % reverb into wet scenario). After listening to my remix a few times, I don't think that the snare drum in this area is a big problem (there's really no extra distortion or stuff like that - maybe it's cause of some drum buttons in this VSTI make pretty heavy sounds - but it's mostly because of the absolute dryness of the drum ensemble - will fix that in the next version update). Another (much bigger) problem I'll fix in the coming update is the shaker sound in this area - this is really far too monotone - could be much more rhythmic. Would totally bother me if the happy southern island people would be stiff like that. Maybe I'll also try some variations in the drum and lead melody section.

I actually hear a lot of new stuff within this orchestration compared to the original and I always wanted to listen to a orchestrated version of this soundtrack which is a lil bit more closer to the original. So for me it's really a lovely grab in the honey pot - just spoken as a hungry bear. Maybe you could make this track much longer. Do you remember the intro of the following Secret Of Mana game (Secret Of Mana 2 or called Seiken Denetsu 3 in Japan)? >>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEBpLMSw_Os Would be great if you could enlarge your orchestrated masterpiece with some stuff from the Seiken Denetsu 3 intro theme - I think there would be much better opportunities for some nice variations and completely different melodies. --------------------------------------------------------------- Besides, "Goomba" is not my nick name in this forum - it's just a ranking which depends on how much threads/comments I've posted. My nick name (Master Mi) is shown above my ranking name. So, your nick name is Ganaé and your ranking name has changed from "King Hippo" to "Chocobo" some days ago, because you got a total of over 20 posts then.

I think, the guitar part is pretty fine. Just the piano stuff got worse compared to the previous version I think. It's too dominating now - like Rozovian I think that a little bit more reverb & less damping of the piano for a lil bit pad-like sound would fix that. I also liked the lil bit off-timed piano notes in the previous version - had definitely style. But, hey that's just a small pigeon poop on the cleaned balcony. The track is radically awesome and a very great reinterpretation of the original tune!

Your orchestrated remixes are absolutely great. Try it and give 'em to the judges. )) Besides - just like me you obviously master your tracks pretty close to EBU R 128 standards (program loudness about -23 dB at maximum) and without any (or much) compression/limiting, don't ya?

Awesome stuff!

I've finished the newest version 1.3 of this remix. Check it out here: >>> >>> https://soundcloud.com/master-mi/star-tropics-the-fire-of-the-southern-cross-master-mi-remix-version-13-wav In this version 1.3 I've made a few new things. First of all this was my last remaining soundtrack I wanted to master at EBU R 128 loudness standards without the use of compressors and limiters for the best dynamic range, the best hi-fi sound quality and - of course - for keeping all the characteristics of clean, organic and natural sounds. On the other side you can also save a lot of time by getting away from futzing around with compressors and limiters which are actually not necessary for making good music. You just have to put some time in the mixing stuff instead - but with much better and cleaner results. So, now all my remixes are mastered at these pretty cool EBU R 128 standards - there aren't any more problems with annoying loudness differences between my songs after getting away from the peak-level-based mastering to a mastering style that goes for a fixed program loudness (at EBU R 128 the maximum program loudness is about -23 dB) where the peaks play no longer a major role you have to carry about the whole time. Besides - if we talk about the disadvantages of compression we should also talk about the disadvantages of compressed sound formats. Before I had created this remix update I've exported my music projects only as MP3 files with a bit rate of 194 kbit/s. But this time I recognized that this can mess up the sound at some points of the track - and if it's only one single messed up high drum note - you will hear it with a good sense of hearing. So I decided to upload my music projects based on uncompressed WAV files from now on. Secondly I've created some overlappings in the strings section. Not the big deal - but sounds quite better now. And lastly - the probably biggest improvement of all - I've made this remix about nearly 1 minute longer. Therefore I've added a very big and natural sounding drum ensemble that really fits the lovely southern island atmosphere and that goes together with a slightly changed flute into a nice finish. I'll keep working on this track - hope you like the improvements and changes I've put into this version.

Pretty nice arrangement/cover. Sure you don't want to make a whole remix out of this track or at least add some instrumentation?

Awesome shit, dude. \m/ Like the contrast of the calm piano-pads-&-synths parts and the heavy guitar stuff (love how the electric guitar goes berserk mode at 2:47). Do you record your electric guitars live or are those well-automated VSTI? And don't worry about some untimed piano notes - arabian (off-beat) style, sounds great. I totally like your music style and what great tune you have made out of the original game track. ------------------------------ A little fine tuning and the track is finished. Maybe some guitars could have a little more reverb/delay at some points to go for a nice walk with the upper instrumentation (maybe some reverb/delay automations).

Thanks for the detailed Feedback. Of course I will progess with developing the track - the next step will be several automations - but this might take some time. So for the rest... 1) At first - the piano part will guaranteed remain as it is from the structure - maybe I will include some less dominant, supporting and natural sounding pad sounds - but not much more there. Never thought about making this intro too complex - cause I think it might kill the silent viola solo afterwards. I would rather prefer to bring in some piano chords in the parts after the viola solo plays - might fit as a middle man between the harp and the bass. The pause in the piano part at 0:18 was not intentional to fit the video. Never thought about making a video when I was creating this track several months before starting to make a movie with ingame scenes. I just played this piano part just by trying to feel the melody - and I felt a about 5 seconds lasting pause there. Could be a good part for a light pad to bridge this smartly and in a decent way maybe. 2) The viola will be definitely volume-automated und maybe gets some tougher velocity varieties in the next version. Though I still like the sound of the sample without further automations. 3) The thing with the harp's a bit strange. My metering device shows me, that it is about 1 to 2 dB more silent the the piano part at the beginning and nearly the same program loudness of the single guitar lines afterwards. Maybe it's because of the stronger peaks of the harp, the strong reverb/delay and the bigger velocity differences within the harp part. The problem is, that if I turn the volume of the harp about 2 dB down, it totally perishes within the bass. Automating the bass in attack, volume or velocity doesn't seem to bring too much useful effects. Not quite sure what I will do there - I definitely want to have a calming harp part in the beginning - maybe I'll try to play another octave or smooth the velocity differences of the harp a little bit. 4) For the electric guitars I will try some velocity variations and volume automations in the next version - not sure how I will do the pitch stuff without imitating some heavy fingernail blackboard scratches - but I'll try a few things. I will also automate the timbre of the acoustic guitar chords for the next versions. Let's see what I can do.

This is a little remix of one of my favourite games from the Final Fantasy 7 series I'm working at since a few months. "Wings Of Freedom" is my interpretation of the OST "The Price Of Freedom". I wanted to create a remix which is a bit more feeling, but also goes into a stronger rock ballad later on - a good track for combining some genres without getting lost of the soul und background of the track. It begins with a little live recorded piano solo (played this just by ear - it contains also a nice melody that only appears about one time in the whole game), followed by a calm viola part which goes over into a part with a harp, guitars, bass and drums and which leads into a stronger, soulful rock ballad with several electric guitars towards the end. The rest of informations that might be interesting for listeners and remixers is in the description of the Youtube upload. It's also the first remix I've created a video (with ingame scenes) for. Hope you and especially the fans of Crisis Core - Final Fantasy 7 enjoy it. Original game track: >>> -------------------------------------------- Newest version of my remix >>> 1.2 >>> >>> https://clyp.it/vx2pp4xy

@ Kat: The tambourine makes a lot of the rhythm in this track. Can't leave this. Butt I'll try a few variations with a this in the next versions. I don't think it's too loud according to my headphones - what do the others think - is it too loud/dominant in the mix? Yeah, the end of the track will be improved soon - like the rest of the remix. EBU R 128 is just a loudness standard - it doesn't mean, compression is "forbidden". But it means that compression and limiting for gaining loudness is not necessary anymore. ---------------------- @ Slimy: What do you mean with a "thin soundscape"? Instrument sounds are not solid (dry) enough or does it rather mean that there are not enough instruments playing/not enough variations? The orchestra version at the link is pretty lively and has a great loudness range - not sure how to bring this into a half-electronic, half-orchestral mix (don't want to make the track too orchestrally). But I'll try out a few things. ---------------------- @ Garpocalypse: Compression at acoustic instruments makes them sound artificial - those instruments (like flutes, horns, strings, guitars, trumpets, saxophones, even drums) have to breathe to sound natural. Instead of going for compression I can put much more effort in mixing, playing with the velocity and creating a lot of automations - yeah, that's what I'll do next I guess. What do you mean with "That guitar around 7:50 sounds like a synth..."? You mean the sample itself sounds fake or rather the way of playing the instrument sound fake? It's a power guitar with distortion and I'm sure the sample was recorded with a real guitar. It's this one here >>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZdphDZk3_o What do you think here - sounds still like a fake synth? And yeah - I will keep on working at this track. Guess it will take a few years to push my skills this far that I can make an outstanding remix out of this.

Out of my first attempt of making a Maniac Mansion remix I've finally made a little bit more complex one. Check it out here: Original game track: >>> -------------------------------------------- Newest version of my remix >>> 1.1 >>> >>> https://clyp.it/y0v1j0f1

Has a nice, smooth sound - pretty enjoyable. I would try a rocking bass guitar and some heavier drums to make some gains for the second loop.

1. Make sure your PC/Notebook is not working on energy saving mode. 2. Tried an audio interface instead of a soundcard? >>> can make a much better performance of the DAW and minimizes the usage of CPU 3. Freezing tracks (DAW function for reversibly changing midi in audio tracks) might help a lot to increase the performance of the DAW as well 4. Close other programs (especially browsers - eat also some neceassary RAM) 5. Close or deinstall all firewalls and anti-virus/malware programs which are not a part of your windows system (can use a lot of RAM and CPU) 6. Set your ASIO buffer size at a higher value (maybe 2048 instead of 512 samples) - if it's too low it might crash your engine or create strange noises while playing 7. Maybe try other sound drivers for your DAW. 8. If all this doesn't help I guess you really have to increase the capacity of your RAM - with 16 to 32 GB RAM you should be fine, also with the greatest high-end-sample libraries

Finally I've mastered this version at EBU R 128 loudness standards, too. I also removed every compressor in the remix and pushed the dynamic values to the maximum - makes a far better sound quality. But at the top of that I've created some really interesting stuff that makes the soundtrack over 3 minutes longer. I've added a few new intruments like strings or flutes at different parts of the track and I've created some really new parts. I really like the one with the Native American flute which calms down the atmosphere of my remix a little bit. I guess this part could totally represent the character Red XIII, his connection to Cosmo Canyon, the connection to his father, the great warrior Seto and his tribe as well as his deep connection to the planet as a spiritual, living being that fights on the side of life. I also created some really nice rocking parts with a heavy power guitar and a decent piano as a reminiscence to the powerful and orchestral battle theme "On The Verge Of The Assault" from Crisis Core. Hope you like it at least as much as I do. For the next updates of this track I think I will create a short outro for this song. I also want to create a few more variations of the drums and basses - maybe a silent part as well. Man, this track is really made for squats and training - and of course for fighting! )) You can listen to version 1.4 of my track here: --------------------------------------------------------------- >>> >>> https://clyp.it/shlstgxb ---------------------------------------------------------------

Just watch this and you might understand what I think about the problems of increasing compression for just gaining loudness and the possible solution of the EBU R 128 standards.

Good ears, dude - changed the thing with the drums which were obviously a compressed preset of my Vita²-Drumkit. My DAW showed me just "Acoustic Drum Kit Ro(ck)" on the screen. But after checking the full name of the drum set cause of the compression you mentioned I found out that my drums were still at the previous "Acoustic Drum Kit Rock Limited" preset - obviously a limited/compressed version of the rock drums. I changed this and uploaded the fixed version with the uncompressed drum samples. Here's the new version with the uncompressed rock drums: ---------------------------------------------------------------- https://soundcloud.com/master-mi/lufia-2-tyrant-breaker-master-mi-remix-version-15 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The soundtrack is so quiet compared to most modern music because I make my new tracks at the EBU R 128 loudness guideline for maximal dynamic range. There you don't try to get the true peaks and the (often program loudness, too) just close below 0 dB - instead you have a target/maximal level for the program loudness of about - 23 dB and the remaining headroom above in the master track you can use totally eased for the true peaks - so, no worries about using compressors or limiters for gaining loudness. If EBU R 128 becomes an international standard within the next years all broadcasters will send their programs at this loudness standard - maybe it will also be like this in the internet/youtube etc.- so you can leave your volume wheel turned up all the time and enjoy the rising dynamics in the produced music you may listen to - just like in the lovely decades ago. At the basis of EBU R 128 all tracks/programs could be uploaded and normalized at the same program loudness level - would be great if youtube and other internet providers would handle it like this - 'cause you could fully concentrate on the best dynamics instead on the "best undefined loudness". Could be like this (if you're interested in the pretty smart and well thought-out EBU R 128 guideline) >>> ------------- Besides - what do you mean with the low end clutter at the piano stuff? The pad sounds which are part this piano preset, maybe? Makes the piano a bit more stronger and remaining in the hall as a contrast to the pretty strong bass lines. And yeah, the composition of Zircon is absolutely awesome - but even there you can hear a pretty heavy compression of the drums that doesn't sound really clean/natural. Compressed drums nearly always sound a bit dull and lifeless in a track (in relation to the sound quality).