DarkEco

I'm considering putting all my plugins and samples onto an external drive, so i don't need to worry about syncing any changes to presets or samples etc when i move from a laptop to a desktop. I plan to use Backblaze to autobackup whenever it's plugged into the desktop though, so i'm not being careless. Thing i'm wondering is if it's possible for a VST to work that way, or do they need to be installed onto the computer itself? So say i installed Omnisphere onto an external drive and then i plugged that drive into a new computer that has my DAW on it, would it load Omnisphere completely normally provided i set the file search path to the external drive? Or does it need more than just the .dll file?

I've tried a fair few DAWs now and could lump them into three categories. There's Pro Tools, which i would consider the "Engineering DAW", as you can get deep into the nitty gritty but it tends to be far less intuitive and harder to get to grips with. I would never use it for being creative, personally. But if you plan on working in a studio then it's pretty much essental. At face value I'd probably lump Reaper in here too, though I have very little experience with it. Its super cheap though provided you're not releasing commercially. Then for lack of a better term i have the "Creative DAWs, which are Cubase, Logic and Studio One. These are the most well balanced of the three categories, with exceptional workflows and a good range of VST's to use. Of the bunch Logic is easily the best value as it's very cheap for the full version and has some incredible bundled content. But it's only available on Mac. I also know it can export midi to score sheets but I don't know if you can compose in notation. I'm a Studio One user. I find its workflow to be the least hindering to creativity and super smooth. I also use it alongside Notion, which is Presonus' own notation software and it integrates well and triggers your scores on playback with Studio One. I do find it incredibly clunky to use though. I used Cubase for a year at university and didn't find it as intuitive as the other two and it's also more pricey for reasons that must be unknown to me. Finally there's what i call the "Electronic DAWs", which are FL Studio and Ableton Live. I've never used Ableton so i can't comment much however i hear (as the name suggests) it's exceptional for live performance stuff if that's you're goal. FL Studio has a pattern workflow that is tailored more towards electronic music, but not limited to it. The workflow wasn't vibing with me and basic audio recording/editing felt super clunky and lackluster. I did use FL for about 3 years though because it's cheap and they have lifetime free updates so it's also amazing value. It's fun to look at too. It gets a bit of flak because it's seen by pro engineers as a bit of a toy, but I firmly disagree. Hopefully this narrows your search

Listening to this on repeat in slow motion is making me nauseous. If anybody's got a really good ear here would you be willing to transcribe the melody that plays a 0:53secs for me please? I think i managed to get the first eight note arpeggio but my brain just feels like spaghetti now I would also appreciate any pro tips that can make this process easier in the future. EDIT: I may have found a much better method. Creating a similar instrument sound on a synth and transcribing to MIDI. I was originally trying to go straight to guitar. I think the vast difference in timbre was throwing me off! EDIT 2: Smashed it out in 5mins. Feeling like an absolute pleb now.

Well that all looks like a lot of money that I don't have haha. Thanks for the tips though. I think I may try recording and processing some of my own sounds by listening to some if these libraries and trying to recreate some of the samples to the best of my ability. I find it difficult to imagine percussive sounds in my head.

@timaeus222I finally got some free time to listen through this. Absolutely sensational remix! The sound design, clarity and playfulness in the stereo field is like ear candy. Honestly this is the sort of stuff i'd love to be able to write, but with guitar in it haha. It seems tricky though. It's like adding guitar automatically muddies everything up. Anyway back on topic, you're tip on using drums as a signalling tool already fixed a transition i was having trouble with. There's still something missing but it's definitely improved it. Matching the frequency spectra is something i've always naturally felt would be a thing, but implementing it is the tough bit. Using instruments from the next section to lead in is also a good call. Again something that i use now and again, along with reverse crashes. I think overall the disjointed rhythmic transitions were what was holding me back most here. Can i ask, i'm trying to move away from just acoustic drums and start using more obscure electronic sounds as percussion as well. Your percussion in this remix is really interesting. Would you be able to give me some insight into how you went about creating them? Sound library, original recordings, processing etc? @AngelCityOutlawI'm looking into voice leading right now. From what i'm gathering it's simply using chord inversions to create "steps" instead of "leaps" in the music that make in sound less jarring. Does it go deeper than this? A lot of the other things i kinda already do without realising, although i'll need to look into the sentence/period structures your mentioning as i have no idea what that is.

I expected no less from this community. Outstanding feedback all round. I'll definitely be researching a lot of the information here! Thanks for all the answers!

One thing that i notice always becomes a brick wall for me when writing is when it comes to the transitions between say verse to chorus for example. I can write a verse by itself forever and continually build sounds upon a bass hook and have a lot of fun in the process, but when it comes to actually transitioning to a chorus i never know how to go about it and just hit the keyboard until something hooks. It's the main reason i've got 100 pieces on my hardrive that i've managed to get an intro and verse for but are now gathering dust because progressing past that feels like pissing in the wind. I've noticed i'll always lean towards a kind of "cop-out" method where i'll put some odd sound design like a stutter, pitch drop to silence or something to hide the lack of interesting chord progression. It's a habit i really want to break because otherwise my music is going to become way too predictable. Are there any go-to rules for creating effective transitions? Hit me with all the theory! I'd say i've got an intermediate theory knowledge so i should hopefully understand what you're talking about.

This is more 90's than the 90's!!

OH MY GOD THIS ACTUALLY GOT THROUGH?!

Well, I think most people would just say the styles that were chosen for each era suit them best. Are you asking what alternative styles could have been used instead of the ones they went with? To me the Megadrive era of of Sonic thrived musically with Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Sonic 3 was very funk based whereas S&K had a more in your face electronic vibe in some cases like Flying Battery and Death Egg, along with more generic thematically appropriate tracks like Sandopolis and Sky Sanctuary. I don't know what I would class Lava Reef as but it's dope either way. So for me Megadrive Sonic would ideally consist of that era mainly. I prefer Sonic 3D Blast's music overall (not the Saturn version). It just has a "moodiness" that I find very absorbing, like a dark analogue sound. In the GC era, while I liked the punk rock styles of Sonic Adventure I think the more heavy electronic/rock style in the Shadow the Hedgehog soundtrack really shone through to me. I found myself listening to it far more than anything else in that era. Shame about the game itself though. It definitely wouldn't work for SA unless it was brightened up a bit though. After that I pretty much lost interest in any Sonic game apart from Generations... SONIC MANIA THO.

The dimensions of the product should always be listed in the specifications. Get a tape measure and make sure before you buy anything. I always do this to avoid immense disappointment later. I've modded my desk along the way to be able to cram as much as i can and leave space for new things in the future. I'm pretty much always thinking about something i can get to fill a space on my desk. In regards to getting an 88 key to put on the desk i would argue that it's excessive in any case. You're desk is also you workspace for pen and paper so you want some space on it! I'd suggest having a keyboard that large on a stand to the side so you can turn your chair to it when you need to. Get a wireless keyboard so you can sit it on top of the piano when you go to use it, set up key shortcuts for record, loop start, track start and undo so if you make a mistake during recording you can undo and try again without any need to move back to your computer screen. The only reason i could see to get an 88key is if you're looking to play a realistic piano or synth performance. It wouldn't really be of any benefit for orchestral arrangement (minus piano), since most instruments have quite a limited octave range, and you certainly won't need it for electronic music. On your desk have a 3 (maybe 4) octave keyboard controller with a bunch of assignable knobs for your soft plugins and leave the 88 key for anything that requires you to play right and left hand simulataneously more than 3/4 octaves apart. You'll find the capable remixers on here (as Timaeus has already shown) don't really need a large keyboard because of the vast possibilties MIDI programming offers.

Haha there was a perfect space on the synth for a coaster and a cup, the water bottle's empty though. I have faith in myself to not ruin my life.

I would highly recommend a multi-tier desk!

That was hard as nails. I haven't even attempted an S Rank and probably never will.

You'll eventually get a fire technique you can melt it with. PM me if you're stuck with anything else. Okami's my favourite game Topic: +1 for the Sonic 3 barrel. I didn't complete that game until I was 23! Getting all the cages in the original Rayman. You can't finish the game with anything other than 100% completion. I did it for the first time about 3 years ago. That pink world you unlock at the end of Super Meat Boy. A steaming pile of nope. Sonic 4 because it was terrible.

You're a god among men.

I can 100% relate on both points. I had a spell recently where i considered dating again but i've come to the conclusion that i really need to learn how to live with and understand myself before i can even consider being with somebody else. A steady income would also be handy. I've dealt with some serious low self esteem most of my life but in the recent years since starting University (again) i've become one of the most confident and knowledgable people in the class who a lot of the younger students look up to for help and advice, which i'm not gonna lie, feels incredible. It's like i finally have something to offer somebody, but i don't think audio engineering advice offers much in terms of a relationship haha. I suppose i could just form a series of themed pickup lines until somebody latches on... "Are you a sidechain compressor? Because you've got my heart pumping!". And i totally get wht you mean about who don't understand or appreciate gtting absorbed into a fantasy world like that. I never know whether or not to embrace it as a part of myself and it does make it far more difficult to find somebody if that's what you're going for. Back on topic: VGM was also the main reason i became interested in music. It was always the music that was the biggest nostalgia trip for me, in fact i think i've always enjoyed listening to VGM more than playing the actual games. OCR got me into audio production and composition after listening to Sixtos 'Wicked Six' Castlevania remix and Zircons 'Antigravity' album. But hell, that was over 5 years ago, and while i've improved immensely since this abomination, i feel i've really wasted the years because my failues were always more abundant than my successes, which put a lot of fear in me and i'd retreat to something that gave me instant achievement and gratification, which in this case were video games. I'm finding instant gratification a problem with a lot of people in this new technology generation. So over the next three video game free years i'm forcing myself to put as much effort as i can into it and suck up the failures instead of being a bitch about it. I've taken on a track for an OCR album, which is terrifying and stressing me out because i still struggle with composition and i don't have full creative freedom since it's for a "client". I think the main problem for me with composition and arrangement is i never know how to approach it, so i'm hoping now that i've started learning about how it's done for orchestra it will apply to all other forms of music i create. Guitar noodling and keyboard battering in the hopes something comes out has too much uncertainty in it for somebody with a mindset like mine.

+1

In a very similar situation myself. I've started to put it down to anxiety as well, it's especially awful first thing when i wake up. I'm glad to hear they got better for you. I find if i just push myself to get up, eat breakfast, have a coffee and throw on a production tutorial of some kind on Youtube i start to get more buzzed about the day.

Loving all these replies! @Garpocalypse I'm actually in my second college year too haha! I must be on a very similar path. I can vouch for Sonic 2, SoR and Freedom Planet also. They're pretty close to my heart. I can see myself having a similar binge in 3 years time.

@Nikanoru Great response, thanks! Yeah i've not dropped any money on the current gen and only bought a PS3 after the PS4 had come out to catch up on some Ratchet & Clank plus play the various PS2 remakes they'd released. Like you i often find myself going back instead of looking forward, which sucks because i'd like to get excited about the industry i hope to work in, or at least partially work in. It sounds like you were given the training i sorely lacked. Anytime i try scheduling with anything it quickly falls apart. I think i'll try the 90 days because i'm interested to see how i feel at the end of it. Just a question out of curiosity, i'm assuming you do some form of music composition for a living, but do you ever write for fun in your leisure time?

Thanks for the response Yes i'm curious to see how i'm going to fill the time where i would usually default to playing games.

This will probably be rambling but i'm interested if anyone has felt similarly. I've realised recently that gaming is a huge problem in my life, which sucks because it's also the thing i love most. I've been playing them since i was about 2 years old. I think my first game was Ghouls n' Ghosts on the Megadrive/Genesis. In childhood i pretty much played games constantly, before and after school and 12 hours a day on weekends. I'm 27 now and have been becoming increasingly unhappier over the years because they've always been such a big part of my life that i feel the need to factor them in somehow. In my free time nothing really compares with the immersion and detachment from life stresses that games can offer, but they've also made everything including my uni work that i'm really passionate about seem dull in comparison. What's more is the sheer amount of games these days and how easy it is to acquire them through Steam or eBay. I've got shelve-loads of games from original Gameboy, Megadrive, PS1, Gamecube and all the in between eras up until now, including rare ones that can go for hundreds online. It's sad and pathetic but this collection is almost like the photo album from my childhood, with all the memories locked in a disc. It makes it incredibly hard to give any of them up, but it's like a constant burden in the back of my mind feeling like they're another thing i have to do. When i play games now i feel more guilty than anything else because i know i'm not being productive. Funnily enough most of the day tends to be taken up by neither playing games or doing work, but instead sitting thinking about what i actually want to do with my time like i am right now. I discovered a YouTube channel called Game Quitters and i'm thinking of trying out the 90 day detox. I've never been a WoW addict or anything serious. I'm in University, i have a day job and i've been paying my own way for the past 10 years but it's becoming increasingly obvious to me that i need to shift my focus if i want to progess at all from my curent situation. I'm hoping by the end of the 90 days i'll shift the enjoyment i got from games to my studies or other activities i may pick up along the way. Has anybody else gone through a similar experience who can give some insight into how you did/didn't deal with it?

Modern Boss: Retro Boss:

I just tried out Serum again and it is a lot of fun i must say... but the CPU hit seems ridiculous. I played a major chord and my CPU was at 50% with 16 voices on both oscillators. Play two in a row and i'm maxing out with stuttering and popping. I loaded U-He Hive and applied 16 voices to both oscillators and couldn't get the CPU past 30% even when i was repeatedly playing the chord as fast as i could. I don't understand how anybody can use Serum after seeing this. Maybe it's something to do with Studio One 3, i've heard it's a bit more of a CPU intensive DAW but i have my 8 core activated for multi-processing, so i don't understand why it isn't managing to easily play a single synth patch between that many cores... Edit: I thought maybe 16 voices on both oscilators was excessive so i tried a reasonable patch. Two osc each with 5 voices, velocity modulating the filter cutoff and an LFO modulating the wavetable position. Still destroying my CPU. I LOVE how intuitive this synth is, it's easily the best synth i've ever come across, but there's no way i can work with it if it's like this.