zircon

Check this out: http://www.fx-max.com/fxt/ It's an application that pipes midi and audio data over a network, not unlike MIDI Over LAN, but it integrates perfectly within a host sequencer. So, for example, you would run the "Master" install on your seqeuncing computer, install your plugins, then run the "Slave" install on slave PCs 1, 2, and 3. Those PCs are also installed with the same plugins. On the slave PCs, you run the "Server" application. On the Master PC, within your sequencer, you open up a "LAN" version of the plugin of your choice. The plugin will actually open on one of the slaves, but you can sequence it, render it, and save it on your master PC. Sounds great, right? Well, it occurred to me (and other people) that one could program a LOCAL version of this software to circumvent the 32/64bit problem in DAWs today. Currently, you CAN install a master and slave version of FX Teleport on the same PC. This essentially enables you to run plugins outside of your sequencer's process (in the FXTeleport server.exe process) which, on a 64 bit system and given that you have enough RAM, will allow you to use an extra 3-4gb of RAM in the server.exe process. Plus, your plugins will integrate perfectly into your DAW. No need for virtual MIDI/audio cables. The problem is that FX-Teleport is CPU hungry and introduces a LOT of latency (300-400 samples.) This is to be expected in a network setup, but I am assuming that all the network code makes it highly inefficient for a local setup. I want to see a program that operates similarly to FX-Teleport in concept, with the following features: * 32 and 64-bit * PC and Mac compatible, if possible * Minimal latency and CPU overhead * NO network code - intended to be run on one PC only I don't think this would be incredibly hard, but it would be VERY financially successful. The issue right now is that many composers want to use more than 2-3 GB of RAM, but you need so many things to be able to do that: 64bit sequencer, 64bit plugins, 64bit OS, etc. That, or you have to put up with MIDI-over-LAN or virtual audio cables which add latency, hassle, and are much more inconvenient than VST integration of plugins. This solution would only require a 64bit OS.

I'm looking for one or possibly two experienced programmers who can write cross-platform (Windows, Mac) applications that deal with audio, midi, VST, and network code. I figure no one from OCR can do this, though I could be wrong, so I'm looking elsewhere but I can't find any sort of free-to-use job posting/search forum for programmers. Anyone know where I should look? This is of course, paid work.

Yeah, looking over the info, I don't see how that conclusion is accurate.

I love this track. Really great, lo-fi style, and the hook/groove lock you in right from the start.

I type in www.ocremix.org/forums/ all the time. Especially if I'm on a slow connection and I don't want to load the front page first. No harm in making a redirect from /forum/, imo.

Fishy is right; I think 192kbps is an excellent medium, for CBR. To answer your first question, CBR refers to constant bit rate while VBR means variable bit rate. In a CBR-encoded file, you are only getting one bitrate throughout. With VBR, the encoding software will try to intelligently encode different parts of the song with higher or lower rates. For example, when there is a lot of treble content, the bitrate will be higher, and if there is mostly silence, it will be lower. Ultimately, this means you get higher quality at the same file size. VBR is generally preferable to CBR - it just takes a little more thought to set up. There are more options, such as the minimum and maximum bit rate, the 'quality' level (0-9), and possibly ABR (average bit rate). Your best bet is to experiment a bit. You might try a setting like 64-192 kbps, quality 6, no ABR, to see how that sounds.

We have definitely received some subpar piano subs before. In my opinion, get your recording setup the way you think you want it, make a quick demo, and send it to a judge. We'll tell you whether or not you need to work on it more. That way you don't waste your time getting the perfect performance of your remix, only to find out that the recording is no good.

I'm on there, as is Jill: http://www.myspace.com/zirconst http://www.myspace.com/jilliansong While it's not really music networking per se, OurStage is shaping up to be a really great site for musicians and listeners. I've not only given my own music more exposure, but I've found some great new music too.

Thank you Nathan! This post put a big smile on my face. I'm really glad you enjoy our music, and while I can't speak for everyone, I know that I'll be doing this for years to come.

Doubtful - while a lot of people from OCR play TF2, on average our games only end up with 4-8 people from OCR at any given time. This server will encourage more people, but if we want to fill up capacity, we need some pubs.

My vote is no custom maps yet. There are enough good official maps. Hell, I play Dustbowl only 95% of the time and even that hasn't gotten old for me. Six solid maps are more than enough for me, and we can add more later as time goes on.

I almost forgot about gravelpit. That's a great map that I'd love to see - fun gametype.

My vote is Dustbowl, Granary, Well, and 2Fort, at least. These are all well-designed, fun maps (IMO). Plus, it varies up the gametypes. I haven't tried Goldrush yet unfortunately but if that is fun, we should add that too.

Meetup was very fun. Nice meeting you, Kulaman, as well as Ben (Katsurugi's friend) and of course it's always a pleasure to hang out with people I've already met too. This was one of the cheapest meetups in terms of meals, too. Those big restaurant excursions are always wallet-thinners. As for a Philly meetup, I'll make a thread for it, but unfortunately (Pez) we're definitely shooting for late June/early July. I'd like to hang out with OCR peeps on or around my birthday, which is June 23rd, and plus Jill and I are moving into a new apartment right outside the city which is very nice. 32" HDTV, Xbox 360, Wii, and separate studio room for the win. We'd love to show it to y'all.

Oh snap! I found that article last night and linked it in #ocrjudges, but actually didn't even catch the mention of OCR. Awesome.

Yes, it did. It was already answered. You just have a lack of knowledge about relevant issues to audio production.

What??? FLStudio is $150 for the Producer edition, which is the only edition worth using. Logic Express is $200 list, and can be purchased for as low as $160 online, easily. The academic version of Logic Studio (the FULL version) can be acquired for $150 - the UPenn bookstore around here carries it at that price, for example. The only disadvantage of the Logic Studio edu version is that you don't get upgrade discounts. But this is pretty minor considering how ridiculous the deal you're getting is.

I strongly recommend against it. It's easy to use a ton of CPU and RAM doing music production, even with a dual core computer. Adding additional overhead is asking for trouble, especially since many applications and plugins in the audio world have weak multicore support to begin with. Like DS said, just learn to use native Mac applications. Logic (Express or Studio) is the best buy in the industry right now so it makes sense to take advantage of that.

Nice stuff overall. Pleasant texture and arrangement - it's on the conservative side, but there seems to be enough variation and original writing to make up for the generally direct usage of the harmony and structure from the original. To be honest, even after listening to the source repeatedly and the remix, it's all starting to run together, but it sounded to me like there was new material in the mix. The production does sound quite good overall. My only complaint is that some of the string swells cause the compressor/limiter to kick in a bit too hard, but this doesn't happen very often so it's really a minor issue. Nice job. YES

WTF, SnappleMan's sig is syncing perfectly to "Chekan Winter", by Prophecy.

I enjoyed this overall as a nice throwback to old-school OCR. The production is solid enough - probably a cut above other 2002 mixes, generally speaking. The addition of new harmony parts, instruments, and stylistic changeups puts this one very slightly above the bar for me.. I might be a little harsher, but I am OK with this one. YES

I think you're overreacting. Suzu was being overdramatic in his post, but there's nothing inherently wrong with musicians, especially remixers on this site, having high standards for arranged music. Remember, this site isn't about creating music for games, but taking music from games and turning it into something new. We all appreciate well-made arrangements and cover tunes that stick closely to the original, but there is some bias against that kind of music because it is far easier to do than a creative re-arrangement or reinterpretation. That's not a matter of opinion - factually speaking, it is really easy to throw a MIDI in your sequencer, and, with limited technical knowledge, make a simple "remix" of a song that sounds halfway decent.

Thanks man - I did see your review, and I appreciate it! This release isn't the *big* one... that one will be in a few months, around July 8. And when I say it's gonna be awesome, I mean it. The owner of the label is building it up to be PG's main release, it looks like, so I'm very, very excited. Global Trance can tell you... he heard a little bit of it Glad everyone is digging these tunes though one way or another!

http://www.ourstage.com/bestof/38-music-finals These aren't the full standings... not sure where you get those... but I think Furious George was 11-20ish, and Red July was about 11-14. This month I've entered in a new genre, Instrumental Rock. I'm curious about how I'll do there - check my OurStage profile to hear my entry. http://www.ourstage.com/fanclub/zircon

Thanks bro. If you want the physical copy of AG, the best place to get it is www.cdbaby.com/zircon3 ... well, really the only place. In terms of what I get the largest cut from, a digital copy from my own website (www.zirconstudios.com/store.html) would be the best way - it's also the highest quality digital download (WAV) you will get.