zircon

Happy birthday, man!!! I listen to your mixes all the time and they're among my favorites. You did a kick-ass job with Aeris for VotL and I hope we'll hear more from you in the coming year

It's not really a dead end, actually. Many professionals I know already use XP64. Developers don't really treat it as a dead-end because Vista sucks so hard. My audio interface, all Native Instruments products, and my Korg X-50, among other things, all definitely work w/ XP64 from what I've found. But there's more stuff out there I would want to be sure of. I have 2GB of RAM currently- if I went to XP64 I would upgrade to 6.

I've scanned the web but it's hard to find an inclusive, up-to-date list of software NOT known to be compatible with Windows XP 64-bit. I am interested in upgrading so that my music software can access more RAM but need to know that my stuff will work properly. I'm mainly interested in the compatibility of music software and common task software such as Filezilla, uTorrent, Thunderbird, Firefox, MS Office 2003, and so on. Any info at all would be appreciated on what does and does not work (primarily what doesn't.)

Err, BT doesn't post here at all, WesPip. We don't get a lot of superstar electronica artists on these boards

I was really impressed by this arrangement when I first heard it on the WIP forums, though it sounds like it has been filled out since then. Really creative interpretation of Awakening/Omen with some great performances. The only aspect of the arrangement I didn't like was the abrupt ending, which I think could have been more resolved. It's not a dealbreaker but I would have liked to hear something with finality. On the production end, let me start with the drums. They are sequenced well - the samples don't sound amazing, but they aren't worse than some other mixes we've potsed recently, and they get the job done. The mixing between rhythm guitar, lead guitar, and drums sounds good. However, I do have issues with the production. One is that there seems to be no actual bass instrument. I know it's not uncommon in metal to not have a bass, but I felt that even though the rhythm guitars are meaty, there was still something of a hole in the low end that could have been filled by a bass. You would of course roll off the lows on the rhythm guitars. Additionally, the whole mix seems to clip quite a bit, particularly in the rhythm guitars. Might just be digital distortion from hard limiting, but either way, you need to check that mastering again. The bass and ending issues would not be enough to push this into NO territory, but the unpleasant clipping-type sound throughout the mix is holding this back. Take another look at the mastering.. turn the master track down until the volume isn't even close to approaching 0db, THEN apply compression and a brickwall limiter, in that order, to re-maximize the volume. If you need help with this ask in #ocrwip on IRC, the Remixing forum, or PM someone like Sixto, who does this sort of music all the time. And please RESUB! NO

The "output slot" on the back of your keyboard is probably for AUDIO. Audio is not the same as MIDI. Audio would be actual sound... MIDI is nothing more than 'instructions' telling a device, like your computer, what notes to play. Does the MIDI port look like this? http://proaudiomusic.com/images/midiPort154x134.gif If so, what you need is a MIDI -> USB cable, which you would then connect to your computer. There are many of these; I would call Sweetwater (www.sweetwater.com), tell them your exact keyboard model, and ask which one is right for you.

A "MIDI Keyboard" refers to any keyboard which is MIDI-capable... eg. it can send MIDI data to your computer, and receive it to trigger the onboard sounds (assuming it has them). A "MIDI Controller" typically refers to a keyboard that has no other functions except transmitting MIDI. So, yes, a MIDI keyboard can be used as a controller. It sounds like you want to hook up your keyboard to your computer so that when you hit a key on the keyboard, it triggers a certain sound from your software. Right? If so, then you want to consult the Garageband/Logic manuals on hooking up a MIDI controller. Pretty simple. If you don't know how to even connect the thing to your computer, then you need to see what kind of MIDI output your keyboard has. Check the manual. It will be either USB or a MIDI port (big and circular.) You may need to buy a MIDI cable and a MIDI to USB converter.

$800 can get you some sick stuff. eg... * Quantum Leap Colossus ($400) - 32gb of samples * ArtsAcoustic Reverb ($180-190) * Zebra 2 Synth ($200) - all around modular synth Or.. * IK Multimedia Total Studio Bundle - ~$830 (more like $600 w/ upgrade discount, which is easy to get): has Sonik Synth 2 and Sampletank 2 XL all-around workstation sample bundled, Philharmonik for orchestral sounds, Amplitube 2 for guitar/general FX, T-Racks mastering suite, and CSR reverbs.

That's a good point overall Snapple, but Logic 8 is pretty unique value-wise. Yeah, some of the sequencing/recording features might have a lot of overlap, but it comes with so much awesome stuff (Sculpture, EXS24, Space Designer, Delay Designer, all the jam packs) that there's no comparable PC package. And believe me I don't like admitting this since I'm forced to use Logic at school and I'm a PC guy.

Evaluation time has gotten a lot better. The oldest stuff we have on the panel right now is mid-December, I believe.

Doubtful myself or Jill would be able to make it if that were the date.

I'm not sure I agree 100% with some of those points, analoq... I got my laptop about the same time Jill picked up a Powerbook G4. Both ~$2k range (mine being a Dell.) Hers needed a full keybed replacement, I needed a battery replacement, and so forth and so on. She ended up replacing hers with a new Macbook, actually, while I'm still using my Dell. Sure I've had my problems, but she had her fair share also. So I guess what I'm saying is, in my observation, paying over $1k for a Mac over a PC, on general 'quality' alone, is not really justified. But if it's the platform for his favorite sequencer, that is a compelling reason. If you're gonna go PC at all, go with avadirect.com, by the way - they make killer custom machines at lower prices than Dell, with less bloatware.

Didn't they do that story already...? Hasn't tiberium always been valuable, coveted, and toxic?

Not a lot, really. Logic is almost unbeatable, value-wise, in terms of the sheer number and quality of sounds, synths, and effects it comes with. Your best bet is to simply find a sequencer that you like the workflow of... eg. Sonar, Live, Cubase, FLStudio... and then from there get a number of additional plugins to fill in the gaps.

Well it does say "Arrangement Competition".

Didn't PC World or PC Magazine run a test of multiple laptops and find that the one that ran Vista the best was actually a Mac? Or something?

Wow! I might have to get in on this.

Heh, "Pharmo II" and "MedSurge"... Marketing major? Thanks for the heads up on this btw. They ARE useful.

Previously, I was skeptical about switching to a Mac for music making purposes. The Air obviously doesn't convince me. However, because Macs can dual-boot and run Windows XP pretty much as well as a PC can, there's little reason to NOT have one outside of cost. You can't get programs like Logic or Digital Performer on a PC, which are incredibly cool, but you CAN run Windows-only software like Sonar on a Mac. Additionally, iLife is really a killer product. It basically justifies the higher base price of most Mac notebooks/desktops, as it has the functionality of hundreds of dollars worth in software. Garageband alone is easily worth $200.

Guys, just remember we're talking about 2D platforming - not 2D gaming. 2D gaming is unquestionably thriving, especially with the flood of casual games out there.

No, it's not dead... primarily because of the GBA & DS. Megaman ZX is excellent overall, and I've heard Advent is even better. Castlevania games have been going very strong for the last 5 DS/GBA games or so. While I haven't played them, the new Sonic games for GBA/DS are supposedly good as well. Plus, Contra 4! I don't know if you count this, but XBox Live and the Wii's Virtual Console have revived interest in many oldschool games too.

OCR projects don't have to adhere to the primary OCR guidelines and standards, though. That is up to the project leader. The majority of projects have a solid number of tracks that would not actually make it to the site, were they submitted. If you're just talking covers with solos, that is acceptable... besides, it's not like you can't have a pretty conservative arrangement while still meeting OCR standards - look at any of housethegrate or goat's stuff posted to the site, for example. The only stipulation is that we (obviously) can't do a debut mix actually posted to the site, since those still have to meet the standards. However, I would think at least ONE on this project would.

It's kind of funny looking back on old cartoons like TMNT, Captain N, Mega Man, etc. While I remember enjoying them so much as a kid, objectively speaking they're not very good. Production values are so much lower than cartoons today, the humor is not as good, voice acting, writing, music, it's all sub-par compared to the cartoons today. People tend to knock the new stuff, but shows of the last five years like Batman Beyond and Justice League Unlimited (to name a few) were great. In terms of comedy, we've had stuff like Megas XLR, plus Nick shows with a broad appeal in terms of writing (eg. Fairly Oddparents.)

On the production end, this certainly was on the sparse end rather than "wall of sound" but it worked well enough. An extra pad/arp or two wouldn't have hurt. Nearly all the sound and processing choices were tasteful. The switch to a sort of psytrance style at 3:50 was out of place, though. The kick isn't strong enough to have that four-on-the-floor energy, and the pizzicato synth doesn't fill up much space. I wasn't feeling that at all. In addition, the volume level overall was low. The mix is not even normalized.. at least do that, but I would STRONGLY recommend running this through some compression/maximization. Try George Yohng's W1 Limiter, a free VST plugin, with a threshold set to -3 to -5db. That will help immensely. Aside from the 3:50 writing, which could have been omitted or reworked to fit better, I liked the arrangement. However there might have been a little too much reliance on that riff that the mix opens up with. While it's a cool phrase, it really is used over and over throughout the mix. Also, the amount of time it takes to get to the beats + slightly more full texture (which was great) is somewhat unbalanced.. a whole 2 minutes of the mix, pretty much. I really like this concept, but there are just a number of things in general that could be polished and tweaked, and the end result is that it feels a little raw and unfinished. If this does get rejected, please go back to this as per the suggestions of myself and my fellow judges, give it some extra love, and RESUB! NO

This is a tough call. Having just re-listened to the source, there's no question that this remix is on the conservative side. But it DOES have embellishments, no question about it, such as the little run on :47 which makes the source melody a bit more interesting. Then we have :56 through 1:39, which uses the source chord progression and intro riff, but definitely adds original material and variation, especially towards the end of that passage. The last repetition of the main melody is also varied very well. The issue is the lack of variation in the harmony.. it's very close to the original in that respect. No new chords, no significant rhythmic changes. There's also no substantially new writing.. eg. the intro is basically the intro from the source, and there is no outtro to speak of. So can we still pass this, all things considered? I look to Sukotto42's Mega Man 3 "Blue Balls" mix, which had a similar situation, with perhaps even less melodic embellishment than this one. Then there's the recent Select Start mix "Theme of Frog's" - <2 mins, keeps the harmonic structure of the original almost exactly, does not add any massively new writing. We passed these two mixes, and going off that and my own gut feeling, my vote is a close.. YES