zircon

tgfoo is correct, there really isn't a big enough contingent of Mac/Logic/GB users to merit a forum. If you want to create a *thread* for Logic/GB questions, much like the old FL and Reason threads, you are welcome to.

Ordered. Also ordered my two new monitors.

Awesome. In other news, update for this coming soon.

Yeah, that's awesome... I wonder how one gets results like that? Maybe vintage comps had something to do with it.

Dave is aware of the problem (banned users receiving emails) but I don't think it's high on his priority list at the moment compared to other features and bug fixes.

I agree with Larry's critiques, though I would add that the bass is probably a *little* too loud here. Conversely, the high end is kind of weak. Encode higher using VBR to preserve more of that. The snare sequencing is weak on the offbeats - try a different sample there. As is, it sounds out of place. Listen to a lot of breakbeat and dnb songs - the snare or sample used on the offbeats is never quite the same one as the one used on the downbeats. The synth guitar sequencing is cool. It is, however, mixed kind of poorly - needs to be a little softer and cut through the mix more. Switching up the breaks towards the end would be a good idea too. The fadeout ending is on the weak end - a shame, because the arrangement was good overall. Fix some of these production issues and you'll be closer to a YES. Keep at it. NO, RESUBMIT

I hate to say it, but, we do have the option of direct posting our stuff to the queue. I personally don't.

Not exactly. Fair Use law is NOT all encompassing. It's determined on a case by case basis. Unlike laws about, say, sampling (ALWAYS illegal w/o permission, no matter how unrecognizable or how short) Fair Use is much more nebulous.

Well, lots of people have done something about it, but perhaps we don't see any impact in the major label release market. Hell, I'll use myself as an example. For all my tracks, even the dance ones which are generally supposed to be loud and maxed out, I try not to succumb to the loudness war. Here's an overview of a song from the album I'm working on. Yeah, it's compressed, but the dynamics are all there. There are soft and loud sections of the song (breakdowns, buildups, etc.) More importantly, so are the transients. Here's a closer look. Compare this to "Ten Miles Back", a song by the Crystal Method that is in a very similar style. Basically, one big square wave. Here's a closer look. Lopped off samples all over. Great song, but I don't like the mastering. So if nothing else, at least smaller independent musicians like me are doing their part.

You could check out Hammerfall PCI cards, which are pricey ($400-$700) but considered to be very good. There's also Creamware Scope, which again is pretty expensive ($300-500) but supposedly has killer internal routing flexibility. Plus w/ a Creamware card you get some DSPs too, which means you can run various effects without taxing your actual CPU.

Yeah. Of course, Weird Al still might be able to argue fair use even if he *didn't* ask but it would be a legal headache that I'm sure he would rather not bother with.

I know Thunderbird supports importing of email data. On my current computer I have several thousand email messages and a full address book, both of which I would like to port over to a new PC which will also be running Thunderbird (but on a fresh Windows install). I didn't see any "Export" option or anything to that effect, so what would be the best method of doing this?

The dates typically represent the date they were received by us for judging (eg. posted to the queue) not the approval date.

I'm skeptical that this will actually sound good. Probably will just be random bits of ambiance and textural stuff. :/

Yes, and I checked 'em out myself. There's an Icetank CPU Cooler to replace the Core 2 Duo's fan, a Seasonic power supply, a Lian Li Classical Silent case, and a graphics card with no fan operation. I was really impressed by this guy. There were several items that, in the default configuration, cost $200-300 more than what I ended up getting. At numerous points he made recommendations to downgrade things I didn't need. I never felt like I was being pushed into paying more for nothing.

OK, after continuing to do research, I think I found a good bet: AVA Direct. I did numerous searches online and they are generally highly rated and recommended, with very good tech support. I called 'em up and a tech/sales guy ran me through configuration a machine. Total, not including monitors, $2050 or so is what I ended up with. I decided to go with a lot of silent parts, which upped the price a fair amount - silent/acoustically treated case, replacement fan for the processor, silent video card, silent power supply, etc. I thought about it for awhile and I realized if I do want to record things in the future, I'd be better off proofing my stuff now rather than replacing it all later. Total the markup seemed like $300 to $400 over getting things through newegg. Maybe even a little less. Plus there's a 3 year parts warranty and tech support. After reading an article on HardOCP reviewing AVA it seems like their tech is absolutely top notch too (eg. ordering replacement parts that were actually more expensive and absorbing the difference, remembering people by name, and so forth). Of course I haven't ordered it yet. I still plan on doing more research before taking the plunge. But so far, this looks good.

That's unfortunate - anyone have any other options? Surely there must be some place, some where, that offers custom PCs, isn't shady as hell, and doesn't charge $900 for $200 RAM.

Please post LINKS to your songs, or else this topic will be locked.

Hey, whoever linked IBuyPower... I just scoped it out, and DAMN! VERY VERY VERY good prices! $1350 for a configuration that is just about everything I wanted...

I'm actually just not good at putting it together. I've tried before, I needed to ask a friend for help last time I did (he is no longer in the area). Again, there's also the *general* support issue - if you DO have a problem and you can't troubleshoot it yourself, you have to rely on strangers on the internet as opposed to a help desk. BTW noise is NOT an issue. I repeat, I do not care about noise at all. I do absolutely no recording. I wouldn't want to pay an extra cent for that.

I guess what I'm getting at is, is there a place that DOESN'T mark up by $1000, but still offers customizability?

LT Edit - Original Decision: http://www.ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=4706 Remixer Name: DJ SymBiotiX Real Name: Fernando Chorney E-mail: djsbx@hotmail.com Website: http://www.djsbx.com User ID: 42156 Game ReMixed: Beatmania IIDX 7th Style Song Remixed: Traces Info: Traces (made by Taku Sakakibara) is one of the songs solely created for the IIDX series. This game is for the PS2, as well as arcade. (Wasn’t sure which to place it on, so I just placed it on ps2, if I was wrong please correct it) Link to original song: (This is the short arcade/ps2 version, I couldn’t find the long version for some reason ) http://www.djsbx.com/othermusic/traces.mp3 Link to ReMix: http://www.djsbx.com/othermusic/Traces_Tracing_The_Noize_Mix.mp3 (I would like to request that you keep both links available for people to see. thanks) Comments: Alright, well as you know, this is a RESUB. The second I saw the previous judging, I started working on this right away, because I thought it had a lot of potential. First off, I completely changed up the drum samples, and the drum patterns. The drums don’t change as often, because well sometimes I think I get to crazy with changing drum patterns, when one will do just fine. (I especially like the drums at the end ) I did a bit of change to some of the instruments, but they are mostly the same (fixing some EQ and emptiness problems, and putting on different effects etc.). Oh right… I also added BASS to the second part of the song lol. You guys were right, I somehow just completely missed that, but now that its there, it sounds so much better. I also worked a lot on mastering this track. I must have went though it on head phones and speakers over 20 times. Tweeking EQ’s and volumes here and there each time. The speed up after the slow part increments in single BPM increments as to make it more smooth. Oh yea, just so you know. My synth pad progression in the beginning was heavily inspired by TaQ’s Stromatalite stuff. I’m really hoping that you guys like my synth choices this time, and that everything sounds full and huge. I have added an actual ending to this one as well, instead of a fade out, which I think does sound better. I’m not all too sure if I got enough mid range stuff in here, but I tried. I think I have a full sound scape now, but I guess you guys will be the judge of that . One last thing. If it actually makes it this time, PM me about changing the name or something. I think the name should be something other than what it is, like a new name instead of Tracing The Noize Mix. - Enjoy DJ SymBiotiX

Well, while places like Dell have custom hardware, THEY know how to fix them and they do offer support. If you can't figure out what happened to your computer, and you're not a technician, you're screwed - you don't have a support number. So, I always liked that aspect of prebuilt computers. But here are the two main problems. 1. Too expensive for places like PCAudioLabs, that are smaller and offer customized machines. 2. Not enough customization for places like Dell. What other options are there?

One thing I noticed not far into this mix was the loudness of the bass. Tone that down for sure, it's overriding the other parts of the mix. Also, EQ down the lows of the piano and EQ up the highs so it is brighter and cuts through a little more. I don't know how the old guitar was, but this one isn't too bad - I would try to bring it to the forefront a little more (again, with EQ) and maybe put some reverb on it. The drum samples here are mediocre, but they're not terribly problematic... the problem with the drums is that they are not sequenced in an interesting way. They're just sort of rhythmic placeholders. No energy. Put in more variations and fills, maybe try some more metal-style drumming patterns. That would make it a lot stronger. Maybe compressing them and upping the volume a bit would help too. The other instruments in the song seem OK. I feel like a lot of them are on the dull side but that may just be because of the bass pushing everything out. My guess is you're mixing on headphones? If this is the case, always remember that the bass will sound lower than it really is. You're probably overcompensating for it. As Larry said, some good arrangement ideas here, but could probably be tightened to be even stronger. Just keep trying new ideas and practicing... that's the best advice I can offer. NO

Man, what is up with your production lately? Seems like you have been getting louder and louder and just shoving everything through a compressor. Don't do that. It's not going to sound as good as intelligently treating the volume levels. That being said, this isn't much more abrasive than Beatdrop's stuff; the opening is one of the more painful parts. The main production problem IMO is the muddiness. The lows to low-mids are crowded and there's a lot of reverb throughout. Some of the highs are pretty piercing, too. The rhythmic SFX from the game are tasteful though and I think most of the synth design is good, as is the drum sequencing. Arrangement is a tough call. In some ways its a little simplified - there's a lot of emphasis on rhythmic layering and flashy sounds rather than really creative treatment of the source tune, in my opinion. That being said... it definitely deviates from the original, isn't very repetitive, switches up the texture, and is definitely a unique interpretation. So, there are some pros and cons, for sure. I am inclined to feel like this is not quite at our bar yet, however. The structure of the song feels "off", like there should be a climax somewhere, more harmony, something bigger.. but that never comes. Or maybe it's because the whole thing sounds "big" and there's really nowhere to go from there. I think this can be reworked to be passable without too much difficulty. The mixing/mastering & production issues aren't too bad and the arrangement can be improved with minimal effort. Go for a resub. NO