zircon

We covered Anxious Heart and a little bit of the main theme. She wrote the lyrics and the melody/harmony (it's original!)

Bingo Trust me. The vast majority of the FF7 project to date consists of tracks that no one on OCR has ever touched. Some of the songs that have been remixed haven't even been touched by official arrange albums. But these 5, for whatever reason, are still open, and instead of nagging people, I figured, hey, why not a competition?

The results are in! First Place: Mustin Second Place: Sephfire & Tweek Third Place: Reuben Kee Thanks all for participating! More info on page 17. VOTING TIME OK, all the entries are uploaded, so now it's time to vote. Here are the voting guidelines. * ANYONE can vote. * PM me (zircon) only - do not email - with your top three picks. A first place pick earns the person three points, second place gets two points, and third place gets one. So the order is important. Also include several sentences about why you voted the way you did. * The two things to keep in mind as voting criteria are arrangement and production. Try to weight these equally. -> Arrangement: The ReMix should be recognizable as using at least one of the source tunes I listed at the beginning. Generally speaking you don't have to judge as harshly as the panel does for OC ReMixes, but try to keep in mind the site standards. The mix shouldn't be too close or too far from the original, and it should stand alone as a song... in other words not background music. -> Production: Recording quality of live stuff, how well the samples are used, choice of sounds, muddiness/clarity. In other words, does it SOUND good? * You cannot vote for yourself. * Voting ends on January 10th, 11:59pm EST. * Try not to discuss your votes in this thread OR ANYWHERE ELSE to keep the process as clean as possible. With that, here are the entries. In double parenthesis are the source tunes that were covered. Alex Smith - Trombone Fantasy mvmt 1 ((Opening/Bombing Mission)) Another Soundscape - Spacing Chocobos (Hold Your Hats) ((Racing Chocobos: Place Your Bets! Avaris - The Satiated Mind ((Opening/Bombing Mission)) Chihana - Even More Fighting ((Still More Fighting)) Fishy - Place Your Beats ((Racing Chocobos: Place Your Bets!)) Mustin - Serenity ((Main Theme of Final Fantasy 7)) Nicole Adams, Sir NutS - Main Theme ((Main Theme of Final Fantasy 7)) Prophet of Mephisto - The Road from Midgar ((Main Theme of Final Fantasy 7)) Reuben Kee - Still More Sexy Fighting ((Still More Fighting)) Rexy - Chocobo Prelude ((Racing Chocobos: Place Your Bets!)) Swordbreaker - Overworld Freestylin' ((Main Theme of Final Fantasy 7)) Tricklozen - Barret's Theme is Probably Marlene's Theme ((Barret's Theme)) Zoola - Cruisin' Sector 7 ((Barret's Theme)) sephfire, Tweek - A Chronicle Unfolds: Reactor One ((Opening/Bombing Mission)) OR DOWNLOAD THEM ALL IN THIS HANDY ZIP!!!!!! NOTE: If you have any questions, or need to make any corrections to what I've posted above (eg. wrong source tune), please let me know! YO! Let's spice things up around here with a friendly little Final Fantasy 7 ReMix competition. It'll go something like this. Rules Step 1. Pick any of the following tracks from FF7: 102 - Opening/Bombing Mission 106 - Barret's Theme 120 - Still More Fighting 201 - Main Theme of Final Fantasy 7 311 - Racing Chocobos - Place Your Bets! Step 2. ReMix it. Very simple. You can remix any of the tracks however you want. The only other rules are that the mix has to be NEW, eg. written for this competition, and it has to be in MP3 format. Timeline We're going to have FOUR WEEKS for this competition. 12/3/06 is the start date so 12/31/06 is the end date (11:59pm on 12/31). Ok, I'm done... Submit your entry, either hosted or as an attachment, to aaversa@gmail.com . Subject line should be something like "Entry for FF7 ReMix Competition". Don't forget to make note of what theme you mixed, the remix name, and your remixer name. Who wins? What do they win? The winner will be determined by voting from whomever wants to vote. Everyone who votes will simply list the three entries they like the most. The criteria to keep in mind, of course, would be arrangement and production - weight them equally. 1st place will receive an OCR t-shirt or hoodie and a $10 iTunes gift certificate. 2nd place will receive a $20 iTunes gift certificate. 3rd place will receive a $10 iTunes gift certificate. Also, anyone who submits a finished mix will of course be considered for addition to the Final Fantasy 7 ReMix project, Voices of the Lifestream. Post here if you have any questions, and good luck!

FU GUYS I wrote something different on every envelope. Did my best to be entertaining, though after a few hours of writing, my hand was kinda tired...

Nowadays, I would just get Stylus RMX. It's got tons of processed loops that are just what you would want for this sort of thing. Hi hats, synth blips, shakers, tambourines, electronically generated percussion, all sorts of stuff can contribute to the sound you're talking about.

Er, ANY mic without a preamp is useless. By design, mics require one to function properly.

Yeah... SM57 for your amp. It's not an expensive mic. Also, make sure you have a decent audio interface for recording so you don't introduce even MORE noise.

FL's built in synths are indeed not the greatest if you compare them to $200+ softsynths or $2000+ hardware synths. However, let's go down the list. Some of these must be purchased separately, if you don't get the XXL edition. 3xOsc is a very simple subtractive "virtual analog" synth with very vanilla oscillators and filters. However, it uses basically no CPU. It's ideal if you want a basic synth sound that any ol' subtractive synth can do. My favorite use is for basic sinewave basses and leads, gliding saw leads, and supersaw pads. FL comes with a layer tool also so you can build a 3xOsc patch, clone it 3 times, and then layer 'em all together to play it like a 12-osc, 4-filter synth. Cool stuff. Simsynth (comes with XXL) is a Minimoog-ish synth. It's more advanced than 3xOsc in that you have control over the pulse width of the oscillators, as well as a better built in filter, and easy controls for doubling octaves and 'warming' the sound. Again, ideal for analog-style sounds without using a lot of CPU. Wasp and Wasp-XT are also cool (XT was a free beta DL last I checked). They are small synths with limited controls, but a potentially HARSH sound. They have FM and distortion built in, as well as some badass filter types (double notch, fat LP) and an easy tool for stereo spread and analog detuning. Great if you need something with some bite to it. Also has very low CPU. Sytrus is the big daddy of 'em all. This is the one that goes toe-to-toe with any other synth I've used. It's got a massive 6-osc FM/RM matrix with a full effects sections, tweakable unison, an X/Y controller, THREE filters, and envelopes/LFO on basically every control imaginable - not to mention incredibly deep oscillators where you can draw your own waveform. It sounds fantastic and has a big preset bank. The only draw is it's a little CPU heavy, but hey, with the added power, that's to be expected. Now, as for as loop patterns go... well, you've picked the right host. FL is ideal for that. Anything you record becomes an "audio clip" in FL which can be manipulated as an individual object. Let's say you record a little over 4 bars of audio to a click track. Simply check that the quantization on FL is set to "Beat", take the cut tool, and drag it vertically across the excess audio that was recorded. You've now cut your recording into a clean 4 bar phrase, with a little extra. Right click on the extra to delete it. Very simple! You can then instantly make copies of the 4 bar phrase by using the pencil tool and clicking to the right of your initial phrase. Click and drag and you can draw in as many copies as you want, all of which can be moved individually. Want to edit the audio in a more in depth fashion? Every "audio clip" has an options menu where you can access more features. The automation menu lets you superimpose a volume or panning envelope right over the sound, so you can draw in dynamics of some kind. Of course, the envelope itself can be moved anywhere to your convenience! There's a beat-slicer built in if you want to divide your audio up into discrete bits, and the new version of FL coming soon (beta is out already) has a dedicated audio editor that you can access with a single click to do really in depth stuff. The list goes on. That's what I like about FL. It's non-linear when it comes to audio. When you record, the audio isn't locked into a set start and end point. It becomes its own object which can then be moved, stretched, and mangled separately from anything else - and you rarely have to switch tools. edit: And of course, there are numerous ways to record MIDI loops. That's no problem.

The FL website has a huge repository of tutorial videos that show you exactly how the workflow operates. It will make so much more sense when you see it in action. Trust me; I initially used Sonar, and after getting the hang of FL, I couldn't go back. Also, you will certainly want a dedicated soundcard. I recommend the EMU 0404.

Yeah, it's our bad that we mischaracterized you due to the lack of response. Anyway, I'm aware "we started it" in the sense that we made a post about it, but we did so in our own thread. There's very little point in bringing said post (and subsequent arguments) to ANOTHER thread, which I definitely didn't do.

Uh, FL can record just fine. Right click on the track you want to record, arm the sequencer, hit play, and just... play. Stop when you're done. It's the same process you would use if you were recording in Pro Tools. The audio will immediately appear in the playlist and you can then slice it up, add effects, add automation, etc.

Ugh. Stupid USPS. We sealed all of the letters ourselves, but I guess inevitably they screwed it up in transport. We kept a few buttons to ourselves, so maybe if we see any of you at meetups we'll give you one to make up for the destroyed/lost ones...

You can always clone the original sample you were using, which retains all of its routing and channel settings, so you don't lose it. The effect is the same. I insist that nothing is faster for drum programming than FL But let's agree to disagree. We've had this discussion enough that I doubt we'll convince anyone, or each other.

No need to bring in a VGDJ-related topic into this thread, frankly, unless you're interested in causing drama. I'm not mad at anyone here, and I doubt Jill is either. If this had happened a month ago we probably would have just shrugged and figured something else out, but like we wrote in the blog/thread post, this was just the latest in a series of factors that combined to make us just want to step away for a bit and take a break. A couple points of clarification, however; one was that I had no idea Rexy was involved with the project. When KFC/Snapple didn't show I asked Larry who else could be a potential subject for an interview, and he recommended Hadyn and no one else. I took his word for it. Additionally, our interviews ARE internet-only, so location isn't relevant... but to be honest, I didn't know Hadyn was in Australia, so that would account for the delay in response and why he wouldn't want to call a US number. That's my bad. Getting back on topic, this project kicks major ass. Ever since I heard some wips over 6 months ago, I was looking forward to it. The majority of tracks are at OCR quality and even those that aren't are enjoyable. Props to everyone involved.

I discussed this mix with Larry and TO in the judges chat and listened to it several times. I was torn then on how to approach a mix with such a level of simplicity. Can you really add more without ruining the feel? That was the question posed by all of us, but ultimately, I concluded the same thing that Larry did. You CAN add additional instrumentation without losing the soft, lullaby feel. Things you could try; a music box, a solo double bass or cello for low end, a soft/muted synth pad, a lower ethnic flute, a glockenspiel, or another harp part. All of these things could add to the density of the mix and round it out without making things too full. Ambient sound effects would work also. Otherwise, I agree with some of Larry and TO's concerns. The arrangement is repetitive, and the samples you have are not very realistic. Also, the instruments right at the start are too high/grating. Bring 'em down an octave or tone down the high end big time. When you go that high things just sound... bad. I really need to point that out. It's like GrayLightning said awhile back. We can't make an allowance if the mixer intentionally limits himself or herself. If we say, "well, it's a lullaby - it doesn't have to be judged by the same production and arrangement standards" then someone could submit a Yoga remix where the only instrument is a triangle, and we would have to accept it. Or something to that effect. Anyway, this certainly isn't far from the bar, so keep at it. NO

This is a tough call here. The atmosphere IS really good throughout. The drums are well-programmed and varied enough that they don't get boring. The production is also pretty strong. However, it does take 1:20 or so to get to another instrument being added to the mix. I think you could have definitely added more stuff before that point to make it a little more engaging, you know? Some pads, harmony synths, another drumline or two. From 1:20 to 1:50 or so, again, more stuff in the background would be great. Once the piano came back in, it was sort of back to the first part of the song. Nothing much new. This is a good concept. You are definitely on the right track, but like your Flying Battery sub, you just need more stuff. Even if you only add ONE pad layer, if you program it well it can fill up tons of sonic space and make the whole thing a lot more interesting. The interpretation aspect is fine here; a little more and you've got a pass. NO

Alright, call me biased, but I don't really have any production problems because I mixed/mastered this for OA. I didn't choose the instruments or edit the arrangement at all, but I adjusted the sound levels and applied some EQ/effects to make things sound as good as possible. However, even mixing/mastering stuff aside, I think the execution was strong. The guitar recording and performance was spot-on, the drums were sequenced well and had a good amount of variation, the synths fit without being particularly overbearing, and so on and so forth. Perhaps the only complaint that could be made is the softness of the melody played by the piano in the first chorus. However, if you compare to the original, there was no prominent melody the first time around then either, so I think this is acceptable. Arrangement was solid. There was a good amount of variation on the source, movement throughout the structure of the song, and original material. The stylistic choices were also pretty interesting, I thought. We don't hear this kind of stuff every day. Some of the original parts could have flowed a little better, such the piano runs towards the end, but overall I think this did a great job arranging the rather simple source tune. YES

Gonna have to agree with Vig. Frankly, even though AmberTrance passed, I voted NO on that and I still think it was a mistake to pass it. Straight-up dance/trance adaptations don't cut it for me. This sticks close to the original and relies on pretty basic percussive patterns and synth sounds (some of which are unedited presets, I might add). Also, the production isn't hot. There's an overuse of compression on the master track, the bass is really excessive, and some of the harmony parts are too hard to hear. Once in awhile there were some cool variations on the melody but for the most part I feel like there needed to be more substance to the interpretation to really make bring it up to our standard. It's not far off. Switch up the arrangement a little more - don't rely so much on repeating what little you had from the source tune. Add your own material if you have to, improvise chords/melodies, and so forth. NO

Wow, this is pretty creative, sonically. I can appreciate a lot of the production ideas here. The execution, however, was kinda weak. Generally speaking, the EQ could have been a lot better across the board to give more sonic space to the individual parts. For example, at 2:05, things felt too low-end heavy and muddy. There was a lack of brightness throughout the mix, and the drums always sounded like they didn't quite fit (even though I liked the rhythms). The stereo field was sometimes not very wide, and other times quite wide - didn't seem like there was a lot of consistency. Overall, the production aspect just needs more polish. It's not quite up to our standards yet in its current form. However... the arrangement was really good. I have no problems with it. It was engaging the whole time. Each section was fresh and it never felt like you were just recycling ideas. The themes were well-interpreted, to say the least. You probably could have done another two minutes of material in this format and I doubt I would have been tired of it. Major props there. The problem, though, is that I don't think the strength of arrangement quite makes up for the production weaknesses. It's not that the samples or sounds are bland, it's just that when you use a lot of changing textures to keep things interesting, they have gotta be polished. I think if you worked on this for maybe an hour more with a critical ear tuned to EQ/mixing you could nail it. Resub, please! NO

FL can do that - in a way. You can drag and drop a sample from the browser over the sampler channel you want and it will auto-replace it with no latency. Because the browser is docked on the left side at all times, it makes it very easy to audition 50 different snares within a pattern in a very short span of time.

Hey everyone. Okay, so we have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that VGDJ is about to take a break for a little while. The good news, however, is that we will be back... and hopefully with more interviews and special features than ever. For all you die-hard fans out there, however, we feel that an explanation is in order: This week we were planning on doing an episode entirely devoted to the new Sonic 3 & Knuckles project: "Project Chaos." We came up with some very fun ideas for an interview with one of the project leaders, including a detailed "game show" type quiz with musical examples and sound effects. To make a long story short, of the two people who were involved in the projects' direction, neither showed up for the interview even after they agreed on a time and promised to be there. Unfortunately, this is not the first time something like this has happened; we have been stood up by people in the past, including a certain female remixer that was supposed to star on Episode #065: Chicks in the Mix. Frankly, this is somewhat hurtful and insulting to us. We invest an enormous amount of our time per week on this show- not just one or two days. Because it takes a lot of work to put together an episode, we literally have to plan our lives around things like interviews and special features, so when other people don't even give us the courtesy of telling us they'll be late (or not show up at all), it's extremely frustrating. This podcast exists to promote the community of OverClocked Remix and the individuals who comprise it. We're offering our fellow musicians an incredible opportunity for publicity, and being repeatedly snubbed. Doesn't that speak something? Why should we have to come after people, even nag them, to get them to follow through? It's simply not worth the effort on our part. Additionally, while we have fun releasing a weekly show, we also don't want to burn out... and we don't want YOU guys to burn out. After all, if you think about it, TV shows don't run a new episode every single week- maybe half the weeks in a year, tops. So, while this Project Chaos episode was a catalyst for our decision to take a break, it wasn't the only factor. We'll still be here on the forums and on IRC, of course. And we do really appreciate all of you who listen to the show, have donated money, bought a t-shirt, left us a voicemail, clicked on our ads (when we still had 'em), sent us feedback, or even just voted for us on podcastalley. You're the ones that make this show worth doing. We just need a breather. Perhaps when we get back from this break, the OCR community will have a little more respect for VGDJ... maybe even be excited at the prospect of a fresh episode? Until then: take care, guys!

BY ORDER OF SIR ZIRCON, I HEREBY DECLARE THE 2006 NYC MEETUP TO BE ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 28TH.

Thursday

I just picked up a Keystation Pro 88 a couple weeks ago, and I love it. No, the keys aren't as good as a $1k-$2k range workstation/digital piano, but they're MUCH better than synth action and capable of a lot of expression. No complaints yet.

Acid 6 is a fine program, but once again, I don't think you can beat FL6 for fast and easy loop manipulation and creation (it can do a whole lot more than that, of course). Honestly, your best bet for learning how to create a dance/trance track is to simply analyze songs you like and break them down into their component elements. What's the time signature? Tempo? How many elements (eg. instruments) are going on at each point in the song? What's the form of the song (eg. Intro -> Buildup -> Chorus -> Breakdown -> Chorus -> Outtro)? How about the chord progression? All of these questions are important, and if you have at least a functioning ear, you should be able to answer them with any variety of electronic songs. Once you've analyzed some songs, work off that. Try to recreate drum patterns you like part by part using a sequencer like FL. Use internal or external effects like EQ, compression, reverb, and delay to further approximate a particular sound. Search on Google for technical interviews with your favorite artists - many electronic artists love talking about the methods that they use to create their music, and are more than happy to tell a magazine or website how they achieve a particular sound, or how they approach creating their songs.