zircon

You are a fucking ass hypocrite. What happened to "Oh, 3xosc is fucking awesome" Fucking hypocrite. Chill out. I've simply changed my mind on it now that I've used a wider range of softsynths. There is no reason to use 3xOsc once you have Synth1, ASynth, Crystal, Triangle, etc (all free). Yeah, he's a very cool guy - I've talked with him on a lot of different things. If I get my job at Bela D I'll be working with him, too.

Well, 3xOsc is quite frankly, crap. Some of the worst oscs, envs, and filters I've ever heard. So comparing that to a solid VA hardware unit doesn't make sense. Try comparing the SH-32 to a VA like Albino 2, or CS-80V, or impOSCar, and you'll hear that the software algorithms are every bit as rich.

Last month's EM (might have been two months ago) had a cover article about it. They covered the Minimoog, 303, ARP2600, Wavestation, and other stuff like that. They got all of the synths in the best condition as possible from an audio museum and went to work, making as identical patches as possible (also doing raw stuff I believe as well). In a few cases they said that there was a subtle yet noticable difference, though it wouldn't be apparent in a mix. In the case of the ARP2600, among others, they said that people actually thought the softsynth was the real thing, and vice versa. For fun, they also compared the original Minimoog to the recent Voyager.. and as it turns out there was a noticable difference between them. Kinda interesting.

Totally ridiculous. NOTHING makes digital hardware better than software. It's just chips and that's it. As for analog stuff, they've done blind listening tests comparing software emulations with their analog counterparts, with teams of trained engineers/producers/synthesists and the differences are anywhere from nearly unnoticable to not there at all. It's very easy to make a broad statement about bullshit like "analog warmth" or "boldness" but really if I sat you down and played a TB303 followed by the Audiorealism Bassline, or a DX7 followed by fm7, you would not be able to tell the difference, I guarantee it. As for some demos of guitar libs, here are some demos of Bela D's latest, "Lyrical Distortion". http://www.beladmedia.com/lyrical-distortion-demos.htm It's only a 3GB library or so. There is a 100GB guitar library as well.

Gotta disagree with you, again. The latest guitar libraries are so expressive and filled with perfomance nuances processed in real time with stuff like self-generating harmonic feedback (and so forth), that you'd be extremely hard pressed to tell the difference between samples and the real thing.

It's a weird bug that I really have no idea how to fix. FL apparently sends some sort of MIDI message to all plugins when you hit play, and some plugins reset parameters when you do that.

You can produce realistic guitars.. it's not all that hard. Bela D Media produces a library called "Lyrical Distortion" for example that is almost indistinguishable. But it's not free.

Whoa. Well, I'm a fan of Israfel's stuff, but I think out of all of it this is probably the least accessible. LOTS of crazy stuff in terms of sequencing as well as composition. However I'm sure it's only "weird" because I don't quite understand the theory behind it yet At any rate I'm with Larry that the production has shown its age a bit, and Israfel's newer mixes shine more in that area. This does not take away from the absolutely SUPERB arrangement though, the intense energy, and crazy variety of instruments and sounds. Wild, awesome, LoL~!! YES update: This has really grown on me. Very enjoyable.

I hate to say it, but the sounds here are sort of bringing this one down. Sounds like a lot of general MIDI type stuff with some corny timpani rolls, acoustic drums, horns, and orchestra hits. Also there seems to be nothing in the way of dynamics or effects processing like reverb or delay, which would be nice! Arrangement is also kind of weak.. there are some good ideas, but they're not arranged in a cohesive manner. For instance the mix just sort of sputters and fades away at the end rather than really resolving. No one part is terribly different from another, same 'feel' and mood throughout. Promising, reminiscent of Dr. Fruitcake who uses similar-quality samples. Keep working at it. NO

I think this is a pretty creative and well-produced mix overall. Good variety of sounds, no mastering problems, lots of funky effects, interesting choices of samples, and most importantly, at least SOME variation in the drums. The exposed piano parts seem a little out of place, though, and the drum section could be a little harsher and more aggressive. However I like the technical end of things overall. Arrangement, given the simplicity of the original, is solid. There's a good mix of bridges, original stuff, and variation. Nothing spectacular but I believe it's an identifiably unique interpretation. This is a fun mix with no big shortcomings, imo. No reason for me not to pass. YES

I'm with analoq, Darke, and vig here. The execution is bland a dull here, and so is the groove. I strongly suggest that you read my ReMixing Tips on both synthesis and building drum grooves, fills, and variations. You're making a lot of the mistakes that many other people do, and my tutorials try to address these common pitfalls and how to work around them. The groove here basically has no energy, no punch - it's not solid, and the random aspect of the snares and bass drums feels very amateur, more like a march than a chill drumline. You gotta work on that way more. Overall production values are decent - no clipping, no EQing problems, but as analoq said, delay is over used. Be more creative with effects like flanging, chorusing, phasing, and reverb. Don't just use presets, go beyond that and come up with some interesting stuff. Hit KVR-VST.com and pick up new effects too if you want to spice things up further. Synths and instruments all sound very dull and low-quality aside from the strings, which are passable. Their tones tend to cross over and muddy up the overall mix - combined with an insubstantial drum section there's not a lot to listen to. Arrangement is better than the other parts of the mix. However, the fade-out ending is lame, and the structure could be significantly improved. Nothing "happens" in the mix. Different arrangement ideas, slightly different instruments and grooves, but they're not connected in a way meaningful to the listener. You have the variation and original stuff down, now put it all together and do something cool with it. Resub encouraged. NO

To be honest, I didn't think this was a sample until I read the other votes and listened to it on my headphones. I guess I really suck at that sort of thing, even though I am a piano player myself. Of course, that also means that I really don't have a problem with the sample used. However I think that sometimes, such as with the chord progression right near the end, the artificial aspect becomes apparently due to identical timing/velocity of notes. I think additional tweaking here would not hurt at all. I wouldn't mind more dynamic variation as well. Arrangement sounds really nice to me. It's more of a classical-style arrangement than a romantic, which I'm far more fond of, but good regardless. YES

REALLY REALLY weak as a resubmit. I listened to both versions over and over and really couldn't find any major differences. I think my original critique still stands, that the sounds aren't great, but they are used well. I nonetheless recommend that future resubmits should try to improve on more aspects of the mix than just one.. also, cmon man, get better samples! YES

Through automation. You would automate a volume knob so that it increases or decreases over time. The FL help manual has more specific info.

32 devices is nothing :/ I would use 100+ easy. But when you say "add a new Rewire object", isn't that just opening up a new instance of Reason?

Yeah. w/ line-style beard, which I don't always have.

Vote for me. PS. Larry smells

Someone mentioned ethnic samples? Your choices are basically Ethno World 3 complete, or Quantum Leap RA. Google will yield a little more information on these, because I don't remember the prices offhand, but they're basically big collections of ethnic instruments. High end stuff.

I believe a special type of MP3 encoding was used. Notice how the song is over 6 minutes, but it sounds AMAZING despite the fact that it's under 6MB and encoded at less than 100kbps? I don't know for sure what Disco Dan did, but whatever it was, it sounds great, and I'll bet that the algorithm is what's giving certain players some trouble with the song.

An operatic soprano can hit two octaves above middle C without that much difficulty, and that's the highest the vocals in "Xenosphere" go. But for normal humans, yeah, that's HIGH.

This is definitely one of the more interesting mixes I've heard lately - this theme gets covered a lot, mostly in similar styles, so when you combine it with an under-represented genre it creates a very unique result. The arrangement is well-done for the most part, but a little on the short side considering the amount of source you can work with. Variation, improvisation, and original stuff makes for a strong interpretation in any sense of the word. Execution is quite a bit weaker in comparison, with a sort of lame lead horn sample and other (somewhat) dry/mechanical sounds. However, they're arranged well, and the production is generally good, so I don't think that's all THAT much of an issue. Sounds could use some work, and a more expanded arrangement would have been nice, but I think this earns a YES

I was so excited to see that someone was tackling "The Hidden Truth", since it contains part of "Kingdom Trial" rearranged, but alas, I barely heard any of the source. Cmon - there's rearrangement, and then there's original material with an extremely vague reference to the source. The second part of the song was a little better there, but really, the arrangement and structure were both just not coherent at all. Production values were also weak, with bread and butter synths, clipping, bad EQing, etc. If you're going to make a dnb track, at least try to pay a LITTLE more attention to making a substantive and saturated drumline rather than a spastic, poorly mixed one. NO

Most of my concerns have been covered by the other judges. This is not an inherently bad or problematic mix, but at the same time, it offers very little beyond a simple source -> orchestrated conversion, and the orchestration is somewhat shaky as mentioned above. Try to be a little more creative with the layering of the sounds and the chords - this is a tough thing to do, no question about that, but with more tweaking I think you could get across a lot of your melodic/harmonic ideas in a more interesting way. Structurally, this is a little weak too. There are small breaks, small rises and falls in the energy of the piece, but nothing really major, no building motif or theme, no show-stopping climax. In fact, the ending is pretty abrupt and disappointing. While I think you have some of the fundamentals of a good arrangement down, creating an interesting and engaging structure is something I suggest you work on. In the technical sense, as I'm sure you know, your samples aren't great, but that shouldn't be a problem if you're using them well. In this case, I think you're not bringing them to their full potential. Seems like a lot of the instruments were pretty dry, and none of them had changing expression (which can be done by automating volume), and the solo/percussion passages had few if any changes in velocity to give a greater sense of realism. Plus, the whole thing is at 128kbps which makes it seem even more low quality. Please use VBR next time so that you can get close to the 6MB limit but preserve as much audio quality as possible. Solid effort with some good areas, but more work needed overall. NO

I like some of the ideas here, for sure - but I have to agree that a lot really isn't being done with the original tune. Also, the mix is on the sparse side, with not very much harmony going on, and a sort of dull collection of instruments (it's almost entirely strings and plucked/simplistic synths). Why not use some synth pads, or other orchestral instruments? What about guitar, orchestral percussion, some keyboard instruments? Or at the very least, more 'dynamic' synth sounds that change over time? Essentially, I am asking for a wider variety of sounds - it's up to you how to achieve that. The drum section actually isn't too bad. I like what's there, but it gets a little old over time. Consider adding more layers as the remix progresses, such as additional hihats, or layered breakbeats, or even effects automation. I like the pattern and the samples aren't bad, but even the best pattern can't carry a mix alone. Production (on the drums and overall) isn't spectacular, but it's passable. The whole thing could probably be a little brighter (eg. the lead synth, the strings, and the hihats) and the strings could use a bit more reverb, but otherwise, good stuff. This has potential. Keep working on it: do more with the source tune, add more of your own material, add variations, and expand on the sounds you're using. NO

I'm not sure of any other vocal libraries that exist for that sort of thing. You could try Vocal Planet..