Yoozer

That is totally neat. If my G4 wasn't such a dinosaur I'd try something like it too. I'd be happy already if I could make a simple MIDI plugin, something like this: It shouldn't be rocket science to make, even with that UI, but it'd be awesome.

LP : lowpass BP : bandpass HP : highpass BR : bandreject http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowpass_filter < look at the diagram there. A highpass filter has the mirror image of that diagram - e.g the diagonal side is on the left. A bandpass can be a combination of a lowpass and highpass, only leaving a narrow "hump" in the middle where the frequencies may pass.

The solution is a filter where the cutoff frequency is controlled by velocity, or alternatively, just a lowpass filter that you gradually open and then close again (using automation). After the filter comes a delay effect. A lot depends on the sounds you're using as a source, though.

It's a SNES game, so find the SPC file with all the music and sounds and the sample should be in there.

Yes. Play slower, play in a different rhythm - when you're not depending on the original MIDI files but on your ears and memory on a full-sized keyboard, you'll see that it's far easier to bring variation in the pieces. While any instrument will do for reinterpreting an existing piece, a piano keyboard covers the most range and integrates in the easiest way with your computer.

Get the thought out of your head that makes you think remixing is different from just making music. No, Ableton Live. What does DJing have to do with it? Those folks just play other people's records. It helps tremendously. Change melody or orchestration. If you carbon-copy the melody, of course it's going to sound the same. If you use similar instruments, of course it's going to sound the same. If you use the same genre of music, of course it's going to sound the same. It's too bad Youtube (or overzealous compression) completely ruins the sound quality . If you don't see a way out, why not just try to imitate stuff you admire completely so you can understand what goes into it?

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MKey49/ Keyboard sizes are 25, 32, 37, 44, 49, 61, 73, 76, 88 and 93 I think. Don't ask for any rhyme or reason behind it other than that 25, 37, 49 and 61 are 2, 3, 4 and 5 octaves respectively, starting at C.

Why'd you quote it then? That's why studying genres works, too. For medieval towns there's a cliche of a strummed acoustic guitar and a recorder / flute. As for sad chords - so much more depends on tempo and instruments.

Why not build your own (or have it assembled for you?) That, and more importantly, frustration.

Adding a link wouldn't hurt. Don't make people search for you, and if you want to know how sounds are made, specify which sound at exactly what time in the song, because we can't read your mind. As for now, I've found and downloaded it and I haven't heard what I think are string hits, except for what comes in around 0:36 - which is a staccato chord played in the viola/cello range. Staccato refers to the playing method; any serious sample library is going to have several of these, and if you want that sound, you need that playing method. Most string sounds have a long attack (e.g. takes a long time to get to maximum volume), which means they don't actually "hit". Buy a guitar and learn to play it; it's the cheapest way to get some realism, and it's good for you. Yes - but which songs, add Youtube links if you need to, specify times! It's a free soundfont, so why not just download it and try it? I'd look at http://www.musicmarketing.ca/products/ik_refills_miroslav.asp or something like that.

No. It's just that I don't work with or encounter Linux audio applications, so I don't have a list of 'm in my head that I can rattle off. So yes, there's Ardour, and I have no idea if there's anything else. Because it's the sequencer you'll be working with most of the time. It's very simple when you go back in the history of computer music applications. People have been using Logic or Cubase for ages - Ableton's pretty young compared to them, Reaper younger still. Sonar came from Cakewalk which started in 1987. These applications have historical baggage. People working with them are going to stick with the programs, and that means when Logic moved to Apple, people moved to Apple, or moved to another application, spending a long time re-learning existing skills. Even if you don't have the baggage because you're jumping in now, you still have to keep the application's idiosyncrasies in mind. These pieces of software have a certain philosophy behind them, and the better it matches with how you want to make music, the more fun they'll be to work with; otherwise, you'll notice them even working against you, and no amount of open source idealism is going to fix that; if you don't match with Ardour, you'll not use it to its full potential. This is what I had with Cubase, (I started with Cubasis, then VST5, then SX1, then SX3) which I dumped after 6 years for Ableton Live. All I had learned in Cubase I could forget, but the application matches my style of working and my composition process so incredibly well that the transition period was short. This may not be the same for you. Also, there's the matter of having drivers for your audio gear. I know RME has drivers for Linux for their gear; but if your audio interface of choice doesn't have them, it does not make sense to use it.

Or add just $100 and get Kontakt 3 which comes with a selection of VSL.

Then you shouldn't need to ask As for mixing, a classical composer I know mixes sample libraries with synth string sounds (from a Korg X5DR module - these do not contain the full articulation/playing methods and all that jazz), an experiment that was also done in Sound On Sound. It gives more body while the price can stay low, but it's about knowing when you can do that and how.

Can't be repeated enough. You have Ableton, Cubase, Logic, Sonar, FL Studio and a load of plugins that determine what you should do; Windows, OS X, Linux are a result of that, not a starting point.

shit is so cash.

Making music has never been cheaper. That said, there's still the initial investment, and sampling libraries simply cost money. You could use cheaper/free ones (which don't have the detailed sampling done) such as Proteus VX and Independence Free and soundfonts, but an important point of orchestration is also articulation - and you'll only find regular sampled strings (and additionally, pizzicato) in those libraries. Which makes it even more difficult to get something cinematic.

Doesn't matter. DZ forgot Ableton Live btw (it's got a fully functional demo). There are no applications most suited to make music of a certain genre; there are however applications that make that kind of music easier. For orchestral stuff, nothing's easy. For this you need an orchestral sample library. See also http://www.ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=19953 . Generally the player is built in. These all depend on budget - more money = better quality, more samples. Even then you're not there yet; writing for these instruments is not as simple as playing everything on the piano. What do you already have? If the answer is "nothing at all, yet", you'd be off better looking for people you could convince into making music for your game, since you're going to look at the software (sequencer, plugins) and the hardware (controller keyboard, speakers, audio interface).

A bunch of songs needs to have coherence to fit on an album. This could be a common theme or style. If you don't feel you can finish an album in time, just finish it as a 2-part EP (with 5 tracks each).

TBQH overclocking is pretty much useless and all the money, time and energy spent on that could be spent better on working more so you get more money to just buy better parts. The extra power and noise involved go directly against a quiet computer in the studio. Kind of like the $10K car, riced up with R-Type stickers for $20K while you would've had a better car if you just spent $30K initially anyway. Also, why have separate paragraphs for fan sizes? It's not like a 40 mm will do something that's radically different from a 120 mm, except whine and make more noise and be useless for anything bigger than a GeForce 2 MX.

It is not given away, no. The best in the industry at the moment is http://www.prosoniq.com/main/timefactory-2-windows/ - Cubase's got this, and even then you still get artifacts. Pacemaker for Winamp has a nag screen and is not realtime and a bit choppy when you go to extremes, but it's good enough for me. When I want actual timestretching, I'll use Live's built in stuff (not realtime). http://www.winamp.com/plugins/details/12689

Try http://www.freesound.org/ or an industrial sample CD.

The term "import" is used for different things (samples, project files). This may seem stupid, but learning the correct terminology makes learning and searching a lot easier. You know they've got an online manual, don't you?

3 legs means more stability and less chance to break down on you if they did a shitty job welding the thing. You could also go the DIY route, fill a wide-diameter PVC pipe with dry sand and glue/screw/nail/whatever two squares of MDF on the top and the bottom.

Should've said that first.

Now all you need is the same talent