big giant circles

good to know they resolved it. some companies are fantastic to deal with. sounds like big fish/vir2 know how to do it.

You will be baked and there will be cake. Happy b-day!

after taking all this into account, i've decided to have a stroke. /dies

Gotta get more specific than that.

It can run in Kontakt 3, so I assume it can run in 2 as well.

Did you guys simply run the "VI ONE Setup.exe" file on disc 1? Kontakt is in there. It doesn't have a seperate install for the player. *EDIT* I suppose if for some crazy reason the above install file is not there, then you should contact Big Fish. Calling GC will do little good, because they're just the retailer, they won't have any clue why the install file is missing.

Just to reiterate/summarize my vote thus far: Re: Pops: Re: Production: Clipping on the toms needs to be addressed. It's pretty harsh at the end. Re: Arrangement: So yeah. Anyway, other than the pops, I've not heard anyone else chime in on the topic of the clipping during the end solo section. Is no one else paying attention there?

Alright, so I'm not positive that it qualifies as a N.O. The original source tune is ~168 BMP, and the remix is 135. So I timestretched the source down to the same tempo and meticulously compared the two. Here's some samples: LINK I noticed that if he is using a straight (timestretched) sampled loop from the source that the pad is not audible. I ran a LP filter and did my best to remove it from the source--here's what I came up with LINK If you compare the "very original loop" to the "foregone source 135 loop", you'll notice that the pad is still audible, albeit much less noticeable. If you compare the filtered source loop to Nafeu's remix, you'll notice that the pad had been entirely removed. Yet another comparison is the timbre of the main synth riff. It sounds like a simple sinewave, but I actually programmed the riff into the FL 3OSC using only a sinewave, and it's not a perfect fit, so he may be using another synth there. However, that's not the main point. If you compare the two riffs together side by side, you will notice an OBVIOUS difference in the sound of the two. Yes, they are very similar, but they're definitely not exact. LINK Also, you'll notice the attack on Nafeu's synth has a subtle "clicking" sound, but the source lacks this, that also suggests he's not using a ripped loop. Finally, the delay on the chimes/piano playing the three chords. In the source, there is a one-beat delay where the feedback lands on the right side. I compared this to the remix, and there is entirely different delay, even timed differently. LINK I do realize just how close they sound, but it's not always impossible to recreate a synth sound or use the same preset that even a game might use. All that being said now, this mix is freaking cool. The original tune has a very distinct DnB main drum loop, and high hat loop. I didn't hear either in the remix. As far as I can tell, he did everything in the mix manually. Considering the repetitive and minimalistic nature of the source tune, this is a phenomenal remix. It's progressive, production is tight, and it's got a lot of energy. For the sake of things, I do think it would be a good idea to simply contact Nafeu and ask him if he sampled the source, but honestly, even if he did, I've pointed out that it's been altered enough that despite sounding similar, it's obviously not exact because -pads have been completely removed -delay is altogether different -timbre of main synth is different -tempo has been substantially altered Let's ask him. If he says yes, he did in fact sample the source, just get him to recreate the loop by hand, it should not be hard at all. On the condition that he's not sampled the source, a solid YES

I'm looking into this. I'm not entirely certain it's a N.O. Stand by.

There's buzzing on the chord at the very beginning, right at 0:02, both channels. Is that supposed to be there? Doesn't sound like a guitar string buzz, sounds like a recording glitch. Minor thing, but it's a smidge bothersome. Pop at 1:03 is debatable. I listened and if that's indeed a pop, it's not noticeable enough to cause any gripes, but the ultra faint click I heard is in the left channel. The one at 2:03 is legit, though. It actually occurs at 2:04.491 if you want to get extremely specific - it's also left channel. Two more in a row at 2:30 & 2:32. 3:03 is covered up by the chorus'd electric guitar, so I'd say we can let it slide, but again, left channel. The pop at 3:41.215 - yet again, left channel. The entire solo section is too loud, there's quite a bit of clipping. The volume on the toms is unacceptably loud, and were that the only problem the song had, I'd make it a conditional vote and require those to be toned down before this went up. There's another left pop at 4:48.504 which is fairly obvious like the one at 2:04. Not trying to throw it under a microscope, but I like to look at stuff in Soundforge whenever there's questions/concerns/issues with pops, clicks, clipping, etc. I'm just validating that the issues are not made up. At any rate, if the pops can be fixed, that'd be swell. If they can't, they're minor enough that I can let them slide - Larry's right, they're pretty well covered up by the rest of the music. Volume needs to come down during the solo section. That's a must for me. The toms seem panned too far left, they make it from far left to maybe center during those runs, and it drives my left ear crazy, especially since they're so loud towards the end. Scrutinies aside, this is a pretty great track - I love the bass work, and the EP. Electric guitar solo at 2:34 reminds me of some of Satriani's older stuff, that's pretty cool. Honestly, I'm too tired and/or lazy to get into the whole measuring-to-the-split-second of source tune usage to remix usage, but I'll say after listening to the track for the past half hour straight, I feel like the connections between chord progressions & source are strong enough to sustain it. And granted the style it's been remixed in, I don't see how there's much else/better way to do it, I suppose. I'm going to say that arrangement and performance-wise, this get's a thumbs up from me. However, production-wise, it currently does not. It would be GREAT if we could get a couple of those pops fixed, but my absolute rock-solid not-gonna-budge complaint is the volume during the solo section and the awful clipping on the toms. I'm not sure if this is a RESUBMIT or a YES CONDITIONAL. ALMOST/MAYBE? I suppose if you can quick-fix those things, then you've got my vote. If it's gonna take a bit of time/work on your end to get said issue(s) fixed, then just RESUB it when you're done. All in all, nice track! Gonna go ahead and say YES on the condition that the clipping in the end solo section is addressed.

Gosh, I can see why this is such a split. I can definitely agree with both sides of the vote, and honestly almost go either way. I'm not really hearing BT so much, but I suppose this is some type of IDM, so I guess that's where the comparison is coming from. On a seperate note, despite the fact that I bought This Binary Universe not long after it came out, I've not actually REALLY listened to it until recently. It's awesome. Back on track, I'm glad Fishy made reference to Scott's Cave Story track. I could pretty much copy paste my vote there ultimately, and that's pretty much what this vote is. Seems repetitive and minimalistic in a way, but at the same time, it's very unique and creative. I can understand Vig's concern about the lack of bass-age going on, but at the same time, granted the style, I'm not sure what could appropriately be thrown in to mute that gripe. Therefore, it's not a fatal flaw to me. I'm gonna go ahead and lay down a YES here. Unique, creative stuff.

+1 year for two distinguished artists in the community. Treat yourselves to some cake or somejunk.

Congratulations on your choice of source music, as well as the fact that you think highly of this awesome game I myself have been wanting to take a shot at this source for quite some time, but just haven't plotted out the time to do it.[/bias] On to the mix. First impressions, by OCR standards, it's much too similar sounding to the original--sounds almost like a rip with sound upgrades--and I wish you'd done a little more original with the intro particularly. Even if it was just a bit of ambient noise and a swish or something before the melody kicked right off. At :47 and on afterwards, the electric bass is written too low--those notes aren't really in the appropriate range, you should have adjusted the octave accordingly. Not only does it make the bass sound more phony, but it suddenly becomes really thin. A theme like this really calls for a warm, rich, bass tone, and those ultra low notes just can't measure up it. No matter how much EQ you put on 'em. So that'll give you a little to work on. So far I'm past the 4 minute mark, and we're still hanging super close (almost identical, really) to the original tune--definitely need a bit more interpretation. It's very nostalgic, and a really nice sound upgrade for the most part. And on that level, it's pretty enjoyable. To get it passed though, you need to address some of those technical issues and take a few more liberties with the arrangement. Get a little more creative, go nuts. Anyway, not quite passable, but still an enjoyable piece. NO

Ever since Recapitated and my own mix of this tune, I've been really partial to the Ice Cap theme in general. Alex, one of my favorite rejected tracks from here is your remix of the Marble Zone (Lost Marbles) done a couple years ago or so. I still listen to that one often. I also recall that you received a few YES votes, and a couple of NO's were very borderline... You ever thought about reworking that one and resubmitting? You should. Alright. I really really like this track for the most part. I think it's produced really tightly, and it just exudes energy from start to finish. One of my favorite aspects is the syncopation of the Ice Cap chord progression. It plays nicely with the rest of the trance elements. The level of the drums was right where it should be--they weren't drowned out, but they had plenty of punch without being too loud. Not many trance subs pull that off, in my experience, so nice work there, too. Now onto the bad news. I don't mind the extended intro of the track, but Larry's right about the level of interpretation regarding the main hook. It's kind of a letdown to hear such an energetic piece that's had such a huge buildup, and then the melody is basically plugged in verbatim. I personally didn't feel the choice of lead instrument was very well-chosen either. I would have preferred something a little edgier, maybe with some more sexy syncopation and gating and perhaps some good layering. Maybe even some harmonies. Maybe some creative automation on the panning, or the filter, or some grainwork. Just SOMETHING to push it over the top. I think this is a REALLY solid foundation, and honestly, like the Marble Zone remix, it wouldn't take a whole lot of effort to push this one into YES territory. I just need you to rework the melody, get a little more creative there. The rest of this is iron solid as far as I'm concerned. Take Larry's comments to heart, and hopefully mine as well. NO (refine, rework, resubmit)

YES But seriously though, interesting, and I'll admit I was initially a little uncertain as how to approach a percussion only remix, but I listened to it and the source alternating for a good hour or so, and after reviewing my fellow J's votes, and Larry's painstaking breakdown, I have concluded that I agree. Also, I feel honored to have jammed out Ice Cap & Soul with you back in B-More last year.

Don't forget about RotC either. http://www.ocremix.org/album/id/3/super-metroid-relics-of-the-chozo/

hope the recovery is still going well! have a great day, bro!

since Casio and Yamaha appeal typically to different markets on the large scale, you usually get more bang for your buck by getting a Casio. Privia vs. P85 (the new P70) is a great example. You have a few more instrument patches as well as features like tune and transpose, and a few basic drum patterns in addition to the ability to record a little. I would say that generally, I prefer Yamaha's action to Casio's, but only slightly. They're both very comparable. The Privia is a good choice, and it'll save you some money. Go for it.

I really enjoyed the adaptation of the return's hook for a funktastic rhodes hook--creative, but retains obvious connection to the original (:50, 2:12). The underlying synth work is nice, it's really great when an artist can use a melodic instrument to actually assist the drums in not only maintaining, but furthering the effectiveness of the groove, and the dirty, sweeping synth as well as the short percussive one both do that throughout. As far as I can tell, emerging empire wasn't used as much, mostly some of the backing was drawn from/inspired by that one. Seems the return is definitely the primary focus here. Great production, everything is clean, and there's never any clutter. Nice choice of instrumentation too. I bet Dave will like this one. YES

JM, why is it that all your latest posts you have been compelled to rebuke someone in a condescending manner? So DS made some suggestions referencing his own music, so what? Heaven forbid he take some pride in his work. Or criticizing Sixto in the Bernie Mac thread. Or criticizing Palpable in the Mamacitas thread I can't tell if you were serious or not about Vig in the "EQ setting" thread, but I wouldn't throw out the possibility that you were. Or "drinking to "most music fans are shallow" Or criticizing SGX in the Ourstage thread I have a feeling you were attempting to call Snapple out in the Protools thread Anyway, I'm not going to bother listing them all, but I noticed that since you don't post a *LOT*, I quickly saw a trend in your pattern of posting. Looking at the rest of this list, most of the actual postivie stuff you've bothered to post has been about your own projects. Most of the rest of the time, you're too busy criticizing others. Go ahead, see for yourself. http://www.ocremix.org/forums/search.php?do=finduser&u=4379 And also, not to say that I always disagree with the morals behind your criticisms, but frankly, nobody likes a whiner. Is there any way you just might find it in yourself to not complain so much? I for one am tired of reading it. Best of luck in future posts. (And no, I'm not trying to be a smartass).

I haven't played FF6 or CT either. How many times do I need to tell you faegz that Terranigma iz where itz at yo.

Looks like you can get IK Sampletank 2L, Miroslav Philharmonic CE, or Sonik Synth 2 for just $99. I really like IK Multimedia--I currently own Sampletank 2XL, and I really love it. It't not a huge library, but it's very well rounded. I think I'd like to pick up Sonik Synth. Links in original post.

Very nostalgic indeed. Has an overall very reminiscent feel to it. I don't have a lot to add--it's definitely too much of a cover to not clash with our guidelines. Also, if I had to sum up the track in just one word, it would be mechanical. The samples and instrumentation and articulations are very very right-angled, all across the board. I wasn't a huge fan of the flute patch at the beginning, and the backing strings were awfully choppy as well. There is also hardly any (if any at all) bottom end to speak of, and unfortunately that gives it a very "incomplete" feel. At any rate, glad to see you subbing something again. A!bol Hardcore is probably one of my favorite tracks on here. Just bear in mind, site standards have gone up--samples and music software are getting cheaper and more available--gotta keep up NO

This is great stuff. I especially recommend this album to anyone who's a fan of any of Alexander Brandon's work (Unreal Tournament, Jazz Jackrabbit, Deus Ex). Recommended!

Yes, you can have it ordered. What they'd do is simply order it from another store. You can even have it shipped directly to your home if you pay for it at the ordering store in person. Or, you can order it over the phone but only if you ship it to the billing address of your card.