TheUllas Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 Hi all! I'm new to this forums and along with my first post I want you to comment on my remix of Detective Gumshoe's Theme from the Phoenix Wright series. Link: Umm...well. Sorry but I've got to go right now Thank you all in advance! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Souliarc Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 Hello You've got a lot of material to work with (listening to the orchestral version of the original), and this track is a little over 2:00 min long... you might want to expand your arrangement a bit. You've definitely got the main melodies down, but I would try and breath a little bit more of YOUR interpretation into it so the judges don't see it too conservative Diversify those drums. Work on a more balanced mix. The lead sax(?) synth is particularly loud compared to the drums. You're hi hat and cymbals are up there, but the kick and snare are lagging. I know you probably aren't able to work with the best samples in the world (though I do like where you are going!), but that lead sax is particularly "inhuman" shall we say. I know it's hard to add that human element working in the digital world, but try and create more diverse articulations through clever programming of MIDI controllers. This goes towards the piano and drums too. Put everything in a room of some sorts. Sounds like most of the instruments are dry, without reverb. Don't overdue it by any means though! Good work and keep at it! Patience proves thorough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheUllas Posted December 2, 2009 Author Share Posted December 2, 2009 Thank you very much for those great suggestions I'm really embarassed because of that Sax MIDI (unfortunately it is the best one I got) My MIDI keyboard is old (2004) and I tried to get the best out of it. I'll buy a MIDI IN/OUT cable so I can change those built-in MIDI sounds. And....I'm sorry to say that I have already deleted the "ingredients" of the remix. (Windows reinstall) I will use your ideas in my next remix, of course. Thank you very much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Souliarc Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 Ahhhh bummer! Been there done that. Just remember though, MIDI doesn't transfer sounds, only signals to control samples/sounds. So buying a MIDI I/O cable isn't going to change the sound. I'm a little confused though. Is your keyboard just a MIDI controller (it just sends MIDI messages like my Radium 61) or does it have it's own sounds and you have it connected through the sound input of your sound card? If it's just a controller, you would be using the on board synthesizer from your on board sound card (yes, there is a tiny little synthesizer in your sound card to make all those windows bleeps and bloops ) to create sounds. Definitely not ideal for making music. Or, you have synthesizer plug-ins. My MIDI controller is pretty old as well, but if you know how to program MIDI messages, it's a whole new ball game! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheUllas Posted December 2, 2009 Author Share Posted December 2, 2009 Ok, sorry for that My keyboard has got onboard sounds. BTW thanks for the cable info. So does that mean if I wanted to use NEW sounds I would have to buy a new keyboard or replace some hardware within it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Souliarc Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 You could get a new keyboard yes, or you could use the MIDI control capabilities of your keyboard to control the myriad of software synthesizers that are out there. For example Synth1 is a very common free software synthesizer that you can control through MIDI. These days, software synthesizers can sound just as good, if not better, than hardware synthesizers (plus they're less expensive :I ). You would need that MIDI cable for your keyboard to act as a MIDI controller though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rig1015 Posted December 2, 2009 Share Posted December 2, 2009 Ok, sorry for that My keyboard has got onboard sounds. ... So does that mean if I wanted to use NEW sounds I would have to buy a new keyboard or replace some hardware within it? Yay, for soft synth's, MIDI, VSTi's and DAW's. If your keyboard has a storage drive built into it you might be able to load NEW samples for it like that (some manufacturers make cards and stuff like that). But if you want different sounds what you have is not what you are going to use to make it; unless your keyboard has a sampler tool built into it, then you might be able to rework the sounds / patches. Souliarc has the right idea for the easiest way to expand without really expanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheUllas Posted January 12, 2010 Author Share Posted January 12, 2010 Hi all!I'm new to this forums and along with my first post I want you to comment on my remix of Detective Gumshoe's Theme from the Phoenix Wright series. Link: Umm...well. Sorry but I've got to go right now Thank you all in advance! Mike Tsk tsk...PUSH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Ahhh... Soft-synths. I like them, but I'm positive there are better, free VST's out there, so go look for em'. I use Reason, primarily, so I don't know of any good ones out there, off the top of my head (Reason doesn't use VSTs). If you use poorer quality instruments than are available out there then OCR will immediately reject the music without further evaluation. The music is very, very conservative, and it's going to take a lot more than changing the drum track to fix that problem, if you plan on submitting this. You play the source note-for-note without changing the structure. I would suggest rewriting the entire track, except play with the structure, change the harmonies, improvise with the melody a bit, etc., until you can hear your own voice interpreting the music rather than reorchestrating it. Overall, it's not bad, though. I personally like the sax (although, again, better sounds to represent it on the internet, I'm sure) - I feel that gives a sweet sound to the whole thing. You've got the source spot on, now try playing with it a bit and reinterpret it. It will not make it on OCR as is, so make the changes to fix that or work on something new. Now let's see if my interpretation of the same source will make it on there . Funny coincidence that you remixed the same song as I did . Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheUllas Posted January 23, 2010 Author Share Posted January 23, 2010 Okay, thanks. It was my first "remix" and I believe I need to gain more experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 It's alright. We all start somewhere - just don't lose heart. It takes time to get these things down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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