PW:AA - Reminiscence- Reminder of a Requiem

[Darren Schwinghamer]

Hey all,

I decided to enter the PRC competition this week (first time I do this) because I really liked the source chosen from Phoenix Wright.

I like orchestral music mostly so I thought I'd have some fun arranging it like that.

I haven't remixed before so please bear with me if things don't sound good. I'm looking for advice on production and mastering as well as any other advice you might have. One thing that irritates me a bit is the brass section. It doesn't sound very brassy to me. I'm using FLstudio the fruity edition so I am somewhat limited in things I can or can't do with this particular DAW.

http://soundcloud.com/darren-schwinghamer/reminder-of-a-requiem-ver1-5

Thanks for taking the time to give it a listen.

Edits:

http://soundcloud.com/darren-schwinghamer/reminder-of-a-requiem-2-0

I added some new sections and decided to include Police Cell-Jailer's Elegy in it as well for the variety. It might be hard to spot though... I'm pretty happy with the arrangement now, but I want it to sound better so that's where I need criticism (while if there is any criticism in other areas, don't be shy to let me know because I want to know! )

Latest version here, tried to make the instruments sound less fake. And I changed the name to Crazed Reminiscence in Jail. http://soundcloud.com/darren-schwinghamer/crazed-reminiscence-in-jail

[Chimpazilla]

Hi Darren!

I don't know this source at all so I can't comment on source usage. The arrangement sounds pretty good, although it's quite static and never really develops. It's a bit overly reverbed in some spots (like starting at 1:10) and a few instruments are too loud (oboe and triangle). That piano needs to do something different after awhile. I do like the dramatic panned intro!

Orchestral stuff is tricky... most of the instruments sound really fake (I can say this after having received similar comments on my hybrid electro/orchestral Ganon remix, and not knowing how to begin to fix it, haha!). It seems that unless you really know your stuff with daw-based orchestration, this genre is really tough to pull off. Maybe someone more versed in this can help.

You mentioned you only have Fruity Edition and this is going to limit you severely. You need at least the Producer Edition, and I recommend the Signature Bundle because you get a lot of nice vst's with it. You need the Producer Edition to be able to use automation clips which are crucial to pulling off orchestral arrangements (or, really, any arrangements!).

There is definite promise here... I hear it... so keep going, get good advice if you're going to go orchestral, or try some synth stuff too!

[Darren Schwinghamer]

Thanks for the feedback chimp! I know what you mean about it sounding fake, recording the real deal would be such a hassle for me at the moment (fellow musicians at school are all booked with exams like me) I'm thinking about getting the Producer's edition, but is the signature edition really that much better? Are those Vsts necessary in reality? Or are they just like the others only more user friendly maybe?

Either way, I sent my final version in to the comp and I'm pretty pleased with it except for one note of the clarinet where the velocity is way too low (only noticed when listening to it off the web). Oh well

[Norman_Steel]

So a DL-6 remix, that's a new one.

I'm probably repeating what has been said, but the instruments sound too fake/unnatural, if the sound of the instruments could be fixed it would be a perfect/or near perfect remix.

Now on the good note, the arrangement is superb!!

For a work in progress, it is amazing. I hope to see this song in the website soon.

Source: DL-6 Reminescence

[Chimpazilla]

If you're going to get Producer anyway, you should spend the extra $100 for Signature because you get Sytrus which is a great synth ($179 on its own). You also get Maximus (multiband compressor, $189 on it's own), their soundfont player ($35) and Directwave sampler ($99). Worth it I think. And once you start using their convenient automation clips you'll wonder how you got along without them. FL has some other really nice synths and plugins that are worth buying. I have Harmor, Gross Beat and Toxic Biohazard so far. I use Fruity plugins whenever I can because they are more easily automated and take less cpu power and you can usually use their "slide" notes and just work well with Fruity. (hey do I get a commission, haha!)

[Darren Schwinghamer]

If you're going to get Producer anyway, you should spend the extra $100 for Signature because you get Sytrus which is a great synth ($179 on its own). You also get Maximus (multiband compressor, $189 on it's own), their soundfont player ($35) and Directwave sampler ($99). Worth it I think. And once you start using their convenient automation clips you'll wonder how you got along without them. FL has some other really nice synths and plugins that are worth buying. I have Harmor, Gross Beat and Toxic Biohazard so far. I use Fruity plugins whenever I can because they are more easily automated and take less cpu power and you can usually use their "slide" notes and just work well with Fruity. (hey do I get a commission, haha!)

Hmmm... I have decisions to make (electric guitar or fl studio? ) Well I suppose there's no rush really, I could save up! One quick question, the Soundfont player included, what exactly does it do? Is there no other way to play soundfont files in fruity loops, I'm still kind of confused over the difference between samples and VSTs.

So a DL-6 remix, that's a new one.

I'm probably repeating what has been said, but the instruments sound too fake/unnatural, if the sound of the instruments could be fixed it would be a perfect/or near perfect remix.

Now on the good note, the arrangement is superb!!

For a work in progress, it is amazing. I hope to see this song in the website soon.

I know what you mean by the instruments sounding too fake, I'm going to see if there's anything I can do to make them sound better with my limitations. Would you happen to have any ideas on how I can get a better sound? As for the complement on the arrangement, thank you very much!

[JerryTerry]

Not sure if this thread is somewhat pointless now since the competition's over, but:

One quick question, the Soundfont player included, what exactly does it do? Is there no other way to play soundfont files in fruity loops, I'm still kind of confused over the difference between samples and VSTs.

It's a soundfont player. It plays soundfonts

You don't have to buy the soundfont player. There's plenty of free ones, such as this one.

In fact, you can find a massive number of free and cheap VSTs and samples all around the internet. Which is why I wouldn't really recommend that you bother upgrading to Signature. While it's definitely brilliant value and it definitely comes with some awesome stuff, I'd recommend just getting Producer Edition (If anything, for the automation clips alone. I jumped straight in and bought Producer Edition, but I couldn't possibly imagine using FL without them. Plus the playlist. I have no idea how fruity edition even works without a playlist.) and then buy whatever cheaper/free VSTs and samples you need.

Instead of spending the extra $100 on signature, you could get a symphonic library like Garritan Personal Orchestra for $150, or Philarmonik Classik for $130 (Or if you're made of money, the full Philharmonik for $230). If you're planning on making more symphonic and classical music, you'll probably want to get a decent orchestral library.

Or, y'know, an electric guitar is cool too. You could just get one of those.