WIP -- Time's Memories (Chrono Trigger/Cross)

[Tuned Logic]

Well, I'm really bringing this one back from the dead... Anyway, I finally found time to have at it with my computer, and, after lowering some of the sound levels on my tracks, most of the crackling went away, so I was able to polish it up a bit. I'm not sure how much longer I"m going to work on this, since it sounds pretty damn good to me, but what do I know?

Next round: http://feinstein.mike.googlepages.com/TimesMemoriesFinal1.mp3

[Nutritious]

Just to let you know, the uppler limit for encoding bitrate on OCR is 192 and file size max is 6 megs. This one's clocking in at 9 megs, so it'll need to be cut down.

I like your arrangement ideas here, but it seems like it's lacking somewhat in dynamics. It seems like things stay relatively at the same level and intensity from 1:15 - 2:40 with piano and other instruments meandering around the same chord progression. After that it has gradual buildups for the next few minutes until the end. Not that it's bad, since it seems like more of a flowing ambient piece, but it kinda feels like it needs to move somewhere or at least break up the flow a little. Maybe it's an issue of opinion. Nice work so far.

[Tuned Logic]

Hm, didn't know about the limit. Thanks. Anyway, I definitely know what you mean, and I would love to add some pizazz, but my PC doesn't cooperate like it used to. Somewhere along the line I'll attempt to revamp this a little.

[Radiowar]

this is pretty nice

i kinda wish that the piano was clearer though. personally i think that kind of lo-fi sound only works when everything around it is lo-fi as well (the beginning is fine)...but after awhile where everything builds up and is clear and energetic, the piano is still kinda off in the background.

also this song tends to get very crowded in many places. i think you tread the balance of overcrowded/not during most of the song but there are quite a few places where there really is too much happening. the guitar section at 4:21 is a good example of this...it could be a good climax section but it just feels unfocused.

the change to the chrono trigger song isn't that great i think, and the sax gets too loud when it hits those high notes. and it's only on that one note too i think, because after it plays it it gets quiet again...watch the velocity.

but other than that this isn't bad and you seem to know what you're doing

[Tuned Logic]

One thing I know would spruce up my mix is a tempo change, but I'm still kind of in the dark as to how to do it without messing the whole thing up. In FL you can change the tempo actively, but I can't do that while I'm playing. And if I wanted to, say, do a gradual tempo increase, that wouldn't work that way. Really, what's limiting me is ignorance.

[Radiowar]

if you right click on the tempo box and create an automation clip you can use that to automate a gradual tempo increase wherever you want to in the song

[Nutritious]

Hm, didn't know about the limit. Thanks. Anyway, I definitely know what you mean, and I would love to add some pizazz, but my PC doesn't cooperate like it used to. Somewhere along the line I'll attempt to revamp this a little.

If you are having issues with the amount of CPU your song is using, there are a couple of things you can try:

1)Tools -> Macros -> Switch Smart Disable for all Plugins. Temporarily shuts off some of the things that you are not using at the moment to try and save CPU. They will reload once you start using them.

2)Effective management of reverb. For a lot of genres, you're generally going to want the same amount of reverb on the samples used so they sound like they're in the same room or setting. If you're assigning a separate reverb effect to each mixer track with the same settings, you're wasting CPU. Instead, assign the reverb to one track and then send the other tracks that you want the reverb on to that same track. For example:

Insert 1 - Piano

Insert 2 - Bass

Insert 3 - Drums

Insert 4 - Send Track

Add reverb to track 4 only. Click on track 1, right click on the upwards arrow near the bottom of track 4 and click Route To This Track Only. Repeat with tracks 2 and 3. They are all now utilizing the reverb effect on track 4.

Again, this is only if you want the same reverb on several instruments. This actually helped me a lot with my CPU issues when I was first starting out.

3) Pre-rendering. It takes a lot less CPU to play a wav sample than it does a synthesized instrument with all the effects being generated in real time. If you have a track you're happy with in the song and it's taking up a lot of CPU, you can render that Pattern to a wav file, then import it into your song and replace the track with the new wav file. It's not the most ideal/convenient way to mix, since if you wanted to change the sample or effect, you'd have to render the pattern again and overwrite the wav file. However, it can save a lot of CPU versus rendering the same drum loop with same effects 30 times in the song, rather than once into a loopable wav.

Hope this helps you out.