Fox

Hey everyone, I've been having this problem for nearly as long as I've been composing and I've only just considered actually seeing if anyone knows how to help! Basically, I'll be adjusting volumes/EQ of individual parts of a composition (usually in Cubase with MIDI data going through EWQL VST) and I'll find the sound starts to peak. However, once I have found the right sound I want and made the master volume low enough to avoid peaking, the music will be significantly quieter then professionally produced pieces I listen to. After a few years turning my speakers up whilst I listen to my own music and down whilst I listen to someone elses has gotten pretty annoying! I'm still very new to the Mixing/EQ side of music, so I assume there is something I'm doing wrong here. So if you have any ideas/pointers I'd be very grateful! Fox

[sorry for double post: glitch. How do I delete?]

Hi Joshua, just my two cents. I compose in a similar way to you. I've recently upgraded my software a bit so I now have EWQLSO Gold in the PLAY engine, Sibelius 6 to start with and then Cubase 4 for editing. There's no reason that I can see to get Platinum over Gold at your level. I would like the additional mic positions, but PLAY comes in with a built in system to adjust the level of reverb on each instrument. You certainly have enough to make realistic sounding pieces. The other very important thing to bear in mind when writing for a virtual instrument is the samples you use. In EWQLSO Gold, for example, you can select Strings -> 18 Violins and then you choose the style. Butter Legato, Lyrical, etc. If your computer can handle it (and by the sounds of it yours can) then study how to use keyswitches. I've just started using these, and the effect on your music is amazing. If you can master keyswitching, as well as automation and adjustments to things like velocity in a DAW, then you'll produce some very believable sounding stuff. Even with just basic "Piano Hall" reverb preset.

How do you make the same VST that I have sound so much more real!? It's driving me insaaaaaaane! XD Well done on the piece, sorry that you didn't win. You must have been up against some pretty epic stuff! I loved that melody that came in with the brass near the end, maybe overdid the cymbals a tiny bit, but it put me in mind of some stuff from Uncharted. You really know how to capture the feel! Better luck in the next one ;)

Battle theme and rock arrangement of battle theme added to OP! Any feedback/criticism on those or any of the others very much appreciated!

Well my opinion of this will depend on the context. If this plays whilst the words "Game Over" are displayed on the screen, then it definitely works! Whatever it's for though, I think a bit of TLC and some more development would be good for it. You use a lot of the same harmonies a few times, and it gets a bit repetitive I found even though it's short. Try playing with the repeat harmonies a little, in a piece like this even a single semi-tone difference can make a repeated harmony much more interesting. The fading you use also doesn't quite work with the shorter notes that are in there. It isn't often, but during those fast transitions you might want to try pitch bending the notes into place rather than quickly fading in and out on each one.

Hey Ness. I grabbed em both, and I think the Overworld theme is pretty good. It has enough variation to keep interesting but it isn't intrusive, although around the 1:40 mark it does seem to lose a bit of focus. Before then it was quite catchy and enjoyable, but it kind of trailed off I thought. I can't really say I liked the menu theme, it felt quite unstructured, and I don't think it's a style that works with such old school sounds. There isn't much you can do with 8-bit without it just sounding like a lot of noise, so your best bet I find is to go for something more obviously melodic. On the other hand you did a good job of keeping the sounds separate, it is very easy with 8-bit stuff to let each instrument blend into the others and make it wail horribly. You avoided that well, so nice one on that front. Hope that was helpful to you. Fox

Sounds pretty good. A bit repetitive perhaps, but nice background music. The sort of thing I could happily wander around and buy potions to!

Hey Serge, welcome to YC from me first of all. The piece sounds very pretty, although it is pretty repetitive. Rolifer already mentioned all the big bits and I agree with him that learning in some form of structured manner will improve your pieces considerably. But apart from that the very best thing you can do is practice, and listen to other people's pieces. The more you listen, the more you'll get a feel for how to improve your own pieces. As for direct advice on this piece, try varying the tempo a little in the two parts. What I mean is, the entire piece consists of crotchets and minims, (quarter and half notes, if you prefer) and both parts usually play the same thing at the same time. Try, for example, using a whole note with the strings and then quarter notes with the piano. Or keep the quarter notes you have with the strings and change some of the piano parts so they use 32nd notes. So just mix up the formula a bit throughout the piece and in your different parts, it'll help stopping the ears getting bored. And just keep listening, and keep writing! Good luck. Fox

This is awful! Sounds like someone bashing a load of garden furniture together! ....=P nah just messing! Great stuff as always Marius. Not my sort of thing but it was well done I thought.

Galena's Theme added to OP, feedback and critique appreciated. EDIT: Just edited Galena's Theme slightly, the damn flute was a tiny bit off key and it was really bugging me!

Heya Kevin! Well done again. Reminds me of the style of Masashi Hamauzu, specifically of one or two pieces from Final Fantasy X. Love the part where the brass comes in, and thereafter. I think the beginning is a bit cymbal heavy though. It might be less noticeable if you ranged the type and/or volume of the cymbal hits there. I love the underlying snares you've got in that long section after the brass (sorry I don't have times, I'm streaming it from box). The piece could also perhaps use a bit more bass throughout certain bits, namely where you have the strings playing quickly underneath. Timps might be good to thicken the sound a bit whilst keeping that urgency. On the whole though I think this works, especially for the context you suggested.

Heya Kevin. Really beautiful, I especially love the clarinet part. It's a really smooth sound, very pleasant to hear. Very simple melody, but very pretty indeed, I could really feel what you described. I've just realised I've had this on in the background looping for twenty minutes. It's very relaxing to have on as ambience as you're doing other things. It could have perhaps used some strings or a flute... definitely a 3rd instrument. It feels just a bit too long with the piano and clarinet as well when you consider there isn't much change in terms of the tempo or style. Great piece. Fox

Heya thanks for the listen guys, I appreciate it! @ Rolifer - You may be right as well, I'm still getting my head around EQ and reverb, and for a game especially I may have gone a little bit over the top. I'll bear it in mind next time! As for the character name, I agree with you. She's been called Halo since we started the project about 5 years ago cause, well we were too young and couldn't think of decent names lol. It'll be changed to something better soon. @ Kevin - It's both. I've been using Sibelius 5 for a while so I know my way around it, basically. I then export as a MIDI and edit it in Cubase 4. Trust me when I say it's much better now then it was after notating it! But the main thing I fiddled around with was the EQ and velocities in Cubase, I didn't think to touch the tempo track at all so that's probably why it sounds a bit mechanical. Cheers for pointing it out.

Hmm, well it works for me! I'll add a link to my full sound click page at the top, hopefully you can get to it from there at least.