antic604

Indeed, the lack of crash cymbal ruins it for me... Keep working on it, though. BTW, I think you'd have better chance reaching Martin of FB than here...

That's very true! Some other stuff, that always bothered me: - the transitions always needed to be smooth, e.g. the new parts couldn't just enter abruptly, they somehow had to be 'announced' or 'signalled' which obviously is great for flow, but at the same time undermines the energy and surprise factor of the track, not to mention it's challenging technically, - I always somehow felt and required from myself that my next track needs to be 'better' than the last one - longer, more sounds, more complex, more emotional or weird, etc. which is destructive for a creative process, because in reality the quality of your output (and to be frank, your assessment of your work) is changing over time and even between the days, so it's practically impossible to be 'better' all the time - this results in quickly scrapping off the ideas that were good, but 'not good enough' for the track to be better, - time - there's always to little of it, be it because of family & work commitments, or simply because people need to sleep - who ever thought this was a good idea!?!!

God, it's sooooo much fun: https://soundcloud.com/antic604/midi-test

Yeah, that doesn't help. At least make sure you use 2-3 different sets (with different sound response / sound colouring). Maybe try shortening the Decay / Release on the bass? It's not that it's too bassy, it's just that the lower-mids from the bass seem to be too present in the mix (IMO, obviously). I personally like to add some delay to bassline (if it's modulated, of course) but there needs to be a high-pass filter before it.

It's really good release, although pretty scarce on real melodies (e.g. the eastern/arabic riff in The Second Moon is all but gone...) and instead focuses more on groovy rhythms and patterns, mild(er) acidic sounds, etc. I don't mind this direction, however. Between this, Oforia earlier this year and Skizologic in 2015 Zion604 is killing it right now with great albums!

...and I purchased the white version: Funny to read through the thread, how I went from "bigger" 25-keys controllers to even larger 49-keys and finally ended up with "mini" version - I think this will suit my needs at the moment and I can always upgrade to something bigger / more "pro" if it works out for me, with Minilab ideal for travelling e.g. holidays Will post feedback over the weekend, hopefully along with some samples Thanks to all who chimed in and helped me choose!

@Onkelbibber - good advices there, thanks for sharing

If only Ticon's music was this detailed and rich... Not really a fan of this style, but - technically speaking - I think you're putting too much effects on bass (a reverb, perhaps?) which somehow clouds the overall mix, drowning some of the other sounds. If it was dryer, I think the mix would gain more clarity. Or maybe you should make the bass sound shorter? I love all the 'accidental' sounds, the stuttering acids, etc. The 2nd part also releases the energy and emotion pretty flawlessly, the key changes are spot-on. This track wouldn't be out of place on some progressive trance compilation, really

No problem. Hope I can count on similar critical dissection of my music once I finally post it

There's even a review: https://www.psynews.org/forums/topic/72483-artha-dream-telepathy-cronomi-records/ Good it managed to get released in 2016, otherwise it'd have to be moved...

...or not. Turns out I'd have to wait a month for it Also, Arturia just announced Minilab MkII, which introduces some changes - two clickable encoders, colourful pads, pitch/mod strips moved up - however it looks even more toy-like and change in dimensions is not what I'd hope for: it's 2cm less wide, but 3cm deeper.

Picking the black version tomorrow!

Somehow the acid line at 0:40 - 0:55 and then entering back at 2:11 doesn't gel with the rest of the mix, i.e. it appears slightly off tune? The bass sound could be a bit shorter, but stronger / with more punch perhaps? I love the "farts" galore in 1:00 - 2:00! Very Cosmosis(y) which is the top praise from me The transition at 3:03 - coincidence! - is pure genius, but the main lead after that somehow doesn't work (and again the same at 7:15 - awesome break, the Access Virus(y) synth doesn't work for me). Loved the melody at 4:00, especially the (2 octaves?) higher notes in latter part, not a great fan of ATB-like "guitar" bits at 5:00 or the vocoder, or that screamy / rave(y) synth at 6:00. However, it looks like you have TONS of fun trying different sounds, ideas and styles so PLEASE CONTINUE because your music gets BETTER & BETTER every day!

@Healium, I don't mind music sounding dark or cold and definitely like minimal (starting from minimal techno), but usually if the style aims at using fewer sounds and simpler arrangements, it is compensated by those sounds being more elaborate (Sensient, Tetrameth, Beat Bizarre), arranged in an unusual, hypnotic patterns (Spirallianz, MidiMilliz, MOS, etc.) and / or interestingly modulated (Son Kite, Minilogue). There's nothing of it here. Sorry, I just don't like it

I failed to complete a full tune in almost 20 years, so yeah... one month might not be enough

I'm not hating it, just saying the multiplayer is not for me. I'd actually be very interested if Activision was selling the single-player portion of CoD/BlackOps games for 1/2 the price - I'd buy those.

Fully agree. For me it's a matter of getting started (again, after 20 years) so if it won't work then I would have only spent 100EUR to try If I were in your place, I'd probably go for Arturia's KeyLab 49: I mean this guy(s): https://www.discogs.com/Hedonix-Guerilla-Ontology/release/4557040 Sure it's not the same music, but I find the focus on rhythm, patterns and effects instead of melodic lines to be similar and I really appreciate that in music

Let's agree to disagree then. It's been a month since I purchased it and I really gave it more than enough of a chance (listening to it daily) but it still sounds like a simplistic, unemotional Protoculture-wannabe. If this is considered among the best progressive trance has to offer, then I'm glad I'm not particularly invested in that sub-genre...

Well, as I said you need to consider how you're going to use it. For me, I'm buying the controller in a hope it will help me get the flow and reignite the creative spark, so I don't want to go all-out in case it doesn't work out. I could easily spend north of 500eur on this, but I'm not sure, so I'm trying with a cheaper, but fully featured controller and I can always upgrade later In that sense bigger controller will be better, i.e. the Code 25 has a semi-weighted keyboard with aftertouch, so it'll definitely feel more premium. Seeing as you're releasing your music and play it to the people it makes sense to 'invest' more and with a longer-term horizon, so it would be reasonable to go 49-keys as it gives more options musically and number of available controls almost doubles. BTW, really interesting music - reminds me a lot of Hedonix, whose albums I've enjoyed immensely. Will check more of your stuff on Soundcloud

You're welcome. Also, post questions on the forum of the DAW you're using, because there might be some models that work better or are closer integrated than others.

Fully agree with Padmapani here - even if you don't play piano, having real keys will let you work out your melodic- or bass- lines quicker, to figure out key changes and chord progressions easier. Also it's much more natural than mouse. Regarding M-Audio Code 25, before purchasing make sure you see it at a store. I was pretty convinced I want one, until I saw it - it looks great (although a bit like plasticky toy ) but it was much bigger than I expected even if by controller standards it is small, with just 25 kays. Considering I don't have dedicated studio / desk and work on a family laptop, I needed it much smaller, so I had my eyes one either: or that size-wise or similar to a laptop - very light, portable and flat(ish). To give better perspective - the Arturia above is 15cm less wide, 5cm less deep and 2 cm flatter than Code 25; Akai is even slightly smaller. Now, going further - and even if you decide for M-Audio - you need to consider few things: - do you need pads and for what and how many, - what kind of knobs you prefer - pots or encoders, - do you need sliders, The pads are great for drum sounds or initiating sequences / muting tracks / changing scenes, etc. so should be useful in playing live (or recording live). I don't think they're very useful for step-by-step recording, unless you can assign them to start/stop or mute/unmute. The difference between pots and encoders is such, that the former have a scale around them, with clearly displayed min / max range in which they work (270 degree rotation), so just by glancing on them you know how much filter / resonance / distortion / etc. you're using. The encoders on the other hand don't have a scale and rotate indefinitely, so they just increase or decrease the value of controlled parameter depending on how much you twist them. You don't see where you are in the scale. For my understanding pots are better in synthesizers, where each knob has a precisely designated function - cut-off, resonance, drive, send, etc. For a controller though, where you use the same knobs for controlling different instruments depending on track you're in, you'll end up insituations where you switch from one instrument with say 100% cut-off (and the pot is at 'max') to other, where the cut-off is at 20% so if you now move the knob left the cut-off will jump to 100% to reflect the value on the knob. That's not the case with encoders, where turning left will simply decrease the cut-off down from current level, e.g. the 20% in this example. Also, once your song gets shape a lot of parameters that you control change over time (are automated), so the pots are never in a position reflecting current value. I liked the idea of M-Audio Code 25 because it seems like a great compromise - it has 4 encoders, 5 sliders (which functionally work like pots, just in vertical scale instead of rotary), 16 pads and has added the X/Y surface that let's you control 2 parameters at once, e.g. cut-off and resonance on your 303 line. In 25-keys form factor it is probably unbeatable in terms of control options you'll have, but for me it's simply too big. Personally, I'm leaning toward Arturia Minilab above, because it's small, has 8 pads (in 2 selectable banks) and 16 encoders, which suits the style of music I prefer - with a lot of things (filters, envelops, delays, reverbs, FX sends, etc.) changing all at once so I can e.g. assign 4 of those 16 encoders to cut-off on my bassline, acids, pads and lead instrument, other 4 to resonance, distortion or flangers on those instruments and I'm still left with 8 more to control effects and other stuff. In my case - the more is available, the better. I'm probably getting one this week Read the reviews, think on how would you like to be using it and be sure to see the instrument with your own eyes!

As I said, there's enough of different games for everyone and that's great! However, such argument - that something is popular, hence it's good - always reminds me of a saying I once heard: "let's eat shit, billions of flies can't be mistaken"

@MrAnarchy, thanks! You know, this style (more trance-y, static progression), can obviously work - e.g. BPC's "Micromega" or Electric Universe's "One Love" are perfect examples - but in order to get there the pacing must be just right, the intensity / energy of consecutive layers needs to be gradual, the cut-off / resonance / drive on filters needs to accentuate the progression and - in case of "One Love" - the melodic underpinnings need to be very solid. I think Proxeeus goes all-out a bit too soon and is then left with nowhere else to go, which leaves the tracks slightly "flat" in terms of energy. Also, if you're not confident about a melody or chord progression - avoid them, although (admittedly) this part gets difficult when you hear certain sequence for the 50th time. Still, I hope this is taken as a constructive criticism because - as I said - the album shows a huge progress, regardless

Multi- or singleplayer? I'm completely uninterested in multiplayer games, but I've heard only good things about Titanfall 2 and my son plays a lot of Overwatch and it looks like it's lot of fun as well.

Pretty sure he meant the United States of Austria