Ticket to Heaven

Started by Blizzard, September 17, 2010, 04:21:17 pm

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Blizzard

September 17, 2010, 04:21:17 pm Last Edit: December 23, 2010, 11:00:02 am by Blizzard
Blizzard - Ticket to Heaven

This is yet another one of those songs that I started out while actually working on something else. The concept here is the melodic part (the is pretty much from the other WIP song). Most (if not all) sounds and actual samples will be changed. And, of course, the structure will be changed and improved a lot. The track is relatively long for a concept demo, but that it because of the long intro.

EDIT: Updated. This is the second concept demo. There still lots of work to do. I noticed that "boom" sample is damaged so I will have to find another one for that effect. Also, the sounds are not properly normalized. I used compressors here, but it seems that I get better results when I compress manually by removing frequency ranges from specific sounds with equalizers and adjust the volume myself.

EDIT: Updated again. Mmmmhhh... I like it. It might need some more mastering. Somebody lost my headphones and the new ones I got are pretty crappy so it's a bit difficult to master the song properly. I will have to try the song on my speaker system to see how it sounds.
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Quote from: winkioI do not speak to bricks, either as individuals or in wall form.

Quote from: Barney StinsonWhen I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story.

Subsonic_Noise

Really awesome concept, I like it, though you do need better synth sounds... your genre of choice is pretty sound-based, after all, lol.
Are you still using FL Studio?

Blizzard

Yeah, I definitely need to work on this. xD

Yeah, I'm still using FL Studio. This synth is actually 4 chained TS404 generators. I'll probably put together a synth using Sytrus.
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Quote from: winkioI do not speak to bricks, either as individuals or in wall form.

Quote from: Barney StinsonWhen I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story.

Subsonic_Noise

September 17, 2010, 05:25:44 pm #3 Last Edit: September 17, 2010, 05:33:55 pm by Subsonic_Noise
Well, the problem is that FL Studios Synth in general sound incredibly weak >.< Even their filters, they can't sound harsh or sharp at all. I'd concider getting Toxic3Orion and some Korg Synth VSTs if I were you, those are the ones I use and they can sound incredibly awesome if you know how to handle them (Which I'm sure you will know) or, if you have a bit of money to spend, an Access Virus TI2, which is an external hardware synth which can be integrated via software, and trust me, I've played it, it's a beast in every way. xD It's actually one of the most popular synths in trance music.
I'd actually even concider changing your DAW.. no offense, but FL ain't got shit on Cubase, Logic, Pro Tools, Reason or Ableton Live xD If you get used to the different interface, you'll be getting much better results in no time. ^^

Oh, btw, I  will join a private Audio Engineering University in March, so would you mind giving me some of your songs to remix then? xD

Blizzard

September 17, 2010, 06:13:56 pm #4 Last Edit: September 17, 2010, 06:18:37 pm by Blizzard
Actually that's not true. FL got pretty much everything that Cubase has. I was surprised myself when I found out recently. The difference is that you don't have to spend a couple of times more money and FL's a lot easier to use. When I first tried Cubase, it was hard to get used to the interface. It's just not that user-friendly. Even when I got used to the interface, the simplest stuff was sometimes so hard to find that I had to spent minutes looking for stuff.
Reason is the one that ain't got shit on FL and Cubase. It's way too limited. No sample editing? Seriously? That's just wrong. I haven't tried the others you mentioned.

As for the synth sounding weak, it will sound weak in everything if you don't master it properly. FL's basic filters are actually usually enough for 90% of purposes. I rarely have to use any fancy filters or synths. Most of them just do way too much stuff on their and you can't generate the sound you want. Sure, it all sounds fancy and cool, but it's NOT what I want. I want a 30% diffused square with a frequency modulation of 2% with a sine on 10% amplitude subtracted from a saw with a phaseshift of 34° using the harmonics 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and 8 on volumes of 90%, 30%, 12%, 34%, 5%, 8% and 7% and phaseshifts of 0°, 154°, 123°, 319°, 43° and 59°. Bam, there I have the sound I want. And I like how it sounds because I know how it is supposed to sound. The only synth that gives me that much control over the generation of sound is Sytrus. It was goddamn hard to learn how to use it, but when I figured it out (it took me DAYS), I was satisfied with the results a lot more than with the TS404 that I used to use. Sure, TS404 don't give you that much control either, but using 2 shapes with the few functions the generator has together with some built-in filters can give you still a good sound. But it doesn't matter, now I have Sytrus. <3 And I still prefer using FL's filters than Sytrus' because Sytrus eats away my CPU a lot more than FL's filters.

If you understand what sound is, you don't need a fancy generator. They just generate the sound they can leaving you with not much choice what to use. You end up with songs that have synths that sound just too similar or somebody who uses them can easily hear through them and say "Oh yeah, that must be Biohazard right there." I've tried using all I could get my hands on. But I simply get sounds that don't sound how I want them to sound like. Heck, I can't even get some of them to properly generate a saw that sounds like a saw and not like something already prefiltered (even though I already turned off all effects on the generator). It's sad, it's really sad.

Sure, just tell me which songs you want. I can export and give you the samples (and notes for the melodies).
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Quote from: winkioI do not speak to bricks, either as individuals or in wall form.

Quote from: Barney StinsonWhen I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story.

Calintz

September 17, 2010, 06:36:24 pm #5 Last Edit: September 17, 2010, 06:40:37 pm by Calintz
Oh ... my ...
That is the personal favorite Blizzard.

For the love of god, finish this piece Blizzard!!
Make this a "Blizzard solo track" for like $3.99 or something, and I'll buy it when it's done! You have my word!

I can't enter the conversation here I don't know jack **** about the programs mentioned.
What I do know is that I love this rhythm. I think you should just call it "The Ticket to Heaven (Starbreaker)."
                                                                                               "Ticket to Heaven (The Starbreaker)."

A lot of full length tracks have a second title in parenthesis to better justify the work.

Blizzard

Yeah, but I want only one of the names. Either it will be the T in Perfect Chaos and be Ticket to Heaven or it will be the S and replace Synthetic Dreams. xD
Check out Daygames and our games:

King of Booze 2      King of Booze: Never Ever
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Quote from: winkioI do not speak to bricks, either as individuals or in wall form.

Quote from: Barney StinsonWhen I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story.

Calintz

I like Ticket to Heaven myself. I think it goes well with the piece.

It's very light-hearted and renders and upbeat feeling when I listen to it. very positive and determined is what I feel when I hear this. I say ... finish this piece! It's great Blizzard. Great concept. Can't wait for the final result.

Blizzard

Lol, alright. I'll see if I can get some work done soon and finish it. I've pretty much got the first of 3 parts done (melody, sound for the melody and the pads and everything else).
Check out Daygames and our games:

King of Booze 2      King of Booze: Never Ever
Drinking Game for Android      Never have I ever for Android
Drinking Game for iOS      Never have I ever for iOS


Quote from: winkioI do not speak to bricks, either as individuals or in wall form.

Quote from: Barney StinsonWhen I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story.

Calintz

I wouldn't even be bothered if you just looped what you have there for seven minutes and never even did 'more' work!! Lol. I love it!!

Subsonic_Noise

What I meant is not what the filters do, but the quality of what they do. Just listen to the filter of an MS20 by korg, the one the rereleased with the monotron. It is a regular highpass / lowpass filter, but it can sound so drastically different if you want it to. Sound is hard to describe, let me look for a video... http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=JI9rBVP-nE8&feature=related show me FL studio pulling of those sounds. (Yes, I chose an extreme example, so you have to notice the difference xD) But that may be just my affinity to anologue sounds. I use a modeling VST of that thing, and although it doesn't even come close, it still sounds awesome.
Same goes for synths in general, without having a "fancy" sound generator, there are big differences in quality. There can be good and bad sounding low- and highpass filters just like there can be good and bad sounding FM generators, and their quality is vital to a hifi genre such as yours. As I said, it's difficult to describe without audio examples, but compare this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu1GU-_m4hk to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASIzx4B7U44 The FL one just is missing something elementary.
And about FL being able to do everything cubase can.. I'll get back to this when I got access to my own PC again. There are alot of things that it is superior in compared to FL Studio, and the time it needs to get used to it is well worth it. It's the most used audio editing software for windows among professionals for a reason, just like Pro Tools and Logic are for OSX.

Well, I don't just want to criticise all the time without offering a solution. xD I could, in two weeks or so, upload the korg synth simulators and the Toxic3Orion VST for you if you want. You could try them out and see for yourself if it's worth it. Just tell me. (...I also got a 80mb version of cubase if you want to give it another try :P)

Calintz


Subsonic_Noise

Quote from: Calintz on September 17, 2010, 08:32:00 pm
Is 'FL' Fruity Loops Studio?

They were sued by Kellogs so they had to rename the product, but yes, it's still Fruity Loops Studio xD

Calintz

Anything to make a buck, eh?
Fuc**** ridiculous. Corporate warfare.

Anyway, thanks for the fast reply.

Blizzard

September 17, 2010, 09:00:49 pm #14 Last Edit: September 17, 2010, 09:12:02 pm by Blizzard
Quote from: Subsonic_Noise on September 17, 2010, 07:00:01 pm
What I meant is not what the filters do, but the quality of what they do. Just listen to the filter of an MS20 by korg, the one the rereleased with the monotron. It is a regular highpass / lowpass filter, but it can sound so drastically different if you want it to. Sound is hard to describe, let me look for a video... http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=JI9rBVP-nE8&feature=related


Actually that's just a regular generator with cut, resonance and envelope working on a half-saw, half-square sound. But that actually exactly proves my point. With something like this that uses only the most basic components, you can do so much. There is no real need for fancy generators. It's like a tuned car. Do you REALLY need it to drive down the road? No. Will it drive better than a normal car? Probably yes.

Quote from: Subsonic_Noise on September 17, 2010, 07:00:01 pm
show me FL studio pulling of those sounds.


You just showed me a TB-303 style synthesizer. FL's TS-404 is a simulator of that particular synthesizer. In other words, it can pull it off with the basic synthesizers you get with the program.

Quote from: Subsonic_Noise on September 17, 2010, 07:00:01 pm
(Yes, I chose an extreme example, so you have to notice the difference xD) But that may be just my affinity to anologue sounds.


I'm not following. That's a synthesizer that he's using. Synthesizer != analogue. A guitar, that's an analogue instrument. A piano, that's analogue. A synthesizer is not an analogue instrument.

Quote from: Subsonic_Noise on September 17, 2010, 07:00:01 pm
Same goes for synths in general, without having a "fancy" sound generator, there are big differences in quality. There can be good and bad sounding low- and highpass filters just like there can be good and bad sounding FM generators, and their quality is vital to a hifi genre such as yours. As I said, it's difficult to describe without audio examples, but compare this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu1GU-_m4hk to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASIzx4B7U44 The FL one just is missing something elementary.


A highpass/lowpass filter is nothing more than this:

Spoiler: ShowHide


Every single filter uses that. There is no actual difference in quality. There is only a limit to parametrization. If you use an EQ with 3 parameters, you can't do as much as with an EQ with 7 or 31 parameters. But that doesn't make it have a lower quality. In fact, there are equalizers that can have any number of parameters.

I think you are kind of completely missing the point here. You can't compare digital sound generators and analogue instruments. For one, analogue sound generators always have a noise factor. They create sound by directly creating vibrations in the air. Air is already full with noises. And there's the echoing of the surrounding areas. Walls, the floor, the instrument, you, everything vibrates and creates noise. On the other side digital generators create mathematical "perfectly" calculated sounds. You can't compare a pure digital recording to an analogue recording that has that kind of noise. Secondly, a human playing an instrument (even a digital instrument) is not the same as a predefined sequence of notes that is being played exactly the same velocity and the length every time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mr-rCkRrvg In fact, you can't even compare them and say one is better or has a higher quality. If you do, the digital recording will always have a higher quality because it is precise and has no noise while the analogue recording will sound better because it sounds more natural.

Quote from: Subsonic_Noise on September 17, 2010, 07:00:01 pm
And about FL being able to do everything cubase can.. I'll get back to this when I got access to my own PC again. There are alot of things that it is superior in compared to FL Studio, and the time it needs to get used to it is well worth it. It's the most used audio editing software for windows among professionals for a reason, just like Pro Tools and Logic are for OSX.


I'm not saying Cubase doesn't do some stuff better than FL, because it does. I'm just saying that Cubase and FL have pretty much the same capabilities. Cubase has some more fine-tuned stuff and things that professionals are used to use from analogue instruments, etc. Cubase is supposed to get as close as possible to analogue production while FL isn't. There's the main difference I'd say.

Quote from: Subsonic_Noise on September 17, 2010, 07:00:01 pm
Well, I don't just want to criticise all the time without offering a solution. xD I could, in two weeks or so, upload the korg synth simulators and the Toxic3Orion VST for you if you want. You could try them out and see for yourself if it's worth it. Just tell me. (...I also got a 80mb version of cubase if you want to give it another try :P)


Meh, it's ok. You don't have to bother. I used the 6 GB version of Cubase, I've seen enough. #_#

As I said, using such heavy software as Cubase makes sense if you are into analogue production or close-to-analogue. I'm not even using FL to its full capabilities. It would be a waste of time to adapt to using Cubase because I won't use everything it can do anyway. In fact, I would still be fine with FL 5 (or FL 7 for that matter, since it was the first one to properly use multi-core CPUs). I do my sample editing and mastering with external software anyway.

EDIT: Oh, BTW. Your Colossus actually kinda inspired me to pull this melody off. xD
Check out Daygames and our games:

King of Booze 2      King of Booze: Never Ever
Drinking Game for Android      Never have I ever for Android
Drinking Game for iOS      Never have I ever for iOS


Quote from: winkioI do not speak to bricks, either as individuals or in wall form.

Quote from: Barney StinsonWhen I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story.

Subsonic_Noise

Well, I think we are both kind of missing each others points xD My point was that there are differences in quality of sound, not that you need fancy extras on your synths. The MS20 is one of the most basic synths there are (actually, it's monophonic and doesn't have FM xD), but still is used today - why? Because its sound  is still one of the best around, although every soft synth has probably much more options. I could have used a soft synth as an example, but i wanted to use something extreme so it'd be clearly audible. Yes, you could pull off that sound on FL, but it would never sound as good, even if you're using the exact same settings.
Tha/ all i wanted to say.
And explaining the difference between an analogue and a digital synth.. let me try that tomorrow. xD

Blizzard

Quote from: Calintz on September 17, 2010, 06:59:07 pm
I wouldn't even be bothered if you just looped what you have there for seven minutes and never even did 'more' work!! Lol. I love it!!


HOLY SHIT, YOU'RE RIGHT! I just realized that I've been listening to it for over 20 minutes straight. O_o I need to finish this song. xD
Check out Daygames and our games:

King of Booze 2      King of Booze: Never Ever
Drinking Game for Android      Never have I ever for Android
Drinking Game for iOS      Never have I ever for iOS


Quote from: winkioI do not speak to bricks, either as individuals or in wall form.

Quote from: Barney StinsonWhen I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story.

Subsonic_Noise

Oh, btw.. Care to give me the midi? This sounds like the perfect thing to practise on my hardware synth xD

Blizzard

You mean the notes for the melody and the pad?
Check out Daygames and our games:

King of Booze 2      King of Booze: Never Ever
Drinking Game for Android      Never have I ever for Android
Drinking Game for iOS      Never have I ever for iOS


Quote from: winkioI do not speak to bricks, either as individuals or in wall form.

Quote from: Barney StinsonWhen I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story.

Subsonic_Noise

Quote from: Blizzard on September 18, 2010, 08:39:18 am
You mean the notes for the melody and the pad?

Yep, and for the drums if possible xD FL should have a midi export function.
This just sounds like a perfect song to program into my synth to show off the sounds xD