One-Synth-Challenge 45: Alchemy - Voting and Results

[V'ger]

Time to vote for your top 5 tracks. All tracks are here.

RULES:
- Give 5 points to the track you think is best, 4 for second, then 3, 2 and 1.
- Voting is open to anyone.
- Last day for voting is 15th November (KVR time).
- If you have entered in the competition, you must vote to be eligible for prizes.
- No voting for yourself.
- Voters must have had 20 prior forum posts before start of the voting period, or participated in this month's contest.
- In the case of equal scores after voting, entries will be separated by how many 5 pts they got, then 4 pts and so on.

HOW TO VOTE:
You should allocate your votes, in a single post, in this thread ... something like this:

5 pts: Artist zxy - Track zxy
4 pts: Artist xqy - Track xqy
3 pts: Artist zyx - Track zyx
2 pts: Artist zqx - Track zqx
1 pt: Artist qzx - Track qzx

NOTE:
Reviews, however brief, are always welcome. Even if you can only find the time to add a short comment, then please do! ...it keeps the thread alive and encourages others to listen/vote.

[angelremington]

Hi, here's my votes for the Alchemy OSC:

5 points: Aiyn Zahev - Eyelids of Autumn

4 points: Jasinski- Puppet Show

3 points: Skyzone - The basic bits

2 points: Loris D Solic - Demolition imminent

1 point: Picapica (aka steradd) Signal:first contact

regards:

GA

[Bjulin]

Good luck to everyone! My votes will follow!

[picapica]

Hi, here are my votes:

5 points: bjulin: electronic pyjama party (brilliant sounds, nice drums and a nice piece, too).

4 points: Ayin Zahev: eyelids of autumn (very professionel sound design!)

3 pedalsteeldrummer: Amrita (Wow, sounds like samples, and i'm into oriental scales right now, so i liked the indian vibe, too).

2 points: Jasinski: puppet show (very nice sounds, well produced).

1 point: Skyzone: icemountain (like the Vangelis touch of the sounds).

Sorry that i could'nt give points to other tracks, lots of good music in this contest!

Best wishes every one,

Stefan

[satYatunes]

5pts: PedalSteelDrummer - Amrita Water of Life (Being from India, I grew up listening to these kind of sounds / tracks on Radio. They broadcast classical concerts live on TV as well. You have done a great job)
4pts: Evo2Slo - Soul Candy (Just as the name says)
3pts: LorisDSolic - Demolition Imminent (Simply great)
2pts: Skyzone - Across the Universe (Nice ambient track)
1pts: Jasinski - Puppet Show (Great combination of good sound design and composition)

These are just my personal opinion on overall track and sound design, feel free to agree to disagree.

AiynZahev - Top notch mixing and sound designing but the track didn't do justice.
Angelremington - Loved the melody. Mixing could have been better.
Bjulin - Good buildup but little too long. The sound that came at around 3:35 hurt my ear. Good to see you back in OSC by the way.
E@rs - Composition and structure is good. Some sounds could have been more clear.
Key88 - Some nice sounds here but the track was bit dull and repetitive.
Nikp2000 - Lovely track. Mixing could have been better. The overall volume is low.
Numeologia - Glitch and fx galore.
Picapica - Overall good just lost to other competitors.

[Bjulin]

Bjulin - Good buildup but little too long. The sound that came at around 3:35 hurt my ear. Good to see you back in OSC by the way.

THANKS! And thanks for the first 5 points picapica!

So... here we go... these are my favorites:

5 pts. - Ayin Zahev - Eyelids of Autumn

This is very nice Trancemusic. Well, you're programming fantastic sounds... maybe that's why your soundsets are selling! Only the drums were not that good, I think.

4 pts. - Jasinski - Puppet Show

Did you paint Mario yourself?
Well, it's a very cool glitchy dubstep thingy and I love that kind of stuff, if it's not only trash... you've done a great mix of dreamy parts (btw. the intro was simply amazing) and that wobble/trash sounds.
On some parts the whole mix felt a bit muddy... i think some of the sounds overlapped each other with there frequencies - that's why the mix was not that brilliant as in other tracks i heard from you.

3 pts. - pedalsteeldrummer - Amrita

WOW! Very good Synthprogramming in this track, too! all the sounds felt so real, i didn't believe it when i listened to your track the first time. But then, i listened again and had real big respect... i think you really did great work with the sounds. the composition itself is very good, too. i have listened to bollywood music a few years ago... so that kind of music is not completely out of my world. i think it's really hard for us to do music with those indian scales... but yours is really near to it. it gave me a very nice happy/calm feel!

2 pts. - numerologia - PacMan Forever

Man, you know what... I LOVE VIDEOGAMES and VIDEOGAMEMUSIC!!
Very cool sounds... and it really made me remember pacman. Very good imitation of the original sounds!
I only wish the drums had more power... i wonder how this track would have sounded like, if it had a "boom boom pow"-kick and percs!

1 pt. - evo2slo - Soul Candy

Nice track! First of all, that bassline hooked me up - that melody was immediately in my ears. and you used that line again later with the lead-sound. that gives your track a very high recall value!
And another thing that felt very good was the positioning of the drums. you've created a very large room with that.
On the other hand, there was a bit too much stuff on the mid frequenices. it felt a bit muddy here. a bit less reverb and eqing would have made that track a bit more clear... and i think the main lead should not be positioned on the left (or right). if someone would listen to your track with only the right ear, he would have missed the primary hookline. if you want to make it wide, try to use "mid/side mangler" or something like that.


ok... now... i shut my mouth... enough smartass acting!


CHEERS!

[evo2slo]

@satYatunes: Thanks for the kind words.

@Bjulin: Really appreciate the nice comments and constructive feedback! I'm still trying to get my head around effective panning techniques to make a wider sounding mix without the phasing issues that stereo wideners can create. That's a very good point you make about panning lead instruments. I almost always listen to music through speakers or headphones so forget sometimes about how common it is to listen to music from mono sources like a phone speaker. Checking mixes for mono compatibility is something I've never really done, but I think it's a good idea.

[IrionDaRonin]

Very well done to everyone guys. Nice stuff as usual. And hard to vote, as usual too.

• My champions this month
  
  1) Picapica Signal: First contact - 5 Points
  2) Aiyn Zahev - Eyelids of Autumn - 4 Points
  3) Bjulin - Electronic Pyjama Party - 3 Points
  4) Pedalsteeldrummer - Amrita (Water of Life) - 2 Points
  5) Jasinski - Puppet Show - 1 Point

Honorable Mentions (In no special order)
Loris D Solic - Demolition imminent
Skyzone - Speed of life
Evo2slo - Soul Candy
e@rs - Autofocus

Secondary Prizes
·Prize to the risky/weird/different track - Key88-Alchemy and Pedalsteeldrummer - Amrita
·Prize to the best portrait - Skyzone - Across the universe and Angelremington - Alchemy Reflections
·Prize to the best title - Numerologia - Pacman Forever, Aiyn Zahev - Eyelids of Autumn and Pedalsteeldrummer - Amrita (Water of Life)

I hope to see you this month.

Have a good day guys

[photonic]

Hi, here come my votes:

5 points: Steradd - signal first contact
4 points: Jasinksi - Puppet Show
3 points: Aiyn Zahev - Eyelids of Autumn
2 points: Skyzone - ice mountain
1 point: Bjulin - Electronic Pyjama Party

cheers,
Photonic

[nikp2000]

_

i think a lot of the tracks had a weird reverb wash and a squashed mix. the less dense tracks seemed clearer to me. i know i had a lot of trouble and ended up with a crappy mix. or maybe my ears just suck.


5pts Key88-Alchemy
4pts pedalsteeldrummer - Amrita (Water of Life)
3pts Jasinski- Puppet Show
2pts Picapica (aka steradd) Signal:first contact
1pt Bjulin - Electronic Pyjama Party

nick

_

[pedalsteeldrummer]

Not so many entries this month - I wonder why? I found Alchemy a bit intimidating at first, but well worth digging into.

Here is my top 5:

5 points: Aiyn Zahev - Eyelids of Autumn
This track might not be ground-breaking, but flawless execution and a total pleasure to listen to - this gets my vote for winner.

4 points: Jasinski - Puppet Show
An absolutely stonking track (i.e. very good!). Full of ambition and inventiveness in sound programming. I think the "mental" bits just went a little too far for my taste. Was the mix tonal balance a little bit too mid-rangy? I am just nitpicking - I almost chose this for my top track.

3 points: Bjulin - Electronic Pyjama Party
A real grower this one. Love the way the theme builds slowly over time. The mix creates a lovely wide open soundscape. Still not sure about the cutting synth towards the end, but all in all I like this a lot.

2 points: Loris D Solic - Demolition imminent
Lots of energy and excitement here - plus some very cool synth effects in this track. Maybe lost a bit of focus in the second half, could do with developing some of the earlier ideas I think.

1 point: evo2slo - Soul Candy
This feels like a breath of fresh air - really different in mood to the other entries this month. The more I listen to this the more I like it. Gets my final vote this month. (By the way, the cover art is really cool as well!)


Cheers everyone

[Aiynzahev]

5 Points - pedalsteeldrummer - Amrtia
The realism of the instruments, their placement in the mix and the rhythmic human feel and melodies make this the best entry this month for me. This is in some ways the most interesting and pleasant OSC entry I've heard.

4 Points - Picapica - Signal: First Contact
Totally mesmerizing

3 Points - Djulin - Electronic Pyjama party
Excellent use of sounds, hypnotic theme, very good

2 Points - SkyZone - Ice Mountain
Really dramatic, very wintery. Great track.

1 Point - Jasinski - Puppet Show
Like your last entry, amazing work in every way, but overall not appealing to me personally. I think it's partly because it's way too compressed, typical of the genre I know, but I have to turn my speakers down to a very low level to avoid ear fatigue Still, one point at least since it is clearly an outstanding work.

[SuperNoise]

Well job guys, this month not so many entries but even then some good tracks!
My points goes to:
5pt. Aiyn Zahev - Eyelids of Autumn.
4pt. Jasinski- Puppet Show.
3pt. Bjulin - Electronic Pyjama Party.
2pt. evo2slo - Soul Candy.
1pt. Skyzone - Ice mountain.

Respect to all participans for realy hard work.

[numerologia]

My votes

5pts Jasinski - PuppetShow
4pts Angel Remington - Alchemy Reflections (OSC)
3pts Evo2slo - SoulCandy
2pts Bjulin - Electronic Pyjama Party
1pt Loris D solic _ Demolition Imminent

@Bjulin, THX, Mate:D

[loris16148]

YO, lots of awesome entries! Alchemy was a big synth, one month is not enough to explore the capabilities. Regardless of its intimidating configuration, once you get in, and go through a few youtube tutorials, which are brilliant, it becomes a breeze and a joy. I like the fact that it did not come with any presets. Its definitely more of a challenge this way.

Anyway my votes.

5. AiynZahev - Eyelids of Autumn - The sounds were really crisp, and it was a textbook trance track. I usually scour the websites for the next big synth that I cant afford, and often I stumble upon demo tracks composed by the designers of that synth to represent included patches and possibilities of the synth. This is that demo track except for Alchemy.

4. Jasinski - Puppet Show - Somehow this guy always ends up in my list. Its because the sheer complexity of the sequencing that goes into creating a track always impresses me. At the start of this track I thought the snares/hats were a little to loud, bud then it got into the chorus and the basses started twisting turning and screaming and I didn't care about the snares anymore.

3. Evo2Slo - Soul Candy. This song is a indeed Slo. But the change of pace is welcoming. Although the song was a bit lengthy the slow beat and an appropriate array of sounds made for a great track. I love the way some of the 'instruments' leave of and a different sounding instrument pick up where it left off. A technique, when combinded with great songwriting, that makes a track stand out. I think you got what it takes to create a catchy song. That's important

2. Numerologia - Pac Man Forever - At the start it sounded like Pac Man got into some deep S#%$. Crunching sounds, melting sounds, slimy sounds etc. It was indeed impressive because it sounded real. And although the song was on the higher spectrum of the pitch range, it was well organized and captured the spirit of the electronic hero. With lots of complex sounds throughout the song it seems that bleeps and beeps can indeed be organized into a work of art.

1. Angel Remington - Alchemy Reflections - I really like the way this song starts. The introductions and the arps are becoming a signature trademarks of your sounds. What really got me is the puchy kick. I found Alchemy uncooperative (due to my lax programming skills) for making strong kicks.

PS: I don't want to start any kind of war, but I was looking at Omnisphere recently. If there are any opinions out there about whether its worth the price and how it stands up against Alchemy, feel free to express your sentiments. Im sure there are millions of threads on this topic and I dont want to be "that guy" who starts an argument. But i feel this community here would be good to ask.