OSC20 - Noisemaker - Your votes please.

[tattiemannie]

Ok folks, time for you to you cast your votes for the best Noisemaker only track.

See thread ... http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=296915

The response to this comp has been brilliant in terms of both quality and quantity .. reflecting the popularity of the synth.
So, prepare for a treat! ....24 great tracks showcasing a huge range of styles, ideas and sounds all demonstrating the bounds of versatility and character available from noisemaker.

Please listen to all the tracks before casting a vote ... I know it takes a while, but its the only fair way to do things ... Criteria for your voting decision is up to you, but I ask that you take at least some account of the range, nature, and use of the synth's sounds in your decisions.

So here's how!

Visit the One Synth Challenge site!
http://sites.google.com/site/kvrosc/home

Here you can download/listen to individual tracks as you wish, or download the whole collection as a zip file, access track info, access a playlist, and keep track of the voting.

You can also find links to tracks, results and all relevant info pertaining to all previous comps.

Big thanks to V'ger for setting it up this excellent resource, and all the hard work in gathering all the links and info together.

How to vote ...
We will use the fixed allocation system of voting. You award 10 points to track you think is best, 7 points for second, then 5, 3, 2 and 1.

You should allocate your votes, in a single post, in this thread ... something like this ....
Track zxy - 10
Track xqy - 7
Track zyx - 5
Track zqx - 3
Track qzx - 2
Track zqx - 1

....you must then enter these votes directly to the KVROSC site ... look for the 'vote here' link on the OSC20 page.

Reviews, however brief, are always welcome, but 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. I will do a review when I can grab a bit of time to do the job justice.

New Option for Voters! ... Suggest a Synth!
Those who cast a set of votes can also vote for the synth they would most like to feature in OSC24. Simply name a single synth preferrably in the same post as your votes, and make it clear ... ie "I suggest Synthname for OSC24". your suggested synth must be freeware and easily available via download. it must also be a synth which has not featured in a previous OSC.

The One Synth Challenge site has all previously featured synths listed on the home page http://sites.google.com/site/kvrosc/home
The synth with most nominations at the close of voting will be the featured synth in OSC24.


**Closing date for votes will be Sun 24th October**

[V'ger]

Thx, gonna chew this over, all songs already loaded on the phone. Again, some very good tracks this time, will take time to sort out.

[paterpeter]

OK, I'll give it a go.

I've carefully listened to all tracks. The variety of tracks and sounds is amazing, imho all participants did a great job.

I'll write a little bit about every track. Please note that I'm a total newbie and hobby-musician, so my comments are completely subjective.

4x7 - kx001
Is it intentional that the rhythm has gone completely mad or did the rendering go wrong? Anyway, this issue really distracts from the sound. I like the pad and the filtered sound. The kick drum is a bit too loud IMHO.

Babushka Elektrik - Dead Eddy
Nice atmospheric track, could be a film score. I like the little details (effect noises etc.). The chosen sounds fit nicely together.

Daily Deadline - tattiemannie
Great, varied track. I love the (FM or ringmod'ed?) solo lead voice. There are only two things I don't like so much: the snare drum sound and the balance between the voices in the parts like 0:59-1:22.

Dystopiandamnbientdanceparty - herodotus
Great soundscape in the middle of the track! I really like how it becomes somewhat trance-ish after the breakdown. The start and end is not my cup of tea, though.

efunkinbasstest - olikana
I don't particularly like the sound at the beginning of the track. The second half is much better, though, very 80s-esque. Of course, I would have liked to hear a more complete track.

faTAL noise - bzur
I had to think of Jean-Michel Jarre, don't know why. But consider this a compliment by all means A very nice combination of softer and harsher timbres and a bit FM.

Forth - mrblitz000
"I will survive", anyone? Great bass sound. Definitively not your common set of sounds. Overall it lacks some high-end frequencies.

Fudge-ah dziz
Great D'n'B track! An awesome showcase of what noisemaker is capable of. Also, the mix is very polished.

Games Without Front Teeth - Yeager
Ah, what a nice feel-good vibe. The arrangement is great, the sounds are awesome (a lot of retro), everything fits perfectly. Well done!

Ghost in the white - new kids on the block
Like 4x7, this sounds a bit weird (rhythm-wise), and I wonder whether it is intentional. The track is not really my thing, sorry.

Homage to John Zorn - Gegech
Hehe, this one surprised me multiple times. Certainly a creative piece. Many of the sounds are really great, like the string (starting at 0:54) and the clavinet-like.

Nikel - SporkSurgery
A nice, progressive track. The main sounds are rather conventional, but the effects are quite creative.

Noizemakin' - loquat
The track could have used more variation, it gets a bit repetitive after a while.

Obsession (Wind Rage) - vanmorrison & the drones
Awesome weather sounds A bit too much side-chain compression for my taste. I like the mellow lead sound. Simple, but pleasant to listen to.

Random noise - Mulperi
Great sounds, lots of warmth. The arrangement is also great: while the 4 bar foundation is repeated throughout the track, it never gets boring due to the different melody parts, a nice solo and some details in the drum track. The length of the track fits perfectly.

Ride on a meteorite - MaxSynth
Some really cool sounds! I particularly like all those silent, plucky sounds in the background and the sound with the filter envelope in the second half. The snare is great, so snappy. The sliding melody is not my cup of tea, it has some rough edges that are a bit distracting. Also, the second half could benefit from a more prominent bass sound.

Shmup - edteneyck
I like the track: the sounds, the mix, the arrangement. The drums could use a bit more punch.

sick of this noise - Cubensick & uiiuiiu
Really, really great. Incredible sounds, great arrangement, a wealth of variety and details and a very pleasant mix. Nothing to complain about here.

TAL Musicbox - Archon1024
Cool track. I can't say why, but it reminds me of the music of some C64 games back when I was young. What I don't like is the dynamic balance between the quiter parts and the louder parts.

Tal-noisemaker water - pkstar
Funky opening. The rhythm seems to bit slightly off, but it could be just me. I was expecting some actual lead melody to appear after a while.

Talosc - Totolitoto
Interesting sounds at the beginning. I love the sound and the rhythm of the beat. The arrangement is well done, you introduce new stuff before the listeners becomes bored. Overal a nice atmospheric track.

The One Preset Song - FN
Certainly not bad for track based on only one preset. I like the overall feeling of the track. Of course it does not show off the many capabilities of noisemaker.

This is a Test - CapDan
Great drums. The bass reminds me of Apollo 440's "Altamont Super-Highway Revisited". Very nice, non-repetitive arrangement with many creative sounds. It made me think of the dynamic music system (iMuse) in Monkey Island 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N41TEcjcvM) where different music parts are perfectly glued together.

Trouble - Xaenima
Nice, solid house track, great groove. There is not a plethora of different sounds in here, but the chosen sounds fit in nicely.

Last but not least - my own track:

Polymood - Peter Gone Sonic
As I said before, this is actuall my first track I made in ten years or so. Therefore, I'm happy to have finished a track at all.
What I like: although the track is quite cheesy, IMO the track is easy to listen to, just a little feel-good tune. The combination of different styles fits reasonable well together. I like the bass sound and the filtered noise effects.
What I don't like: the snare drum is pretty flimsy, I just couldn't get more punch in it. It's not the vault of the synth, others have shown us great snare drums. The different parts are more or less glued together with one or two bar breakdowns, not very creative. The lead sounds lack some pressure. Overall the track is a little too tame. Also, soundwise, everything is pretty conventional. The mix is probably very bad, but I'm currently "mixing" using a soundblaster card and a very cheap hi-fi system.

And finally, my votes:
10 points: sick of this noise - Cubensick & uiiuiiu
7 points: Games Without Front Teeth - Yeager
5 points: Ride on a Meteorite - MaxSynths
3 points: Random noise - Mulperi
2 points: Shmup - edteneyck
1 point: faTAL noise - bzur

Oh, and I suggest RMXL for OSC24. I've never done anything with it, I'm curious what it can sound like.


P.S.: I entered my votes into the scoreboard, but the 10 point vote does not show up in the total scores. Someone should look at it

[Totolitoto]

Well, great great tracks
Congrats to the entrants!

My vote (that was hard to decide):

Cubensick & uiiuiiu - sick of this noise : 10 pts
Probably the most professional sounding OSC track I've listened to
Fantastic

Babushka Elektrik - Dead Eddy : 7 pts
Excellent ambient track, very cinematographic

Ride on a Meteorite - MaxSynths : 5 pts
Well named trip through the stars. Cool

FN-The One Preset Song : 3 pts
Interesting track, attention to the details, minimalistic. I like it

Nikel - SporkSurgery : 2 pts
Very good track, great production

Trouble - Xaenima : 1 pts
Excellent work on the drums


Cheers
T.

[dwsel]

The more I think and listen I find it harder to choose, so my first subjective votes are:

Cubensick & uiiuiiu - sick of this noise - 10
Well glued together into uniform composition, still something interesting happens, very nice transitions.

This is a Test - CapDan - 7
...for interesting, well performed idea

faTAL noise - bzur - 5
I like instruments used in the track.

Shmup - edteneyck - 3
...for the sense of space, bassy sounds at the beginning and the flute-like instrument.

Forth - mrblitz000 - 2
I enjoyed composition and proof that even ring modulated main voice can sound really musical.

Obsession (Wind Rage) - vanmorrison & the drones - 1
...for ambient sounds and overall mood of the track.

[V'ger]

]I entered my votes into the scoreboard, but the 10 point vote does not show up in the total scores. Someone should look at it

Nice review and thx for notifying about the error, fixed now.

[Xenox.AFL]

Paterpeter:

What a review, nice...

Here are my points... Soundcloud is very buggy these days so i started listening to the tracks yesterday and finished today... Whatever...

10 points for: Cubensick & uiiuiiu - sick of this noise

7 points for: Talosc - Totolitoto

5 points for: Fudge-ah dziz

3 points for: Nikel - SporkSurgery

2 points for: Daily Deadline - tattiemannie

1 point for: Dystopiandamnbientdanceparty herodotus

Thanx all for the great tunes...
by the way, i really like the track from Patrick (TAL) but i thought it would be silly if i give him some points...

Frank

[Totolitoto]

Xenox, thanks for the vote, but don't forget to complete the scoreboard!
http://sites.google.com/site/kvrosc/osc ... oreboard-1

[Blaakk]

That was very, very tough. Anyways...........

Shmup - Edteneyck >> 10 Points.

I really like this track's mood! Takes me on a little journey through the inner cosmos, but in a fighter space-ship. Sounds are layered and mixed very well, as is the normal/half-time feel.


Cubensick & Uiiuiiu - Sick of this Noise >> 7 Points.

Just a nipple-hair's width from max points. Excellent track! Kick drum sounds a little too 'clicky' at times to me. Everything else is faultless.


Talosc - Totolitoto >> 5 Points.

Very solid track. The percussion sounds great. Love the fast, shuffling shakers type sound. Kept me very interested throughout.


Fudge - Ah Dziz >> 3 Points.

If the drums had a little bit more 'oomph' this would be higher. Nevertheless, they're full of variation all the way through the track. Lead sound goes very well both with the early darkish mood and the more uplifting mid-section.


Polymood - Peter Gone Sonic >> 2 Points.

This is a fun track! The introduction is great. Although the chorus' lead could benefit from just a tad less cheese, I can't help but be coaxed into bouncing along to it. Nice contrasting sections here too.


Games Without Front Teeth - Yeager >> 1 Point.

Took me a while to decide between this and Bzur's 'faTAL noise'. In the end, I chose this because it sounded a little more powerful and varied in terms of mood.

------------------

Phew. Really was very tough deciding. Feel a wee bit guilty for many of the tracks not making the scoreboard.

Thanks to all involved!

(EDIT: OSC24 suggestion... Chrysalis-Ichi)

[Archon1024]

It was much harder to narrow my votes down than I thought it would be; a lot of really good tracks were submitted. Working with TAL NoiseMaker in this contest has actually taught me a lot about sound synthesis, which is awesome. To the developers' credit, the layout is very clean and easy to understand. I'm still new to electronic music and before undertaking this project I didn't even know what an LFO was or how an envelope worked, so my impressions of you guys' tracks may be a bit naive. I shall do my best, though.


Polymood - Peter Gone Sonic (10 points)
There were a lot of things I liked musically about this arrangement. Varied pace, prominent leads, interesting rhythms that didn't stagnate, a wide range of voices, neat effect sounds, and ultimately a tune that got stuck in my head. I think this one demonstrates a wide range of very musical sounds and mixes them naturally.

sick of this noise - Cubensick & uiiuiiu (7 points)
Solid, well-produced, and interesting. I'm especially found of the B section at about 1:30. There's a lot going on in the arrangement but it feels very natural. The pitch bending on a lot of the voices sounds really neat.

Talosc - Totlitoto (5 points)
The sounds are what did it for me with this one. The slightly dissonant background sound going throughout the entire piece really sets the mood, and the percussion sounds especially sound great. Shakers, rims, snares, hat sizzles, accents... I can tell a lot of attention went into those sounds.

Ride on a Meteorite - MaxSynths (3 points)
This one grooves like crazy. I like the sci-fi sounds and especially the bass line in the beginning. I only wish the ride was a bit longer.

Trouble - Xaenima (2 points)
Another killer groove. There's an interesting sound near the middle that sounds like "swishing" mouthwash or something. Really cool.

Daily Deadline - tattiemannie (1 point)
A very well structured song in my opinion. Lots of variety without feeling random. The syncopated and driving feel definitely brings a few of my recent deadlines to mind.


So many other tracks deserve points, but sadly I have no more to give.

[PurpleCatfishBettie]

Dystopianambientdanceparty, herodotus: This could very well be the UC Sunnydale theme song.

TAL Musicbox, Archon1024: Capture the spirit within stone; enjoy the ensuing drama of the animated, material world.

Daily Deadline, tattiemannie: The opening reminds me a bit of a church organ. Then we're off into chiptunes; sprites flitting about the screen in an orgy of something or other. Then we move onto some Keith Emerson-type action. Well done!

Noizemakin', loquat: A great basis for further development. The ending would have made a great break in the middle.

Games Without Front Teeth, Yeager: As usual from Yeager, it's got at least a few interesting wrinkles and twists and turns; and that signature quality of production/mix.

Homage to John Zorn, Gegech: This song has some serious change-ups! The fast/loud part is actually a tad overbearing to these ears, but the rest of it more than makes up for that.

sick of this noise, Cubensick and uiiuiiu: This sounds like flying.

4x7, kx001: 'Offbeat, ambient.' With the kick overpowering the mix, it's about 90 seconds too long for these ears. If the kick were dialed back, this thing could go on much longer. In other words, very cool concept; the kick got to be too much after awhile. ymmv of course...

This is a Test, CapDan: Quaaludes with just a slight touch of Dexidrine? Whatever the case of that, it's a fairly successful test in any event.

The One Preset Song, FN: For just one preset, that's fairly amazing.

Talosc, Totolitoto: It sort of seems to live in 'ambient' territory, but with tendrils sprouting out into areas beyond. It paints a picture of a lush jungle.

TAL noisemaker, water: This one seems really mellow.

Fudge, ah dziz: The intensity ratchets way back up. Would you call this D&B? Whatever the case of that, I'm really enjoying the uptempo, combined with the somewhat out-of-the-box sonic structures.

Shmup, edteneyck: This could be bumper music on the Whitley Streiber show.

Random noise, Mulperi: This is very well done. Is at least some of that being played in real-time?

faTAL noise, bzur: Another very well done piece.

Polymood, Peter Gone Sonic: I really like the 'computer type' of sounds in the intro. The kick is perhaps 'too heavy' for my tastes; maybe it's just the 'shape/frequency' or somesuch. Anyway, When this one takes off, it's got a 'folksy feel,' but extrapolated into the digital realm. Maybe add some change-ups on the 'recapitulation.'

Babushka Electric: Dead Eddy: This one has some interesting textures.

Ride on a Meteorite, Maxsynths: Too short! That's always better than too long...

Trouble, Xaenima: Great sci-fi theme music.

Nikel, Spork Surgery: I really like those 'scratches.' Interesting piece overall...

Ghost in the white, new kids on the block: This one has a charming quirkiness about it.

Obsession (Wind Rage), vanmorrison & the drones: The thunder and wind sounds are really cool. This is another one which reminds me of bumper music from some radio show about 'the paranormal.'

10 Homage to John Zorn
7 Fudge
5 Daily Deadline
3 Random noise
2 Ride on a Meteorite
1 Trouble

As usual, there simply aren't enough votes to go around!

(edit: OSC 24 Nomination: Kraken)

[tattiemannie]

Cheers for the votes guys ... did everyone add their tuppence worth re. suggested synth for OSC24? ... err sorry, that should have been anyone? ... Oh well, there's always the edit button if you wake up in the middle of the night suddenly inspired

[edteneyck]

Thank you everybody for the great entries! Here are my votes:

CubensickUiiuiiu-SickOfThisNoise - 10
The stuttering/modulating synth and melody is great!

RandomNoise-Mulperi - 7
Smooth and relaxing (and fun to jam along with!).

FatalNoise-Bzur - 5
The melody stuck in my head. Nice lead!

Talosc-Totolitoto - 3
The timing and pitch modulation is great!

Nikel-Sporksurgery - 2
I like the bass and synth scratches!

RideOnAMeteorite-maxsynths - 1
I like the leads and wah synth.


It was difficult to choose and I really enjoyed all of them!

Ed

[olikana]

1 cubensick (10 pts)
great composition, great sound design, great production.
only negative point:the kickdrum at times loses "solidity" (maybe bad limiter when pushed or the sidechain compression a little off).

2 Nikel (7 pts)
nothing to fault in this little composition. reminds me of the instrumental parts of Depeche's Ultra(and considering that recod was made with analog gear...).

3 gagech (5 pts)
insane composition, some interesting and good sounds , overall good production.shows off the variety of sounds noisemaker can produce.

4 shmup (3 pts)
sounds great...varied sounds..and some really good ones...but-1 for the 303 basline type of sound (just don't find that sound interesting in 2010)

5 totolito (2 pts)
nice sounds,relaxing composition. good production

6 Xaenima (1 pts)
straightforward tecchy tune. fits its purpose: good club drums

osc24 synth suggestion : Xhip

[tattiemannie]

Hi folks, sorry to throw this at you ... but...

I have an announce something I hoped not to have to announce.

I have made no secret of the fact that I have been struggling to devote the right level of time and energy to running OSC over the past 6 months. Furthermore, it is becoming harder with each passing week.
The toughest part for myself is that whenever I get a break, I am tempted into promising to do stuff, as things turn out, I cant fulfill ... and whilst I apologise freely and sincerely, I still feel bad about this.

So, I'm afraid I am going to have to step aside as OSC organiser after I launch the the xmas comp ( any-one-synth challenge ).

I am very proud to have run things so far. it has been a lot of fun, and I am very grateful for the support at all levels ... contributors, prize donors, KVR ( and Meffy for encouragement and the stickies ), the voters, and anyone and everyone who has as much as posted on the threads.

But it's not all over folks ... OSC is way bigger than tattiemannie ... also, I am not about to disappear. I am particularly grateful to V'ger for transforming the profile and procedures re. OSC via his input, and the building of the kvrosc site. Without V'gers help, I would have had to give up a long time ago.

So I suggest that in the meantime, OSCers bear with me and excuse my shortcomings while we take a look at how OSC moves forward.

I also recommend that if V'ger is willing to take the lead in running the comps, that the OSC community give him as much support, help, and backing as I have enjoyed to date. I think V'ger has shown that he would do an excellent job in running the comps.

I advise V'ger, or whoever takes over the running, not to do this alone. I would recommend that someone takes on the job of communicating with the prize donors and dealing with the distribution of prizes. This is very important ... and yet, an area which I have not been able to take care of as well as I would have liked to. This job could also involve contacting the developers of featured synths when comps are launched ( or ahead of the launch ) hopefully to have the devs involved.
This would leave the lead organiser to concentrate on the day to day running of the comps.

I recommend that when V'ger or another takes over the running that rules, norms, procedures etc be reviewed so that those currently active have a say in how we proceed towards the end of our second year. Much of what is understood between OSCers is based on what was laid down back in Feb/Mar 09 ... So maybe time for a shake up, with the reassurance that all that's good about OSC will survive a good shake, and maybe fresh ideas will find a way in.

It is not at all easy to step back from what has been a big part of my life over the past 20 months, and so I am not going to be far away. I will still be available to help, advise, discuss, etc ... and of course, will always try to write a track and add my votes/comments.

I am going to paste this same message into the other current OSC thread so you all know, and can have a think about things. It may be an idea to create a new thread to thrash things out.