One Synth Challenge #87: Podolski by U-he (Jasinski Wins!)

[Parduz]

I don't think that a "forced" collab ("forced" meaning: the way Jasinki suggested) could works for all.
Tech aspect apart (i'd guess that sharing MIDI files for the tracks and preset settings for all the effects plugins could work, after all) I think that some talents have to match/compensate, or it will end with one doing all the work and the other being almost non influent.
Just reasoning about it, i don't want to put down the idea

[jasinski]

I dont want to force anything!

[z.prime]

Yeah, I'm awful at working with anyone... I can imagine some people are even worse than I am, which would make for a very frustrating month with few entries.

[wagtunes]

Yeah, I'm awful at working with anyone... I can imagine some people are even worse than I am, which would make for a very frustrating month with few entries.

Which is why I think it should be a voluntary thing if two people want to work together.

I can't believe I actually got 2 offers already. Me!!! LMAO.

Don't these guys see where I finish each month? LMAO.

I'm very flattered. Especially given WHO approached me.

Sorry, no name dropping here. Let's just say I was floored.

Hopefully, that's two future OSCs where I won't finish in the basement. LOL.

[Parduz]

I dont want to force anything!

Pls, don't take my words literally. I lack of a proper english school, so I often use the few words I know with a bit of ... creativity

[jasinski]

I dont want to force anything!

Pls, don't take my words literally. I lack of a proper english school, so I often use the few words I know with a bit of ... creativity

No worries! You're English walks circles around my Italian

[rghvdberg]

Yeah, I'm awful at working with anyone... I can imagine some people are even worse than I am, which would make for a very frustrating month with few entries.

Which is why I think it should be a voluntary thing if two people want to work together.

I can't believe I actually got 2 offers already. Me!!! LMAO.

Don't these guys see where I finish each month? LMAO.

I'm very flattered. Especially given WHO approached me.

Sorry, no name dropping here. Let's just say I was floored.

Hopefully, that's two future OSCs where I won't finish in the basement. LOL.

You have a lot of good musical ideas.
I'd love to work with these.

[wagtunes]

Yeah, I'm awful at working with anyone... I can imagine some people are even worse than I am, which would make for a very frustrating month with few entries.

Which is why I think it should be a voluntary thing if two people want to work together.

I can't believe I actually got 2 offers already. Me!!! LMAO.

Don't these guys see where I finish each month? LMAO.

I'm very flattered. Especially given WHO approached me.

Sorry, no name dropping here. Let's just say I was floored.

Hopefully, that's two future OSCs where I won't finish in the basement. LOL.

You have a lot of good musical ideas.
I'd love to work with these.

Thanks. There are many who might not agree with that sentiment. LOL.

[z.prime]

Thanks. There are many who might not agree with that sentiment. LOL.

Don't be so hard on yourself. And some people rather enjoy your inclusion in the OSC, even if it involves occasional rants... It keeps things interesting.

But, you have a lot of good musical sense, I think, as is evidenced by your classical pieces and other things you've posted in random places. It perplexes me that it doesn't immediately translate to other genres, but I suppose that could be expected. And maybe it's also a bit of staying in the 60s or 70s when the prog rock scene seems to have hit you the most.

The biggest things I think you could improve with your tracks are often the points 2 and 3 in my list: sound design/selection & mix/mastering. I think you've improved over time, but I have always been pulling for you to improve a lot more. I guess it does take time... really training yourself with a workflow and listening skills more than anything, which isn't always easy.

But, you don't have to do a particular style or not. Maybe it would be a good exercise to try something totally not what you normally do? Go waaay outside your comfort zone, like dubstep or ambient. Then see how what you've done relates to what you want to do. It may not at all, or maybe you can find some elements to incorporate together to make something modern and fresh, with an underlying prog rock vibe, eventually.

Just an idea...

[wagtunes]

Thanks. There are many who might not agree with that sentiment. LOL.

Don't be so hard on yourself. And some people rather enjoy your inclusion in the OSC, even if it involves occasional rants... It keeps things interesting.

But, you have a lot of good musical sense, I think, as is evidenced by your classical pieces and other things you've posted in random places. It perplexes me that it doesn't immediately translate to other genres, but I suppose that could be expected. And maybe it's also a bit of staying in the 60s or 70s when the prog rock scene seems to have hit you the most.

The biggest things I think you could improve with your tracks are often the points 2 and 3 in my list: sound design/selection & mix/mastering. I think you've improved over time, but I have always been pulling for you to improve a lot more. I guess it does take time... really training yourself with a workflow and listening skills more than anything, which isn't always easy.

But, you don't have to do a particular style or not. Maybe it would be a good exercise to try something totally not what you normally do? Go waaay outside your comfort zone, like dubstep or ambient. Then see how what you've done relates to what you want to do. It may not at all, or maybe you can find some elements to incorporate together to make something modern and fresh, with an underlying prog rock vibe, eventually.

Just an idea...

Z, it's not that I don't like those other styles. I do. In fact, there is very little music that I don't like. I am extremely well rounded.

My problem, as I explained to another member here in PM, comes down to 3 things.

1) I have no sense of rhythm. So my playing ability is severely compromised. Keeping a beat for me is hard enough. So genres that require extreme precision (dance, EDM, dubstep, etc) are very hard for me to pull off.

2) I am terrible with creating drum tracks, which kind of relates to number 1. Since I can't play complex beats, I have to program them and I can't do that very well. My brain doesn't work that way. So I have to either rely on drum machines, which sound like drum machines, or keep the beat very simple, which makes the beat uninteresting.

3) I have absolutely no training in mixing. Up until the last 2 years I didn't even know what a compressor did. When I use FX, I use the stock settings because I don't really understand the parameters enough to make my own. With paid FX, like FabFilter, this is fine. Their settings are great. But with free FX that you have to use for the OSC, their settings are not as good. They require more tweaking which I can't do. So I'm unable to bring out the mix as well as I could with other FX.

The only thing I really have going for me in these OSC's are my composition skills which, ironically, I don't even use because...

1) They're stuck in the 70s and won't appeal to most people anyway.

2) With all the problems I have in the 3 items above, these skills won't really matter much anyway.

So I usually just do a simple little jam over a sequence and leave it at that. There is no point writing a "Masterpiece of art" because all the performance and mixing flaws will just bury me at the bottom of the rankings anyway.

The current TAL competition I finally wrote a real song and busted my ass on the mix doing the absolute best I could. There is no question it is my best OSC entry ever. It is, at worst, deserving of a 3 on merit. But then there is going to be those 15 or 16 people who will give it a 1 either because they hate me or they don't like 70s prog rock. Yes, this is right out of the 70s.

In fact, here it is if you want to give it a listen.

https://soundcloud.com/steven-wagenheim ... 75-osc-88/

I've gotten some nice comments. But it'll still end up near the bottom. When it does, you'll finally understand why I'm so disgusted with this competition.

Anyway, I've rambled on enough. Hopefully, you understand why I have so much trouble with these things now.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

people who will give it a 1 either because they hate me or they don't like 70s prog rock...you'll finally understand why I'm so disgusted with this competition

Your believing in some personal vendetta blocks you from seeing where you are letting yourself down, and where you might actually deserve the low marks.

I can't speak to other competitions, or even to the fact that there may very well be some people who don't like you (and vote accordingly), but on the track you have embedded there are a few reasons why this would not get 3 (out of 5 ?) from me.

I could explain why, but I doubt you'd want to hear it

[wagtunes]

people who will give it a 1 either because they hate me or they don't like 70s prog rock...you'll finally understand why I'm so disgusted with this competition

Your believing in some personal vendetta blocks you from seeing where you are letting yourself down, and where you might actually deserve the low marks.

I can't speak to other competitions, or even to the fact that there may very well be some people who don't like you (and vote accordingly), but on the track you have embedded there are a few reasons why this would not get 3 (out of 5 ?) from me.

I could explain why, but I doubt you'd want to hear it

No, I do want to hear it and I also want to hear what you would give it. A 1?

[ATN69]

people who will give it a 1 either because they hate me or they don't like 70s prog rock...you'll finally understand why I'm so disgusted with this competition

Your believing in some personal vendetta blocks you from seeing where you are letting yourself down, and where you might actually deserve the low marks.

I can't speak to other competitions, or even to the fact that there may very well be some people who don't like you (and vote accordingly), but on the track you have embedded there are a few reasons why this would not get 3 (out of 5 ?) from me.

I could explain why, but I doubt you'd want to hear it

No, I do want to hear it and I also want to hear what you would give it. A 1?

I will give you my honest opinion. I would give it a 3 because I like the musicality of it, melody is good and the idea is good to. Why not a 5 is because it seems you and me share the one and same issue. We are both weak when it comes to mixing and mastering. To make the track feel complete and sort of polished is where I think you fail. But I also think I fail at the same thing. I am amazed when I listen to some tracks here. Sounds like pro-productions, ready for Itunes or other music shops. I am trying to learn how to do it better and learn all those secrets but its hard. But I am stubborn and I refuse to give up. You have your strong sides and weak sides same as many others, including myself. A handful of people here are just good at everything and you can see it in the score board from previous OSC's. Don't give up and don't give up improving your weak sides.

[wagtunes]

people who will give it a 1 either because they hate me or they don't like 70s prog rock...you'll finally understand why I'm so disgusted with this competition

Your believing in some personal vendetta blocks you from seeing where you are letting yourself down, and where you might actually deserve the low marks.

I can't speak to other competitions, or even to the fact that there may very well be some people who don't like you (and vote accordingly), but on the track you have embedded there are a few reasons why this would not get 3 (out of 5 ?) from me.

I could explain why, but I doubt you'd want to hear it

No, I do want to hear it and I also want to hear what you would give it. A 1?

I will give you my honest opinion. I would give it a 3 because I like the musicality of it, melody is good and the idea is good to. Why not a 5 is because it seems you and me share the one and same issue. We are both weak when it comes to mixing and mastering. To make the track feel complete and sort of polished is where I think you fail. But I also think I fail at the same thing. I am amazed when I listen to some tracks here. Sounds like pro-productions, ready for Itunes or other music shops. I am trying to learn how to do it better and learn all those secrets but its hard. But I am stubborn and I refuse to give up. You have your strong sides and weak sides same as many others, including myself. A handful of people here are just good at everything and you can see it in the score board from previous OSC's. Don't give up and don't give up improving your weak sides.

Here's the thing. I'm not looking for 5s. I don't deserve 5s. This is not a 5 track. It's a solid 3 track lacking where you say.

It is NOT, however, a 1 track. But mark my words as sure as there are 24 hours in the day, I will get 16 1s when the voting for this thing is all over with and I will be near the bottom as always.

That is my complaint. Not that people aren't giving me 5s but that I am undeservedly getting a ridiculous number of 1s. And I can only attribute that to one of two things that I've already stated so I won't continue to beat this dead horse.

Wait, you'll see. Look at the voting after this one is over and then tell me I'm crazy.

[ATN69]

We all know you are crazy Steven, but that is a part of your charm ..just joking of course.

I can promise you that I always vote as I think and feel about a track. If I think your track deserve a 1 then I give it a 1. If it deserve a 3 then I give it a 3. I don't care who made it. When I vote I kind of listen to sound design, musicality, mixing and mastering quality and if the track have something special that I like I will also give a higher score. That's how I think about voting.