One-Synth-Challenge 31: Z3ta+ - Voting and Results

[ancient]

Wow. Tough call this time around, so I weighted my voting a bit more towards those that pushed the Z3ta away from from its obvious trance strengths.

5 points 3ee - Sequenced Into Being
Frustratingly short, particularly for an ambient piece. But so textural and atmospheric, that leaving me wanting more became a strength rather than a weakness. Inspiring!

4 points bzur - R3vive all humanZ+
What I would imagine Jan Hammer scoring A Chinese Ghost Story would sound like.

3 points SJMmusic - Prospekt
Bela Lugosi in Saturday Night Brain Fever. Infectious as a Hammer horror film soundtrack with a driving beat.

2 points PocVecem - z3t4pØp
While this certainly plays to Z3ta's stock trance sound, the Tokyo Pop hook reeled me in. Nice.

1 point Doc Jon - Reinventing the Wheel
The groovy rhythm section has a strong pulsating hook. Jean Michel would be proud...or pissed. Maybe both!

[Doc Jon]

Busy busy month at work, so a bit late in voting this time - yesterday I did a walk through the beautiful countryside of the Cotswolds for 4 hours so I took the opportunity to load the MP3s onto my player and listened to them all several times. With such an excellent selection of different musical styles to savour (and not the trancefest I had feared that Z3TA might produce) I have enjoyed listening to this month's tunes more than any other, making scoring all the more difficult

5 points bzur - R3vive all humanZ+
Wow, such a strong contender from the first listen, and just grew on me from there. Really strong melody, excellently produced, left me feeling well and truly r3vived!

4 points satYatunes - Welcome Z3ta
Another instant fave, loved the panning sequences and slightly unconventional melody, really chilled after listening to this. Only negative point - the white noise percussion seemed too loud to me, but overall really excellent

3 points Ancient - Goodbye Kabul
Beautifully constructed tune that had a genuine visual aspect to it that just seemed to tell a story through the music. Love the drum rolls! One of those tunes that makes me realise how much more I have to learn about composition

2 points SJMmusic - Prospekt
Really well produced piece, good choice of sounds, well put together, flowed effortlessly from start to finish, clearly you know what you're doing, well done

1 point MDashDrake - Z3TA Dance
It was that amazing synthetic squelchy pumping beat that hooked me. I think the whole of this track was extremely well constructed, just brilliant

Others that made the shortlist:

IrionDaRonin - Genesis - let's face it, it's hard not to give points to Irion these days as all his tracks are excellent, but this month the competition was just so strong. Well constructed and excellent choice of sounds as always (apart from the harsh lead at 0:52 - ouch!)

PocVecem - z3t4pØp - same comments as above apply here too, would have scored points in any other month I'm sure, the opening section is brilliant and the drop at 4:05 is just WOW!

V'ger - Humanoid - beautiful sounds, loved the bass especially

Well done to everyone else too, ALL this month's tracks are staying on my MP3 player so respect to everyone. Thanks as always to all those who have been kind enough to give me points and for your generous constructive comments. Have enjoyed the friendly atmosphere on the Soundcloud comments board as well this month

See you all next month (time permitting)

Jon

[Dan_E10]

Like everyone else, I had a tough time narrowing it down to 5. On top of that ordering the top five was even tougher. Oh well, here are my picks:

5 pts. IrionDaRonin - Genesis - Awesome!

4 pts. satYatunes - Welcome z3ta - I had a hard time picking between this and Genesis. There's not really anything I can criticize here.

3 pts. Doc Jon - Reinventing the Wheel - great sound, as has already been said it's very Jarresque which I liked.

2 pts. PocVecem - z3t4p0pBzur - loved the drive and energy in this one

1 pt. bzur - R3vive all humanZ+ - this one was one of the first out and remained one of my favorites the entire month

Dan

[mdashdrake]

1 point MDashDrake - Z3TA Dance
It was that amazing synthetic squelchy pumping beat that hooked me. I think the whole of this track was extremely well constructed, just brilliant

See you all next month (time permitting)

Jon[/quote]

Hi jon

thanks for the point, my first yeah I am happy you enjoyed the track.

Michael
http://soundcloud.com/mdashdrake-1

[RuediRena]

Here are the results of the Western German jury.

MDashDrake - Z3TA Dance 5 points

PocVecem - z3t4pØp 4 points

Doc Jon - Reinventing the Wheel 3 points

Ancient - Goodbye Kabul 2 points

satYatunes - Welcome Z3ta 1 point

Also good but no points:

bzur - R3vive all humanZ+
Examigan - Tempest
kx_001 - Reticulous
sly_fly - D Pentagon 5

Afterthoughts:

We felt that this time the stress of most submissions was laid on sound and not so much on composition and structure. The more limited plugins seem to bring forth more of the creative musicians in you which we enjoy so much.

Cheers to all

[pocvecem]

Hard decision, very hard decision. But finally:

5 points: Vger - Humanoid
4 points: IrionDaRonin - Genesis
3 points: Examigan - Tempest
2 points: DocJon - Reinventing The Wheel
1 point: SJM - Prospekt

Well done to everyone!
Gerald

[GMoneh]

I'm so bummed I didn't have time to finish a track for this contest. I really admire you all for being able to create such beautiful music with just one synth. It is mind blowing what some of you are able to create.

I did take the time to listen to all entries and here are my votes:


1. (5pts) BJPorter - Gather 'round the piano...: Loved the piano sound. How were you able to get Z3ta to do that I don't know. Loved also the transition from a piano piece to a full dance groove and back.

2. (4pts) DocJon - Reinventing the wheel: It's funny how, after reading this thread and people's comments how Jarre gets mentioned more than once, because that was exactly what came to mind when listening to this tune. And I mean it as a compliment.

3. (3pts) bzur - R3vive all humanZ+: The production of this piece is out of this world, as is all your stuff. I'm a fan.

4. (2pts) satYatunes - Welcome Z3ta: Fantastic chillout tune. Great job.

5. (1pt) Ancient - Goodbye Kabul: Nice melody, very evocative.

I wish there more points to distribute, because there are some more tunes currently on full rotation on my iPod. But those are my top 5.

Looking forward to what you guys can make Zebralette do!

G.

[kx.001]

sorry about not being able to make comments - been a bit manic :/

5 points: satYatunes
4 points: Don Jon
3 : bzur
2: PocVecem
1: 3ee

[satYatunes]

Evo2Slo - 5
bjporter - 4
Doc jon - 3
bzur - 2
IrionDaRonin - 1

It was very very tough to narrow down. Unfortunately cannot give points to all the tracks but I love all of them at some level or other. I have left comments on almost all the tracks on the soundcloud player, hence not gonna repeat.

Thanks to everyone who listened, commented and voted for my track. Greatly appreciated. Special thanks to kx.001 for 5pts.

[Yeager]

As you all know this was very hard.
Got stuck on 10 for a long time and had to get rid of 5 more ....

But here they are for various reasons :

Bzur - 5 points
V'ger - 4 points
PocVecem - 3 points
Irion - 2 points
DocJon - 1 point.

And very well done to those I could not give any point to, you all made some beautiful tracks .

[V'ger]

Cheers for the votes and comments, here are mine:

5 DocJon - Reinventing the wheel
Despite heavy 'borrowing' from Jarre and Floyd, this track just worked on all levels.

4 IrionDaRonin - Genesis
Nice moody and groovy track with nice sounds.

3 PocVecem - z3t4pØp
So many 'complete' tracks this round and here was one i dug quite a lot.

2 3ee - Sequenced Into Being
Despite being very short, a very good piece with perfect blend of sounds and melody. Good use of the synth.

1 Bzur - R3vive all humanZ+
Good tune, good sounds and clever production.

And DeadEddy/Objectman, u asked for some feedback: I really dug the main line a LOT, and although i can appreciate the daring 'jazzy' part changes, for a romanticist like myself it mostly jars the mood that's set so nicely. What does fit perfectly are the 'horn' sounds which together is exactly right up my street. There, a nice subjective opinion not based on anything but taste, hows that?

[bjporter]

It would be awesome if more people posted reviews... I highly enjoy them. I know mine is not the best... but it took 1 hour about. And it was a tough choice.

One thing I'm struggled here with OSC is deciding between a song that sounds good vs. a song that may not sound good, but has better or more interesting sounds, in a sound design perspective.

5 - Ancient
4 - Mike777
3 - SJM
2 - V'ger
1 - Doc Jon


In order of How much I like:
----------------------------------------------------
Ancient - Goodbye Kabul **5 Points**
Pro
* Absolutely fantastic journey… leaves many memories. This song is one of the best songs I've ever heard. OSC is really about sounds, and this delivers - the drums, the pads, the leads, everything sounds fresh. The snare is great - the bit crushing is sexy. The kick is hot. 1:55 is totally awesome. It's like stepping into a fantasy world. Reminds me a lot of your marching song in an earlier OSC. The ending is also just mind blowing awesome - around 2:49… just perfect… PERFECT it's like stepping back out from another world back into the one were we started.
* Con - Do not recognize this command. Rebooting.

Mike777 - The Ruins of Mars **4 Points**
Pros
* LOL this is totally hilarious. I thought it was a joke at first using the default bank 'C' first patch arpeggio. Totally epic journey beyond the planet. Just wow. You took that arpeggio and slapped it and banged it around like you were making schnitzel out of it. Great counter melodies around 1:47… but the magic truly and utterly comes at 2:00 minutes… where Mike777 fed me the schnitzel, and it was laced with potent space weed. Now I'm floating in Mars, and it rocks… yeah baby. 3:37 is epic dude… nice orchestral textures.
Cons
* Maybe more sounds could have been added… but even as minimal as some parts are… they work really well. I'm probably asking too much for more but would have liked it.

SJM - Prospekt **3 points**
Pros
* Intro I was like wha??? Where's the action… but it came, like a firm smack on the bee hind at 19 seconds… wow amazing groove \o/ makes me put my hands in the air. The clap at 40 seconds took me off guard in a good way… OMG the lead at 50 seconds I almost had a brain aneurism. I didn't like 1:02 to 1:16. 1:19 was interesting change of pace… getting ready for something epic… here it comes \o/ … wow had to wait a while, but around 2:40 it comes… 2:52… yes it comes again… the big pad… I love it - wow and the fat pad at 2:24 was hot.
Cons
* Need more sounds, FX, layering… maybe some more spaciousness/stereo panning, etc, and wetness (reverb mostly). Maybe make the song shorter, take out the parts like 1:02 - 1:16.. They took my energy away a bit.

V'ger - Humanoid **2 points**
Pros
* Starts out F'n perfect… just like v'ger tune would. I don't expect less… and if I did I would inform meffy because someone would have stolen his account and posted junk. Gets me tingly… that's for sure. Wow at 1:16 arpeggio… just awesome. 1:40 shiny high lead is nice nice stuff - really adds atmosphere. Great use of Bass. 2:05 - 2:25is EPIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOWZORS. 2:55 wowwwwwww.
Cons
* Not much… maybe some tweaking in the mixing… but its already mixed great. Great tune.


Doc Jon - Reinventing the Wheel **1**
Pros
* Great sounds… Love the part around 2:00. Fancy stuff. Really great vibe with the bassline. Nice textures around 2:48. Nice plucks at 3:15, and the beat gets even better here… just great stuff. Nice sounds at 4:00 … sexy very sexy flanger action.
Cons
* Definitely wasted his time on sounds that presets would have worked JK . Other than time management there are no cons. Ok maybe the trumpet at 3:30 had a boost in EQ somewhere in mids that didn't quite agree with my ears.


3ee - Sequenced into Being
Pro
* Epic intro… love what each texture adds. 1:19… wow… just awesome start … I can already tell this song is way too short… whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy 3ee? Why did you tease me like this? Which is ironic because the FX around 1:47 kinda sounds like 'whyyyy'. Incredible mixing job here.
Con
* Hopefully you make a longer version would be awesme

Irion Da Ronin - Genesis
Pros
* Nice classic pad in the beginning - definitely have my hands in the air here, \o/. First 46 seconds is rock hard solid as steel goodness. I didn't like it much afterword. The sounds felt not as unified. Nice bass sounds. Sound at 3:00 is very nice… really interesting. It seems to clash with the drier pluck though. Didn't work too well for me. It was almost like putting a dry medjool date on a hot, moist pancake… you really need warm maple syrup and maybe some butter, or jam/jelly. The date just falls off… hmm maybe that was horrendous analogy, but you get it right? Loved the ending… was very epic… nice spacious sounds there. Something magical was happening in that intro, I didn't quite feel it continue.
Cons
* Felt like Irion could have more solid tune if he cut the song down (I probably should have too), and used time for maximizing sound, tweaking, mixing, etc. I just felt like some sounds where not as well designed as others. Some too dry… ruined tune a bit for me, honestly.

Bjporter - Gather 'round the piano and turn the Strobe Light On
Pros
* Was proud of the piano. That's about the coolest part. 55 seconds is my favorite, where the piano goes 'bum bum bum bum..' er … you know right?
Cons
* Percussion should have had no tube distortion. Really should have started 2 hours earlier, to make the bassline better, percussion better, and add more FX to the song, and also Redo some piano parts, and automation.

Bzur - Revive all Humans
Pros
* Starts out hotter than a steamy Friday night at the Love Boat Motel. Lots of material here, the textures are mighty, solid, and firm. So much going on, but so cohesive at the same time. Around 1:05 it gets cluttered for like 4 seconds. Great clap! Reminds me of a gangster clap. Nice bass as well.
Neg
* Was not overly interested after 2:45 (which of course my song was probably even more so) but that's towards the end… could have had some more interesting layers perhaps?

Dan e10 - Traviesonota
Pros
* Inspiring melodies in the beginning, and GREAT timing with the bassline in 38ish seconds. Although it does sound a bit dry for my tastes. There's a sexy clap but I can barely hear it, - wish that was turned up more. Love the melodies introduced around 3:20
Cons
* Felt like more interesting sounds could have been designed, it was a solid and chippper tune… lots of 'potench'

Dead eddy - extenuating circumstances
Pros
* Feeling highly extenuated around 20 seconds… a lot of clashing… its intense. The circumstance is worsened by the pulsating monster bassline around the minute mark. Very nice sounds!
Cons. Some nice leads her, and interesting FX. Love the one around 2:23.
* Volume seems to be too loud at some points… maybe a slight EQ adjustment? Not really a concern though in OSC.

PocVecem - Z3tap(/)p
Pros
* Epic intro… entrancing. 1:13 nice drum fills . Wasn't particularly fond of the lead after that. But the phaser pad was interesting. Nice little hook.
Cons
* Some sounds I felt could have benefited from more layering for different texture. Dry lead could be wetted

Satyatunes - WelcomZ3ta
Pros
* Nice down tempoish sounds… Some really cool sounds like the one at 2:44, the twirly whirly high FX. Nice pluck at 3:00. Would have like to hear a tad more reverb on some sounds. This song really catches on to me after a while especially after 2:45.
Cons
* Really thought there was something uber epic here… just maybe needed some more layering. Something didn't catch on to me as powerfully as your past songs did.

Evo2slo - Deadly Snail
Pros
* Liked the rough pad. At 2:19 very nice change of pace… sounds like a rock tune - very cool. Sounds in the intro were great… like a train coming kinda. First 35 seconds was pretty golden.
Cons
* Was not too fond of the sounds used until 2:19… nice lead there. Wasn't fond of the screechy sound at 4:00.

Examigan - Tempest
Pros
* Vibe was interesting, and had some cool potench. Wish Examigan maybe cut this to 2.5 minutes, and modified mixing, and sounds and tweaked more.
Cons
* Not too fond of sounds used particularly

Kx.001
Pros
* Interesting song, a dark vibe.
Cons
* Perhaps went on too long, should spend more time showing off your awesome sound abilities. Maybe I'm off my rocker, but the later half of the song was very similar to first. I could see you trading some effort in arrangement, and composition to sound design.

Sly_fly - D Pentagon 5
Pros
* I feel happy. 19 seconds has a nice lead. 39 seconds, nice change up here… odd but interesting. Almost voices here? WOW nice job man.1:51 is CRAZY WHACK … then 2:07's like a mind warp. This song is outer space stuff. Then 2:20 is in your face with super dry saw sounds… wow. Then like a circus tune in 2:30…
Cons
* Should concentrate on the voice… the part around 1:26 ruined the vibe for me… but 1:33 the odd sound was nice… and definitely nicer than that dry saw farty sound.

Mdash Drak - Z3ta Dance
Pros
* Great sounds… old school sound here.
Cons
* Wasn't fond of the kick… a bit too 'deep farty' for my tastes. Some sounds really hurt my ears… check low mids, lows (deep lows).

[V'ger]

Voting over and the winner is Doc Jon! Grats.

1 Doc Jon - Reinventing the Wheel 49
2 bzur - R3vive all humanZ+ 46
3 IrionDaRonin - Genesis 43
4 PocVecem - z3t4pØp 33
5 Ancient - Goodbye Kabul 30
6 satYatunes-Welcome Z3ta 26
7 V'ger - Humanoid 26
8 3ee - Sequenced Into Being 17
9 Bjporter - Gather 'round the piano and the Turn the Strobe Light On 17
10 Mike777 - The Ruins of Mars 14
11 Examigan - Tempest 12
12 SJM - Prospekt 10
13 evo2slo - Deadly Snail 6
14 Mdash Drake - Z3TA Dance 6
15 kx_001 -_- Reticulous 5
16 dan_e10 - Traviesonota 4
17 deadeddy-extenuating-circumstances 1
18 sly_fly - D Pentagon 5 0

Full scoreboard is here.

[V'ger]

And thanks for the votes and comments for my track

[bzur]

Voting over and the winner is Doc Jon! Grats.

1 Doc Jon - Reinventing the Wheel 49
2 bzur - R3vive all humanZ+ 46
3 IrionDaRonin - Genesis 43
4 PocVecem - z3t4pØp 33
5 Ancient - Goodbye Kabul 30
6 satYatunes-Welcome Z3ta 26
7 V'ger - Humanoid 26
8 3ee - Sequenced Into Being 17
9 Bjporter - Gather 'round the piano and the Turn the Strobe Light On 17
10 Mike777 - The Ruins of Mars 14
11 Examigan - Tempest 12
12 SJM - Prospekt 10
13 evo2slo - Deadly Snail 6
14 Mdash Drake - Z3TA Dance 6
15 kx_001 -_- Reticulous 5
16 dan_e10 - Traviesonota 4
17 deadeddy-extenuating-circumstances 1
18 sly_fly - D Pentagon 5 0

Full scoreboard is here.

I surrender! Congratulations Doc