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<a name="planetz-file"></a><a href="http://freakmod.expertgear.com/freakmod ... .mp3"><img src="/forums/images/listen_icon.gif" border="0" alt=" Song"> Song</a><BR> <a name="planetz-tag"></a>Genre: Electronic,Trance<BR> <a name="planetz-tag"></a>Uses: Pulsar Effects,Pulsar Mixers,Pulsar Synths<BR> copyright © 2006 Witek Radomski<BR> _____________________________________<BR><BR> Here's an uplifting soundtrack/music program made for a Canadian competitive figure skater. I used the fantastic energyXT to sequence it.

Creamware synths are Modular 2, BlueSynth, Pro-12, and.. Kickme, of course

Other instruments are Nord Lead 2x, Korg Karma, and Roland RD-300SX for piano.


I hope you enjoy it - please tell me what you think!

Well done - seems perfectly suited for the purpose.
A nice energy - and I can actually see figure skating.

well, I've never attended a figure skating competition 'live', but considering the horrible TV sound, I doubt this track will work...

the musical ideas (that have to support the skater in the first place anyway) are fine imho, and i agree on the pictured flow of movements.

my most important concern is about the use of reverb/delay, the 'decaying' snares in particular.
that's perfect in a 'dry' studio/living room environment, but an 'empty' skating hall has a ton of long delays on it's own...

piano as 'lead voice' works very good under these conditions, the arpeggio like lines may need just a little more substance to properly 'guide' the spectator (as the hall will thin them out)

the jazzy piano at the end is completely misplaced imho (stereo sample/phase issues/panorama?)
As a kind of tension climax it's not such a 'familiar' tone in this context and adds individuality to the performance if it appears more upfront.

Imho such a mix is rather demanding, as there's an acoustically extreme destination (and possibly additional broadcast requirements).

I've seen more than once that a badly selected (or performed) music put a skater/couple back.
On the other hand the 102nd version of Carmen or the 212th Conquest of Paradise are a kind of boredom on their own - though they usually serve their purpose well in catching the audience...

cheers, Tom

everything works except the break with the lead and piano.. I think the piano would work, if it's used more like a hit tone, rather than playing a solo-ish phrase. Or, if you want to do solo-ish thing, than I think you'd have to go a bit harder, with zzinging lower backing fifth left hand and lower register solo-ing with the right hand. (more overall power) With a very bright piano, of course.

So, it's either mellow out with little movement with a mellow sounding steinway-ish piano, or get macho and tough with a bosendorfer sounding piano.

The solo-ish movement right now is kind of too weak in the high registers. Other than that, it sounds great, well executed.

Thank you very much astroman, kensuguro, for your criticism. I totally see what you mean about the problems with this piece. I still have time to test it out in an arena, and am going to do so right away. I forgot to realize that an arena has plenty of reverb in itself, and I should probably record the track quite dry with that in mind! I also now realize that a lot of small details would be lost, and I'm going to reshape the track and listen carefully in the nearby skating arena.

Thanks again for the helpful comments!

like the arrangement a lot, well done! keep us up to date with your experiences playing the track in the arena.

greez
roman