Interesting combination of elements and inspirations- the newer pieces are a kind of neo-classical metal electronica. It's not my cup of tea, but I think you could definitely find some fans here. There's a section of "Fugen Daaz" which reminds me of some of my favorite Kraftwerk sounds- are those leads all virtual analog instruments?

If you could find a couple people on the same wavelength I bet you could produce even more powerful tracks (your guitar sound is good for texture but a 'real' skilled neo-classical metal guitarist would be ideal).

Remember to take your FM review with a grain of salt- Future Music is always extra critical on any non-dance-based music that uses guitars

Thanks for listening, James.  Fugen Daaz was largely done with hardware synths.  I think it was primarily Roland JV-80 and Yamaha TG-500, with some K2000.  I did that one before I got into soft synths.  I appreciate the heads up about Future Music.  That is the impression I get as well.

It is very difficult for me to collaborate.  I take about 6-8 motnsh to complete a piece and a just think about parts for a long time before I decide what to do.

I guess if I was going to collaborate, I would need someone right near by who really had excellent programming, mixing and mastering chops to complement my idea for composition and arrangement.  I have a good friend who is a guitarist, but I did not feel like I had the control I really wanted (yeah, I guess I am a selfish bastard!).  Well, in the meantime, I will keep composing . . . slowly, but on my terms. . . .

Thanks again.

JeffN

'Ignition' sounds Jan Hammer-esque - very Miami Vice! A catchy synth riff near the end of the clip.

'Frenetic Passage' has a good guitar riff at the start, and I liked the mix of synths and the baroque feel. The fat organ sound and the bells are good too.

'Blitzkreig' has a really punchy bass and some good synth, but maybe would have benefitted from a little less electronic-sounding synth?

'Fugen Daaz' has a very techo sound at the start, almost Teutonic! Some of the synth is a bit too MIDI-sounding, if you know what I mean.

'Broken Light' has a very classical feel; nice. Again, some of the snyth sounds a bit too MIDI-ish in the first minute of the clip. But I like the synths in the second minute better.

Definitely worth persevering with your music, Jeff.

Thanks, Fitzcarraldo.  I appreciate the listen and the comments.

If you are in the mood, catch a listen to my new one.  Its not finally mixed and mastered, but its pretty close.  The name of the piece is "Equilibirum".  You can check it out at:

http://www.soundclick.com/jeffreynaness - www.soundclick.com/jeffreynaness

Thanks

JeffN

Jeff:

You definitely have a defined approach to your composition.  On the positive site, it is good that you are developing a "style."  In the negative side, using the same approach all the time does not make the songs "different" enough (most of the time).

In this regard, I like everything I heard, though three or four of the six sounded too similar (to my ears).  I think Blitzkrieg and Broken Light are the most "derivative" of first five (i.e., the "melodies" you use are heavily influenced - albeit subconsciously - by melodies you have heard; i.e., they are not really "original" melodies) - though that takes nothing away from their creativity.

Re "Equilibrium," I guess if you've gotta steal from someone, it may as well be Bach; the use of an "inverted" Bach "invention" is interesting, and i do like the way it segues into something very different.

All in all, I'd say keep refining your approach and composition, and don't be afraid to "expand" on your approach.  Although electronica is not my cup of tea, if you were to produce an album of stuff like this - with some refinements - I might even buy it...

Peace.

Jeff,

Just seen the instruments you list on the soundclick.com page you mentioned. It's just a thought, but you might want to try using Arturia's minimoog V. It's a software minimoog endorsed by Moog himself, and sounds fabulous - it's the closest thing to a real Minimoog Model D you can get, at a fraction of the price. And it can be used polyphonically, unlike the original, if you flick a switch.

Check out Arturia's site for details:

http://www.arturia.com/en/minimoogv.lasso - http://www.arturia.com/en/minimoogv.lasso

and you can hear some sample music on their site too:

http://www.arturia.com/en/mvsamplesongs.lasso - http://www.arturia.com/en/mvsamplesongs.lasso

and read a detailed review comparing it with a real Minimoog at:

http://remixmag.com/ar/remix_arturia_minimoog/ - http://remixmag.com/ar/remix_arturia_minimoog/

plus another review at:

http://www.vintagesynth.org/misc/miniv.shtml - http://www.vintagesynth.org/misc/miniv.shtml

The fatter sound from the minimoog V plus the large number of presets that come with the package (prepared by several well-known professional musicians - see http://www.arturia.com/en/mvdesigners.html - http://www.arturia.com/en/mvdesigners.html ) might just add that little extra something to your music.

Hey, Guys.  Thanks for listening and making all those great comments.  I kind of lost this page for a while.  I am glad I found it.

Its funny, I love synth sounds, but am not much into sound design.  I just picked up Cameleon and I would love to incorporate some the rhythmic type presets into my next piece.

I think I might as well use sounds from newer synths,like z3ta+ and Cameleon so I do not have to deal with people complaining about "dated" synth sounds.

I know Equilibrium has a Bach flavor to it, but I really do not think it is based on any particular piece.  Obviously, it sounds like something he might do (I do not claim to be as talented as Bach), but if you know a particular piece that is closest to this, I would like to hear it.

Thanks again.

By the way, a new remixed version of Equilibrium is up on my soundclick sight if you care to check it out.  I think its a nice improvement.  Here is the link:

http://www.soundclick.com/jeffreynaness - www.soundclick.com/jeffreynaness

Thanks again.

Jeffrey Naness

thanks for the tip jeff- have you tried rgcaudio's "Triangle II"? It's my personal favorite analog softsynths, great for basses but you can get killer lead sounds out of it too. Mono only, but free!

http://www.rgcaudio.com/triangle_II.htm - http://www.rgcaudio.com/triangle_II.htm

and never stop making music!

Hey James:

Oh yeah, I have Triangle II.  I used it pretty extensively in Ignition, I believe.

Have you checked out:  http://www.kvr-vst.com - http://www.kvr-vst.com

Its an amazing site.  I am pretty active at the site. 

Some other great free soft synths are Crystal and Synth 1, but I do not really use them.

I am very grateful for Virtual Guitarist and Virtual Guitarist Electric Edition, even though a lot of people (especially guitarists) are critical of them.  They really allow me to add the heavy guitars to achieve my "vision"

JeffN

James Lee wrote: you could always learn to play guitar- it can't be that hard if I can do it

I know you are kidding, but this point has been made to me before.  Actually I can play a little guitaar.  But I think the guitar parts I add are often pretty difficult plus I would have to deal with other equipment and technology issues. 

JeffN

<<<Nice stuff; at some point when I actually have any money, I'll look into getting a copy of this. >>>

Thanks.  Buy the way, since its an EP, I listed it in the discount area at cdbaby.com.  So you can pick it up for $5.00, but you would also have to pick up 2 other Cd's in the discount area for $5.00 each.  So, I do not know if that helps you.

In any event, I am glad you like it.

Jeffrey Naness

Sorry to keep this thread from dying, but I am happy to share that "Equilibrium" has been selected as a featured "demo" (along with "Blitzkrieg") on the official Virtual Guitarist website.  In case you are interested, here is the link:

http://vg.clubcubase.net - http://vg.clubcubase.net

Take care.

Jeffn