Amine Belkhouche
I do have some questions regarding your approach to sequencing. Do you jam around on the MIDI keyboard until you find something you like and then record? How much editing do you do after recording? Also how do you use quantization if at all? Let me know and thanks in advance.

Hi again Amine,
 
I use a number of techniques when it comes to creating a MIDI tune. It really depends on what is being "sequenced."
 
Those lead lines, for instance, are recorded in real time, but are hardly ever used "as recorded" unless I somehow manage to nail something really well. So I will then go into the PRV editor and start tweaking. I may opt for a straight quantize, but if I want to retain a "human" feel then I will turn off snap and manually drag notes around. I may even add notes here and there to embellish if I feel it improves the lead. So plenty of "cheating" going on there... I could never take my "act" live I'm afraid...
 
If I want a more mechanical sounding sequence, but I'm not sure what notes to use yet, I'll play around on the keyboard while looping a section (if there is a backing track already). Once I have say a one or two bar sequence going that I like, I'll turn off loop and go for it. The recorded MIDI is then quantized. I may then add/move/remove notes to my liking.
 
Sometimes I take an existing MIDI clip and modify it slightly, just to provide a bit of variation.
 
I also jump straight into the PRV editor and, with loop on, add notes manually, moving in time or changing pitch as the loop is playing. But I find that since Cakewalk introduced the Step Sequencer view, I use that more now, and is more akin to how sequences were produced back in the old days.
 
For pad and chord parts, I mainly use the PRV and manually place notes. I'm more of a "one finger" lead player and not that great at playing chords, so it's quicker not to bother trying to play in real time. And because, generally speaking, there are not as many notes utilised on my pad tracks. So, yeah... It's straight to PRV. However, having said all that, I still use my MIDI keyboard to try out chords first, and I suppose I could record just one bar at a time...
 
When it comes to percussion I never use wave loops and I always program my own MIDI loops. I have since settled on just two plug-ins now for percussion; Battery and Drumaxx. Battery suits me when I need more traditional kit sounds, although I may still use BFD eco every now and then, sometimes along with Battery. Drumaxx is used for the mainly synthetic sounds. Step Sequencer is my favourite tool for creating drum patterns, although I may use my keyboard from time to time because I find that I generate a different feel or style that way (and then quantize, of course haha).
 
I've not mentioned velocity, which is as important as the notes in my opinion. So while all the above is going on I am constantly checking velocities. One thing I am extremely concious of is having a finished product that sounds so computerised that even I don't like it. I create MIDI music, and of course, that will always come across in my music, but I try to make it less obvious, and making sure that notes are played at different velocities throughout a sequence, or passage, is key.
 
I think that just about covers it.
 
Thanks for asking Amine... That gave me a chance to waffle on a bit there, which is one of my favourite pastimes LOL 
 
cheers
 
andy

Hey, I'm not one to judge any cheating that may or may not go on when producing music. Thanks for the reply, I am always interested in how others approach the manipulation of timing in the MIDI world. Timing and dynamics are so incredibly important in music. I also do a lot of things that you've mentioned and it's reassuring to hear that someone else uses that approach. I think the integration of Melodyne has also been a big help to the whole sequencing process. I might perform something on guitar and extract MIDI using Melodyne, so that's always a big help. Thanks for your answer, it was very informative.

I enjoyed it on my new Tascam phones....good on Sonys too. I guess the low end could be tighter for some...but it still fits the bill well in my opinion and calibrated (not so very...lol) ears... ;-) really dig that synth...(but I can't stroke keys near as well...semi decent on the gtr/bass pickn..)..n dabble w those synth plugs a little now n then til frustrated...
thx for the process info....enjoy the insight.

BASSJOKER
but I can't stroke keys near as well...

Unfortunately, neither can I 
 
It's me playing, but I have to edit them notes so that they are fit for human consumption...
 
Thanks for having a listen... I really do appreciate each and every comment 
 
cheers
 
andy

Okay peeps,
 
I've taken on board some of the comments in this topic, as best I can anyway.
 
I've tried to reduce the bottom end a little, and enhance the high end. But I'm not sure of the result. I listened to it in the car and it sounds okay, I guess... Still some bass in there.
 
This time I want to try a different link:-
 
http://indiemusicpeople.com/play2.aspx?songID=94392&source=Artist%20Page%20Single
 
I've uploaded it to my IndieMusicPeople site because they appear to allow streaming at 320kbps.
 
Only if someone gets a chance, could they check out this latest mix.
 
cheers
 
andy

I just listened to both mixes, and while I am listening on laptop speakers (ugh) I think the second one does have more clarity.  Can't tell much else, but the low mids seem cleaned up a bit.
 
BTW, nice tune!   Very enjoyable and nicely dense.
 

Hi Steve,
 
Thanks for stopping by and putting up with both versions 
 
I'm up to version five now! Been doing loads of listening and watching my SPAN display, tweaking here and there as I go. I've learned so much in the last week or so with regards to EQ, so I'm hoping that my "final" version will be even better, although there is still the possibility that I've made a hash of it.
 
One thing I have been doing is cutting frequencies from elements that don't really do anything.
 
For instance, some of the higher frequency elements have quite a lot of "low end," so I have applied quite a drastic cut, getting rid of that low end altogether and thereby making room for low end stuff that should be there.
 
And although the plan was to use Hive's own effect section, I have since decided to turn off as many of Hive's effects as I can. Especially reverb, EQ and compression. I have then created a new bus and placed Breverb 2 on it, and created sends on each element, routed to that bus. That way, all the reverb is the same across all elements.
 
So, I've been plenty busy, learning and trying to apply what I have learned. I'm kind of numb to my own tune having listened to it so much LOL!
 
cheers
 
andy