The Planets

After having worked on it for almost a year, I've finally completed my synth arrangement of The Planets: http://soundcloud.com/mike-leghorn/sets/the-planets

I've enabled download on all seven tracks, which are 360kbps MP3. I'm looking for a record label to distribute this, ideally in uncompressed format.

No samples were used in this project. All sounds are from these virtual synths: Zebra, ACE, Tyrell, Diva, z3ta2, and Sylenth. I used Uhbik and Valhalla Room for effects and the White 2A Leveling Amplifier to raise the volume slightly. Venus is almost all Diva. The U-He site has a link to my Venus arrangement in their Diva product page.

One thing you may notice that's missing in this arrangement is noise. Signal to noise ratio is virtually infinity -- or whatever 16 bits can allow. Btw, I'm considering releasing this also in 96Khz/24-bit format.

I hope you enjoy, and I welcome all feedback!

Some great arrangements there, but I found a lot of the patches not rich enough if you know what I mean. I also got the feeling that I was being rushed through each piece instead of being allowed to flow with the music. I don't know if any of that makes sense, but don't take it as too harsh a criticism - you've done a phenomenal job, and to tackle the whole suite is a monster job in itself.

"My synthesizer arrangements of Holst's Planets.

1/15/12: Just finished Venus.

Uranus is next."

http://www.reelentertainmentco.com/f...ges/mutley.gif

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Originally Posted by Emperor Fabulous

Some great arrangements there, but I found a lot of the patches not rich enough if you know what I mean. I also got the feeling that I was being rushed through each piece instead of being allowed to flow with the music. I don't know if any of that makes sense, but don't take it as too harsh a criticism - you've done a phenomenal job, and to tackle the whole suite is a monster job in itself.

"My synthesizer arrangements of Holst's Planets.

1/15/12: Just finished Venus.

Uranus is next."

http://www.reelentertainmentco.com/f...ges/mutley.gif

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Thanks for your feedback. Can you tell me your frame of reference? I went straight from the score. I didn't try to fuse the tracks together seamlessly like Tomita did. I used orchestral recordings as my reference for tempos, phrasing, and dynamics. I tried to invoke a "synth orchestra" that has some of the qualities of a real orchestra, while offering unique sounds that only synths can produce.

The arrangement is an ambitious project. I agree with Emp, though. The synths are quite narrow in their remit. Zebra is multi-oscillator, but the sounds have been programmed with no "padding", for example the brassy type sounds have less of a timbre than a real brass instrument.

I think an example would explain better.

If a piano were used, the lower notes and chords would resonate more than the higher ones, because of the resonance of the larger strings in the piano. However, in a synth, there is no such resonance, so the "natural" increased resonance in the lower registers is lost. This is the problem with synths - some of their sounds are amazing, but limited in usability outside a specific range of notes.

So in the intro to Jupiter, the notes fall away too quickly. You would need to compensate by adding a longer delay/release time, to my mind, perhaps a third detuned oscillator. Or potentially use a sampled synth, such as Alchemy, which gives you much more flexibility.

Love the body of Jupiter though. You have managed to get some depth of sound there, but I think much of the power of the original is that there are full violin and horn sections dedicated to the sound, which can be mimiced with pads for that ambient background. I would prefer yours to have been filled out in this way, otherwise it sounds like a chamber orchestra rather than a full orchestra.

Still a major achievement, though. If you have the stems, you could duplicate some of the tracks and detune/offset by a cent/32nd beat or two, and pan slightly wider to give an illusion of numbers. Many producers do that to thicken up parts that don't sound as strong as they need to be.

HTH.

:)

For an eg - without any skill or style - this- at 1:23 to 1:30. Fuller sound due to detuning and additional oscillator.

http://soundcloud.com/muso/brave-new-world

First time I've ever sat and listened to the suite...it's awesome! :eek:

Yes! Quite a piece of work. But sorry, I was immediately put off by Mars being to fast IMHO.

I could easily be wrong on that however so I shall check!

A guy called Tomita released an "electronic" version years ago without first getting clearance from the Holst family. Imogen Holst did not like it and the record was withdrawn and was very hard to get hold of. I had a tape of it once, should be around somewhere. I will Googe now that you have reminded me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isao_Tomita

Dave.

If you'd sniffed around Mike's Soundcloud page, you'd have seen that he references this Tomita chap ;)

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Originally Posted by ecc83

Yes! Quite a piece of work. But sorry, I was immediately put off by Mars being to fast IMHO.



I could easily be wrong on that however so I shall check!

A guy called Tomita released an "electronic" version years ago without first getting clearance from the Holst family. Imogen Holst did not like it and the record was withdrawn and was very hard to get hold of. I had a tape of it once, should be around somewhere. I will Googe now that you have reminded me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isao_Tomita

Dave.

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It does sound a bit fast, but that can be tweaked in the BPM settings of his DAW. It is internally consistent, but I think the fact that there is usually a full orchestra alters our perception of the speed, because the notes begin and end at slightly different times.... Just speculatin' a course.

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Originally Posted by cacofonix

It does sound a bit fast, but that can be tweaked in the BPM settings of his DAW. It is internally consistent, but I think the fact that there is usually a full orchestra alters our perception of the speed, because the notes begin and end at slightly different times.... Just speculatin' a course.

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Actually! My son had a crack at a few bars of Mars and I listened to it before he had done the drums. I (warily! In family critique has to be handled MOST gently) said I found it a bit slow and ponderous. As soon as he had added the percussion it clicked! Bang on!

Tweak it myself?! Oh dear, don't care for that idea. Surely Holst put a metronome mark on the work? I know there is debate about speeds with Bach and some other composers but guys as late as Holst?....Anyway, I am just a music LOVER ! I know F'all technically.

Dave.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ecc83

Actually! My son had a crack at a few bars of Mars and I listened to it before he had done the drums. I (warily! In family critique has to be handled MOST gently) said I found it a bit slow and ponderous. As soon as he had added the percussion it clicked! Bang on!

Tweak it myself?! Oh dear, don't care for that idea. Surely Holst put a metronome mark on the work? I know there is debate about speeds with Bach and some other composers but guys as late as Holst?....Anyway, I am just a music LOVER ! I know F'all technically.

Dave.

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I would guess he did put a speed on the page, but doubtful if it was in BPM. It would have been Moderato or whatever the name for medium speed is. It's then down to the conductor/player to interpret that, within broad parameters, of course.

Moderato — moderately (108–120 bpm)

(source Wikipedia)