Messages

Welcome!

It's always nice to see someone wanting to help.  And doing so isn't all that difficult, depending on the area you are interested in.
The easiest way to contribute is to make something, then post a link to it in the proper thread.

But the real question is:  What did you want to add to the project?  There are many areas such as artwork, video editing,  song pitching/timing, music editing, or you can hunt the internet to find and suggest new songs from the community.

So...  What area or areas interest you?

it's simply too much of a hastle for too little gain.

Indeed.

I can only see that happening when multi-track notes files are fully working.  Then we can give the whole song an overhaul.

Correct.  We want to remove the 'whoa' lines from the instrumental.txt only.

As the "whoa"s are part of the backing, I can't remove them without destroying the audio.

I would recommend we keep them on the sing-along version, but remove them in the instrumental.txt... but that's just my opinion.

With the sudden appearance of more source material, I was able to piece together what I think is a better instrumental version.  It's on the cloud as instrumental2.

Let me know what you think.

[Update]

Do you guys have the HQ version from the soundtrack already?
(Are non-team members allowed to post here..?)

I usually have such things within a couple hours of release... or a little longer if I'm asleep when it happens.
Although, when it comes to instrumental versions I prefer using 5.1 or better sources.

And yeah, I'm pretty sure you can post here.

Update:  Not enough of the song in the movie to make a better instrumental from it.

Instrumental and Pitch Reference tracks are now on the cloud.

Ugh... this one was a bit of a nightmare.  I hate having to do a remix just to make an instrumental.  The OST version is longer than the version in the film.

Anyhow, I think I made a suitable instrumental remix to match the OST.  I also made a pitch reference track.  It's all on the cloud.

That works for me.  :)

Now if only the songs by The Dazzlings didn't have crossover issues...  I'm still checking out possible sources.

In regards to timing and notes, the files are identical.  The movie version has some extra sounds at the start, due to the movie logo and other special effects.  In addition, the backup singers are separated more in the stereo space, and the bass is a bit sharper and doesn't drown out the vocals as much.  I personally consider the movie version better, since the source was 5.1 channel at 48khz unconmpressed instead of 44.1khz mp3.  It just allowed for more tweaking before the final downmix.

It helps to have headphones to pick up the differences.
That, and loading both into audacity and switching between the two as it plays.

Anyhow, I'd say you can pick either one.  I won't be offended with either, since I made both files. ;D

I had replaced the song.mp3 when I added the instrumental.  It had better stereo separations in the vocals.  I guess he didn't want the extra sound effects that that go with the video.

Ok, I'm leaning towards the video drivers here...

More than likely, you got the 'latest' drivers from the Dell website.  This is not ideal, because they tend to strip them down a lot. (all the manufacturers do).

So let's see about finding some full drivers for you.   The notebook you listed seemed to have a couple options for video card.  Do you know which one is in your system?

The easiest way to figure this out is to click start and in the 'run' or 'search start'(varies by operating system) box type in 'desk.cpl' and press enter.

The display settings window will open.  It will show a listing that resembles '1. xxxxxx on yyyyyy'.
Just tell me what the x's and y's are.

Well, I have a solution for the whole "Oh wah oh wah oh wah oh" thingy.
It's not a part of the main lyrics.  It's a backup singer thing.

I offer as proof: My ever popular Pitch Reference Track

Oh, and I put a cleaner song.mp3 and a really nice instrumental on the cloud.

Enjoy!

Oh my...  The audio is so beautiful when it comes from a good source.  :'(

New song and instrumental files are on the cloud.  Sync'd with the old versions. (no need to update timings)

A pitch reference track can be found  HERE in my personal Sta.sh  if you want to know what words actually belong in the lyrics.

knee deep in chocolate rain while juggling 10 cupcakes and singing the latest Pinkie Pie song in front of a crowd of dozens.

I don't quite know how literally to take this statement!

Translation: Chaos comes for everypony... eventually.  But don't stress out over it. 
(Things here start out easy, but after a while, you will get hit with a crazy situation.  It just happens.  Just roll with it and pony on.)

Yep, 48Khz.

I tried using the mic built into the laptop, and an old USB Eyetoy PS2 Camera set to work as a microphone. Neither gives good results.

Ugh... Yeah, the pickups on both of those would be rather small.  That can definitely have an impact on recording sound quality (regardless of the frequency used).

Just to help you visualize the issue...  Microphones and speakers work on similar principles.  It's just that one has sound going in while the other has sound coming out.  Just like how a larger speaker can (in general) give you better sound definition, a larger pickup diaphragm in a microphone allows a more clear and accurate recording.

Here is an example of how different microphones can affect things: My Microphone Test

I would expect your webcam and built-in microphones to sound similar to the first two in my recording.

Why thanks, I'd always felt that I hadn't really done much, because tbh I haven't!

Yeah, it always starts out that way...
Then before ya know it, you are knee deep in chocolate rain while juggling 10 cupcakes and singing the latest Pinkie Pie song in front of a crowd of dozens.
But hey... at least it will be fun.

Anyhow, things started out slow for me as well when I joined up.  Nowadays, I tend to work in bursts.  New material becomes available, and blammo!  New audio.  Then I go back to my vectoring and Ponytones practice.

Mic Settings are already set to the maximum(Just a little above what you just mentioned), and it refuses to go any lower, something about the hardware not being capable of going lower. Also, the two boxes were already ticked.

That is an interesting result.  Your settings are likely at 48khz, which is good.

You aren't by chance using a USB interface for your microphone, are you?
(either an actual USB microphone, a microphone plugged into a multimedia USB Keyboard, or even a USB sound card)

Timing of microphone data can get a bit wonky if it has to share bandwidth with other devices.  If you are using a USB microphone, try to make sure it is plugged into its own USB plug directly on the computer.  If possible, make sure the plug next to it is empty as well.

Also, what kind of microphone are you using?  Is it a really small one like those found in a gaming headset, or is a big hand-held microphone?

Is there any chance you can record yourself talking or singing into the mic (preferably with no music)?  Just so we can rule out a damaged mic.

It looks like it's working to me...
It is showing you the notes in black text just under the boxes that say Channel 1 and Channel 2.

Or is your issue that the game is not scoring you during a song?

My issue is twofold.

One: I sing a note. It'll bounce around the general area of that note before settling on what note it thinks it is. When singing a real song with multiple words and notes in one bar, this is problematic, to put it politely.
Two: When I try an actual song, rather than the blue notes fitting neatly on the notes it says to sing, it does the same bouncing thing, looking more like a certain object splattered a certain blue substance all over the sheet music.

I can see a couple potential issues happening here.

First, if you have an older system, or one bogged down with a ton of background programs, it could play tricks on note detection.
(This is usually not the problem, but it's worth mentioning)

Next would be if your microphone resolution is set too low, it can cause note detection to be a bit wonky.
For the purpose of checking this, I'm going to assume you have a windows-based system.

-Find the little speaker icon down by the time and right-click on it.  Select 'Recording Devices' from the list.

-Locate the device you are using with your microphone. Usually it is labeled as 'Microphone', but sometimes people use other ones.  (I, myself use Line-In as it gives me better recording clarity)

-Click on your device and click the Properties button below.

-A new window opens up.  Click the 'Advanced' Tab at the top.

- There will be a drop-down list in the section called 'Default Format'.   You will want to select a suitable value from this list.  Depending on your sound card the options can vary greatly, or have only a single option. (I have seen some go as low as '1 channel, 8 bit, 8,000Hz', and as high as '2 channel, 24 bit, 96,000Hz')  For good results, just make sure its in the area of 16 bit, and 44,100Hz.

- Also, make sure both check boxes in the 'Exclusive Mode' section are checked.

If you still have problems, be sure to let us know.

Yeah... That is much better than I could have done.

If I was lucky, I might be able to sing the pony names when they came up.
I wouldn't be able to pronounce anything else though.