Blah Blah Cafe, the Jean-Michel Jarre forum

[radek tymecki]

Yep it's definately the Korg KR-55 samba preset (from the original beige unit not the later 'KR-55B' charcoal/black model). I've heard that the KR-55 was also put through a EH Smallstone Phaser to give it that 'modulating tone' quality.

[Polarity]

Hi to all.
I have finally uploaded my cover-replica of Oxygene 2 (album version).
Still all software synths and samplers, no hardware synths were involved (I got it as a challenge).

I'm interested in what you think of it and of "sound" in general?

You are welcome to give me any advice to improve more my sounds.
You can be also rude... no problem
In the meanwhile thankyou for the invaluable advices and tricks I already learned from you all till now.

Thank you for listening and you time.
Andrea

EDIT (12th july):
at last my final release of this cover-replica:

video URL:
audio only: https://soundcloud.com/polarity69/oxyge ... dreapriora
many changes since the last posted file.

[Analog-Umph]

Considering that I'm listening it on the phone without my headphones....these are the things I spotted:

> Drop the gain of the VCS bubbles. The sequence sound at the start of O2 drown them out, because the sequence has the same very high harmonics in them.

> On the sequence, drop the fundamentals down a bit, that sequence has very ethereal sound to it, so the balance of harmonics must be just right. The 2 lowest notes, the G and D note - treat them separately from the rest of the sequence.

> The sequence has no feedback on the delay. (Only the lowest two notes do).
The delay is left to right, with no feedback. The right channel being significantly lower in gain.

> As the strings come in, do an extreme LP cut on the sequence.

> Give some more reverb to strings and maybe do a very gentle LP cut on them, to give 'em a nice and chilled sound.

> The Eminent Plucks need a lot of work. This sound I found the hardest to do without the Eminent - even though it's like the simplest sound ever.... But I finally nailed it last year, after years at it. The reverb plays a key role, otherwise like Jarre's 30th Anniv version, the Oxygene 2 plucks sound like utter shite, amateur shite to be precise.
So don't use any chorus on the sound itself and absolutely make sure you have keyboard tracking turned on, which ever synth you are using for this sound. The keys get progressively darker in tone as you go down the octaves, giving a sort of organic sound that is not fizzy. This along with the envelope and the reverb plays a key role in making that sound... sound polished.

> Use 350 ms for all your delays.

I can't say much more than that for now.

The drums need a lot of work too - I've never heard anyone nail the drums correctly in a cover.

After sporadically working on them for 2 years, I've actually managed to do the drums exactly as they are on the album. It's quite an improvised piece of rhythm....when you put it all together. You need to split the various elements and phase them at different speeds.... this is a whole saga onto itself. Which is why this track is such a brilliant thing. There isn't a piece of it, that the human heart and the human hand hasn't added emotion and intention to.

[Polarity]

WOOOOWW!!
That's a lot of details!! Some of them I wouldn't ever thought about myself alone.
Thankyou much for your time also!
You are a terrific perfectionist, don't you?

I will try to work on all them, but not right away... maybe before I will start building another replica-cover...

> The Eminent Plucks need a lot of work. This sound I found the hardest to do without the Eminent - even though it's like the simplest sound ever.... But I finally nailed it last year, after years at it.

Yep, JMJ's Eminent sound without a real Eminent is not so cheap easy to obtain.
Consider that it's a couple of months only that I'm after these sounds.

The reverb plays a key role, otherwise like Jarre's 30th Anniv version, the Oxygene 2 plucks sound like utter shite, amateur shite to be precise.

Is it the one of the Live In Your Living Room?

So don't use any chorus on the sound itself and absolutely make sure you have keyboard tracking turned on, which ever synth you are using for this sound.

Hollow Sun String Synths, inside Kontakt 4.
I don't remember if I removed or left the chorus on it.
Perhaps I adjusted wrong the vibrato I added this week?

[/quote]
> Use 350 ms for all your delays.[/quote]
Was using 371 ms. I liked it more than 350 ms...
But during all time I was doing the song at 86.750 bpm. A few days ago I accelerated it at 88 bpm.

[/quote]
I can't say much more than that for now.[/quote]
you already wrote a lot anyway, thankyou.

[/quote]
The drums need a lot of work too - I've never heard anyone nail the drums correctly in a cover.[/quote]
I agree on your point.
Till now I used only Elektrostudio Rhythm, but my intention is to build a kit in Battery3 choosing among all Minipops sounds I have (different libraries I have)
For the patterns initially I tried to replicate the song ones: they change along the track, have too much Guiro and too few Quiha hits for my tastes, and I liked to hear more Quiha hits, like in Matt's or Radek's covers.
It's a personal choice this one. So I went for a different pattern from JMJ's one, and I believe I will keep it: I don't think I will spend time redoing his one.
Will work on the sounds instead, I will need them for other tracks too.

[Analog-Umph]

You are a terrific perfectionist, don't you?

You have no idea, it's a pain in the ass sometimes.

The reverb plays a key role, otherwise like Jarre's 30th Anniv version, the Oxygene 2 plucks sound like utter shite, amateur shite to be precise.

Is it the one of the Live In Your Living Room?

Ya, http://www.amazon.co.uk/Oxygene-30th-An ... B000XBYU5C

Was using 371 ms. I liked it more than 350 ms...
But during all time I was doing the song at 86.750 bpm. A few days ago I accelerated it at 88 bpm.

Yeah, there are some other times, but he usually stuck to this as his norm of 350 ms.

[Polarity]

You are a terrific perfectionist, don't you?

You have no idea, it's a pain in the ass sometimes.

oh yes instead! I have an idea over myself (and the effect on people who know me)

[Polarity]

After sporadically working on them for 2 years, I've actually managed to do the drums exactly as they are on the album.
It's quite an improvised piece of rhythm....
when you put it all together.
You need to split the various elements and phase them at different speeds....
this is a whole saga onto itself.

I was suspecting this... different phasers on different sounds (I did experiment).
I've almost ultimated my definitive MiniPops7 kit inside Battery 3...
(I just miss the right sample for the lowbongo/conga)
but still what I don't understand is how JMJ made that "popping cymbal/snare"
that appears changing among three (or four) different velocity hits pattern.
It seems also like "aspirated" and more popping than the basic sound of the Minipops 7.
(I hope I made to explain/describe well that sound).
SmallStone only or a compressor is not enough to make it (or at least my experiments failed for now).
Can you tell me please how did you manage to do it?
or eventually how do you think it was done?
Has he passed that sound inside a synth filter or pitch envelope by chance?

Finally a curiosity:
I read (old thread here) about Rimbert saying about the modified MP7 with different outputs for the single sounds.
But I didn't understand if JMJ had it already during Oxygene production, or if he had it later. Any clue?

Thanks

[Polux]

Hi to all.
I have finally uploaded my cover-replica of Oxygene 2 (album version).
Still all software synths and samplers, no hardware synths were involved (I got it as a challenge).

I'm interested in what you think of it and of "sound" in general?

You are welcome to give me any advice to improve more my sounds.
You can be also rude... no problem
In the meanwhile thankyou for the invaluable advices and tricks I already learned from you all till now.

The VCS3-AKS "bubbles-sweep" sound effect part is not exactly playing like in the original release...
perhaps in future I will fix it following more closely what JMJ did.
For now I was interested more in the sound patch creation.
Also the flute parts has some notes of different interpretations from the original.

You can find the track here:
https://soundcloud.com/polarity69/jean- ... -oxygene-2

Thank you for listening and you time.
Andrea

Great work dude! I have been working on oxygene 2 too for a long time... I used a lot of sounds from Superwave P8 vst on Fl Studio and other VSTs to get great sounds... If this can help you to improve your work... But it sounds really good!

[Polarity]

Thankyou!
well, there are a couple of sounds (like the noise burst shots for example) that I didn't replicate yet inside Omnisphere.
I have the Superwave, so if you have yours to pass, I will not refuse them for sure.
It will help me reprogramming my patches.

[Analog-Umph]

but still what I don't understand is how JMJ made that "popping cymbal/snare"

Isolate it (from the original mix), so I can tell you.

[Polarity]

but still what I don't understand is how JMJ made that "popping cymbal/snare"

Isolate it (from the original mix), so I can tell you.

ok, thankyou.
hope this youtube video is ok...

you hear it clearly from 2.04 to 2.09

Usually those sampled sounds found on internet are named Sym1 and Sym2...
but they sound different from Oxygene 2 recording.
I think SmallStone alone is not enough... so?

[radek tymecki]

smallstone

[Polarity]

smallstone

Smallstone only?
no other delay based effect (like a chorus)?
or a synth filter?

[Beelooo]

smallstone

Smallstone only?
no other delay based effect (like a chorus)?
or a synth filter?

In fact , there are 2 small stone at two different speed. The ''aspiring'' is only small stone effect. I Will post sample asap

[Beelooo]

Just take a look at this topic. Sure it will help.

http://www.zoolook.nl/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4149