Dani's Dreamy DenAbout Game Music & Recording
Q. Which DAW do you use?
A. I’m still an audio beginner, experimenting through trial & error. But lately, I’ve been going back between FL Studios and Cubase. Sometimes I still use Adobe Audition when I’m working with audio-only recordings.
Q. What are your recommended synths, VSTs, or plugins?
A. I’ve been using sforzando to play soundfonts from SNES games. But other than that, I don’t have many tried-and-trues yet ;_; When I get more practice in, I’ll include them here!
Q. What microphones are you using in your recordings?
A. I use an old Tascam DR-05 for field recording and voice recording. In my newer setup, I just got a Berhinger XM8500 Ultravoice for voice.
Q. What midi controllers do you have?
A. For my full-sized keyboard needs, I play a Roland RD-88, the love of my life. For my desktop mini controller needs, I’m eyeing a Novation Launchkey 37 MK4 (that is just too cool for me), but haven’t made any commitments yet.
Q. What other equipment do you use when you record?
A. I use a used Behringer Xenyx Q802 interface that I run both my microphone through and my Roland RD-88 audio output through.
Q. What is that mini dinosaur in your pocket?
A. You mean this oooold thing? With the cracked screen and the electric tape holding in its micro SD? This is my trusty mp3 player, my Sansa Fuse! Don’t leave home without it!
Q. Where do you find your video game piano sheet music?
A. I Google it first and foremost, looking for page scans and MIDIs amongst musicians’ dwellings on the web. Riuyln’s RPG Sheet Music, Ichigo’s Sheet Music, Musescore, VGMusic, Kingdom Hearts Insider, and Midi Shrine are great resources. I buy sheet music books online at Mercari, Surugaya, or at local music shops like Shimamura Music. If I can’t find the song I’m looking for, I’ll whip up a MIDI of my own (albeit, excruciatingly) with AnthemScore and MuseScore Studio 4.
Q. Who are your favorite composers/artists?
A. OMG. Um. VGM composers? Okay. Here goes. Motoi Sakuraba, Yasunori Shiono, Yoko Shimamura, Nobuo Uematsu, Darren Korb, Dale North, Yasunori Mitsuda, and Michiko Naruke. Non-VGM artists? Imogen Heap, Lady Gaga, Hikaru Utada, First Aid Kit.
Q. How long have you been playing piano?
A. Since I was seven. The math’s all yours.
About Photography
Q. What kind of camera do you have?
A. I have a Canon SX740 HS that I’ve been using for the past 6 years.
Q. How long have you been into photography?
A. Since September 2004.
About the Site
Q. Which program do you use to make your website with?
A. I used to use Adobe Dreamweaver and Notepad for coding and Adobe Photoshop CS6 for the web designs. But these days, I’ve been using WordPress (boring, I know haha). I use FileZilla to upload to my FTP server, Dreamhost for all my hosting needs (they are awesome!), and Winamp, because I always have music playing when I’m working on a site!
Q. Don’t you ever get bored of your website? (was asked this like 20 years ago, and I liked the Q&A, so I kept it here haha)
A. Heck, no! Experimenting with design and coding is a joy that I could (and have) spend countless hours on. (I could probably go on about how fun web designing is, but I won’t. Besides, I wouldn’t want you getting bored.)
Q. Can I link to your site?
A. By all means, help yourself!