Draconiator Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 (edited) http://tindeck.com/listen/jzpo Update 9: I'm at the point now that I just need a mod to review it so I can add some last minute things to it that I'm missing. The 4-beat pattern in the B section isn't finished yet but I will get around to it. Hopefully this is the first and only mod review pass, but eh. SOURCE BREAKDOWN: 0:00 - 0:15 - Intro 0:15 - 1:05 - Fear Factory in the background and Hot Head Bop in front (arp first, taking the lead at 0:32) 1:05 - 1:36 - Lead starts out as Fear Factory, morphs into Corridor of Time at around 1:15 1:36 - 2:09 - Hot Head Bop arp, Corridor of Time airy pad 2:09 - 2:17 - Nothing, letting reverb do the work. 2:17 - 2:51 - Original piano passage and pad 2:51 - 3:07 - Return of CoT strings 3:07 - 3:23 - Last half of CoT, return of Hot Head Bop arp 3:23 - 3:40 - Hot Head Bop 3:40 - 3:56 - still Hot Head Bop, adding Goron City marimba in background. 3:56 - end - No source, club-style ending. (DKC - Fear Factory) (DKC2 - Hot Head Bop) (Chrono Trigger - Corridor of Time)(Alduin is plotting his return) Edited January 19, 2015 by XPRTNovice MR Complete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted August 27, 2014 Share Posted August 27, 2014 o_o I personally find the chimp sounds distracting, but funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draconiator Posted August 31, 2014 Author Share Posted August 31, 2014 New update Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draconiator Posted September 14, 2014 Author Share Posted September 14, 2014 New update Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 The arrangement is pretty well constructed, and all the sources blend nicely. Keep on doing what you are doing there, because it's working. I think the bass could stand to be a lot fatter and richer, and the opening monkey effects, while cool, are a bit too prominent to the point of being distracting. I'd recommend bring the volume down on them slightly. I do also feel things are a bit sparse throughout, so maybe for some of the areas that you want to be more prominent, like a chorus, you add some gated synth with a nice pattern. I get the feeling it is supposed to be sounding airy and expansive, but the sounds themselves aren't quite getting there. I think it's a solid foundation and a seamless mix of sources, but the soundscape needs a bit of a retooling. THe lofi chip sound can work, but the note frequency would need to be increased a bit to compensate for the fidelity. Keep at it, man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draconiator Posted September 19, 2014 Author Share Posted September 19, 2014 I have updated this thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draconiator Posted September 27, 2014 Author Share Posted September 27, 2014 Updated mix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draconiator Posted October 20, 2014 Author Share Posted October 20, 2014 I have updated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 (edited) Two major issues arise for me: fullness and development. Your levels seem fine for the most part, though the lead at 0:48 - 1:02 seems pretty thick and is covering up the details on your C64-esque arp and the meatiness of the bass (you're left with its boominess). 1:04 is missing a transition of some sort; a reverse cymbal perhaps, or a rising sweep, followed by a regular cymbal or sweep. It's already somewhere there, but I can barely hear it. Additionally, it would be nice if the drums changed there (at least the snare) simply because it switched meters to halftime. The clappy snare seems to fit less and less the more I hear it in the halftime context. The 2:10 fake-out was kinda odd to me, and can be smoother somehow. Also, it might be fairly obvious, but what is with that big hit at 2:51? It's so random. Lastly, the piano portion after 2:10 felt overly long as it is right now (with little development), and can use some textural development or less "plainness" by the time you get to 2:34 or something. Overall, the weakest portion of this arrangement is easily after 2:10. Lots of what came before that was pretty good already, and isn't quite as problematic. Whatcha got in store for that? Edited October 24, 2014 by timaeus222 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draconiator Posted October 21, 2014 Author Share Posted October 21, 2014 Overall, the weakest portion of this arrangement is easily after 2:10. Lots of what came before that was pretty good already, and isn't quite as problematic. Whatcha got in store for that? I dunno, depends on whether I can pull off fake piano convincingly enough, got any tips? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 I think the rubato in the notes helped with the realism already, but the sample seems to not have a lot of velocity layers. If you can get one with more, then after some adjustments to how drastic the velocity variation is (i.e. if the range is 50~80, then try 40~80), it can intersperse some softer-toned notes in between some harder-toned ones. Right now there's a lot of hard-toned notes, which leans towards 'plunkiness' (hitting notes hard with one finger). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skrypnyk Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 The download link on your page is screwy. Clicking it just closes the tab. Feels a little ho-hum~ currently. I think the synth that enters around 0:32 sounds depressing. A huge issue I have with this is most of the synths sound so similar to one another, you kinda get this huge messy blend of synths without anything really standing out. 0:53~ especially, you can barely notice that one arping synth play. Better mixing would help, but I think you could benefit more from having more distinct sounding synths. I rather like the breakdown at 1:39~. The minimal sounds you have going, the bass is nice and fun. Feels like a throwback to late 90s techno. You could probably create a/the remix entirely around that idea. and I suppose that's my other issue with this piece. It doesn't really seemed focused on what it's trying to accomplish. Sorta jumps around from a dancey intro, to a half-break interlude, to a piano outtro without any real concrete idea. Less can be more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draconiator Posted October 30, 2014 Author Share Posted October 30, 2014 Updatedddddddd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted October 31, 2014 Share Posted October 31, 2014 I hear some improvements here. Things are fitting better into the soundscape, and it's filled out a bit more with some more reverb. First off, kind of a personal thing, but I think 1:04 can have a more prominent transition. I think it's too distant, and I don't get that feeling that I've switched to a new section. Maybe something like ?At 1:20, it can help to write a plucky or percolating arp part or something to layer in a new aspect that differentiates from the previous section, since you had a transition in there. It feels a touch empty right now. Similar idea at 1:36, but instead, I would emphasize that background ambient countermelody some more with another, brighter layer. 2:09 - 2:16 still feels bare, and I think just a simple flowing arp throughout that part can lead into 2:16. I'm thinking of something ending that 7 second part kind of like this at 2:28 (the piano). Something cool you could try would be trying a phaser on the piano, like how Jesper Kyd does on some of his . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draconiator Posted November 14, 2014 Author Share Posted November 14, 2014 Yoooo updatedddddd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draconiator Posted January 17, 2015 Author Share Posted January 17, 2015 Mod Review flagged Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XPRTNovice Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 REVIEW OF THE MOD KIND - The kick drum seems panned to the right? That's a little distracting for me. I kept wanting to turn my head to get it centered. - I could stand to have a stronger melody at :35 in the mix. It seems buried, especially by the arpy-thingie going on up top. It's nice and strong at :52 though. - Again at 1:09, the melody could come out just a touch. I'm being nitpicky, but that's my job. - The transition sound at 2:19 is a little strange. I see what you're trying to do there, and I appreciate it, but it's not quite working. I might try to fade out that noise a little quicker or pick a different sweep. - The whole piano section feels out of place with the rest of the piece to me, like we've transitioned to another song entirely. I can't decide if I personally like the electronic/new age piano mix. And that idea doesn't really continue, it just seems more like an out of place interlude that, if you dropped it, might not harm the track very much. - Aurally, there seems to be something not very full about it. It feels like it's not complete to me, and doesn't really draw me in as a listener. - the ending from 4:00 on was just too empty for me, and the cymbal swell that closed it out seemed sort of tacked on. For such a bombastic piece, I felt like it needed more of a balsy ending. In general, the mixing seems pretty solid, aside from the melody issues and the kick drum thing that I mentioned at the beginning. It's some of your arrangement choices that had me scratching my head, and the overall lack of oomph that I think comes from the way you filled out the parts. Good luck! MOD REVIEW IT IS OVER Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 (edited) I mainly agree that this sounds texturally sparse, still, and incomplete. Timestamps: - 0:32 - 0:48 could use something to emphasize the chord play, like a pad or something. - 1:04 - 1:36 could use a more evident countermelody, since the arp that's there feels like it's playing too much of a backseat while the melody is carrying the track at that point. - 1:36 - 2:13 has the same problem as 0:32 - 0:48. I would try a very full pad. The one you have now isn't filling out the soundscape nearly as much as it could. - 2:09 - 2:17 is nice, but I think it could use three whole notes and two half notes to keep a melody going until the transition. - The kick at 2:51 still feels out of place. - The rising saw at 3:09 - 3:24 conflicts with the atmosphere the piano creates. I think it just feels too different to work as you may have imagined. - I agree, 4:00 felt like you just ran out of ideas. A club ending can work, if it's more gradual than this. I think you omitted too many elements too early. Also, there's a weird click on the cymbal at the end. Edited January 23, 2015 by timaeus222 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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