*NO* F-Zero 'F-0 to 1000'

[Emunator]

Contact Information

• Your ReMixer name : Maxxorz
• Your real name : Max Linsenbard
• Your email address : 
• Your website : linsenbard.com
• Your userid (number, not name) on our forums : 32503

Submission Information

• Name of game(s) arranged : F-Zero
• Name of arrangement : F-0 to 1000
• Name of individual song(s) arranged : Mute City
• Additional information about game including composer, system, etc. (if it has not yet been added to the site) : Already on site 
• Link to the original soundtrack (if it is not one of the sound archives already available on the site) : F-Zero X arrangement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxQwMDftbXI 
• Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc.
  This remix was actually made for a game I'm working on that's a hybrid of F-Zero and Audiosurf. Our team wanted to focus on having the player feel like they're constantly on their toes while also enjoying the simple aspect of just going really fast. Since the game is rhythm-based, having a completely original soundtrack would make it hard for players to learn the game, so I figured having a tribute to F-Zero itself being the tutorial level would be fitting. I'm a drummer and brass player in the real world, so I worked the most on making the drums in the track sound like they're realistically being played and included a some amount of varying rhythms and fills to keep the beat fresh. I don't play guitar and my background in mixing/mastering is limited, so the lead/rhythm guitars are more focused on keeping that old-school non-realistic sound while the rest of the arrangement is more 'live'. The remix itself is mostly note-for-note the arrangement of the F-Zero X version of Mute City, but I believe it brings a new light to an old classic. The whole tune was made with a MIDI Keyboard and Logic Pro X.
•  
• Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0WzWdSVFmE

Edited January 1, 2016 by Liontamer
closed decision

[Emunator]

Some quick thoughts:

The whole track is mastered very quietly, especially in the intro. The intro wasn't grabbing my attention but things ramped up when the drums came in. The drum and bass programming is pretty nice, the guitar playing is wild and expressive but the guitar sample is not very convincing. Might be worth contacting a live guitar player to get something more realistic in here.

The arrangement is pretty conservative, though you start to introduce some personalization through the soloing midway through the track. There's some little details, but the bigger problem right now is just the length of the arrangement - it's roughly the same duration as one run through of the source material, and it cuts off pretty abruptly right at 2 minutes. I need to hear more here!

This definitely has potential, but the synth guitar isn't doing you any favors and the overall short length of the arrangement doesn't give you much time to really personalize the track to the level we're seeking on OC ReMix. 

Good luck if you choose to resubmit!

NO (resub)

[Nutritious]

The intro is really underwhelming as it stands here.  Repetitive block chords with eventual additive elements.  Not sure if you're going for a realistic sound (based on the arrangement, it sounds like you are), but if so, the guitar samples are really not gonna cut it for that.  Things are pretty stiffly sequenced as well, which won't help with the realism factor either.

Arrangement is pretty straight-forward take on the theme.  Some soloing work does come in later, which is the bulk of the personalization from what I am hearing.

Sudden ending sort of comes out of nowhere, which makes this sound like a WIP, rather than a finished product.  Really helps to write a true ending to give the listener some finality & satisfaction :).

As mentioned, this is pretty quiet overall, so some compression work in the mastering process will help here.  I'd worry about this later, though, when you have the other stuff worked out.

Sorry if this is such a downer vote, but to get to the OCR bar this would need some significant production work and (IMO) some more arrangement expansion/personalization on the original.  Don't give up on your craft and send us some more stuff in the future.  The WIP forums could be a really good pace to hone your skills in the meantime.  Good luck to you.

NO

[Jivemaster]

Your mix is certainly low in volume, and I agree with what the judges have said here. Some work needs to be done to bring your levels up to a production ready level. Your instrumentation is quite basic, with a lot of your samples sounding very midi like. It's not a must to have expensive sample packs, but using a limited number of simple samples to replace real instruments doesn't work well sonically. This coupled with your rigid sequencing makes things like your guitar sound very robotic. If you don't have better more passable samples for a particular instrument, or the ability to record the instrument yourself, it is IMO always better to reconsider your choices and perhaps work with a different lead that is easier to obtain (like a synth for example).

On the arrangement side, apart from some minor personal additions you are pretty much in cover territory. While it is important to get the source usage down, you also need to balance this with some originality (which is what makes it a remix). You need to work on personalising your mix further. The track is also very short and felt like it ended abruptly.

Overall I think you have the base here to build something up from, but as things stand you'd need some sizeable improvements to your production and arrangement to see this through. As always, I recommend hitting the workshop here on OCR if you haven't already for tips on how to build your mix further.

NO