DragonAvenger Posted March 28, 2016 Share Posted March 28, 2016 Hello, Veto (Find Your Way) - resting sad face Link to arrangement: Contact Information ReMixer name: Veto (Arrangement, guitar, bass, tambourine performance, drum manipulation, production) Jim Bradley (Trumpet performance) (would prefer just a mention in submission writeup) email address: website: http://findyourway.kanyu.me/ userid: 30909 Submission Information Name of game(s) arranged: Touhou Chireiden: Subterranean Animism (東方地霊殿 〜 Subterranean Animism) Name of arrangement: resting sad face Name of individual song(s) arranged: Last Remote (ラストリモート) Link to the original soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=insAFyECUfc Comments: This is my first submission so I hope I've done everything alright. I've been a follower of the Japanese Touhou arrangement (and original) music scene for about 5 years now and have been "participating" as much as a foreigner is able by releasing new arrangements online for the past 2 years. But this year I was invited to participate in a live event and Summer Comic Market in Japan, so I felt like maybe I'd been recognized a little bit by the Japanese Touhou arrangement community. My Touhou arrangement circle "Find Your Way" was greeted warmly and I'm very grateful to have been given the opportunity to participate in both events. This song is an instrumental interlude halfway through Find Your Way's first album, which I released physically and digitally in August during those events. I am happy with the entire album, but because this song is an instrumental, I thought it might be more palatable than, say, every other song on there where I perform vocals myself, haha. About the arrangement itself, it came together pretty easier, which was a relief. Even though I changed the key for the arrangement, I hope the different parts are still able to shine through. Since I wanted this to be a relatively short arrangement, I ended up leaving some parts out without realizing, such as the lead melody at around 2:20~ of the source tune. It just didn't fit into the song I wanted to make, so I didn't end up using it, even though it's probably the most recognizable part of the source! Please forgive me. Since Find Your Way is primarily focused on Touhou punk arrangements, specifically in a "mid-western emo" style, there has to be trumpet, right?! But I can't play the trumpet, so I asked a friend of a friend, Jim Bradley, if he would record some parts I had arranged. Since it was my first time arranging and directing the recording for trumpet, he had to teach me quite a bit. Hopefully I will be able to arrange better and more dynamic trumpet parts next time, but it's thanks to Jim that the song sounds as good as it does now. By the way, I refer to "Find Your Way" as if it was a real band, but it's actually just myself arranging and performing the music, while my friend records joke skits for the bonus tracks (and there was no skit for the album). Of course, after getting a taste of playing the songs live in Japan, I want to put a band together now... I think that's everything. Thank you for your time, Veto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted March 29, 2016 Author Share Posted March 29, 2016 Pretty neat style change from the original. I like the combination of instruments, and over all the track is a somewhat carefree take on things.I have an issue with the panning. The guitars are all panned hard to each side and it sounds a bit awkward, especially on headphones. I'd suggest toning the panning down (a bit is good for separating the parts) and working to make sure the balance doesn't get lost. The other issue I have is with the bass sound. The lower end sounds really buzzy and almost washed out. The arrangement is definitely short, but I think it works at the length it is and doesn't overstay its welcome. I'm a little hazy on some of the source connection: I hear the trumpet line as well as some guitar connection, but I think this runs a little short. If another judge picks up on something let me know! In the end I think this is pretty close, but I'd like to hear the panning shifted and possibly some work on the bass sound. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_NutS Posted April 4, 2016 Share Posted April 4, 2016 I like this arrangement a lot, the guitars reminds me of First Movement (Jumping Biz) by Electric Light Orchestra, and anything that sounds like ELO is going in the right direction in my book. The source usage is very hard to pick up, but can be noticed if the original is slowed down, mostly in some of the backings like the arpeggio which is being played by the guitar, albeit at a much slower pace (and different key). But as Deia pointed out, source usage is tenuous here. The arrangement however is solid and the different instruments work pretty well together. I find some issues in the production though. The guitars are badly eq'd and have some really piercing resonances to them around 2.5k, also the trumpets have a lot of mid-highs that are muddying down the mix. I loaded this song up on my DAW and did some quick eq'ing and toning down these frequencies did wonders for the entire mix, so I think you could do much better, having the original project file to work on. I recommend using this free tool to check your frequency balance if you can't hear the peaks causing the resonances. Also here's another free tool that you can use to do surgical eq effectively. I didn't have a problem with the hard panning of the guitars but other judges may. Also overall compression could be relaxed slightly. I think this is a great arrangement, I really really liked it. If the frequency balance on the mix is done correctly and the source usage checks out, this could get a pass. For now though, NO (please resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted April 6, 2016 Share Posted April 6, 2016 I like the sound of these guitars, but I don't like the hard panning. I agree with Deia, some panning is good, but not this much. Scale back the panning somewhat and use eq to make room for each guitar to have it's own space. From 1:13 to 1:20 there is some kind of harsh resonance going on. I think the trumpet could be louder, and with less panning on the guitars it may have to be a little louder. Otherwise I think the mixing is nearly there. The arrangement is quite nice. I'll be honest, I can't hear the source at all, because the remix is in such a different style, different key, and with a 100% different vibe. I'd really need to see a timestamped breakdown to even know this was a remix of that source. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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