*NO* Mega Man X3 'Gravitation'

[Liontamer]

Remixer name: Aureolius
Real name: Galen Deming
Email address: gjdeming@gmail.com
Website: www.gjdeming.com
Userid: 409

Game: Megaman X3
Original song: Gravity Beetle stage
ReMix: Gravitation

Link:

This mix was requested by a good friend of mine. In a sense it could be viewed as the spiritual successor to my last remix, Hyperrock Fortisimo. I have since improved in skill and have gotten much closer to that professional sound I have always been striving for. This mix takes the Gravity Beetle theme and presents it after an intro of ambient synths and a catchy techno rhythm (the term techno being used as I really have no idea what specific genre it would fall into).
After the Gravity Beetle theme finishes, I then take creative license and go off on a tangent, creating my own melody infused with the essence of the original song. It then flies back into the Gravity Beetle chorus.

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http://snesmusic.org/v2/download.php?spcNow=mmx3 - "Gravity Beetle" (mmx3-08.spc)

I liked the intro, but once the beats kicked in at :24, they were fairly thin and the soundscape was gapingly empty. The boom-tss at 1:00 sounded really generic and "right out of the box." There's nothing wrong in principle with a boom-tss pattern, but it was so dry and generically produced that it pulled down the overall effort, IMO. The beats brought in at 1:12 were also really bland. The melodic interpretation of the Gravity Beetle theme was too low as well. Really explore what you can do with it for the main verses and melody.

I really liked the original countermelody at 1:24 during the chorus; it really fit like a glove. I also liked the liberal usage of the chorus from 2:24-3:11 that would resolve each melodic phrase; good method there of writing something that was basically original, but tied back to the source tune in the end. I'm not saying to go that liberal the entire time, but raise the game on the rest of the source usage and make it more interpretive and unique vs. the original.

The main issues here were that the beats were flimsy and generic sounding, and the synth programming was also generic, there was a lot of empty space that needed to be filled out, the production really needs to step up as well to offer something more unique, and the melodic interpretation could be more personalized. Last issue, the dynamic curve here was pretty flat. There were some changes in the energy level, but they weren't pronounced enough given the relative sparseness of the soundfield the whole time, which underminded the dynamics.

This was a decent base, Galen, but it was more like a work-in-progress that hasn't realized its full potential yet. It's honestly great to hear something new from you after all these years; definitely consider working on this further and seeing where you can take it!

NO (resubmit)

[anosou]

God this source is horrible D:

Cool intro, nice simple textures that worked. The distorted lead wasn't the most interesting but also served it's purpose. However the lack of a solid bass really hurts this. What you have is quiet and thin compared to how huge and wide the rest of the elements are. Didn't have a problem with any sounds other than the bass though, they might be a bit generic but not so generic they hurt the track. However some of the higher synths are too loud compared to the bass/backing which gives the song a strange balance. Especially the drums sounded thin compared to the synth-chords at about half the track.

Arrangement was quite cool. When the source was present it was mostly verbatim but the original passages elements were cool when they appeared. Some more personalization (small alterations in the melody and backing track) would help though. Larry mentioned the dynamic curve and I'm with him there, work with breaks that might sound radically different from your original approach to keep the listener from getting worn out.

Overall this needs some more work. You need to make the soundscape full and the instruments balanced, it should sound like a track not a bunch of instruments playing in their own little world. The arrangement could also be picked up another notch. It's a good base and hopefully you'll be back with a new refineed version too! Good luck!

NO(resubmit)

[Palpable]

There's definitely some elements to recommend this song. The intro is nice, the countermelody you added to the chorus was excellent, and overall, it's a good take on theme. Would have been nice to see a little more interpretation of the parts you carried over but what you've got here is a decent arrangement.

Contrary to Larry, I thought the old-school electro beats starting at 0:24 worked fine, but the boom-tiss later on didn't cut it. The snare there was flabby and it just didn't have the same energy as the electro beats. Felt like the song could have used more bass even though I know you've got one playing off-beats; if that was brought out, it might round out the song. Some of the synths are a little thin too, and I wouldn't mind them getting fattened up. There's also a little loss of clarity at times, due to some parts covering the same frequencies. EQ could help give each instrument its own space.

Spend some time on the production, and if you've got some ideas, tighten up the arrangement too. This feels like a good first draft that needs some more work.

NO (resubmit)