*NO* Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons 'Dragon Funk' *RESUB*

[Liontamer]

Original Decision: http://www.ocremix.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=88495

(FIRST RESUB VERSION)

(NEW RESUB VERSION w/ CORRECTED DRUMS)

Game- Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
Title: Dragon Funk
Remixers- Koelsch1, DrumUltimA, Warfreak2

I made a mistake in the last discription. DrumUltima recorded the solo on a midi keyboard, not midi vibe.

Cleaned up some stuff, cut down the reverb, fixed some of the mixing stuff.

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http://www.zophar.net/gbs/zeldaoos.zip - Track 21

Hearing the groove of the original again, I'm totally loving it.

Too bad about the light hiss here for the opening. It seems to be a staple of Koelsch's recordings. Those sustained notes on Koelsch's sax still make the instrument sound really fake. I still marvel at how he was able to make a live sax sound like a synth. The bass work was still slightly off-time during the sax solo from :57-1:35. Piano solo was rather aimless and could have sounded more like it was in the same room rather than so distant.

Anyway, doing the side-by-side with the previous version, you did a better job with the mixing, leaving things a lot more balanced. I'm still disappointed in the timing issues, as I think those could have been fixed with access to the individual recordings. Also still wish the bass and rhythm guitar weren't so repetitive. The bass in particular pays homage to a supporting part in the source, but didn't evolve with the rest of the arrangement here.

Nonetheless, the arrangement was very creative and thorough and the consensus was that this only needed some minor improvements to make it over the bar. To me, I think you did enough to get it by. Nice work bros, y'all should see what you can do as a trio again sometime.

YES (borderline)
EDIT (11/7): Ironically enough, listening to the corrected drums version, 1) the overall recording quality now sounds significantly worse and 2) the bassline now sounds WAY offbeat from 1:21-1:35. You ever gonna be able to fix one problem without causing others? Unfortunately, the production gaffe pushes it to NO (borderline) after the fact.

You really need to back up your master tracks, or you really may wanna consider trying (again) to get parts re-recorded. Make sure you don't further sacrifice sound quality in the attempt to address other issues, bro. I was a hardass about similar issues with your Jurassic Park mix, so ultimately I feel that if you improve the piece more, you'll be able to pass regardless of my support, so hopefully you'll not be discouraged.

[DarkeSword]

The song just doesn't lock together. The bassline is just misaligned with the rest of the piece. This sounds like you guys recorded all of these parts in completely different places and tried to mix them all together. There's no cohesiveness here between the players. You should know that a piece like this demands its players to play together. If you guys did play this together, then you're not listening to each other.

The arrangement isn't bad and the production isn't bad, but I can't YES this when the performance and combination of parts sounds so fragmented.

NO

No vote change. I still have the same issues with the cohesiveness of the piece.

[zircon]

Alright. Let's pull up this bass; show you what we got in the place.

The reverb problem seems to have been corrected. That's cool. But the sax performance still leaves a lot to be desired (mainly the sustains) as I pointed out in my previous vote. The bass timing is still off, noticeably so - and it's distracting. I'm OK with a little sloppy playing here and there, but it's just no good here. If you can't get a rerecord, at least manually edit the audio to sync it up, please. The drumkit needs more tightening, also, and the bass seems to be a little overly loud compared to what it was before. I can barely hear the kick at all. Not to mention, the drum recording sounds worse than it did before somehow (including the first resub version). The piano sample used in the solo part does sound better to me now, which is good.

So... some issues fixed here, but not all, and it's still not quite enough to pass. Getting closer though.

NO

[zyko]

i agree with something shariq said about this sounding like the instruments were all recorded in separate places and thrown together in the mix. it is too spacious and not in a good way... it does not benefit from it the way that an atmosphere might.

that said, the track is badass. the sax is, as usual, sweet as fuck and savage. the bassline is phat but i don't really like how it has no bite; the bassline itself is what is begging for the bite, not me. it's written with edge but performed with none. the drums are of course rad but we knew it would be before pressing play.

all in all, the arrangement is a funk/jazz tour de force... mostly careening between solo instruments while exploring the groove.

however, by definition, a groove ought to groove you and while i love this, i am not grooving and it is an entirely mixing issue. the bassline and the drums ought to be so snug together in the soundfield. there are times when the two are so distant that the listener is spread thin between them.

i know this is painstaking for resub/resub/resub but believe me it is worth it. i want to see this posted because i really love it but i cannot be a lone yes vote when there is significant attention given by others as well to a certain issue. if i genuinely disagreed with what is being said about the bass and the mix, then i'd have no qualms yessing it.

otherwise, please resubmit it again.

NO

[Jillian Aversa]

Nice ideas, sloppy execution. One of the most important rules I've learned in jazz performance is that the bass and drums have to *completely* lock in. If there are timing issues there, the other performers could be spot on, but it still wouldn't be enough.

Another problem I see is that the guitar part is the first thing to be introduced in this mix, and yet it's the only one to never change (other than occasionally dropping away). Where's da soul? It's repetitive to the point of obnoxiousness, at least to me. I wanna smack it away every time it comes back! :P

Others have already mentioned this, but the sax part really does sound a little midi. It wouldn't kill you to end a phrase with some tasteful vibrato, ne? All in all, I feel uninspired. It doesn't sound like you guys had much fun performing, either. If you care about this mix, you gotta show it a little more. As I see it, nobody's really putting in a concerted effort to make it work... and you're all talented performers! Don't give up just yet.

NO