[Liontamer]

Kabukibear
Justin Lincoln
thevgguitarist@yahoo.com
userid: 23052

Final Fantasy XI
The Kingdom of San d'Oria
Title: While San d'Oria Sleeps

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http://tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/FFXI_psf2.rar - 103 "The Kingdom of San d'Ori"

Opened up with some liberal stuff before hitting the source at :24. Melodically, this seemed pretty straightforward of a rendition, but stripping down a piece is a valid form of arrangement, clarified by djp with Brad Smith's Secret of Mana mix "Mystic Invasion" (still mad that got removed). The new countermelodic writing fit very comfortably with the arrangement of the source melody. Last note at 2:57 sounded awkward, but that was about the only crit.

I don't think I'm being soft on the interpretation here, but for some multitracked guitar, I thought this was a reasonable arrangement with a completely different feel and not merely feeling transposed to guitar with a very understated arrangement. Pot Hocket would have gone for something decidedly more interpretive, but I'm ok with this. Pretty chill, Justin. Looking forward to hearing more from you matter which way this one goes.

YES

[Palpable]

I thought this was an interesting arrangement idea. The melody is slowed down and simplified, and new chords are created with the countermelody. Very simple, but elegant and beautiful. Am I missing some source though? 0:21-1:06 and 1:28-2:12 were the only sections I recognized using the melody. The B section seemed totally original, though well-connected, and the opening and closing parts were just the countermelody on its own. That means it's right on the edge on 50%. It doesn't change my vote, but I'd feel better knowing that the B sections used something from the source too.

Production... well, it's a guitar. It sounds like a guitar. You can hear the notes. Good enough for me.

YES

[Fishy]

The source has kind of been simplified, but I know how difficult classical guitar arrangements can be, and thats probably why Pot Hocket uses two guitars :). This arrangement is simple, but effective. I was a bit concerned about the B sections after palp's issues, so I checked out the source more closely, and found a fit for it. During the quiet string parts towards the end of the source, there's a rising bass note pattern which you can clearly hear in the bass line during the 1:06 to 1:28 part. The later section starts with it, but then seems to go its own way. Regardless, that pushed it well over 50% source use as far as I'm concerned. In other words, arrangement good.

I do actually have a few production nits to pick. The low strings on the guitar are resonating very loudly compared to the higher strings. I wouldn't complain if you wanted to EQ the bass frequencies down just a little. Also the volume was very quiet in general, I'm sure this could be brought up without the need from compression. Lastly, a little more reverb would've been nice imo. These are all minor minor subjective things, in no way deal breakers.

This is well performed and enjoyable. Simple enough pass, but if anyone else agrees on my nitpicks, its probably worth a quick call to see if the mixer agrees.

YES

[zircon]

At first I had to double check that I read the remixer's information right... this is very similar to pot hocket's style and technique. If you haven't heard of him, check out his ReMixes. It's uncanny. :)

Let me start off with production. The recording is pretty good, though on the dull side frequency-wise. I don't mind the bassiness since it's a solo instrument but I do think the high frequencies could come out more. Additionally, Fishy is right that the volume is a bit too quiet. It could be normalized by 3.2db without using any compression at all, so at the very least I think that should be done first. I'd like to get the WAV of this and master it a bit, if you don't mind.

On the arrangement end, I think this is great. I listened to the remix first and was surprised that the source was a regal fanfare: I was expecting something like an inn theme! The level of interpretation is impressive, and though it's a solo instrumental performance, it never feels empty or uninteresting. In fact, I was a bit disappointed when it ended, just because I was enjoying it so much. The execution is really very good, with basically flawless and emotive playing.

An easy pass for me, but I would like to get that WAV first just to tweak a bit before we post.

YES