*NO* Final Fantasy 9 'Acknowledge My Cutlass'

Contact Information:

Remixer Name: Divine Wrath

Real Name: Joey Ransier

Website: http://www.myspace.com/derwachturm

I.D: 26445

Submission Information:

Game: Final Fantasy 9

I actually don't even play Final Fantasy, I just think the soundtrack to the games are way awesome... But, I came across this song looking for source material on VGmusic.com. I thought the melodies in the song were awesome, and it would make an awesome power metal type of mix. Rather than ending up as power metal it has elements of prog, thrash, and power metal. I could say that my own style came through in this mix. I even had an opprotunity to throw some four voice leading in. Mainly, my goal here was to convey a different feel, while maintaining and even increasing the energy of the original song. The song transitions very well throughout the different parts, especially through the original solo part I put in.

Enjoy!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/FF9_psf.rar - 106 "Feel My Blade"

Short but sweet. This played with the structure of the source, adding flair and technique to the melodies and offering a juicy original section with a solo. Production could have been brighter, but I don't feel like that stops this from being a pass. Love to see more from you, Joey!

YES

Edit (10/6): Relistened based on the NO votes. The snare is definitely the weakest part, I skimmed over that when I first listened. But it doesn't hurt this mix much IMO, and I think the mixing is good enough. I will admit I'm having a hard time thinking of a rock arrangement we passed with production on this level, but I still feel like this is fine. Maybe djp's words about lowering the bar a little have affected me, and I really dig the arrangement. I think this is a borderline YES case, if anything.

Much source love.

The arrangement is alright, I feel like the intro has way more potential that went unused and the track is so short already probably would've helped you but its technically long enough and there's nothing really wrong with it as it is.

Production is a bit rough, but everything is audible and loud enough. Not a fan of the guitar tone (although the clean one is nice), but the playing is generally capable, could be tighter. I get a lot of "good, but not great" feelings from this but nothing outright bad/weird.

Got some slight tuning issues around I think, subtle but it shows during the harmonies a bit. It may be more an intonation issue though, might wanna check that out in future.

Part of me wants to say no because you could clearly do a much longer and more rounded arrangement, but that's a silly reason to no something that is just about fine as it is, so instead I want you to print this picture off and put it on your wall to remind you to rock out for longer next time:

Don't disappoint me.

YES

Gonna shoot out a quickfire vote here. Source is completely new to me, so I looped it a handful of times, then looped your mix, then randomly switched back and forth. Arrangement connection seems to be intact, so job well done.

Short and sweet track, production is above the bar. I wish the drums were punchier overall, but they're 'aight.

Welcome aboard!

YES

good arrangement, decent tones, and production that isn't amazing, but is above the bar. The drums could stand to be punchier, but overall this works nice, and though the ending is a bit abrupt, I was definitely feeling this one.

No need being overly verbose here, I dig it.

yes

Wow, I dunno what y'all heard, but I though the execution was pretty weak compared to what else is passed. The gimpy snare drums had no meat behind 'em and were absolutely the wrong tone, the guitar performance wasn't tight or expressive enough, the background wasn't filled out well enough, and the production was too lo-fi. This should be cleaned up first if anything.

I would have expected some conditionals at least, and I like the concept & arrangement, but I feel like Prot back in 2004 wondering what the hell just happened to the bar. This would get completely middle of the road placement in a packed DoD month. Fine arrangement, flimsy production.

Fishy's vote pretty much rattled off the reasons this is cool but isn't there yet, then went YES. Nah. These YESs are a little too lax.

NO (resubmit)

I think that mix is a good example of someone like nutritious when he was getting started if he was RAWK!

We're so used to hearing rock nearing professional production from people like sixto. That is still a pretty good amateur shot at rock probably only a bit "flimsy" as you say because he can't afford proper guitar recording equiptment/expensive amps for better tone.

Like I said in my vote; it's not perfect but that's no reason to reject it.

Talked to Fishy a while back about this mix not being a shoe-in, I just haven't voted since then so I'm glad Larry stepped in.

The source is great and the arrangement expanded on it decently enough with some ncie harmonizing, variation and breaks. However I think the production is lacking. There's no real bass frequencies to speak of and the mix overall sounds like it's played inside a tin can at times. Where's the reverb and balance? The drums lacked humanizing and sounded stiff most of the time even though the programming of rhythms were otherwise excellent.

Even though the playing was great in my opinion the guitar tone was a bit flat and the leads were slightly out of tune compared to eachother. Other than that we've got an unintentional and slightly ugly noise at 00:33 and 00:35.5. The clean chorused guitar solo is entirely in the back during the "break" section because the backing guitars eat up the space. ~1:30 section is very crowded because of the backing guitars taking up so much space and the bassdrum+snare sounds weak, especially compared to the gutsy cymbals.

Couple the production issues with the slightly short arrangement (that break is long, could use more source) I just can't go YES on this. Look back at the decisions for some of our other rock votes and you'll see that most issues we point out are also present here. This just needs some more polish to pass so I'm hoping that Joey will go the extra mile and deliver that because it's a good track overall but until then, I just can't sign off to this.

NO(borderline/resubmit)

Arrangement is fine but it's really dry and thin at points. The soundscape lacks depth. Needs work with levels and balancing. Some light, smartly applied reverb would help with the depth. Turn down your rhythm guitars and let the lead take center stage.

Also, it's rather short, isn't it? There's some obvious skill here in the performance, I with there was more of it.

Borderline NO

I think that mix is a good example of someone like nutritious when he was getting started if he was RAWK!

We're so used to hearing rock nearing professional production from people like sixto. That is still a pretty good amateur shot at rock probably only a bit "flimsy" as you say because he can't afford proper guitar recording equiptment/expensive amps for better tone.

Like I said in my vote; it's not perfect but that's no reason to reject it.

I agree. As I've said, we do not/should not require absolute perfection in production, only quality. Joey's a newcomer, he's only going to get better anyway. And even though the drums are a little quiet, it's not like this is a bad mix. We definitely have been spoiled by some of the big talent that congregates and submits here.

Disagree completely. This is a decent mix plagued by several problems that drag it down to NO. There are plenty of mixes with some sort of issues that still pass, which have apparently been forgotten. This isn't a matter of unreasonably demanding perfection. I'm definitely not demanding that.

well it's way split- lets email him and see if he can spruce it up then.

I don't know if there's anything really wrong with his tone so much as his tuner. The tone is okay. But why are the guitars dry? Reverb, people.

The arrangement is good. The bass is too low. I know it's not prominent in metal, but my speakers are against the wall and push the hell out of 90-120Hz and I'm not hearing any of that, so you've got some compensating to do.

I'd re record the guitars, in tune this time. Then I would make the bass a couple dB louder, and I would throw a little reverb on those guitars. Then you're done.

NO

I have to admit this isn't a source that's high on my list of "memorable FF9 songs", but it's not so bad now that I've listened to it about five times in a row. As for the mix, there are a few complaints I have regarding the production. I think it's that everything seems really dry, and the drums sound kind of flimsy or tinny. The end result is that a mix which SHOULD sound really big and powerful instead sounds more puny than anything, as if it were recorded in a small studio room. The playing here is really nice, but the sound of the mix isn't showing off that. Talk to someone like Goat, norg or SnappleMan for some tips on how to make rock/metal mixes sound bigger and more full.

The source is interpreted well here but the arrangement struck me as short. I would love to hear more, though I guess I wouldn't veto the mix based on that alone. The key thing is to make what you have sound better on a production-level, which is within your capabilities, especially if you solicit help from other rock/metal mixers on the site.

NO, resubmit