*NO* Mega Man X 'String Chamellotron'

Brandon Strader

www.bstrader.net

forum: 3123

MMX Project track

game: Mega Man X

souce: Sting Chameleon

remix: String Chamellotron

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfH9QAGi0sk

Took the source and made it acoustic, toned it down a bit maybe, made it more dramatic. This version I'm submitting is the one I mastered, not the album version. My WAV hasn't been mastered yet for the project but I assume the album is out now (im writing this on November 29th) so yeah, go check that out.

The inspiration for this song was mainly the mellotrons. I acquired and used GForce M-Tron quite heavily on this song. Mellotron vibes, flute, strings.. even mellotron fuzz guitar and ebow sounds. This may be a grey area on the panel concerning sample quality, but come on. Mellotrons are the best sounds ever, there's a type of nostalgia and legitimacy you get by using these sounds. It brings a tear to my eye. I love good mellotron sounds so much. Ah yeah the rest, some stormdrum, acoustic guitar and electric bass, some electric guitar... Superior 2 drums.. I even used the acoustic guitar as a drum at the end. I spent almost a year on this song, sweat and blood. I hope you like it. I claimed this song because it was one that hadn't been claimed yet on the MMX project. I like making band-oriented songs that sound real, performed by humans... think as if you are listening to this in the 60s.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfH9QAGi0sk

Might want to add a second to the abrupt start.

The vibes and the flute aren't really doing it for me. It may be the samples, or it may be they just aren't bright and up front enough in the mix. The strings also sound fairly tacky.

The main problem with this track is that the performances are just not tight. The groove never locks, and the tempo is all over the place. I appreciate the arrangement, but the execution is really sloppy.

NO

I agree that the performances aren't really tight, specifically the bass sounds like it's lagging behind the rest of the band. The guitars seem matched pretty well in the first section, but for the chorus, the timing shifts and it's really awkward. Actually it feels to me like every section is a different tempo, as each transition is painfully sloppy.

I think the vibes are ok, and if the flute is brought up in volume slightly, it'll fit better, but those strings when they have the main melody are too far back and slow on the attack.

The guitars, bass, and vibes are well balanced, and the flute is close as far as production sound goes. When it goes into the heavier section, it starts really badass, then the rhythm tone comes in and sounds weak as hell. What gives, dude?

It gets beefier when the electric lead comes in, which sounds better.

Overall some great ideas, and a good foundation, but this needs a lot of work to be more than a bunch of good sections combined with bad transitions.

No

Not much I can say to expand on what the two gentlemen above have expounded upon. The arrangement itself is pretty nice, so kudos on that, but all the production and samples and other stuff is killing it.

NO

Weird balancing. The melody at :28 sounded interesting with the vibes, but was way too quiet, making the guitar seem way too loud by comparison. At 1:08, the programmed drums being so tightly timed made the looseness of the guitar and other parts sound too messy and disjointed. I wasn't majorly bothered by any of the string work until 1:49, because it was too quiet to actually contribute much to the track. The sequencing was pretty unrealistic though. Then at 1:49, I really couldn't stand the mechanically sequenced sound of the sampled strings; way too upfront and exposed.

I liked the textures overall, but the balance of the guitar work was off, and the timing among all of the parts never clicked together, making the execution sound too rough. Too bad, because the arrangement itself was solid, IMO. Really gotta tighten the screws on this one, the potential is there, Brandon.

NO

Closing this out.