[Monobrow]

Originally Posted by pokemoneinstein

In the second half of this paragraph, are you talking about the piano, drums or both? That would help me bring them out more in the mix. And neither have any resonance setting, so how might you suggest I work around that? Just play around with the EQ to let higher frequencies through?

Was talking about the piano. And yeah, play around w/ freq, figure out what is making it sound that way... Do you have any effects on them? Any reverb etc... Or maybe they just come that way?

All the chords, or just the trombone/cello chords? How do you suggest I fix it, actually take some notes out, or close it up a bit with some EQing?

Talking about the piano chords actually , however when you address any chords, sometimes what is implied will be filled in by the listener anyway, so you don't always need full chords everywhere, not that I have much of problem w/ anything besides the fullness of the piano (it just sounded kind of sloppy and the notes sounded too long)... But the rule of thumb is to try to get the most out of every instrument you choose, and sometimes implying can be effective vs. using every note you can etc.

Okay, that makes sense. I'll try brightening them. I assume you're talking about all of them, not just the chords or interludes? All the orchestral pieces are all as staccato as they can get, though, would you suggest turning up the velocity a bit to compensate?

See I dunno, because I can make my samples sound more staccato... It might just be the samples you are using won't cut off... Which would suck when trying to emphasize rhythm. Can I ask what sample library etc. you're using, and maybe I could point you in the direction of some alternatives?

And yes, basically as long as you have a goal in mind, however you achieve it is okay, so if turning them up can make it feel dryer and emphasize, then go for it.

Yeah, I'm going to work on the next minute or so either tomorrow or tonight. And I definitely was going for that quirky sound, so thank you very much for all of your tips! I've actually started using some of them as I'm typing this post, and already it sounds a lot better. :D

Glad I could help, hopefully I at least got you leaning in a certain direction.

[pokemoneinstein]

Okay, I updated it with a lot of your EQing suggestions, especially about brightening things and making them dryer, but I haven't yet made the piano chords less full, nor have I implemented your suggestion of "tricking" the listener with a different progression/drum beats, yet. To shorten the orchestral parts that play pieces of other songs a bit more, I took off some of the reverb, but now I'm thinking they stick out too much from the rest of the song, and I think that's why. It could just be volume, but I think it's because of the reverb. I can't tell if I should make it about midway between where it is now and where it used to be, or if I should just turn the volume down. I also lightened the reverb on the cello and trombone chords that compliment the piano, but I'm having the same thoughts about them. To a lesser extent, but I'm still just a tad concerned.

But I am loving the piano right now. I haven't tried taking out some of the extra notes yet, but I'll do that later and see what I think.

EDIT: Oh, and I use GarageBand's Symphony Orchestra Jam Pack. Not the best out there, but those ones cost big money.

[Monobrow]

Well, in version 5 I definitely hear difference on that piano.

Yes, everything sounds clearer, which is really cool.

And yeah, the right amount of reverb is tricky. I think a lot of people underestimate room size, they associate reverb with just making the song sound wetter... But it's also good to think about where the mic sits, as in do you want the instruments close up or not.

Coincidentally, I think your vibraphone could be turned up, and you could definitely get away with a bit more wetness, and even a tad more brightness. A closer mic (smaller room size) might help it too, the same with your harpsichord.

You're on the right track... Just get in the habit of EQing out your different instruments... Pay special attention to where all instruments are are sitting in the mix vs one another, EQ out ranges your instrument doesn't necessarily need to sound good, so you can leave room for others... I think this is especially necessary in quirky songs, because they are usually bright, with some cool panning, and "tricks" to delight the listener.

It's really all about your ear... Maybe take a day off and come back to this version, because it sounds better to me, so you just may be too used to it.

Another trick I use when my ears get tired is Winamp Pacemaker

It's a plugin that you can play (a little lossy albeit) at different keys and different tempos, so you can kind of cheat yourself with new ears, when you are used to your song.


And about your samples:

http://www.kvraudio.com/

This is a site where you may find some better samples, even for free. Just give it a search and maybe you can find at least some strings that do better staccato. Unfortunately samples seem to be this song's biggest weakness.

Hope these help and feel free to keep posting versions. Later!

[pokemoneinstein]

Originally Posted by Monobrow

Coincidentally, I think your vibraphone could be turned up, and you could definitely get away with a bit more wetness, and even a tad more brightness. A closer mic (smaller room size) might help it too, the same with your harpsichord.

It's funny you should say that, because since uploading version five, I actually changed the harpsichord to be played by the piano, and I think it sounds a lot better like that. I've also changed up the vibraphone section a lot, including EQ.

Originally Posted by Monobrow

It's really all about your ear... Maybe take a day off and come back to this version, because it sounds better to me, so you just may be too used to it.

I don't think that was it. I turned the reverb back up just a tad, and it sounds just right. In my opinion, anyway. The bigger problem actually
was the volume.

Originally Posted by Monobrow

This is a site where you may find some better samples, even for free. Just give it a search and maybe you can find at least some strings that do better staccato. Unfortunately samples seem to be this song's biggest weakness.

That may be true, I'll check that site out. Thanks!

I'll post the version i've just made in a bit, and you'll see what I'm talking about for some of the stuff. And would you still say the piano needs to be less full?

[pokemoneinstein]

I added Version 5, the second major update. Lots of changes happening, so I'd love for people to check it out if they can

[pokemoneinstein]

I've updated the first post with the newest version of the remix. I've finished it off time-wise, and I'd love some more feedback.

[Ragnarock]

I like the soundclips from the game that are dotted throughout. A lot of times, soundclips sound out of place in a song, but I thinnk it works well here.

[pokemoneinstein]

Thanks! I wanted to make sure they could be heard without overpowering the music itself. I'm happy it worked.

[pokemoneinstein]

Updated yet again. This time, the remix is finished off. From my point of view, anyway. It's clear the most of your guys have no interest, and those of you who had any already gave me your suggestions. So I guess I'm ready for Mod Review.

[Flexstyle]

>MODREVIEW<
As a quick caveat, most of my expertise comes from the production side of things, and that’s how I’ll be approaching this mod review. Forgive me if I come across too harsh, as I’m just trying to pick out anything the judges might find.

Right then, first things first. That combination of horns and strings—whatever it is that’s doing the little stabs throughout the song—really has some issues in the lower midrange. I’d say do a deep and wide cut around 180 Hz or so in the EQ, or even roll off that area entirely. I’d second the notion that the samples could be improved, since they just sound…cheap, I guess, for lack of a better term. There’s not a ton of believable articulation (yeah, there’s articulation, but it sounds kinda just “there so I can say I added articulation”) in there, since they really do just sound like triggered one-shot samples. I suspect if you lowered the volume of the stabs and made a significant EQ cut you’d have them fitting a lot better, at least, since they’re kinda clashing with the kick/snare and the bassline. If you mixed the string/horn stabs better (the EQ fixes, etc.), you might be able to get away with the “cheap-sounding” samples. Also: do you have any sort of reverb on them? That might solve part of the problem if you were to cut some significant low-mid frequencies out of that reverb, too. As of right now, they (the string/horn stabs) tend to overpower everything else in the mix.

Around 1:29 or so, when the piano does its own little lead thing, you’ll want to bring it up in the mix a bit for that section. Otherwise it sounds like, “wait, there’s a piano solo here? I didn’t even notice it.”

2:00 with the unison lead—it’s a bit buried, and you could probably stand to maybe even bring it up an octave. As of right now, it’s just kinda muddy. I would also mention that it feels almost “forced,” melodically, in that it doesn’t quite fit with the source or the remix—almost as a slightly random mish-mash of notes strung together. I’m sure that wasn’t the intent, and I’m certainly not accusing you of doing such a thing, but I am saying that’s what it kinda sounds like.

At the end of the song, where you’ve got everything playing at once, it sounds REALLY crowded, musically. You’ve got dissonance from melodies playing at the same time that shouldn’t play together in a lot of places (multiples of those unison synth leads, for instance). As someone who likes to throw everything and the kitchen sink at the listener at the end of the song, I can sympathize, but it just makes a jumbled mess in this case.

Overall mix thoughts: The entire mix sounds quite crowded and perhaps overcompressed. You could probably get away with rolling the sub bass frequencies off of the song entirely, maybe making a sharp cut or rolloff around 45 Hz or so. An overall mix cut of around 170-200 Hz wouldn’t hurt either. Looks to me like your bassline and kick are trying to occupy the same spot in the mix. You can pull that off, but you might have to lower the volume of one or the other, or simply re-EQ the kick to throw more weight into the higher end of the spectrum and less in the low end. Also, make sure your snare/clap has nothing sitting where the kick should be. Roll it off around 170 Hz or so. To be clear, actually, nothing besides the kick and bass should really occupy the spectrum below around 150 Hz or so, otherwise you’ve got mud problems.

All that said, it IS an enjoyable mix. I think the little voice clips are well-placed and tasteful, adding a nice little bit of fun to an already cheery track. It's a joyous and playful song, and the overall arrangement is, I think, quite nice. Please don’t hear me tearing everything apart in a malicious manner. I'm just pretty certain that it's not going to pass the panel as it stands right now with all those production elements (some of which are a direct result of the arrangement) missing.