[OA]

Remixer Name: Darangen
Real Name: Michael Boyd
Email:
Website: www.darangen.com
UserID: 8948

UPDATED URL to Remix:

Game: Chrono Trigger
Songs: Undersea Palace
Schala’s theme
Original Soundtracks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf52-MZaXSw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJtwEpQe6w0

Comments:

Oh noes, a Schala mix! There’s a reason everyone remixes Schala though.

I was listening to Chrono Symphonic at work one day and Rellik’s “Beneath The Surface” came up. That got me thinking about the undersea palace theme and through various other tracks with Schala’s theme, I eventually started molding them together in my head.

Then this track was born. It’s working title was Killer Studio Chops.

It’s somewhat symphonic heavy metal. Schala’s theme has been converted to 3/4, and the section in the intro is in 11/8. I tried swapping between 3/4 and 4/4 for the two sources, but it just wasn’t gelling like I wanted it to. I’m happy with the result though.

As always, hope you enjoy it as much as I did creating it.

[Fishy]

Pretty solid. Some weird double bass sounds at 1:15. You're majorly pumping a compressor/limiter by the sounds of it. That's the only part where it's very obvious but might be best to watch your mastering compression in the future. Not the best string sample but it kinda works as something else in a weird way.

Overall on the rough side but I think it's on the safe side.

YES

[Emunator]

Gah, I hate to keep doing this to your subs but the mixing here still sounds messy, Mike The balance and overall mastering seems way off; your kick drum is weak and when you do several quick hits in succession, it just sounds like mud underneath the rest of the mix. The toms are probably the worst offender here, they're extremely boomy and compressed oddly, so they drown out everything else when they play. Truthfully I'm not sure what's causing the mixing problem with this song, but something sounds really strange here.

Sample-wise, I feel like the strings are too weakly-sequenced to suffice here, at least when they're exposed in places like the intro. When they're layered in, the orchestral elements work a lot better. Not a dealbreaker but if you could add a bit more humanization to the string writing, I think it would really help the intro reach its full potential.

On the plus side, your arrangement is absolutely fantastic and your performances are among the best I've ever heard from you. This is a really great arrangement that lives up to your reputation from back in the day, but the mixing is not where it needs to be. I'm comparing this to some of your older submissions from 2004-2006 to try and figure out what's up, since I've been noticing a lot of production issues on your recent submissions that are really difficult to pin down.

Maybe another judge can clarify what I'm talking about here (or chime in and let me know that I'm totally nuts ) Either way, I'm not comfortable with how the overall mix on this sounds as it is. I'll be keeping my eye on this decision though.

NO (resubmit!)

[OA]

I gotta agree with Emu here, great performance and arrangement, but the low end is having some issues. Part of the issue is that the guitar tone is so meaty that that it's stepping on the cello part and causing mud, you'll want to adjust the rhythm guitar EQ to cut a bit at 250hz, and the drums sound good, but the kick is causing issues. I've got some further Questions, so i'll hit you up in a PM, but this definitely has what it takes to get on the site, but it needs some cleaning first. The fact that you are pushing your boundaries further is really good, and this track is great otherwise.

No, please resubmit

[DragonAvenger]

Checking out the updated file without hearing the original. There is some lower end clarity issues that I think need to be cleaned up more. I think Andrew is on the right track that the guitar is part of what is crowding things out, as well as just having a lot of instruments in the same range. Similarly, the piano needs to come out a little bit more at 1:29. It's clearer with headphones, but on speakers I had a tough time hearing the lead.

There was a very slight but noticeable timing issue around :50-:53ish in the rhythm guitars. Just something to check out.

Arrangement-wise I think this is fantastic, and I'd love for this to be on the site. I don't think the balance is where it needs to be yet, though, to allow all the parts the clarity they need. Hope you keep working at this.

NO(resubmit, please!)

[Liontamer]

Just noting I've only heard the version updated on 4/11.

The string sequencing opening this up sounded pretty poor; very exposed mechanical timing. The way the theme was modified during the verses ended up sounding atonal; it's not clicking with the rest of the track at all. The string sequencing and notes during the verses were core to the arrangement, but it's jacked, so I already have to go NO since you need to address that.

The changeup at 1:02 was much stronger, writing-wise. Very cool tweak of the Schala theme melody.

I did agree with the mixing criticisms. Even with this new version, it's only serviceable. I could potentially pass it with that kind of average mixing if everything else were on point with the arrangement. That said, this was a 320kbps sub (too high) but the track still sounded like it could have been 128kbps, maybe 160. There's a lot of good rhythmic alterations and ear candy with rock parts, the mallet percussion and the other instrumentation that is cool when you notice it, but isn't really mixed clearly. The strings need more body and less robotic timing during the verses, and they (along with the mallet percussion) need to cut through more during your chorus. The mallet percussion at 1:45 was getting crowded out.

Anyway, the arrangement itself was strong, we just need the strings on point (or that instrument changed entirely) and the mixing cleaned up further. Keep working on it, you'll get your groove back.

NO (resubmit)

[Emunator]

Honestly, I don't think this is really a step up or down from the previous version. The bad sequencing on the strings stands out even more. I feel like this is gonna need an overhaul on certain elements of the song, a quick fix like this isn't going to cut it for me either :\

On the plus side, this is still a SICK arrangement that deserves to be heard in its full glory. I'd say take this one back to the WIP forums and see what can be done with it.

NO (resub!)

[OA]

I think this is decent feedback you have all left for Darangen. I definitely want this on the front page, so please rock it out, bro!