[jnWake]

This is my take on the Cleyra Trunk theme from FFIX.

The original theme is slow and creepy. My mix is essentially a "progressive metal" take on the song. It keeps some of the creepiness but it is faster.

Links:

Dropbox:
- MP3: https://www.dropbox.com/s/0z418eanpp...0Sandstorm.mp3 .
- WAV: https://www.dropbox.com/s/c0p41c182j...0Sandstorm.wav .
Soundcloud (older version... Can't update tracks on SC. At least it's useful to make comparisons): https://soundcloud.com/jnwake/final-fantasy-ix-into-the .

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XacP6hf29UA .

The source doesn't have easily recognizable melodies or stuff like that, so the mix is a bit liberal.

Comments and feedback are very appreciated!

[jnWake]

Mega Bump!

I finished this with better samples and mixing and stuff. Also, Argle played the violin.

Feedback is very appreciated.

[timaeus222]

I think it's private.

[jnWake]

I think Soundcloud derped... I can't even access my Stream.

EDIT: Fixed the link.

Also, Dropbox link since Soundcloud is kind of slow: https://www.dropbox.com/s/c0p41c182j...0Sandstorm.wav .

[timaeus222]

The initial acoustic guitar tone sounds pretty good. The electric tone after that needs some more tone-crafting. It sounds a little nasal and narrow. Give it some more low-end power and double-track it. Right now it's a bit mid-heavy.

Your drums are nice, but they sound a bit dry. Try adding some room reverb on the drums. Not too much, just enough to make it sound like it's in an actual room, simply because it's pretty acoustic.

The kick and snare could also be brought out some more. When the EP first comes in, it kinda drowns out the kick and snare, and also the guitar a bit. The guitar sounded pushed back and kind of far away. It's fine if you meant to do that, but it's a bit excessive at the moment.

Pretty nice so far, keep it up!

[jnWake]

Originally Posted by timaeus222

The initial acoustic guitar tone sounds pretty good. The electric tone after that needs some more tone-crafting. It sounds a little nasal and narrow. Give it some more low-end power and double-track it. Right now it's a bit mid-heavy.

Your drums are nice, but they sound a bit dry. Try adding some room reverb on the drums. Not too much, just enough to make it sound like it's in an actual room, simply because it's pretty acoustic.

The kick and snare could also be brought out some more. When the EP first comes in, it kinda drowns out the kick and snare, and also the guitar a bit. The guitar sounded pushed back and kind of far away. It's fine if you meant to do that, but it's a bit excessive at the moment.

Pretty nice so far, keep it up!

Your comments are pretty much the issues I had with the mix, so that's cool!

I uploaded a new version where I mainly tried to pump the kick and snare more. I also raised the "lower end" of the guitar and lowered it's mid. Raised the guitar volume and took a little off the bass too.

Glady you liked the rest of it.

[Rozovian]

Dude, avoid uploading wavs just for crits.

Kick seems a little bassy when you've already got a strong bass. The rest of the drums are too weak by comparison. Decide which way you wanna go - bassy kick or bassy bass, and adjust accordingly.

You know what? The drums are too weak, period. Everything else is louder. When that epiano is louder than your drums, in what sounds like a metal hybrid, something's wrong with the mix. Grab some recent metal tracks from ocr and compare. Even if you can't make yours as loud as they are, you can make yours as balanced. Just going by other ppl's comments and your own, biased ears can easily lead to a really weird mix. Compare.

The sound design is really nice. The ending could be a little bigger, and maybe those synthy strings aren't the best to end it on. They work fine for most of the track, but they fall flat when exposed like that.

The writing all feels cohesive and like it's based on source, tho someone more familiar with the source can probably say for sure. Arrangement is nice and varied.

In other words, the mix is the problem. Can't find anything but tiny nitpicks that'd be wrong with the arrangement and sound design. So just mix it better and it should be in the clear. :D

[jnWake]

Originally Posted by Rozovian

Dude, avoid uploading wavs just for crits.

Woops, sorry for that! Included WAV and MP3 in the OP for anybody interested in having a WAV!

Originally Posted by Rozovian

Kick seems a little bassy when you've already got a strong bass. The rest of the drums are too weak by comparison. Decide which way you wanna go - bassy kick or bassy bass, and adjust accordingly.

I see what you mean. It has to do with a boost I made when mastering, but I fixed it now!

Originally Posted by Rozovian

You know what? The drums are too weak, period. Everything else is louder. When that epiano is louder than your drums, in what sounds like a metal hybrid, something's wrong with the mix. Grab some recent metal tracks from ocr and compare. Even if you can't make yours as loud as they are, you can make yours as balanced. Just going by other ppl's comments and your own, biased ears can easily lead to a really weird mix. Compare.

You're right, I analyzed various metal tracks from different bands and noticed drums are usually much more present in the mix than what I had. Guess I knew that but I didn't see it as a problem until you pointed it out. I upped the volumes of the higher frequencies quite a bit and gave the snare a different EQ, I think it sounds a lot better now.

Originally Posted by Rozovian

The sound design is really nice. The ending could be a little bigger, and maybe those synthy strings aren't the best to end it on. They work fine for most of the track, but they fall flat when exposed like that.

The writing all feels cohesive and like it's based on source, tho someone more familiar with the source can probably say for sure. Arrangement is nice and varied.

In other words, the mix is the problem. Can't find anything but tiny nitpicks that'd be wrong with the arrangement and sound design. So just mix it better and it should be in the clear. :D

Glad you liked the rest! I like the strings in the end but they may go on for a bit too long...

I uploaded a new version to Dropbox (both MP3 and WAV, even though the WAV may take a while to upload), so check it out!