Forums

Congratulations !!!   Thank all you for the good music and  happy things

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHmtY14z9kk This song is awesome, and I think has so much potential with updated instruments.

Howdy, Audiomancer! I’m another new judge, so like jnWake, I’m giving this one a first listen. The other Js have brought up a number of arrangement and mix issues previously, so I’m more or less co-signing on those here. Drums are a specialty of mine, so I do have some notes to add. One additional thing I’d like to note about the organ in the intro is that it sounds like its stereo image was artificially widened. It sounds okay in headphones, but strange in speakers and studio monitors. If you’ve modified the stereo width on the organ, I recommend backing that off about 25-30% – too much artificial width can create issues with mono compatibility through comb filtering and phase cancellation. The closed hi-hat that plays on the beat for the drum groove starting at 0:11 is too loud relative to the rest of the kit; lower velocities on these hi-hat hits plus bus compression on your drums will create a sense that your drums are making up one combined instrument instead of disparate parts or samples. We get the B-section melody at 0:43 on the electric piano. The countermelody synth is too shrill here. Recap of the A section at 0:57 on the organ, it seems to fit better in the mix here. Break down to drums and bass at 1:08; the new drum pattern is a nice touch here – if the hi-hat pattern were to change as well, this would sell the shift even better. The ascending arp at 1:15 is nice; not sure why the drums switched back to the first pattern here, though, because they continue with the new pattern at 1:23 with another recap of the A-section melody. Committing to the bit would greatly benefit this new section. Also, Chimpazilla’s on the money about the relationship between the kick and the bass in this section; this is a prime opportunity to add some sidechain compression if you haven’t already done so, or get more aggressive with it if you have. Drums exit at 1:47 for a B-section recap. As before, the countermelody synth here is harsh at the top end. We get an 808-like drop and slowdown at 2:01 into a false ending; organ and pads come back at 2:10 to recap the A section one more time for a bookend finish. It sounds like a synth plays an extraneous note at 2:21, and then it’s done. The extra A section at the very end feels like copy-paste. I’m going to sound like a curmudgeon here: the nine drum fills you’ve used (at 0:11, 0:25, 0:40, 0:55, 1:06, 1:14, 1:21, 1:32, and 1:45) all sound nearly identical. They’re all built on a similar foundational rhythm and they all take up a bar of time each. It’s a great fill idea but, overused as it is, it compromises the melodic and harmonic changes you’ve orchestrated for the different sections. They also highlight how static the drum writing is overall, with two grooves over the runtime. I’m also hearing mix issues in the lows and low-mids. The bass seems to dominate between 100-350 Hz, which buries the fundamental of the snare. Additionally, the bass and kick sound out of tune with each other, muddying the overall sound. For how short the source material is, you’ve managed to get some good mileage out of it here! At this stage, the lack of drum fill variety and the mix issues are significant enough setbacks that I would like to see them corrected before this one’s ready for the front page. If you haven’t already, I’d recommend taking this one over to the #workshop channel on the OCR Discord server for some ideas if you get stuck. I’d love to hear this one again when it’s ready! NO (resubmit)

Wanted to start by saying I really love the enthusiasm I get from the write-up with the lore mentions and all! K, this one begins with some strings and pads setting some ambience, with some melodies based on backing strings from one of the sources. I like that the strings sound appropriately synth-ish to give the space vibe. At 0:55 some dark synth bass hits, teasing the main riff of the same source. At 1:25 the beat drops but, sadly, the bass itself seems to heavily drop in volume/presence so we’re left with a surprisingly soft soundscape instead… I’m really missing some more oomph in here, be it some punchier drums, some distortion on the rhythm synth, more bass, anything! A lead guitar joins a bit after and we then move to a different section, with a new riff on synths. There’s a few repeats before we move to a new section at 2:45. There’s some neat bits of sound design in all of these sections with the pads that sweep over the track, I dig that. On this new section we get some atmospheric build-up again, with melodies of the other source on strings. 3:45 continues this, now with some actual bass which is sadly very soft in the mix. On the arrangement side this is pretty good. The medley nature could be argued against it but you do a good job of transitioning between sources and the genre is cohesive all the time so the source A →  source B structure doesn’t really bother me. I also like how you shift between more atmospheric sections and more energetic ones to keep it varied. Sadly, I don’t think the production is letting this shine, mostly because the low end is very lacking. There’s basically no bass on this track and that is a bummer since you’re going for a very electronic vibe, which really needs a good bass (as an example, look at how the sources you picked approach it!). It’s extremely noticeable on the first major transition since you use a very loud distorted bass to introduce the first energetic section (1:25) but then basically drop the bass from the mix so the energy levels drop heavily. Drums are also nowhere nearly as energetic/punchy as the writing is asking for. The synths doing the main riffs are also super soft. Those riffs are asking for something dirtier. Finally, I think the lead guitar is also a little dull sounding. On the bright side, I really like your work with strings and pads, they sound awesome and there’s a ton of small details on the sound design that I loved. Overall, I think this needs a second pass on production to get posted. To really nail the vibe you're going for you need to improve the bass and drum mixing as both are very lacking in power, we need that "oomph! As a “tip”, I looked at the EQ of the track and you can notice how the lower frequencies only really activate when the kick hits. Moreover, if you grab an EQ and boost the lower end (around 100hz) you’ll basically hear no bass instrument. NO

Ah, Kirby boss themes, my beloved. The world needs as many remixes of them as we can get! For reference, I’m gonna refer to the track as having A, B and C sections on the review, each section representing the main 3 parts of the source’s loop (in order, naturally). Chiptune arpeggios to start, following the source’s A chord progression. As far as I can tell there’s no arpeggios like this on the source, so this is a neat start! Some pads join in quickly and then we get a hint of the main melody on a whistly synth around 0:20. We get hints of a build-up here but it instead leads to another build-up at 0:40, with a bassline following the chord progression until, finally, the beat drops around 1:01. Drums go into some sort of breakbeat pattern while a synth repeats the A melody. On this section the mix is a little muddy. We then move to the B melody on a different synth, with a less busy soundscape now. Section C hits next, in a section that feels a little calmer because of a simpler bassline. After a transition we get various repeats of section A, first on chiptune, then with the “busy soundscape” and then as a reprise of the intro until the song ends. On production I’m a little mixed as this feels unbalanced. Main example is the 1:01 section, where the main synth is completely overshadowed by the drums, bass and pads (partly because it starts at a lower octave). However, there’s also lack of balance between sections as, for example, the one at 1:21 is kinda randomly much lower energy with both bass and drums being super low in volume. At 1:42 the bass is once again super loud and this all creates a very unbalanced soundscape. On the other hand, I do enjoy the sounds themselves, I like how the drumkit sounds in general (although a beefier kick wouldn’t hurt), the synth leads sound good, as do pads and the synth basses. Arrangement is pretty close to the source, I think all chord progressions are kept the exact same from the original, as are the melodies. However, I think you added a lot of your own touch with the instrumentation, like the breakbeat drums and small details like the chiptune arpeggio in the intro. That said, there’s definitely space for more personalization like, for example, adding some flair to how the original melodies are played (especially the section A melody that is played like 5-6 times during the track). Overall, I don’t think this one currently passes the bar, since production issues hold it back. I really hope you're able to go back and fix those for another attempt as this track is great! NO