Ghetto Lee Lewis

I got your message, didn't notice you provided the link to the mp3 in this thread. Thanks.

Yes please, post a link to the mp3. There should be plenty of free file servers available from google or the WIP forum on this site. I am looking for something fun and different to remix and have some friends that might be interested also.

Wonderful performances; exactly the kind of stuff we need more of on ocremix. Any chance you guys can get a better recording setup or maybe spend time in a studio?

What's the OC Remix submission policy regarding swear words and anything else that can be deemed offensive? I'm sure this has been addressed before.

Very weak sounding remix. I haven't heard the original, but this arrangement does sound like it's ripped from a videogame. Try and make something that sounds like a professional mix/arrangement. Find better samples, add eq, compression, reverb; but before you do that try to make a really good arrangement first. If you have no budget at all (I assume you don't since you use modplug), then at least search the internet for some good soundfonts and VSTi plugins. I'm sure the remixing forum has some good resources for you.

For a song that's over 9 MB you should add a streaming option. At least reduce the quality to 160 or 192 kbps. 320 is just excessive. It sounds like you sampled the original. I think because of the file size and because you used so much of the actual original sounds that it wouldn't meet submission guidelines. Also the samples are probably copyrighted and would disqualify your mix. sorry Besides that it sounds like a pretty decent mix. I used to have fun playing this on Dance Dance back when I was in better shape.

Maybe we'll have more people entering in on this one. Hope to see some old faces competing in this round. Love the source tune!

Congratulations Binweasel. I appreciate the feedback from all the votes. I'll hopefully be able to spend more time next time on my mix and will work on the issues mentioned. I hope the next compo is just as fun and we have a bigger turnout.

I didn't much care for the Prelude (I've heard tons of other versions though). I think the drums seemed out of place with the other instruments. I loved The Red Wings remix. For some reason I envision a huge baritone voice singing along with the music (Rammstein anyone?). Or maybe that's just me with most good rock music I hear. I love that you threw in the music from the boss battle. FF4 was definitely my favorite game in the series. This music really brings me back.

This site needs more big baritone German vocals to go with the ripping guitar solos (I'm still working on my Rammstein sound so don't offer to collab with me just yet ;p). Honestly I thought the song was good until you started singing. Maybe it's just not my style. In any case maybe you should bring the vocals in earlier so people know what to expect. Make them a bigger part of the song.

Half my posts (if not more) are written under insomnia. Then again, my songs are probably mixed that way also. ;p

I disagree with the repetition (listen to the original before reviewing this PLEASE). I think you've mixed it up well enough to keep it interesting. It is a catchy melody after all. I think what it needs is better mixing (I'm on headphones so pardon me when I say this): more bass. I want to hear some louder drums and some crazier drum sequencing. As for changing the melody, probably the best thing to do is to add some other synths in here, maybe cut out the melody and add some trippy solo of some sort (think DnB). I can actually see some potential here if you think your mixing skills are good enough. Come to think of it, I would love to hear a DnB version of this song. That would really make my day. =) Please note: I actually listened to this song twice. That's a lot more than most WIP's (and even some remixes) I listen to on this site. I like what you got going here.

I wouldn't call myself an experienced singer by any means (been at it seriously for a couple of years now), but I'll try. Your pitch is actually quite good for a lot of people I've heard. I think other parts of your singing need work though. From your tone you sound to me like a natural tenor. Those high notes shouldn't be giving you much trouble at all. If they feel uncomfortable it probably means you have a problem with proper breathing. I think your voice sounds a bit more nasally than it should. You're going to have to open up your voice by using deep breathing techniques as you sing. I'm not sure if you've really practiced breathing for singing; it's very similar to how you breath when you sleep. When you yawn is the perfect time to go for a really high note on the exhale (just try singing opera and see what happens). Anyway, as a practical exercise, keep your shoulders down while you sing; force them to stay down if you have to. We tend to breath from a higher position and force the notes to come out rather than give them the support they really need, which only comes from deep natural breathing. Always stand up while you sing while maintaining good posture. A good singing posture allows a natural flow of air. Anyway, I liked the first version (the higher one) much better than the second version. You seemed to have much more energy, although I'm sure it probably felt uncomfortable for you. I remember when I first started I would feel very uncomfortable going past a C or D. Now I can sing almost a full octave higher using my full voice (although it takes me tons of energy to hit that Pavorotti high C since I'm a natural baritone). Once you master deep breathing then it becomes much easier to have complete control over your voice and add emotion. Once you get to the final stages of mastering a song, you need to sing the meaning of the words, rather than try to hit the notes. Only then have you truly mastered it. It sounded too much to me like you were just singing words and not really singing what they mean. Now as for the actual song, I would recommend singing the introduction in a lower voice (like you did for version 2), then moving it up a full octave higher for the energetic part. Of course it's going to take a lot of practice working on your range, but from what I heard I think you have the talent to make it work. Just keep practicing and especially work on your breathing to get the maximum breath support possible to sustain the high notes (the higher the pitch you sing, the more breath it takes to sustain the note). As for the guitar part, I'm not crazy about the guitar part in the beginning of the song (although I'm a pianist, so you don't have to take my word for it). I'd recommend some slower strumming or arpeggios to make it more interesting. It would make the song feel more emotional in my opinion. I enjoyed the faster part of the guitar playing, however, so just keep it up what it is you do. Drums and bass and backup vocals may not be necessary; there are plenty of good acoustic songs out there also. At least worry about mastering an acoustic version first. As for Audacity, it's a decent program for recording (at least as far as free software goes), but really not ideal for mixing and mastering. If it's all you have the budget for, fine, but you may eventually want to invest in some better software. I've used FL Studio for years (since 3.0) and it hasn't let me down (and it's a steal at under $100), although you may have to learn some really advanced mixing techniques if you want to produce quality music using the software. However, it's hard to find a better deal on a complete software package.

Nice remix, OneUp. It sounds a lot like Edvard Grieg, the Norwegian Composer (although not Russian, despite your remix title; although I have to admit the remix sounds quite like Russian music). I was expecting some trance after your comment, although it was probably sarcastic. Sorry, I haven't been around this site in a while. Anyway, if the deadline were to be extended I think you should have asked sooner so that everyone else could have more time to work on their mix, and we might have even had a bigger turn out this round (at least then I could have convinced some friends to enter as well).

I hope I'm not the only one who sees the hilarity in the title (how it relates to the original song). I hope you techno people can appreciate this mix (it's track #4 on thesauce page, by the way). It's not quite as polished as I'd like it to be, but I submitted what I had. I've been so busy I've only been able to spend one day working on it (not to mention being sick all day yesterday). I usually try hard not to use the cliche'd saw waveforms anymore, but heard the midi, which to me just screamed HARD TRANCE, and couldn't resist. Regardless what often sounds like a saw waveform is actually not (it's much more complex than that). I use very basic tools to mix (FL Studio), so I have to be very creative to get the sounds I want. The kick drum is built from the "Dance" folder (it's actually 4 kick drums though). Most of the synths are built from 3xosc and simsynth (and a bit of sytrus). All effects are FL effects. I would like to thank Imageline for developing an amazing affordable software package. I would also like to thank the ocremixer Prophecy for encouraging me to enter this competition. Regretfully he has been feeling ill and was not able to enter. I would furthermore like to apologize for this excessively long post. Thank you to everyone who took the time to read this and enjoyed listening to the results of the competition. Good luck to all.

It sounds more like Gerudo Valley to me.

What kind of piano and recording setup are you using? The dynamics feel very uncomfortable throughout the piece, almost as if it were sequenced. However, I hear a lot of inside piano noise so I'm confused. It sounds like you're using very close microphones. I'd like to guess you're playing a big upright grand. It sounds like the room you're using has very tight acoustics; I'm guessing a recording studio or a college practice room. The Zelda arrangement definitely sounds like tons of work went into it; however, I don't hear very much emotion in the performance. Maybe it's just me. The Chrono Trigger piece does sound more emotional. I wonder how you got your rhythm so perfect. I hear almost no tempo variations at all (for both pieces). Given the type of synchopation on your opening Chrono Trigger song, that seems like it should be very difficult to accomplish. I'm still thinking that you're using very advanced sequencing techniques along with artificial piano noises. Whatever your method is it must be time consuming. The piece around 2:40 (I forget the name of the song) pretty much tells me this must be live playing. Those are the kind of dynamics I've been looking for through most of your arrangements. This is actual a beautiful and extraordinary performance. You have quite a talent. If you do decide to cut your arrangements down for resubmission I would definitely suggest this particular song. It should be very easy to slice up the recording; you wouldn't even need to record it over again. Then again, the piece that plays around 5:02 I don't care for very much. I think you could have done a lot more with the arrangement on that section. As for the song at 6:00, it's such a simple song I think it needs more espressivo. Once again I think you could have done more with the arrangement. The 600 AD song is pretty nice, but I've heard other piano versions that I prefer over this one (Spekkosaurus for one). I enjoy your performance and interpretation, but I must complain that it sounds too much like the original and lacks energy and emotion. This song may be my favorite from the game actually so sorry to say I was disappointed. Also this song really seems to drag. For the length you really could have developed it a lot more. From here I pretty much fast forwarded to 14:30-ish. Now this is a song I'm enjoying much more. This seems to be the type of song written for piano. However, I think maybe I'm bored from the last couple of songs (or maybe it's lack of sleep; it's way past my bed time). I pretty much skipped around a bit to the end. Overall, for a 4-hand arrangement I expected much more. I can probably write much more complex pieces for just two hands. While I was not disturbed by dissonance and sloppy playing, I was quite bored and disappointed through much of the performance, especially the songs near the middle and end (they really seemed to drag on and on and on). I have nothing against long piano arrangements as long as they stay interesting the entire time. I noticed most of the songs played pretty much lacked energy. It would have been really nice to hear a couple of fast or energetic songs inbetween the slow ones. Listen to Spekkosaurus - The Trial in Concert; you'll hear what I'm talking about (not an extremely fast song, but it sounds like a very aggressive and emotional performance). Hope the feedback helps. I try to be honest (hope I don't sound too brutal), as a fellow pianist and composer, not like I could really do much better at the moment in terms of any decent piano arrangements/recordings; I'm pretty much just fiddling around with a few classical pieces at the moment. Also, if it counts for anything, I've performed several pieces from both these games on the piano myself.

It sounded REALLY long, and it made me really nervous, to be frank. It really could have been like, 5 seconds instead of a full minute. Also, this sounds like it has nothing at all to do with the source tune. The source tune is way too repetitive though, even for a video game. I mean damn, even NES games from the 80's had music that was much less repetitive than this. Can't composers actually finish a damn song?

I tell everyone the same thing when it comes to orchestral scoring: DYNAMICS That solo clarinet in the beginning of the first piece gets buried quickly by the rest of the orchestra (and is kind of a shock to me when wearing headphones). Remember dynamics isn't just difference in loudness; it's a feeling of higher energy and heightened emotion. Also I hear some noise with the woodwinds in the beginning, like the recording equipment wasn't setup right and it's distorting. Always try to keep realistic expectations in mind of how different instruments in an orchestra should sound together. I've had my orchestration performed live before. Until then you never really think about just how huge a bass drum sounds. ;p Strings are very dynamic instruments; they can play very softly or loudly, but they aren't nearly as loud as brass. Anyway, I'm sure you have a very good understanding of orchestral dynamics, but I could hear more work that could be done getting the sound a bit more natural. Second song: For some reason your music reminds me of Final Fantasy Tactics. Of course the orchestral samples are much better. My complaint is the same though; I think your strings are usually overpowering your brass section. It should be the other way around. I like hearing big brass that sounds big and in your face. Song 3: I think this may be the best one so far. I'm not hearing so many dynamic issues. I really like the big low trombone section towards the middle. I'm getting a better feel for that big brass section I was looking for. However, I still think the brass could be a touch louder, and I think the xylophone is a bit too loud. rofl, I know I'm probably nitpicking a bit. I know these are Symphonic Orchestra silver samples (I've used silver and gold edition, also with FL Studio and must say they are very hard to work with), so I really commend you on being able to successfully use them. My other complaint is that these songs are in 320 kbps. That seems a bit much for a sequenced orchestra. From my experience 192, or even 128 sometimes is sufficient. I don't really like waiting the extra several seconds for the files to download. As for the videos, the music seems way too good and epic for these kinds of videos. I really think you're wasting your talent on them and should stick to music.