Uboichi2

What's up with foreigners and Heineken? =/ It's awful beer! And that's about the only critical note I can give about it xD

It's a cakewalk project .

Would love to work more on this one, 'cause frankly it's very nicely written. And it's always nice to work with something that's written well. However, I'm all over my head into choir projects atm and got my study + job at the same time as well. I don't even have time to work on my own composition projects, so don't even consider OCR projects . But still, I've put a lot of work into this and would love to see it finished eventually. So if anyone could pick it up where I left it, then I'd be grateful! (and Zorlax too I think =P).

Yeah, I was the one who did the production. I wanted to use orchestral samples, but Zorlax really wanted the samples to be of solo instruments. My solo samples aren't really of high quality and my production not good enough to get it to the high standards of OCremix. So should anyone be willing to take up this project again, then I'll be able to provide the project file I made.

You're making it really difficult for me to have some proper feedback for you, but I'll try anyway. What you did, like you said, was creating a very conservative remake. You had an original sound version that you could use as a reference point to check whether your balance was right or not. However, I think you should try creating a bit of original material to find out how you balance that. I usually find it to be really hard to trust my own ears when trying to find a balance with original or arranged works. So my advice to you would be to make some original material (or heavily arranged) to learn more about your own skills with balancing out the orchestra. Just a 10 second fragment would be enough to learn a lot more about how you work.

I've got the feeling something's missing in this mix, though I'm not experienced with this kind of material to pin point out what it is. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it and I think this has a good chance of getting the big YES.

It appears that the sheet music for my arrangement is in really popular demand. Though I really like all the enthusiasm, I have to dissappoint everyone who would like it right now. Besides being a remixer I'm also a University Student, and my study takes up a lot of my time. So please stop asking for the sheet music, I don't have time for it right now. I'll see if I can make them when the Christmas Holidays are here. Till then you guys will have to do with listening to it. Uboichi.

This mix doesn't need the organ as solo and then a band version. Just the band version would be way nicer. The rest of any possible comments are already given by Rozovian, so I won't repeat those. Keep it up, you'll get there eventually.

Finally it seems like the FF2 OST is getting the attention it deserves. The only thing I can comment about this atm is that it's too repetitive. Other than that I do like the ideas you have.

tbh, I'd prefer a high quality audio file over a video with low quality sound anytime. As for the arrangement, the left hand part has too many arpeggio chords. Though I say the same thing about some works by Chopin, so that's on account of taste. Other than that, most parts stick rather close to their originals. I liked the part from the Opening though.

Oooh yeah, finish it. Then at least I won't be the only dutch Remixer here ^^. Other than that, I think the end is really awesome. Most stuff before it sticks a bit too much to the original a la Black Mages version though. Usually not necessarily a bad thing, but there are 6 other J-E-N-O-V-A mixes already. You'll be competing for originality.

Could be so awesomely funny with 1 measure of the Chocobo theme thrown into. If done so a bit like Kefka's theme in the last part of Dancing Mad.

Oh oops, missed the post where you said you used FL studio. And well, exporting wavs and then importing them in your track is basicly what freezing does. But freezing does that with one button click. And about the trial arrangement, it does sound more humanized. I guess the samples you chose there better fit the arrangement.

Freezing in Cakewalk Sonar: go to your synth rack (on of the buttons grouped with Staff View and Piano Roll View). Click Freeze Synth. Easy =).

It appears to be clipping here and there. But I find it fascinating how you managed to make it upbeat like this and still keep it's calming atmosphere to it.

When it comes to using too much RAM: Freeze tracks. It takes a lot of extra time to finish your song that way, but that way you can use quality samples to the extreme. Other than that there's this: 2:22 You're using an oboe sample that has a gradual crescendo to it for the entire melody line. You could seperate the track there in notes that need crescendo and those that don't and then use 2 different samples for them. It's tricks like that that can make the difference between something sounding good or something sounding awesome. Before submitting this I'd recommend comparing your own mix with the 7 other You're not alone Remixes. Well, or maybe just with Tuba Lin's Shepherd Won't Alone. 'Cause that's what the judges will be doing. It's that level of quality you should be aiming for. I've made the mistake several times as well to make a mix of a certain quality that was passable, weren't it for the huge amounts of remixes already made for it. It's just how the judges view Remixes. The more remixes there are of song, the lower your chances are of getting a YES. I don't want to demotivate you, but just keep that in mind. Your arrangement AND production need to be awesome to get this one a yes.

A major improvement! But... 1. It needs more humanization. You should try to get in more clearer differences in dynamics. It's all a bit around MF atm. Don't be afraid to use those PPs and FFs. Also don't be afraid to use pedals. Don't overdo them either. Even though the piece has a very staccato character, it might be a good idea to drop a hint of legato here and there. 2. The audio quality needs to be beefed up a lot. At the very least some basic reverb needs to be added. I added a quick reverb to your latest version so you can hear what a difference reverb can make. 3. Maybe this can be really funny if you can find some good Honkey Tonk samples. I'm not really sure if it would be a good idea, but this arrangement just gives me a bit of a Wild West Saloon feel to it, which usually sounds nice with Honkey Tonk piano sounds. Keep up the good work!

Some suggestions on the arrangement: 0:00 and 1:33 you're using that 'timpani motive' a lot throughout the song. I suggest you change that for something different just for the short parts. It'll give the listener a bit of a breather. i.e. you could make the bass line one loud note played in octaves which could be suspended for the entire intro. 1:27-1:31 You might want to play the melody here with an extra higher octave on top. Maybe add a ritunuendo, but it can do without as well. What would be cool though, is if it was played crescendo ending really loud, with a fermata on the last chord. You have a bit of climax there, but it doesn't feel like a climax, which can easily be solved with some basic dynamics. You might also wanna add some grace notes or more harmony to the original source tune. As it is now it is a bit dull. There are lots of different little changes you can make here and there that hardly change your song as a whole, but will improve it a lot. Just keep listening and comparing to other piano works.

Really nice, an OCR (well, wip) that you can listen in the background while doing something else. OCRs have a habit of dominating all other sounds you hear.

I like the ideas you got for the arrangement, though I have to admit that it's far from flawless. i.e. It could be really nice if the the left hand part had some extra lower octaves doubled or something. It's too much played in the same registers, while the piano has an immense range. Other than that, I find it really hard to believe this was played and recorded. It sounds really sequenced. It sounds really mechanical and not very human.

For some reason this makes me think of some tracks of the Killer Instinct - Killer Cuts OST. With slightly worse sounds and arrangement. But overall when reading your intentions and take them in regard, I'd have to say you've done a pretty good job. =)

You don't have permission to access /~cjs/extremismV2roughCut.mp3 on this server. Can't listen to it :[

I don't completely agree with HoBoKa. I like it being dissonant. That's just a matter of taste and not a rule. Then again, there's a reason I studied contemporary classical music for a year. The main I problems I see is it being way too repetitive. Even sticking so close to the source shouldn't be a problem with a mix like this. But like I say, it's just way too much of the same. Adding a break here and there doesn't change that.

The melody is still pretty close to the original. My advice there is to just find a version of the song without any vocals in it and try out the number of different ways you can sing the melody. Forget the text, it doesn't have to fit. But especially rythmically there's so much you can do with a melody. Other than that, the focus is way too much on one instrument. Just listen for example to Monstrous Turtles by Zircon. In that piece he uses 7 different sounds for the lead with 11 transitions from one instrument to the other. In comparrison: You're arrangement has 2 different lead sounds with only 4 lead sound transitions. You might be suprised why I take a Remix that's completely different in style from yours, but the answer is simple: They're comparable in length. With music you basicly have 2 kinds of sound: background sound and leading sound. It's possible to have more than one kind of sound leading at the same time. Also it's possible to have multiple leading melodies. I advise you to listen to other remixers and analyze how long they use a leading sound before going to the next one and compare that length to the total length of the Remix. And count the number of different sounds they use. Do exactly the same for the background sounds. The background analysis might be even more important than the lead sounds analysis. A full analysis of Monstrous Turtles would probably be a full page long, just because there's so much happening in the background there. Overall, you're sound usage is too simple (and clean ). Because of that your mix becomes repetitive. So listen to what others do, write it down. Then you can make a checklist for yourself. Example: [] Enough harmonic variety? [] Enough different instruments taking the lead voice? [] Are the lengths of the melody parts long/short enough? [] Enough rythmic variety? [] etc. This kind of list isn't a rule to force upon yourself, but more like a guideline and you can alter it or ignore points on it based on your intentions. Good luck!

You're on to something with this arrangement. I'd love to hear this in High Quality samples once before I make comments. =)