Argle   Members

I love the FTL soundtrack. I can definitely hear some of that here. Nice.

Jeez, making other people post your sources. Thanks though T. Source usage seems alright. There are a number of reasons that would almost certainly cause this track to be rejected, namely lo-fi production, highly repetitive looping structure, static arrangement, stiff and stilted parts, and a general lack of groove. Let's dive in. Starting with production, everything sounds wrapped in a blanket.... dull and muffled. Particularly the drums and marimba. Not sure if it just the soundfonts you're using, but yeah, the current production isn't cutting it. Everything could benefit from EQ to sharpen things up, and some more reverb to add space. The string pad panned rightward is distracting to me, it should be centered. Definitely a lot of things to practice your production chops on here. Sequencing-wise things are very stilted, particularly the marimba and orchestral chimes. This has to do with the part-writing... the parts are staccato and don't really gel with anything. Along these lines, the drum part doesn't really contribute anything meaningful to the groove, and the bassline is just a low-end sustained mass sitting there, not working with the drums to create a groove. Arrangement-wise the entire track is just a loop that has some parts dropping in and out. You definitely need to break out of that. Scrap the 2nd half of the track and write something different yet complimentary, and then you can return to the original feel. It will probably be challenging at this point because you have been building up a loop mindset on this track for awhile. So overall there are many issues, but I feel the most important ones are the composition and arrangement... turning the track from an extended loop into an actual song with groove and feels. I actually think it might be beneficial to send someone your project file and let them go crazy with it. A collab could inject some new ideas and take the track in a new direction, as well as give you new inspiration. Hope this helps! /mod review

First of all thanks for the breakdown, it was very helpful. This isn't a very straightforward interpretation so it would have been quite a chore to stopwatch this. So thanks! I can hear all the usage, so that's cool. Truth be told it is actually a bit hard to review this track since it's so niche and specific. You definitely got the C64 thing going on. The chip parts all sound good. The kick though is kinda monotonous, it just thuds its way from start to finish. I feel you could break up the four on the floor occasionally, give a break in the action or put some kinda automation on it. Not sure how closely you're trying to hew to the C64 standard. I don't feel much of a backbeat either. I can hear the tom fill parts, so that's something. There are some areas that I think are too crowded from an arrangement standpoint, particularly start at 1:57-2:12 and 3:00-3:30. Because you're using such simple sounds when you pile 3 counter melodies on top of each other they all kind of get in each others way. It's fairly hard to pick out the focal melody. You may want to designate the primary melody in these dense sections and lower the other parts. Yeah, I think there are just too many parts all trying to fight for your attention. Overall it's fairly hard to criticize the production values because they are what they are. My favorite sound was the thin guitarrish part starting at 0:10 because it added some nice ambiance. I would humbly suggest some automation on tracks to increase interest, even if it takes you out of a strict C64 feel. I also think attention paid to the cluttered parts will definitely help the track. Hope this helps! /mod review

Come to think of it. I think the few experimental lifts I did yesterday made me kinda sore. This morning I thought it was from sleeping badly, but maybe not.

I don't mind being muscle sore, in fact strengthening my lower back muscles would probably be desirable. I just don't want to be out of commission for days from lifting heavy shit badly, which is how it always happens. So yea, I definitely want to get the form correct.

I finally got a barbell. I've been doing dumbbell bench presses but have maxed out the weight I have. I am not comfortable trying a barbell bench press without a rack to hold it, though. So in the meantime I think I'm going to try deadlifts. I'm a little concerned though because I have a 10-year history of bad backs. Is a properly done deadlift hard on the lower back?

You have saved Christmas.

Somebody tell me what song to remix. It worked last year.

I could always do a Christmas track on my own, but I honestly would work better knowing there was a deadline and stuff. so yeah, hope someone can pick this up.

Well that's sad. Was looking forward to doing another Christmas track.

btw I can't update the first post anymore, it be giving me an Internal Server Error message.

Well this is an olde thread. Something I was thinking about on the drive to work this morning, namely that I don't like the typical method of MIDI humanization from the MIDI editor, because it bakes in the changes. What happens if you want to revert to the pre-humanized MIDI item? Well yer kinda screwed, unless you kept a backup of it somewhere. But that's messy. A way I prefer is to use the schwa/midi_humanizer plugin that comes with Reaper. That way you can have it humanized non-destructively in real time. Another benefit is it allows you to freely adjust the level of humanization. Give it a try, load it up and change the following parameters.

Does anyone else have, like, outdated body images of themselves? Despite working our regularly and having more muscle mass than ever in the past, I still feel like the skinny teenager I used to be. Not complaining or anything, I just find it strange how I hang onto things from the past.

I don't understand.

Happy birthday old man.

you can make money on music?

I honestly can't make out the lyrics. To me the vocals feel more like a texture element than a real singer, and there's nothing wrong with that. If you didn't tell anyone that there were lyrics, I'm not sure they would notice.

Wow, dat source. So that's what a bombastic orchestral piece turned into synth tones sounds like. Will get to this review soon.

Ok, so Cave Story is a game I've heard mentioned a lot and still have no idea what it is. Anyway, let's dive right in. From a source usage POV, I can spot the source even though your version is slowed down a lot. No worries there. As for as production goes, everything sounds generally ok with a couple exceptions. No mud obscuring the low-end, and fairly easy to make out the parts. A nice blend of live guitars with more electronic textures, and things generally sound clean and easy to hear. However, I almost feel that the bitcrushed drums are too loud and obscuring the underlying acoustic-sounding drums. Try changing the balance and see how that sounds? Up the main drums 3 dB and drop the bitcrushed ones 3 dB for a starting point. My primary gripe with this track is the distorted square lead that starts at 0:34. I dunno, it nags at me for a number of reasons. For starters it sounds kinda wobbly and seasick. It sounds like you were attempting to make a guitar lead but are left with an obviously square wave with distortion. It seems to dominate the stereo field too much as well, and kinda overlays the backing instruments with its nasal tone. My suggestion would be, a real guitar lead playing the part would sound fantastic and very much in keeping with the other live guitar. Could be drenched in FX and would sound pretty sweet. But if you don't want to do that, try bringing in the stereo width and EQing some of that nasally quality. Add some more reverb as well? Try to get it play more nicely with the other instruments. From an arrangement standpoint the backing track at 2:14 seems to mainly be a retread of 0:34, with mostly the same instrumentation and parts. I do hear melodic variation in your leads, but the judges might bring this up. I like the wobbly ending chord, but the ending does sounds like you abruptly gave up rather than winding the energy down. The Js would likely mention that as well. Overall I feel the issues to work on are preventing the main square lead and bitcrushed percussion from dominating the other instruments, and perhaps trying something new in the 2nd half of the track. And IMO change that square lead to something more natural and pleasing, like a guitar. Hope this helps!

Gol is quite the trip.

I'm nearly out of tracks to be posted or judged, other than album tracks. they've been going gangbusters. damn. I need to make more stuff.

Well it looks like I'm the new guy here. Real name: Adam Kirby Location: Tinley Park, IL, USA Occupation: Programmer analyst Preferred method of contact: PM Five OSTs I recommend: Chrono Trigger , King's Bounty: the Legend, Rayman, Kirby's Epic Yarn, Super Mario Galaxy About me: just a dude who likes to make teh remixes. Been at the music thing for over a decade. I play violin and guitar but I consider that secondary to composing computer-based music. I try to write in a variety of genres to prevent myself from getting bored, and would like to think I can give feedback on pretty much any genre. Look forward to helping people out!

Source links? Don't make me go lookin' for them.

Ok, so the intro captures my interest right away with the airy pads and female vox. I like the unabashed 80s feel of this. Overall with this track you have a nice blend of instruments and offer a very different feel from the source. Source-wise you seem to have it well-covered, adequate source tune with some melodic modifications. Don't see any problems in that area. Production-wise, everything is clear and easy to hear, no muddy buildup. Nothing in the mix blew me away, but it's solid work. I don't foresee any drastic problems with the judges on this aspect. Two minor things I would note is the snare, which could be a little beefier and more present, and the bass could MAYBE be turned down a tad. Try it and see? Now, I PERSONALLY have no problem with your synth leads, but the judges may say they are sort of thin and static, particularly the one at 1:04. Just be aware it could be a possible point they bring up. They might ask you to vary your lead sounds as well. Possible things to consider. The thing I think would cause you the most trouble with the judges is the arrangement; specifically, the relatively static feel of the backing track. There's a great airy intro. Then the main body of the track begins and 0:30 and for almost 2.5 minutes keeps the same beat, groove, and instrumentation. Then there's a nice ambient break, but soon after that starts with pretty much the same arrangement as before. Now the little crushed and panned percussive ear candy at 4:02 was much appreciated, as was the outro. But overall, almost 4 minutes the song continues along at much the same pace and feel. So, options for you. Tastefully placed automation of your drums, bass, or anything else can spice up the arrangement and give surprises to the listener, which you should always try for. Distort the beat on the last measure or bar of a section, filter it along with the bass to allow a breath in the action. Like, ah, wall of sound momentarily lessening... and now we're back into it. Try to feel where a little production surprise would be welcome for the listener. Another thing is to simply vary instrumentation and density of arrangement in later sections more radically. Perhaps choose a lead sound that is completely different from your previous ones. In a successive iteration of a section, you could drop out the beat and bass entirely for a couple bars before bringing it back in. Or substitute the drums with other percussive sounds that keep the beat but offer a different feel for awhile. Swap out backing instruments for other ones that sound different. Even change the part writing! You've got loads of options at your disposal so that the listener doesn't say, "I liked this track, but a lot of it felt the same to me." Just my impressions to help you hedge your bets with the judges, should you choose to submit. I think it's an enjoyable track, I really like the airy instrumentation and overall feel, and would like to see it have some more arrangement diversity. Hope this helps!

Nothing at all. You're just my first victim.