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Vig

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Posts posted by Vig

  1. I'm with Big Giant Compressionhater on this one. I think it's the volume that's hurting this track. It's way squished. I liked the sound of the kick until everything else came in. There's just no separation, everything's so loud.

    I really dig the arrangement and instrumentation. I'm definitely not crazy about the vocals. The performance isn't great, and stylistically it's rather inappropriate. I agree that there's too much reverb on the vocal. The track feels like it should have somewhat of a live feel, and I think the vocal would do better with maybe a subtle slap than the verb you have here.

    NO

  2. The trick with sequenced piano tracks is not only the velocity, but also the pacing. Solo pianists don't play to a metronome on recordings. This track suffers from mechanical velocity and tempo. It's simply not believable. Furthermore, I don't know if it's a function of the velocities, or whether there's some inappropriate processing, but the track seems way too compressed for a solo piano piece.

    NO

  3. I'm a fan of the soundscape, but not the part writing.

    sonically, the samples are a little akward at times: the strings attack too slowly, and there's an ugly resonance somewhere around 200 Hz which should be addressed. Also, the dynamics of the tune are really all over the place. I'm inclined to say you have some writing chops, but you really need to work on your compositional dynamics.

    NO

  4. That piano part is rather mechanical and the sample is boxy (too much 300-600Hz). I kind of dig the arrangement in the first half, but there really should be more sparkle in the mix. By the end of the track I'm bored, even though things do start happening in the string parts, they start happening a little too late.

    the transition at 4:30 is promising, but it doesn't go anywhere, and by the end of the track, the ideas that were presented at the switch have been abandoned in favor of more generic slow-paced and uneventful writing.

    NO

  5. The brass sticks out as unrealistic and somewhat jarring. MAYBE if you took out some of the top end of the brass it wouldnt stick out so much, but I'm not sure if that would work. The arrangement is somewhat static, i.e. string arpeggios, brass lead, and very simple bass parts. You've got some decent ideas in terms of orchestration, but i've got to say "eh" on the part writing. Also, the mix is rather bright.

    NO

  6. The intro does not fill me with confidence. There instruments do not sound interesting enough to warrant solo parts. The same is true throughout the whole track. Saw leads are rather tedious, and there's relatively little here. The lead is out front in the arrangement because there is relatively little harmony, and relatively few instruments. There's just not much here in terms of composition.

    NO

  7. Additional Info: Final Metroid game in the pre-Prime era trilogy

    LoL!!~ Thanks for the info.

    Palp is right. There is no real arrangement here. It's the original with drumbreaks over it. and I do mean OVER it. The levels are indicative of the issue with this submission. The drums are louder, and frankly way more important than anything else. Breakbeat stuff does tend to be mixed like that, but in this case, it's too much, especially considering that the drum samples used are kind of...idunno, not great. there's a lot of room in the recording, but it's not a good room. sounds like a bedroom recording.

    NO

  8. I'm afraid the articulations don't have enough subtlety for a solo string section. Some of the notes need to be more legato when the attack is uniformly relatively fast. The arrangement is alright, if not terribly risky.

    The main thing I can't get past is that the strings are really washy and uniform. You need to get ahold of some alternative articulations and use them to make the performance sound more natural.

    NO

  9. Sorry for puzzling you. Sometimes a mix can be squashed and it doesn't bother me, if it's done well (as defined by my own subjective tastes). In this case it does. All 2mix compressors are not created equal. Perhaps if the kick were lower in the mix before the bus compressor, it wouldn't sound as bad.

  10. Gotta say I wish the 2mix weren't so squashed. I can audibly hear the mix ducking to make room for the kick. eh. It's really a bit much for me. Also, the mix at times is both bright and washy, somehow. It's pretty harsh, and the reverb on the all the saws you have in there just make it a mess.

    I realize most judges may not find this to be enough to reject the mix, but I think the mix is a little too slammed and washy in spots.

    NO

  11. Guys..

    This tune may be fairly cool, but as a solo piano piece, it's not working at all. First of all, I wouldn't be surprised if it were 100% sequenced with a mouse and 0% performance. it sounds like a point and click performance. Velocities rigid, rhythms irritatingly robotic. The composition and performance don't sound cohesive because there's the left channel rhythm piano and the right channel lead piano. They aren't even written as one part, but as one instrument comping chords and one lead. You just happen to have assigned piano samples to both parts. The arrangement could work if he fleshed out the instrumentation and developed it a bit, but this is in no way subtle or expressive enough to pass as a solo piano piece. It sounds cheap. we have a much higher standard than this when it comes to solo piano pieces.

    NO

  12. Wow this is loud as shit.

    Okay, obviously it's a bit repetitive. I don't think it's quite repetitive enough to ruin it. It's a dance track. I got to tell you: I'm dancing. The production is great, I don't really hear any mud or smearing as a result of oververb.

    It's not the most risky arrangement, but there's plenty of solid material in the instrumentation, the parts, and the little production details.

    YES

  13. Well orchestrated. great samples and stuff, I like the brass. I'm with the other guys though in saying that the cover is a bit too straight up. In fact, there are some elements in the originals that I'm missing...more improvised sounding elements..a more diverse sound palate. I'd say this is good work and relatively close, but I'd like to hear more reinterpretation than reinstrumentation.

    NO

  14. So first, I don't think there's anything seriously wrong with the vocal recording. The lyrics, on the other hand, are cheesy as hell. Is this a remix or a radio drama? The production is pretty good, although the kick and snare aren't loud enough for hip hop. but whatever. There are clearly good arrangement ideas here, but the structure of the song is choppy to say the least. I'd love the tune if it were organized into some sort of linear and overarching song structure rather than a collection of separate musical soliloquies. The pauses between sections...just kill the energy.

    You've got good musical ideas, but you need to figure out how to integrate them into a well-defined whole.

    NO

  15. I don't have a problem with drum loops at all, as long as it's not the only selling point. Unfortunately here, aside from the percussion, the parts are really simple and sparse. The chords are largely whole notes, and sometimes the strings just double the melody. The strings in particular aren't used very well...they sometimes play parts that are too fast to sound natural, so they end up sticking out.

    Arrangement-wise, there's not a lot of variation throughout. Sparse and somehwhat repetitive.

    NO

  16. I'm not sure the source material is really conducive to a fully developed remix. The original is essentially a 3-note line cliche with only its meter making it distinct. This submission is cool and I like it, but it's really no more a freespace remix than it is a remix of the escape theme from Super Metroid.

    I think you should call it an original and see if you can't make some dough off it.

    NO

  17. I'm definitely fine with the guitar sound, as well as the piano. Clearly doesn't need to sound realistic. Putting the drums way left is an interesting decision. I love the arrangement. There's a little mud in the low mids; a bit washy, but it's really not egregious. There's a ton of cool stuff going on. Love the backwards strings.

    Pretty easy

    YES

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