halc

gonna close this out since OA pretty much nailed the issues with this. I thought the source was obvious when the leads were playing, but the extend periods of chugging not so much. that said, I thought the arrangement was fine. fix up the mixing and I'll pass this. NO(resub)

perhaps it's just me, but the overall volume of the piano seemed really quiet. I agree that boosting the high end a bit would help a bit with the muffled sound. I also noticed a couple tiny mistakes in the performance, but overall it was good. main complaint, as has been said, is with the arrangement being dragged out. If you can condense it a bit and possibly brighten up the recording somewhat, this will have a good shot. NO(resub)

ah, I remember breaking this one down in a mod review.. it pushes the boundaries in terms of source use, hovering around that 50% mark but I'm totally down with this. sophisticated arrangement, excellent playing, and a nice clean, warm sound, although I agree that it is slightly on the quiet side overall, but it's no biggie. I'll happily pass this. YES

I don't know about the trumpet myself, the articulations all sounded the same and the vibrato didn't always seem natural. the bass could also use a little more beef on the lower end as the other judges mentioned. loving the approach to the arrangement; it has great potential, but it's short and a little bit sparse. I hope you decide to expand on this a bit more. NO(resub)

yeah trying to remix zelda oracle music is kinda like torture imo, but Essence of Lime definitely spawned some nice remixes. the arrangement kinda reminds me of PR's 'Nullification' in the approach, although taken in a more upbeat direction. you've done a good job of mangling up the melodies to keep them from getting too repetitive (considering the source is 18 seconds long), and the attention to detail in the percussion was great. the synths were nice too, always warping and modulating. good stuff here. YES

not much to add. this has a really pleasant vibe to it, and I think the glitchy drums were a nice touch, I wasn't really bothered by the string articulations. the arrangement is interesting; not how I'd imagined someone interpreting such an upbeat, dance-y tune. I'm still having a little trouble identifying the B section in here, but the main theme is all over the place. I like it. great way to kick off pretty stellar album. YES

sure. you can mix and match different sources even if they're not from the same game or franchise, as long as the sources are well-arranged and blended. this mix is a good example: http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02069/ larry ninja'd

I don't really care if the fact that the word 'speed' is in the title doesn't cross-reference with the songs being upbeat, and it was never my intention to make it that way. I chose the name because I thought it was witty, and that's about it.

wow, really digging this source tune. the bass is definitely hogging the space a bit with that squishy upper end. your leads might cut through a little better if you backed off the bass but I think you could boost the mid/high's on 'em a little anyway. some of the sampled instruments such as the steel drums were mechanically sequenced. arrangement wise it takes the conservative route, and I agree with my fellow J's that there is some more room for expansion, especially with the main melodies. not sure what I thought about the vocoded talking, seemed a little random when they enter, but they led nicely into the next section. main thing holding this back for me is the mixing/balancing issues. I'm cool with the arrangement, but as said, some more expansion wouldn't hurt. NO(resub)

I actually like this source tune a lot; the second half moreso than the first, but I still have nostalgia for this crappy game. ;D overall the arrangement is conservative but there's a good deal of expansion and modification of the structure. the second half meanders a bit as OA mentioned and just needs some more meat, but the defaulty-sounding synths and samples are what really hold this back for me. not sure what advice to give in that regard other than to keep experimenting. even with simple sounds you can always make something unique with some clever effects and EQ. NO(resub)

nice intro, I think the guitar could have been a little more upfront, and there's one chord in the intro (the last beat of the measure at :20) that just strikes me as ugly every time I hear it.. I don't think the bass needed to move there. some evolution in the static choir and string sounds would have given this more life, but they sit nicely under the array of real instrumentation. I was digging the performances and the timing, while noticeable at points, wasn't as problematic as in some of your other subs and lends itself to the style. didn't get too crazy with the arrangement, but the adaptation and execution was strong, imo. nice job. YES

this is great. excellent treatment of a somewhat limited source with some very creative sounds. really, really love the pizzicato-esque synth entering at 1:12 . I don't know if I'd say this tops 'Breakbeat Market' in terms of production or sound design, but you know what the heck you're doing. excellent work. YES

it's definitely overcompressed, even some of the opening vocal lines were harsh on the ears. as OA said it's causing some pumping in the mix too, esp. during the busier rhythm guitar sections, such as 1:37. will echo the sentiments on sloppy timing as well. definitely a fan of this source, and the arrangement is tight, the production just needs some work. NO (all your resub are belong to us)

haven't forgotten about you, Rexy. I apologize that I am slightly inebriated at the moment, but for what it's worth it makes anything I listen to that much more pleasant. getting right down to it, the recording seems kinda muffled, and during the quieter sections it seemed like the ambient fuzz was still cutting through. the overall volume was also a bit low imo. I know solo piano shouldn't be an ear-bleeder or anything but I was wanting to crank this one up just a bit more (although it does seem a bit overcooked during the louder sections as Level 99 mentioned, I think it's an EQ issue moreso than volume). as far as arrangement goes, you know what you are doing, and you always do an impressive job of blending multiple themes. I'm not fit to do a breakdown right now but I gave the sources a listen and I'm definitely able to identify the 'Great Hall' theme easily in your mix. pretty great stuff really; it'd be nice to hear a cleaner, higher quality recording, but nonetheless it's worth submitting. assuming the source checks out, I'd YES this.

thoughts on production: -the bass is too upfront. you could lower the volume a bit and still have a nice full low end. -the kick was nice and thick, but the amen break felt kinda flimsy to me. needs more punch. -notable lack of high frequencies all around. the mix is really focused in the lower mid/lows and your leads don't really cut through the arrangement, they sorta just sit on top of it. -from the sound of it, you have the sidechain linked to your main kick which is causing your instruments to dip on every kick, even during the fills and rolls, which takes some of the excitement out of your builds. What I generally do is create a second kick which you can route it to go just to the instruments you want to pump, NOT through the master (this way you won't hear it, but it will still send the signal to the instruments you're pumping) so that you can change up your actual kick patterns without affecting everything else. arrangement wise, I agree with Deia; it's fairly conservative and somewhat repetitive but there's lots of room for more interpretation. nice little embellishments on the melodies, but nothing too crazy. I thought the trippy section at 2:04 was a nice diversion, probably my favorite part of the mix. overall, this could use some work in both departments, but there's some nice stuff going on. keep at it! NO (resub)

I liked the gritty, mangled feel in the intro, and the chiptune aesthetic of some of the lead synths and background arps. you used the same drum loop for most of the track with some little fills; could use some more variation there. the synth choices were cool but it felt like a lot of your instruments were sharing the same frequency range- EQ'ing out some of your un-needed frequencies should help clear up the production a bit. Arrangement was okay in my book with the added arpeggios and melodic embellishments, but as said could benefit from a little more expansion and original writing. NO (resub)

love this mix; it's one of my favorites of yours. very liberal treatment of the source stylewise, but the melodies are still there, and the cameo of the opening theme at the end was clever. love the processed SNES horns and strings. I'll agree with Vinnie and Andrew on the guitar sample being a bit of a let-down, but the sequencing was nice and detailed. solid, creative stuff all around. 16-bit justice has been served. YES

not much to add here. I didn't have any big complaints with the mix, the performances and production were both solid (loved all the guitar slides and harmonics), and the arrangement is easily recognizable. never heard of this game, but great choice of source; reminds me of the Earthworm Jim soundtracks. nice work. YES

groovy arrangement, really digging the bendy lead synths. like my fellow judges, I was a little wtf at the piano dropouts too. don't know if I'd go conditional over them alone, but a quick fix would be nice. the drums (hats specifically), as mentioned, overpowered the track. that said, there's a lot to like here. Gonna go conditional on the hats and piano. Easy fixes. YES (conditional on paino/hats)

loving the general vibe and arrangement, but the bass definitely needs to be toned down. the timing discrepancies bug me personally, but I can see that as intentional, somewhat in the vein of zyko's stuff. regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed this, but I'm inclined to go with CHz here, conditional on fixing the overpowered bass. YES (conditional on bass)

This is a delightful arrangement, the melody in the first section of the source was pretty heavily modified, and took me a few listens to fully appreciate, but Gui's provided breakdown checks out. dunno if it was the sample or the processing, but I wasn't digging the piano.. honky was a pretty good term for it. overall, the samples were a mixed bag, certainly listenable, but there were some weak points, like that (sitar?)-ish sound at 2:16. the electronic drums seemed to stick out to me at first, but it gelled more as the song progressed and more synthetic elements joined the mix. this is borderline for me; fix up some of those samples and this should be looking good. NO (resub)

I've gotta echo Larry, the production on this is really muddy. all the reverb is too wet and it sounds as if you could be cutting a lot more unused frequencies from your individual instruments. I thought the arrangement flowed well and the soundscape was always evolving, though some of the background synths were a little plain imo. loved the bouncy filtered bassline at 3:21, though. the asian instrumentation was nice too; I didn't have any issues with the sequencing. overall, I dig the track, but it's not quite there. if the mixing was clearer, I'd pass it. NO (resub)

really liked the opening texture. the arrangement, while conservative, had some great personalization and never too repetitive. nice melodic expansion and soloing too. production wise, the lower end gets muddy when everything kicks in, and I wasn't loving the choir sample at the beginning. the guitar performances were great but as others have mentioned the intonation is a little off at points, and I agree with the comments on the snare being overcompressed yet thin. was digging the drum sequencing though. overall this is close but I think minor production flaws as well as intonation problems are holding this back. I highly encourage a resubmit. NO(resub)

thanks for the feedback everyone! will post updates as they come.