DragonAvenger

For some odd reason I started thinking that this reminds me of the Charlie Brown Christmas Special, but a little more upbeat. Now I cannot get that out of my head, so I am blaming you, Proto. Love the style arrangement here, and having the sax take the melody was a really good choice. I wasn't expecting much out a mix less than 2 minutes long, but after a few listens I have to say this is just the right length. Plenty going on, and it doesn't overstay it's welcome. The balance between the instruments is pretty good, although I think the piano could be brought up a little, and the bass turned down just a little. It's obviously you took some time to work on the drums and the comping on the piano, which I think work really well in the mix. Still sounds like Charlie Brown...YES

This has a pretty awesome sound, and I'm impressed that it only took 6 hours of work to make this. Samples are pretty sweet, but as said the nice arrangement is what really makes this shine. More people should check this one out.

Very Morse, which means it's very good. Love the atmosphere, as usual, which makes me want to get up and dance with the music. Nice work!

Liquid metal slimes are your friend.

Congrats to Abadoss on scoring this game! Nice work! There's a surprising amount of energy in this mix which combines nicely with that 'war' sort of urgency. I liked the blend of instruments. The trumpets are programmed pretty well. I was kind of hoping for a more bombastic sort of ending, but I can deal without it. Overall, cool track, and again congrats, Abadoss!

Nutritious can be really surprising when he wants to be. I love his orchestral stuff, but it's great to hear him be able to write in all sort of genres with success. I love the energy of this one, and the live sax is a really nice touch. Sometimes the mix feels a little crowded, but it's not that big of an issue. Nice work!

Always good to see some pokémon mixes. Right away I like where you're going with this, seems like a natural choice for the the theme. I'm a little disappointed with how conservative the mix is overall, though. Aside from the guitar and bass backing, the melody is staying pretty much verbatim. Similarly, I keep hearing the same riff over and over. I like that it switches between instruments, but it's still getting pretty repetitive. I'd like to see you expand your arrangement more into the source melody, and add some more original sections. 1:50 is a good start for original stuff, and it was a cool bridge. More please! The balance is WAY off here. The backing guitar and the bass are ridiculously overpowering everything. I had a tough time focusing on the other stuff because of it. Overall the piano feels pretty mechanical as well, take some care to humanize it please. I like the subtle variation you have in the drums, nice work there. I think this is a good start, but you really need to work on the arrangement and balance before this once can pass. NO [9-24]-I'm hearing a good amount of changes and definitely some better production. The piano still feels a little mechanical, but it's improved, and there is some more variation going on. I think we're good to go. YES

I think Shariq's right here. I'm sorry that the band was cut from the program, because it would have been nice to hear some more arrangements from you guys! Overall this is pretty close to the source, but the overall style shift and what arrangement there is is enough to squeak by in my opinion. I love the relaxed feel throughout. Live performances are always great, and this one has a lot of charm. My one nitpick would be the few times where the guitars weren't lining up as tightly as they should have, but it's not really noticeable to the casual ear. Now I want to go to the beach... YES

Here's a guide on the different grotto maps. It's a little confusing. http://www.woodus.com/den/games/dq9ds/grotto_names.php

Typical Halc mix. YES

I like the adaption into a more techno/trance feel, it is a good style jump from the source. Right now I feel like while there is some arrangement done, it still feels very close to the source, and I feel like I heard almost the same arrangement run through two times, then a third slightly different arrangement. There needs to be more done to this that makes it unique and different. The production overall isn't too bad, especially considering you are using just presets. It does feel a little generic given that you only have a limited choice of synths, but I give you props on the challenge of sticking with just what you have there. I'd work on giving the bass drum a little more oomph so it can help drive the piece a little more. I think that you've got a good start here to a mix, but right now there needs to be more done arrangement-wise to really add your own original flavor for it to be accepted here. Check out the WIP forums to get some more feedback on ways to improve. NO

Happy Birthday!

I think I could pretty much quote Mattias on this one. There is a lot of cool stuff that you added to the mix, but it is very coverish. If the samples were fantastic, and everything else was perfect, it might have a chance as is. Right now there needs to be more variation to the source stuff. I think you can tweak some things to get some cool arrangement in there. Also, the ending is pretty weaksauce to me. It just....stops. Fix that up please. The overall lack of bass really exposes the samples a lot more. I think they would be ok with some foundation, but they aren't the strongest samples in the world. Again, I can agree with Another Soundscape that the reverb is making things a bit unclear. Panning the instruments will also help make things more distinct. Personally, the gun samples weren't doing it for me, but that's personal taste. Get this one fixed up and resumbit, it's pretty close! NO (resubmit)

I have to say this is one of the wierder jazz songs I have heard submitted to the site. I can't say I'm really feeling it at all throughout. The intro was nice and quiet, but the chords felt pretty far away from the original, and the only thing that made me know this was Sonic was the melody. I'd have liked a firmer connection in the source chords, even if they are altered from the original. There were some kind of neat arrangement ideas, but not enough for me to be feeling it. I have no idea what that whoosh thing was at the end, but it really has nothing to do with what's going on. It's gotta go. There is a huge amount of reverb over everything here. Everything feels very distant because of it. Also, the drum playing feels very amateurish. The ride cymbal is the biggest offender; there needs to be more swing on it. Also, a lot of the samples aren't feeling very humanized. The bass might be ok, but it's impossible to tell with all of the reverb. Sorry, this one just isn't working for me. NO

This is an energetic mix that takes the original and pretty much expands on the feel. The style change isn't drastic, but there is a lot rhythm changes, soloing, and new touches that add some nice flavor. I like that the connection to the original throughout and at the same time a lot of original things going on. In terms of arrangement I think it runs a bit on the long side. I think you could have trimmed some of the excess here and had the same effect. I think for the most part the production is pretty clear. The bass is clearly the center of attention for a lot of the mix, and the sound is used effectively. Similarly, you've got the piano and synth who do a lot of the melody playing and soloing, and then there is an almost super-fake trumpet sound added in. Despite being as fake as it is it works in this context. I would have liked a bit more variation in instruments/synths. Also, the drums are one of the weak points due to lack of variation. The hi-hat feels like it has just a bit too much presence to me, but that might be personal taste. Balance overall is pretty good, except the section at 2:34 has too many things trying to take the lead. Overall the things I mentioned feel minor to me when compared to the overall product, but hopefully you will improve on these sorts of things in the future. I think the arrangement and style are pretty great, and it was a fun listen. YES

Shariq's pretty much right about this. I can hear where you are using source, or hinting at the source, but it's just way to subtle for me to call this a remix. The source stuff, however it is arranged, needs more prominence. NO EDIT: I looked over Larry's stuff, and I can hear the things he mentioned. I will note that I do not know Sonic music, so I did not hear the Lava Reef 2 references until after he pointed out. I do have to say that my vote will still stand as a no. The balance between source and original is still not enough for me in that you have to fight to hear it most of the mix, and added to that the various production issues that Zircon and Larry mentioned, I don't think it's where it needs to be. NO (resubmit)

Martial artists get "Psych up" which increases their tension. That and Egg On make getting to max fairly easy, actually.

Currently my martial artist will deal from 800-1100 damage on bosses when he is fully tensioned and uses hardnails. Bosses generally aren't a problem with him.

There is a lot of energy in this piece, which I'm really enjoying. There are no point that I felt that the piece dragged. It's not a far cry to take Rowdy Rumble to a more Spanish-flavored feel, and I think the way you arranged things worked out really well. The break-down was also a great help, so thank you for that. I do have to note that despite you saying that you are paying an homage to España Cañi, I can't say I'm hearing a direct connection aside from the section at the end. While I am on that topic, I feel like the tag ending doesn't really connect with the rest of the track, and honestly doesn't feel like it belongs at all. I know you are trying to pay tribute, but I think the mix would stand better without it. The real issue here is the samples. Most of the judges mentioned in your last mix that the samples were weak, but they worked in the context of the DK Racing mix because of how you arranged it. This has a lot more solo playing, and the samples are painfully weak as is. Right now they aren't going to stand up. The arrangement is pretty much there, but without either a sample upgrade or some arrangement that better pads the samples and prevents them from being exposed, I can't say this one is a pass for me. NO

I had to think this one over for a couple of days. You have great style when you're playing, and your dynamic range is excellent, which is pretty vital to making a successful solo piano arrangement. Because it's played so well, it's easy to get lost in the latter half of the piece, which, ultimately, is the thing that is making me so iffy about it. You segue into Dire Dire Docks really well, and from then on you're floating into an improv arrangement from then on out. It sounds nice, but the lack of direction, as well as how often you play that same riff over and over in that section makes the piece lose purpose. In a way, it's a good and a bad thing, because the melody lends itself to being very airy and floaty without direction and it also gives the track it's own unique feel, but it gets to the point where it's almost dragging on. I think, in the end, that this is a pass, although I hope you work out some arrangements in the future with more direction and purpose. Keep playing and arranging! YES (borderline)

We were pimpin' out OCR in our greeting message to other players.

Happy birthday!!

There are quite a few things that I like about this mix. The transition to the more epic feel is done very well, and overall the orchestration and parts used are just right. It's also very easy to hear the source in this, and there is some original spins put on to the themes. I think arrangement-wise things are looking really good. Overall the samples are used well, despite being obviously fake. A couple instruments stood out to me particularly: the trumpet sounded a little thin when it came in at ~:45. It's also placed pretty far back and is a bit overpowered. The anvil sound in the percussion also sticks out to me as particularly fake. It sounds very tinny, which is a drawback to me. The balance on most of the other instruments sounded pretty good. I like how you've treated the source. YES

Not much to add to Andrew's assessment. The production on this is fine; I'm liking all the sounds you used, and they work together very well. I can see what OA is saying about the strings, but they personally aren't bothering me. The actual arrangement of the melody is a bit lacking, although there is still development, and this really does have a different feel from the original. It would be nice to see some more original sections, and some more done with the melodies to expand on them further. I think there is enough here to pass, but I hope that your next submissions expand out more on the arrangement aspects. YES

I think both gentlemen have hit this on the head, but I'm inclined to agree with Vinnie a little more. The arrangement is really good, and the glitching and also the panning are used very effectively (if not a tad much). The lead melody is incorporated well, but sometimes is a bit buried. Take some care to get the balance worked out. The samples that are weak unfortunately do stand out and are dragging the track down, especially in the beginning section when they are much more exposed. I think this is on the right track, but needs some adjustments before it is a pass. NO (resubmit)