DragonAvenger

I see what Kris is saying about the silence kinda breaking up the mix a bit awkwardly. I do agree that a bit of the energy is lost in those silences. I'm also going to agree that the track overall feels a bit repetitive, due to the nature of the arpeggio that is holding the track together. My big issue is that the track overall feels like it's stuck trying to build into something, but it doesn't seem to really get established until 4 minutes into the track. That's a pretty long build, and part of it is due to the silences 'resetting' the build. It feels very ambient, and there's a lot of cool sound structures, and when the groove does finally really kick in it's a fun listen, it just takes a long time to get there. The drums are also pretty repetitive when they are used. I'm also a little suspect that a lot of the track is relying on the chord structure of the source for a lot of the connection. There's not much melody to work with, but I wonder that this doesn't stray a little far sometimes. Gonna have to say no to this one, sorry. I did enjoy the listen, and when things got going there was promise, but it's not there yet. Hope you submit more in the future, since you aren't going to look at this one again. NO

If I do 500 can we get a dog?

I do like that you spent some time to change the emphasis of notes here, the song has a very different feel because of it. The emotions conveyed are varied here, from reminiscent to hopeful to contemplative, it's a fun journey to take There's an inherent repetitiveness of the theme here, but the mixer adds a ton of backing elements and countermelodies. Each rendition is different, so the source becomes more of a foundation than the focal point. Pretty neat interpretation! Some of the samples suffer a bit from lack of realism, but nothing was screaming at me in a bad way. Nice work. YES

No issue on source usage here, the mix is rife with themes that are easily recognizable. I'm a little concerned that this is a bit too medley-esque, but I think for the most part the sources all compliment one another and share similar themes. I'd have liked a little more integration between them, however. That being said, I think the mix progresses well between the themes and works well to tell an overall story and does not suffer from disjointed-ness. Plenty of personalization throughout, and while the sample aren't fooling me for their realism, I think they are well produced and convey a lot of emotion. The mix is lovely, and I hope to hear more from you soon! YES

This Snowdin Town cover is pretty cute.

I don't think the themes are actually that disjointed so much as building up the tension over the course of the song. The progression between the themes fits the original in terms of tension building and anxiety. The opening final hours has a great sense of foreboding, and the instrument choices, while similar to the original, are handled well. Similarly the mallet and slower section of your battle themes works well. I'm not really getting the source connections from 1:25-1:40 and from 1:57-2:14. Maybe someone can point those out to me. That being said, I have a little issue with the horn articulations throughout the second half of the song; they hit their fullness later than other articulations, making them seem about a half of a beat late comparatively. Not the worst thing, but to me it is pretty noticeable. I think this one is close overall based on the above good and not good moments, but I think this one can squeak by. I might be revising this later, curious to see what the other judges vote. YES (borderline)

Definitely agreed with the bass being a bit too strong here. I also felt it was a bit strange that the lead guitar is panned to the right somewhat strongly. The panning of the other parts is totally cool, it just feels strange when it is the lead. No one else seemed to have an issue with it, and I don't find it to be terrible, but it does seem a little weird. I think this can be fixed relatively easily and sent back to us! NO (resubmit)

The reverb here is really tastefully done, the space is wide and boomy, but everything is still very clear. Straight-forward in terms of source usage, but definitely has it's own style. Nice work! YES

No reason for me to hold this one back, Changing my vote to get this back to you a bit sooner! NO (resubmit)

Panning is not working for me either, especially when there's nothing going on in the other ear. Definitely something I think should be looked at and fixed up here. Aside from that I think the style transition fits really well, and really makes everything feel, well, primative. 3:42-end feels pretty aimless, and after the repeat of the opening theme the section before that I was expecting something a little more interesting, so I really start to lose focus. As Kris said, it starts to get a bit samey, and I think it might be worth revising to keep the listener engaged. Really good concept here, needs a bit more work though. Panning needs to be revised, and I'd consider something different for the second half. NO (resubmit)

Great catchy source to use here. The transition into EDM is pretty flawless, and your use of the sounds (sound effects?) is very fitting. I'm listening to the first version you sent us, so I'm not sure what the improvements are in the updated version. I'd have liked the bass to have a little more oomph to it, though, so hopefully that comes through in the update! Nice work! YES

Yeah, the mix is a lot of fun, and there's a lot of nice elements going on here, but the sound definitely is not feeling clear enough overall. I'd love a judge with some more technical knowledge to be able to pin this down and give some good feedback on what needs to be done here. I'll also nitpick that the transition to the music box ending is pretty abrupt and could use a better transition. NO (resubmit, please)

Yeah, definitely could be bumped up a little bit in volume. The mix is very peaceful, love the instrumentation and stylistic choice you went for here. I can certainly imagine a quiet afternoon having a picnic with Saria before running off to clear out all the baddies in the forest temple! I'd love to hear this performed live; the mixing is very competent here, but I think a live performance would have really added that je ne sais quoi effect. Regardless, great use of dynamics. Even quiet, I think this is great and postable, but I wouldn't say no to a slightly louder version. YES (conditional on volume?)

I'm just coming to listen to this sweet mix! Really relaxed, love the soloing. Great work! Yes

Whoa this is fun and I'm surprised that this style hadn't been done before that I'm aware of to this source. Groove is great, really loving the slaps. The parts all compliment the source in this style, though I will not pick that things get a little over-noodly at the end. Definitely feeling this! Yes

I'm feeling like the repetition combined with the fairly straightforward arrangement is putting this close to the line for me. The track has a lot of energy, and overall I love that it can be described as spunky. I definitely think the mixing is a little rough around the edges, but I feel like that is part of the charm here. Overall I think it's really close, but I'm willing to give it a pass. Curious to see what others think on this one though. Yes (borderline)

Yup, Wes gives some great advice here. I'd suggest picking one or two sources to work with in the future to really be able to flex your arrangement capabilities and to give you a smaller pallet to work with. The track is a fun listen, but you're trying to cram a lot into a small space as it were. Hope to hear more from you in the future! No

The track starts out pretty good, and I was feeling the groove you laid down here. As Kris says, once the playthrough is up though the track just loses focus. I felt like a lead or a section was missing at times. Similarly the sax part at the end is fine, but then the song just ends. I'd love for there to be a rehash of the main melody or something then a better close out of the track. Sonically (the pun is real) the track is sounding good but the arrangement loses focus and fizzles out. I'd love you to rework the second half. No (resubmit)

Just signed up! I'm excited to make something fun for my recipient!

Kris again has a lot of good advice here. The biggest things that stuck out to me were the blockiness of the track, the repetitiveness of it, and the lack of balance between the parts. The instruments and synths feel very robotic and don't have any life to them. Varying the velocities will help on the attacks, and playing around with the timings of them will help in that regard. The track feels like three repetitions of the source with parts added or subtracted. It's a start to adding done personalization and variation but right now it just feels like you took a midi and changed the instruments around. Changing the structure or adding countermelodies or harmonies is just a couple of steps you can do to personalize the mix. The balance of the instruments is also off, with done instruments being too loud and others not coming through. Work on making sure all the parts can be heard well and that the leads are emphasized and clear. There's a long way to go, but you've got a start here and I think you can continue to improve. Good luck! No

Nothing much to add to what Kris has already said. The synth work is mechanical and sounds pretty blocky, and the overall mix sounds very similar to the original. I'd suggest using done recently posted mixes and compare them to the sources to really get an idea of what we're looking for in terms of arrangement and personalization. Keep working on improving your skills, and check out our WIP forums yo get some more feedback and advice. Good luck! No

Yeah, quick and easy YES vote here. Really enjoyed your take on the piece, and the flute really gives a feel of regret and sadness to the melody while still conveying a kickass attitude. Nice work, sir! Yes

Yeah, I think Kris hit all the big issues I'm having with this track. The warped intro sounds very strange to me, and honestly doesn't do much to build into the energy that you have going on in the track. The drumming sounds pretty good overall, though I feel like they are a bit overpowering on speakers at times. I also feel like the balance on the guitars is off a little as well towards the end, with the thirds of the melody coming through stronger than the melody itself. Kris is definitely right about the harmonic sections (0:46 and 1:31) sounding a bit wonky. I really want to see that fixed up, because it's completely distracting to listen to. The soloing is pretty good, though once I'm completely on board the mix fades out. I think the length of the mix is fine as is, though I wouldn't mind it stretching a bit further. Regardless, I'm not feeling the fade-out here, and would love to hear a different close-out. On the right track here, but there's some work yet to be done. Use our WIP forums to get some feedback and keep improving! NO (resubmit)

Hmmmm, this is definitely a toughie. The guitar playing is sweet, for sure, and it definitely carries the mix to pretty big heights. That repetitiveness, though. Not an easy decision. I'm leaning towards a No due to the fact that the sections that repeat are so obviously the same. And while I'm throwing this back at you I'll also suggest humanizing the strings a bit when they're in the mix. My instinct is telling me that you can fix this up without too much difficulty and is love to hear it.i can see this getting a few Yesses, and depending on how things go I might change up my vote. Good luck! No (resubmit please)

In going to echo pretty much everything Kris has said so far. The parts are all sequenced very mechanically, which makes everything feel flakey here. The drums and lead guitar stick out the most here for that. Humanizing the parts will add a lot more character overall and add more tension to the parts. I'd also like to point out how repetitive some of the parts are. There's a lot that can be done to add small variations to the parts to keep the listener engaged. Even changing some of the rhythms will make a difference here. The key change was pretty abrupt as well and I'm not sure if it's adding much to the song. Consider making the lead up to the change stronger to emphasize it more. I'd suggest hitting up our WIP section of the forums to get some feedback on ways to improve further. Good luck! No (resubmit)