Jivemaster

Great track, with quite a lot of energy. I enjoy this more than the original source tune. When you accomplish that, you're doing well. A couple of things: -The mix feels clouded to me. It's possible there is some low end clash occurring or something, but during portions when the bass isn't playing (like at 1:40), everything is a lot clearer so the bass may be at fault. I can still hear your kick though, just wish the bass didn't sound like it was all sub. -Snare detracts from the otherwise solid energy in this mix. I agree when the others say this sounds placeholder. I'm almost on the side that if this could be re-rendered with a different snare it would make this a solid yes. Considering the others are willing to pass this regardless, I am ok with it. YES (borderline) Question: Is Nutritious in a position to be able to re-render with a dif snare?

Nice dubstep mix with great vox. You’ve done a good job in taking the original piece and making it your own. Just going to drop a couple of nitpick points: -IMO the vox should be louder. I’m not going to knock the track back for that, but it feels like the vocals were pushed back in the mix unnecessarily, which is weird because it was a great high quality performance. -I think some of your wubs could’ve evolved more sonically - it sounded like some of them were just sampled, chopped up and sequenced in different orders, which become more apparent as the track went on. It’s not a biggie, but evolving your sounds so they’re not appearing to begin at the same start point each time they play would strengthen the mix even more. -There was a bit of unpleasant distortion/clipping occasionally when louder parts hit, but the event of those were few and far between. Something to consider when doing your mastering. Otherwise a solid mix, just wish those vox were louder. YES

A solid well produced multi-source track that flows together well. I can see where Deia was coming from here regarding it sounding much like a straight up medley... I personally would've liked to hear some more variation in the source interpretation of the themes presented. From what is here though, there were some nice change ups and the changes in tempo and instruments for different sections worked great. I personally thought this could've done with a little less mids and little more low end, but it's nothing major to bump the track for. Overall happy with this one. YES

An interesting take on the original source. Things start out fairly clear, but seem to break down a bit once your distorted drums come in. There are a few things here that I think need some attention. -A lot of the elements of your track step on each other and the mid range is quite crowded, particularly when things get full with multiple melodies running concurrently. Consider using using some EQ to separate things and play with your individual track levels to make the important parts more prominent. -Your drums are a bit too distorted, and take up a large chunk of your sound space. Consider easing off the crunch. -The transitions between the different sections occur quite abruptly. This works on some occasions like before your thumping drop hits, but not so much for the others. Consider easing into each part more. -Everything in this track feels likes its hitting a bit too hard, lots of hard compression going on. You can have something hit hard while keeping some dynamics. I would recommend easing off the compressors across the track so it can breathe more. -I also agree with Larry that it sounds like the track repeats at the mid point. There may be some subtle changes there but it wasn’t enough for me to work. Please consider working on the approve to strengthen the mix. It's not quite there yet. NO

Great soundscape. You have a nice choice of instruments and sounds in this track. I’m in agreeance with my fellow judges saying this needs more variation, both in your interpretation of the original source tune *and* in the original elements you have employed, like your drums. The first thing that stuck out to me is the drum loop, which doesn’t seem to change at all, and you can even hear the loop point where the last hi-hat cuts short. You occasionally use a fill, but more change ups need to happen with your drums, especially for a minimal track such as this. Your lead lines feel like they play the same thing quite frequently as well. There are certainly some neat touches here and there, and your choices of sounds fit together nicely. I’m with Larry in saying this sounds like a polished WIP that needs some finishing touches. Pretty much all this needs is some variation in the elements you’re already using and you should be good to go. NO (please resub)

Overall, pretty happy with your arrangement Dustin. Some nice hard rock/metal with some lighter synths and synth sections dropped in, adding in much needed variation during those times when the guitars weren't chewing their way through the mix. I agree that your synths were a bit on the generic side, but still think they fit in ok, as I felt the main focus was on your guitar work. While the mix is quite enjoyable, short and to the point - I believe there is some space for improvement on this one. Primarily, this mix could do with some work in the mixing and/or mastering department to make everything clearer and more audible. Your synths often get drowned out by the guitars which fill the majority of the soundscape. Drums are audible but do get a little lost in the mix as well, and the snare blends into the mix too much. I felt a lot of the elements were blending together a bit too well, which is possibly due to heavy use of compression. I really think this mix would benefit from a mixing revisit, perhaps lowering the L/R rhythm guitars to open up the soundscape a bit more, easing off the compression and perhaps utilising some more EQ separation between the parts. NO (please resub)

I very much like your track. It doesn't muck around, things get straight to the point, giving us a jazzy off-beat rendition of everyone's fave Sonic level. Lots of you throughout this mix, lots of ideas pour in, and you have some nice choices of sounds. It's great to hear a fresh take of an over-remixed source tune that takes things in a direction you haven't heard. I am with the others when they say that things feel cluttered, but I don't feel it was so cluttered that things weren't listenable. I was able to hear pretty much all of your elements all the way through - your piano was audible throughout the mix, even when going off into the background to do its own licks here and there. I feel the key problem you have with this mix is on the mixing side. Not with EQ or usage of stereo space, which seem mostly ok - but with individual track volumes. Some parts are needlessly high in volume compared to others, and your lead lines don't stick out as much as they could, leading to that cluttered feeling. Having a rethink of your levels would bring more audibility to this mix. My other complaint (but only a minor one), is that I wasn't a huge fan of the vocal samples from halfway through the mix being reused at the end of the track. It took the originality of that part down a peg for me. It would've been great if there was more difference between its usage when/if used each time. My only reason to give this a No would be to have the mixing cleared up a bit to strengthen what is already there. However we have heard mixing jobs far worse than this and they have passed the panel. There is so much originality in this mix and it is still very listenable as is. YES

Lots of great riffing throughout, and an enjoyable mix overall. This team-up seems to be getting stronger and stronger. Solid source usage and some great interpretation of the original. A couple of points to raise are - I believe the drums could've been louder and/or stronger, particularly as the song picked up and more elements dropped into the mix. The other thing is the low end could have done with a little more cleaning up - the bass blends in a little too well with the bottom end and gets lost periodically, and the kick drum gets walked over. I don't think these things are enough to stop this mix though as all the other elements are easily audible, but something to consider for future tracks especially when you're working with more lofi sounds, they can get lost easily. YES

Very nice calming mix with a lot of seamless transitions between the sources. The instrumentation is very humanised and of a fairly high quality, with some nice clear mixing. Volume levels of each element feel pretty solid, and there is nice use of stereo space. When listening to this mix, I was so drawn to the leads and various other melodic elements that I didn't really notice the chimes all that much until reaching the middle of the track when it felt like they became more frequent (or at least more audible), which prompted me to check the other judges comments to see if they noticed this too. Indeed that running chime sample over and over did feel fairly repetitive after a while, and detracted a little from the enjoyment of the track. I think when you have a mix of this quality, things that detract from the mix stand out a lot more than normal. Overall I'm going to Yes this because although the chimes are overused, the arrangement and production quality are very strong. There is a lot of attention to detail in this mix. If the artist wants to revise the track slightly and pull back on chime usage due to the judges comments, I'm ok with that - and while I think that would be an improvement, this is too good to No. YES

Nice changes in leads throughout the track, it really kept things fresh. Overall I enjoyed the production quality of this one. From the moment I was presented with the lofi intro I knew I was in for a treat. Each element has its place and remains fairly audible across the track. I did feel the low-end could've been a tiny bit clearer in the busier parts of the track - I could hear some parts sharing a little too much frequency space, but not enough to cloud audibility. Arrangement wise things seems to travel at a pretty decent pace and you do the sources justice. The main thing that stuck out to me is the organ stabbing throughout the mix - I felt it could've evolved a bit more throughout the track, as it seems to play a similar line continually throughout. I understand it's a backing instrument - I think the fact that it was panned into its own space on the left made it stick out and made this more noticeable. Overall nothing majorly wrong with this track, a nice tidy romp with some great changes along the way. Happy to hear some Zelda. I don't think we have any mixes of that yet. And OMG a fadeout ending Kristina and anterroir, what were you two thinking. YES

Very old school vibe to this one. Quite a minimalistic approach with the instrumentation, which is not a bad thing provided those limited parts keep things interesting... Arrangement moves along fairly well for the first couple of minutes, but after that I feel the track starts falling into the trap of reusing ideas a bit too much to sustain its length. I'm hearing fairly similar drums across the mix for example. It's a good beat, and it's clear, but it's a bit too loopy for a track of this length. The other elements also seem to fall into this trap - after the first few minutes, we're reintroduced to the same licks again, the same sounds, nothing really evolves. Production wise, the track could make better use of the available stereo space, as most parts are mixed dead centre. Otherwise I don't have a major problem with the production - things are clear and each element has its own space. I think the main problem with this track really is the arrangement. It needs to be developed more to sustain the length. A breakdown or solo would go a long way in varying the track up a bit. I would like you to explore the source more and build on your existing ideas here to strengthen the arrangement. NO (resub)

A peaceful remix of the original source tune, and you've done a great job at making the track listenable. The original source is borderline painful. There main issues for this mix have already been mentioned - the mixing is off, and the arrangement needs more variation. Mixing wise there are some improvements to be made, overall things are quite muddy or thin. Although your kick is audible, it has a lot of thud to it and could do with some more mids so it's more easily heard. The piano is quite thin and panned fairly hard right, which makes the track feel a bit off balance. Adding some low end to the piano and changing the panning will help with this. Your other percussion sounds also need work, as they are not very audible throughout the track. As far as the arrangement itself, it is quite repetitive. I would love to hear you take this track further. You have already implemented some nice ideas, but I feel like they're looped too much. Lets expand the mix more and take your ideas to the next level. NO

Straight up, I think some work needs to be done on the production side of things for this track to pass. Some parts are easy to hear, like the guitar lead for example, but other parts like the chugging from the rhythm guitars are crowding the low end of the mix. The bass is quite difficult to make out and has a constant rumble, making it difficult to make out whats playing. These parts are also stepping over the kick drum, making it inaudible throughout a lot of the track. If there is a way to alter the release of those bass notes, I would dial it back a bit so they have more separation. In contrast to the above, the other instruments feel a bit thin and lacking in low end, probably mixed to make way for the bass heavy stuff above. I think the mixing needs a rework on each channel, using high pass filters and some eq, so that the non-essential frequencies of each part are toned back. Arrangement wise things aren't too bad, I can hear source in the track, and things progress at a steady pace. The piano does feel a little rigid and could do with some/more humanisation, as perhaps some of the other instruments. For sampled instruments however, you have done a decent job and making things sound like the real thing. I understand this was created quickly to hit a deadline, but I feel the production is holding this track back, and needs another mixing pass. NO

Some nice funkiness in this track, which you can always count on from RoBKTA mixes. Straight up your arrangement is quite strong, and induces foot tapping pretty quickly, with a fitting groovy bassline. However I do have some gripes, largely on the production side of things. Firstly, that main lead hitting after 1:00 sounds very thin and non-attention seeking, and it is also very quiet compared to the other mix elements, to the point where it is overwhelmed quickly when other parts come in. Your kick and snare are nice and fat, but sound very bottom heavy and could do with some higher frequencies to brighten them up. I know you're going for an old meets new retro vibe with this track, but they can still have high end and retain that feel. The mix does sound fairly same-ish the whole way though, but has enough changes to keep interest. I will however say that your drums are incredibly loopy at times, particularly the high hat pattern - I would love to see this varied a bit if this goes to resub. The rhodes also seems to clash a bit with your bass when it hits the lower notes, some opposing EQ notches would sort this out. To me the lack of volume/body in the lead, the lack of high end in the drums, and the loopy hats detract from what is otherwise a strong remix. I may be on my own here, but I would like to see these fixed up via a quick resub before release. IMO this would make for a more enjoyable track. NO (borderline)

Good stuff for a first remix project, quite ambitious. I think there are a few primary issues that you need to address. Firstly, being a completely acoustic instrument based piece, your mix is too stiff and could do with a bunch of humanisation across the board (more varied velocities and note timing adjustments) to make things feel more realistic. Your drums need some work, they play a very similar marching pattern throughout and should be varied more. Your drums are also lost in the mix and need to be brought out with some EQ. Mixing wise things feel a little clashy and could do with some EQ tweaks to separate the instruments more. Some of your levels could also do with some changes - your piano is quite loud compared to the other elements for example. Being a violinist, did you play in any of your own violin? If you haven't, I think adding some of your own played by hand would strengthen this piece. Your overall mix is also very soft and should be mastered louder. Still a few things to fix in this one. NO

Nice rocking guitars with synth accompaniment. Overall I think the track is strong on the production side, a lot of nice playing and some nice instrument choices that match up with your pop theme. I will mention a couple things that stuck out to me. On the mixing side the low end is slightly crowded and could be little clearer (your drums for example). It's nothing major but noticeable. On the arrangement side things stay pretty close to the original until we hit the half way mark, a problem you've hit before in the past. I think there's enough you in there in this instance, especially with the solo in the second half really adding some originality, but there's room for a bit more source interpretation in your mix. Something to think about in future. YES

I weighed in on this track last time. In short, this mix needs to be on OCR, it's a great piece with a lot of energy. But as before the mixing is completely killing the track. From memory I remember this track was awfully compressed and needed breathing room. I can't remember the old sub well enough to compare this to, but it doesn't feel like a substantial amount has changed (either that or the tweaks have created other problems). Regardless, my feedback is solely on this iteration. Because you've resubbed a number of times, rather than trying to patch it up again - I would really suggest making a copy of your project, opening the copy and resetting all of your mixing and channel EQ and going at your mixing from scratch. When doing so, consider the following: -Above all else, you need to make use of high-pass filters across your entire track. Every single channel in your mix should have a HPF, except your kick and bass. The key is to remove *all* frequencies that are not fundamental to that instrument/sound. Start your HPF at 100hz minimum. On each channel, sweep your HPF up past 100, 120, 150hz etc to the point where the instrument still has the same feel. Doing this on each channel will open up much needed low end for the instruments that need it. -Consider making some of your instruments completely mono. Drum channels can/should be completely mono, and in a mix this busy they don't need to be wide, just audible. If an element needs some stereo movement, keep it mono and automate panning. -Reducing your reverb/delay across the board will bring clarity to your mix. Consider automating the reverb master channel to reduce the amount of reverb in the busy parts, or you can sidechain your reverb to the master volume for the reverb to dial back automatically when things get busy. -As mentioned last time, consider dropping some parts when other parts are going. This extends to things like your double tracked guitars for example. If the rhythm guitars are doing the same thing on the left and right channels, consider dropping one of those guitars and having your lead guitar occupy that space instead. -Dial back/remove distortion/overdrive from everything that doesn't need it. -The clouded feeling to your track is due to too much happening in the 350-400hz range. Consider dipping a couple db around this frequency range out of most of your instruments. As an exercise I did this myself across your entire mix and applied a 100hz HPF and things sounded a lot better already. -Your bass is extremely rumbly, like it has too much sub in it. Use a HPF to remove the extreme low end. The above mentioned dip in the 400hz range would also really help this one. -Your kick drum and bass are completely overlapping frequency wise and muddying up each other as a result. There needs to be frequency separation there so each can pop though. -The snare seems to be barely audible, with only top end splash bleeding through at most times. This may not need much work after you redo your mixing though. You're so close. You just need clarity. As the others have mentioned, for more targeted feedback, head to the workshop. NO

Good sound design, you have some decent build-up techniques, fitting for the genre. Your arrangement definitely needs work. You have some nice ideas here but you need to explore the source tune further and make it your own. Things are repeated too much across the track, especially the drum pattern. Consider playing around with some of the notes, and drop in some more original elements. I also felt the production side needed work. Things felt a bit mushed together and weren't breathing apart dynamically as much as they could. I'm not sure if this is your master bus comp/limiter at play or each channel is just compressed strongly, but I felt each element was sharing too much space with its neighbours. Things also felt a little bassy. I'm not sure if this because the bass is mostly sub, but consider a HPF or low end EQ on the elements which don't need as much low end (like the synth accompaniment that plays throughout most of the track). This has promise, but there's some more work to be done. NO

I'm liking the jazzy feel. I will say firstly that your arrangement needs more changes, because it feels like its the same stuff played a few times before closing out, and its very close to the original. Your production also needs quite a bit of work. Everything is heavy in mids, and you're lacking in low end. Drums felt very thin when they came in. All your instruments are clashing together and lack body, almost like a HPF has been run across the entire mix, and you have some piercing high frequencies. You need to revisit your mixing, using less delay/reverb and giving more attention to the EQ on each instrument to make them sound less lofi. If your samples are responsible for the lofi sound, consider searching for alternative sample sets or perhaps even collab with people here in the community to play parts in live. NO

Your off beat drums are just perfect IMO, but I wish they did a little more, as the pattern used is pretty much the same for the whole track duration. Your instrument choices are good, and while we've heard most of these countless times, they fit the mix. You also seem to have a fairly firm grasp of production, there isn't anything major there that I'd highlight. My bro Larry here has a very good point as far as the side-chaining goes. It's a cool effect for sure, and I dug it for the first 5 seconds, but I think it was a little over-used across the track. I recommend saving that portion for later in the song and build up to it, as opposed to hitting us with it straight away. It made things feel repetitive even though you were changing other things up. I also agree that the arrangement here could be stronger as far as adding in more you. You have some nice skills here, but I want to here more interpretation of the source tune. NO (please resub)

I thought your choice of going with a light-hearted cutesy mood was a bit too of a predictable direction for this track, but I'm not against it. I'm with Kristina that your instruments are too much to grid to make them feel organic. I would like to see flute, harp and string portions humanised so there is variation in note timing and velocity to make them feel more believable. Your production seems ok for the most part. I don't have any major production concerns except you may need to check your levels a little bit. The track felt like it was building up to something before it ended, like it should've gone a little longer. More importantly, I felt the arrangement didn't really change up the original an awful lot to the point where I don't think I could pass this on that fact alone. There were some changes to the original for sure, but again as Kristina pointed out, some of the notes felt out of place. Overall this felt more like an upgrade over the original than a remix. NO

I don't mind the concept of your track, but you need to revisit the instrumentation and arrangement side of things. The track sounds very similar most of the way through due to the beats being on constant repeat and the same synth tones playing, resulting in little change in energy across the track. Your production isn't bad, things were fairly audible throughout. I wasn't a fan of your lead saw being panned to the right for most of the track, and it doesn't change in texture, keeping it fairly static and uneventful. I actually disliked the synth brass more than the saws which didn't feel like they fit to me. These leads felt more like placeholder instruments, where the artist would normally come back after the arrangement was done and strengthen the sounds. At present, I don't think what you have here justifies the length of the piece - the soundscape doesn't have a lot going on over the course of the track. You need to make the arrangement more interesting. Try to make your leads evolve more by playing around with some notes and cut-off/filter changes. Considering adding a breakdown section somewhere in your arrangement to change things up. Swap instruments more frequently. Play with your bassline. Explore the sources more and make it your own. NO

Firstly the mixing in your track needs work, the drums are drowned out throughout most of the track. You have a bit of low end mud in your mix that needs clearing up. Try a HPF or EQ across you instruments to remove bass frequencies that are not required on each instrument, to give those with required bass frequencies room to breathe. Some of the synths are clashing with other things frequency wise, this may/may not be solved by fixing the low end. Play it by ear and confirm everything is audible as you're mixing. Drums are very basic and play a very loop-like pattern throughout. We need to see some more original work done there. Your kick and snare could do with replacement, however I might be critical of this due to the track's low-end muddiness. Perhaps they can work if the low end is cleared up. On the arrangement side we need to hear more originality in your mix. You're pretty note for note in this track which is why we think it could be from a MIDI. You need to explore the source more and add your own interpretation. NO

Nice guitars. Vocals across the track were decent, I actually felt they were back a little too far in the mix at times and could've been brought forward more. I felt the chorus could've felt bigger and more chorusy. At 2:47 vox are absolutely nailed, to the point where I wish the chorus had this level of harmony. Nice close out with a build up and more emotive vox and guitars (where you could've been tempted to end with simply copying and pasting elements), that extra effort is noticed. Arrangement plays it safe for the most part, not taking too many risks - I would've loved to hear you explore the source tunes a bit more, as things feel coverish at times. You have enough things going on to keep things interesting. Although predictable, would've loved to have heard a solo somewhere in there, I think it would've taken the song to another level. Your low end stays fairly audible throughout - there are a couple points where things could be clearer, but nothing deal breaking. Overall you've done a decent mix here. Things are clear and interesting enough throughout, but would've liked to hear more source interpretation. YES

Nice track, very crunchy. You have some great guitar playing as always. Although the overall sound of your track is similar, I didn't find myself craving more variation when listening through. The first half of the song felt a bit more samey than the second half, but you've thrown in different licks here and there to distinguish the different parts, which is great. Like your soloing. The main thing I thought could have changed up a bit more is your lead synth as I wasn't a huge fan of the patch over time, but it's nothing show stopping. Production seems solid, everything is relatively clear despite the bit crushing across the track. This would have been challenging to mix. Nice work. Your source is identifiable, and going off Larry's breakdown as source usage being acceptable, I'm happy about this one. YES