OceansAndrew

The arrangement is excellent and the sequencing is pretty good, but the volume levels are keeping this from being as enjoyable as it could be. It sounds like there is way too much headroom throughout, so even some light compression to normalize things a touch wouldn't be out of the question. Overall really nice, just needs a final touch of polish on some levels. I love the track No, please resubmit

pls heal and exercise soon, work has been endless ;_;

I could pretty much copy-paste Chimpazilla's post and you'd hear my opinion exactly. but I don't get paid the big bucks to do that, so you get a rehash of what she said in my words. 1. Add some bass. It is super washed out sounding, and has no low end to speak of at all. 2. Add some variation to the motif, as the same rhythmic backing repeats for the duration, with parts coming and going, but no proper song structure holding it up to maintain interest. There are a few change ups in the beat and such, but the grand majority of the track is a repeating 4 bar riff with elements that come and go, but the core remains the same. No

It sounds really off in studio phones and monitors, but pretty good in earbuds. I think the idea is really good, and the execution is close but in need of tweaking. The production crits by my esteemed and also ridiculously awesome co-judges are a good way to get it tweaked, so what I will spend most of my time discussing is the arrangement. The main issue and one that is in absolute need of adjustment before OCR can pass this is the repetition of the A section seemingly ad-infinitum. The repetition kills it, even with minor variations on instruments dropping out or adding up. A suggestion to you is to incorporate the Ragtime piece from Mario World 1 as well, to mix things up melodically, and it would really fit as a B section. There is a bit of expansion of the track with some original vamp sections, which is fine, but when it is just vamp and 'a section', there isn't enough keeping the track interesting. I also think humanizing things a bit would be nice, though the mechanically played saloon piano has a bit of a choppy feel that I can appreciate. Overall this is a good idea for a track but it needs more work. I hope to hear a resub! No, please resubmit

Deia and I have been building our own Lovely World, which has been pretty fun. If any of you guys want to visit, PM me and I can get you info.

I agree with the other judges that the compression is making this sounding less dynamic and exciting than it could. There arent hills and valleys as much as a paved-over parking lot. The synth comes in after the first chorus is a little piercing as well, I'd tone down the 2khz range a bit, as otherwise the synth is pretty sweet. The arrangement is good as a genre shift, and the vocals are good. I actually think they should come out in the mix, though if the levels are adjusted in a way that reduces the compression overall, they might come out more naturally. Needs some polish overall, but the components are all in place; it just needs a bit of tweaking. No, please resubmit

I gotta agree with my verbose friends here, this needs a good deal more work. Thankfully they have given you a helpful list of things to hit up to improve your work overall. THere are some cool ideas here, but the mixing and production needs more polish. I'm looking forward to hearing a refined version of this track in the future. No, please resubmit

I'll echo the other judges in saying that there is a good, conservative foundation here, but between the mechanical sequencing and the minimal amount of your own personalization, it's not quite ready as a fully developed arrangement for OCR. I know you have the chops to make some spectacular arrangements, so get to it! No, please resubmit

really impressive, awesome work

I think if you did edward's theme in a different mode it'd fit better, as there is a lot of dissonance that doesn't resolve correctly. I like the production choices, though the snare is a bit piercing, and could stand to have a touch of EQ run on it. I think the source use is fine, but it's really short. I think a bit more expansion would be nice. Overall it has a good start, but between some weird clashing, some production issues, and a somewhat nebulous structure, I think spending a bit of time polishing it would be the right call. No, please resubmit

For some reason, the bass doesn't always feel like it's part of the same song. It's noodling is fine, but there are sections where it just feels off beat, and when combined with the synth lead, feels really off. The arrangement was a tour through the soundtrack, which is fine, but a lot of the transitions were pretty weak, and the cohesiveness of the track itself could have been improved. I think the production was a bit subdued and could have been way punchier. The drums lacked presence to me as well, and the bass was frequently taking the spotlight over the rest of the track frequencywise. I think there is a lot of cool ideas here, but the execution needs to be tightened up more. No, please resubmit

yeah, this is a pretty cool piece of music, but the actual melodic aspect of the source listed doesn't start until waay into the song. The synths and guitar tones are nice, and the playing is very good, but we need a larger slice of this track to be source for us to accept it onto the site. No

The arrangement works pretty well, but the guitar and panflute sequencing is very stiff, and definitely needs to be humanized. When the Strings come in, they are really muddy and hard panned, making the left side feel empty by comparison. I suggest splitting the notes of the strings up and bit, and pan them individually so they balance out the sound field a bit more, and arent as muddy. I think adding another section would help the song as a whole too, as the song develops a bit in the main theme, but a B section would help break up the ideas a bit more. I think a proper ending would be good as well, as it sortof just stops currently. A good start, but it needs some more work. No

I gotta agree with the other judges in that the balance isn't feeling great to me; the drums are buried, and the leads are overbearing. The samples all feel a little too bright, so some eq to bring the highs down just a db or so in sme instruments would help the mood here and also would get things to sit a little more solidly. A good deal of the sequencing also feels a bit stiff and blocky to me. The transitions should be stronger as well, especially 2:42. I like the arrangement, the sounds chosen, and can't really tell where all the sources are either, but as a single piece it is definitely nice. The key change works and brings more interest, and there is a good foundation here, but a bit more production work is needed. I hope to hear a resub! No, please resubmit

Some of the synthy orch stabs sound really thin and flimsy, but the lower end is pulling the weight well enough. Some of the sequencing is a bit stiff, and I felt there was a bit too much copy-pasta of the various parts, but it passes the bar. For future submissions, I think going the extra mile to really flesh out the arrangement and humanize things further would bring your craft to the next level. Keep at it! Yes

I actually think the synth guitar as a concept is working as a stylistic choice, but the mixing is missing a huge chunk of the low end, and the highs and upper mids are overhyped. THe mixing needs another pass, and i think some panning and compression to even things out afterwards should be good. I like the arrangement, and the throwback sound is cool, but a bit more production polish is definitely needed. No, please resubmit

Nice work, Jarel, that is good news! You don't even really have to be serious about exercising to see results, just consistent. I think having TV shows to keep you from getting bored is the absolutely best way to keep moving.

I think the mixing could be a lot cleaner, but I think it passes the bar. There is a decent amount of frequency bleed in a few areas, especially the drums, but I think it fits the punk aesthetic overall. I think spending a bit of time working on how your specific sounds meld together, and trimming things down a bit will give you a cleaner, punchier sound, and will overall improve your skills, but between arrangement and performance, this passes despite some production flaws. Yes

I like the groove that comes in after the super long intro, but the sounds feel pretty weak to me, with a ton of headroom; like you had the master set to -5db. The personalization is there in spades, but I am in the same boat as Larry, where I am not hearing source a lot of the time. Our boat is awesome, but it would be even better with more dominant source. My thoughts to get this over the bar: 1. master it so it's not so subdued, and thicken up a few of the parts 2. Add more dominant source, or if there is obscured source, bring it forward a lot. The song itself is pretty fun once it gets going, but it needs a bit more polish to pass the bar, IMO. No, please resubmit

Yeah, this feels nice to me, but it's pretty repetitive. There are a lot of nice touches, like the filtered white noise, and the cello brought it to the next level, but the variation is so subtle that it gets lost, and the main aspects of the song repeat over and over. I think some harmonic or melodic shifts would be nice, and lengthening the transitions with a little more polish. It's good, and i've enjoyed listening to it four times now, but I think there needs to be more polish and have some additional melodic and harmonic personalization. No, please resubmit

I think this is really well done, with good production and crisp playing, as well as a lot of varied tones that work together nicely. The arrangement is personalized, but the development of an entire song isn't uite there for me; I agree with Larry that it needs more content, as right now it feels like a nicely produced sketch to me, rather than a full on song remix. I think some more melodic parts added to the end, as well as a few ways to get more milage out of the source would put this over for me. A solo, or the melody itself varied, or a key change, and a proper ending would all be quality ways to make it feel like an entire song. This is a great start, it just needs more content! No, please resubmit

sounds like bad luck to me

I m a big advocate of adding weight to chin/pullups, once you can do 3 sets of 8 with full ROM, and I have seen the most back development from that. It is definitely something you work your way into, but it can be super effective. I've slowly been increasing weight over the last year with good success, and have been able to maintain good form and sets.

That is pretty great progress, nice work staying focused on the long term, patience is the worst part about all this stuff, but it is pretty much the only thing that pays off, so seeing you reach some goals helps motivate me for mine too. Thanks for the update.

please wear your 'BIG Z' shirt so I can recognize you also, we will have to get an OCR workout in at the pretty legit Gaylord workout room, I think that'd be pretty fun.