Emunator

... shhhh!!

What this guy said.

On source usage, ambient wrote me:

I feel like the somewhat-thin soundscape here actually works very well, given the pseudo-prog rock aesthetic going on here. It doesn't bother me at all, and thanks to a mighty-fine arrangement I have no trouble passing this one, personally. YES

Haha, this source is burned into my head after spending way too much time playing Radiant Dawn, and I like what you've done here. However, Deia got the primary critique absolutely right, this either needs to be shortened or expanded further in the second half of the mix. Everything you've already got here is great and almost certainly OCR-quality, but the arrangement is pretty drawn out here. Also, words cannot describe how cheesy the self-namedrop vocal clip felt That honestly just sounds bad to me Send this one back our way! NO (resubmit!)

Oh my god this sounds great! This completely addressed any issues I had with my last vote and just sounds so much better now. YESSS

Hahaha, the intro on this is so sick! I wasn't a huge fan of that bell/piano hybrid lead, it sometimes has a hard time catching my attention over the louder guitars. It works much better as a background instrument. The organ works well, though. I'm not a huge fan of your synth solo either, I feel like a guitar solo would have been better-suited for that section, but I can acknowledge it as a personal preference. Overall, I see what the gentlemen above me are saying and after listening to this song the first few times, I was going into this vote ready to NO it for the same reasons. However, after a few listens, I really began to dig the treatment of the source, and your fills/transitions/intro/outro are so great that I'm inclined to give this one the nod. It's groovy, creative, intelligent, and well-produced. I'm used to progressive music sometimes being a little sparse on the instrumentation and I don't feel like this is so lacking in it that there's nothing to hold my attention. There's always something good going on at all points in the arrangement. Good luck on this one dude, I've really come around to this one and hopefully some others will agree, too YES

I love that bassline, I didn't think something like that could work for this song but it's really the most memorable part of the mix here. You guys did a great job with that. Deia got it right though, this is a very enjoyable listen and your production is great, but in general I feel like it carries on autopilot for the most part. I like the subtle changeups and fills here but overall it just doesn't feel like enough. More dramatic/creative transitions, fills, etc. would really help this take off and reach new heights. The melodic parts are varied throughout the song but I honestly don't see much rhyme or reason to the arrangement itself. It seems like you just cycle through various pattern fills over a pretty static beat/bassline, and it's just not doing it for me. Sorry guys, you've got production nailed down and there's a few aspects to the song that I really like, but the arrangement itself just feels uninspired and doesn't ever really go anywhere. I'll be keeping this one on my playlist for some nice groovy background music but as far as OCR is concerned, I think this is still missing something. NO

At first, I found this one a little dull, but after considering the source choice, I was able to get a better grasp on what you were going for here. You've got a nice knack for this constantly-evolving, ambient arrangement approach. I was digging the structure more than OA and felt like, for the genre you were tackling, it worked pretty well. The guitar work in the background is pretty cool but during the "solo" at the end, it feels like it's pushed too far back. The snare sound throughout the song feels kind of annoying to me, but especially during the ending it just grates on my nerves I would recommend searching for a new sample to use there. I'm with OA about the ending in general, it's simply too much, and the sharp cutoff at the end does not sound natural at all, like your song didn't finish rendering properly. Definitely something to look into. Some small stuff, but overall I was feeling this. It's a close call but it still feels like it's lacking in polish in some areas. I could definitely see a more refined version of this being posted someday though, it's a great take on some quirky, unusual source material. NO (resub!)

I think my biggest gripe with this mix is that it just sounds a little too generic. There's not much going on with the arrangement side of things, and the sounds themselves are solid but nothing that hasn't already been used a bunch of times before. The sound choices are pretty static throughout the mix, as well... there's not many changeups or additions going on either. You'd need to expand significantly on either your arrangement or sound choices, or preferably both in order to get this passed. NO

Gaaaaaaah where is the link to the mix? This is killing me here man!

Well, this definitely isn't what I was expecting at all. It was a fun listen and you've got some good rapping chops but I don't hear the source usage in this at all, either. NO

I sense great things brewing in this thread

What she said. Killer track James, you've got your game nailed down at this point YES

Oh man, this song blows by so quickly! Objectively, 2:34 is long enough to cover a full range of musical ideas and conclude properly, but I really would have liked to hear a little bit more here. This is pretty clearly over the bar though, arrangement is pretty conservative but the performance itself contains plenty of nuances and flourishes that personalize this to the level that OCR requires. Absolutely love it guys, and good job Aivi for finally submitting something! YES

Just to clarify, all of the NO votes were meant for the original version of this submission. After the song was passed by the panel, Sir Jordanius resubmitted an entirely different version of the arrangement that didn't really sound like the first one at all. That's the version that actually got posted on the site, and that one was passed with 4 unconditional YES's

Personally, I'm swayed toward the NO's on this, too. I love your arrangement and performances, and the vocal effects are really neat, but the production here does not feel as full as it could. Like Larry said, it sounds distant and rough all-around, though I agree that the vocals particularly sounded lo-fi. I also concur with the points that Vig brought up and definitely feel like you should take those suggestions into consideration. I don't have much to add here, but the overall production quality on the track isn't where it needs to be for me. Great arrangement ideas though, this would definitely be worth the time to revamp and polish the production side of things. Sorry NO (resub)

I lie somewhere in between halc and Larry on this one. The string stabs bother me only when they're playing the highest notes. The sample you're using just doesn't have a natural articulation in such high octaves. The riff at 1:43 is the worst offender. I like the arrangement here, it may not necessarily be an improvement on the source, but it has a firm grasp on what made the original theme so great and utilizes those great melodies well. There's some aspects that take this above and beyond the source, though, such as the drum programming or the adaptation for a more energetic style. Despite some weaker samples and and an overall-thin soundscape, I feel like this is a worthy take on the source that can stand on its own merits. I'm cool with this! YES

Okay, before I get into any critiques I want to commend you guys on an extremely creative, unique arrangement that is unlike anything I've heard on the panel before. There's a lot of creative energy flowing through the song here. I'm finding some faults right off the bat with the hand percussion loop. The way it currently sits in the mix, it feels like it's competing for space with the acoustic guitar and later the vocals. It might just need some EQ cuts or perhaps some panning adjustments so it's not sitting in the same spot as those other elements in the song. I completely echo Deia's criticisms about the production regarding the bass levels and the overall mixing on the guitars, there needs to be some work with those sections so that everything is less washed-out in the presence of the distorted guitars. The vocals too sound oddly-mixed. They seem awfully quiet and weak, not necessarily as a result of a poor performance but more just in terms of how they're produced. They seem like they could use a boost in volume or some compression, and maybe some other layered effects to get a smoother tone on the vox. The performance was strong and appropriate for the style, so good job there! Some sloppy detail work that I noticed, too: be sure to get clean cutoffs on the front/end of your guitar tracks. The electric guitar chord at 3:32 fades out too quickly and the switch at 3:43 is also not smoothed out. Overall, I think there's a lot of not-so-small issues with this track that don't necessarily have a huge impact on its overall quality, but still are definitely noticeable and detract somewhat from the experience in my opinion. You've got an incredibly creative take on the source here, but it still needs another coat of polish in my opinion. Good luck with the vote either way! NO (please resubmit!!)

Ahhh, DDRKirby... nice to finally see you submitting something to the site. I've noticed your incredible speed-composing skills thanks to the One-Hour Compo, I'm always blown away by your infectious harmonies and catchy riffs. This mix is no exception, I for one found it pretty enjoyable all the way throughout. Production-wise, everything sounds strong and smooth, reverb levels were tasteful... Sounds solid to me. I'm not even timestamping this, so I'm not sure which part Deia is talking about, but nothing stood out as "placeholder" to me during my listen. Each part in the mix seems to contribute something to the overall arrangement, IMO. Either way, I feel like this would be a fantastic addition to OCR's library, and given recent discussions on chiptune remixes and their status with regards to the standards, I feel much more comfortable passing something like this. Good luck! YES

I've repeatedly had issues with Sir J's tracks doing that same thing, I think you need to take a look at your encoder, bro

Pretty cute combination of sources here, I'm feeling your inspiration! However, the synth work on this is far too basic. To be honest, every sound in here seems like it could have been pulled from the same default Soundfont. There's plenty of free synths out there that are just a Google search away (or you can get usable demos for products like Zebra2) that can easily exceed the sample quality that you're using currently. You've got quite the groove here and I like what you did with the sources, but the fact of the matter is that you just need some better-quality samples to work with in order to take this to the next level. There's more to be said but I feel like that is the main dealbreaker with this song that would need to be addressed. This idea has potential though, with a bit of an overhaul this might be worth taking a second listen to. Good luck! NO