Nutritious

Loved the side-chained crunchy synth you used. Great job kicking up a pretty boring source up a few notches. Overall, production comes through loud and clear. I agree that the kick is a bit on the subby side, but it still works. Good balancing between parts as well. Great attention to detail in subtle alterations and effects thrown in to keep things interesting. Felt like the ending could've been a little more effective, but no big deal there. I was having trouble getting some of your source usage at first, but then I realized the high synth at :21 is a slowed down version of a subtle part in the original that plays briefly at 1:20. Very creative use of it there so you're not just stuck with only the backing gated part to link in. Really fun listen here man, great work. I'm gonna be keeping this one on the playlist. Yes

Halc asked me to add a few thoughts here before it's moved: There's quite a bit of reverb here making the lows pretty muddy - might be a high decay setting on your verb causing this. Be careful with how you use reverb on orchestral percussion; right now the reverb from it is bleeding over everything else. I actually wouldn't even use the same reverb settings for the percussion as the rest. At the very least, use something with a shorter decay time and less wetness. Samples sound pretty nice. They notes sound a bit on the static side for velocity. I'm not sure what you're using, but you should at the very least be able to automate the volume of each sample so you can get some (de)/crescendos, note emphasis, etc. beyond just note-by-note velocity changes.

Liked how you set the stage in the opening here, Roz. Cool use of effects and watery effects/instruments to set the stage. Glad zirc mentioned this as I got the same impression. It feels more like an atonal allusion to the source, rather than a more concrete element. I can hear what parts you're using in various places, but the source never seems to come enough in focus for me to call it dominant theme in this mix. I'm by no means immune to this either as I had a track from SoS rejected on similar grounds. I definitely echo the creativity props here. You've got something unique here and I don't want to discourage you in that regard. Production-wise, balance could've used some work. The bass synth was quite loud compared to other elements. Some of the synths took up more than their fair share of sonic space, causing sections like 2:39 & 3:22 to sound really cluttered. Sonar pings could also come down in volume. So yeah, cool creativity. But too liberal for me and production needs some polish. Sorry to hear you won't be bringing this one back, man, but I'm looking forward to hearing more of your stuff. No, resubmit please

Just be sure you avoid any pixellated versions of copyrighted photos :/

Sorry dude. I have the song, but I do still need to leave you some feedback on it. I actually haven't been to the project forums in a while, so that's totally my fault. Despite the seeming quiet of this thread and the forums, there's still stuff going on in the background with communication between the mixers and myself personally. That said, I'm gonna be leaning a bit harder on some of the folks here. We have several songs that are 90%+ done and really just need to be closed out.

Love the energy that Sixto always brings to his tracks. Guitar work is the highlight here - love the tone and fantastic performance. Drum work is also super solid here. Arrangement doesn't take a big detour from the original, but he's taken his own tack on the progression and brought regular (awesome) sixto performance flourishes. A couple nitpicky issues: compression was a touch high here, mostly evident on the drums. Though they still sound great to me. Also, I wasn't totally sold on the counter-melody (violin?) lead. It was a little hard to hear and the attack was a bit slow to keep up with the fast pace and note changes. Again, nothing big to find fault with here, though. Yes EDIT: My apologies! I humbly request F-Zero, Sixto style.

If you still need it, I could probably do the vocal part. Let me know dude.

Oh wow, thanks guys! I was gonna vote today but totally forgot - didn't realize the deadline was so soon. In case anyone was curious, my votes were going to be for: Toilet Goat - Loved the interpretation and high energy feel of this one. Surprised it didn't do better. Beckett007 - Clearly he knows his orchestral stuff. Your writing and samples make me jealous ...and one other (hadn't decided third yet). Bund- I'll PM you with the source.

Not much to add here. Nicely arranged piece and a very good performance, Brandon. It takes the mood from the original a step further, solidly in the melancholy realm - so nice work there. Yes

Cool concept here and some nice arrangement ideas. I liked your use of low marcato strings to give it a driving feel. A few crits: Overall soundscape is quite cluttered. Lots of instruments are occupying low-mid/low frequencies. Also, it still sounds like there's an excessive amount of reverb - could be the length of the reverb more than the "wetness" really. It sounds like too much verb on the percussion could be a big offender. Overcompression is also an issue here. Whenever it builds to a cymbal crash or loud section the sound distorts pretty bad. This is likely a result of the aforementioned two issues as well as perhaps your mastering settings. Finally, gonna second Ruk that there are some wrong notes here. At :18, :26, 1:28 and 1:37 the low strings are playing a half step too low I believe. There's some nice additions on the arrangement side, but as you mentioned, this one plays it pretty close to the vest. If you're planning on submitting this, you may either want to extend it further or at least do some additional interpretation/expansion/personalization of the theme.

Surprise Attack!

Wow, very nice source. Makes me kinda wish I'd played this game/series. I think OA makes a good point on source usage. For the first 2:20 of the track (nearly half), only the first few notes from the source are used - and used repeatedly in the same manner each time. The intro itself got me interested as it does a good job capturing the listener and building expectation. However, when we do get the rest of the melody at 2:22, we get one basic rendition and it's on to another part, which actually is lower energy. I'd recommend throwing in some more source parts (you can use other leads, plucks, bass, whatever you want) as countermelodies, or interjections or something to break up the repeated source pattern and get things building more. Then when you hit the full melody section, really break out the energy level. After that, a drop in energy as it is now would be quite effective IMO. Agreed on the overcompession - these audible distortion due to pushing the limiter too hard. I think overall this needs a bit better balancing. The lead seems to take up too much mid-low space, which could be cluttering things. Bass synth is very cool, just make sure it doesn't clutter with the kick and other synths. You've really got a good start here and are showing a good understanding of the genre and production techniques. With some work this could definitely hit the front page. No, resubmit please

Yeah, Vig and Halc hit the nail on the head here. Instrument samples are very nice and are treated well for the most part. Slow attack on the high strings in the backing parts leave a bit of extra space between notes. Total agreement on the arrangement issues. Though it's nicely orchestrated, there's not a lot of expansion on the source here. There's also a lot of dependance on whole note backing parts and the same ensemble of instruments. Some variation on the melody and contrasting parts could really go a long way here. I didn't hear any low string (cellos or basses) in this piece, which could fill out more of the low end. Some percussion could also help here. Since it could very well be the mixer's intention, I'm not gonna belabor this point, though. This is very close and with some extra arrangement work, could definitely make it over the bar. No, resubmit please

Are you using version 2 or 3? Version 2 shouldn't have that plugin, so you should get that one. The first post explains this. Version 2.0 is the current one for people to download as it doesn't include the ewql free plugin. I left the 3.0 download lower in the post in case someone who had the plugin needed it again for whatever reason.

Happy Birthday DJP

Looks like my track is going to be quite well aged by the time this releases

Some timing issues on the whistling being both behind and in front of the beat in places, but track has a sort of loose/laid-back nature in general so it's not a big issue. Not sure if it's the effects used or something, but sounds like distortion from some of the loud drum hits, notably around 3:12 & 3:34-3:40. The section at 3:40 seems to be pushing the limits of your compression as well, so be sure to watch those levels. Fortunately, this isn't a significant portion of the song or it could've been a big issue for me. On the positive side, you've got a nice arrangement on the theme and a super creative approach to your mix. Not sure I could pinhole this to any specific genre. Nice work, Jordan. I'm looking forward to more from you. Yes

Definitely agree with this being too far on the conservative side. The structure & progression basically match the original. You'd have to bring more personalization in structure, melodies and/or progression to meet the arrangement standards. In addition to what's already been mentioned, there are some spacial issues here that you'll need to address. As DA said, many parts are pretty heavily reverbed, however, parts like the drums are pretty dry in comparison. This makes things sound pasted on, rather than working cohesively. I can appreciate what you're doing here, though - I imagine this being a sort of Swiss folk rendition of the theme (disclaimer - I don't know what Swiss folk music really sounds like). You've also brought some nice, intricate orchestration behind this, which defintely shows very good potential in that regard. No, resubmit please

I will be going as well.

I'm gonna concur with my fellow judges that this indeed is a conservative take on the theme. I do like your additions - the beats used sounded pretty solid, and there were a couple variations on the theme - but for the most part this follows too closely for OCR standards. I agree that this its a bit loud - the bell/pad synth especially sticks out strongly in some mid-highs/highs. One more note, as you mentioned, you used the original drum loop for a good portion your remix. Just want to point out that, while using some sampled audio from the original is allowed, it should be extremely limited. In this case, it was used from :35 - 1:48, 2:33 - 3:46, & 4:47 - 5:00, which is a good chunk of the mix. Given that it's mostly relegated to the background, I'm not positive it would be a big issue, but I wanted to bring it up nonetheless. No

I agree with the Andrews here that, while the original in a bit on the minimal side, this mix takes it even moreso in that direction. For most of the song, there's just not much going on. That's not to say you can't have minimalistic orchestral tracks, but I'd argue that you have to work that much harder to make them interesting for the listener when you're working with fewer elements. As mentioned before, slow string attacks really hurt here, especially when the note changes become quicker. The string end up sounding about a beat behind where they're supposed to be because of this. In general, the strings are sounding pretty mushy together, so try to work on getting a bit more distinct sound from each of your ensemble sections. Hard left panned string stabs sounded really dry and stuck out above everything. Personally, I don't hard pan any instruments for orchestral pieces. So, it sounds like you have the right tools at your disposal, so keep at it No, resubmit please

Very nice resub here man. I've heard quite a few versions of this track now - first on the workshop forums, last sub, and now - and it's been steadily improving throughout. Liked the little extra touches you added, like the occasional rimshot thrown in. Sounds like balance is improved here and left-hand writing is better. Way to stick with it YES

Sweet vibe here. Way to bring something fresh to a very overmixed track. You brought some good expansions and variations, but also kept things very recognizable throughout. Nice combination of chippy sounds with the bitcrushed drums and synth leads. It did get a bit muddy around the 2:50 mark with the added pads taking up a bit too much room. Break at 3:10 was unexpected, but a good change of pace. The transition back at 3:33 felt like it could've been smoother. Also, the lead at 4:49 hit some strong resonant notes, making it a bit too loud over the rest of the track. Minor issues aside, production is generally strong here. Great job here, Gario. Looking forward to seeing it on the front page. YES

Odd source for sure. Here goes. Well, gonna have to concur with DOA. It didn't sound like purposeful dissonance so much as incorrect notes/chords. It wasn't that way for the whole song, but certain parts definitely stuck out. :40 - 1:01, for example, sounds especially egregious with the various conflicting parts. The section following it actually sounded a lot more cohesive to me. Drums were also very repetative. Snare stays on 2 and 4, cymbal hits every measure; virtually no change in patterns for the length of the song. You'll definitely want to get more interesting writing here, especially as it's meant to be an acoustic kit. Drum samples sounded pretty good for the most part, except the cymbal, which sounds dry and sticks out over everything. String lead sounded very fakey for how exposed it was - almost to the point where it sounds like it's trying to be a synth. Now, I do understand the original does feature dissonance as well, but it never feels like different songs or progressioned on top of each other. No need to get discouraged on this, though, as you've got the foundation here. Acoustic was treated and played well, drums will be nice with some variation and cymbal help. Work on those and the arrangement issues and this should be in really good shape. No, resubmit please

Fellow judges have pretty much summed things up well here. That said, I'm willing to sign up for a conditional based on lead volume/not muffled. Yes, condional Lead volume EDIT: Awright no resub, GO FOR IT