gliyw1thdabangs

If you have gotten here and are about to download the song, I'd appreciate any criticism you have. The source is: Sonic & Knuckles - Lava reef zone Since it is a very over done source, please tell me what you think.

Last time I posted this on google pages. didn't load and the production on this song is questionable since I used Finale and Audacity. The first minute is not my greatest moment... but enjoy.

1 thing early on. bring up the volume on the sax.

hmmm.... i really like this last version. I think you could open up to some jazz piano in that one midsection about 2:09. nice move on shifting to a major key. If i could just figure out what the chord structures were... You got a midi conversion of this one? You've really started building your skillsets for arranging. i must say that i respect your skillz...

ok first off. this is fight music for video gamers. i don't care that the synths are more generic. although it would be awesome to do an updated cover on this with very different synths. My real question for darkesword is: where did you get the voice samples? Myself and another WIP-er at ocr are trying to get together sources and i was wondering if you supply me with some side effects to incorporate into our collab. not expecting to get a pass but would like to explore some interesting techniques.

want people to comment? get a better host. Just saying.

i'll start listening to source tunes. i just gotta know what you're thinking about. you got a list of sources?

I thought the marble zone was remixed in enough ways but I guess there's always something new and different out there. Jeez, would someone teach us the basics of remixing?

You talk about oldschool OCR, and this defies that bar by far.

these are minor suggestions, for the most part, this is very professionally executed in my opinion. ok. Make the thunderish boom sound at 0:10 a bit louder or find a louder sample. Not too loud but louder would bring even more excitement for the mix. 0:36-0:50 sounds a little bit too quiet to me. It is tolerable of course, but it seems a very easy change that will make this intro really really awesome. So my suggestions are 3 choices: 1. bring the section after 50 all the way to 36 2. Start a counter-melodic riff (i think that's the word) for your section 0:10-0:36 and use that counter-melodic riff and add it on to the section 0:36-0:50. This will contrast the first loop for 36. 3. If you want to make the trance style more heavy, add some heavier synths that might be more traditionally used in trance remixes (i'm not real familiar with technical terms as you can see). For those synths, make their sections from 0:36-0:50 a lowering chord progression (use whatever style you want, triplets, 16ths, alternating, whatever.) Anything that will change the sound of that section of the intro while keeping the underlayers will make the intro completely solid. You set the pace with the change of layering great up for the first 30 seconds and after after 0:51 as well. Something people might bring up is that the sound of the overall mix is a little weak but I like the lighter resources you've used here. I think additional layering would strengthen the portion from 0:52 onward, but if that is a stylistic decision you've made then stick with it. I started listening to the second part of your mix, but I cannot comment on it yet. I'm going to say prematurely that what you have done is excellent. But you still will need to make a lot more progress to achieve where you've set the bar for yourself with the beginning of the mix. I'll finish commenting later. for now it's breakfast time.

just like before, you need to find that creativity chord inside of you. I think you're really talented at being able to really completely recreate the atmosphere itself with different synth sets, even if people say some of the synths are generic. Once you get more experience with changing the musical dynamics, you'll kick ass, probably do one better than a lot of the remixer that have been posted. I think you've broken the learning curve a lot faster than many of the remixers who keep posting and posting with little to no progress, so give yourself some credit. But you are going to have to reflect and compare your song until it gets so boring that new stuff will just be aching to come out. I don't know how many other sources there are out there, probably not a lot considering it's the rocket source, but just keep doing what you're doing right now, which is refining production, acquiring more synth familiarity so you can naturally just pick synths for what atmosphere you want, and of course somewhere along the line find a source which is widely overdone. When you’re done experimenting with the rocket source and don’t feel like exploring it anymore at that moment, search out for a new source just to get some learning. Maybe something like super mario bros, megaman, final fantasy, chrono trigger/cross, sonic, tetris, castlevania, f-zero, secret of mana, zelda, xenogears, earthbound, streetfighter... and so on. Do something that has like more than 2 or 3 variation of the song posted on ocremix. After you’ve found your new primary source, (via chiptunes or midi rips), make sure to reference sites such as vgmix for other posts (you have to search a bit right now), and vgmidi.com (where they have several midi rips), overlooked remix, etc. You might even ask remixers who have done the source and been posted to check if they have early versions of their remixes and ask them to send it to you. Even if you can’t get early versions from the makers themselves, make sure to listen, relisten, and compare religiously to JUST THE SOURCE, MIDI RIPS, AND VARIATIONS. Don’t make an attempt to remix it until you’ve listened to the source and it’s predecessors to death and it’s melodies, intricacies become so natural that you can hear it in your head without even listening to the song. Then you’ll be ready to make your first attempt. Jus t start out with a simple midi rip. Or do it from memory. As long as you have the source song completely hashed out with all the intricate details that you have chosen to include, you’ll be fine, just like you did in basement funk and forest requiem. Then, as soon as you’ve done the midi rip, listen to it twice. Then, for a set period of time (could be two days, two weeks, etc.), don’t listen to your product at all. After half that time has passed, start listening to your primary source and downloaded midi rips just once in a while. Burn it onto a cd or something, transfer it to your ipod, listen on yoru computer with headphones, etc. After the time is up, you should feel ready to reapproach your own product. You’ll have a really hard time trying to change it up because you haven’t quite found that creativity chord just yet. But I think you’ll start to feel it after so much boredom with the same source over and over in your head, something has to pop up. Even if it ends up being one note difference, one chord difference, you’ll have made progress. I would give one possible way you could continue from here, but I won’t since you’ll probably get to here by the time I’ll be available to work on anything. I want you to know that the process I just gave you is only one way of looking at it but I came up with it because it seemed to suit your style and particular difficulty in breaking your creativity chord. Try doing this and we’ll see if anything happens, if not then we’ll try to get in closer contact. Good luck!

Dafydd is giving the best advice you will get at this point reflect and compare. religiously. Simple and clear?

yay! Messing around is the coolest way to find ideas. Right direction indeed. Keep messing around.

I take it back. if not midi rip, damn close.

Snappleman has got a big point. Where's the musical interpretation? I do personally like the 'technical' manipulation of the string synths in the beginning and parts throughout the song, but I don't know if those are taken from midi source or not. Snappleman highlights a bigger message for all WIP remixers which is don't post something until you've established some MUSICAL deviation from the source via chord structures, melody alteration, etc. and have made it into your own song.

hey! are you thinking about submitting this after you update synths and get a judge to review it?

I like it. but it's loud the whole time. I understand it's a red alert remix, but I would personally see more depth from you the remixer in the song if you found a way to start out quieter and bring it up to it's max level. I think as a listener it would be much more epic and personally as a listener i'd be able to feel the full force of 'red alert' that you try to portray in the loudness of the song. But i think it could pass regardless. Good luck.

get rid of the 1st 12 seconds. makes for a more interesting intro. bring up the eq on the lead synth and the sawtooth low. drums need to be more interesting and active. I would find it more interesting if the drums were cleaner. funny silence at 1:09ish. If you were building up the synth and layering progressively up until 1:09ish with rising action on the drums, more supporting synths incorporated as you move along, and a stronger interpretation of the source with the lead, you could justify the silence at 1:09. But that's only covering the 1st 1:09. going on from there it feels repetitive, but if you layer it or add your own interpretation of the source with the lead synth or alternate lead synth, it wouldn't matter too much in terms of supporting instrumentation. interesting idea at 0:58 (of part 2). I don't feel like you make the progression of the song interesting enough for me to really like it as a trance song yet. I hope to see another post.

i think you could stick with the drums as is if you found a lead instrument that was very solid and took care of the reinterpretation side. You need the song + factor. Also, a nicer sound quality wouldn't hurt.

this is pretty attractive. gotta lower the eq at first on the echoing pads (i don't know which synth it is but it stuck out too much for me on the first listen.) I hope to hear this after you finish it up and it gets passed (if you're going to submit it.)

the drum loop could have more energy to support the action that you're trying to give with your lead instrumentation and supporting strings. I like the feel of this though, and i'm a craptastic producer so don't just take my opinion, but production seemed tolerable to me. Did you post a previous wip of this? I remember hearing a wip posted about a month back that was kind of repetitive. So if this is your second reinterpretation, props on the progress.

reminds me of black eyed peas at intro, mike shinoda song that i don't know title to, and Zion and I's 'the bay'. Don't know why that means anything.

Yo man. Just a few more weeks and I should be able to start exercising my music muscles again. Keep working on the creation comparison I was talking about. Production is getting better every time.

Yo. I acutallly thing this source could be used well, but some work and intuitive recreation will be required.

For the most part, the main part of the song is very hollow because you need to write more melody. But I'm loving the intro with the crisp sounding leads and how it fits well with my ears with the supporting synths. I disagree with some of the other comments proposing that the guitar is too loud. While it may be a little high on the foreground and could be pushed back, the synth itself is not a poor choice for creating the atmosphere that you seem to want to give your remix. This WIP is quite old and if you have any updates of this remix, I'd love to hear it, your piece sounds really exciting.