Palpable

While it's fun to have this little argument about Brandon's cred, shirt sizes go up to XXXL. eStarland may be sold out atm, but we do have them and sometimes take one or two to cons.

Gotta agree with Larry that the background felt very empty but I heard some writing in there often - I think this is extremely close to a pass for that reason. A rebalancing would likely put this over the line, though some light pads in the emptier sections would really make it shine. Maybe just some more reverb on the drums would help. I'm tempted to give this the nod as is because it's pretty solid work but it feels just short of the bar. NO (resubmit)

It's the same weekend as Otakon so it might be difficult to find people to go. If it was in Baltimore there might be a chance, but I don't think I could make it to this because of the con.

One thing I struggled with for a long time was trying to make every instrument crystal-clear during every section. In the process of doing so, I would cut so much that the instruments would sound anemic. Really, it was more a problem with my songwriting than my production (though both have improved since). I wasn't trying to make a focus for the listener, I wasn't in tune with what sounds complemented each other, and I was cramming a bunch of different parts together so that sometimes there would be multiple lead instruments playing at the same time. Now I figure out what I want the listener to pay attention to and sculpt the rest of the song around it. Sometimes that means cutting away part of an instrument so that it sounds more in the background. More often it means replacing an instrument with something that doesn't conflict as much. It's a process that can take a while to learn and I'd suggest trying both. Getting a second (third, etc.) opinion can also be very valuable because after a while you lose your objectivity about whether something sounds ok or not.

Pretty cool arrangement, I think I mentioned that last time. There's still such a stark difference between the string-led sections and the guitar-led ones. On the basis of the guitar ones, I would pass this. The overall effort is a little dry, but solid enough with that sweet guitar filling out the track. The string lead is not realistic enough, not loud enough, and not full enough, and really hurts the song. Oh look I copied Jesse's vote. NO (resubmit)

Big ups to Larry for the breakdown because I would have definitely needed to clock it myself. I could hear the arrangement in all the places he mentioned, and possibly a little more at the end. This is a pretty drastic rearrangement and a little bit cerebral in how the melody is used, but it nevertheless checks out. Great control of the orchestra from Jeff - very restrained while still expressive. YES

After 8 votes, not a lot to add. I think Larry really hit the problems on the head. The mixing is the biggest issue, with the drums being too loud, and piano too soft. The string and flute sequencing also sounded a little too fake. Please give this one another shot, it's a really nice arrangement! Love the slightly jazzy feel of the piano at 2:06, that was an interesting departure. NO (resubmit)

Don't have a lot to add here, the major problems are covered. The mixing is uneven and the parts don't totally sit together, and I'm a little disappointed because I thought you guys handled that well on your posted subs. The arrangement is good (guitar performances great, obv) and I don't think you really have to change anything on that end. Just try to fix up the mixing a little bit. NO (resubmit)

He sent a 192kbps version:

You're constantly upping your vocal game, Brandon - this was well done in that department. Both the gruff and clean vocals came out well (and the gruff sounded inexplicably British, like Lemmy almost). The "Prime!" shouts were weak but they were in the original too. I can see you playing off that a little, if I'm generous. I don't even mention the rest of the performance because you crank out solid stuff effortlessly at this stage. YES

Haha well played. I'll be listening to this album soon.

Liking this Battletoads trend lately. This is a sick little song, with some awesome textures and chord changes. You don't even need to know the source to get that icy chill. I think I might have liked some lead instruments that blended into the background more, but this was highly enjoyable.

I love this soundtrack and I've always wanted to remix something from it. Unfortunately, inspiration has never hit me - it's one of those games where the songs already seem like they're written in the perfect style, and anything I could come up with would just be contrived. Maybe someday.

Bumping to top of Judge Decisions.

Given what they told us, I don't think this is passable. The reharmonization, while cool, means that a large part of this song isn't connected to the source. The first 1:15 is their changed chords and isn't recognizable as the Elec Man theme, and the chorus is original. That leaves about 1:40 of source usage in a 4:45 song - just not enough. Like I told them via email, this is a great, creative song but a little too "inspired by", I feel. NO

An update from the remixer:

Haha every other Sonic sub we get uses the SFX. But there's a reason: they fit so well. God bless the Genesis soundchip. This felt unfinished to me, though the basic concept is fine. The same ideas kept getting used and there wasn't a lot of care put into making the leads sound humanized. The overall volume was low and the sounds used were on the bland side too. Aspects of it are certainly enjoyable and I don't think this is that far from the level of stuff we take, but I'd like to see something a little more engaging. NO (resubmit)

If they are referencing Ice Man, that's pretty liberal. It's only the first part of that phrase that is similar. Anyway, I got shot them an email so hopefully we'll have our answer on this soon. As a side note, this is the kind of song I was thinking about using in our test batch, so I'm gonna mark it as a hold.

Definitely got some good ideas to it, but have to side with the NOs. The violin-ish lead was too rigid and the plucked lead too dry. The synth hits felt out-of-place and it started to get very out-of-time. The mixing also felt a little lacking in body. So, cool ideas but some sizable problems that you'll need to work out. I recommend giving it another try and I think you'll improve even further. NO (resubmit)

I don't have anything to add beyond the production comments already offered. I thought the arrangement was cool, but the overpanning, the different reverb settings, and the mixing all contributed to a less-than-optimal production. This is most of the way there; please take another stab at it, Mike. NO (resubmit)

Urgh, while the last version was promising but clearly lacking in terms of production, this version is so close to the borderline. It's better in terms of mixing and way better in terms of singing, but I think it still falls just short. The vocals sound too dry compared to the backing track, and overall, the backing track sounds a little distant and lacking in high-end. The recording quality of the vocals seems a little low too. I hate to push this one back to you because it's very enjoyable, but I think it's got another 5-10% to go. NO (resubmit)

Yeah like Deia said, the piano sample still isn't great (though I don't remember the last version well enough to tell you if it's an improvement), but I think as important here, the playing has the same feeling of being too even and sequenced (or at least quantized). I don't have any advice for getting a better sample unfortunately, but you may want to reach out to people in the Workshop forum, or to ReMixers with posted solo piano mixes, and see what they have to say. NO (resubmit)

I didn't listen to the source tune because the production was problematic enough in my book. It's too overcompressed and messy and the guitars are taking up too much of the room in some parts. 0:52 is a perfect example - tons of distortion in the high end that should be gone if the mixing was better. Song sounded cool, but the production needs to be better. NO (resubmit)

Yeah this is just riding the borderline. After the intro, I was leaning NO, but the guitar work was a great addition and the arrangement ideas kept it interesting. I thought the song remained reasonably clear even though the mixing could have been better. Yeah, I'ma go YES on this one, but can see where the NOs are coming from. Try to improve your game on the next sub. YES (borderline)