Palpable

Gotta go with the first two votes on this. This had the same great attention to detail that Nick's previous subs had, and overall the ideas were good, but the repetitiveness of the backing track and the imbalanced mixing are a little much to overlook. The pads really ate up the track, and marginalized the melody in the process. I also think this was a little underdeveloped and could have had more to it. Nick's previously posted mixes were short, but had more progress to them. Sorry, but this one didn't quite get there. NO (resubmit)

Yeah this is great stuff. Colorful arrangement, very creative textures at times. It suits the unusual source perfectly. I loved the section starting at 1:35 and the lead you brought in shortly afterward. I couldn't even tell what that was, treated guitar or synth, but it sounded awesome. Kind of sums up the whole arrangement. YES

Careful with those sub bass frequencies, this actually rattled my desktop. For the most part, you can cut off nearly all that stuff to get a cleaner sound. Otherwise, this sounded pretty strong. Like the other judges said, there's not much personalization here. This is what I would expect an orchestral version of Bombing Mission to sound like. I heard some little flourishes that you added, but 90% of this is straight from the original. We're looking for stuff that's more interpretive. If you've got anything else that's more of an arrangement, send it our way. NO

I liked the chord changes you added, but the arrangement seemed underdeveloped and directionless. The constant drum dropouts were distracting and really hurt the energy level. There needed to be more rise and fall, and flow. The samples were a big problem, nearly all of them sounded very plain. The sequencing on the lead should have also been less mechanical, and the drums needed to change-up rather than repeat ad infinitum. Finally, the sub bass levels are super cranked up and made my woofer shake. I think you have some ways to go before you'll have something that will pass. The song has some good elements, but needs a lot more refinement, the kind that comes from just putting your nose to the grindstone with writing and producing music. Keep at it! NO

I liked this approach, it was fun. At many times, it didn't sounded too far off from the original, but the new background elements and transitions put a personal spin on it. The only issue I was hearing was a lack of bass elements. I think you cut a few of the instruments a little bit higher than you should have. Pretty minor thing, but maybe we'll ask you if you want to fix this before this goes up, assuming it passes. YES

Pretty trippy pumping, especially on headphones, but I'm gonna guess that's intentional. It didn't sound overly done, just a little odd. I liked the slowed down last section. It made me want to take a nap. YES

The guitar playing was excellent here. That went a long way for me, but I'm not sure it covered for this song's shortcomings. The drum programming was very static and rigid, the kick and snare sounding like the same hit over and over. It was especially weak in the drum fills, which were copied and pasted to boot. Even during my first listen, I noticed fills I had already heard before. I also had some issues with the arrangement, there was a little too much repetition. Many sections get several iterations of roughly the same thing. Maybe with some more varied drumwork, I'd be ok with that. The key change was also too abrupt, and I would have led into that a little better. This is a good candidate for fixing up. NO (resubmit)

The sequencing and realism issues that I usually find with Guifrog's otherwise great arrangements were downplayed here. In an electronic song, the rigidity is barely an issue and there's not much realism to speak of. The Japanese instrumentation section sounded just fine (apart from some strange notes on the chord transitions). The biggest issue I had here was the mixing. For the most part, it sounds good, but the lead fights with the backing at times - it should have been higher in the mix. The bass regions also get a little crowded and you can hear the drums get cramped down in the busier sections. Arrangement is really cool though, lots of energy and melody. I'm still ok with passing this, but it's a close call. YES (borderline)

It's pretty funny hearing this after four years of music from Mr. Briggs. It's a perfectly pleasant song, but decidedly light on the crazy that Ben favors more nowadays. It feels a little simplistic, but the textures chosen complement each other, and the arrangement ideas are solid. Not much more to say. YES

This is pretty loose on the melodies, but with the chords intact for the body of the song and some references sprinkled here and there, I thought this arrangement was ok. Wouldn't have minded a little more reference to the source. The thing I liked most here was the rhythm, this had a great, breezy swing to it. The drumloops, the piano, the bass, and the synth really locked in step without sounding rigid. I have to say, I didn't understand the point of the intro, except to add length. It was pretty tacked on, didn't fit the larger song. As for as production, the piano could have been a touch brighter, but what's here sounds great when the synth comes in. Nice job! YES

Biggest problem here is the lack of nuance that Vig mentioned. Even ambient needs to have more going on to capture the listener's attention, and the textures here aren't complex enough and don't evolve. You've got something that sounds good, but it needs more to it over the course of the song. That bell sound in the intro got overdone. It should be more subtle and change in some way (volume, pitch, rhythm). The string attacks in the B-section were too slow and there was a lot of bleeding of chords. NO (resubmit)

I had some of the same complaints as OA and Vig. The arrangement was pretty underdeveloped compared to most arrangements on the site - one straight runthrough then some soloing. Not a dealbreaker, but I thought more could have been done to personalize this (moaning doesn't count), especially for such a short song. But when you combine that with the weak sequencing on the clav solo, and the backing track that sounds almost exactly like the game... not feeling this one enough. I did like the looseness of the lead guitar though, seemed appropriate. NO (resubmit)

We receive 2-4 submissions a day (sometimes more) so we're always running a backlog. The judges panel is listed out in the Currently in the Judging Process thread. Please PM a few of us if you have questions like this in the future, rather than making a thread.

Sorry, we've already got a Wes... What the hell, we'll take another. Happy birthday!

I'll third Golden Sun 1+2. The characters are cute and the story is decent, but the visuals and music are great, and the puzzle-solving aspects of the game really set it apart from most RPGs. I found the games extremely fun and rewarding. I don't think you ever have to grind. Golden Sun: Dark Dawn just came out for DS and they put pretty much no effort into updating the game. The puzzles are very similar to the first two games, except easier , and the storyline is worse. Visuals are excellent though. Wouldn't recommend this game unless you're already a fan of the series. But if you haven't played Chrono Trigger... just go play that before anything else. That game gets everything right.

Love Mazedude's music, he is an expert at getting both the macro and the micro right. This arrangement is like an auditory nightmare, and those carnival blasts of dissonance are genius, but then when you look at the programming... man, that's intricate. Awesome stuff.

This is a big step up from previous stuff you have submitted, Joe. I thought the mix of synths and guitars was well-done and sounded pretty interesting, production was mostly there. The snare is definitely a weak spot, it never delivers the power it should. Sections like 1:23 got kind of cluttered as well. Possibly the weakest thing about this arrangement was the B-section (1:11-1:23 and in a couple more places) - harmonically this section always sounded very awkward to me. I can see why this would get passed but these issues put this at about 90% for me, I can't fully enjoy it. The best parts are working (the verses), but other parts are holding this back. NO (resubmit)

Hmm, I wasn't feeling this one as much as OA and Deia, though I liked the jazzy approach and thought it fit the source material well. I thought the writing could have been more dynamic. There were several points where I felt like I knew what was coming. Still, it's probably on the passable side except for two issues. One, the recording quality isn't very good. This sounds way too warm and fuzzy, and I don't think it's on the same level as other solo piano arrangements on the site. Two, what happened at 2:12-2:25? No offense, but those little outbursts sound totally off timing-wise. I actually thought I had another version of the song playing somewhere. I really think both these issues need to be fixed before this can pass. The Mountain King usage is very limited, I don't think that would be a dealbreaker but djp may have to make a call on that. NO (resubmit)

This is actually pretty close to the original for much of it, but the focus on the intricate drum programming and effects really adds a lot, and there are some new elements in other sections. I loved the sinister, chilling atmosphere. Actually thought the bassline could have been meatier, but what you had worked. Cool stuff, Lee. YES

I'd actually say this is a good idea, if it's not that difficult to do and doesn't cause any problems. It's easy to take the name for granted when so many know what it used to be.

I really want to pass this, I love the four season concept and the live feel of the recording. The vocals are really well-suited for each section, even though the energy level and mood changes drastically. The performance is a little loose and sounds like a first take - the harmonies aren't quite there, the playing gets a little off sometimes, and the end just... ends. Given the quality of other live performance tracks on the site, I think you're on the lower end but still in a passable range, but the song is clearly a medley, which is usually a no-no for OCR. Eh, screw it, I'm passing this. The Spring->Summer and Fall->Winter transitions could have been better, but the concept absolutely makes this feel like a single song. This song has to be a medley. YES

Nobody's gonna mistake that guitar for a real one, but that's about the worst thing I can say here. The chill vibe is sweet and the expansion upon the original is very nice. I liked the light glitchy percussion, which gave this an X-factor that wasn't too obtrusive. The guitar was pretty clearly fake, but it was produced nicely and sounded pleasant. One small complaint I have is that the piano should be bassier and higher in the mix to give this more bottom. I'm cool taking what ya got. YES

What a cute mix! It completely paints the atmosphere of a bustling outdoor market, or a daytime festival. The original is still tucked in there but handled in a delicate matter, with some extra bells and whistles. Very enjoyable, Jaka. YES

I can probably just copy and paste my vote from Guilherme's last sub and it would work here: great arrangement, production could be better. I really liked the emotion in this piece, especially the original section in the middle, and the unusual mix of instruments was quite coherent when it could easily have been awkward. The biggest problem with the mix is the piano, which is not only mechanical, but also has a dull honky sound to it. If it was only a background instrument, I could see overlooking it, but it gets a few moments out in front that are super weak. The bouzouki is not far behind in terms of lacking realism. I also thought the mixing was a little weak, the wrong parts of instruments get emphasized. It's why the piano sounds so honky. The bass and synths are sometimes battling the lead instruments. Kind of a toss-up. When I listen to the last thirty seconds of this song, everything is clicking and it makes me inclined to give you the nod. But the rest of the song needs a little push in order to reach the same level, and I can't give you the YES here. Get that piano sounding better and make the lead instruments more clear, and this is a pass. NO (resubmit)

Love this track, it's very easy to enjoy even without knowing the source (which I didn't before hearing it). The grittiness of the breakbeats and synths is a great foil for the smooth bliss of the glittery FX. Peanut butter and chocolate. Awesome debut work from Dominic.