Rozovian

If you're not happy with how the site is run, make a thread in the new Site Issues & Feedback. Let's not hijack this wip thread for this debate anymore.

I don't think you have to rewrite it entirely, just change some iterations of the melody so you have different versions of it, supported by the changing chords.

No source link, no source comment. Panning is interesting. Snare's got way more reverb than it needs, at least for something that loud. Dunno what you were going for, but that's not particularly pleasant sounding. Too ahrd, and too much reverb. Once the drum loops come in, the whole track just... repeats, with slightly different backing chords. No, you gotta write something more interesting. You looped the melody too, which makes everything feel far more repetitive. Cut some repetition, or vary it. Flute section suffers the same problem. It's basically just repetition with some added elements. Needs more variation than that. Yours pads are pretty, but they're also kind'a fat, and probably mud up the frequency range a bit. See what frequencies they're not alone in, and drop those a little. Most of your instruments are passable, but the flute has a dry breath noise that doesn't really fit into this otherwise distant sounding track. needs more processing, or another sample. Or, you can pull the attack slider to give it a softer attack. 50 ms might work, you shouldn't need more than 150. Interesting, but too repetitive atm. Certainly worth working on. Good luck.

This would actually be pretty cool on classical guitar. Ain't this a little early to get feedback on? Yes it is. I'll be back when it's something closer to what it's supposed to sound like. 'til then.

Off-beat kick drum hits still bother me. They work as a fill, but should be on the fourth beat, not the third. A lot of the stuff sounds a bit cutoff, like there's not enough high mids or low highs in it. Leads and harmonies mostly hit by that. You've got a heavily reverbed clap/snare or something with only highs, in the bg before 1:50. Sounds terrible. Track needs a better snare/clap. Not sure it's the same as around 1:00, but they both need replacing. Not sure why I haven't spotted those before. Works in the rolls, not as a single hit. Source melody at 2:02 needs to come out louder. Too far in the bg. You could drop the bass a bit there, either a bit or completely. The interaction between lead and backing at 2:30 falls flat when the backing isn't clear enough. Louder, more dry, would work. Phased/flanged melodies... not good. That instrument works as a background pad, not quite as good for supporting melodies. Not with that wet on the phaser/flanger. really bothersome around 3:30. At 1:20 they're not quite working either. Too much going on with their sound. There are some weird chords in the finale, like at 3:48 and 4:05. Sounds a bit like some random desert movie tune, Lawrence of Arabia, Prince of Egypt, Stargate teh movie, whatever. Desert sound. I don't mind 'em, but you should probably know they're doing that if you didn't already, in case your J of choice reacts to them. I like the tracker feel this has. Blah blah, that's about all I can think of. Good luck bro.

A few random nitpicks: There's some weird ambience behind the piano in the intro. You might want to make that more subtle. Backing rhythm at around 2:00 is brought out nicely. I like it. 2:03, 3:35, the backing melody that come in there doens't mesh well, mostly because it sounds like a way to simple and lame synth. DUnno what you should do about it, but mure their first bar or change their sound... something. If you're gonna mess with the sound, take a backup. Lead still sounds a little too cutoff for my taste, but see what a J says about it. Could be just fine. I'd open it more, but I'm liking what you've got, too. Niice ending. Might fade a bit too soon... or not soon enough. What's with you man, couldn't decide if you wanted to write an ending or to fade it? Pick one. Both would work. Yeah, not much from me. I say you could take it to a J. Good luck

0:32 weird key on the backing stuff. It's as if you've got more than one key going on. Dunno how much of what I'd say is genre conventions and how much is just weird. The percussion panning is weird to me, you've sometimes got a shaker dead center, sometimes everything's bouncing between my ears. A little more consistant stuff would probably be good. I agree with J3 on the repetitive nature of the drums... do more stuff with them. There's also not much in terms of a clear rhythm. I like what you did with them just before 1:00, but then they became a little too messy and arbitrarily processed. You might also benefit from bringing out the background tracks more. Right now the drums are the more clear stuff, lead second. There are melodies in the bg of this, I can hear it, but they're way back. Cleaning up the track soundscape would probably benefit the track. Can't remember previous versions, but you're doing fine. keep working on it.

It's hard to get a grip of the beats in this. Classic HoboKa problem. Keeping the drumfills a bit more structured and using them not just as filler but to serve the purpose of telling the listener when the track is changing. You do that sometimes, but not always. Snares are weak. Need more punch. Let's list a few examples of where the rhythm gets weird: 0:06 starts with a snare? 0:23 and nothing happened? 0:30 could use some supporting writing from the other tracks 0:52 sounds like it's starting a new iteration of source melody, but it's not 1:15 without any warning, it's an iteration of the source melody 2:09 interesting fill, and surprisingly, it works 2:47 nice, but still needs some soundscape transitioning. introduce something before the first beat of that iteration 3:18 not enough strength to follow a fill 3:42 something 3:48 another iteration... or not? drums don't tell me 4:06 would make a perfect break, but needs the right kind of material before and after to work as an ending. Once again, it's hard to know what to listen for. There's no clear lead. There's occasional piano and synth melodies that overlap and thus make it messy. There's the brass that's a clear lead, but you could drop the piano volume a bit there (around 2:00) so there's not a lot of competition going on. Overall, sorting out the track levels would be a good thing. And teh ending suckz!! But other than that, this is one of your more successful remix wips so far, imo. It's not too much weird original writing, the source is there, and it's not verbatim. Good work, bro.

No source link, no source comment. I recognize a few sources the game has in common with its sequel, but beyond that, no comment. Good use of the characters death theme. The bass needs some serious processing to fit in. Too low, too noisy. Can't hear much else than the creaking noise in it. Use headphones, as a lot of people will listen to remixes on the bus and wherever... without speakers. From what I can hear, the bass writing ain't bad, it's pretty groovy, but needs to actually get through better. The bass holds the track together fairly well. With some additional writing to close the track with a previous theme. Okay, 2:20 I sure recognize. Anyone interested and able to make a beautiful and calm version of that source for the sd3 project should let me know. /shameless plug/request There's some backing things that don't quite sound as good as they could, but not to the point where they bother me. There is, tho, some weird noise or static in the background. Easy to hear once the track breaks a bit. I'm having a hard time focusing on this track. I'd like to blame the bass, but it could just as well be an overall lack of familiarity with the source. Still, there's a lot that's already been said about this, so you should have enough crits to work from for now. Good luck.

ARRANGEMENT / INTERPRETATION [x] Too conservative - sticks too close to the source [ ] Too liberal - not enough connections to the source (too much original writing) [x] Too much direct sampling from original game audio [ ] Borrows heavily from non-source material (eg. a theme from a movie) PRODUCTION [ ] Too loud [ ] Too quiet [x] Low-quality samples [ ] Unrealistic sequencing [x] Generic/cliche sound choices [ ] Drums have no energy [ ] Overcompressed (pumping/no dynamics) [ ] Mixing is muddy (eg. too many sounds in the same range) STRUCTURE [ ] Lacks coherence overall (no "flow") [x] Not enough changes in sounds (eg. static texture, not dynamic enough) [ ] Pace too plodding [x] Too repetitive [ ] Too short [ ] Abrupt ending All right, there's a lot of cool stuff going on here, lots of cool sounds and textures, but the overall sound is too similar to source. Can't tell if it's audio from source or just a very similar sounding instrument. That close/ripped stuff would work well as an intro, but as the bulk of the track... no. This is a more developed version of the midi+drums approach that generally doesn't even get to the panel. More arranging! Good luck.

As I udnerstand it, cohesive isn't the same thing as transitioning easily throughout. You can have something cohesive with hard abrupt changes, and something that's not the least bit cohesive that smoothly goes from one inappropriate thing to another. There were a few transitions that were a little harsh, but in a megamedley like this, I think the medley-itis is a greater problem. Source one, source two, source three... Nothing to really tie it together, besides the overall sound. That was pretty cohesive, but the writing wasn't, imo. Check with a judge to be sure. Bandwidth, storage, whatever. You could compress it to under 6 megs and submit. If you get NOed, you can put it up on R:TS. Or both. You could go on irc and talk to a judge about it, see what they think.

Those demya ads are getting pretty intrusive. Is there a way to block posting if the post contains some banned phrase (such as someting from the ads)?

Pretty impressive. If you're shooting for OCR, you gotta get it under 6 megs. If you use VBR, you might be able to squeeze out a bit more of it. It also gotta be cohesive, and that might be a problem with this track. Do make sure to submit this somewhere. If not OCR; then there's R:TS. It oughta be downloadable from somewhere.

Yup, the intro is pretty, but the piano sounds out of tune or out of key. It also sounds muffled, and very dry - use reverb or delay. The pad is heavily phased and detuned, but that just makes it more atmospheric. The track becomes less interesting once the main melody comes in, around :51. You've created a great soundscape, use it to your advantage there. You could add rhythm, bass, something to drive the track a bit. I imagine a really low pad could fit the track well. Lose the bass first time you toss in the lead melody, see what else you can lose to really break up the track, it'll give the melody more of an impact. Sounds promising. Good luck.

It's got a few nice personalizations and deviations from source, but is too repetitive overall. It's a well-remixed source, so you gotta make it captivating enough. At over 4 minutes long, you could easily cut out a bit of the repetition. The bit around 2:40 is my favorite deviation/interpretation, just make more of those, more interesting, and don't be afraid to toss in some vague reference to source. And of course, make sure they fit in, in terms of direction. Feels like you were just playing for length here. It's also a bit boring sounding, in terms of its sound. More ambience, whether that's reverb, delay, or some other effect. Cutting out some mids will give this a clearer and colder sound, which might fit the source and will certainly alter the overall sound. Could be good. Good luck.

rolfmao I think the Js would appreciate a sub of this. Fat chance of getting to the site, but I bet LT would post it on the panel just for laughs. Might be a good idea to fix up some technical things, just in case their sense of humor outweighs their common sense. I can't focus to find any, tho.

Final strike ont he marimba needs... something. It's too weak as it is, some reverb, delay, or layering might work. Clap sounds cheesy, and I don't like how it comes in. I also don't like the lead synth, something a bit more interesting and less trancey would probably blend better into the marimba soundscape. the drums and bass all work ok with the marimba, but not the lead. Not trying to tell you how to remix, just... how not to. Piano left-hand writing is a little dull. I agree about the last chord, you could do a long arpeggio or whatever, starting low on the piano and moving up. Just a suggestion, tho. I like the feel and sound of this, tho. Get it more cohesive and throw out the cheese (or make it clearly intentional). Nice stuff.

No source link, no source comment. Yup, the drums are a little too powerful, and if the 1:55 melody is all there is from source, this would hardly even make it to the panel for its NO. The overall style sounds promising, tho. It might also suffer from the clichéd sounds/presets issue, need more personalization. Can't say for sure, tho. I suggest you do rewrite it and make sure to get enough source in that version. I've got no problem imagining a filtered version of the melody played in the buildup. Good luck.

No source link, no source comment. Also, find a better host, flash players are annoying, some of them compress the files. The sustained notes sound terrible, piano sounds mechanical. A bit of vibrato/tremolo on the sustained notes might help. As for the piano, watch the velocities, they need to be different. See what beats you want to emphasize. The arrangement is pretty repetitive, but changing the rhythm around half way through and adding low strings for support might help. You need to do something to change it up, I got tired of it after half a minute or so, so it needs to be more varied. Samples and processing ain't bad, imo, and the writing is nice. You might still be a bit too far into high-range territory, the strings are pretty shrill. Just don't make any drastic changes about production until you've heard from someone with more reliable headphones. Good luck.

Dunno whose idea it was, think it was mine but I'm not sure, to put the checklist in a button like the bold text and other formatting tags, url, pic, and other button above the text field. I've got no idea if the code for it accessible, but just a button for adding the text of the checklist would make it more accessible as you don't have to manually copy-paste or type it. Something worth adding to djp's long list of stuff to do with the site?

Hasn't been any activity on the wip board for 8 hours, so I'm gonna throw in an update on my track. Version SO Version ES Source in first post At the moment, I've been working on the SO version, and I can't really decide which one I should sub when the times comes. Maybe both. If they're different enough in arrangement. I'm aware of some issues in both, but let me know what stands out to you, I'm biased. It surprises me that you find it Starcraft-like. I've been playing Starcraft recently, but either I didn't pay enough attention to the music or the music you're associating it to is in the Protoss campaign.

The man makes great music. I'll write a proper review someday, just wanted to post the actual lyrics: I think it's a powerful text right there. Basically, it's about finding or choosing direction in life when it's gotten stale. Dunno how well that applies to the character, haven't played the game.

Thanks. Yet I fail when I bring my wips to the Js. You may have noticed that I'm not a posted remixer. Cyril, if you're interested in critting wips, listen, comment on anything that stands out in a wip, crit everything you can, compare to posted remixes, and refer to the feedback checklist. You can get production ears, it just takes some determination and practice. And time. Still working on that myself.

Weird sound hiccup at 0:04. I think I hearing compression before the 0:45 melody, there were some weird slow volume undulations there. Guitar melody is repetitive, it could be more interesting. Guitar solo isn't always as tight as it should be, you might want to re-record some parts of it. Well, this sounds stereo enough. Double guitar melody could be further panned, imo. Weird guitar noise around 2:35 before the new section. overall, it gets repetitive. This is a well remixed theme, so it'd be nice to hear something new happen to it. Willrock did a great thing with Ballad of the Windfish, another oft-remixed track; he twisted the chord progression to change the mood of it a lot. I don't think the same mood would work for this, but it would be nice to hear some change in mood, texture.. something. It gets old. Not much production crits, just the above and the unrelenting volume and thickness of the track. Pretty good, could easily be great with more variation and more interpretation rather than genre adaptation. Good luck.

You know, I doubt many of us have neither venue, players, or rehearsals in their homes. At least not of this type. Would hardly be practical be stuff an orchestra in your closet. Would be cool, but not practical. Anyway, I had to hear this. Everyone says how cool it is. Just to be nonconformist, I gotta find something to complain about, something to crit. Can't say anything bad about the choir or overall sound, those are awesome. Hah, low brass is a little sampled sounding. Or wait, is that how low brass really does sound? 2:20 brass - another thing that doesn't sound pwnsome! Hah! Gets a bit too quiet for my tastes before the actual ending... which comes in a little too sudden. For my tastes anyway. Brass and my own taste were the only problems I could hear. You should turn this into a remix. Or remix it from scratch. Whatever. It would be awesome, if not pwnsome. Great, great piece.