Flexstyle

Yeah, echoing what has been said up there, I'm going to say that there are several needing improvement in this track, and I'm not going to cover all of them. A couple of the big points to consider are as follows: DRUMS There's literally nothing in the way of transitions. You go from a tame beat in the beginning to the machine-gun kick with nothing to warn anyone of the change, and I can name probably four patterns that you've used in the entire song for drums. A real drummer definitely doesn't just play the same four-beat pattern over and over and over again, so use some creativity! Fills are nice, as is changing up the basic beat once in a while. Speaking of a "real drummer," gotta make sure you have some dynamics in the drumming. What I mean by that is that the drummer doesn't hit each drum equally hard every single time he hits the drum. Get some velocity modification in there, yo! Finally, make sure that the beat isn't completely locked to the time grid. A real drummer will have some slight imperfections in his drumming, rather than being machine- and robot-like in hitting every single note in time with the grid. MIXING The drums are incredibly thin-sounding, so you're going to have to beef those up significantly. I can barely hear anything but the "click" of the kick, the snare is mostly "snap," and the hats are too loud compared to the rest of the drums. I'd reconsider the kit you're using, as it may not have enough depth to it to really get a realistic drum sound going. The guitars are all kind of a mush of same-level-ness. The acoustic guitar would sound nice if I could hear it, while the rhythm and lead guitars are all kind of the same glob of sound. Basically, you're going to want to consider the fact that each instrument should have its own part of the EQ spectrum--a lead guitar should occupy a different place than the rhythm guitars, and probably should have a different tone as well. Stereo separation will help your case. Finally, the entire mix is lacking in any semblance of bass response. Whether it's the fact that the kick hasn't got any low end to it, or the fact that I can't hear any sort of bassline at all, you're severely lacking in the low end. There's a lot more, but you'll be best served by working on some of the crits here and then taking this over to the workshop forums, if you do choose to continue working on it. Best of luck as you continue to improve! NO

Traaaaaaaaaance! Also known as the best genre EVAR. Also, I love this song, so I'm pleased to see a remix here in the queue! Ahem. So, source-wise, I've got zero complaints. Plenty of usage there, even without the vocals that made the original track so great. Production-wise, I've got a few nitpicks. The whistle synth is a bit harsh to my ears, and I wish overall that the song's highs were higher and the lows lower. The deep bass just isn't there, and the energy is concentrated in the midrange, rather than being spread around. The drums, too, could stand to be a touch punchier. I do echo OA's concerns on the piano, too, as that's mechanical as heck. Thankfully though, these are only nitpicks, and not enough to make this unpassable. Let's see this on the front page and get some Mirror's Edge love! YES

I'm gonna go ahead and echo what Kris and Andrew have said before me and say yeah, definitely gotta get that lead guitar out there! I'd also venture to say that your case will be helped with slightly less-mechanical drums, too, as it doesn't really sound like there's any humanization at all. Every kick sounds the same, every snare sounds the same, and you get the point. If the kit allows for some dynamics, by golly, go ahead and use those dynamics! Finally, I'm personally not sold on the length of the song as it stands. That is to say, I think you could probably do more with it--it's a bit short. This part isn't necessarily a dealbreaker, but I was left feeling cut off at the end. Hope to see this one back soon! NO (resubmit)

What a heroic finale for the Robotnik bracket!

Remixer Name - Flexstyle feat. OverClocked University Remix Name: SZRC Anthem (Busiest Days of my Life) Game: Sonic 2 (Genesis), Sonic 3 (Genesis) Source: Aquatic Ruin Zone - , Ice Cap Zone - Remix: (MP3 V1 download available) EDIT: okay you guys here is one with less compression ARE YOU HAPPY NOW? So, this was my losing track in the Sonic Zone Remix Competition 2014, but it's also the one I'm most proud of at this point. Stevo (Level 99), Andrew (OA), and Deia (DragonAvenger) all pitched in and got me some excellent instrumental tracks in the span of about three days on incredibly short notice, and they all ROCKED this track. Stevo, in particular, REALLY brought the heat with multiple layers of rhythm AND clean guitars. The vocals are done by yours truly using a crummy Sennheiser e815 handheld mic--which is good for live vocals and not much else--SO MUCH VOCAL EQ. Didn't even bother to use a stand or a pop filter or anything while recording because screw you, mate. (That's the punk rock attitude, right?) I deliberately chose the Ice Cap zone theme for this competition because I wanted to see what I could bring to an "overused" source tune. Just had to have a bit of a challenge. Well, I'm pretty sure nobody's done a punk rock spoof of the Jetzons before! The lyrics are a bit "referential," so basically the story is that I did this song during midterms/finals (for one class) week in my final semester of school. Since I also work on the days I'm not in school, I don't usually have a lot of time to work on music, hence this ode to FL Studio. Growing up is serious business, yo! Anyways. I'm aware of a couple flaws in the vocal mixing 'n such, but I wanted to let this be since it's the first time I've done this genre. Zero changes from what I submitted to the competition. I'll have something even more polished the next time, hopefully! LYRICS: All through the day I have no time To play with my F L Studi---o And so I must wait Til I get home To play with my F L Studi---o I wish I had time Throughout the day To play with my F L Studi----o But I am a working And learning man No time for my F L Studi----o SZRC Busiest days of my life How time flies by -------------------------------------------- Aquatic Ruin Zone - Ice Cap Zone -

The spleen?

Great news! You're mistaken!

You mean you're gonna PUNch me?

Curses! My subversive plot has been revealed! Arrow was my henchman all along! Wait. I'm about to lose this round...does that mean I'm going to have to snuff myself?

On it.

Oh man, that is a smokin' deal. If I was in the market for an upgrade, I'd hit that up immediately. As it stands, I can just point and say "buy that thing if you're running a few-years-old card!"

re: Brandon and G-M: Oh please. It's not like y'all haven't made your whereabouts very well known in the past. Don't be party crashers!

Oh good, it's not just me.

I know, right? The funny thing is, us AZ folks are pretty much all "new breed" OCR-ers. None of us have really been around OCR for terribly long.

No action in here for 24 hours?!

I'm going through and adding pins of everyone I know involved with OCR, but I'm only adding names if they give me permission. That way, you can kinda see if there's some OCR folks in the area, even if they're privacy buffs.

Pretty sure PrototypeRaptor lives in Oklahoma.

Also, is anyone else thinking this map looks like a great list of places to stay along a road trip?

Luke comes to MAGFest every time, at least, and I'm pretty sure halc moved to NC recently.

Yeesh. Way to blow my speakers out on my work computer. Not sure if I'm a fan of a joke like that.

I absolutely agree about the vocals. I used my worst microphone to record them, since it was what was in front of me and plugged in at the time, and I really didn't give them the TLC they needed. I even used *shudder* Soundgoodizer as a main compressor on them. Just wanted something recorded very quickly. Besides isn't punk rock all about breaking the rules or something? OI, SCREW YOU MATE, I'MMA RECORD WOTEVAH I WANT! Also, seriously, MAD PROPS to my bros OA (lead) and Level99 (all other electric guitar parts). Stevo in particular went way above and beyond, and those rhythm guitars really make the song. At this point, I don't care if I lose. This was the song I wanted to make. First time ever doing a song with zero synthetic elements, and I'm really pleased with how it turned out. That pop punk stuff was what I grew up on, so it's immensely satisfying to actually have done a song that sounds like my childhood.

Didn't Avicii do that once?

Next you'll be telling me that art can be made with more than one person contributing. I mean it's not like I got like 5 stems of awesome rhythm and clean guitars from Level99, a badass lead guitar from OA, and then a solid bassline from DragonAvenger. No sir, not me.

WHAT. Pete, I'm flabbergasted. I can't believe that you'd take inspiration from music that someone else did! What a cheater move. I mean, who actually thinks that learning from someone else's creation is a legitimate way to create art?

Aye. And FWIW, if I do manage to squeak past Mr. Hero in this round, then I pledge to BRING IT for the next round. I've leveled up in terms of being able to use old or WIP project files as ready-made soundsets, thanks to this round. I mean, I started the song on Tuesday night, and it was basically complete by Friday night, with most of my work being complete by Thursday morning. BOOYAH! Seriously, I learn something new in every competition I participate in. Love this stuff! (also WHERE ARE THE NEW SONGS? I WANNA HEAR THEM BEFORE I HAVE TO SHUT OFF MY SOUND AGAIN FOR THE NEXT HOUR AND A HALF! ALKSDJFSDFAIOWJEROISNDFSLDIGAJSDGSDGA) #impatientcow #mooooo