Gario

I've been trying to listen to this for the past few days, simply because FFVI doesn't get enough remixes on here; this track especially has too few remixes. I like the concept behind it - vocal work with electronic backdrop. I feel the soundscape smothers the possible vocal part, though - the thick lead used as a texture is too dominating, for my taste. Soften the sound of it, there. Other than that (and the rough vocals, but they're not permanent), it sounds smooth and sexy. Waitin' for an update, bro.

Rozo said it before, but I'll pipe in and say again this is a dead thread. The OP hasn't been on OCR for over 2 years, so it's a waste of time to share any opinions on here. Posting in here makes it look like the remix is currently being worked on, so it has an adverse affect on the WIP forum by creating a mess of dead threads. May this be the last post in here.

I remember this track from back when (does this mean you're done with boot camp?). I'm going to make a quick quip about the source comparison again - the beginning arpeggios still are not the source, and IMHO they are not changed for the better (I take it you used the same track as before for the very beginning). You know, if you can make up very quick tabs for 0:04 - 0:09 I could reply with the exact notation from the source. I KNOW I'm being reaaally picky about it, but for one it's one of my favorite parts of the source, and two you're Nekofrog so I don't want to hear anything other than perfection from you. Moving on from that... EQ is very heavy in the lower mids, but I assume that's because you're not done so... yeah. It's causing clipping throughout the track, so it distorts how I hear it, even as a WIP. Meh, not too important, yet. I can't tell whether it's from the aforementioned EQ issue mentioned above or if it's a mixing issue, but 2:18 is very, very crowded. Enough so where I can't really comment on it yet, musically (I think I hear some strange things going on there, but it's too crowded for me to tell if it's artifacts or purposeful). I love the breakdown at 2:02. In fact, I can see this really taking a powerful approach to the song, since you'll have these lighter portions (with the singer) combined with the already heavy sections the source provides. To be frank, there's not much I can say to help (since I think the things I pointed out are post-production issues you'll deal with when you're at... well, post-production). I love the direction you're taking the track, and I love the idea of female vocalists getting in on this. You should try to get into contact with Diotrans or DA (although I can't say whether DA is too available, after getting the job as a Judge, and all). Do you have music written up for them to sing (sheet music with lyrics, or even just a mock track with words will help them)? If so, it'd probably make it easier on them (and thus make them more willing to participate).

It's... a tough call, for me. Nekofrog or Sixto. Ack, can't decide (meaning this one is freakin' awesome). I heard this before in the WIP forums waaaay back when, but it wasn't anything like this version. Epic, awesome, just great metal. Everyone! It's Sexto! Go listen now!

Wait, didn't you do this a while ago...? Wait, that was Txai. Let's give this a whirl... I can see you went more for the 'SMASH-YOUR-GODDAMN-FACE-WITH-SYNTH-METAL-PWNAGE'. Good work - my face has been smashed, officially. Time to spend a few days in recovery. Love the Genesis tunage .

This is the year of Laguna, I just know it. I think this is the 7th one I've seen up on here, now. Don't worry, I'm not holding that against you in any way - it's just that good of a source, lol. Onto the mix! Alright, the production isn't too bad on this one (although it's shy of the DKC track posted on here earlier). The side chaining is quite distracting in this track - it needs to be toned down a bit, there. That or make it more consistent with a solid beat - it's very distracting when it's used for the more syncopated rhythms in the bass drums. Speaking of drums, that snare is very weak, in this track. Get some strength in there - I literally can't hear it in 90% of the track. Understandably this is a WIP, but those drums are quite dry. Try spicing them up with more hats throughout the song or something (I hear the breakdown using hats, but the rest of the song lasts too long without anything interesting). PLEASE check your arrangement and compare it with the source - 1:35 & 3:03 are quite off, there. Compare it to the source again and fix it. The arrangement itself is a bit on the conservative side, here. Too much so for OCR, atm. It's still a WIP, so be willing to change the source around and play with it a little bit more. The sound is fairly plain, right now, but I've already seen what you can do with a track. You have a framework to work from now, so expand on it and beef out the sound. I'll be listening.

FUCK. Stupid rooms don't take Discover cards. As soon as I have that figured out I'm on (it won't be a big deal, I don't think). Anyone need a ride from Orange/LA county let me know - I seat 3 more.

If he wanted to keep the file length, he could reduce it to 96kbps. I found for this particular track it brings it down below the maximum size and retains most of the quality (the instruments used here aren't affected too poorly).

I'm quite shocked by the lack of feedback, here - no one is posting anything? Let's see if I can get something up, here - I hate to see an ORC go to waste. Anyone care to join me?

Haha I remember that track, Gecko. You're right - you beat these noobs to the punch.

Yes, I would play this - beating the hell out of other people via sprites we create sounds freakin' amazing, lol. I don't know why, but if I came across an OCR-tan sprite I'd probably laugh pretty hard... then die because I wasn't paying attention. It would be awesome.

Well, if you want to let your music out onto the world, http://soundcloud.com/ works, http://www.gameremixes.com/ is more videogame-oriented, remix.thasauce.net might accept your music, www.newgrounds.com is an interesting place to post on, and... well, www.youtube.com . Go ahead and post your stuff on those places and see how they fair. I don't think the Ducktales track would fly, either, because of the quiet production quality of it. Don't be afraid to check out the WIP forums, if you want to try your hand at making an OCR type song (or hell, even checking to see if any of these tracks could be re-arranged to become OCR style tracks) - people are willing to help, there.

WIP forum is for threads like these. Please us them, for the future. Your work isn't too bad. It does, however, go against one of the basic premises of OCR - they're all about rearranging the music in an artistic fashion while retaining the essence of the source. You believe in retaining the original as purely as possible (upgrading the sound, but not the arrangement, if possible). It's a conflict of ideologies that OCR won't accept, so no, it's safe to say your work won't be accepted here.

Constructive criticism hurts the first time or so, but it's quite useful. Let's see if I can get into some detail, here. 'Sour notes' are, apparently, not sour, but intentional. Keep what I said in mind, though - they don't sound intentional to me, there, so it's probably not going to sound intentional to anyone else who listens to it and recognizes the source, either. On your own, it's great if you enjoy it. Music isn't about what you like when you send it out to others. Synths that are 'simple', in this case, are synths that are thin and don't fill the space that well. bLiNd is good at filling space with his instruments, PrototypeRaptor has sound that fills the bass better than anyone, hell, Shnabubula and Rushjet12 use chiptunes to purposely emulate old videogames like champs. Your sounds accomplish nothing to fill the soundscape or really pump the bass (and emulating old VG sounds from an NES source is sort of pointless). The sounds are just there to 'fill in the notes', so to speak. I didn't say your drums were simple, I said they were bland. Simple is fine, for some genres (Trance, for example), but bland isn't acceptable for any genre. The bass needs more beef, the snare needs to be far more salient and the overall sound of the drums needs to be cleaner and more crisp. To be frank, I couldn't tell Trance was the genre that you were going for - what you have doesn't fit Trance arrangement-wise (changing little at a time) nor production-wise (the soundscape was far too thin for). The instruments didn't wash over the listener enough and the drums didn't stick out nearly enough. Again, listen to bLiNd's earlier tracks & Rayza for some really good trance VG remixes, here. Compare the synths and drum track and see the difference. As for what OCR accepts or doesn't accept... well, DJP makes it pretty clear that he's looking for music that doesn't emulate the source too closely nor stray too far from it - he wants 'artistic' interpretations without losing the VG quality of the music. A good rule of thumb here is 70-30 to 50-50 source-original interpolation, if you want a general idea of what OCR will accept. I say OCR won't accept your track because it's closer to the 80-20 mark, meaning while it has some interpretation, it just isn't enough. Sometimes it seems arbitrary, but hey - it's their site, not yours (or mine). Again, I'm not attacking you or anything of the sort. I'm giving you honest 3rd party feedback on the track. I hope, again, that this helps you. Good luck.

It sounds like an excellent idea for a game, there. Be very careful using copyrighted material if you intend to sell any element of the game, though - companies will get all over you. I don't think you were planning on using copyrighted material, but the pictures you posted show Zero so I just wanted to be sure. Good luck with it.

The project is frozen - you won't get feedback on it for some time. Wait until it's up and running again and either resend the PM or simply take it on good faith that he'll get back to you.

I'm sure Level 99 won't mind this shameless plug, either. WIP forums pop in with great stuff, too, if you care to sift through it a bit .

Send it off to Bahamut if you want to be recruited (he's probably not looking at this thread, at the moment, and project music isn't supposed to be heard by the public ear). Be aware, though, that this is a frozen project, atm, so it's not going to move for another month or so.

I'll save you time on the panel review and say it simply - the production is too simple & quiet. There really isn't too much that's going on there that's original, either (except for the sour notes in the final temple theme - but I don't think those were intentional). You're probably going to get an e-mail from OCR in about four months bolding production problems, being too conservative and having problems with the arrangement. Here's some detail on why (because at this level there's a good chance you won't get a proper review on the panel - that's what happened to my first submission, too). Listen to the loudness of the track compared to everything else post OCR1000 - it just doesn't compare. Tracks need to have a general volume or else people will not add them to their playlists, since it creates too much of a discrepancy between songs. The trick will be getting it louder without encountering any clipping and such (which I can tell you will with the drums, at the very least, so be aware). The instruments are fairly basic. You can get away with this, really, but be aware that some people get a little picky when they hear simple synths. Combined with the simple textures, though, it's a killer - the music just doesn't catch anyone's ears as anything special. This will prevent people from listening to it, in the long run. Bring in some more interesting sounds/synths and create more interesting textures (the gated pad is pretty nice, but that alone gets repetitive, after a while). The drums are bland. The hats are dry, the snare is almost nonexistent and the beats are very simple. This won't fly on OCR - be aware of that for future reference. The Final Temple track you've integrated in there, while a nice diversion, goes sour since the notes are simply incorrect (and sound like a missed note rather than an intentional effect). 2:19, for example, has a note that's lower than it should be, throwing my ear off (there are many more than this single example, by the way). Go back to the source and try to correct these off notes as best as you can. I'm not being mean, here - just giving you some feedback. Since you submit to OCR already I'd like to see you at least make it to the panel rather than get rejected outright, so there are some things you can fix & replace the box.net file. That way you can beef out the track to something the J's will spend time on, at least (and hey, if you REALLY push it to the limit, get it accepted), and get some more positive feedback on it. It's not too bad (other than the wrong notes ), but it certainly isn't what OCR is looking for, at the moment. Put stuff up on the WIP forums here and we'll help you along the way before you submit it the next time you've got something going - we'll probably have something helpful to say before you send it off. I hope this critique helps, for the future. Oh, and welcome to OCR .

The 'stache was called a 'Pedo stache', when I went to college, the mime shirts were awesome, don't dis the glasses and the 'ivory holder' is called a 'bong' (and that isn't cigarette smoke coming from it). I think I explained it in the WIP threads, but let me explain again. It doesn't take a musical snob to listen to music like this (nor do all musical snobs enjoy music like this). All it takes is a little getting used to. Give it about a day or so listening to music like this (Schoenberg, Messian, Webern, etc.) and you'll start catching the interesting patterns, the expression, the real soul of the music. The human ear can catch a lot of things, whether you know it or not - it's just a matter of getting used to the new territory. I hate the phrase 'get the music'. It makes it sound like no one except the musical elite can 'understand' the music. It just takes a little getting used to, like anything else.

D-D-D-DOUBLE P-P-POST! Believe it or not, I did a little clean-up on this track. I cleared the sound scape up a little bit and fixed up one of the transitions. It's only got a few more days until it hits the panels, so I figured I'd get it as clean as I can before the J's see it. Man with the Golden Machine Gun Um... yeah, I'm basically just sharing this, as it is. If you have criticism, go ahead and let me know, but this file was already submit a while ago so I won't be able to make too many changes to it before it hits the panel. Thanks again, Nutritious, for the help .

I think I'm going to agree with Emunator on this one - I'm not as good as him when it comes to 'conservative' vs 'liberal', so I didn't catch it before. You should certainly send it to remix.thasauce.net, though - some exposure is better than none, and this track is certainly worthy of the public ear . I agree with you - start a new mix and learn from this one. Good work, at any rate; I still enjoy it much!

How did you know?! You've got me nailed...

R:TS = Remix.thasauce.net Check it out - all sorts of music is up on there from a bunch of people (including yours truly ). It doesn't hurt to have music up there - people visit that site often enough. If the fuzz I'm hearing is your filter then... well, it SOUNDS like clipping, but it might be intentional, after all .

It sounds better without the guitar. If you miss the guitar then I highly recommend getting a guitarist - it can still work, if you get a better sounding instrument, there Watch out for clipping, here - I hear it in this track in the texture and the melody. Clean up the fuzz. When you finish that, consider submitting it to R:TS. It's not bad, at all, and it'll get it more exposure than leaving it lying around in here. It's better than leaving it on your computer to rot away and be forgotten, anyhow.