Gario

Well, you keep coming on to my remix to help me out, so I figured I'd help you out here, too It's a good idea (Jazz up the Dive meister), but it currently is very thin. I know it's supposed to be a 'night club' sort of feel, but it's too thin even for that. It may be that the bass doesn't stick out enough, perhaps the drums in the background are not loud enough (in fact, I missed the hats the first time around). I guess the best way to put it is that this mix just needs more... volume, at the bottom (and top) end. The samples stick out as just that, samples. Understandably, finding good instrument samples is a very difficult thing to do (which is why I generally stick to electronic music at the moment, btw). Play with the volumes to give the impression of the intended attack (adjusting the 'attack' value can achieve the same effect, but it's harder to control) - that often takes poor samples and gives them more mileage. On the piano, play with the dynamics a LOT more. Every note really needs the velocity tweaked and adjusted in order to make it sound real, not just the solo notes (and the solo needs more activity in the second hand, too, btw). It's called a 'piano-forte' for a reason - play with the dynamics more. The mix currently sounds like it has very little reverb. Now I tend to add too MUCH in my instrument sampled music, but the instruments here are not filling the 'room' very well, at the moment. Again, you may be going for the night club effect, but it isn't enough even for that. I feel that the instruments are used for the same reasons far too often. For example, why not have the part that usually goes to the trumpet (like at 1:56) go to the woodwind section there instead (you DO have a small wind section, right?), or even go to the piano. It would drastically help in keeping some of the sections fresh, even if it returns to the other instruments next time later. On the plus, I do like the use of the harmonies in this. The jazz harmonies are well placed, and the solos (notewise) are pretty good. When the drums come out, they are very well done. The ending is very nice, too. The style is pretty creative as a whole. I'd say keep this in mind when looking over your music - try to keep all direct repetitions at a minimum. That will help this style of music dramatically. ...and I like the comment about keeping the sticks made for Rozo - good way to 'stick' it to him and keep him on his toes (even though I agree with him on it...) Hope this helps!

Don't worry, I'm chill... I've just got that bad experience with Sir_Nut's remix not getting anything still fresh in my mind (and this looks a bit similar, so far, but like you said we've still got a week). It is a bit complicated as a midi (much like Nuts' song was)... I'm still holding the faith, though, don't worry Thanks for the reassurance

No posts again? Oh well, I guess that's the spirit of April for you. Well, here's hoping that I didn't kill the competition this month... EDIT: lol, looking at how this contest ended, I'd say I should be eating my foot, for that comment .

Why wait until High School? When it comes to composition, it's not like they'll teach you very much. No, if you want to get started early, by all means do so! Your brother DS is a well respected remixer here at OC (as I'm sure you know), so take advantage of that and ask him about particular aspects of composition. Also, when you listen to music, start listening to it actively. Instead of just absorbing your favorite music, listen to exactly what you like (or don't like) about it and make a mental note of it. For example, if I were to do this with your piece (which is what your asking for when you ask people to review and critique ), I'd say the sample quality isn't good, much of the syncopation that is in the source (and makes it colorful) is lacking, and the mixing & mastering is poor. The tonality was off in some area, thus taking the piece as a whole down with it (like at 0:32 - those harmonies are off). The drums, while weak in the beginning, actually were quite initeresting when it picked up later. The idea of using Bass' theme in the middle was provokative and held my interest, and the sound bites, although used a bit heavily, added to the effect. Now, as a composer, this is what I'm thinking to myself. Mixing and mastering really contributes to a piece as a whole, so I will make sure that I don't make the levels to painfully loud in my own music. If a source is syncopated I will be careful when making the rhythm straight (or possibly not make that kind of change in my music). Using another theme in a mix was interesting, perhaps I'll consider doing it for one of my own mixes. Sound bites are interesting, maybe I'll add them to my own stuff... etc. etc. etc. That last paragraph is basically what goes through my mind when I'm listening to any piece of music - I try to take what I can out of it and make a mental note of what worked and what didn't. Don't wait for high school to start composing - give it time, listen to music critically, squeeze information out of your brother (and the rest of us, if you can, that's what I'm doing ), and try to keep writing every day. Before you know it you'll be a very decent composer/remixer (and you'll be able to show it off at high school, not just learn it ). Oh, and the tutorial forums are quite nice - I'd recommend reading them and any other book on music you can get your hands on. Music theory isn't required, but it helps. I wish you the best!

I was hoping to be able to 'snipe' this entry before anyone noticed the change, but it's too late now... Oh well, the intro is beefier in this version . http://www.box.net/shared/ezoxxemc2u Thank you, Liontamer, for the feedback! I noticed the weak intro right after I posted this, so I went and made a few changes last night to try and compensate for it (I may do more to it, but now it doesn't stick out nearly so much). Lol, like I said, I WAS going to post anyway, but since a judge came in to give me his two cents I'll make some more changes before submitting. Actually, I've been cutting down on the clutter slowly but surely, so that's to be expected in the next post (although I'm not exactly sure what you mean when you say add more complexity to the texture ). Oh, and are these things refering to the entire song or just the intro? I'm not sure, myself (I really only thought the intro was weak and lacking, personally) As for the ending rhythmic changes, I was experimenting and was hoping for some feedback, so thank you Evktalo for letting me know. I'll try to make it seem less ackward, there. Thanks you all, I'll be getting this finished soon, mark my words. Hey, if it has a chance with the J's then I'm going to go for it! (Is calling my track 'high energy' an intended pun? I just got it! lol)

*Bump* Yup, JJT, I know you agree with me there. For the great soundtrack that it has, I mean, c'mon - it needs more attention than THAT (it only has over 20 mixes - not NEARLY good enough for us)... lol. Okay, that was a complete lie for two reasons. One, it isn't version 2.1 that I'm posting, it's 3.3 (2.1 - 3.2 were not good enough to post, here). Two, it wasn't nearly soon enough. If you were faithfully waiting for my next post then sorry to keep you waiting (of course, I'm pretty sure none of you were, right? ).http://www.box.net/shared/y902dvye1u What's been changed... -The tempo (again) -The structure (a little) -The transitions -The mix & mastering -In short, a shitload... Seriously, I really screwed up the song after 2.0, and it's taken me quite some time to recover from my mistakes. I have, though, and I learned a lot from it. I'm going to post this version in a day or two - I've spent more than enough time refining it. I need to move on from here, but as long as this thing is hovering over my shoulder I can't seem to will myself to do much more than this. I've got to stop splashing in a puddle when I could be swimming in a lake. I'll let you all know some things that have been riding on this little project. I'll admit that I am still somewhat a noob when it comes to production, but take a look at the oldest WIP here - that WAS the extent of my abilities before I took this on. Hopefully you can see how much you've all helped me out, and I'm deeply appreciative of this. I also purposely avoided getting and plugins outside of what came with Reason 3.0, as I've wanted to learn the nuances of mixing and mastering before I go out and get new samples. All of this is made with the box sounds of Reason 3.0 - if the synths/mixing/mastering/etc. sound good to you (and the judges) then I've done what I've set out to do - dramatically improved my production ability. I've tried to show this to judges, but they haven't respond (and I don't expect them to at this point, either). Thank you for reviewing this for me and critiquing my music; I've learned a lot from here and I'd like to thank you all. If you have anything to say, please feel free; I'm still listening . Thank you all for the support; I hope for the best with this!

Damn, that thing is a monster! It looks pretty sweet, though. I'd probably use it as a portable synth over anything else, but as a midi controller it looks very nice, as well. The 'Teenage Engineering' sort of scares me, though - I hope it's just a name . After reading the specs I seriously thought it stood for 'Over Powered 1'...

Well, damn, I'd love to listen to your tracks, but the links are dead (including the new one you've posted)... Could you fix them (so I could shower you with praise later)? Thanks

Umm... I almost finished half of one of the things on my list... Does that count?

lol, it sounds like 'Micheal Jackson meets Mega Man 7'.

Very nice so far. I can't say anything about the structure until you get more done, really, so I'll wait before I give any critique on that. One thing that bothers me, though, is that while this is a good mix, it isn't great just yet. Again, I've got to wait until your finished laying it out, but it does need something to push it out of obscurity. It needs more personality behind it. I'll be keeping an ear on this one, though!

The mixing is much better in this version. I really believe you have a good shot at getting past the judges with this, as it's pretty creative and clever, as a whole. The best of luck!

Yup, this is a rehash of what's been said before, but the sample quality is terrible. It's not only the samples, though, it's also the mixing involved. The mix is far too quiet, at the moment. I use Reason, by the way, but I've found that I can make some pretty decent songs with those that came with the box. At first, I didn't invest into VSTs (even free ones) simply because I was a noob, but now I'm holding off because I want to get all of the other aspects of mixing and mastering down first so when I do get them I'll be unstoppable The point of this rant? If you can't get better samples then micro-adjust the samples you've got by tweaking the attack/release knobs, or adding reverb to them, delay, compression, etc. Working with bad samples is difficult, but it is possible to make them sound better than what they are. By the way, I liked the arrangement itself. There were parts that sounded like rips, for sure, but there were also some very creative sections.

Great concept, it's a shame I'm not out there at the moment... By the way, @ 0:27 'Show me your moves!' Awesome.

Yes, we need more Tim Follin, he deserves some love. At least they had the decency to add MM3's intro.

I'm going to assume that Rozo has a good idea on the scope of your project (it wouldn't make sense for you to be hired commercially without a portfolio), so why do you have this time constraint? If it's something your friend is forcing you to do then tell him your predicament and have him give you the time you need to learn the programs at least a little bit before you dive into making music for him. It seems unethical, but if it was your friend he shouldn't have expected you to make the music without the proper experience in six months in the first place. If it's freeware online or something else that doesn't give you that option then look for someone who is willing to engineer it for you and learn. If you couldn't do the mastering process the first time, fine. Take your time and learn the process so you'll be more ready when the opportunity arises again.

Have you tried any of these places? I don't know if midi sharing would be any different than sharing Mp3s, and even if they are they're only 20-80kb, so a few seconds of downloading shouldn't hurt anybody.

The new layout is awesome... ...and people ranting insanely look FOOLISH!!!

Your gonna give us the doomsday worm of the year, aren't you? lol, if I wasn't doing anything tomorrow, I'd find out, but I'm not available then

This was the real mix up that I was having... as I think I tried to say in the comments. Perhaps it's just an unwritten rule or law (or is written and I haven't found it). Sorry, and I know how it feels to be on the receiving end of the 'You didn't vote for yourself but I did' scam, as I've had it happen to me many times, and I really didn't mean to do that to you all. It was a mistake made in ignorance, not malice.I won't make that mistake in the PRC when I submit to it, Bundeslang...

Except for the person your PMing, but that's beside the point of the issue at hand. I know... I'm a bit ashamed of it all now... It should be common sense not to do that, which is an area that I tend to lack in at times. Sorry for the commotion I've caused. This'll be my only offense, I promise. Sorry guys. I can only hope for forgiveness from you all .

Right... that's what I meant

So FireSlash, do you prefer the ogg format? Dj Mokram subbed an ogg, and it states on one of the posts that you prefer ogg. I can convert what I do to ogg instead of mp3 if you'd like (and keep the mp3s for you, Rozo).

Ya, I'm sorry about that... I can't help it if it's available. I think I made some comments about that in the voting comments. I'll try not to do that next time. Anyhow, since everyone was talking about compositions that sound like other videogames in this thread (By the way, I was thinking Guile this whole time...), I decided to send something that sounds like... well, you'll see See ya at ORC 118!

Blah! Am I too late to give my two cents? I didn't even see this one until today. Anyhow, great job on keeping such a short source fun and exciting for as long as you did. That's hard to do, and you nailed that. It sounds like there is still some clipping from the guitar part (mainly from the 'chugging' rhythm guitar), even in your final post here. If you didn't address that in the final submission the J's may get you for that . The campy electronic sound in the beginning is great, but the first time around it catches me off guard. That's great - I loved it. The chippy sounds are wonderfully used. The 'squeal' of the ocarina was beautiful. I had to let you know that . 0:38 - 0:57... It's good, but the drum line is boring there. I don't know if it's personal taste, there, but I couldn't get into that sound. There are other sections like it scattered throughout, and I feel the same for all of them. Like I said, though, that might be personal and therefore not really a problem. Ya, I wish you the best with the J's, as this is quite an impressive entry.