Gario

Ah crap, Pokemon Y actually requires that you have a loaded Friends listing in order to go through that Friends Safari thing... Anyone want to friend up? I'm ground, myself (can't say which digimon I've got, I only know of Sandshrew). My Friends Code is on the 3DS page, so if you're interested then get connected.

OH, a neat little tip for anyone who decides to buy their 3DS used: Check the Nintendo eShop for re-downloadables. See, people at retail stores will erase everything that was on the 3DS, but Nintendo offers players to re-download titles on their system that may have been corrupted or erased from their system. I replaced my 2GB SD card for a 32GB one and went to get Zelda for the VC... and it was free. I explored just how many titles were like this, and my library increased by about ten VC games (some of them were pretty good, too!). Still had to buy Megaman III, though. Anyhow, just some friendly advice for people who get their system used.

Hey, there's this thing called a 3DS that I have, for some reason. Got a few things for it, too, like this Pokemon Y thingamajigger and Street Fighter thingamabob. I don't have many friends, and while the friend code won't help that problem at least I'll have more people to play with. 3067-6082-9283 On an odd note, I got this used, and there was a photo of a semi-nude Japanese man hidden on the SD card that came with the system. It was very odd.

Hey, that's a few minutes from where I live. I think I can come by around then. See you there.

If someone wants to only remix old music, Neblix, that's their perogative - it has nothing to do with site policy. OCR has (and always will, as far as I see) accept modern game music. It also is not the topic of discussion, overall. Anyhoo, as far as I'm concerned, I'll remix music that has easily recognizable elements that can form the backbone of any arrangement I may do. Older music, due to its hardware limitations, tends to have this in spades, containing melodies that are catchy more often than not, while modern games have the ability to have the music fit the ambiance of the game more appropriately. While this actually makes modern game music better in terms of complimenting the game, it also leaves the music itself without too much to distinguish itself from other music written for a similar mood or atmosphere. Not all modern game music is like this - many modern games have songs that are very distinct (Skyrim's theme is a great example of a distinct, and thus easily remixable song) - but it's not nearly as common proportionally as it was in the past. I could be wrong (I don't play enough modern games to verify this), but it's my assessment on the situation.

Hey there, nice to see you around here again. I hope people see this and offer to help you out. 'Fraid I'm still out of the running due to other obligations (both musically and irl), but I look forward to hearing what you come out with. Good luck, and anyone who sees this thread be sure to give Darren a hand, eh?

Perhaps it is - I've personally met my five-a-week reviews goal so far, and I don't plan on backing out now. So I'm at least giving it a nice push forward.

This is about the only time I would say the exposure is easily worth not getting paid for. It's one thing to tell an artist that he's getting compensated by exposure when his music will be listened to by 100 or so people; it's a totally different ball game when it's the Superbowl halftime show where 200+ million people will be watching it. People see their sales often double in the months ahead after their performance at the Superbowl (I heard Beyonce had her music sales go up by 140% due to the exposure), so it really IS worth the exposure to perform at the Superbowl for free. 'Course, that's just me. For the most part I'm on board with people being upset at others who pay musicians with exposure, but the Superbowl is pretty much an exception, for me.

I'm surprised that this hasn't been linked yet. It sums up my personal thoughts on it very well.

Hmm, well I didn't do any real modelling of the instruments - the arp is simply a combination of a sine wave and some sort of 'basic analog' synth (which I don't know the composition of). The saw I have in the pads are pretty much just that - a layered saw synth. There are some delays on them for effect, though.

They're the same thing. Regardless, it did have an amazing soundtrack - best of the GB series, imo. It might be because Nobuo Uematsu was involved in the soundtrack along with Kenjo Ito (who did most of the other Saga games, as well as a few of the Mana series).

MOD REVIEW Woo, Xenogears! Looks like the main source is the overworld theme, so if you posted that as your source that would probably suffice. I'm glad that's the case, too, since if it were more like a medley than it is now then I would've let you know that it had little chance on the panel. You seem fine in this case, though. Alright, you have some great compositional ideas, and it was a great idea to merge pretty much all the sources from Xenogears in snippets with the overworld pretty much linking everything together into a cohesive piece. It works pretty darn well, actually. The production is okay, but the sequencing is very mechanical on this one. You'd be rejected on the panel based on that, so you need to find a way to humanize your instruments better, and if at all possible find some better samples (in some cases I swear I hear GM). It sounds really good even now, but it could sound so much better with more humanized instrumentation. The drums could either stand out a little more or be removed (opting to just have the percussion, like the cymbals would be nice), since they just don't stick out at all, right now. Find a way to bring them out more, or don't bother with em'. I really do like this, but you need to make your instruments sound more realistic if you want this to pass. Best of luck!

Ack, I meant low pass! Sorry, I meant to say cut some highs by using a LOW-pass filter (you know, letting the lows pass). I'm sorry for the confusion, there.

Haa, it's in fine taste to bump a thread if you're updating the track, no matter how long ago it's been, lol. Man, it IS kind of surreal to see comments that I made over a year ago and have absolutely no recollection of making said comments. Anyway... Yeah, I still really enjoy where you took this source, with them triplets and happy mood and classic synths. I know you're working on it still, but I suggest taking a look at that balancing of the synths - that texture triplet synth should be more in the background while the theme pops out more. I will also say that the drums are fairly boring. I understand that this is dance and the bass really needs to be pumping, but change the hat patterns or something, since it becomes an earsore after a solid two minutes of it. For that matter, the hats and snare could stand to be brought up in volume. I'm assuming this song isn't finished, length-wise, since it sounds a bit too short, atm, and it doesn't sound like it ends properly. It'll be nice to hear it finished again I still like this track, though. I'm glad you decided to continue with it!

Smooth as silk, man. I agree that this is pretty quiet overall, but I don't hear any real artifacts in the file that I would call strict "production errors", so I don't think you need to sweat it too much. Vibraphone work is sex, by the way. Love it, will be awesome with some horn action in there. Nice to see you coming around to these parts again!

Awesome remix, reminds me a lot of this one, but it sounds more 'mechanical', in some senses. Good style choice on this one regardless. I would look into increasing the overall bass output on this track, as it sounds thin on the lower end of the spectrum (even with the bass drum being as nice as it is). Also, since you're looking into finishing this I suggest making the strings either sound more mechanical (in keeping with the theme of the song) or more human, since I agree completely with MindWanderer in this regard - go one way or another with it and it'll work great. It would also be nice to hear the instruments that carry the tune closer to the front of the mix. That's all I can think of, as of yet. Let's see where you take this track!

Oh, Terra's theme, how we all love it. I like the atmosphere in this one throughout, so nice setup on it. A few thoughts on it, though - how long do you expect the piece to be? If you plan on a 5-6 minute remix then the intro works pretty well, but anything less than that and it's going to sound too long in comparison to the piece. Three parts to an intro is excessive, though it can work in a fairly long remix. Just be aware of it. The bass that comes in at 0:51 sounds overcompressed. In some styles of hardcore it's a good drum to use, but in this context it's pretty distracting. You change to another bass drum later that sounds more fitting to the style; I suggest using that drum in that section instead. The background texture at ~1:50 that have the EQ lift up and give that distinct feeling of "opening up" feel like they give way to too many highs, since it almost sounds like buzzing when they finish upping the EQ. The effect is great, but I suggest giving the instrument a bit of a high pass on it. Otherwise I like it. Let's see where you take it.

Mmm, I love what you do - I have ever since you posted my personal favorite remix on this site. Good luck with the kickstarter; it looks like it's picking up steam now, so it's looking good for you.

Mmm, FF5's main theme - it really is one of the better soundtracks for the FF series, and one that is severely underrated. This arrangement helps bring to the fore just what is so good about it - those melodies are gorgeous. Lovely strings, and that oboe is a very nice touch to the whole thing. The harmonies are quite rich and sexy, too. The oboe could use less attack, as it separates every note, which makes it sound disjunct. If it's the sample then one thing you can do to compensate is to increase the attack and release a little and overlap the notes a little, bleeding from one note to the next. Love the source choice, and enjoyed the arrangement. I hope to hear more from you, man.

MOD REVIEW Oh, very soft approach to take, here. Kind of reminds me of Narada Decade - mellow and pleasant. Let's see how it holds up over the long run, though. Production is pretty good on this one. I feel that synth choir is just a touch loud throughout, but that's a pretty easy fix (just turn it down a decible or two). The sources are there, so I don't think you'll get into any trouble on that front. One thing that does bug me is that the harmonic pattern is very, very repetitive, and it gives the song a very droning feel. I know you do different things in the song with the melody and instrumentation, but the harmony is virtually the same throughout the piece. The synth choir is also a little too prevelant throughout the song, as well - it contributes to the overall same-ness that I hear throughout the song. The fade-out ending does not do you any favors in this track. A complete ending would help bookend the track, and it might give you somewhere to guide your song to, ultimately. I like the textures, and the use of the sources is neat, but the arrangement drones on without much definite direction, the harmony stays doing the same thing throughout and there's a fade out ending. The production has little to no issue, and the mixing is good, so you do have a lot going for you. I believe the arrangement issues would bring this one down to a NO, though - I recommend giving the arrangement a good hard look and see if there's anything you can do with the repetitive nature of the harmony. Best of luck, Garpocalypse!

Ooo, FF9 Boss remix, eh? I did an arrangement of this one some time ago (though you won't hear it until the FF9 album comes out ), so it'll be interesting to hear another take on it... To be honest, though, I don't hear the source in this at all, so I'm guessing you're building up to it. Okay, orchestral instruments and how to use them (since you're asking) - yes, there are ways to make them sound more human, and it mostly revolve around understanding how the instrument works, what it's natural ranges are, how someone would accent notes & why, etc.. I'm afraid there is no short answer as to how to get the most out of an orchestral patch, but it's really about how an instrument would actually sound in a given situation, then using attack, release, volume and note placement in order to simulate that sound. For an example, I personally know when a violin section moves into a chord they tend to go from silence to full sound, but when they change notes there is no such swell, so I would personally raise the volume from nothing to the full sound, then leave the full sound while changing notes. If the sample is odd and has too strong of an accent (like it hits the next note) I could have about a 0.25s release and a 0.25 attack on the note, blending the change of notes more seemlessly (and more importantly, ridding myself of the attack). It's tricks like this that really help rid oneself of the mechanical feel of instruments on a DAW. Using a decent sounding reverb consistently for your instruments also help you make the instruments sound real, as well, so be sure to dabble in creating a good reverb sound for your orchestra. I hope some of this advice helps!

Well, that's an incredible degree of improvement in a single update. Now that the levels are fixed up, you can use a low pass filter to remove the excessive highs in your track, and from there raise the levels using a limiter or compressor a little in order to get the volume up to solid levels without as much clipping (just a little, though! Too much even with some limiting and it'll sound crowded and nasty). Just some more advice to get as much production expertise out of this track as possible - with the clean sound you have now, you're close to getting a nice, loud track without the production problems associated with loudness.

Join in the fun, Anorax, it's a good source. I haven't done something for the shear pleasure in some time, so I'll give you something for this. Just got my computer fixed up, it's been four months since I've done a mix, so time to get my feet wet again with this.

... I didn't know about that, either.