SuperiorX

That's what Brandon said last time, but then still made a song in a day anyway.

Ok here are some reviews for the week: Me: Yeah I'm commenting on my own song... just wanted to say I had a lot of fun trying out the house/techno genre. I thought I did a pretty good job for my first attempt, and I think I might do some more in this genre in the future. Rexy: So I guess your song is a bit more 'dancey' then mine. I think your take on the Lava Reef melody in the intro has a very upbeat, "Sonic" feel to it, I dig it. I really don't like that silly vocal clip in the intro, but eh oh well. A few parts of the beginning half of the song felt a little too repetitive (but I suppose the same could be said for my song, or the genre in general), but I absolutely loved the second half of the song. Particularly starting at the 2:26 section, I like the call-and-return with the sound effects, that was really well done. I also really enjoy the Robotnik Boss cameo at 2:58, that just fit perfectly. The ending with the Lava Reef 2 cameo was sweet too. Really solid song overall! After hearing both of our songs I really thought the voting would be closer, but you're destroying me so far Phonetic Hero: I really like the variation of genres in this song, it's like the song can't quite make up it's mind as to what genre it wants to be There is some of your classic 'temple' sounding stuff in there, some chip elements, some whatever that lead synth is, etc. A really eclectic soundscape. Somehow it all seems to fit together though. The arrangement probably could've been expanded a bit more, but given your time constraints and working conditions, I'd say it ended up remarkably well. Nice job! Amphibious: Damn sir I love that intro, starting right out with the heavy kick and high-freq synth. The bass sounds super awesome as well. The song takes a little while to get going (not until :45 or so), but once it does I really dig it. I love your style on the Hill Top melody, I think it does a great job capturing that house style. The transition to Rusty Ruin is pretty seamless too. Once again you have a really clear & well-mixed soundscape, nice job! 3 minutes is awfully short for a song of this style tho, it feels like it's over almost before it even began, but what you do have is really solid & enjoyable stuff. It's going to be hard to pick between you and Pete this round, they're both great. Good work guys! I can't wait to hear what the Robotniks have for us this coming Saturday! It should be 2 good matchups!

So I thought I had a lot more cymbal rolls then I apparently do, which is I guess why I haven't used them much lol. Here is a collection of cymbal everything I have, crashes, hits, rolls, etc. Maybe one of them will help? I'll leave these up for a few days then probably take the zip down cause I don't want to drain my box.net bandwidth. These are all one-shot WAVs, by the way: DO A CYMBAL ROLL!

Nice! I really really enjoy the chill atmosphere here. The guitar and the synth that enters at 1:24 both have a really nice sound to them. The ending is rather abrupt, but I assume you're still working on it, yes? Great start!

Really? You think the 1:34-2:30 section is too repetitive? I was actually thinking that part brought some diversity to the song (both structurally and instrumentation-wise) with an increased focus on the Lave Reef Act 2 theme, in what is otherwise a Tidal Tempest heavy arrangement. There are definitely some distinct arrangement sections there and not just repeating patterns. I should have included a source breakdown originally (my apologies), but I'll include one now. I amended the first post with source use for the whole song, but here is just that section (with time-marked links): 1:34 - 1:43 = Bass built around 1:44 - 2:02 = Synth lead from . Piano and bass are a swung hybrid of LR Act 2 B piano and Tidal Tempest bass.2:03 - 2:11 = Reverts back to Tidal Tempest B section, minus the lead. 2:12 - 2:20 = Same Tidal Tempest B section, adding synth lead (with Spring Yard cameo on piano with other embellishments) 2:21 - 2:29 = Continuation of Tidal Tempest B section, with further piano embellishments leading up to Tidal Tempest C section. So there are definitely distinct sections within that area, but I can see where it might sound repetitive. After the exposed bass, it sticks to a similar pattern from 1:44 - 2:30, but the piano & percussion kept things fresh in my opinion. Not to mention the synth lead playing the LR Act 2 melody and then the TT B melody. I could try ditching the exposed piano bit at 2:03 - 2:11 and going straight into the 2:12 section, or try a more liberal single hand piano solo part at 2:03, so when the TT chords kick back in at 2:12 it creates a more drastic sounding difference? Greg if you're reading this, would you mind giving that section another listen given the source breakdown now? If it sounds repetitive, then it sounds repetitive, but I actually thought that section was one of the stronger parts, so I just want to make sure I'm making good improvements. I'll play around with a few things after I make the other adjustments. Thanks, I really appreciate it!

I've got a ton of WAV one-shots at home that might work depending on what you need. When I get home from work let me take a look at what I got and I could upload a zip and send them to you.

Just submitted my votes. There were a handful of songs that I really enjoyed. I loved the diversity of genres chosen as well. Good work! I haven't received the confirmation email yet, but I just submitted my votes, so I imagine it may take a few minutes.

Thanks for the feedback everyone! Jordan - the piano was the one part that I myself was thinking needed some touch-up. I'll see what a little extra reverb will do, as well as do some more velocity edits. The lead too is waaaaay better than it originally sounded at that part (just ask Pete), but yeah parts of it do still sound a bit shrill. Thanks for the comments! Anyone else have some feedback? It's much appreciated! I'm glad you like it so much! As for Sonic Riders... not sure I'll be remixing that anytime soon... never played the game, so I'm not familiar with the sources. Maybe I'll check it out though.

I just now finally had time to try to listen to all of these songs, inbetween the SZRC and everything. Will finish my voting tonight or tomorrow! Some good stuff so far!

Awesome, I was hoping you'd make a mix with vocal samples one of these rounds. Looking forward to it!

Blue raspberry soda? Is that any good?

Back home... I updated the Robotnik Bracket image in the first post, so that is accurate now. Let's get lots of votes this round too, we've been declining a bit week-to-week, but we have a lot less music to listen to now, so no excuse not to vote! TELL EVERYBODY!!! Good luck everyone!

just messin with you! lesser men would've quit over half the trouble! Can't wait to hear it when I get back. Thanks for all the help too! I was thinking it'd be funny if you ended up mixing Launch Base again, albeit a different version. Good luck! Yeah not able to make one, oh well. Thanks for checking, and thanks for all or your help earlier! Good luck sir! I hope you're doing ok! And yeah, I just gotta echo Gario's comment earlier, this really has turned into a wide open competition. Most of the people I thought would be in the finals have already be eliminated. Definitely has made this interesting. Can't wait to see how this thing ends! Bracket image will probably be updated Monday, but you guys know the matchups. BStrader vs. Wildfire and Gario vs. syllix. Good luck!

Amazing what you can do with phones these days... i was able to copy the zip from my lappy to my phone and use an ftp client to access Darke's site. So the legit Sonic Round 3 zip is in the first post now. Rexy if you're on can you make sure it downloads and sounds fine? If so you can replace the link in your post with my first post link. Thanks!

Rexy is temporarily going to host the songs. My wifi sucks. Sorry, thanks.

My WiFi sucks here... not sure when/if I'll be able to get the Round 3 songs uploaded. I'm trying guys... but it's going reallly slow. I definitely won't have time to update the bracket image for awhile, so just go off Rexy & Phonetic Hero's vote announcement. Thanks again guys!

LOL indeed tomorrow we will all know. Well, later today now I suppose I have all the mixes except for Pete's now. Slacker EDIT: And I'm on my way out... thanks to Rexy & Phonetic Hero for posting the Robotnik Round 2 voting results and new matchups at noon! I'll have the Sonic Round 3 music up a bit later this afternoon/evening. Thanks everyone!

Here are my quick reviews for the round... also I'm going to go ahead and post my votes now since I'll be out of town tomorrow at noon. Remember, Rexy & Phonetic Hero will announce the Robotnik Round 3 matchups tomorrow after voting closes at Noon EDT. I'll post the Sonic Round 3 songs and update the bracket image when I get online tomorrow afternoon/evening. Thanks! Brandon Strader: I loved this since it first started, the upbeat groove of Planet Wisp is executed nicely, and I think your samples of the Beatles just fit it excellent here. It really feels like it belongs. This is just a really fun song overall. I don't hear a ton of Metal Harbor (unless I'm just missing it), but great stuff nonetheless. Super cool synth solo there near the end! AMT: I think someone forgot what source they were mixing Nah, great job integrating 3 sources! You did a nice fun job with the lyrics here, and I think you did a good job doing the hip-hop/rap vocals and then transitioning to the chorus section. Nice guitar & bass work as usual! I think this was my toughest matchup to vote on, both were stellar! wildfire: Wow big improvement over your last song! Cool piano intro! I really like the techno groove in the song once it gets going full steam. Some cool synth work mid-way thru as well. Good integration of the two themes too! halc: I love the intro and then the switchup to the half-tempo. That was executed great. Good use of sound effects again too! And that BASS! Funky and sexy! A really interesting dichotomy between the dubstep-ish bass and the more lighthearted and bouncy synths and strings. I just can't help bounce along to this song. The last quarter of the song when the bass goes all wacky is a ton of fun too, nice job! KingTiger: wow I really like this song! I really like how you arranged the two themes, I think they complement one another really well! Some really cool filter work on the synths and bass too, I'm really digging it. Mixing seems a bit quiet compared to the other songs tho... Gario: Diggin the strings! I feel like you and KingTiger arranged the songs in a similar fashion, these two themes just seem to fit together really really well. Cool synth break and building at the 2:00 mark. Really not a lot to say, I love this song too... choosing between these two was really really tough! Syllix: Hahaha that intro is hilarious... and this arrangement is SUPER FUNKY! The transitions are a little abrupt, but it didn't really bother me. This is just super cool and super fun all around. Great job! Chernabogue: Well this is definitely a very original/different take on the two themes! Props on the creativity! I love all the different instrumentation you used, it really gives it a tribal/island feel. Wasn't really digging the vocal chants a whole lot, but that's just my preference, I think they definitely fit the style you were going for. A really solid round Robotniks, great job! And we've got some really close voting match-ups still too! Can't wait to see the results!

Hahahaha so I just found out that Rexy and I made similar style songs in an attempt to do something different that what we thought each other would do I won't spoil anything, but it should make our matchup tomorrow interesting. This is just too funny!

Nice update! I think the arrangement is pretty good. The main Lava Reef A melody does get repeated a bit often, but I think you have enough original sections between the guitar solo, the little synth solo towards the end, and the 2nd guitar solo at the end to keep things fresh. I love the overall high energy of the track and the opening drum beat is just killer. I don't really have a whole lot of crits, other than I feel like the mixing/EQing could be a bit better. Some of the sections feel a bit muddy, particularly the section at 0:59 - 1:10, and other areas where you have overlapping guitars. The guitars and some of the other instruments seem to be getting lost in one another. I guess I'd just take a look at what frequencies some of the backing instruments are in throughout out the song and try to separate them a bit more from the guitars. Overall this sounds pretty solid to me. Nice job!

Hey everybody, this was my second song from the Sonic Zone Remix Competition. It is a remix of (mainly ) from Sonic & Knuckles and Tidal Tempest JP from Sonic CD. It features C7 on the trumpet solo!I think this is pretty groovin' as is, and Phonetic Hero & Sir Jordanius want me to sub it. Anyone want to offer up some critical feedback? I marked it as mod-review because I feel it's ready for it and I do intend to sub. Any and all feedback is much appreciated! Thanks! *UPDATE* 6/22/12: Pyroclastic Tides Revised ----------------------------------------------------------------- 06/07/12: SuperiorX feat. C7 - Pyroclastic Tides (Lava Reef & Tidal Tempest) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Revised Source Usage Breakdown: 0:00 - 0:09 = Some intro shenanigans 0:10 - 0:19 = More intro shenanigans with an original arpeggio synth melody 0:20 - 0:28 = Same arpeggio synth with Tidal Tempest opening 0:29 - 1:15 = Tidal Tempest A section (bass, piano, glass bells) with arpeggio synth alternating between original pattern and melody.1:16 - 1:33 = piano, apreggio synth pattern with Tidal Tempest bass1:34 - 1:43 = Bass exposed, built around 1:44 - 1:53 = Synth lead from . Piano and bass are a swung hybrid of LR Act 2 B piano and Tidal Tempest bass.1:53 - 2:02 = Reverts back to Tidal Tempest B section, minus the lead. Right-hand piano embellishments. 2:03 - 2:11 = Same Tidal Tempest B section, adding synth lead (with Spring Yard cameo on piano/bass) 2:12 - 2:49 = Tidal Tempest C section (bass, piano, pads) with trumpet solo hybrid of and Tidal Tempest C melody (on the second run-through) combined with some original embellishments.2:50 - 3:18 = Revert to Tidal Tempest A section (bass, piano, pads) with synth lead playing 3:19 - 3:36 = Outro

Yeah, yeah you have I'm just over critical of my own stuff. I will submit it tho after I put it up in the WIP forum for a bit. Oh, and Amphibious Jordan, there is your secret weapon - Sir Jordanius Jordan. Combine your funk and make a Jordan x2 remix.

I like the vocoded vocals a bit better, nice! I see what you're doing there... and I approve!

hey, thanks! I'm glad you liked it! I was hoping to hear a bit more of what people thought about it, since Akumajo had to drop out I advanced by default with that song. I think I'll throw it up in the WIP forums here soon, to get some more critical feedback, but yeah then I'm planning to submit it! Maybe I'll actually get something passed one of these times And yeah MAD PROPS to C7 on the trumpet solo, he more than exceeded my expectations with it!