TheReverend

First and foremost, remixing the way YOU like the song is what is important. You might have to make concessions to get it posted on OCR, but if your ultimate goal is creating a piece that you yourself can sit back and appreciate, you do what feels right. You can't go wrong that way. As for trying to splice the original track onto your mix in any way...well, that usually won't fly in an OCRemix submission. But as I said earlier, if this is just a dub mix you're putting together for yourself or some other purpose beyond OCR, keep on keepin' on. And that gated synth, well, you can make it work. Brighten it up and make it flashy. That certainly can find a good niche in your mix. That's all for now! Just got home from school, and work calls in....10 minutes! I'll be sure to post back later. Hope to hear a new version sometime soon!

I wasn't entirely sure which one was your remix, or if both of them were, so I'm reviewing the instrumental one. The Bad: I know this is a synth mix and has a bit of that lo-fi sound (plenty of phasing too!), but that snare sample just sounds generic, with very little depth. I think this may be the sort of sound you're going for, judging by the rest of the mix, but it needs some snare sample friends grooving with it and/or differing patterns and velocities to keep it real. The beat stays pretty constant with a 4 on the floor with a few change ups here and there. I think you could do a pretty sweet breakdown in this song. You might also change the pattern sequencing for a slightly different flavor for part of the mix (after the bridge/"B" refrain perhaps?) The laying of the rhythmic parts you've got is good, but once it comes into the sing at 0:21, it stays a looooooong time without a whole lot of change outside of the chord progression. I know this is the bread and butter of keeping the song chugging forward, but some variation on the parts, or simply fading one out and in to mix and match might make it more interesting. (Great sequencing, though!) The melodic instrument stays very plain throughout most of the song. I think it has a soothing quality to it, but it just sounds flat. A new instrument or some added effects might inject some fuel into this sound. Perhaps layer an octave on it at some point? A counter melody might be able to contrast it well and highlight a new instrument. You can easily pass this melody to a new instrument, or an existing one, to change the flavor of the mix some. (You know, on second thought, this might be the melody of the words to the song, but in instrument form. If you plan to add vocals, you can disregard this comment entirely.) I'm not really digging the sequence gated lead synth at 4:03. I think something with more juice should show up here. You're building towards the end of the song, and I think this sound is just a dud when you've spent 4 minutes building this up! The end (5:26 on) just isn't doing it for me. I can hear that you've done a little to build it up, as you send the melody upwards in pitch, but the excitement doesn't match it. Overcharge that melody with a cutting saw synth or bell sounds. Change up the percussion patterns some. The Good: I feel that groove. I know I ragged on how much of the rhythm patterns are used earlier, but you've layered the rhythm synths and bass together well, and they keep the beat alive. Some slight tweaks will turn up the excitement even more. This intro is SOLID. I get to bobbing my head and stomping my foot right away. It also has a strangely nostalgic Sonic feel to it with the arpeggiating synth. The harmonic synths you have paired with the melodic line are a particularly nice touch. It colors the melody well. Dude, TUBULAR BELLS or some other BELL sound will ROCK THIS MIX as the icing on the cake. You can easily add some tasteful bits in, but with enough sparsity that it doesn't get old. I think it would mix particularly well with the sustained choir sounds you throw in. This has greatness written all over it. Just a little cultivating will put it way over the top. I have more to say, but it's nearly 2 a.m. and I am just spent. More to come soon. Hope it's helpful.

I'm glad you're not discouraged, but don't be so hard on yourself. Music composition/remixing is an art, and like anything requires time and practice to get better at. Here at the WIP boards, we are here to offer suggestions and critique with the intent of helping you make your mix better with every post you make. It's encouraging to see that you're going to keep at it though. One other suggestion: If you can, make your link to the song more visible, either with it's own line and URL consisting of more than one word ("here"). I almost thought you took it down, but I went searching through your original post and found it again.

That progression from 16-bit to...well...organic-bit...might work, but I would suggest you do it sooner rather than later if you do it at all, since these samples are somewhat weak on their own. You might bring in the sustained synths right at 0:39, 4 or 8 bars earlier (I don't know if you're in fast 3/4 time or 6/8 time, as the structure is similar in both meters). After doing that, a breakdown would be in order 4/8 or 8/16 bars later, sometime around the 1:00 mark. This will keep the synth/16-bit sound from getting stale, and also build in new sounds and excitement to keep the listener engaged. This should be the whole shebang though. You should go all synth at this point or all organic. The breakdown at 2:20 might be a good point to bring some of the synth back and morph it once again into organic instruments. Just a thought. Either way, this part freakin' rocks! That lead line is just BEGGING for a solid piano sound, or maybe even a marimba/glockenspiel sound. Oh but wait! It happens at 2:43. It sounds like a thinly veiled FL Keys sample, though. It's a welcome new addition, but the sample still needs a lot of attention. You'll have to do some major effect and EQ manipulation to make that sound work (I know from experience) but it can be done. Don't limit yourself to a piano sound if you can't get one you're happy with; you can do so much else to this melody. In addition, the new part added 2:43 is excellent. A solid, distinct variation from the main theme that has already been playing, so it adds more depth to the mix and gives it new life a few minutes in. It even has a little fugue in there, which is rockin'! This is an epic and awesome addition to your mix. The drum/beat grooves are pretty solid. The bass kick has a lot of reverb on it, which I think lends to the openness of the ocean, if you will. Big, boomy, and a fat low end. The snare has an equal amount of reverb to fill the upper EQ bands. The hi hats and shakers don't seem to have received the same attention. I think this is shaping up to be a rock solid remix. Work still needs to be done, but you are well on your way making this a great song, and I believe OCR worthy.

The feedback is awesome guys. I appreciate it a lot. @Melody - I hear you on the humanization. Honestly it's something I've overlooked while trying to put the mix together, but I think the structure is nearly complete now (a few more tweaks are in the future). I'll definitely fine tune the parts, especially the guitar, and hopefully make it sound a tad more organic and human. Thanks for the tips! @M249-M4A1 - That's awesome! It's a catchy little song, which is why I liked it so much. @SuperSlacker - I'll definitely look into the part at 1:49. I did end up layering them all together, and I have some slight volume changes in it, but they may not be large enough to be audible. Look for a new version this week. I think I'm close to having the mods review it and get to the real nitty gritty, but that could still be a few weeks off.

Try layering some 3xOSCs together. Choose a sine wave for the bass end of it and gate the volume (also with a sine pattern). I think if you layer enough of those on different pitches with different gate patterns, you can achieve that weird alien mothership sound, and then you can just use an automation clip to slide the pitch down. It'll need some effects, such as delay, reverb, and perhaps even filters and phasers to make it sound convincing, but you can definitely do it. I don't have time to play with it myself right now, as I have to run off to work, but FL makes it easy to manipulate sounds like that. Just some quick thoughts.

Just a quick listen, but here goes: WOW! I love how organic this sounds. It sounds like a jam session that you just rock out to. The Bad: the transition at :37 is alright. You might want to do something to bridge the gap here and make it flow. The transition at 1:15 sounds really rushed, and the ascending guitar sounds out of place. The banjo from 1:40 to 2:12 sounds good, but it is a tad sloppy. As another reviewer said, I think that adds the human aspect to it, which is good, but it might be a tad much. You might want to go back and clean it up some. The Good: The overall sound quality is impressive. It sounds like the band is here in my room playing for me. Nice job! The solo work at 1:16 is a nice touch and adds a lot of novelty, class, and individuality to this mix. The piano at 1:32 adds some good contrast to the sound and helps it stay alive. I like that you pass off the melody to the banjo at 1:40. You do a GREAT job at introducing a good variation on the theme at 2:12. I loved it! You continue by passing the buck to the bass at 2:27 and give it time to shine. Nice! This has incredible potential! This only needs a little work and I'm sure it is submission worthy!

I'm going to be frank. I realize you are new to this (I'm fairly new myself), but I will offer solutions with any criticisms I level. The Skinny: First, this is entirely too long for the material in this mix. Long mixes aren't bad, but you have to fill them up and keep them alive and interesting. Second, this is more of a cover than a remix, as the bassline, backing synths, and lead melody are nearly identical to the source. As such, I will address more of the production/sound aspects of this mix more than the arrangement. However, you seem to know a little bit already about the sequencing of the patterns, so the only arrangement advice I have is the actual sequences themselves. It is here that you will make this mix sound like YOUR mix with a variation YOU wrote or an original melody or counter melody. Don't be afraid to get creative. Replicating a song is good experience for learning the ropes and tweaking sounds, but you really start taking off as a remixer when you morph the original into your own unique song. All that said, let the specifics begin: The Bad: That bass has to go. You can use some interesting presets (depending on your DAW) or you can tweak knobs and add effects to create a fat bass. Also, use some creativity here with the bassline! The octaves don't add much to the song at all, especially since it is a copy of the generic and vanilla bassline present in the source material. You can do a lot with this progression, but it will take a lot of creativity, as well as trial and error. The synths are shallow and generic. I would put some organic samples in this mix, unless you are going for an all synth, trace type deal. If that is the case, you can spice these sounds up with reverb, delay, EQs, filters, and sooo much more. Take advantage of these effects. You will be amazed at the difference in sound you produce. The actual beat you have going is decent, but you either need to locate, invest in, create new, or manipulate samples to replace the existing sounds. Especially the shaker, snare, and crash cymbal. One easy thing you can do is add some reverb on the crash to give it more depth. It's quite dry by itself. Also, you can use other effects such as delay, EQ, and slight reverb on the snares and shaker. It will really add some much needed life to a fairly robotic beat. The intro is quite long without any real melody coming in until :30 or so where it begins to fade in. You'll want to either shorten this intro or layer something on top of it, as it is quite repetitive. At 1:40 you begin a little drum break, which I think will work well. Take some creative liberty here and change up the beat or write an original melody or something to contrast what you already have going. At 2:14 you drop everything but the beat and the melody. A new instrument with a slight variation on the melody will give this more life. 2:42 isn't right at all. The bassline chord progression does not follow the melody chord progression. However, at 2:56 you fix this. It's probably an oversight when you sequenced it. It stays pretty plain and vanilla until 3:53 when the melody fades in again. However, there is another chord class here between the bassline and the melody. Another oversight, maybe? At 4:07 you fade out the bass. At 4:14 you introduce some new material, which creeps in quickly, hits two octaves, then one, then fades. This mix is dying for new material, and it just sounds like this little bit got swept under the rug. This is where you can make the cool stuff happen and deviate from the original material. At 4:56 we are back to the same loop again that we were before. At 5:10 is changes up to the "B" refrain again. 5:23 is BAAAAAAD. These chords are ALL jacked up. So much it was hard to keep listening. It continues as an utter train wreck all the way through 5:52. It's like you just gave up here. The end from 5:52 isn't really smooth. It's very abrupt, with no differentiation on the drum sequence, and the melody even plays out like there's more. The Good: You obviously know how to put notes to the page and put it together. Nothing made this mix stand out, but until 5:23-5:52, nothing really made it horrid (I'm not really sure what happened there). This tells me you have the capability to do much more, so I think we might see another iteration of this song and see some improvement. I hope this is helpful in some way. I know it seems harsh, but I wanted to give it to you straight. Remixing has a steep, steep learning curve, but I think you are already climbing that hill. I would very much like to see a new version of this and hear what you do next.

The Bad: The lead synth is a little thin. I think you could do a lot to fatten it up. The bass has some breadth to it, so pump up the lead line with a fatter synth or something of the like. It's a tad repetitive (though I realize you were looking for a collab partner for a solo). However, don't be afraid to add your own! With all the synth work you have going on I'm sure you could create a wild, unique sound of your own and have it counter what is already going on. I hear some sort of wah-wah effect written all over this. The bassline is good, but I think it could benefit from some filtering to transform the sound at different points in the song. Perhaps distort it a bit? The Good: I like the entry. It's like dropping in to the song from a spaceship. For being a purely synth mix, I think you achieve a good sound. Where did those bongos go?! Oh, they came back later! This is sweeeeeet man. I dig the groove. The arrangement isn't bad. A counter melody is needed at some point, but you know that. This is groovin'. Keep it up!

The Bad: The "Race Start" synth is out of place, but I think with some clever production/effects you could make it mesh better. You might want to consider brightening up/distorting the bass synth a tad as you build towards the bridge section. It would give it more flavor, but a little goes a long way. I love the sound you have going already. You might consider a few more organic sounds for the synths you use later on in the mix. A little more variation of the beat might be in order to keep the excitement alive, especially after the "Race Start" synth. BUT... The Good: That beat is SOLID man. I like how the song gets ready to gear up and then drops out. It's the perfect tease when the listener is finally getting into the groove. The gated synth adds a lot of depth. This mix is quite unique, and I feel like with some minor tweaks and a few new samples this submission will be accepted. This is sweet. I hope you can get back into it.

Although this has been mentioned before, you could benefit immensely from replacing a few of the synth sounds with something more organic, but the synth in the beginning is nothing short of brilliant. You set the mood quite well. It is very (borrowing again) surreal, and has this aura of mystery about it. You might be able to set more depth to the song by replacing the sustained synths with a filtered or phased pad, or perhaps with strings through a lowpass filter? Just some ideas. It is somewhat repetitive, but I do believe some organic piano or string sounds would do nicely to change it up. Perhaps you could add a counter melody towards the later half of the song in the form of a violin, harp, or celesta/glockenspiel? Anyways, I dig it. It's some sweet work man. Keep it up. I'm interested to see how this turns out.

Hello all. I'm a week behind schedule, but I've posted a new update/iteration of my file select remix. If you would, take a few minutes to listen and review it for me and let me know what you think. As always, critiques are greatly appreciated. -Rev

First of all, thank you for all the feedback. It is greatly appreciated. I am continuing to tweak the mix, and I will definitely take your suggestions seriously. I've been trying to fit in Dire Dire Docks for a while now, but I haven't quite done it in a way that I am satisfied with, so that will take a little more work on my end. Expect a new version up soon (hopefully by the weekend). Thanks again!

Hello all. It's been over a year since I did anything with this mix at all. Life gets crazy like that, but I digress. Here's a quick recap: It's a remix of the File Select Music from Super Mario 64. The source is a short :15 loop, so it doesn't give a lot to work with, but I've managed to squeeze 2:42 from it, which may be a little short, but that can always be addressed. Here's a link to the source music: Super Mario 64 File Select - Because of a migration to a new computer, I lost some samples that I had in my original mix, but I think the new ones I have found settle much easier in the new arrangement. That said, I'm looking for critique in all areas, but most specifically arrangement and sample/sound quality. So please, if you would, have a listen and pen me a comment or two on here. All of your thoughts and comments are greatly appreciated. -Rev Reminiscent Choices Remix Link:

I can definitely shorten the intro. I had actually intended to take at least 8 bars off, but I forgot to before I rendered it. Oops. And I'd also have to ask (perhaps it is an error on my part) but which mix are you talking about, specifically? Two are posted. I suppose I should just post one in the interest of focusing on one idea... Thanks for the feedback, btw. It's good for me, and the music too.

Okay, so it's been a few months. I survived a move out to California and a move back, and two new jobs. Busy busy. But anyways, back to business. I had posted my first iteration of this mix a few months ago, and I'd like to finish what I started. So here's the deal: The feedback I have received has been wonderful, so thanks to everyone who commented. Here's what I did with it.... I went two different routes, because I'm not sure how I should proceed. The first MP3 I will post is the original arrangement I started with. There are minor tweaks to the processing, and there are hints of the dire dire docks/jolly roger bay theme sprinkled in, but they are few, and hopefully well places. Second, I decided to get a little more adventurous at the encouragement of some feedback. I added a bridge to the song that has a full verse of Jolly Roger Bay dropped in. Now, keep in mind this is still a WIP and I am trying to mesh these two themes together (File Select music and Jolly Roger Bay). Please give some feedback on one or both iterations. I'm on the fence about which one to pursue, so I could use some suggestions. Thanks everyone!

I'll give this one a go. I can really hear some major potential for this style (Dixieland, obviously) on the source. Again, as others have said, the samples are lackluster, and need some attention, for this I have two suggestions: Some you may be able to keep if you EQ them correctly using a parametric equalizer and perhaps adjust the ADSR envelopes (since you're using FL Studio). Second, you might be able to squeeze by with the "antique" sound you've got in the beginning if you muffle it a bit and add in a record scratch sound like on an old vinyl. Course, you can't do the whole song that way, but maybe if you wanted a cool little intro? The arrangement, however, is great. It's busy, but then again, Dixieland can be very busy. I really want to hear these instruments shine, and you don't necessarily need the best VSTs to do it. Pay a lot of attention to the effects you have on each instrument track. You can really beef up a bland sound with some solid EQ, doubling, reverb, stereo effects, delay, etc etc. It goes on and on. You have many effects at your disposal already included with FL which are just fine. Specifically, the percussion can use some attention for sure. The vibraslap sound you use, or gyro sound or whatever that sound desperately needs some help. Simple reverb can do wonders. As for the individual instruments, I think the trumpet sample is too flat, and you'll need to get a new one. The sax sound is fat, and you might be able to squeeze a decent sound out of it. The clarinet sound has potential too. The banjo will do well, I think, with reverb and EQ. The acoustic bass sound is good too. Slap a little reverb on that honky tonk piano and accent the higher frequencies and that definitely will have some impact. Okay, so after reading that last paragraph it's kinda clear as mud. If you like that advice at all I'd be glad to try to elaborate on it or expound on it in a more meaningful way. So, in closing and in short, my advice to you is this: I hear a good arrangement, but the sound is holding it back. Find new samples or dig in and see what you can do by processing the ones you have. You might be surprised what you come up with. Hope this helps. Rev

First, thanks to all of you for your feedback. It is most certainly appreciated, and I've been trying to put the Jolly Roger Bay theme into the mix, but I haven't quite gotten it to flow how I want yet. The link that is up is up to date. It's still the first iteration. I've made minor tweaks to the mix, but I don't know that it's worth posting as a revision, as it would still suffer from length/content issues. Thanks, and keep listening!

I've been listening to this mix a lot, and I really like the flow it has. I'm having difficulty adding in variation for a couple of reasons: First, I think another instrument just muddies up the soundscape. It's pretty full and colorful as is, and I am reluctant to modify the current blend of sound. I think it is balanced well and all the frequency bands are represented nicely. Tell me if I'm wrong, of course. Second, I'm not sure how much original writing is appropriate for this song. It is a short loop, for sure, but I fear too much writing will take away from the original song/sound. A bridge would be something entirely of my own composition, because the original song has no refrain or "B" part. Last, I'm not sure how long one of my listeners will like to listen to this mix. The above ideas will most certainly add length to this song, and I know personally, unless it's a real good song/mix, I don't like to hear the same thing for an extended period of time. Thoughts and feedback are greatly appreciated. I'm at a plateau here... Thanks.

Interesting. I've not heard many remixes with vocals. It's nice. Now, for the breakdown. (Mind you, I'm no music expert. To each their own.) The guitar is great rhythmically, and it sounds like it would have a good tone if recorded well and eq-ed right. I'm not an audio engineer, but are you recording the guitar through a room mic, or on the pickup inside the guitar? It sounds more like the latter, but I could be wrong. The melodic lines you play when you let up on the rhythm part are golden. Might I suggest, as mentioned before, that you record the parts separately? You might get more clarity on each part that way. A touch of reverb on the vocals and guitar would do a lot of good I think. There's a note in the very beginning on your vocals...it's a lower one, and the pitch isn't quite on. Your pitch overall seems fairly accurate, and a little help from a program like Auto-Tune would help out a lot, though I strongly advise you not rely heavily on it. That would be cheating. Do you plan on adding more parts to this? I think some strings, pads, and especially some bell tones would rock this song out like mad. Though, there is value to the simplicity of two parts. I hope some of my feedback helps. I'm new to this too. =)

Thanks for the reply! I was beginning to think that maybe my thread was being skipped over... Good to know it's not. The new material introduced around 1:30 is original writing to compliment the source melody. I'm going to toy around with a few different ideas, mainly introducing a bridge to give it a little more diversity, or perhaps varying on the melody more. I'll post revisions as time goes on. Thanks for the feedback, and please, all critique is welcome, both good and bad. I would very much like to improve this mix.

Hello, OCR. I've been following OCR for a long time, since I was 14 or so. I've always wanted to remix game music since I first heard the remixes hosted here. This is my first attempt at remixing, and it was completely random. I was just messing around on FL Studio one day while Winamp was on shuffle, and the File Select music from SM64 began to play. I thought it had a good ambient sound to it, so I put my own spin on it. It's 15 seconds shy of three minutes, so it's not too long. The things I'm mainly concerned about is the mixing/mastering, theme variation (I think it might be a little too repetitive, but I'd rather have others judge that than have too little original source material), and arrangement, though most certainly, all feedback is appreciated. Thanks. Original Source: File Select Mix Only: File Select/Jolly Roger Bay: