[What headphones or monitors (speakers) should I buy?]

Audio-Technica ATH-m50 are pretty good. I personally went with the Ultrasone Proline 550... they are AWESOME.

[Super Mario 64-Supernova Groove (Powerful Mario Rmx)]

I was trying to put a Latin, Funky type of vibe to this. I shared this with a few people that I know and the feedback so far has been positive. My main concern with this is the mixing and the mastering. If any of you have any other advice on how I can make this even better it would be greatly appreciated. Just to warn you it's long... like 4:30.

This is the source

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNlkRGyLZSM

Here is the latest one. I used bongo samples of a slightly different character and threw in some reverb and compression. I adjusted the velocities of the bongos so it should sound less monotone. I also adjusted the velocities of the rest of the notes as well. I put some compression on the electric bass so the softer notes should come out a bit louder now. I compressed the horns as well, but just a touch. Even slighter update. The trumpets in the intro were weak. So I adjusted the velocitiy of the notes on there and other parts of the songs where I felt emphasis was more important. As for the guitar that plays in the intro, I just boosted the volume a bit. I also fixed the panning for the bongo solo as it was broken.

Well I made a couple of changes.

-I added a layer to the Horns and the Latin Percussion section

-I replaced the bongo only section of the introduction with the electric guitar.

-I joined the separate melodies of the first verse and put it all in one.

-I attempted to make a smooth transition from the first verse to the second verse using the initial guitar melody.

-There is a horn buildup in the second verse.

-Most of the latin percussion variation is in the second verse and breakdown.

-Used a different ending for the arrangement.

A couple of changes were made sequence wise

The bass should carry the melody, but it switches up about 2/3s of the way through to make it less boring.

Still using the same instruments but trying different horn samples. Though integrating it into the tune is still a work in progress.

I stopped being stingy and I reverbed the HELL out of this one, I used two different quality reverbs for the instruments and one insert for the master so they all sound like they are in the same area. I just hope I didn't put in too much.

Still working on the drum pattern and ending.

So this newer one I am posting is using a different bass.

I adjusted the reverbs and levels so the horns should sound closer.

The drums I added are the same ones I used in the past, but I varied the patterns a bit more in certain areas.

I took out the chords in the guitar and put it back the way it was originally.

Still working on an ending.

[The Newbie Introduction Thread: Come on in and say hello!]

Hey everyone,

The name is Scrap McNapps. I have been popping by here occassionally to hear some of the different arrangements from some of my favourite games. I just took an interest in creating music and I hope that some of my arrangements will be as good as the ones that are already posted.