GrayLightning
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Posts posted by GrayLightning
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The first thing one notices is the sounds of all of this don't mesh at all in the same room setting. Everything sounds disjointed, as if you used completely different reverb or delays on each other. Now this in of itself isn't wrong, it's done all the time in pop music with great effectiveness, but here everything just sounds off. The loop sounds dreamy, while the piano sounds brittle dry. I don't think the loopish percussion works either. The tambourinish/jingle rhythm works to some extent.
The arrangement itself is decent, but needs more work as other noted. The composition though isn't as good. It sounds sparse and thin without the percussion sections. The electric piano and piano is also very mechanically sequenced.
I did like the ethereal sounding synth choir.
Beyond that, average mix, with a bunch of issues. Keep at it, there are some nice ideas here, but it needs more work. NO
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Pretty much agree with the others here.
The synth choir lead that comes in around one minute is very cool. And that's followed by a lot of iffy notes. They strike me the wrong way around the 1:20-1:40 min mark. I did enjoy the following section at around 2:00.
I agree the main problem here is the sparse sound. This needs perhaps more synths or pads to fill out the stuff between the highs and lows.
Love the string ensembles that rise and enter at the 3 minute mark, they provide a nice contrast with the synths. However why are you using only violins? Why not provide more balance with adding the other string parts, I think at least cellos to balance the sounds out are warranted on the other side of the violins.
Wind fx are a bit overused in the intro and end in my opinion. Not too bad I suppose, but they are a bit typical.
This lacks polish and better attention paid to the mix levels. Please work on this more, there really is a lot of potential here. I'm digging this though despite some of the flaws...
Borderline NO.
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This is the "Sad Piano theme."
Main problems, samples are ok. Production and usage of the samples are decent. The arrangement in the first half is sorta conservative. The second part is really great on the other hand.
I'm a bit torn. I want to yes this and gum up the works, but we really need to see something more from coop as an evolution in arrangement, complexity, or production. I don't really feel even after all this years this matches his Altered Beast mix. Still, I quite enjoyed this, but it needs more polish and work. Coop hit me up with a pm, maybe we can collab on this? Very borderline NO.
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Actually I thought the beginning parts of the bassline were cool, but then it got a bit repetitive and changed for the worse at around the one minute mark.
This definitely tries to sound energetic, but the execution just feels a bit sluggish at times.
There's a lot of production problems here. I think the mix as a whole suffers from a lot of muddyness. There's absolutely no shimmer in the mix. Major EQ work or multiband compressing is in need here. Too much focus on the lower registers don't help the balance either.
I like the synth textures here personally, but a lot of the other sounds are kind of low quality sounding. The vocal samples do sound a bit gimmicky and cheesy.
Not up to the bar yet...
I really hope you consider working on this more, cause I see a lot of potential here. With work I think this could be great.
NO.
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Yeah this definitely doesn't make much of an arrangement as the other judges said. This almost sounds like a remix, but even on that level, there's not much work done here other than sounding like an upgrade/mock up.
Not bad though, but too conservative a take on the theme.
NO
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The first thing that jumps out at you is the stereo image follows the Audience Perspective. This is unique in that, frankly I haven't heard a mix in our community off the top of my head that follows this convention, usually we hear the Player Perspective all the time. It's perfectly acceptable either way, it just stood out to me as unique.
Which is appropriate since the arrangement is quite unique and refreshing. I thought the arrangement was neat. Rexy displays here a new level of difficulty that I haven't heard in her prior mixes either.
Production overall is decent. The sample's pretty good. Personally would have liked more room ambiance, maybe a dark small room, would have helped the plinky sounds particularly in the higher registers. It's not a major issue at all, but might be worth considering if you decide to polish this up a little more.
Performance is the issue here for me. I felt as I did months ago in my buzz comment, the execution felt hesitant and a bit rigid. For a solo instrument piece/mix, this is paramount to how the emotion is conveyed. As with the other judges, in this regard the result is a bit awkward.
This took me a while to weigh in on, as I personally enjoy the mix quite a lot. The arrangement is very good, but there are enough sequencing/performance flaws for me where I don't think it's ready for posterity yet. Extremely borderline, NO. Resubmit!
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Edit: Actually larry and analoq are right. I relied too much on what I remembered from the many chocobo themes, this is indeed a cheap immitation of the Cinco version of the theme.
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This is one of my favorite themes from the soundtrack. The arrangement here isn't as conservative as it sounds at first glance. There's a lot nice additions interspersed between the familiar straightforward passages, and the work underneath the melody certainly makes it an evolution enough for me where the arrangement isn't really a question. I had no problem with the production issues, yes they are issues, but I would rather have the charming grit here than something cold, clinical and percise. Digital Coma makes good points with regards to her Golden Sunset mix.
Overall I felt this was a good arrangement, good performance - one that kept me interested all the way through. Charming, moving and passable despite some flaws. YES
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The judges must have been a little tipsy after letting this one slide through. Wait, am I on vgmix.com or is this still oc remix??
While the production and samples is a little weak, the great arrangement more than makes up for it. Production (not just samples, but processing, mixing, mastering, etc.) is just one important criteria we look at. The arrangement here is definitely great, and the weakness in production didn't diminish the quality of the mix. In my view, it was well above the standard bar overall.
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I am well familiar with these sounds, so I do know hard work and talent was placed in order to make this. This is apparent, and in some respects impressive.
Where the mix falters as far as the OCR standards is arrangement. For the most part, the mix sounds like an orchestrated mock up version of the original, with interspersed sections of new material thrown in at the beginning, middle and ending parts. The majority of the mix still follows the original closely, and as such is a conservative mix in my book.
Keep at it, your Enemy Stronghold piece as well as this mix shows a lot of talent. Even with such samples, it's not easy at all to get these quality results from a production perspective.
Great orchestral mock up, yes; not so great OCR arrangement. The production and usage of sounds is certainly there. The crescendo at the end was very impressive. I did have some minor gripes with the attacks of the solo violin, it sounded way too strong for most of the passages.
What you gotta do next time is mix it up more, play with the material more to make it your own, change the structure or form of the mix, expand the melody or harmony more, add more elements, or change the tempo. Something to demonstrate more creativity in the arrangement department.
NO
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I think this is pretty stylish, but there's a bunch of problems. Transitions to different sections are very abrupt. It jumps around with a lot ideas, from one to another almost without settling on any idea for too long.
A lot of the mix sounds really sparse and empty. Lots of great ideas here like the great percussion work, but the execution and polish is lacking. I really hope you consider resubmitting. This could be really great.
The other judges covered the other issues.
NO.
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I've enjoyed Mr. Pordon's former mixes a good deal, unfortunately I can't say the same here. The arrangement for the most part, until the ending sections remains a conservative take of the material. I'm not personally that much of a fan of the tone of the guitar, it sounds a bit thin and shrill, in my opinion. Everything sounds also very upfront. I'd like some more processing here, especially reverb and delays. Some padding of some form in either strings or pads would be nice too. The middle frequencies sound really vacant.
I did think the last two minutes here was very nicely handled as far as the conceptual and compositional attributes. But at the end it doesn't save the mix from being a conservative take, up until the end with more work needed in the production and execution department. Pretty neat, but this needs more work. Hope to hear more from you soon, don't stay away for much longer. I hope you consider resubmitting this.
NO
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Good ole Ravi! I <3.
I really like what you have here. Let's break down the problems here. First the good stuff. Really cool arrangement, neat concept, good instrumentation. This is just very pleasant. It's definitely one of your best works to come to the panel.
Now the problems.
- Poor mixing and mastering
- Everything sounds over reverbed. Everything sounds tiny and distant. This needs some clever use of reverb sends or per channel attention, as well as EQing. For the leads if you're not going for a realistic sound space, consider using short delays, like for the flute. Due to the reverb issue, there's a very muddy and distant sound going on throughout.
- All your instrumentals sound centered! Except the piano which sounds like it has player perspective recording. The centered sound of a lot of stuff is causing a bunch of problems for the mix. Give each instrument its own space in the stereo field.
- Some of the levels could be worked on, at times there's a lot of chaos here.
- Ending is abrupt.
Please consider these issues and resubmit, because there's a lot of great potential here. If you choose to resubmit, you can send the mix directly to one of us judges so there is no wait time. Good luck Ravi, you're coming along nicely. Your last two or three submissions are getting there. NO, please resubmit.
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I'm not sure what to think of this one. It attempts to sound chill/laid back, but the production and execution results in something that's neither explorative, atmospheric, chill or relaxing. It just sounds simplistic and underdeveloped. From a conceptual standpoint, the pacing needs to be better in my opinion. As far as instrumentation, this should be worked on as well. What's here is pretty simple and sparse sounding. On the production front, this sounds average. No interesting processing, and beyond average sound quality going on throughout.
I think this is an ok mix. There's really nothing wrong here, but there's nothing that stands out either. NO
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I heard this around half a year ago. Beyond magnificent, even today.
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Resubmit for already stated reasons. It's like this guy's sequencer/keyboard lost all the middle notes or something.
On top of that, the over-EQ in the high frequencies make this really not balanced. Abrupt ending...I say resub. NO.
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Slight problems. Rather weak production, I'm not sure what you use but there's plenty of free soundfonts and the like out there that could spice this up, unless you're using older hardware? Another little gripe, I would have wished more attention payed to the soundstage. There's little to no ambiance or depth placement here. The glockenspiel/chromatic bell is far too upfront and present in my opinion...still minor complaints. I did like the attention paid to the levels for the most part though.
Is it me or do some of the progressions sound like those from FF IV? Nice climax near the end.
Your arrangement, orchestration is great. Easy YES. Good job!
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I love the source material and I even tried to mix this twice, so I know this theme by heart.
I'm quite torn with this mix. I feel the production is slightly above average, but the way the whole mix was put together was very nicely done. I think Skrypnyk did a nice job of creating an interesting texture with sometimes only decent samples or synths. What I think this really needs is better processing techniques and more clever use of EQ to go far beyond what it could have been. Still, it's not a deal breaker, I think what's here is acceptable in this regard.
What I do love is the instrumentation, choice of sounds/synths. The mix just has a nice, lovely texture. And as DJP will tell you, I love my bells. The synth bell lead here is quite nice, I wish it were a tad more present in the mix. I also like the bell pads, reminds me a bit of Absynth style synths. The end result in this aspect for me was just a very pleasant listen.
I think your arrangement in some ways was a tad simple. You took a few bars from the melody and repeated it over and over, I think it helps that your genre and the source material fits in this style of context. I do like the work you did underneath the melody though.
Not the most daring mix, but there's not much wrong here. Production and Arrangement is just above the bar in my book, on top of that the result is a very interesting, enjoyable listen for me. Borderlilne YES.
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I have no problem with the production here at all. I actually like the soft, gentile, and intimate style here. The soft and warm piano tone and ambiance is great. Now where I do have some problems here is in the concept stage. I love liberal mixes and like artists push the envelope, but I feel the relationship between this arrangement and the source material is tenuous.
The whole package is pleasant and of good quality though. I suggest a resubmit if possible.
NO.
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I was a bit disappointed after hearing this. I guess I expected another Icon from binster. Listening to this more, I think this is still passable. I don't think this mix is as engaging as it could have been, but the arrangement, synth design and production are all above the bar. I also don't think the subdued melody is at all a deterent here. I guess my biggest issue with this mix, is it feels underdeveloped to me. By the time I got to enjoy the musical scenery of the mix, it was over.
While I have a few reservations on this mix, it's still good enough for a borderline YES.
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Thanks for the comments everyone.
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Great stuff. Reu's style is pretty apparent. A lot of his mixes have a signature sound. A lot of people complain when that happens with mixers, but I think it's a good thing. There's nothing wrong with finding your own style and sticking with it.
I agree with vig that the percussion is too strong, but this is pretty typical of this type of music. However, I feel the percussion would have been better further back in the soundstage, it's fairly upfront placement. It's a personal taste though. I also wish the asian woodwind was louder and more upfront myself.
Good arrangement, nice varied instrumentation, very good production. Loved the ending parts in particular. Quality mix, easy YES.
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Pretty much covered by Liontamer and Israfel.
Lots of trance staples here, but I think the arrangement and composition is pretty standard. There's really not much exploration of the theme or composition here.
Production, synth design in general is average, some eq work is in order here to separate the sounds a bit. I love textural meshes, but for this style, I think more definition would be nice.
I did very much like the ending sections in terms of composition and synth design. Definitely the strongest material of the mix in this part of the mix.
Pretty decent overall, but just under the bar I'm afraid. Keep at it, you have promise. NO
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Pretty simple to determine the problem here. On top of what the other judges said, I too felt the faster passages of the mix were very unnatural. The production also sounded unnatural. I'm not sure what hardware or software you use? If you're at all able to use soundfonts, there's a bunch of great free ones available. As I don't know what you use specifically, my advice on this topic ends here. Average samples and production overall.
Your arrangement and concept is really great and there's plenty of impressive things going on here, but the execution and performance just sounds both unnatural and robotic. If you can find a pianist to play this, this would be a great mix. Average overall, and under the bar. I hope to hear more from you soon. NO
*NO* Battletoads (GB) 'Funky Frozen'
in Judges Decisions
Posted
There really is nothing going on here. There's a very muddy kick drum, with other drums, bass line and then the melody. This needs a lot more compositional and arrangement work. At least put some midrange pads to sit between the bass and melody.
The other judges have covered the other issues.
NO.