GrayLightning

As zyko said, the intro is ridiculous. Everything else is high quality, however as the other judges noted it does not fit the criteria of OCR. NO

What? I really have no idea what you are trying to say here. could you clarify? I mostly meant even though OCR has one main, clear standard there are special considerations that we do and have taken into account in the past. As far as technical or compositional judgements - one can't hold one singular technical standard for avant garde vs orchestral or one can't judge a rap mix's compositional content with say symphonic because different genres have different rules. Every genre dictates some different compositional, instrumental, etc. choices. As judges, part of the decision process is to distinguish criticism of a mix rather than criticism of rules that apply to a given genre. So in that sense, I mentioned that genre distinction is sometimes necessary.

I agree with zyko, but the only time genre ratings or parsings need to be considered is that different genres have different rules.

This is tricky. Israfel noted a lot of the positives in this mix that I also enjoyed. I actually liked the arrangement here. Sequencing is very mechanical, but I don't think it detracts this kind of mix too badly. Production is average. There are some excellent samples here, like the choir, but it's not used to its full potential. The mix is in need of more reverb, better eqing. Right now the samples, good as they are, sound kind of dull due to the lack of processing. The last quarter of the mix is particularly solid and enjoyable. I really hope you consider working on this more and resubmitting. I want to Yes it, but right now it needs a bit more work. Borderline No.

I don't mind. However, is everyone going to contest votes they don't like? I don't really feel this is one of those special circumstances. This one isn't that questionable imo. But if you guys want to continue to the vote, that's fine.

This is so great, catchy and enjoyable. But unfortunately the arragement is kind of conservative. There definitely are additions here, so I would not categorize this simply as just a cover. I suggest the mixer expand the ideas here more. In case the mixer isn't familiar with OCR Arrangement standards that would mean either changing the tempo, key changes, instrumental additions or subtractions, expanding the melody or harmony, genre change, changing the form or structure. At least several of these need to be met in order to go beyond a cover, conservative arrangement, etc. I love the production values here. Great dense delay/reverb. Awesome in that aspect. Please retool this and resubmit. I'd love to see this on the site. NO, for now.

In order not to repeat what has already been said, two main issues here for me. It needs more arrangement, a more thought out one. Second, this is really cluttered and cluttered with bad notes too. This is really cool, but it needs more work and polish to capitalize on some of the cool ideas here. NO, but please consider working on this more for a resubmit.

I guess you can take Gecko Yamori out of Streets of Rage, but you can't take Streets of Rage out of Gecko Yamori. The progression, style of this bleeds with SOR. I loved the music of Sonic CD and I think GY did a good job with the arrangement aspect. The blending of his SoR style with the Sonic CD source material works well for me. My main gripe is the horribly bland and downer of an ending. I can see what the others are saying, and I do agree to a degree, but I don't think it's enough of an issue for me to personally request resubmit. Fun listen, nice arrangement, a YES from me.

This thread is intended to match potential performers and mixers under one thread. Recently there have been several performers offering their services in various capacities. While this is noble and welcome, having several performers create their own threads for the topic might become not feasible. Performers and mixers should post here to either offer their services or for the latter to look for live performers. Edit: Thanks to Dhsu for starting and organizing the list below. Bass: MrMagicHat (electric) pingosimon (upright) polar- (electric) Prophet of Mephisto (electric, stringed) Bassoon: MagiNinja Wallace Guyford Brass: nodspaw51 (trombone) Prophet of Mephisto (trumpet, trombone, tuba) Cello: Blak_Omen Woodwind: MagiNinja (Clarinet) pingosimon (Clarinet) Trenthian (Recorder (sopranino - tenor) and Clarinet) Guitar (acoustic): Geoffrey Taucer Less Ashamed Of Self LuIzA MrMagicHat Guy In Rubber Suit Sixto(?) Guitar (electric): A.M.P. Darangen Geoffrey Taucer HartZa LuIzA MrMagicHat Prophet of Mephisto (?) Soraya Piano: Bladiator marquedous MagiNinja Miku Prophet of Mephisto Rexy SILVERWOLF Keyboards: (Clavi, Rhodes, Organ, EP, Acoustic) Trenthian Sax: Prophet of Mephisto Violin: MagiNinja pingosimon Voice (male): Aetherius(?) Hale-Bopp (tenor) mythril nazgul (rap) neminem (bass, baritone, tenor) Less Ashamed Of Self (tenor?, rap, beatbox, scat) Voice (female): LuIzA (mezzo/soprano) Other: Trenthian (kazoo, spoons, jaw-harp) Samples: LuIzA - Timeless Heart Miku - http://www.soundclick.com/bands/7/mikuonpianomusic.htm MrMagicHat - Acoustic guitar, Electric guitar Prophet of Mephisto - http://www.soundclick.com/theprophetofmephisto SILVERWOLF - http://www.soundclick.com/bands/6/silverwolf87music.htm

I think vigilante nailed the problems here. However, I'm not as down on this mix as the others are. The mastering is fine. If the levels of this need to be brought up, I would not go higher too much than an overall gain of 2-3 db. This needs slightly more dynamics in my opinion as well. Main problem for me is the mix didn't seem to have any clear direction. It jumped around here and there throughtout the mix. For this genre, and this style, I don't feel it works. Not bad. I hope you decide to retool this and resubmit. I'm digging some of the ideas presented, but it needs a lot more work and polish. NO

This is really great. Fantastic piano work, cool pads, nice drums. My main gripe here is everything is so loud, especially the two minutes of this mix where it's particularly strong. Music like this doesn't need to be this overcompressed/limited. Professionals at various publications have spent a great deal of time educating the average joe with a compressor/limiter handy. Here is an example: Quote from an issue of Electronic Musician from Tim Palmer, “The current trend for overcompression doesn't do it for me,” says Palmer. “It makes things sound very, very loud, but also very undynamic and small. Lately, even the mastering engineers seem to be bored with the cheap thrill of overcompression! If you're mastering specifically for the radio, you obviously have to make sure your songs aren't going to dip compared to your competition. But a commercial CD for home use should have some depth. Lately every CD is prepared as though it's on the radio already. I want my CDs to sound more dynamic and have more variation in sound and level.” A mix of this nature, in my opinion, should not be anywhere this strong. Still while it is worth noting, it isn't a big enough issue to detract. Cool mix. YES

Really great stuff all around. Love the synths and the guitar work by vigilante is of course excellent. Great vocals by danb and zyko. Great mix, easy YES.

Nice arrangement. My biggest issue here is the underdeveloped, sparseness of the mix. As analoq said, the vocals are burried here as well. Fun mix, but the average execution, production and repetivity make this a NO for me.

I completely agree with some of the detractors of the mix, Israfel used the perfect word here. I thought the performance was hesitant at times. But overall, I have to say I enjoyed the arrangement and yes there are some performance flubs, the meaning of the mix clearly was expressed well. The orchestral section sit well with me personally, but I thought that part was very very mechanical. Still, I really like the arrangement here overall, and I think the performance is passable enough where I don't feel it's necessary to force a resubmission. I also feel that clinically correct performances sometimes take away from the live and spontenous feel. I thought it added a sense of charm to some degree here. I also really like the pacing here. Emotional mix and a final YES from me to close the vote.

Reason 3 beta testing and first info now available! http://www.ocremix.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=1267515#1267515

I heard the wip of this, and am pleased to hear the final result. Arrangement and orchestration is great and beyond the bar. There is no reason to no this. Quality work from an upstart mixer. Congrats on your first OC mix, blake. YES.

Ok, perhaps outside israfel, no one on the panel appreciates avant garde more than I, however, I can't agree with the other judges on this one. It's hard to critique the structure, form and arrangement of this kind of genre because really there aren't that many rules one can adhere to. But for me the result and execution of it just doesn't work. I think the arrangement is certainly unique, but I don't feel the arrangement really works or is as interesting as his other works; and the execution, production, mixing, and mastering are well below what I've come to expect from Shnabubula or from the standard for that matter. I do like the drum and percussive work. Drumwork is very good all around and has interesting mix processing. As far as the entire mix, overall, the production, sound quality though is average through and through in my book, and the effects processing is kind of bland as well. I really can't find any reason for a YES so my vote is NO

I actually like the drum sounds, it's very similar to how movie and tv composers mangle their drums with a low pass filter/phaser or detuning combo. I think in this case adding more reverb would have given it a thicker sound. So yes, the main issue here is conservative arrangement. Mix it up, expand the melody, harmony, change the rhythms, change the structure and form of the piece, something really. Pretty cool, but without the arrangement factor. NO

It's already a Yes, but since I had this I'd like to comment anyway. The first version Jared submitted of this was an instant NO due to the lack of arrangement. Jared did a very nice job of taking our input and reworking the mix. The result is a really polished, well orchestrated mix. My only gripe is the rhythm, driving percussion gets very, very repetitive. I would have liked a more evolving backdrop. Great mix. Easy Yes regardless.

There's a lot of questionable notes in this. The problem here as vigilante pointed out is the lack of instrumentation in different ranges. The result is a sparse sounding mix. We have a melody, drums and the rest seems either not there or not present enough. Considering the sparseness of the mix, the reverbed lead isn't too much of an issue. I think it's fine, but perhaps smarter EQ work on the lead would work better. Since there is a middle eastern vibe here, why not expand on that concept. Add reeds or oboes or middle eastern percussion or rhythms to help add depth to this mix? Decent, but for me it's just too sparse due to the simplistic composition. Needs more. NO

Really great guitar work. I do agree completely with the other judges, however, the great work in that regard and neat arrangement makes this a difficult one. I'm rejecting this due to the many failings of the mix that have been covered already, but that doesn't take away from the mix's high points and enjoyability. Work on the other elements of the mix beyond the guitar and resubmit. Bordeline No.

This mix does nail the surf-guitar style. I think the lead has a tad too much reverb personally. My main issue here is I think more is needed as far as expanding the melody or background components. It's too straightforward. I'm very torn, as this is cool and I like this one a lot. NO for now. Please expand on this and resubmit.

Problems everywhere. Lots of clipping and audio artifacts/problems as mentioned by others. Needlessly long. Focus the mix on the meat. There's a lot of repetition of fairly weak material that could be cut off. During the more complex sections of the mix, there's a lot of mixing issues. Volume, panning and eq problems. The result is one mesh of sounds. Structural problems - the mix seems to jump from one idea to another and then repeated. The arrangement is decent. Your source material is already excellent and this just pales in comparison. Semidecent mix that's pulled down by a lot of problems. Try posting this on the WIP forum to get more input. NO

Ellywu2 Fallthrough Remix Name: Shadows over the Empire Remix of: (http://www.laurasmidiheaven.com/0vg/PC-Warhammer-ShadowOfTheHornedRat.shtml , The one called 'Title') Game: Warhammer - Shadow of the Horned Rat Original Composer: James Hannigan/ Mark Knight Remixer Name: Ellywu2 My Blurb: Well, this is a mix i submitted in August, but well, obviously it didnt register or something like that? Either way here it is! Done in Fruityloops and using various VSTi's. Thanks, and keep up the good work. -----------------------------------------------

Enter stage left after the vote - GrayLightning. I can see why this split the panel. I too was a bit split on this. On one hand I felt as the other judges did. I think this is particularly strongly felt in the first half of the mix where it tended to drag on and the dynamic range and tension was already fully realized before it got anywhere. I thought the second half was much more strongly executed. I think you could focus on this part of the mix, if you decide to rework on it. I felt this was the meat of the mix. Drumwork throughout is really well done, particularly in the last half. I also thought you handled subtlety and volume mixing in a much more sophisticated manner than is expected of a first time submitter. For example the windchimes/belltrees. Very subtle but present at the same time. I think some some EQ work, particularly attention paid in the treble section would have helped spice up the mix. A little more reverb here or short delays would have worked too. Perhaps a small spaced/short tailed reverb. Further effects processing would have been also nice with say the guitar. The ending sections itself, I felt was the highlight. Everything came together for me at this point. Great stuff there. I also enjoyed the bass and piano work throughout. Clearly there are some issues here, there's a lot to like too though. I hope you take the judgements for what they are and decide to resubmit soon. Hope to hear more from you in the future. I strongly suggest resubmission.