DarkSim

Ha! I'm getting a reputation, eh? Same here dude. I'm procrastinating by leaving feedback on these boards Just copy/paste the URL to your track, it automatically embeds. Leave it a few seconds when you're writing your message and you'll see it come up.

Honest feedback, eh? Let's have a listen... OK the intro could do with either being shorter by about 50 seconds, or making those first 50 seconds build better and create more of an interesting soundscape/atmosphere. When the claps come in at 1:02 they sound super thin and don't suit the other sounds at all. I like the vocal pad and the chopping you've done to it, and things really start to get good when that bass arp comes in. Really weak plucks for the melody line, but I love the background glitchy effects you've got going on there with the other pluck at 1:47. Glitch/beat repeat effects are used well later on too. Where did the snare/clap go after the first verse? Ah, 2:51-3:22! I know I said I didn't like the clap, but you gotta get a snare in there somewhere, especially for the final drop. That hihat is also way too loud in the mix, and so static in terms of velocity and panning that it begins to grate towards the end of the track. Kick is nice and punchy though. Interesting jazz flute sound towards the end, as well - sounds a bit like a half-idea at the moment. I'd say either double down on it and bring it into a proper lead, or switch it out for a more synthetic sound. It's a decent start, but the arrangement and instrumentation needs some work. You've got a great foundation with the kick, bass arp, vocal pad, some nice plucks in the build, and good use of glitch effects to add some detail. I'd say work on the atmosphere a bit more, adding more detail and variation to your sounds. I'd like to hear more from that vocal pad, which is really nice, and definitely some better lead synths. That clap can probably be saved by layering it and dropping it down in the mix, maybe less reverb, but you may as well try different samples as well. There isn't much build and transition between sections, especially for the final chorus at about 3:22 - you want that to be the focal point of your track that everything has been building to, so make it count and save your best stuff for this section. Hope you improve this one, as I'd like to hear more!

Mm, nice and chilled cover. By far the best part is the guitar playing, especially the embellishments from 3:02, but the synth backing is solid and allows the guitar to shine.

Goes really well with the video!

Maybe it has to be a full youtube url, not shortened? Source: Hmmm, listening to your version next to the source, it's a decent cover, but given that you've chosen to use FM sounds and cover it in the same style, it doesn't add much. It's always going to be a challenge when you make a cover in this way. Still, it's a good learning experience. Are you committed to an FM style, or would you consider making a more liberal arrangement with more modern synths and production?

Kinda reminds me of this KLF tune, at least the riff at that point, not the weird video...

Hey, great to see you tackling this theme 12 years after requesting it! Love the organ here, it sounds great. I'm not sure about the synths - although there is side-to-side panning in the original source, it's on a pad texture, and it's a really disorienting feeling to put that side-to-side effect on the bass synth. Once the panning stops at 0:53 it sounds a whole lot better. I like to use a similar fat sawtooth sound for a lot of my bass sounds, but you definitely don't want to be panning it like that. I'm pretty surprised you've got this kind of sound out of GarageBand, but I think in order to elevate it to the next level, you really need a better DAW to get into the finer details of mixing. Also, a fadeout ending? Boooo!

Link doesn't seem to work, but I found it on Spotify. Original source here: I've taken a break from OCR for a few years, but one thing I noticed when I came back recently was how high the standards are these days. With that in mind, I'd say your mix would have had a good chance of making it on to OCR some years ago, but I think there are some fixes you could make to it that would give it a much better shot nowadays. I'll be extra critical because you've marked it as 'ready for review'. That arp that is present for the majority of the mix reminds me of bLiNd's Dance Nation track from 2009, but listening to them side by side you can clearly hear the difference in mixing quality. Now I know bLiNd is pretty much the gold standard in mixing, but your mix does seem excessively limited in the stereo field, as well as very muddy - could be a reverb issue? Comparing it to the original source tune as well, your mix sounds a bit too distant and not as clean. At 6:19 in length, for me there wasn't enough variation in sound design and arrangement to justify the last 2 minutes. The drop at 3:14 felt like it was leading into the final chorus for me, however the build was pretty weak and exposed some of the mixing issues I mentioned earlier. I would say that in its current state, it would get rejected on those grounds, however I am neither a judge nor a workshop moderator, so take what I say with a grain of salt! I hope you can see areas you could improve this track, and maybe give it a revamp for OCR.

Whoa, this is so much cleaner! Really like all the tweaks you've made to this. The pitchbends, the little extra detail in the break sections, the cleaner kick and bass, nice risers and auxiliary percussion. Everything sounds really spacious and has its own place within the mix. There are still a few minor tweaks I'd make personally to the overall master, but at this point it's just a personal taste thing so I'll just say well done, and good luck if you decide to submit. Great job on this, it's come a long way!

Looks like between you and TAIKOI, we've got a load of rock themes covered! That run at 1:34... nice

Looks like you enjoyed that one! Good stuff

Mmmm yes, I love this source! I see you've taken quite a few sections from the original and chosen to sample them, speeding it up and adding some hard drums and synths to it. It seems to me like you're trying to go in one direction with this, but the original source samples are pulling in another. The original sound design seems a little too chill for your urgent remix, but I like where you're going with it. Maybe you could try adding some distortion or other effects to the samples to make them grittier, and more fitting with your additions.

Sounds pretty cool! While I was looking for the source on youtube, I found some pretty sweet remixes of this same source. One guy who remixed it in 2015 actually was hired to compose for Sonic Mania

OK so I was trying to do this track justice with some drums, but it's so beautiful and natural sounding that I wasn't getting too far. Instead I came up with this... I just love your piece Juke, this is just a bit of fun Those flute samples sound incredible btw. Pretty much indistinguishable from a live performance.

I feel like this is way better than it has any right to be, having been made on a phone! I guess if you pick presets from a small selection, they won't clash too much. Does the app only allow 4 channels at once?

Hey, the permissions on your Google drive aren't letting me listen

Nice arrangement, it's quite a bold switch to put this source into solo piano because it's a relatively sparse piece. I feel like maybe you've over-corrected some of the jazzier sections, which might benefit from being a little looser with the timings on the right-hand parts. My favourite section is actually the part from 3:22, because it feels more suited to piano.

Damn, nice playing! I like your Pokemon Gym one too.

I agree with Souperion here - there's a lot going on and it all sounds very crowded. You can see the waveform of the audio in the bottom left - it's very similar the whole way through, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but listening all the way through is quite tiring on the ears because there are no break sections. The frequency spectrum in the top right is virtually maxed out on all frequencies the whole time too. It feels like one 3+ minute long section, so you should maybe try and break it up a little so that the listener doesn't fatigue before the end.

More synthwave? Yes please! Love that lead at 2:46, and those tom rolls are great. The intro is really cool, although the fadeout ending is a bit of a cop-out. Still, a great debut from Astral Tales. Hope to hear more from them

Wow, this is beautiful! I absolutely love remixing tracks from obscure/under-represented games (check my remix history), so this got my attention immediately. Beautiful instrumentation, and the riverside ambience definitely evokes a chilled out afternoon fishing for some delicious bass. The drums aren't as clean as the rest of it, but if you wanted to go down the lofi route then they're not bad at all. Love the smattering of Zelda's Lullaby in there too, it fits perfectly. Awesome stuff! Hope you get it to a place where you can submit it. If you want some better drum samples, maybe I can record something for you. Would be fun to see a Super Black Bass 3 remix on OCR

Hey there, this is definitely salvageable. Some cool ideas, great vibe and cohesive sound design overall. Like you say, the mixing is a bit of a mess, but you seem to have listened to it with a fresh ear and identified key areas you need to work on. Quite a lot of high frequency content here that could be better EQd, and some extra width to the soundscape would be nice. Personally I just love when the groove comes in - you've got this lovely ambient soundscape built up, and then the groove slides in effortlessly and brings it all together. I don't even mind the punchy snare too much, but do see if you can switch it up for something a little tighter. Maybe just layer something on top, and dial back the volume of this one. I also like the idea of a few more drum fills/patterns, but definitely keep the groove you've got going and don't overdo it. Looking forward to hearing it with all those tweaks you mentioned. Nice job!

Gorgeous pads at the start, lovely sound design throughout, although I wasn't entirely sold on the double-time section in the middle. Regardless, I love this kinda stuff so let's have more synthwave on OCR please!

No problem dude, that's what these boards are here for, and you've gone about things the right way - getting as far as you can with some promising tracks before posting for critique, and most importantly, being open to some constructive criticism! I wouldn't go so far as to say this is the final version just yet, though. As far as arrangement goes, I think it's pretty solid. Not much else needs doing to it - I really like your new ending. Try and let that delay ring out for a few more seconds just for the full effect. I'm not very good with music theory, so maybe someone else can weigh in on this, but as you go into the first "verse" at 1:00, those house plucks are playing a chord that sounds a little off-key for the melody. Might want to take a look at that and just try switching up some notes and seeing if it sounds more natural. On the mastering side, I can hear you've ramped up the compressor gain between versions 2 and 3 - do you notice the difference when you hear them side by side? Version 2 for me sounds better because it's not being pushed so hard. The treble in the opening synth is much harsher in version 3, whereas it's fine in version 2. The kick in V3 is being pushed too hard in the low end there, and beginning to muddy things up, and the bass sounds less warm and more flabby. All these things are caused by compressor gains, so it's a very easy fix, but it's important to realise how compressors affect the qualities of the sound, rather than just how they make them louder. Having large gains on the master compressor only works if you already have a very tight mix, with everything sitting in its own space (in stereo and also mid/side). One good thing about having the gains high in the mastering is that it highlights mixing problems! I mentioned the kick before, but I think it could definitely do with a bit more EQing to make it sound cleaner. Listen to the parts where it plays on its own such as 0:14 and 2:41. There's a sort of thumping sound after the initial hit - that's the tail of the transient being compressed and making it sound almost like a reverb. Listening back to V2, I can hear it there but it's much less audible. A little more EQ reduction on the high end of the lead synth would also make it sound a little more pleasing to the ear (more like V2). But hey, I'm going into such detail because it seems like it's getting much better each time. See how far you've brought it in 2 days? Why stop now when you're making such good progress? I'd say make a few changes, then don't listen to it for a couple of days (it's tough, I know!). Come back to it with fresh ears and see if you think it needs more work, then post again once you're happy.

Hey, definitely a big improvement! I really like the final transition up to 3:11, that sounds great, and it's a nice switch up from the first one at 1:00. Mixing sounds really clean with the synths. The clap sound could maybe do with a little less reverb and also a slight drop in volume. Either that, or layer it up with another sound and/or some velocity changes so that it doesn't always sound exactly the same. That bass still sounds nice, but I would like it a little bit louder in the mix so I can really appreciate it! Finally, try and work out a neater way to end the track, maybe let your own creativity shine a little more here, and come up with something unique for a big finish. How do you feel when you listen to the two different versions? Are you much happier with the second one? I certainly am, keep at it.