DarkSim

This thread is my advent calendar for this year. Amazing stuff! I'm downloading them alllllll

Hi, welcome to OCR! So there are some mixing issues - that piano is nice, but everything else seems a bit low in the mix, especially the drums and that synth right after the piano intro. The main thing I find with this is that all the sounds are a bit generic-sounding. I'd say look into expanding your synth library and experimenting with new sounds. Congrats on the A, though

Yeah that was delightful! Like an old timey jam on the porch. O Cuccos, Where Art Thou?

OK so I gave this a listen or 2 and that is a very nice intro! However after that there are a number of problems that are pretty glaring... the piano is clipping loads (can you hear the distortion? That's clipping) and the soundscape feels very disjointed. The backing is nice and mellow, but the piano is so harsh and the pad is far too quiet. I'd suggest hitting up this section of the forums for some production tutorials, and Rozovian has written this excellent guide for people wanting to get posted on OCR. It's definitely a great starting point, especially if you're stuck in a rut at the moment and need some inspiration, or a new approach. Good luck

Yeeeeey! Stats! I'd like to celebrate by sharing this recent photo of myself:

Every so often a mix comes along that is SO GOOD I just have to link it to people who have no interest in VGM at all, and this is one of them. Every single component of this just blows my mind. To start with, it's a great source, but to do it this well... it's an incredible feat. Everything's so clean, right from the acoustic guitar intro to the live trombone, and even the chiptune section is integrated seamlessly. The electric piano soloing is a glorious way to end it, and yet still leave me wanting more. That's what the replay button is for I guess! Even amongst all this excellence though, there's one part that does stand out further, and that's the percussion. I really appreciate a well thought out drum pattern, and this has such variation and groove that even just listening to the backing is enough to get you dancing. There's so much detail in there, right down to some stick work towards the end in the final breakdown. Marvellous!

OK chums LET'S DO THIS! Castlemania 2010 Voodoo, Roots 'n' Grog Lost In The Mines

For some reason it never occurs to me to start mixes off with the beat in full swing, but whenever I listen to someone else's mix that does it I instantly keep it playing. Maybe I should try that myself. Anyway, I love the groove, the melodies, and the overall style of this track. It's sitting right underneath "Too Soon" from Ben Briggs' Attention Deficit EP and I think it's a great follow-on track to that. The transition to 6/8 I really enjoyed, I think it's really smooth and a nice change to finish. I actually changed to 6/8 for the final 2 bars in my Machinarium remix after listening to this quite a few times, so it's definitely been an influence. My only gripe is that the filter seems to come up a little too quickly after it's swept down, but that's so small I feel a little bad for saying it, but there you go. SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT FOR NEXT TIME OK? Cheers

It's a slight improvement, but my worry is that you've worked on it for so long you're only making relatively small changes (I do this all the time). You should try and remove all reverb, and build it back up from the ground. The percussion after the drop is so flimsy it really doesn't bring the song to a satisfying conclusion after that really cool build up. If you haven't already heard it, this is a remix of the same source in a similar style http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02143/ - you should aim for the clarity of production evident in this, as this is what the judges will have in mind when evaluating this mix. Notice how each individual element is clear and has its own space. I don't know if you've EQ'd all your tracks yet, but slice them up so that each one occupies its own range and there is minimal overlap. Once the EQing is done, you'll find you can make out everything more clearly, and up the volume of the mix without it sounding muddy, thus allowing for bigger builds and drops. Thankfully, the arrangement's all there, so just concentrate on production and you should have a really great remix. Good luck!

Oh, very nice first effort! Just want to add that I agree with Monobrow - this mix is sopping wet Also the build and drop before the final chorus, where the "door unlocked" chime comes in could be a little more pronounced - again could be a product of the reverb merging the sections together. Great effort, clean it up and I'd love to hear it again!

I like it as well, could stand to have a bit more of a dynamic arrangement (more breakdowns), and some more original material, but it's a great start. I'd happily play UT to this

DarkSim approves. Totally awesome cover, this is what the original was meant to sound like I think! If you add more original parts then you should submit this to OCR - we need more PD remixes!

I'm quickly becoming a huge fan of The Whelchel, and this mix just blows my mind! Someone was certainly delivering a few odd mushrooms to the potion shop when making this...

He speaks the truth

Wow, today I learned..! Thanks for that info, I'll have to check out those other 2 sources as well.

Ah crap, I can't make it! Would have been cool to meet you lot, maybe next year eh?

Yeah, I'd love to see a remix from any of the RCT games! Listening to the "Rock Style 2" theme right now - used to use this on all my badass inverted coasters!

I heartily endorse Zool 2 remixes. I keep trying to remix the title theme but it never seems to flow well enough to better the original. That game has seriously awesome music though, and I WILL do a remix of it one day. The game wasn't bad either!

Dubstep: the musical Marmite; you either love it or hate it. Personally I like everything in moderation, and zircon's forays into dubstep don't just end with "lol the bass has wobble so the track's finished", but are typically well-rounded and varied affairs (see also: Buzzsaw). As mentioned in the write-up, the synths alone are hugely varied to give the track a really fresh sound throughout, in addition to high melodic content as well as the signature bass and drum processing indicative of the genre. I urge anyone put off by the "dubstep" tag to give it a listen - it's a natural progression from other forms of electronica, and when used in this way, as zircon does, it restores a sense of respectability that I think is perhaps lacking at the moment, given the volume of lazy dubstep remixes out there.

Ooooh yes BP - Congrats on the 2nd mixpost, and I love this track! Never heard the source or played the game, so I can't comment on that side of it, but based on what I'm hearing I approve! If it was me, I'd probably have extended the length a bit with a half-tempo section in there just to break up the pace a little, and maybe help with a final drop, but that doesn't take anything away from this arrangement you have here.

Hey Rozo had a birthday? Well, congratulations on that! And thanks for being awesome on the WIP boards.

I remember hearing this when you posted it up on IRC. Thankfully, that memory can be recreated by listening to this piece again! Beautiful stuff

Heard this one a lot now and it's really grown on me. Excellent stuff

Very nice changes to this - it's very intricate and technical. Beautiful guitar, and that piano's not bad either. The strings at the end are a little quiet, maybe I could help you with that. I know you said it was "too epic", but cmon... I reckon it needs a nice, warm string backing for a little bit See what others think, eh? Definitely evokes the JFG feel, and OCR desperately needs that game represented!