DJSoto13

Thanks so much, Marcusg. I looked up the links you sent me, and they worked well. After watching a few more tutorials on technique, I kind of started messing around (two original compositions on my SoundCloud show that). But tonight, I was in a sort of productive mood, and I revisited this. http://soundcloud.com/djsoto13/super-mario-world-castle It's a revision, added a little original content, rearranged it, EQ'd it, etc. What do you guys think?

Merry holidays - what do you want me to send you? I could just send an mp3, but what part do you wanna vocalize? The first part, or the second part (with the bubbly chord progression in the background, the one that changes tempo)? Ask and ye shall [most likely] receive, if you still want it.

Okay, so it's been a bit, but here's what I'd like to call the finished product. The part I'm most tentative about - the drums. But, anyways... Source: Remix: http://soundcloud.com/djsoto13/super-mario-world-castle-dubstep

Thanks, DarkSim. Yeah, I submitted it and looked around, only to find myself humbled by that remix. But I absolutely love Hot Top (sorry, but Taj's is... not my favorite). I just had them there because, to me, they kind of fit together (the tempoes were the same, which surprised me a little). But, yeah, I feel like HTV could go much farther. Plus, like I said, this wasn't really a remix, just two finished arrangements. I'll come up with a remix [probably, hopefully] soon. Thanks Anyone know of any good sitar VSTs?

A bit busy recently, but I had some time off yesterday and today and just decided to grind. Two things came out of it - a Final Fantasy medley and a Diddy Kong Racing duet/duel thing. First, FF. My remix (or at least arranged medley) The sources: That was a bit of a loosely put-together medley, but I kind of felt that I wanted to do it just to get back into the feel of composing/arranging. It's a sort of orchestra-meets-guitar-meets-electronica (hence the synths and electronic drums, dominant guitar part, and orchestral strings and percussion). Secondly, DKR. My remix (or at least arranged medley) The sources: Both of these are kind of strung together. This one ends in a sort of duel - which is kind of where I got the name from. Establish the themes, then pit them against each other. Thoughts? EQ advice/critism? Overall critism/advice? Thanks, OCR

That... That just might work. THANK YOU I will try that.

Reason 4 is what I use.

haha yeah, well... I kinda deserved that. Although they can use a little more EQ-ing, they're really quiet in comparison. It's because any time I try and put them up to the higher level, this one bit with the hi-hat (triplet-feel, and I'm really tentative about calling them triplets, because I'm not totally sure) always cuts through in a jarring sort of feel. It sounds too harsh and too out-of-place. For those of you who are familiar with Reason 4, I'm using a Dr. REX loop (for those who aren't, it's a simple drum loop machine). I edited the loop to what you hear in the first part of the song. I don't know how to isolate each instrument (snare hit, hi-hat, etc) and adjust their volume/EQ them individually. The most I can do is EQ it as a whole, which is the sound that you're hearing. If anyone can help me with EQ-ing a Dr. REX loop, that would be so great. I hate that damn hi-hat. Lol Most recent version:

Okay, the third "finished" version. The drums are a little more solid (although I just can't figure out how to get the drums at the beginning to be more "oomph"-y and more solid, like the ones in the second half of the song). The song itself is arranged a little differently (two different wobbles, a lengthier song with different tempoes of the same parts), and I did get the FX (reverse cymbals, crashes) either mostly removed, or very toned-down. Thar ye go.

@Mysterious1ne Vocals would be a nice touch. Remix of a remix? And the pace changes... I think I did the tempo changes for the song. The beginning is 140, because that's a good tempo to sound like the original and conform to dubstep "standards". The intro to the scale progression is 102, again, to capture a bit of a feel, get into a groove, and make it sound good. The change to 120 (the end) can be attributed to a change in mood (it sounds a little darker, IMO), and the whole 100-seconds left tempo change in the original SMW. So, if you want to lay some vocals over it, I can give you a .mp3 of the finalized version, and a version at each of the tempoes (140, 102, and 120), if you'd like (probably before Christmas). @Electrolisystem Thanks, and that's kind of what I was going to edit (transitions, intro/outro) before I posted the final version (I know the thread is "finished"). @Kooper909 Yeah, that's a bit of a problem for me. I'm trying to get them up without overshadowing anything and still keeping a good sound. I'm trying tricks, and I'll have a result soon (hopefully). The reason I'm editing this post is to post the more finalized version. The intro's just a simple fade-in, the drums are a little louder, although I am having some trouble with the hi-hats, so I'm kind of... Crappily EQ-ing them. But at least they're more solid/louder. Thanks for your comments/criticisms, guys!

@ M249 Well, the WUBUBUBUBUBU (scale progression) is pretty loud as it is in the mixer (Reason 4). So... Do you suggest playing around with a filter on it/other things, or adjusting volume everywhere, or placing relatively random drops...? Thanks for the advice, though.

Thanks for your help, guys. Aside from taking Doni's advice (compression and a slight chorus), I made it a little more dubsteppyish (a bit more wobble, nothing too filthy/no drops or anything).

Great drums, just great. At the intro, IMO, the flute sounds a little harsh. Maybe substitute it with a different instrument, bring it down, or ignore me At first, the clashing of 3/4 and 4/4 annoyed me a little, but when the wobble came in, it seemed to mesh together much better than it did before. I don't know why, but... Yeah. Great tone for the wobble, although it might do with only a smidgen of filth on it. That's a great job for the first time, miles ahead of mine haha

I personally LOVED. AND I MEAN LOVED the sounds I just heard. True, the source is really small (catchy and amazing, but small), and does better when it's woven in in a medley, but I like what you did. Maybe expand on the drums a little more? And elongate the song, like putting a buildup with the drums and bass (kind of like what you had at the end of the song), and building into an explosion (cymbal crash, drop down, build up, then explode into the source). Overall, loved it, and you should, uh, totally teach me how to mimic (edit: pay tribute to) those synths PLEASE!!!

So, it's been awhile since I've posted (been pretty busy), but here's the Castle Theme from Super Mario World in a dubstep/hip-hop interpretation. I have a few questions: How do I get the drums to sound "thicker"? EQ, maximizer, stereo, what? Does anyone have any links to drum composition tutorials? I can hack out a passable drum beat in ReDrum, but here, I'm using a couple of mixed-around drum loops. Any EQ/mastering things you noticed while listening to it? Is it too quiet? Original: Thanks, OCR.

A little bit of an 8-bit-ish thing I threw together. I really love the melody. It's not too VG-ish, because there's violins/choir and a simulated beach sound, but it relies heavily on triangle/sine sounds (8-bit-ish).

Something quick, delicate, and somber I threw together in about 5 hours. Mastering could use some work, the song could vary itself a bit more, but it's nice and concise, and I love it.

1. Filter automation, I can do that relatively... Okayish. So just play with random filters, pitch bends... And distortion - just run it through a stompbox (Reason 4's Scream 4 Distortion is what I use), or layer it and make it fat like that? Tips, etc...? 2. Export and process? Like repeated copy-paste?

A quick first attempt at some dubstep. I'll end up making a dubstep-themed remix soon, but before that, I wanted to just play around with some original stuff. Thoughts? I actually want to make it like... DIRTY dubstep. Like this http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=30428

THE NEXT REVISION is basically the same. I kinda got that concert-hall feel. But it's like someone who snuck into the hall at the beginning, got bumped to the back of the hall by security, and the sound kinda suffered for that. The reason being, it was quite loud in Reason and in MP3 form. So after that, I tried to pull it down. Kinda did. So... Yeah. Also, does anyone know about any ReFills or soundfonts that are like 8-bit, old-school video game sounds?

Are there any soundfonts/Refills for Reason that simulate an 8-bit, old-school video game sound? Also, does anyone know of any good rock organ soundfonts/ReFills?

In my tedious quest to try and get better at mastering, reverb, etc., I put this together. Dammit, Soto, why aren't you having ANY original stuff in your recent songs?! ... Uh. I'm not aiming for remixes right now. Just arrangements. And so, I present to you the fruits of my Lazy Sunday.

So I put this together - differently placed instruments, an actual drum track... Yeah. However... I don't like it (at least parts of it). There's an part that made me wince (when the distortion guitar drops out right at the beginning to give way to the piano solo). When I play that by myself, it seems really confusing to listen to both the piano solo and the rhythm (the part played by the bass at the very beginning), so I dropped that out (it seemed empty, so I kept it in. Just as a craptastic attempt at palm-muting). Any suggestions on how to make fades in/out better? Also, when there's a powerful hit on the drums (on most of the cymbal crashes), it seems like it's distorted. There's a crunch there that I don't like. Any suggestions on how to get a crisp, slightly edgy, but still "clean" sound for drums? Thanks to any and all responses.

I came. [to kick ass and chew bubble gum] But that's a very good... I don't wanna say remix, cuz it's pretty conservative. But it's really very good. brofist.