timaeus222

I thought this sounded just fine; no glaring issues IMO. I mean yeah, the samples feel soundfont-ish, but that's like Shariq's style, sorta. Things still click overall and the sequencing, I feel, was sufficient for the sample quality presented. Still enjoyable.

Ah, okay, the YM2612. For the bass, can you try lowering the gain (the rounded square sliders on the right) for the "4" and "5" bands down a few mouse wheel rolls (or about 1.6~3.2dB)? By doing that, it'll clear up some headroom for other instruments that cover 400~2000Hz, which include most of the synth arps and leads you have going on. All that means is that you can hear them more distinctly than before. Bass instruments similar to this one don't often need a high amount of midrange (500~4000Hz) because they're providing a "backbone" to the chords outlined by the notes played from the more melodic instruments. This might be a helpful read, written by this guy.

It's hard to tell what's really happening in the Master channel Parametric EQ since that's the overall EQ and doesn't really show how the individual EQs are before they stack up. Can you screenshot the bass instrument's EQ? I think this sounds more focused and cohesive now, so you're definitely getting there. Perhaps you could lower the volume on every instrument (individually, not with the master fader) because as a whole it still sounds a little overcompressed. If the mix sounds about the same with or without the limiter on, and it barely touches 0 dB, then it should be good to go on the overall volume. If there's a little red on the Master channel gain (with the sound bars), then it's too loud. I don't know how long of a ReMix you might be planning to make this, but I think that while 0:12 has some strong drums, the non-percussive instruments don't seem to clearly point my ears to a lead instrument until 0:36; 0:12 - 0:36 feels like a section with drums and accompaniment, while the sequenced brass instrument sounds like it's leading into a "main", heavier section. At 1:01, it feels like a rehash of what was written earlier, with different instruments, I think. There are lots of ways you can reinterpret OSTs: keeping the original structure and adding countermelodies, chopping up the melody and extending it along a different chord progression, changing the melody's tempo and adapting it to different genre contexts (rather hard, actually), using certain parts of the melody for certain types of sections (intro, outtro, breakdown section, etc.) and other parts for other types (verse, chorus, climax, etc.), and so on. Here are two examples of strong interpretations: - melody in different genre contexts (listen closely to the notes in the melody) - melody modified to fit various instrumental contextsAnd for now, it sounds like the snare rolls have the same velocities on each hit, or at least really similar velocities, and that can lead to people calling it "mechanical" (otherwise known as "not realistic"), which just means it sounds like a computer is playing it rigidly with no volume difference between each hit. Since it seems like you're using the same snare sample on all hits of these snare rolls, the velocity variation should help make it feel less fake.

Do you play with a metronome? If not, it might help to record your parts while using one. You're still slowing down a little when the rhythm guitar is more exposed, and in the slower parts that evktalo was talking about. Additionally, I dunno if it's really a legitimate concern, but your strumming style feels repetitive or plodding; I'm talking about when you play straight quarter notes (and that's also when you slow down a little and cause the timing to be off a bit). These points are rather substantial since they're present all throughout, and this seems like practically a 100% "live" performance. Also, I agree with evktalo that the arrangement feels a little "blocky". It just means that there are several sections, but they don't quite feel related or connected, and it's like one long stream of consciousness. As far as the notes played, it feels fine. I think something that contributes to it is that your playing doesn't seem to feel... emotional. If you try listening to , you might hear more emotion in the playing here (especially at 1:16 and 2:42), or maybe in . Right now it kinda sounds like you're... playing along to something, sort of, or maybe looking at your guitar to make sure you hit the right frets. Another way to say it is that it feels dynamically flat; the playing "enthusiasm" that's conveyed feels like it's at a constant low.

I actually think this is sparse earlier on than 1:40. The sub bass just doesn't fit. It's too static and loud. What should happen in the bass is that it should change notes much more often. It literally felt like one note held at 0:33 for 51 seconds because the pitch was hard to determine, and to me it just felt grating. You could alternatively use a completely different bass sound... one that is audible above 80Hz and has a Sustain shorter than 100% on its envelope so that you can feel the good harmonies you could be emphasizing instead of just vibrating the room with something that can be hard to hear well, and so that it's not a 100% constant note hold. Also, the piano early on is so quiet that it feels like just the chiptune sound in the soundscape; I'm using headphones that are louder than the average pair (low impedance), yet I barely heard the piano, so there's some perspective. Good chords here and there, but the piano definitely needs more humanization. All the notes, especially the chords, are stiff and quantized, so it just feels like someone plunked the notes with all the fingers needed on each hit, at the same time, each time. Try adding small rhythmic errors and velocity magnitude variations so that it feels more loose but not sloppy, and less stiff but not too dynamically undulating---having a few super quiet notes in between some really loud notes makes it sound too exaggerated in the velocity magnitudes. This feels like it's supposed to be atmospheric. I think it can be less sparse. More pads would be nice to thicken up the textures. You might find some inspiration by listening to the Phantasy Star Online OST on YouTube.

woop woop! *party sounds* Dunnnnn dun dun daaaaaaaa!

Dramaticness Analysis I can see how you perceived this as dramatic, though not really overdramatic, per se. The first 20 seconds has a chord progression that makes use of the root of the VI chord in the bass, followed by VII and I (e.g. A, B, C in C major). Occasionally I use that to introduce a somewhat "heroic" feel to a melody, but I try not to use it so much these days, just for the sake of variety. The orchestral snares with the dubstep/dance kick add to that perception, though as a whole it doesn't seem like a cohesive sound combination, especially since at 0:28 it changes tempo and switches to the next source (and I don't even know Sonic music extremely well). Medley-itis So, I definitely agree with Rexy here that this sounds like a straightforward medley. If I, someone who doesn't know Sonic all that well, can tell when you switch sources... yeah, there's totally a transition weirdness going on here. Those weirdnesses are due to the different tempos that you're linking together. Mixing I also concur about the overcompression and the muddiness. I believe it's the EQ of the bass instrument being overboosted making it sound muddy. I used to EQ without proper reasoning, and if I look back at my really old stuff, I could see that that was the case. It might benefit you to post what you did in the EQ for the bass instrument (as a screenshot). As a general rule, I usually cut frequencies out more than I boost them up, and most of my boosts these days tend to be above 1000Hz (~midrange) so that I don't introduce muddiness (in the sub bass, bass, and/or low-mids). Sidenote When working with EQ early on, I do not recommend boosting; it'll introduce issues that are basically unrecognizable until you realize that they're there, and while sometimes it takes other people to tell you there's "something off", it's also almost impossible to tell what's really happening if there's a bunch of EQ problems clumped into one ReMix (hence, I'm asking you to post your EQ edits). In cases where lots of instruments are overly boosted, someone might say, "this is loud in the midrange" or something similar to that---not so much "so-and-so instrument is boosted here, and this other instrument is boosted here"; that'd be pretty impressive! As for when I'd suggest you start boosting more seriously... I think you can decide when you feel good about it; when you can hear the boosts you do, then you know what you've done with that boost. In other words, be more self-aware. Sidechaining & Loudness Lastly, I can't quite tell if you're aware of the benefits of sidechaining. Maybe you're just doing it too subtly, or maybe it's not even there, but either way, it'll help to listen closely to hear if your sidechaining (assuming it's there) is actually doing something. I would try lowering the Threshold value and see if what the kick drum is being sidechained with is feeling pushed down more heavily. The main reason why I can't tell is that maybe you could be using a limiter that pushes down quite heavily on loud peaks (Hard Knee Limiter), and maybe it just so happens that your kick is loudest (which it usually is expected to be, conventionally). The kick can be turned down a little, by the way, since the pumping compression seems to be happening while the kick hits. Merits Oh, and just to clear things up about what you want to call this, it feels like you're switching genres, between orchestral, dance, and drum & bass. To be honest, you've got a pretty good snare for drum & bass, and the kick is nice too, tonally. You seem to have gotten certain rhythmic patterns down in your head, but I'm not sure if you are aware that you changed genres. Nothing really wrong with changing genres in the middle of a ReMix; just something that I think I should bring to your attention. This kinda reminds me of Kirby at times (Nightmare in Dreamland ~ Boss Tower) with the syncopated rhythms in the dance sections. Some of the writing is actually quite nice, especially the interaction of certain arp work.

Yeah, soundcloud streams at 128 kbps. Shouldn't affect that many songs out there though, to a noticeable extent.

Man, this is cool. It has hints of Phantasy Star Online in the harmonies, and the percussion work is so slick.

The intro didn't seem connected to the rest of the track for me; it just slows down and starts up again in 4/4. It can be hard though, to transition from 3/4 to 4/4, so no big deal there. 0:40 - 3:42 did seem a little bit noodly at times due to the prominence of the gated elements, but maybe it just takes attention to detail to appreciate the development that actually *is* there. I like the 80's drums mixed with the modern Roland drums in that it was sort of a mashup of eras. Overall I do like this; just some strangeness in the arrangement here and there.

Well, I think you sort of have the idea down on dynamics. You have some great sounds here too. The intro is weird though because it's a somewhat piercing texture until the drone at 0:13 comes in. The weird processed vox at 0:19 is very loud though, and didn't make sense to be there until the riser at 0:24 came in. Personally I would have skipped over putting in the astronaut sound clip and just went from 1:10 to 1:17, and just extended the dropoff at 1:04 for 6 more seconds so that 1:04 is in the second half. Also, to me the drums at 1:17 don't reflect the feel that is presented by the other instruments. I think it can work as a 6/4 downtempo piece. I don't mind the length as long as the ending is an ending.

I've told this guy several times in the Workshop Forums that his arrangement skills are phenomenal. Now, more people know.

It feels like your kick drum is wide, or panned left? Rarely is that something people do, conventionally. Also, the textures are sparse, making the dynamics not very identifiable; I can't tell what your intro is, what your low-energy sections are, or what your climax is. In other words, the arrangement feels directionless. Lastly, this doesn't feel like an assault to me; more like some sort of elevator music.

Loved him in Mrs. Doubtfire, and Jumanji too. Actually, my whole family and I were fans.

He was one of my favorite actors, and was probably one of the most hilarious. May he continue to laugh and joke around in peace.

I thought this was good when I heard it, and I stick to that remark. This truly sounds heroic (duhhh, I would hope so!), and while I do kinda agree with Larry on the crits, I also agree that it wasn't enough to hinder what is already a strong blend of textures.

For an ending, maybe you could try a part with pads or strings padding, and maybe your violin as a slow/stretched-out lead. You might find some inspiration in the quieter parts of these: https://soundcloud.com/stephen-anderson/i-am-the-sentinel-credits (2:23, 3:15) https://soundcloud.com/stephen-anderson/remember-me (3:46)

There's something off-rhythm about the drums. They seem a little late in the rhythm on each hit. The rhythm guitar also has some timing issues. Sometimes you slow down too much and you fall behind the drums.

Somehow the rhythm guitars feel like they're missing some high frequencies compared to the sampled instruments, and somehow they make the mix feel like a lower bitrate than it actually is. Otherwise, I'm not much of a reggae enthusiast, so I think it sounds good.

Hm... the bell at 1:14 - 1:36 seems to have one piercing harmonic, but I'm not sure how you could address that in your synth because it's like a movable resonance. :S For most people, I guess 1:28 - 1:36, with the highest notes, could be more noticeable, so I think if the piercing quality is addressed there, that would be enough, at least for me. Maybe a low-pass could be sufficient. I like the whistly instrument and the concept at 1:37, but I think either it's quite loud in the low-mids or can be lowered in volume. I think the piano tone at 2:11 fits, but it can use more rhythmic offset/errors so that it doesn't feel so quantized, and more velocity variation so it feels more realistic.

1. You could ask a mod, but I never chose to. I just keep them there. Some people don't even think of viewing threads from the beginning all that often because the topics are just so old. [/sarcasm] 2. There's no rule. Several people have updated old remixes before, and they've posted in the same old topic as expected. 3. Yes, but I don't really feel bad that I made them.

Yup, otherwise, we'll have guys coming in, calling him Johze.

Happy birthday to José, the Rican of the Bronx, OCR's dedicated, awesome video producer.

Try adding an exclamation mark after 'Troid. EDIT: Link now works normally!

Usually takes around 6 months before it gets looked at. For me it's taken 6~9 months, most often 8.