timaeus222

Do you think you could add that I supplied the bass part? Thanks!

I, for one, loved the vocals and their production. For me they filled out the arrangement, and the timbre fit rather well. The execution was really good, and the backing instrumentation fits in very nicely.

YEP! That's been on my playlist since I was a Sophomore in high school almost 4 years ago. I remember playing it to my friend while on a choir bus trip back to the school (around 9 PM, hur hur).

Moar. Heated Plasma Gun - The beginning organ is really loud and low quality and muds up the mix. The first real issue I noticed was the offkey lead at 0:16 and other spots, such as 0:59. It's a minor third too high, if I'm transposing it correctly. I'm really just doing it by ear. The 0:43 lead would work really well in an ambient section if you ever want to try something like that. The bass from this point on is very static in the sequencing, but the tone itself could be good with more refined EQ. Overall, the instrumentation is pretty basic, and some sounds *are* good in quality, but they're used in an awkward context IMO. Storm the Games! - Really nice drums. They could have used a bit more taming with compression though, as I hear some distortion artifacts. You do have a good DnB base here in regards to the drums and the bass themselves. At 0:36, that *is* a good bass timbre, but it's too loud, and doesn't work very well as a lead. At 1:11, the lead is good, but it seems very wide, or just very panned. I don't really hear anything in the center. Even though wide panning is good for stereo imaging, too much and it still becomes mud anyways. The 2:05 fade seemed to come at an entirely separate tempo. I really couldn't tell that 2:12 was a buildup until the DnB just came out of nowhere, in a sense. Pretty loud overall, and could have used some more careful balancing. Wily Must Die - Good piano timbre. Seems a little bit on the lower end of sample quality to me. The vocals starting at 0:33 had interesting reverb, though the high cut was too high, and it brought out the sibilance and fricatives too much for me. The recording quality was also a bit strange to me, and somewhat lo-fi. It sounds like some low end is missing, or the mids are boosted awkwardly. 3:06 felt a little stiff to me on the piano. I don't know if you quantized any sort of live MIDI playing too tightly, or if it was something else. Aside from that, nice (prog?) rock track. For Everlasting Peace - This is actually rather good, even for free samples off of Reason. The strings in particular were well-sequenced, and the tubular bells were a nice touch. The brass was easily the most fake of the samples you used, but aside from that and the loudness (quietness) of the mixing, this is still pretty good for what I think is one of your first tries at orchestral. Blam - Apparently, not Disney-related lol. Nice Prodigy vibe. Personally, I did feel the distortion was a little bit too much, even if it's technically accurate and intentional. Not by much though, maybe 5~10%. Rabcandy did a good job on the vocals too. I did think the bitcrushed wah bass was too upfront, as it overshadowed some of the source usage a bit sometimes. Prototype #2 - Awesome lyrics. The background instrumentation was a bit basic, and there was quite a bit of lyrics in comparison to the actual time used for instrumental sections. I think if you polished up the backing, it could come rather close to the awesomeness of "Oil Ocean" already on OC ReMix. Oh, and PLUTO'S NOT A PLANET ANYMOAR. DEAL WITH IT BRO. UMADEON, BRO? - I'ma use this opportunity to comment. I did have some issues with merging different tempos because I had such exciting ideas that I really wanted to come together in one song, not separate songs. Ah well, I did what I could on that end, and I'm pretty happy with the Madeon vibe I injected into this "heavycore" track. Oh, and the dubstep at 2:16~2:34 is me callin' you out, NutS. My Castle is Burning Down - Good DnB from you, Esperado. The piano was low quality though. Sounded like 4Front Piano or something. 0:38 - I noticed that SFX thar. It's also in In Everlasting Pieces. 1:20 sounded like distorted mic feedback. Overall, I think the production is really bringing this down. It sounds like it should be high energy, but the drums are rather weak, some of the basses are very basic saws (like default saws with little other mods. 1:48, for example) and one other bass is actually really loud in the 95-ish Hz range. Amnesia - Good first effort at trance. Psytrance, if you want me to get into particulars. As a personal taste thing, the snare was actually not tight enough. Visually, it makes me picture a snare being slammed every time, and its mids were kinda cluttering the mix. The kick was not coming through super well, regardless of the apparent trend that psytrance uses clicky pitch envelope kicks. A good boost at the fundamental and near 4000Hz should help a bit. As I often say, the clarity is hurt due to the many instruments someone has using the same waveform, and saws in particular suffer the most from this choice because of the many harmonics it has (which I'm sure you know all about) that give it a powerful timbre, second only to the square wave in body. Typically, saw waves tend to pierce and dominate a mix, which is why saws tend to be good leads, and detuned saws fill up soundscapes rather quickly. The repetition probably would have fared better if there was more clarity, IMO, as I do believe you're a stickler for good arrangements. Third Wave Roboethics - The pads were well-designed, but the 0:28 strings were pretty exposed and fake. Not really sure that they actually fit in this particular context as they are. The chiptunes are definitely the strength here. I like the C64 arps. The rhythmic changes and bridges were also very welcome. The lead fills and neighboring notes/trills were great. I love little details like that. What you didn't have in vibrato you made up for in portamento (and the 1/32-or-1/64-synched square-wave-sloped LFO in the C64 arp). In Everlasting Pieces - Can't believe you accidentally picked almost the same name as Xarnax. Nice FM work. Drums were pretty good, though I thought the mids on the kick were a little too prevalent still. At 1:07, the FM thwip was pretty resonant for me, and probably could have used some ring modulation to tone that down, or just a lower frequency on the self-modulations (that kind of timbre comes from a synth modulating its own frequency). In the breakdown at around 1:32, I thought the lead was too quiet, but not buried. The bass was a bit louder than it though. 2:02 - Aha, that SFX. Good work overall arrangement-wise.

Actually, that's literally what I was thinking, only I didn't write it out. xD

I understand---just expressing my perspective! ;D

Thanks! The lead at 0:52 is something I made a while back for fun; a C64 chippy lead with some extra XY controls (though I didn't have the time to implement those into the track). Funny, 1:37 is my favorite section, and 2:16 was just some dubstep craziness.

For some reason or another, I think the production took a step back at pre-0:31. I did really like the instrumentation there earlier, and it was merely the source notes themselves that were hard to recognize. I still stand by Kristina's and my sentiment on the snare being too powerful as a 909 at 0:32. On one hand, you have the baroque-friendly harpsichord and grungy bass, and on the other you have a snare fit for dubstep and other high energy genres. So then, which are you aiming for? Chill or high energy? Having both in one is a bit of a strange dichotomy in most cases, with this being one of the exceptions due to the drum sample choice in particular. Drums can convey rhythm, energy, and power, among other things. The timbres you choose for your drum samples is going to have a huge impact on whether or not the overall instrumentation is cohesive. If you have ridiculously strong drum samples but the rest of the instruments don't follow suit, it is likely to sound awkward and stick out. The kick is good in terms of the polish in the timbre, and I wouldn't mind too much if it was left as it was, but it *can* also fit in a balls-to-the-wall heavycore mix, such as in works, so it might not really work in all sections.

Poo, I have something to attend at exactly 9 EST. Perhaps starting at 9:30~11 PM EST tonight would fit in well for me in particular. Anyone else?

Dat guitar tone. <3

Livin' up to the Branscum family name, I see. Absolutely kickass.

I saw this back in April 2013 or so, and did actually play through 3 stages of GSH because of it. =D

Very playful swing-like arrangement!

I was kinda thrown off with the very wide drums, but other than that, definitely a great revisit to this source and an awesome ReMix!

Very high energy, and fun to listen to. The 4:01 lead reminds me of a lead directly from GSH's soundset.

I very much love the bass here. At times the instrumentation is actually reminiscent of the original GSH sounds.

Play it, Argle. But be careful, 'cause you'll get addicted faster than I did. ------------------------------- To further celebrate the release of this FANTASTIC album, I've uploaded a for my particular track! That said, on the behalf of DusK and Dj Mokram, we hope you enjoy this album! =D

Whoo! Happy Birthday! =D

Seemed pretty liberal at first until 0:54, but after looking at the source more closely, it seems like you broke down the source pretty heavily. You used the bass, then the backing arp, then the melody. I'd say it sounds too liberal until 0:36, as it's really difficult to make the connection from an indistinct bass in the source. Any sort of "implied chord progression" isn't quite enough to tie in as source, IMO. It's gotta be recognizable. Mixing seemed fine until 1:01. Now the bells somehow gained treble, maybe from some sort of de-low passing automation. It's too bright in a somewhat bad way, and it actually hurts. At 1:14, the bass is mostly subs, and so the notes aren't extremely distinct. As a result, the section is texturally sparse, without much midrange backing other than the harpsichord-like instrument, and without much low end (non-subs) bass. The fake lead guitar is then exposed as well. The choice of the 909 snare sticks out quite a bit. The other instrumentation asks for a more chill arrangement, so the snare is a little too powerful. Afterwards, the brass leads at 1:23 have a fakeness in their sequencing and because of the lack of realistic articulations. The bass just then has more low end non-subs power, but it was in the middle of a section, so I didn't see it coming. 1:53 sounds really awkward texturally IMO. A guitar, a harpsichord-like instrument, a really subs-heavy bass, and loud & dry hi hats in a section where the writing suggests a breakdown or chill outtro. Essentially, this all boils down to sound choice, spectrum emptiness, and sequencing realism.

BAM! https://soundcloud.com/timaeus222/rush-riders-timaeus222-umadeon Source Breakdown: 0:02.75 - 0:42.96 = MM7 Junk Man (0:00.00 - 0:12.18) 0:42.96 - 1:00.74 = MM3 Wily Stage 2 (0:01.60 - 0:14.40) 1:00.74 - 1:18.52 = MM3 Wily Stage 2 (0:14.40 - 0:40.00) 1:18.52 - 1:37.36 = MM7 Junk Man (0:12.18 - 0:22.44) 1:37.36 - 1:45.64 = MM7 Junk Man (0:22.44 - 0:32.67) 1:45.64 - 1:54.13 = MM2 Title Theme (0:05.33 - 0:09.98) 1:55.32 - 1:57.74 = MM2 Title Theme (0:29.29 - 0:30.62) 1:57.74 - 2:16.85 = MM7 Junk Man (0:42.91 - 0:58.28) 2:16.85 - 2:34.63 = MM3 Wily Stage 2 (0:01.60 - 0:14.40) 2:34.63 - 2:52.41 = MM3 Wily Stage 2 (0:14.40 - 0:40.00) 2:52.41 - 3:12.49 = MM7 Junk Man (0:12.18 - 0:22.44) 106.52/196.07 = 54.33% MM7 Junk Man 71.12/196.07 = 36.27% MM3 Wily Stage 2 10.91/196.07 = 5.56% MM2 Title Theme

Hope you guys dig heavy unforgiving entries.

WHOO! Chillin', gritty, and memorable.

Smooth atmospherics! I was kind of thrown off with the almost-retriggering violin and the flimsy cymbal, but that's alright. By now you would notice that kind of detail. AWESOME bass instrument, and great detail work with the background glitching.

Even though I don't do live bass, I could do good sequenced bass. I've got Spectrasonics Trilian on hand, which has some mean electric bass tones, and tops Shreddage Bass IMO. One of the basses sounds like the one in this, for example, from my ReMix of Brandon Strader's "My Choice".

Yeah, I totally get what kind of idea you were going for. It's really hard to do this kind of thing, and I have trouble with it too sometimes. I occasionally rewatch for advice and ideas on "effective harsh dissonance".Oh, and get better, Trism!