timaeus222

The intro until 0:25 sounds a bit too much like it would fit in the actual game's engine. Maybe you could add some vibrato or other articulations on the lead that make it seem less like it was a direct rip from the game. ;D I do like how you increased the reverb at 0:18 for some contrast through. At 0:26 - 0:52, the percussion has the same kick rhythm the entire time. Maybe you could change that up starting here, and put the kick at the earlier logical rhythmic place (I believe it's half a beat left). The delayed cymbal (delayed or fade-sequenced? Kind of the same, but not completely) at 0:26 doesn't seem to work that well there. I think that a high decay, 70-30 wet-dry ratio reverb might work a lot better in that spot and at 0:49. The transition SFX at 0:51 is a bit awkward. Maybe you can try some modulation effects, like a low bandwidth band pass shift, or a low pass frequency increase, or maybe even a resonance increase AND low pass frequency increase. At 0:53 and 1:44, that section's snare could use some more high-end. Right now the low end is somewhat interfering with the low pad. Don't get rid of the low end, but reduce it a bit, and layer on a snare with some more high end punch. A good compressor I love to use is "endorphin". Try it, it's free, and great on drums. Also at 0:53 and 1:44, you should definitely change the lead to a MUCH more dynamic one. Try creating a PWM lead with a late attack vibrato (maybe 40 ms), and maybe even a high pass effect routed to an envelope with a late attack, (maybe about 50 ms). I don't know if your plugins can do that, but there are some that can. Definitely add some reverb on it to give it presence. At 1:18, it seems like a pseudo-breakdown is what you were going for. Maybe you could low pass the percussion a bit so that it seems "lo-fi", for a great contrast. At 2:10, there is no lead in sound to the breakdown section. Try something. Maybe a cymbal with high decay reverb and a low pass frequency decrease? The bass pitch envelope at 2:21 is good, but it's covering only the bass. Try adding on a reverse cymbal to cover more frequencies in that lead in; that might work better than just the bass. At 2:24, you could start bringing in some action toms, along with strong layered claps and high end snares. That would be really cool. They could even carry onto the end of the song. Think of 2:24 to the end as the long, triumphant outtro. Somehow, I believe a reverse cymbal with delay at 3:15 would be more effective; try that! The piano at 3:27 and anywhere else should be played live if possible, for more realism. Right now it seems the hard timbre of the piano is heard in almost every note, giving it more of an artificial feel. It's fine if you're playing forte, but don't do that the whole time. Maybe increase the velocity response? Also, try to go for more of a realistic room reverb on the piano; that would really make it great. Kind of like this video I made: Good luck!

I'm still in the library at the moment with a terrible sound system, so I can't really give any feedback yet, but I'll probably do that when I get home.

The intro until 0:18 should maybe be reworked. I feel like it doesn't quite match the feel of the song overall. It might make sense to the judges, I dunno. If I'm correct, you are generally using some sort of lo-fi effect on the drums for the most part, or at least using some sort of lo-fi EQ or samples. At 0:45, it would make good sense to bring in some stronger drums. When the piano is playing before then, the lo-fi drums make sense because they leave room for the piano to breathe. I agree, at 0:53 the triangle wave that comes in has too much in the mid frequencies and is interfering with the piano's naturally wide frequency range. Try high passing it just a little bit, and possibly lowering the mix level about 2%. How it ends at 1:03, however, is quite fitting. Do a little experiment and up the decay some on the reverb and see how it works out. Or, alternatively, you could export a wav file of that triangle wave sequence only and I'll apply my own reverb and send it back for you to see what my go at it would sound like. It really sounds like a long decay at 1:03 would create a really awesome feel. At 1:03, maybe you could even increase the volume of that cymbal with an extra long decay to lead into that breakdown section. At 1:06 - 1:18, the sweeps are quite nice. If you haven't already, try experimenting with some jazz chords on the sweeps. For example, an Fadd2 third inversion in whatever key fits this song (Fadd2 third inversion is C-F-G-A). Chords like those would fit the sweep pad really well. At 1:22 - 1:56, maybe you can change up the lo-fi drums and have a variant in which you have soft snares with a high decay reverb with, maybe, a 70-30 wet-dry ratio. At 1:56 - 2:15, you can transition into more powerful drums there too, if you want. And ending that section by putting another cymbal with a high decay reverb at 2:15 would also work nicely. At 2:52, the portamento triangle wave lead is really high. Maybe you could add a subtle low pass filter on it? There and any other instances. 3:01 could have a smoother lead in, since I don't think a lead with such a contrasting volume would be expected in a section like that. Maybe you can fade in a quarter-measure intro sequence? The ending is actually a bit cheesy, though. But you could make it work by, perhaps, adding some upper harmonies to the lead starting at the last three notes. Maybe a note a fourth up, then a major third, then a major second, then a major third? The second and third note would add up to be the same length as the second note in the lead. The fourth note should be short, but with a good decay on the reverb, it should have a nice tail at the end. Because of the really cool ideas on this, I'm wondering what DAW you use. I would love to collaborate on this, regardless. xD

Why don't you put it on your Soundcloud? Mediafire really doesn't share wav files that well, and you already have a Soundcloud account.

I'm not scared of writing music, but it's still difficult for me to get good ideas out. If I can't get ideas out on a notepad or something, then I wait until a better idea comes along. Still waiting.

There are some things I find important when creating an (as) seamless (as possible) blend of instruments: - Internal EQ for editing the EQ of the source/patch, rather than using external EQ to edit a static source/patch. Sometimes a sound is just missing a frequency, and it doesn't sound quite right. You can't just add it back using external EQ, so it's nice to be able to customize the patch's original sound. - Reverb. I know this sounds general, but there are some facets to reverb that give a sound a realistic feel if done correctly. Probably the best reverb tool I've found is ArtsAcoustic Reverb. Although it costs money, it's completely worth it. You can use it to edit properties such as Spread, Room Size, Diffusion, Damping, Wet/Dry ratio, etc. http://www.artsacoustic.com/images/aar_front.gif - EQ. Essentially, make sure each instrument has as much in each frequency range as necessary; no more, no less. Let's say if the mids in a lead were less than -8dB loud, then the lead sounds like it's missing the mids. In that case, you have too little mids, and you're going to have to bump it up enough so it sounds full enough, but not too much so it takes up the space where other instruments could fit, like band passed pads for backup, or a decently loud, dynamic arpeggio that constantly shifts frequencies and, at some point, passes by the mid-frequency range. - More about EQ. Make sure each instrument's EQ overlaps with others' EQ as little as possible, so that you don't get a "muddy" sound in a specific frequency range that's overloaded with multiple sounds of similar timbres. A trick I like to use is to put an EQ on the master track so I can evaluate what's going on. If I can see everything that's going on and recognize exactly when each instrument is playing, then the EQ is either really good, close, or already there.

I was actually referring to the reverb decay mix on the layered clap/snare(s). There are some reverb effects plugins that have a low end mix, high mids mix, and highs mix. For example, take a look at this: http://static.kvraudio.com/i/b/uhbik-a.jpg What I had said above is right above the "u-he.com", in case that visual helps you in understanding anything you hadn't before. The type of reverb mix I was suggesting has about 10% lows, 60% mids, and 70% highs, if put in the most general way possible. You probably don't have something that does it exactly like what I'm talking about. Hope it helps!

At 0:50, the wubs that come in, to me, seem to have too much reverb. Maybe back off a bit on the reverb and focus on getting a wider sound out of them. Try increasing the stereo width in whatever way works. It would be great if the leads had some slow attack vibrato. 1:26 - the analog saw there might benefit from pluck-type sequencing. I like the reverb idea going on at 1:51, but try reducing the high mids on the reverb and raising the highs. I think more of a hissy reverb might work better. Just not too much or it will interfere with the triangle wave lead there. If you had it at, say, 60%, raise it to about 70%, not 80%, etc. I do like the KeyFol there though (the timbre changing at different spots on the keyboard).

Well, if you want it to sound modern, it shouldn't have that square-saw wave at 0:23. That's an 80s type synth, usually. Same with the monophonic saw wave at 2:35. In general, the piano is getting drowned out of the DnB drums. Although the drums should be heard, they shouldn't overpower everything else. Try raising the velocity response to about 64 if you can. The square wave hybrid bass is also slightly classic. Maybe something with FM synthesis? Or you could just go for the classic feel. It doesn't necessarily have to be modern. Maybe you don't have the ideas ready for a "modern" mix.

Well, tutorial 5 certainly isn't dead on ocremix.

At around 0:03 - 0:19, watch out with the reverbed kick. Make sure it doesn't have too much low end reverb. The arp saw wave that comes in at 0:27 should benefit greatly from some modulation effects. You can try some sort of LFO effect that tweens between different waveform shapes, or something like that. Just change up its sound all the time. A good example of this would be the dynamic bass found in zircon's WIP Final Fantasy 6 Setzer's theme remix found on YouTube. At about 1:10, it would be fantastic if you had something building up to the fantastic synth coming in at about 1:19. Maybe a snare roll, or some effects from Massive if you have it? Dynamic low end growls might work. At 1:46, the lead (is it the lead, really?) could also use some dynamic variation. Not dynamics, but dynamically changing is what I mean. Don't use really simple synths. Instead, think about how you can improve them even more and not leave the audience waiting for the next section of the song to start, or worse yet, to skip ahead. You could even bring in a 3o3 arp or something to change it up. At 1:59, definitely put in a new lead for when Koopa's Road comes in. 2:26 seems to be the climax. Go crazy with synth fillers with the left-panned lead, and definitely use a more dynamic lead there too. At 3:01, the transition there with the frequency shift doesn't quite work. Maybe a snare roll there would be a better signal that the breakdown section is over. I would love to see this on ocremix! Just work on it more. However, if you don't mind, I would love to collaborate with you on this. What DAW do you use?

I really love the harmonies in this mix! Especially chords like those at 1:43, 1:56, 2:05, and 2:37. I just wish there was an upgrade to the percussion after 1:51, but that's alright.

Which one is "My Toe"? I haven't been able to find that specific one on YouTube.

@Monobrow: Unfortunately, I found out the RAM costs for my project file didn't quite work out for me, but I'll still rip those for you if you want. I'm not sure which one is "My Toe", though. I couldn't find that on YouTube.

Shoot. I'm using some pretty big libraries. Neo-Soul Keys, Strawberry Electric, Shreddage, and East West Quantum Leap Stormdrums.

Okay, I'm going to give a really long review! But first, I'm going to rip the audio (It's a really good quality program, and it's going to be a 100% accurate rip). Personally I find it really difficult to play and rewind in soundcloud. At first glance I believe you're using FL Studio. If so, I can give a helping hand on the EQ, or even replace some instruments with my own and render them as audio files, and it can be a collab. If not, that's fine, I'll have this review here for your perusing. The kick is too loud, or it covers too large a frequency range. Try to carve the EQ so that it looks like a skinny triangle sloped inwards from bottom to top. In other words, decrease the bandwidth, lower the gain by about 1 dB. Then, high pass it so that frequencies below about 30 Hz are filtered out. Those are so hard to hear that it really isn't worth having them to add mud to the mix. Here is an image of what I mean with the EQ: http://i47.tinypic.com/14w9irk.png The second thing you need to do is change the sample. I'm sure this EQ suggestion won't work out with the sample you're using now. Try going for one that is strongest at about 90Hz for a good sound in a guitar mix. This is your biggest problem since it blocks out the bass and most of the other instruments. Also, don't add any reverb or delay if you ever did (I can't tell). = I can tell that the guitars are definitely not real. That counts as "poor sound quality" and won't make it past OCR. Either record real guitar, get Shreddage (lol), or ask someone to collaborate with you (who has Shreddage or a real guitar). Why does it sound like you're using 4Front Bass? It's weird how I thought that, but I do think that's what you're using. The whoosh-like sound is nice. Maybe it would be even better if it was filtered up to the upper-mids. It seems to be white noise under a phaser. The drum beat in general is very repetitive. Try adding some variations, some fills, or maybe a breakdown section. The sequencing of the guitar tells me that it is almost a completely direct midi sequence. There is no ending, really, so that's another sign. You have no original content, so it's close enough to be considered a midi remix. the submission handlers would just return your e-mail and say that it's a midi remix, and then point you back to the WIP forums again. It would be better if you started going on a google hunt for good free plugins, or buy some if you can.

Hm, very interesting ideas here. I only have a small problem with the obligatory stereo separation, but that's only because a lot of people break their earphones a lot. I don't, but I figure a lot of people I knew did. Otherwise, this was a song that kept me listening until the end, so therefore I must have liked it! Great job, DaMonz!

Bump. I think I might have fixed the kick, and I did these things: - Improved 1:44 - 2:06 by adding harmonies. Yay. Didn't try that before. - Made the last faster part of the solo louder. - Made the synth just slightly louder. - Small low pass on the rhythm guitar. - Took out stereo panning on drums. Remix: https://www.box.com/s/37420b7097f64cbd9037 - V1 https://www.box.com/s/833850960a9f192ab596 - V2 Sources: - Fatalize - Fighting of the SpiritPossibly needed remix details: Lead guitar (2 copies) - Strawberry Evolution Electric Guitar (Blank Preset with vibrato, pitch bend, and articulation modifications) Lead synth - u-he Zebra2 (Custom) Organ - u-he Zebra2 (Custom) Bells - NI FM8 (Stereo Bells preset with modifications) Rhythm guitar - ISW Shreddage (Quick-Play patch, Double-tracked) Pick Scrapes - ISW Shreddage (Extra channel only for these, but under the same amp as the lead) Drums - East West Quantum Leap Stormdrums (Individual patches for each part of the kit) Reverb - Uhbik-A Amp - NI Guitar Rig (Bumped once)

Which would take up less RAM in FL Studio? One Kontakt instance with 4 patches loaded, each routed to a different mixer track, or... 4 Kontakt instances with 1 patch loaded in each, with each instance routed to a different mixer track? Or are they equal? I sure hope it's the first one, because the second seems to cost me 1 GB of RAM. Wtf?

Hm... I feel like I could do "Sparring Match" some justice. I'll give it a shot and PM a WIP definitely before July 31, but likely I'll be working on it section by section, not all at once in raw form. And it's the weekend... and I'll be at home by myself. WHOO! I should get a good amount done for a WIP this weekend, and I'll try to PM a WIP on Monday morning. Right now I'll be brainstorming an arrangement. Time to rip the audio in HD. I love Adobe Audition. EDIT: Hm... I've got something going, and it's going to sound kind of like Dream Theater's tone. And their drums. But gah, Kontakt takes up a lot of RAM, especially when there's 6 instances. =/ For me, at least.

At around 2:00, you used a ride for the breakdown. Try using a brushed hi-hat instead if you can find a sample for that; it might work better. At 2:17, the timbre of the snare hits don't seem to match the section. Currently, it feels like the same snare sample is reused whenever you want a strong feel. Maybe for sections where you use the same one, you can change it up a bit and layer on a new sample to make it sound different. I suggest the final snare hit, layered or not, to have less low-mids and more upper-mids. This doesn't necessarily have to be a "rock" remix. I'm thinking the snare is your basis for the "rock" feel, which it shouldn't be. If the rest of the instruments aren't fit for typical "rock", go for a different genre. Personally, I define rock as having guitars and electric bass at least. This was enjoyable though. Good job!

I agree about the drums, but personally I believe the arrangement is fine. The synth is definitely loud enough. I think I mainly have EQ and some miscellaneous sequencing issues. It's hard to get a good acoustic kick though, seriously.

There's not much I can say here either. Maybe these things: Bring up the lead just a small amount, and bring down the drums just a bit. Just make sure you can still hear the most important parts of the drums, and lower the low-mids just a little in the breakdowns with the ambient action toms. Otherwise, sounding great! =D

In the beginning, it's a very simplistic arrangement---up until 0:42. Try changing it up a bit. Add some miscellaneous effects with good stereo width. The bass in general is extremely loud; it's overpowering the lead. The kick sounds fine, but the EQ is probably clashing with the sub bass. Like chimpazilla said, try high passing the sub bass to above 30 or 40 Hz. Everything down there is too inaudible to really contribute to the song anyways. The wobble bass has a lot of high frequency, probably from that bitcrusher effect---which I've never actually tried. However, it's not working, and it's clashing with the hi-hats (or rides, whichever samples you're using). Try low passing that out at about 12kHz. Overall, the mix itself sounds very low-passed, and the crashes don't seem to match the rest of the kit. The kit itself is very dry. Try adding some room reverb to the snare. Maybe even find a higher-pitched snare. It's maybe 3 half steps too low. The lead could sound more in front. Yes, you're doing a dubsteppish song, and yes, the dubstep bass should be in front, but not too overpowering. If you dropped the dubstep bass to about 85% its original volume and raised the lead to maybe 105% of its original volume, that might help to fix things. Good luck. Note: I'm not a mod.

I really want to show you guys this remix I just finished! :DDD Definitely submitting this whenever I can get the chance. Feel free to give any feedback. It'll be maybe until like mid-July before I submit. Remix: https://www.box.com/s/37420b7097f64cbd9037 Sources: - Fatalize - Fighting of the SpiritPossibly needed remix details: Lead guitar (2 copies) - Strawberry Evolution Electric Guitar (Blank Preset with vibrato, pitch bend, and articulation modifications) Lead synth - u-he Zebra2 (Custom) Organ - u-he Zebra2 (Custom) Bells - NI FM8 (Stereo Bells preset with modifications) Rhythm guitar - ISW Shreddage (Quick-Play patch, Double-tracked) Pick Scrapes - ISW Shreddage (Extra channel only for these, but under the same amp as the lead) Drums - East West Quantum Leap Stormdrums (Individual patches for each part of the kit) Reverb - Uhbik-A Amp - NI Guitar Rig