timaeus222

Wow, there was definitely a LOT of attention to detail put into making this, because it's just about perfect in the flow, mood, and instrumentation. Fantastic ReMix that really makes full use of not oft-used, typically highlight-moment instruments. The bass pizzicato was a neat touch.

Hehe, at 3:48, it sounds like ISW Juggernaut.

okfieni'lldosomethingmoar I felt like DusK's interpretation of the source tunes felt more straightforward and "archetypal". Good soundscape and mixing, but while it was still personalized pretty well, some harmonies felt off like Nabeel mentioned---simply out of key at 0:28 for example (I felt that way earlier too; he just articulated it in a clear way ). It did remind me of Castlevania; the church bell, the (fake-y) organ, but even the strings tone and harmonies contributed a little to that. Neblix, you had a complexity to your harmonies that clearly differentiated from the original, though it might be hard to appreciate. Sometimes it could seem like there were wrong notes (i.e. sort of like blue notes but still a playable pitch---passing tones that were outside the key), but they weren't, at least to my ears. The arrangement was really the deciding factor for me. Alex, I actually liked the underlying chords you had sometimes, but there was sort of a meandering, stream-of-consciousness feel to the arrangement, and it felt longer than the ideas could have been if they had been condensed down so they could be better expressed. There were some pretty excellent chord progressions, even if directly from the source, i.e. 0:59 - 1:08, 1:10 - 1:21, 1:29 - 1:36, 1:40 - 1:48, etc. Reminded me of PSO. I wish the chords could have been more clearly defined rather than partially implied---you can feel them but not hear them. Some sounds didn't really fit their notes, but it was really the lack of direction that led me to switch votes. Hakstok, the production was just cleaner. Some lead synth choices were not really fitting because they were a little thin and PWM-y, but at least all the notes were audible, so that's not a big deal. It's got an uplifting atmosphere to it, though the lead guitar was sticking out at 1:35. Maybe the low mids could have been automated down a little to accommodate for those lower notes. Overall, pretty solid.

The hard part about using samples is that you might not yet know what the tendencies of a guitar player could be. So, even if you write a cool solo that seems realistic, it might not feel natural. So you may want to either study the stylistic choice of the soloist as well as the notes themselves, if you want to stick to doing it with samples. Here's an example for violin (I'm just reposting something I used in the past for this request, so that's why the sequenced one actually has reverb): My sequenced violin (reverbed) Live violin (dry) The live recording has a little more flair, it's tighter, and there are less portamentos towards the end.

And it helps if you have if you're not much of a learner by ear.

Seems like: - 0:50 can use a sweeping sound to add a little more motion to that part, signaling that more action is going to happen. - 0:56 had a reverse cymbal coming up to it, but no actual regular cymbal. It can be fine, but in this case, there's a substantial volume difference between the two sections, so it feels like you're climbing up the stairs, and then the stairs end and you fall down a foot to the destination. - 1:12 changes energy, and so it's a new section, but it's missing a sweep, cymbal, or anything with some motion to connect a higher energy section with a lower energy section. - 1:24 has a loudening clap that can kinda distract from the rest of the track, but no riser sound otherwise. 1:28 would then call for a cymbal or some other similar smooth-sounding long-decay hit. - 1:38 loses the drums, so another transition would help. Or at least, some sort of ambient hit at 1:40 (would imply a high passed sample is fine, but one that's not high passed would also still be fine). Personally I would just try a quiet splash cymbal (rather than crash). - 1:48 has an odd click. It seems to stop when the bass stops? Another weird click at 1:56, but that one's really, really quiet. 2:00 has another one of those, and it does seem to be from the bass. - 2:06 can have another reverse or riser sound, while the timing of the sound doesn't seem on-sync with the tempo of the remix. It sounds like something is gating, but then maybe half a gate occurs before the drums come in, so it feels like it's slightly faster than the actual tempo. It basically sounds like how it would normally, but plus a few ms of extra sound. - 2:24 can also use an ambient hit. - There are more clicks, at 2:50, 2:52, 2:54, 2:56, 2:57, 3:00, 3:02, 3:04, and 3:12.

He did the PF2D soundtrack, too, so there's much of his orchestral work.

It's pretty similar to how it was before. Some things changed a little, but it's kinda subtle. The hi hats sound fine now. Still needs clearer transitions.

Hm... I'm thinking I'm probably going to incorporate Red Thirst into my claim (i.e. two-source remix). But, I'd like the track to still be open for others to do in addition.

Quick reviews: Neblix vs. DusK My choice was due to the arrangement's transformation of the source tunes and liberal vs. conservative, and one entry was more apparent in these than the other. Hakstock vs. Alexanderandom This one was close for me. I almost voted for Alex, but I ended up thinking that Ivan's good production outweighed his arrangement simplicity, whereas Alex's good arrangement outweighed his textural sparseness.

Probably my favorite aspect of this is the switch to minor all throughout. Creative, yet viable for OCR. Had this track for a long time now, but never commented apart from on YouTube lol.

No prob. Actually, I don't recall any real moment where I was depressed specifically about music. Yeah, zircon has always been better than me, for example, but I'm good with that. Gives me a better idea of what I can't do yet, and that, for me, just makes me less often bored because there's more to do. And I'm similar to Jorito. I compose by feel. I can't bring myself to do much under the sheet music mentality. I kinda had to today to get a hook idea down, but that was about it since about two years ago.

lol Technically I've been at it for about 3, but after a little more than 2, I made 'Cloudhopping' with Kristina. So... I dunno. Depends on how much time you dedicate to this. Though I think I improved much more in this past year than I did in the second year I tried stuff with music. Important thing is to keep at it, often. Honestly though, modesty aside, I think you do know what you're doing, Argle.

Hakstok for me. It was closer than it might seem though.

Neblix for my vote.

Ambient is rare because it's soooooo low energy, and might be boring if it's too unchanging. But you did it well. In fact, it felt shorter to me than it actually is.

Okay, so like in black and white movies. That in and of itself is fine, yeah. But they should still feel less rigid, more humanized, and be a little louder, just speaking independently of the era. Something can sound old, but not fake or too quiet, at the same time.

Yeah. One time, I wanted to try writing a Tornado Man remix in the style of Dream Theater. Turned out to be in the style of Lindsey Stirling. But I Iiked it in the end.

Here are some circumstances that I've gone through: 1) I stopped working on a piece for a while, came back to it, and wasn't sure what I intended to do next at the time I had stopped. I familiarize myself with it again by listening to it and playing it back in my head. Then I try to improvise something by humming, just to see where I would take it if I was free to write something instantly, right away, without having to write it out. I basically audition ideas in my head until something clicks, and I hope to God that I'm at home at the time. This is what happens most of the time for me. 2) I'm writing something, and it turns out completely different from what I intended, but not in such a good way. I tend to know by gut feelings if something either just doesn't work, or might have potential later. If it has potential, I toss it aside in a WIP folder. If it doesn't, I put it in a Scrapped folder. I usually just come back later to the ones that have potential and it tends to be that I either start it over or keep going with it. Honestly, if it doesn't seem to work for me at that time, I'd save it for later, put it aside for the moment, and start over with a new project file. The biggest thing is to keep everything archived. You never know when something butt-old sparks a new interest in you. ;D This happens second most often for me. 3) If I just feel that someone else can elevate it by collaboration, then I'd ask them to play a live part or something. That's if I wanted to sequence something too hard, and if it just happens that that's what's getting me stuck. This happened only once so far, a few weeks ago where I was sequencing lead violin. I mean, Brandon Strader was happy with it, but I wasn't (the vibrato was too fake, the notes didn't feel natural, etc.), so I got Jeff Ball to play it, and it sounds so good now (I only really got stuck for two weeks from waiting for his schedule to clear up). I've never actually asked someone to entirely take over an old arrangement of mine before, though. This hardly ever happens for me... even when I really should go through with it when it does.

Is it just me, or is there some sort of phase inversion effect on the kick? Somehow it's really, really far forward. It's just weird to me, and it draws attention to itself. Also, the snare can be louder. Stylistically, the tone works fine, but it's too quiet. I agree that it would help a lot to put in drum variations and melodic variations (for the sake of progression, not just for its own sake). I like the short breakdown section at 1:20, but it needs a transition. How would anyone know it's coming if there isn't one? More transitions in other places would help too. Also, I think some considerable attention can be put into the breakdown section so that it provides a greater contrast with the main, supposedly higher energy sections. Fuller textures, maybe an ethereal padding, and maybe more reverbed elements overall in just that part would help. Overall, the balance is off on the piece as a whole. The instruments don't seem connected/glued, and the textures feel sparse. Basically, it feels too clean/uncompressed, disjointed/unconnected, and somewhat empty. It's fine if you want it to be partially high energy and partially not too heavy, because it can be done, but I don't think this is hitting that mark at the moment. I think this is a fairly reasonable standard to reference. It's pretty similar to what you have here.

Whenever you say something like, "if you do this, then this will happen", try instead saying, "if you try this, this might happen", because it's a guide that helps with, but doesn't guarantee the followthrough or the success.

Basically... Those strings are mechanical and a touch too distant. Nice effects and sounds. Needs clearer transitions and less mechanical 808 hi hat sequencing. The sound effects are a little cheesy, but since you don't depend way too much upon them, I guess it's kinda OK. Mostly the transitions and the hi hat velocities. Strings should be addressed anyways, but they're not a priority IMO.

Can you please not advertise your own remix on a thread belonging to another remixer? It's easy to figure out why.

The percussion seems pretty wide too. Much of the orchestra diagrams I've seen have percussion mainly in the middle.

Too bad Mystical Mist was already posted, before the bad title pun flood.