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Mak, you seem to be getting pretty comfortable with ripping me a new one...good! You're thoughts are always appreciated. I tried to address all of the issues you mentioned in this latest version: http://tindeck.com/listen/hffz I've been stuck on this mix for a pretty long fucking time. I just can't seem to get it all to sound the way I want. Is this new version at least heading in the right direction? is it just worse? Does it sound just the same??

I decided to try to finish this one. Here is the latest version: http://tindeck.com/listen/kgqj A lot of mixing changes have been made... I think it's about done, but maybe there are some issues that I'm not noticing. Let me know! FYI, I probably won't get a chance to reply to any feedback until about Monday.

I think the combination of synths and really tight rhythm guitars works really well here, and, as always, I really like your drum programming. There lot of interesting fills and little details to keep things nice and interesting. I also like a lot of the stuff you do in the leads, though I gotta admit the second one gets a little bit sloppy in one spot near the end. It's not too bad, though. The snare sounds pretty good. You are always able to get your snare to cut so much better than I can, but for a lot of the mix I think the kick was hard to distinguish. It kinda lacked punch. So here's the thing: I'm not quite sure it's really necessary to cut out compression entirely. It can be a really useful tool, especially for this genre. I would at least put some on the kick so the bass guitar doesn't drown it out. I think the use of vocal samples is alright. They add a bit of energy to the mix for me. I also think the ending is pretty decent. Overall I think it's pretty damn cool. I'm impressed you got such a fat sound with no compression.

My main concern is that the drums seem to lack punch. The snare in particular just doesn't seem to have quite enough power IMO. It doesn't really bother me too much, though. I like the song EDIT: Slightly off topic...I was wondering if you could throw up a download link for "Ghosts of War". I love that track so much. I want to have it on my MP3 player.

This is one of my favorite video game songs ever. Nice track you put together here. And I gotta agree that main melody would sound really cool if it were sung.

It's really the warm synths that are featured throughout the track that really make me think of Boards of Canada (a good comparison of course, cause I love em). I have to be honest and say that I'm really not a huge fan of that hi hat, and I do think it would be better to find something else for it. Aside from the hi-hat, I do kinda feel that some of the percussion sounds and beats are the weak points of the mix; however, I wouldn't say they're deal breakers, and I still really like the reversed part. I really like the track

Don't sweat it, man. I actually have not subbed it yet, mainly because there are bits that aren't sitting well with me, so I was going to wait for some more feedback and work on other projects in the meantime. Honestly, if you are interested in a collab, I wouldn't mind holding off for however long on subbing this. I really really love the source tune, and I would love to do it justice. I feel the need to take some extra time to iron out some production issues (including the ones you mentioned) anyway. Of course, if you really don't think you would be able to find the time anywhere in the near future, that's fine. Let me know, and the thanks for the feedback

Eilios is right. Alternatively, you can always disable the output of any given channel to the master track by clicking the little button directly above the "FX" button on the master track. Just make sure that you have the track you wish to re-route selected when you do it. Doing this will make sure there is only one drum audio stream being sent to the master track rather than the two that you are probably dealing with now.

My God. This is the shit. EDIT: I would love to have a download of this

Thanks for listening, everyone. The stutter effects, even the ones that sounded accidental, were intentional. The idea was to make it sound very chaotic, but that may have been a misguided decision. In this version I cut out all of the stutter effects but one where I felt it still worked pretty well. Tell me if the break at 1:29 still sounds too harsh. I added a rhythm guitar part to 1:01 to thicken it up a bit. For some reason, I'm having a bit of trouble mixing that part, as well as the other rhythm guitar part at 2:44. I just can't get the guitar to cut like I want it to. I boosted the mids in the vocal track and tweaked the reverb I had going on some of the percussion elements. I also did some general EQ cuts and boosts on many of the tracks. Bass still feels a tad muddy to me here and there. Hopefully the next version can be the final one I was planning on bringing out the Descent I material more, but I came up with the chord progression that kicks in at 3:25 and ended up dedicating a big chunk of the song to it. Before I knew it I had a 6 minute long track, and I didn't want to drag it out with any more material. In short, I would have to cut some stuff to fit more Descent I in, and I'm not sure what I would cut. I might still do it if I can come up with something. The vocoder I'm using is FL Studio's Vocodex. I'm still not really sure how to do vocals very well, so if anyone has any pointers for how to get them to sound a bit more professional, I'm all ears.Here is the new version: http://tindeck.com/listen/spsp (Don't mind that it says version 3)

Nice track once again. It's really energetic and there are a lot of interesting uses of effects. One minor nitpick would be that maybe the part where you put a phaser on the whole track lasts a little too long. I like the effect, but it might sound better to make it last a few bars shorter. This is a really minor issue though. Not a deal breaker for me at all. I don't know for sure, but I think this would have a decent chance at passing the panel.

A lot of firsts in this one for me. First Vocal track. First use of vocoding. First synthesizer solo. First use of synthesized drums. It's nearly finished. I just need to tighten up the solo and vocal performance, and fix some balance issues. Mix: http://tindeck.com/listen/rbxx (sorry about the bummer of a title, haha) Latest: http://tindeck.com/listen/jibu Sources: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQTn45K4u44&feature=related Tell me what you think.

Those new leads you added were just what it was needing to my ears. I think this is a pretty kick ass track.

This one is pretty much done. There's not much I can do with it because I somehow managed to cap out my memory so my computer can't even export new versions anymore (guess I should have been more efficient). Here is the mix: http://tindeck.com/listen/ypzf And here are the source tunes: "Alien Forces" from Opposing Force. "Triage at Dawn" from HL2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mHxxY-8pZk&feature=related "Particle Ghost" from HL2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TJqOHC7ycE&feature=related "Nova Prospekt" from HL2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYYgsdg-T7M&feature=related My main concern is that with all these different source songs, I made it sound too much like a medley. I tried to avoid this by playing them all in the same key and making them flow together reasonably well. If anyone has any real problems with it, I could probably make some changes by freezing some mixer tracks or something, so fire away your opinions!

man, I think this is pretty awesome. My main complaint would probably be the lead sound going on throughout most of the song, I don't think its a bad sound, or that you should get rid of it completely, but I do think that the song would really benefit from a more varied sound going on up front. Maybe more prominent layering of different instruments, or some harmony, or both. I can see you might be making a deliberate decision to hold off on playing a lead with the guitar until the outro bit (which is a pretty cool part, btw), but I think it might work to use the lead guitar earlier in the song to make the lead in those earlier parts sound more varied. 'course you could just use something else. It's up to you.

Update http://tindeck.com/listen/xffe I see what your saying about something just being missing in the first minute and a half or so. I'm not entirely sure what to do about it just yet, but I've started by bringing up the synth lead that kicks in at about 1:00 and gave it a little flourish at the end to lead into the next part. I also added a few little details here and there throughout the first minute to make it sound more interesting As for the what to do with the drums... I have no trouble admitting that percussion is one of my weak points. I'll see what I can do with some of your ideas for the next version. I also made some pretty big changes to the mixing on the drums. In the last version, I had the reverb cut out just in time for the climax, but there were still some EQ and compression issues holding them back from sounding awesome. I tried fixing em up for this version. Does it sound any better? And yes, those hats were way too hot. mad snake indeed . Tell me if they still sound irritating. I think that in general, the way I have the song slowly build up to the "chorus" part at about 1:00, followed by an interlude starting at 1:30, works reasonably well. It's a pretty nonstandard song structure, but I suppose that's part of working with a source tune that's really nothing more than a melody and some ambiance. "Were you just clicking random buttons until something sounded cool?" Not necessarily (not this time at least). I wanted a string sound that was kinda electronic (like in the source), so I figured a vocoder could do to my strings what it is usually used to do to a voice. It worked!

When the lead comes in there is something going on that makes it sound quite muddy. I think it's a combination of the effect you have running on the lead, as well as what the rhythm guitars are playing. I stand by my advice of playing the bass part on the rhythm guitars along with the lead, but I think it would sound a lot cleaner if you played it palm muted instead of all open. I think that alone would make that part sound just about perfect. The rest of the track is sounding great to me overall; one thing that kinda bothers me is that when the lead comes in just before the filtered drums towards the end, it still seems a little bit hot. It kinda pierces my ears and makes me have to turn the volume down a bit, you know? Ultimately, I love the energy of the track, and again, the production in general sounds really solid to me.

http://tindeck.com/listen/rbcj Significant changes throughout the first minute and a half or so. It might not yet be where it needs to be, but I think it's a significant improvement. I have no experience with these kind of sounds so I'm open to any suggestions on how to make em better, of course. I also toned the reverb down for the rhythm guitar and drums in the climax. Let me know if it still sounds off. "what are you using??" if you're referring to the string sounding pad like thing that comes in with the bass, I made it by using realistic string samples as a modulator in a vocoder with a synth choir as the carrier with some automated filtering going on. Kinda wierd idea but I think it works pretty well.

Thanks for listening. I agree with you about the intro. I'm having trouble coming up with any improvements though. I'll be working on it.

This is one of my favorite tunes from A Link to the Past and your interpretation kicks serious ass. I love this kind of stuff.

While awaiting mod review for my Halflife mix, I thought I would post this project that I started working on a couple weeks ago. This one has a very different sound from my other mix, though it does take a pretty sinister turn towards the end. I think it's pretty close to being finished. Heres a link to it: http://tindeck.com/listen/pmqv Source: P.S. I'm not sure what the rules are on posting more than one mix at a time. I'm only doing it because my last one is very close to submission (I hope so anyway).

This sounds really cool to me. Definitely on the conservative side, but it's really a huge sound upgrade from the source (obviously). I really liked the drum track throughout and the cool filtered buildup into the outro solo was done well. Effects in general were well used IMO. One thing that catches my ear is how the rhythm track drops out after the first riff (which i really like by the way). I think it would be pretty cool if you played the bass part on the rhythm guitar when the lead comes in, or something like that. A couple timing issues were present, you could just tighten that up a bit. I thought it was pretty solid overall though. Production was good. All the elements came through clearly. It was good

I love this mix. So damn good.

No major changes. Just smoothed out a couple transitions and tried to improve the mastering. http://tindeck.com/listen/ykbc Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtqzEA7zbAE Setting thread to mod review for hopefully one last time.

I'm glad you guys like it. I've worked pretty hard on it. And Mak, I see what your sayin. It was a tough decision to cut most of that riff. The problem was that when I moved it to the front of the song, having the whole thing in there just made the intro drag on too long, in my opinion. I couldn't move it to the outro again. I honestly prefer the new outro because I have wanted to work some epic sounding strings into the song somehow anyway. I salvaged what I could of that riff