Chimpazilla

I love this arrangement, it's off to the Enchanted Forest, as per usual from Rebecca! I have a few issues though. I'm not a fan of heavy panning, especially for example in the intro where there is almost nothing in the center, and the main elements are left and right. There are some percussion elements sitting all the way left at some points, and other elements sitting all the way right at other points in the piece. I find this totally distracting as it feels so unbalanced; it kills the mood for me. The birds are dealbreakingly loud for me, and they are chirping in some piercy territory. The backing harmony from 2:37-3:59 is somewhat dissonant, I can't quite tell what is going on there. The overall track volume is quite low, I just threw some mastering plugins onto the track and it sounds so much better. I gladly volunteer to master your tracks Rebecca, should you want that. This is an easy pass for me with the panning not so extreme, and the birds lowered in volume and perhaps some reverb added to the birds too, lower volume plus some reverb will put those birdies in the background where they belong. NO (please resubmit and hit me up for mastering if you want)

The clarinet is great and could be louder. The old-time piano is perfect, love it, it sounds mechanical but in a good way, like a player-piano, and the tone is great. Omg that faster section, hilarious and I love the transition. That final chord is excellent. Well done, guys! I've got rhythm, indeed. YES

I really like the variations you've done on the motif. The concept is dynamite. I agree with Gario, the piano immediately is a problem, the sample isn't great and without any sort of reverb to put it into a nice space, it just sits there flat. The sample lacks any kind of expressiveness and sounds really clunky. The viola isn't much better. They both sound like they are overpowering the soundscape instead of jiving with it. I think the viola could be fixed with eq, take some of the low-mids out and it will be less honky sounding. I'm also not totally sold on the drum groove you've chosen to go with the soundscape. I like the idea of adding a drum groove but I'm not sure this is the right one. I'm not sure if it is too fast of a pattern or just one that doesn't compliment the writing, but it feels off to me. I love the idea, but the execution isn't quite there yet for me. NO

This is fun indeed. Is the pop at the very beginning intentional? I'm going to guess not... perhaps we can just chop that off before posting. I agree with Larry about the vocal and hats competing, it is because the hats are mixed dead center and the vocal is also primarily in the center... imo the vocals are mixed well enough to get the job done, but the hats need to be much more stereo-separated, that will remove that competition, and take focus off of the repetition of the toploop. The arrangement is great, although the soundscape is quite samey throughout; a proper breakdown besides the Bowflex interlude would have really helped. The vocals are funny and well enough performed, and do bring smiles. The track could definitely use a mixing cleanup and the vocals could be mixed for much more presence and impact... but what is here works well enough and it is super fun. Gotta go with it. YES

Ok so I have been binge-playing BotW so I had to hear this. The remix is quite good. The pace feels a bit fast for what I was expecting, almost rushed. The backing elements are too upbeat and march-like for my taste, for this source material. The humanization is good enough to get the job done. The mastering is too hot, you hit -7.4db RMS in the intro and -6.9 in the outro, yikes for an orchestral track. The entire track also strikes me as a bit sizzly in the highest frequencies. All that said, I love the arrangement, it's a go, yes it is. YES

Fun cover, but I agree the arrangement is too conservative. Performances are indeed good, it just feels much too close to the original in every way. The track hits it's stride early on and has no change in energy throughout the piece, no breakdown, nothing very original added and no outro either. Adding a breakdown would go far in setting this remix apart from the source, as would adding a section with unique yet complimentary writing. The other thing I notice is that the master is set for 3db of headroom which makes this sound like a premaster and not a master. If you were trying to go conservative on your master, -3db peak is too conservative. -0.3 is a very good conservative limiter ceiling, that is what I always use anyway. NO

Cool blending of these sources, but I agree with the gentlemen that this soundscape is just too busy. Too much competing writing going on together at several points, melodies and countermelodies all competing for center stage. The other issue is that the leads and backing elements are all playing in the same frequency range, so that further adds to the overcrowded and competitive nature of the soundscape. You will need to do some eq work to let leads shine and push backing elements back, and also don't be afraid to delete parts outright that don't add anything to the mix. NO (resubmit)

Not much to add to what the two gentlemen have said. The arrangement is quite static, with the same backing guitar groove and drums throughout, and no breakdown or energy shift anywhere in the track. The track is too short to get enough material in there for it to be an interesting arrangement. No outro either, just one final note, which is a letdown. Also, I agree that the lap guitar isn't carrying the lead well enough, although it could stay as a layer for some stronger lead sound to play over it. Still some work to do here, but cool concept. NO

This track comes out swinging in the best possible way, but I agree with the two gentlemen that having that long fairly empty section is a dealbreaker. The rest of the track is dynamite. I love how you incorporated that Zelda dungeon theme. I suggest making that long section more interesting with additional elements or writing, and also consider adding at least one more section to the track, perhaps a very short breakdown or transition, and one more unique section after that, then the outro. The arrangement just isn't there yet, although the production is quite good. Also, your render cuts off early. NO (resubmit)

Wow, really great production, I have no complaints. The source is repetitive, and so is this, which is fine in and of itself... but I agree with the others who are saying that it is the drum groove primarily bringing this just under the bar. Throw in just one section with a surprising groove for 32 bars. The other thing you could do is throw in some interesting/surprising leadwork during one of those long sections, some cool original motif over what is already here, perhaps a soulful legato thing, something to sort of tell the story over this amazing soundscape. Damn, I do like this. Just needs a little bit of something to make it less repetitive and this will be a candidate for my favorites folder. NO (please resubmit)

This sounds like a good, short, extremely conservative cover, but it isn't striking me as a complete arrangement. The arrangement needs some kind of breakdown at some point, and/or something original thrown in somewhere. The plodding drum beat does not help with the repetitive feel of the track. The mix is also very mid-heavy. The guitar performances are good, but I agree with Larry about the mechanical feel to the drums and other elements. Not sure this is quite ready for OCR, but a fun listen nonetheless. NO

This might be one of my favorite sources of all time, idunno. Conservative take on the source, yet transformative enough. I love the icy feel. Reverb is quite heavy, but it is fitting. I think the overall dynamics of the track could still be smoothed out some, perhaps even with some volume automation on the rendered wav prior to mastering, that would avoid any compression spikes in the final product and still get the levels more consistent. This gets the job done though, for me. Beautiful. YES

Xenoblade Chronicles... one of my very favorite games... I tried to start remixes of some of these sources several times and always gave up because the OST is too good to do justice to it... I'm much closer to a YES on this remix than Gario is, if it passes as-is, I'll be fine with it. I love what you did with this source! The guitar performances and soloing are excellent. Source is well represented. I agree with Gario about the lack of bass presence, and the drums are underwhelming also. I think the drums are less about volume and more about mixing, the entire kit sounds like it has a lowpass filter on it so the life and sparkle are taken out of it. So I'll be sending this back for some very minor mixing fixes. I agree with Gario about the repetitive nature of that final passage, but I find it ok, no need to re-record the song with that part shortened. I think it will be fine once the mixing is spiffed up just a tad, this will be even more of a pleasure to listen to. Nice work, please make the subtle changes and send this back to us quickly. NO (borderline, minor mixing fixes and please resubmit)

AAAARGGGG

I agree that 2:15 does sound overcompressed. I think the buzzy sfx playing at that point adds to the perception of overcompression, but I also hear some pumping there too so the limiter is definitely working too hard at that point. -7.6RMS is pretty loud for an orchestral track. Not enough for a NO, but next time ease up just a bit or automate volume so you don't get such a compression spike in the track. I love the alternating crispy and clean on those big hits. Track is really well orchestrated and very exciting. This is a big winner for me, I love it. YES

Hey, I have worked with this source before! I love this source. TP is one of my favorite games of all time. I can see this vote going either way, because it really won't be everyone's cup of tea, for several reasons. The source is very well represented, and I love the chord choices you used here, very creative and gives the melody extra moodiness. The arrangement is sort of odd, I wish there was a middle section to break things up, but ultimately the arrangement is good enough. I love the creepy intro. I LOVE how you used the game clips, vocal and otherwise. I'm totally into tasteful use of game clips. You are really milking it in the outro, though, hehe. I still like it. The mixing could be better, though. The grunge guitar backing is too crispy and too narrow/centered, and the sine leads are too simple/plain and too loud and I don't care for the panning of the leads. Drums and percussion (trap hats!) can all be louder. Kick isn't cutting through well. Bass can be louder and more present. At 1:57 you have some very cool sfx that are mixed dead in the center; to me that is a missed opportunity to do some wild panning and stereo tomfoolery (automated filtering and autopan ftw), and at the same time you have simple, loud, panned leads. Imo you have the wrong things centered and the wrong things wide or panned. Also at 1:57, you have a screechy synth that is directly conflicting with your backing sfx stuff (panning or stereo widening the sfx will fix that). This track could really be something special with just a few mixing changes. As Larry often says, I wouldn't die if it got posted like this, but I will be the girl who throws it back for the extra coat of gloss. NO (please resubmit)

^This,^ in it's entirety. What a cool arrangement, but the distortion just kills it dead. For anyone who ever hears it without reading the production notes, it is just going to sound bad, period. I will add that the piano sequencing sounds very stiff and mechanical. I hope you can fix this up and resubmit it, the concept and arrangement are ace. NO (resubmit, please)

I'll bet I know why Larry is hearing this as bright/piercing/crispy/shrill... the track is missing lows. The bass needs to come up in volume in the lowest end, perhaps the entire bass should come up in volume, and the kick sounds weak and thumpy and doesn't have any punch, the kick needs more volume and also some smack to come through the mix. I'll bet those changes alone will make the instrument balance work. I have no issue with the synths used, NutS favors the 80s sounding saw leads, the leads are fine. The Shreddage guitar chugs sound just dandy to me, who needs Willrock??? Writing and arrangement are fantastic. I'll withhold my vote until the low end is fixed up. (spoiler alert, it's a YES once the low end is fixed up ) edit 3/13/17: Listening to the revised version, the bass is now louder but it isn't filling out the low end like I thought it would, since the bass isn't playing in a very low range. The bass might almost be too loud now, but I like it better this way. The highs are tamed now, but there is still an overall high-mid crispy feel to the mix which I think is due to the timbres all having similar characteristics and playing in similar ranges. It's definitely over the bar for me now, but perhaps these are issues to address in future mixes. YES

Cool arrangement of the sources. I feel like the synths used are very simple, like presets with not much change to them, other than the occasional glitch. Presets usually have too much reverb and delay on them, and it sounds here like you left that all in, and they all overlap each other to create a mushy soundscape. A better idea is to turn all presets' reverb/delays way down or off, and then turn them back up slowly (or add your own as an insert) and adjust them separately, so the elements fit into the soundscape where they should sit. The drums are very repetitive and mixed too quietly. The talk lead is too loud, and seems to get louder and also wider over time until it is overwhelming the soundscape starting at 1:30 and again at 3:14. Much of the track sounds too far stereo-spread, leaving very little in the middle or middle-ish. Leads in particular don't need to be so wide, other than the top end. The bass is either too quiet or too stereo-spread or both. The writing throughout the track feels very blocky and forced. I'm sorry to come down so hard on this. I think you have good potential Elizabeth, but I strongly suggest you look into ways to learn to improve your mixing, if nothing else that will make a huge difference to how your tracks sound. NO

This arrangement is awesome, I agree with MW! Really creative use of the source. Even so, the mix sounds repetitive to me, not so much because the same sounds are used all throughout the mix, but more because every single element is saturated/distorted. There is very little contrast between clean and distorted, so it kind of sounds like a wall of grunge, and not in a good way, especially in the busiest parts. I suggest going back through and deciding which things should have heavy saturation on them and which might be better cleaner. The synth that you are using for bass sounds like it is playing lower than it's optimal range so it sometimes sounds like it is straining down there. The really full sections are definitely overcompressed and have no dynamics and I can hear overcompression artifacts over and above all the saturation. Even with that much compression you are only getting a max RMS value of -9.3, which tells me something in the mix is badly unbalanced and/or needs eq treatment (probably some low end rumble, 30Hz and below, stealing your headroom). I feel like the track is going to require a full rebalance, and re-mixing. Some elements such as the low synth starting at 1:45 are much too quiet, making the track dynamics too diverse overall. The drums are fairly squashed in the mix, and the kick in particular can not get through the soundscape in the heavy parts. I get what you are trying to do here and I love the concept... the execution isn't quite there though, but I hope you'll take this opportunity to fine-tune your mixing craft and please do send this back to us again, I look forward to passing it. NO (resubmit, please)

Thanks everyone for the source checks. I agree with the minor mixing crits (bass swells, heavy reverb) but they aren't dealbreakers. Very epic sounding mix! YES

The soundscape is quite full, but I never feel lost. This is lovely. As usual with Rebecca's mixes, I feel transported to the magical forest, and that is always a good thing. I'm not having any problem with realism, the samples and the sequencing are well over the bar. The percussion could be a tiny bit louder. I would love to have a crack at mastering this track to bring out more of the detail, currently the master is on the quiet side and there is untapped potential there for extra shine/sparkle. I dislike fadeouts, I think the outro could have been handled better, but no big deal. Absolutely nothing dealbreaking here, let's go, front page stuff. YES

I see what Gario is saying about this track making a perfect bridge between moods on the album, but as a standalone track I don't think the arrangement works well at all. What I am hearing is a long intro from 0:00-1:36, next I would expect a pretty solid first verse or section but there is none, then there is a soft breakdown from 1:36-1:56 (intro right into breakdown is very odd, imo), a super-short section of beefy material from 1:56-2:33, then a very soft outro. The parts sound mixed well enough to me but the overall dynamics of the track are too great, with the intro and outro being much too quiet. Ultimately though, the arrangement sinks it for me. NO

I love it. Can't wait to hear it finished. I adore Spirit Tracks.

The arrangement is good. The harpsichord is way too quiet to carry a lead by itself, but it doesn't do so very often, and I agree that making the harpsichord louder might not be helpful. I agree that the brass is lacking bite; better samples would improve this. I also agree that part 6 is the most cluttered, melodically. I feel that these are all areas to work on for next time, and that this arrangement is over the bar as is. YES