Chimpazilla

I really like the concept for this remix, the idea of adding additional/different chord progressions, it gives the source a totally different feel. The arrangement is cool, source is evident, the rhythm guitars and drums fit nicely. The track has an 80s flavor to it with the synths and guitars combined. My big issue with this track is that it sounds so overcompressed to me. I don't hear distortion but the dynamics are very flat. At 1:28 for example, every instrument sounds the same volume and the drums sound so distant and tame when I think they should be loud and proud. The synth leads throughout the mix are the only element that I hear occasionally mixed toward the front, rising up from the background here and there. The intro piano is mixed very much upfront, so I was actually surprised when the soundscape flattened out completely at 0:33 when the drums started up. Cool ideas and arrangement, you'll get my YES after another pass at the mixing/balancing/mastering. NO (resubmit, please)

ReMixer Name: Glubglubz Real Name: Anthony Amorose Game: Sonic 3 Arrangement: Lakeside Racing Song: Azure Lake Zone I always thought this song was a bit under-appreciated. My favorite aspect of the original is the upbeat melody mixed with the driving rhythms underneath. I wanted to further push that contrast by adding chunky guitars and punchy drums, while keeping the melody feeling very synthesized. As much as I like the original, there were some elements that I knew had to be changed. First and foremost was the chord progression (or lack thereof). It had become apparent early on that, no matter the length of the song, it was going to feel very static unless I departed quite heavily from the source material. The other element I needed to change was how simple the structure was in the original. I used that as an opportunity to have fun changing the intensity from section to section. Thank you for you time and consideration, Anthony Amorose

This is a fun, lively source, one that I personally would find difficult to do justice to in a remix because it is already so complete and full sounding, nice motif and full soundscape and lots of nice detail. I've never heard of this game. The remix starts out so sparsely and very quietly, and remains sparse and quiet throughout half the mix. The soundscape sounds its best fullness-wise starting at around 1:50 but all the instruments are competing for volume such that it sounds like a mushy wall of sound, albeit a quiet wall of sound. The writing is very stiff and quantized throughout the mix. The total silence at 2:16 feels awkward. That whole next section goes back to sparse and quiet. The section from 3:18 to 4:34 is overcompressed to the point of clearly-audible distortion and pumping, that entire section is WAY too loud, and the compressor is working overtime. The piano hammering away at 4:03 sounds so stiff and quantized. I like the orchestral concept for this source, but to really do it justice I feel like some of the sparser areas need a little more detail. The mixing also needs to be improved so that the instruments each have room to be heard in their respective frequency spectrums without competing this much. The humanization needs to be improved, particularly on instruments such as that exposed piano near the end. The biggest issue of all for me is the dynamics throughout the track, the quiet parts are painfully quiet, and that last section is clearly overcompressed and distorted. I wouldn't mind hearing this one again, but at the very least not until the mixing, balancing and mastering has been addressed. NO (resubmit)

Contact Information ReMixer name: Lukedoc321 Real name: Luke Dougherty Email: User ID: 32317 Submission Information Name of game arranged: Steins;Gate Name of arrangement: Converging Fates Name of individual songs arranged: Gate of Steiner Steins;Gate is a visual novel that was first released for the Xbox 360 on October 15, 2009. The original game composer was Takeshi Abo.

Not much to add to what the two gentlemen have said here. The arrangement is really creative and shows some real skill, but the soundset kills this dead for OCR. I never heard of Milkytracker (had to Google that just now), but may I suggest you get a proper daw, because I'd like to hear more from you, just much better produced than this. NO

Awesome concept, these two tracks go together nicely. There is definitely an audible distortion at 1:49. The track is a nice start but ultimately I'm finding it too short and undeveloped to be a standalone track on OCR. The arp pattern is so simple, I'd love to hear the timbre you're using with some modulation or filter movement on it to give it interest as it goes along through the track. The first lead sound is pretty weak and unexpressive, actually the second one is as well. The arrangement ends just as it should really be getting started. At the point the mix ends, I'm expecting a buildup into something wicked-cool with badass drums and a great bassline, and some unique writing. I can hear it in my head! I say take what you've got here back to the drawing board, and make it a fuller and more complete track, and let's hear it again. NO

Bump. Someone help me here. Thanks.

I like the heavy drums in the intro. Is the guitar sharp? My ears don't hear that. I like the tone and the reverb on the acoustic guitar. I agree with Mike that the drums are a good contrast with the acoustic guitar. The section from 2:09-2:40 slowed things down a bit for me though, since it is the same material from the intro, I would have liked something different or additional there to set it apart from the intro. That's my only complaint about this arrangement. I like the pitch bends in the section starting at 2:40, and the heavy chugging that begins at 3:44. Overall this is a good moody trek through this source material, it's produced well. I like it a lot. YES

Wow what a cool combination of sounds and styles! It remains chill even with the heavy wubs. Source well represented with tons of fun interpretation. This is so creative. I also happen to love wide panning sounds, and heavy sidechaining. I agree that the sidechaining on the lead is a little too deep and long, a short shallow sidechain on the lead would work better. In my own mixes I sidechain everything (except percussion!) but in varying amounts, bass/pads super heavy, leads and backing elements more lightly etc. Super fun track! YES

LOUD. Visually, this waveform resembles a sausage in the most profound way I've ever seen. Listening, the bass and drums really get melted into the background under the lead saw and backing saws. I don't hear any overcompression artifacts, but the track has zero dynamics and is exhausting as a result. I have to agree with Gario that for the most part this is a wall of sound and a lot of your cool details are being lost in the din. The arrangement is conservative in the first half, and varied more in the second half. The arrangement is good and interesting. Lots of fun details and ear candy. I think I have to throw it back for one more pass at the mixing and mastering so it isn't so overwhelming. I'm looking forward to hearing this again, though! NO (resubmit please)

There's something so unique and mystical about your style, Rebecca! Your songs just keep getting better and more interesting. You really capture the vibe in the remixes you're doing, with all the bells and mysterious plucks and stuff. I like it. I would have liked some kind of original intro before the main motif dropped, even just some sfx to slowly set the mood, but this is just an opinion. I love the way these timbres have been used, the soundscape is similar to the original but with more bells and details going on. The instruments have been humanized very well and I like how the melodies have been sort of haphazardly tossed one on top of the other, it feels very relaxed and natural and it works well for this source. The mix has a ton of reverb which works for this soundscape. It doesn't sound too muddled to me. The track appears not to have been mastered though, coming in at -4.5db peak and -19.4db RMS, some more volume would have been nice, it doesn't have to be super loud but a little louder would be good. Ultimately though, I'm not sold on this particular arrangement for OCR. The motif is played pretty conservatively five times, and the writing in between is very loose and noodley. I think this arrangement is perfect for a "let's play" or similar on Youtube, but I don't find it to be a workable arrangement for a standalone OCR track. I feel like one or two of the motif sections could be replaced with something original that has a little more structure, maybe in a different key or something, to break things up. That said, I am really enjoying this track. NO

Nice arrangement and cool sounds! The arrangement is conservative but never gets boring, lots of nice little variations. A little more sonic variation (extra/different timbres) would have been nice, though. "Perfect" at the end is SUUUUPER cheesy. The track is mastered good and loud, I don't hear any overcompression. I will agree with Gario that the bass is too wide, which causes it to lose impact and the low end sounds sort of indistinct. I can barely hear what melody the bass is playing. The wide/quiet bass will cause the rest of the track to master too loudly by comparison, and I see a reading of -6.9db RMS so it's quite loud. If this were my track, I'd mono the bass below 200Hz and boost the volume a bit so we can hear the bass highs better too, and low-cut any pads/synths that may be competing at 200Hz and below, then master the track again with a slightly lower limiter gain. This is a nitpick though, and just some advice for next time. Cool track. YES

Definitely not trap! Big Room House is the correct genre I think. Trap kick beats are much more complex than straight 4x4, and trap tracks are slower tempo than this, generally, afaik. Some of the timbres in this mix are too hot/crispy, and some of the balances could be better. At 1:15 that first call and response section, the two synths are mixed so differently and the second one is too loud. I agree with Gario on that point. I can hear why Gario said the drums are mixed too far in the back, they do sound quiet to me as well, but I believe it is caused by that one synth being too loud. This genre relies on huge hot/crispy saws, but this one synth being too loud is what makes it feel TOO hot/crispy for me. I love how the sfx are used, I'm a big fan of game sfx in remixes. I like this arrangement a lot but it bothers me that both verses are 100% copy-pasta, every note and every sfx duplicated exactly. I guess this is par for the genre though, but it bugs me. Just some little bit of variation between the verses would have been nice. Even just replacing the ending laugh with something else would have helped a lot. The intro and middle breakdown writing are very good. The buildups are good. The complete-stop transition at 2:00 is awkward as heck, though. I really dislike straight copy-pasta. However I think this is a track people are going to like a lot. I'm giving this a borderline due to the slightly-off mixing and the blatant copy-pasta. The copy-pasted sections represent 43% of this arrangement. The overall arrangement is good enough that I'm going to overlook my typical "no copy-pasta" stance this time. YES (borderline on copy-pasta)

FIREballs, of course I meant FIREballs. Bowser throws massive fireballs. What kind of balls did you think I was referring to? Oh THOSE balls? Now you're just being gross and inappropriate. Yep I changed that one note so it fit with the chord progressions I was doing!

Some kind of update by July 1st please. This is ridiculous. Just send SOMETHING by July 1st. If I get nothing, tracks are getting reopened for new claims. Either that or this album will just be cancelled which would be a shame!

You've got a good ear if you can hear clipping, Gario! I went over this with Sir_Nuts this afternoon, and he helped me decide to take the clipper out of my mastering chain and just rely on the limiter (I was using both). The clipper was giving the track a clean digital sound but at the expense of clipping (not going over 0db, but clipping the peaks). Mike and I both agree it sounds better and more natural now. Thanks to Mike and Gario, this continues to be a terrific production exercise!

'The Ballad of Bowser's Balls' - by Chimpazilla mp3 and wav (mastering changed 6/17/16, described below) *SHAMELESS SELF-PANEL ALERT* I had planned to call this track 'OMG No, Not ANOTHER Mario Mix' but ultimately I went with the clickbait title. This started as a production exercise only, but then it became a thing, so I finished it and now I'm foisting it on the unsuspecting public. Sorry guys, I really have no excuse. This was super fun to write though, and I hope it makes everyone smile. Any judge that requires a source breakdown for this remix needs to be fired from OCR in disgrace and forever.

This track is mastered way too quietly. I had to crank the track by 10db just to hear parts of it. The hard panning of the pianos bothers me, and one of the piano samples has a distracting sound when it plays each note, it sounds almost like percussion but I think it's just a flaw in the sample. The playing is pretty stiff, if this was played live then the sample is making the playing sound sequenced. Still I think this is a moody and somber take on these three themes. The transitions are somewhat awkward though, giving the track more of a medley feel than it needs. I think this might work much better if the production and mastering were improved, and if the transitions flowed more smoothly. NO (resubmit)

ReMixer name: ∑ Name: Matt Gallagher Website: http://soundcloud.com/jam-toast-studios or http://soundcloud.com/studio-dantalionor https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPo-GF08JfA9RcVYdJEHNRA User ID: 33357 Game arranged: Undertale Name of arrangement (with link): ✶ It Seems that There’s Still One Last Person that Needs to Be Saved Songs arranged: Hopes and Dreams, SAVE the World, His Theme OST link: here Comments: Instead of the original (in particular, Hopes and Dreams), which possessed a grand sense of an epic, climactic final battle and saving the day, I decided to go for a more subtle approach, an emotional sense of wanting to reach out and save the one in front of you right now. Asriel wanted nothing more than to stay with the First Human forever, and I wanted to capture the sense of needing to reach out and not only save Asriel's soul but also tell him that he's not alone and that everything's going to be okay.

What a great concept here, very bold. I love the blending of these three themes, they make a really nice cohesive arrangement. The mixing isn't working well though, all the instruments are competing for frequency space in the mix. The sequencing is really rigid. There are several areas in the mix where there are sour notes and/or bad harmonies. The vibraphone is too loud. Still a bit to work on here, but there's a LOT of creativity in this arrangement. I suggest taking this to our forums for further mixing advice! I'd like to hear this one with the production improved! NO (resubmit)

Hello! I am Ynitsed Modnaf, I'm on the forum but, I'm not active on it because I'm not a big fan of forums so, I'm sorry... I hope it's not a problem. Contact information: _ My ReMixer name: AS_Ynitsed _ My real name: (I want to keep my name secret). _ My email address: _ My website: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvZI5Lb9yf3T5I2sr_WVVFA _ My userid: 33331 Submission informaion: _ Name of games arranged: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past; The Legend of Zelda; Final Fantasy IX _ Name of arrangement: Protect the Castle! _ Name of individual songs arranged: Hyrule Castle; Dungeon; Jesters of the Moon _ Original composers: Koji Kondo; Nobuo Uematsu _ Links to the original songs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uR7doemZD0; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7T6ZNgoP5M ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUCeXApQxNw _ Comments: I wanted to remix A Link to the Past because is my favorite Zelda game and the game of my childhood. And, during the remix, I thought "And if I add this song and this too?". Just like that.

Oh jeez. This IS badass, and also cute and funny (ssssh I didn't say that). Brandon nails these vocals, always right on pitch, and wow what a range.... from Cookie Monster lows to the canines-only-frequency screeching highs. What a great concept this track is. Guitar work is ace. A breakdown would have been nice because the track is relentless but this works in context. It is mixed and mastered really well. I don't think I heard version #1 of this track, but this one works for me! YES

I really like this concept, the instrumentation is good, source is well represented with fun interpretation. I dislike the hard panning of the plucked instrument on the right and the guitar all the way left. The dealbreaker for me is the mastering, it's completely squashed to smithereens. The mix hits -5.9db RMS, I can't see why a mellow-ish track like this would need to be mastered that loud, and it's not clean, it audibly distorts most of the way through the track. Ease off that master compressor. A little less hard panning would be nice, but that is my opinion and not necessary. The mastering fix though, that's necessary. NO (fix mastering and resub please)

Contact Information Your ReMixer name : Hy Bound Your real name: Tyler Carson Your website: https://soundcloud.com/hybound Your userid (number, not name) on our forums, found by viewing your forum profile:Could not, for the life of me, find this. Submission Information Name of game(s) arranged: Final Fantasy X Name of arrangement: That's What Besaid Name of individual song(s) arranged: Besaid Island Link to the original soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxJE6SSX-aw Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc.: Hey guys, long time no see! It's been a while and I wanted to break the silence with a little FFX arrangement. This actually has a lot of firsts for me (for finished material at least); hardware synths, live recording of vocals/snaps/claps and bass guitar. I actually used my Moog Tribute, run through my modular rack for most of the lead synths (which is why they all sound slightly different, they were recorded at different times, so I had to re-dial-in the sound, live and learn!). I also noticed as I was checking out the other Besaid arrangements before submitting, that Emunator's was influenced by Tycho as well. I think it's super cool that two different people can arrange the same song with the same influencing artist in mind and come up with something so different! Anyway, here's hoping it isn't another few years before the next submission!

This track would need a proper name, not just the name of the source tune. I like the concept and ideas here, but the mix gets really repetitive and the mixing leaves a lot to be desired, bass is muddy/boomy, instruments fight for frequency space, drums are buried, the whole thing sounds overcompressed. I think if backing instruments were widened a bit, it wouldn't sound so crowded in the middle. The lead synth sounds quite dry and lifeless, maybe just a bit of reverb and/or some filter movement or modulation? I think if this were fixed up mixing-wise, and possibly shortened a bit, it would pass. NO (resubmit)