Chimpazilla

Amazing arrangement as expected, and the performances are off-the-charts good. All guitar work completely slaps, drumming is insane, and Valentino's vocals fit perfectly and wow is he talented. Rock-anthem-arrangement-album material indeed, sounds so professional. I have some minor mixing nitpicks: bass presence is a little soft, and the high-end detail of the drums are somewhat washed out, kick is too quiet and there's something about the snare tone that is too boxy for my taste. This really is a wall of sound coming at'cha fast. But that said, there's no chance of this not getting posted, it is truly epic. YES

proph covered the issues well. This is basically a cover, with very little interpretation or additions to personalize it. For OCR we look for transformative arrangements and not covers of the source material. This also needs a huge mixing overhaul. Please don't be discouraged, everyone starts somewhere! I suggest posting this into our wip forum and/or Discord server to get further advice on it. Also you can look up tutorials on proper song arranging and mixing. NO

Wow that 600Hz spike HURTS. This is actually painful for my ears. I love Lavender Town, I have remixed it myself! This arrangement however, does not develop sufficiently. It is just the source writing repeated several times. I think this is a good structure from which to carve out a remix, but as it stands now, this sounds more like a barebones concept wip. I can understand wanting to do an ambient, drumless remix, but for that to work there has to be more going on melodically and sonically. There needs to be some kind of interpretation on the source motif, some original bits, some countermleodies etc. At the very least there should be more and varied instruments, and you can also use sfx to tell a story that evolves over time. proph had a great suggestion to visit our workshop for more ideas on how to expand this arrangement. I'd love to hear it again in a more fleshed-out form! NO

ANOTHER Lower Brinstar.... what is going on here, this one even has a nearly identical title to the one I voted on two days ago. I'm darn glad I like this source but I feel like OCR has entered some kind of weird dimensional rift into the Metroid-verse. I like the beat established here, very groovy! Good instrumentation and fun interpretations of the source material. Lots of variation in sounds used. The elements are cohesive and sound good together. Arrangement is conservative and repetitive, I agree with proph on that. I really like this sound palette, but since it remains the same throughout the track, the repetition gets heavy. I agree with proph that the arrangement needs just a bit more development to pull away from the repeating source material and sounds. You could add a very soft yet moody breakdown, where the drums drop out and the bass goes to a pedal instead of groovy pattern. Let that simmer awhile then bust back into the groove, with something new or surprising added for the final section, with some original writing, or with variations in instruments playing the parts. On the mixing side, I think the elements are volume-balanced pretty well. The low end feels a little weak, perhaps some compression and a bit of volume gain on the bass would be good. The mids sound a little hyped right now, due to the low end being on the quiet side. Raising the bass volume will fix that. I'm actually pretty borderline here because there's a lot to like in this mix! Ultimately, the repetition is keeping it just under the bar. NO (borderline, resubmit)

I'm not sure why we are suddenly getting an influx of Lower Brinstar arrangements, but I love that source so let's do this! Again! Opening piano is very mechanical but has sufficient reverb, and the flute that follows is painfully dry, so they don't sound cohesive. I am also not a fan of the hard panning of instruments. There are several elements that are panned left or right (piano left, choir right, clanky percussion left, etc.), and proph said the track is widely panned, I assume he means the hard panning of various elements as opposed to overdoing the overall stereo spread. When the soundscape opens up at 0:31, I like the distorted electro textures that are added, along with bells and metals and delays. Great soundscape! However, the arrangement itself is not developing much as it goes along, it is just the same motifs over and over, played with the same instruments each time. The writing is 100% from the source tune. Some writing interpretation or original bits along with the source writing would help break up the repetitiveness of this arrangement. I love the bell timbre starting at 1:33, it is a wonderful creepy sound and fills the soundscape beautifully with just the right amount of reverb and delay. I also really like the guitar synth that begins around 2:50 with some little original flourishes here and there. *chef's kiss* I love the idea of the big crushed section starting at 2:00! This section could be so cool, but the mixing of that section is off. Everything sounds mono after 2:00, crowded in the center, and lacking impact. The bass growls, percussion, sweeps, that smacky snare, everything is in the middle and that is a wasted opportunity to really grab the listener. When using so many timbres that live in the same frequency range, the mixing has to be on point, and everything is competing here. If some of the elements in that section were stereo-spread more (NOT panned, but spread), that section would have so much more impact. The actual mixing also needs to be revisited in this area because you've got some very badass bass and growls there that I'm not feeling. SPAN shows me there is plenty going on in the low end but it sounds muted, and I suspect the issue is stray lows on your other elements. EQ should be used to remove everything below 100-ish Hz other than kick and bass, that will clear up low mud and give you more clean mastering headroom. I think this can really be a great track, as proph said it has great bones. It just needs a little more TLC. Do a small bit of piano humanization, at least when the piano is the most exposed. Make sure the flute has a reverb that sort of matches the piano so they sound like they are in the same room. Try to add some writing variation here and there, even adding more flourishes like you did with the guitar synth will go a long way toward breaking up the repetition of the continuous source-writing. And that big section needs a mixing overhaul: EQ elements (other than kick and bass) to remove lows and inaudible mud, tame some of the hard left/right panning, and give some of the elements after 2:00 some stereo spread so it doesn't sound so centered/mono. I really do look forward to hearing this one again and seeing it posted! NO (resubmit)

Wow, this is a HUGE improvement in writing and creative ideas! The writing variations on the source are groovy. The vocal pad really gives this a new flavor when it starts after 2:00, I wish it played just a hair longer than it does. The drums have been varied just enough to avoid so much repetition, and they feel more natural now. The new drum production fits the soundscape just right, good job there! I don't find the bass boomy at all on my system that includes a sub. The bass hits pretty hard at 100-ish Hz, perhaps that is agitating Larry's headphones and offending his ears? It sounds fine for me. The production overall is working well I think. I really like the new reverse/slowdown ending! It's still abrupt, but it's an actual ending. It is weird in a cool way. The warbley production is an artistic choice, and I like it. This one gets the job done for me! YES

*Checks submission thread* Ok so this track has been updated NINE times??? First, that's too many updates. Second, we need a better way to have more visibility when submissions have been updated. I'm still cool with my YES on the track as of the 4/13 version.

I have to agree with my fellow Js, the overall mix is overly quiet and needs proper mastering to increase the overall volume while preserving appropriate dynamics. But the bigger issue is the sample quality. The strings (solo cello and string ensemble in particular) are dealbreakingly bad, and they play for so much of the track that they are totally distracting. The brass starting at 3:23 suffers from the same fake uncanny-valley problem. I think there are flutes in there, but as MW said they are almost inaudible. I agree with proph and MW that this is an excellent blending of these themes into a cohesive and emotional story. Clearly a lot of time and heart went into writing this, and it is really a very beautiful composition. I can imagine this with vastly better instrument samples, or better yet live played instruments, and it would be outstanding. But as it stands currently, it sounds like an orchestral mock-up or wip instead of a finished product. I would certainly love to hear it again with better instruments! NO (resubmit)

Right from the get-go I'm loving the wide, alive stereo soundscape. I love the gentle trap vibe happening here with the 808 bass and trap hats. All the elements fit together well and this is mixed to perfection, mastering is appropriate. Oh, awesome glassy/synthwavey lead starting at 2:29. So many arps going in the background, but the soundscape doesn't sound overcrowded and the leads shine through. This is just excellent, let's go. YES

This is ambient, lovely, meditative, and well performed. All the sources are well represented and flow together swimmingly (see what I did thar?). The mix is lovely, soft, engaging. Performances are great and mixing/balancing is adequate. Master is on the quiet side, but that isn't an issue. YES

What a gorgeous source tune! Ok on to the remix. The intro is already super loud. The piano sounds very rigid and blocky, the timing with the violin is frequently off, and there are moments where the notes don't match, such as at 0:14 and again at 0:40; the piano and violin are playing different notes. At 0:33, the soundscape is now very heavy and the percussion sounds very loud, dry and very overcompressed. By 0:58 I am already hearing overcompression pumping across the track. At 1:49 the entire soundscape is smashed to smithereens, with crunching and unwanted pumping. The addition of the Hitler recording is a bit shocking and it's a very bold and interesting choice. I can see how this recording adds to the theme and feel of the track. I was alarmed when I heard it at first, not even because it is Hitler but because the recording is way too loud and dry, it dominates the track while it is playing. I think you can keep this idea, it's good, but it has to be mixed better. You need to turn the volume of it way down, and give it a touch of reverb so it sounds nestled into the soundscape instead of being heavily on top of it. It is menacing, but does not need to be THIS menacing. At 1:49 there is a note progression that makes no sense, I'm not sure if that was intentional but it does not sound good to me. At 2:34, the previously established soundscape stops abruptly and there is a short piano-only outro. This piano part sounds pasted on, as there's no flow from the previous section which was stopped absolutely cold. This is awkward. Ok, listening to it again, what about doing a very short white noise sweep to wrap up the previous section right before that last bit of piano? The sweep should stop abruptly right where you have the rest of the instruments stopping. That would make your abrupt outro idea work. I think you've crafted something very moody and cool here, but it needs a mixing overhaul. Go through and re-balance the volumes of things, most especially lower the industrial percussion volumes because they are too loud. Check the notes of the piano and violin, and make sure they match where they are both playing the same line. It would be very good if you could do some humanization on the piano so it sounds less blocky and gridlocked, and more natural/real. Lower the volume of the Hitler recording and add some reverb to make it fit into the soundscape. EQ all instruments so that nothing is playing in the low-lows other than bass and bass-drums. This will clear out inaudible mud and give you more mastering headroom. The last critique is the mastering, it is waaaaay too heavy and hot. Lower the gain on your final limiter by several db (I'm thinking 5ish), such that the overall track doesn't have that crunching and unwanted pumping. I look forward to hearing this one again. NO (resubmit)

Welp, at least we don't have any issues with source use here! Unfortunately I agree with my fellow NOs. Everything after 2:10 is so unique and weird and cool, but up until that point it is just the original source midi, played in the stiffest and driest way possible, no humanization. It's a player piano basically until the strings come in, and the pizzicato and staccato strings can play the fast lines but the legato strings drag, making it feel very awkward when all the strings are playing together. Then we get the harpsicord and xylophone which both sound extremely stiff, followed by more mushy legato strings (attacks are way too long) and it just sounds weird to me. Even if the rest of the sequencing were perfect, I would be sending this back just for the legato line starting at 1:34. The full section starting at 1:46 sounds a little better, but again, every single element sounds so stiff and uncanny. I love this idea! But it absolutely needs more attention to humanization in the first two minutes, and possibly some variations in writing so it isn't just the same midi from the source tune repeated that many times. I'd love to hear it again with improvements made though! NO

Wow, that is a LOT to go through during the production of this remix. I feel for you; computer issues and DAW issues and soundcard issues all together does sound like literal hell to me too. I have no doubt that the jump from FL10 (32 bit) to FL20 (64 bit) mid-production was a nightmare. I didn't see all that detail written in the first submission. I remember this submission, I liked it a lot! But it was ridiculoud and clipping and pumping. Now the render has some mastering on it, which is great and the unwanted pumping and overcompression artifacts are gone. The arrangement has been extended and varied in terms of the beat and energy level. There's a drumless breakdown just as I had suggested. I still feel like more could be done to add interest, more ear candy and surprises, and some of the instruments sound blocky such as the piano that lacks any humanization or dynamics, but this is a massive improvement from the previous submission. I think the arrangement is interesting and moody and cool, with good use of sfx. I don't see anything holding it back from being posted now. Nice work! You switched my NO to a YES Edit 4/24/24: Listened to *ninth* update, still cool with YES vote.

Aw, poor Emu! I can totally relate to the feelings of inferiority that this track must have inspired. Because it's all kinds of freakin' amazing. HOLY SHIT indeed. Somebody here is a psytrance expert. The elements go together so well in this mix; all the synth stuff, the ethereal vocals, and grungy guitars. The arrangement is excellent, everyone's ideas fit together so well. The mixing and mastering are top notch. I could listen to the 15 minute version too. Just truly awesome. My one nitpick would be just a couple of db louder on the bass. YES PLEASE

WHOA. That Banshee source sounds more like something I would expect to hear in Twilight Princess than in anything Mario Kart! Clearly I did not play Mario Kart 64! But it sounds like a tune that would inspire Michael! The source song is full of arpeggio, sharp bells and plucks, creepy strings, ominous bass, and dissonance, very Twilight Princess. The remix seems to be primarily the arp from the source song played over and over in a billion unique ways, along with the chord progressions and horror strings. Wow, this is super cool. So many different elements, forming a constantly evolving emotive soundscape, with that empty-yet-full feel that I love. So much variation, holds my interest all the way through, making me wonder what is around the next corner. Definitely has a comic-nightmare vibe, which is so unsettling. Production and mastering are ace. Thank you Michael, I dig this maximally. YES

Yep, lo-fi is definitely the style du jour right now, and Wes has dived in with both feet and he is doing a great job with these arrangements. I haven't heard this one before so I'm coming in cold on it, which is unusual for an Emu arrangement! I love the chill vibe of this, the gritty badass sub bass, lots of ear candy and emotive keys, drums fit just right, awesome evolving arrangement, mastered to perfection, love it. Gud job, guyz! YES

The Bravely Second sfx would have to be removed, first and foremost. This soundscape is really repetitive once it gets going. The arrangement seems to be multiple repeats of the same thing, followed by a fadeout. As the other two Js have said, there's a concern that the guitar in the arrangement is taken right from the source song. Regardless, the arrangement continues on in a very repetitive and non-evolving way. The energy, instrumentation and writing just repeat over and over, until the fadeout. That isn't enough arrangement creativity and development for OCR. The volume balancing needs another pass as well, as the clicky percussion is way too loud, and lead plucks are pushed backward into the soundscape. The mastering is on the loud side but I don't hear any over-compression artifacts but it's right on the cusp of that. NO

This is the third time I am evaluating this track. Re-reading my two previous votes, and listening now, I have to say WOW you have come a LONG way in your production skills, and as Emunator said, I admire your persistence with this, that is how a producer can get good, just keep doing and learning and trying. This really sounds loads better than the first two submissions. Give yourself credit for the progress you've made, it shows. My complaint however is still the same as in the last version, the arrangement is leaving me flat in terms of how it develops. There isn't a lot of motif going on and so the arrangement lacks structure and ends up sounding nebulous and repetitive as the same bass, pads, plucks and drums play the same patterns again and again and again. My suggestion is to vary things at different intervals: change instruments, change drum groove, vary the bassline writing, or add more lead motif over the top of it, something that is a memorable hook. What you are using as lead motif (which is the lead motif in the source) is so repetitive in this arrangement that it doesn't sound like a lead but more like a countermelody or backing element, making the track sound leadless, if that makes sense. At 1:48-2:30, that section would benefit from having some original lead motif written right over what you have here. It feels like a great soundscape to really say something with a motif, but nothing is being said there, it's a lush backdrop but nothing in front. If this one still doesn't end up passing our panel, and especially if you are frustrated, I suggest starting something new to work on, keeping all of our critiques in mind. Sometimes it is easier to start something new, doing things right from the get-go, rather than continuing to hack away at something you have worked with long enough that it haunts your dreams! It sucks to ditch an arrangement you've invested time into, but we have all done that (multiple times, most of us here), we have taken the lessons-learned from it and moved forward with more skill under our belts. NO

What an unique way to re-imagine this source. I love the 6/4 time signature throughout most of it, ending in a lovely 3/4 arpeggio. I think there's enough source, it just takes over a minute to get into the motif, but the chord structure is there even in the intro. Interesting selection of instruments, setting a very purposeful creepy mood. Things are mixed and volume-balanced well enough, although I agree with MW that the overall result is a bit more lo-fi than would be ideal. The buzzy synth adds to the muddy feeling of the mixing; that really isn't a good sound. In addition, the overall master is missing a final level of sparkle that would really make this arrangement shine. Overall though, the mixing crits are not dealbreaking for me, this is too cool, let's go. YES

I am remiss in not getting around to this one sooner, having been chimp-signaled! I know proph and I discussed this in the Discords but I failed to vote. So, now I will. Right off the bat, I see that the peak max is hitting 1.7db so something has happened on the mastering side, either a limiter fail or a failure to limit. I don't hear any over-compression artifacts, but I wonder if YouTube encoding/compression will cause artifacts on a file that goes over 0db. I just don't know. This song feels overstuffed to me, like there are too many elements, and too many varied ideas and sounds happening at the same time. Nothing is clashing dealbreakingly, but it just kind of feels like too much stuff, too much of the time. I feel like there is so much going on that nothing is coming through very clearly, the mixing is muddled. It is hard to get a super clean mix with this many elements. As others have pointed out, the bass lacks presence. I agree this would probably be solved by EQing the lowest frequencies out of all elements other than kick and bass; really nothing should be playing below 150-200-ish Hz other than kick and bass. Also, sidechaining should be used so that when the kick hits, it isn't conflicting with the bass (or anything else) which causes frequencies to dogpile, which reduces mastering headroom. I'm not hearing much sidechaining in the mix, if any? I sidechain everything in my mixes, not so much for effect as for mixing clarity. The bass playing from 2:34-3:02 does not sound good at all. The patch is playing a full octave below what it is capable of playing, and I can hear it groaning under the strain. That section is cool, but it needs a bass that can play those low/sub notes to support it. At 3:38, the bass has a similar problem; it sounds like it is trying to keep up but just can't hit those low notes, and it feels uncomfortable. I do love the vibe and energy of this track! I recognize some of my own earlier efforts in this mix however, back when I wanted to throw too many competing ideas in together. Sometimes it makes sense to go through and remove things when that happens, and focus on the elements you really want in the mix, and make them shine. Reading through the preceding votes, everyone digs this arrangement, and I do too! But there are tons of critiques and suggestions given regarding the sound choices and mixing. I can understand voting YES to put this track on OCR, but I am going to say that some of these issues should be cleared up first. If this passes, it will be one of those tracks the artist looks back on a few years from now and says "oof." At a minimum, please make sure your master is limited at 0db. Also, please go through and EQ things so that nothing is playing in the low end (below 150Hz at the very least) other than your kick and bass. Replace bass patches that aren't able to carry the low notes. Do some sidechaining to avoid things competing whenever the kick hits. When this is mixed better, as everyone else is saying, this will be a tremendously good track. NO (resubmit, borderline)

Short and sweet, lovely performances. Definitely a cover, but this is an effective and pleasant genre adaptation. The arrangement is short. I prefer a longer, more realized arrangement than this, but what's here is enough for me. There are variations throughout the piece, the drums change just enough to give a slightly different vibe every few bars. The guitar playing is emotional. I wish there was a proper outro; dropping it off cold like this confirms for me that there hasn't been a lot of thought put into the arrangement, other than doing a soft rock cover version. I feel like the instrument volume balancing is fine. I'm not bothered by the panning; the lead sounds about 20-25% panned right, and the rhythm guitar is panned more like 40-50% left, and the bass is centered. It sounds fine to me both on my monitors and headphones. The master is weird! There is a peak ceiling of -1.2db which seems excessive (I prefer -0.5), and I see an RMS value of -7.4db RMS which is very loud, heavy-EDM loud. Although this limiter smashing is causing the piece to lack any kind of volume dynamics, I do not hear any over-compression artifacts at all (aside from expected "amp stuff"), either on monitors or my headphones. I'm curious @Gario where are you picking up on artifacts? If they are there, I wonder how I am missing them. While I did have to turn my volume down to evaluate this track, I'm not worried about it being over-loud on YouTube since they do their own compression and normalizing. Although I am somewhat let down by the short length and lack of arrangement creativity, I don't find any issues holding this lovely soft piece from being posted in its current form. YES

Gaspode has edited his submission with new info and a new song upload, just fyi. He explained the changes in his submission post, so click on that to see what he wrote.

"Building beats and bassline around it" count me in for this, it's a great concept and it works! The source seems to be asking for that treatment. This is definitely a low-key chill vibe, I would not call it "lo-fi" though. The "fi" is high. Very relaxing groove, good arrangement and instrumentation, nicely produced. Nothing earth shattering, but very nice. Let's do this. YES

This arrangement has such a unique feel, as proph said it is full of space. Really nice 3D soundscape. The low end is full and satisfying, and there's just enough going on in the mids and highs to keep it interesting yet sparse. I love soundscapes like this. Piano sounds terrific. Such interesting sounds in the mix, like the breathy synth starting at 2:06. Balancing, mixing and mastering are on point. What a cool arrangement of this material, love it. YES

Well hello there! Great source tune, and I like the concept for the remix in chiptune! But I have to agree with my fellow Js that this arrangement comes off really repetitive as well as very conservative to the source tune. And the production is odd, I think the low end is broken? There is activity below 40Hz (mostly inaudible) and a dent between 40-80Hz, I can't say I've ever heard or seen a low end like this! The inaudible low-end content makes the master overblown without even sounding loud or having any impact. This production just isn't cutting it. The reverb on the chiptune is fine, but the overall balancing and mixing isn't there; the drums are too weak and the leads are too loud. Perhaps take this track to our workshop for further feedback. MW is right, this is a good start! Now take the time to learn proper production and arrangement skills. Everyone starts somewhere, welcome to OCR! NO