Chimpazilla

I've liked this since I heard the first wip. Really nice synth work, great arrangement. I love the time signature changeups. The production is tight and it sounds balanced to me. Guitar work is solid. Transitions are good and the track has lots of nice detail. YES

This is lovely. I like it a lot!

Happy Birthday, Superior Dude!

Your preview sounds pretty darned good!

Really super cool ideas here. Wow, the bass stuff is cool. Unfortunately, that wobble bass occupies the entire frequency range and I can't hear anything else most of the time when it is playing, the leads are completely obscured when they play together with the wobbles. It doesn't help that most of your leads are saws as is that wobble bass. Your drums are also fuzz-heavy, so that's a lot of buzz and fuzz going on. Sounds like your sub-bass is fine. You'll really need to carve out room in the middle of that wobble bass timbre for your leads and other backing elements. Also, most of your other elements are competing for space in the middle of the frequency range. Even your sfx are getting mushed into the middle. I adore this arrangement but it just needs a bit more production love (eq and sound choices mainly). NO (resubmit)

Cool ideas... it's funky, and orchestral? Mind=blown. Cool, yeah continue!

I haven't done an extensive source check but it seems like there is enough there on a cursory listen. This track sounds good but I think the lead guitar (one of them anyway) is shockingly loud and quite dry and doesn't sit nicely in the mix. The drums and bass sound too quiet by comparison. Rhythm guitars sound really good to me though. I like this arrangement and I don't think it will take much to rebalance the leads and drums, using the level of the rhythm guitars as reference. NO (resubmit)

Definitely funky! But my first impression is that the entire track has been band-passed, it sounds muffled and lacks both highs and lows. The instruments are competing badly for frequency space all in the middle of the spectrum. The track is also sounding extremely dry overall. You've got some leadwork playing panned right, and some panned left, and this is kind of an odd effect and I don't think it really works. It would have been better if you had centered and slightly stereo-separated the leads rather than hard-panning, it sounds very two-dimensional and unbalanced as is. Your backing keys and strings would also sound so much better with some nice stereo spread. There are a several of points where the track comes to a complete stop, really interrupting the flow (and I hear that same idea in the Mega Man source). It would be better to bridge those gaps with something, a drum fill or even a sweep or sfx. The arrangement sounds good though, and you've got some fun soloing. That solo at 1:45 is really nice... but the lack of reverb or any kind of effect on it is really leaving it flat. It seems like the source use is adequate and you've done a good job of combining the two sources. But production and mixing are unfortunately holding this one back. NO (resubmit)

I have not heard the other versions. On this one, everything is competing for frequency space in the middle. The bass is so muddy and flabby and indistinct it feels melted. The kick could be louder. That's not the best snare I've ever heard, it is very mid-heavy. Funny, it sounds exactly like the snare in the "Boomer" source song, just way too much "thwap." (my personal technical mumbo-jumbo for snare mids) Some of the drum writing is really stiff, especially in the hats and that snare. The arrangement is good, source use is fine, rhythm and lead guitar tones sound good but much of the lead writing is pretty stiff, a little more interpretation would be great. (Andrew mentioned some of the note timings sound off too) The lead writing from 1:34 to 2:01 is particularly uninspired. At 2:18 you have some really cool soloing starting! But the mixing is enough to really drain the energy out of it. You'll want to lower reverbs all around (and high-pass reverbs at around 500Hz), and use eq to give each instrument its own breathing space. The bass needs to have low-mids (250-350ish Hz) lowered a few db and low-lows (below 30Hz) removed, then play around with compressing and/or eqing what's left to bring out the fundamental. NO (resubmit)

Ok... so I've spoken with Jake, and he wants to add source motifs to the intro and outro. He's traveling home from helping Xarnax42 move from Alaska to Indiana, so it may be a few days or so before he gets to it. Let's put this on hold for him. edit: Jake updated the track super fast. He has added quite a bit of source motif work into the intro and outro. I'll leave it to Larry to do his stopwatch thing. My YES stands, so good luck Jake.

I've never so desperately wanted to visit Kakariko. And that's a place I hold special in my heart. Wow, this is amazing, thank you so much. I now have a permanent smile on my face.

I can hear the source right away. The first 45 seconds are really clear source to me. After that it's a little sparse source-wise, so I did a breakdown of what I heard: remix 0:00-0:45 is source 0:00-0:32 (45 seconds) remix 0:45-1:15 kick buildup remix 1:15-1:48 is source 1:30-1:35 (33 seconds) remix 1:48-2:04 seems to be original (I might be missing something) remix 2:04-2:33 lead playing source 1:30-1:45 (29 seconds) remix 2:33-2:40 piano playing source 1:30-1:35 (7 seconds) remix 2:47-2:54 piano playing source 1:30-1:35 (7 seconds) remix 3:01-3:15 and 3:28-3:30 bassline playing source 0:00-0:09 (16 seconds) It works out to 137 seconds of source in a 228 second mix, or 60% source. A bit close, but it's there for me. What say you, Stopwatch Larry? As for the mix itself, I LOVE IT. I'm totally chair dancing to this. I'm not a huge fan of that kick buildup at 0:45 because the kick is just... so... clicky. A little bit of filtering on that kick would make it fit better, the idea is solid though. The clicky kick works perfectly when the mix is full. Dang this mix is groovy and well produced/mixed. Excellent glitching. I love the jazz outro, it is equally well done and super well transitioned, but it contains no source at all (as far as I can tell, and I'm really scrutinizing it) and I'm a bit concerned about that. This mix really pushes the boundary of source usage, and could get some no's based on that, but I'm going to give it the nod because it is so creative and groovus maximus. YES edit: just listened again, and I think maybe the bassline in the jazz outro (starting at 3:01) is playing a *very* interpreted version of the source melody from 0:00-0:09. I have revised my source usage breakdown. another edit: this is how I'd like that kick buildup to sound

Crowd noise is a bit too loud and dry. The kick is a bit heavy and has a bit too much click for a soft rock track. The bass is a little bit indistinct/muddy, it could be tightened up and have some low-mids removed, that would give the track a bit more headroom and let the rest of the instrumentation breathe a little better. Other than that, nice performances. The guitar and accordion go together surprisingly well. The snare, hats and crashes sound really good. Source use is fine, super arrangement, you've combined both themes very seamlessly, including adapting both sources to the same key, and adapting one of the sources from 6/8 to 4/4. Nice work. This is a borderline yes due to the kick and bass issues, but still yets my YES

Wow... so dark... much depress... very creep... I love this. I'm not a huge fan of the lead at 1:35 as I feel it breaks up the mood and instrument cohesiveness just some. Something less piercing and sawlike may have been a better choice, yet it fits with the creepy ideas here. The glitching, sfx and old vinyl crackling are divine. The choir and whistley sound are great. Even the bit of distortion on the piano-esque arp is a fit. Plenty of source, very good arrangement. Love it. YES

One of the many reasons we love Larry. Good ol' Stopwatch Larry. We should all embrace our inner Larry. Everyone should be Larry. We are all Larry.

The drums sound like they were recorded in separate rooms and sound a little muffled too. Other than that, all the instrumentation is produced and mixed very well. It's a super fun arrangement, cohesive yet varied, and interesting all the way through. I think the sources are mixed together quite well, transitions could be a little better but this works. I wish the ending wasn't so sudden, though. YES

What is the little piano flourish at the beginning? Cute, but...? This is a REALLY well produced orchestral track. I'd love it to have a bit more low end but other than that, there isn't much I can critique here. (Ok the choir sounds a bit fakey starting at 2:51) Really nice arrangement, production and mixing. Sounds just a touch medley-ish, but the arrangement is cohesive overall. But how the heck do we judge source use? How many sources are even here? I count six in the submission info, but that playlist has 20 videos in it. Can we ask him for a source breakdown? edit: my vote is a YES as long as it has enough source...

Such scary images for such a sweet, non-scary guy. Wes I see you more like this: (ok maybe without dem sexy legs) We miss you around here. I know you're busy. I hope you can spend more time here once you finish school! Happy birthday, dear friend! <3

Yep, the master is a bit overdriven, but wow this track has a huge sound. That kick is just bordering on being too big/heavy/compressed. Some of the saws are just bordering on too hot/buzzy. But I love the writing and arrangement and soundscape. Source aplenty. Great sidechaining. Very nice. YES

This song is pretty epic! Moody orchestral intro, lonely trumpets, marching snare, choir, even a church organ, and of course shredding guitars. Drums are appropriate and exciting, and everything is mixed well. Very cool. I wish this track had been a little more interpretive with the source writing, the melody is played verbatim and usually by the choir/brass. I would have liked something to break up that simple line a bit more. My other big criticism is the lack of transitions. The guitars are jarring because they aren't signaled at all. Yet when they arrive, they are awesome. There's a teeny bit of drum transition but a little more would have been nice. Still, it's moody, varied and badass. edit: I'm revisiting this song, and I have to agree the piano and brass are very stiffly sequenced and written. I'm going to go no for now, the piano needs to be humanized and some of that brass should probably be replaced with something else, maybe even strings. The melody needs to be made less blocky as well, with maybe one verse with something other than choir as lead. NO(resubmit)

I agree with Andrew. This is a good arrangement, but there are just some things I think can be fixed that will make this song really shine. That guitar lead is really wide and distorted when it enters at 0:13, distractingly so for me. It competes with the backing guitars quite a bit in frequency. There is a cool little synth arp at 0:26 that is completely smothered by this huge timbre. At 0:59 you've got an organ that's really competing for space with those rhythm guitars. You've got a very nice sine lead starting at 1:10, but almost zero transition into that section, so the lead sounds out of place. How about a gated downsweep or something, signaling the softer sound? Same for the transition back to the guitar lead at 1:33, nothing there for the listener to adapt or prepare for a totally new sound. Drums are pretty good, kick is quiet though. Writing starts to get repetitive in terms of chord structure and backing guitar patterns, but you do have quite a bit of cool soloing going on. Wow that ending is sudden, but workable. This is really close to a pass, just tame some timbres, carve space for that arp to be heard, and add some transition stuff and it's golden. edit: I've just listened to this track again and have read the other votes. I will maintain the crits I've given here, but the arrangement really is quite good, and the soloing in particular is smokin'. No need to hold this vote up. Gonna give this a pass. YES

Don't forget to brush after you caaaaaake.

Super fun song. I agree with Andrew, the writing is exciting and the sounds work together very well. Nice arrangement and source use. Dat kick! Is too loud and overcompressed. Ah well, that's my only complaint. Enjoyable track! YES

Cool stuff! I do hear the Sasha influence, he's one of my favorite trance artists. I like how you converted this vocal track to pure instrumental and still kept the vibe. Source use seems fine. The saws used here border on generic at times, but the writing and arrangement is very nicely personalized. Very nice soundscape. The piano is the one thing I feel doesn't fit in perfectly, the tone is almost a bit sharp for this style, the playing lacks humanization (not much note-velocity variation) and the delay a bit too prominent. There isn't enough piano in the track to make it a huge problem though. I love that sine/whistle synth, and I adore that 303! Overall I feel like the track is mixed quite well, sounds could be eq-separated just a bit more but this is working well enough. The track is a tad reverby but fits the genre well. YES

Andrew nailed it. Those clean leads are almost nonexistent, please bring them up. He's right about having a bit less distortion on the rhythm guitars, hopefully you can just do a quick re-amp to get a cleaner sound there. Otherwise yeah, really nice arrangement and production, drums are punchy and tight too. Bass could have a touch more definition and clear out some low-mid mud too, just a bit. My only other suggestion would be that 2:34 sounds like an ending. It just completely stops. It would make for a better flow if something was happening during that empty space, anything at all, a drum pattern, guitar riff, sfx, just something so it doesn't sound like the song ended there. Also the ending is really abrupt, maybe end it on a chord or something, like some ambiance from the intro? Just a thought. NO (resubmit)