Chimpazilla

Mine is done, finished, turned in, and also subbed! Really, really done.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMY.... omg how did I leave you out of this... jeez {{{HUGS}}}

I get where YOU are coming from T, honest I do... but I have to say this, even though it sounds so cliche, but here goes: objectivity is sometimes subjective. It is different for everyone, and it is almost always a moving target (as we improve both our production and listening skills). Even someone like Deadmau5 or Hans Zimmer may see something as sounding bad a month after they do it. It's just the way it is. Give your past self a break! edit: may "hear" something as sounding bad (how can you "see" something as sounding bad? silly me)

Happy birthday, Argle! Enjoy your day today. May we hear many fine remixes from you in the coming year, including some excellent Zombie Disco! Happy birthday, Diodes! May you have a blessed day today, girlfriend!

Very nice mix, guys! I love the vocals and the autotune. Really nice electronic soundscape. Enjoyed it!

Oh my. Well maybe I'm just not in touch with my jazz roots here... but I can't get behind this one. The trumpet solo shows some skill, but I hear tons of flat trumpet notes throughout the piece. Also there is an awful lot going on in this song, even though it is so low key: there is the stand-up bass, organ, guitar, vibraphone, and trumpet lead, ALL playing a busy line, full-time. Maybe the trumpet sounds flat because it is conflicting with some other thing playing at the time, I can't fully tell (and it seems to happen often). Also, that's a lot of trumpet solo, it would sure be nice if something else took the lead for a bit. Source obscured, yes, other than the backing chord progression. Mixing is good though, even considering how busy it is. I get that this is jazz and the rules are a bit different here... but I just can't get into this tune. Maybe I'm just being a grandma? Good luck with the rest of this vote! NO (resubmit)

I have to agree with Andrew here almost entirely. This mix is exhausting to listen to as the dynamics almost never change. Wow, it's bright, and hot, yeah too much compression overall. I agree some timbre changeups would really be welcome, especially that wide harmonic lead, it sounds great, but how about a section with soft drumming and something more like a simple legato lead? And then maybe yet another lead near the end? Also the drumming is fairly relentless, most notable in the snare, possibly because that snare is so mid-heavy. This is a cool arrangement! I think a little sonic variation and a whole lot less compression would really make it work. NO (resubmit)

What a pile of crap this source is. At least there's plenty of it in the remix. I beg to differ Larry, they are using Pod Farm 2 which is a guitar amp vst, so all they have to do is reamp the guitar parts (which I'm assuming are just straight "direct input" wavs) and use a different amp preset. (I am assuming this is the case, and that the guitars were not recorded using a mic.) But yeah, track is way too fuzzy. The fuzzy "old rock" tone may be a style choice but it really doesn't work on a metal-ish track like this one. For metal guitars, I would expect to hear a really clean tone so each note is audible, nearly percussive. The fuzz ruins that completely. This applies to the lead and rhythm guitars. Also, all the guitars, most notably some of the leads (like the one starting at 0:33), are way mid-heavy. Gotta lower those mids. The guitars all seem to be eq'd differently too, which gives an unbalanced feel. Bass could be a little louder (but may in fact sound loud enough once some mids are removed from the other guitars). Drums are sounding thin, muffled and punchless as well. This track needs a really beefy kick and nice snappy snare! The opening four crash hits are quite loud compared to your hats and crashes in the entire rest of the song, that's a little weird. I think the whole track could benefit from some rebalancing and eqing. The leads are loud but still feel like part of the background. Use eq to carve out space for your leads against your backing guitars, and use a longer predelay on any lead reverb you may be using. So yeah, reamp, lose the fuzz, lose some mids, give the leads room to breathe, and let's hear this again for sure, it's a really good arrangement. NO (resubmit)

This is a sweet take on a sweet source. Very nice arrangement. What is holding it back is the samples. Since the mix is only the piano and strings, those two instruments have to really shine, and they don't here. The piano is played with completely mechanical timing and velocities. You would need to vary the note velocity values and start/stop times quite a bit to give it a human feel. Some samples are velocity-sensitive, and others are not. For a song with the piano this prominent, you've got to have a velocity-sensitive sample. These strings are terrible, let's just face it. But they can still be workable, but it will take some, well, work! Make sure there is velocity variation within your chords, first of all. And since the sample ends so abruptly, you'll need to make all of the string notes longer, and use automation to create "swells" with the volume, to emulate natural violin playing. You can also eq this sample to sound more natural by removing a lot of the midrange (which is also serving to drown out your piano). Also as the other Js have said, some writing variation will really help this piece not be repetitive. Take one of your same-y sections, and give the melody more of your own influence somewhat. I hope to hear this again with these issues addressed! NO (resubmit)

That Goldeneye "poooohm" is one of my favorite sounds ever. Glitched? Huh, that's gonna take some getting used to. I almost wish you had glitched it differently each time, or just added some more extra glitching stuff and left the "pooohm" as is! (personal preference, because poooohm ) The track seems pretty well balanced, with the backing guitars sounding quite good. Kick could have some more low-end punch. Snare sounds great. I'm not a fan at all of that synth lead, it is a very generic saw. I feel like saw leads can easily get tangled up in the high frequencies against guitars. There is quite a bit of mid/high frequency clashing going on here. And the lead synth is panned left-ish for some reason. Yep, way too much repetition throughout the song. Try using different leads as the song progresses, and/or throw in an original solo on top of a section or two. The two identical breakdown sections are really sparse, those are two perfect opportunities to add original material on top, or something else of interest. That ending tone is too loud. And yeah, blip at the end. NO (resubmit)

Definitely a unique take on this source, with some great dynamics. I agree the louder portions could have been signaled a bit better, also I wish there was a little more development, maybe some soloing or just maybe one more section, at 2:34 for how epic this is it feels too short. Some of the string articulations feel a bit unnatural, like the staccato notes at 1:04, they are quite prominent there and they are very rigidly quantized with no volume or timing variation. Also the lead line beginning at 1:43 would be improved with a more legato sound, I would recommend layering patches so the beginnings of phrases have a nice bite and attack, and the rest of the line is pure legato. Overall though, nicely executed cinematic Darth Vadery piece. YES

Wow, long song, lots of sources. Ok so the guitar playing is indeed quite good, but yeah, all mixed differently. The lead guitar sounds quiet, distant and thinly mixed, while the backing guitars sound muffled with too much lows and just a touch of mud too. The backing guitars might sound better if the lead guitar had more beef to it, and with a beefier kick too. The organ is a bit loud and piercing when it comes in. The bass is sort of indistinct. Everything sounds like it was recorded in different rooms with no cohesion. There is some weird panning on some of your percussion, I hear a very loud hat panned hard right at one point, and a very loud shaker panned hard left a bit later on, very unnatural. Kick has almost no oomph to it, snare is snappy enough but lacks highs, and wow it's loud. Flexstyle's writeup really nailed it. Yes there's some very quantized and tedious writing (simple quarter and eighth notes and lots of whole notes too) for quite a large chunk of this mix, even the cool bits of solo on top don't make up for this. As for it being a medley, yeah maybe (wow that's a lot of stuff to sort through without a source breakdown), it sounds fairly cohesive to me, even if the transitions aren't great. I do agree with Flexstyle that it would be better if the sources were pared down to maybe just two, and the remix shortened to really give attention to those two sources with some nice interpretation. A real ending would also be a great addition, fadeouts are usually a bit anticlimactic (and the render cuts off even before the end of the fadeout). But the mixing is honestly the biggest issue I hear in this mix. NO (resubmit)

YES (borderline)

Happy birthday, Jooj Sistah!

Yeah, thin drum sounds. Snare feels quite boxy and mid-heavy and lacks high end, kick lacks punch, the rest of the drums are barely there. Cheesy center-panned clap. *sigh* Ok so that's out of the way. The rest is amazing. Chiptune and epic wub work, great arrangement, really unique and varied ideas and sounds, cool glitching and plenty of source. The entire mix could use a touch more brightness. But wow, just a great mix here. Love it! YES

I hear mainly brass. The articulations at 0:19 and 0:27 sound a little clunky. There's a really flat note at 0:32. Piccolo sounds good, could be a touch louder. Be careful to eq the low end out of every instrument that doesn't need it, that's the best way to avoid orchestral mud. You shouldn't have to eq too much, other than that. And go suuuuuper easy on any reverb (most things shouldn't need any added reverb at all). The intro synth is almost sounding a bit too prominent against the softer backdrop of orchestral sounds. This will sound better when the orchestral part gets more filled out I'd imagine. You will definitely be needing to layer articulations. Use the 64 bit Kontakt if you aren't already, and use midi-outs and not individual Kontakt instances, this will save lots of memory. Gonna be bringing in strings next? I do hear the low strings, but no celli or violins? You could use the higher strings to bring in a wider chord structure with the higher voices. In my mind this should start happening around 0:47, because at that point all I hear is the piccolo and brass playing the same line, and just that little bit of low strings. Or you could bring in the higher voices right after the end of what you've got here. If you want to get better at orchestral writing, I'd suggest keeping this track primarily orchestral. Use the orchestral drums you now have, instead of adding more EM. That FFCC compo track I did was my first 100% orchestral and it was tremendous practice. If you want to send your file over, I could show you any tricks I've learned about orchestral. Hit me up on FB if interested. (wait, I forgot, do you have the Kontakt full version?)

Why thank you, good Sir Argle.

*ahem* The newbie judges became judges on Dec 13th and judged like crazy fools right up through Christmas and to New Years, at which time we both (in fact, MOST of the judges) went to MAGFest. After that, many of the judges including myself became amazingly SICK and have been doing their best to recover and get back to the voting bizzz. I did seven tracks yesterday. [/defensive rant]

Whoa... cool dance/trance mix here! Haha I didn't expect that with a name like "Requiem!" Dem's some punchy drums fo sho. The kick tail is *almost* too long. The bass is super cool with nice upper end crunch. (that bass crunch competes with the leads sometimes, but not enough to be a problem) Great lead sounds and writing, nicely sequenced glitching and fx. You've used some really nice sounds and automations. The low end could be a tiny bit cleaner but that's a nitpick. Maybe it's that kick tail causing just a touch of mud against the bass. The mix gets a little washy with reverb at times but never too much so. My biggest nitpick is that the drum writing gets a little repetitive sometimes in the hats and snares. The hat hits seem to be all the same velocity, some velocity variation would add more interest. I haven't heard the first version but this one gets my vote, I love it. YES

Whoa, this is super cool! That organ and the bass give this track a bit of a groovy 60's feel! That bass is so super funky. I'm loving your vibrato leads. You've used the source really well, with some really fabulous personalization. Nice changeup at 2:23, and soloing at 2:47! I wish that vocal clip had been more clearly audible (I assume it says "turtle power!"). So many fun ideas and great writing in here. This is quite a busy mix with many things playing in the same range... it borders on too busy, the organ and other backing synth work gets buried under the lead sometimes, but overall I think you've separated the sounds well enough. The care given to stereo separation really helps in this case. Fadeout ending? Huh, well ok then. I dig this. Turtle Pies! edit: I don't want to hold this vote up. I'm going to agree with my fellow judges that some eq/balance cleanup is needed, also bring the bass out a little bit better. Shouldn't take much to get it to a pass, it's still super cool. NO(resubmit)

Whoa, what a COOL source! Definitely sounds like BrOA (haha, love that name) nailed it with his critique. Great arrangement, wonderful sounds used, and some good writing... but this mix is waaaay too bleedy. Way too much reverb used. The instrument balancing is fine, but definitely it could be eq'd a bit better to let each instrument really shine. For example, the lead at 1:30 is totally buried, frequency wise. I also agree with Andrew about the bass, I love it in the intro, but afterward it seems to have... melted into the track? Where'd it go? I agree there is an overall almost bitcrushed feel to the mix, not sure if that was intentional... or is the master simply overcompressed by an overly pushed compressor or limiter? (if so, please bring that down so the track is not getting smashed) I wonder if it will sound different in a better encoding format like 192kbps or VBR1. The ending cuts off abruptly before the final reverb tail dies away, just make your render a bit longer. This is SOOO CLOSE for me, I really love it. It has almost an X-Files vibe. The writing and arrangement are top notch. Please make these minor fixes and send it back over so we can get it posted! NO (resubmit)

The mixing for an orchestral piece is working generally pretty well here, the instruments have enough of their own space while still maintaining that "wall of sound" orchestral feel (which can come off sounding muddy sometimes, this is somewhat inherent with orchestral samples... so it is important to really position the instruments carefully in the soundstage, cut low end out of all the instruments that don't need it, and use minimal reverb). The pizzicato cello could definitely use more definition and less low-mid mud. The brass in the chorus section sounds a little fake, but the rest of the instruments are sounding pretty good and generally cohesive. The snare works for me, although it sounds a bit repetitive with the same pattern and rolls throughout. I like the piccolo in particular, yet those trills are all too similar. No bass instrument though!!! There's a bit of low brass, but I hear no double bass. There's a whole range of sound missing from this mix, and missed writing opportunities. The writing is definitely the biggest problem here. Tons of repetition, very rigid throughout. I agree that the repeating harp pattern wears thin, if the harp writing flowed and changed up and even had a few runs, that would be nice. The pizzicato cello notes bother me more though, the pattern matches the bass pattern in the source perfectly, but that pattern feels quite unnatural to me when played on an orchestral string instrument. This cello pattern feels like it works better in a fuller section such as 1:47, rather than where it is more exposed. Perhaps if a proper bass instrument were introduced, playing a gorgeous legato line, the cello plucks would seem to fit better. I'm not a fan of the chord changes in the chorus section either, it loses some of the emotional impact this way. Overall, this needs a ton more variation to work. It's a good base though, I'd love to hear this again, filled out and varied quite a bit more. NO (resubmit)

This starts out with a wonderful atmospheric feel, nice dreamy pads, distant choir. The drums sound pretty good. Then, that first lead, I'm just not a fan of it. It just feels so soft and weak when I'm expecting something that makes more of a statement. Also it is mixed in a muddy way with too much reverb, and the patch has a weird high-pitch resonance as well. Then the next lead at 0:47 is SO much louder than the previous lead, the volume contrast is jarring. This "hyper vibrato" lead (great term, OA) also has way too much reverb on it. These two sounds are used repeatedly throughout the mix. You have some good arrangement ideas, but a lot of the writing ends up being repetitive (and this is emphasized by using the same leads again and again). I do like the breakdown section at 2:30 with the deep drumming hits, although it borders on too sparse. The section at 3:10 is a direct copy of the section at 0:47 which is a copout. The dropoff ending though, I feel like that works and is fine. Overall, this mix is bleedy as all heck. I'd suggest you start by lowering your reverb on everything (especially leads) by at least 50% if not more. Then take a pass at eqing the instruments to make sure they each have space in the mix without overlapping each other too much. I'm not a fan of either of those two leads, in my opinion they sound kind of comical and silly compared with the cool ambient background... but they could still be cool if they each only appeared one time, and the next sections had different lead sounds. (I'd personally love to hear one section have a wicked solo using a legato synth lead!) And please make the final section a little different than the first section, either in writing or instrumentation or both. I'm looking forward to hearing this one again, it's a good arrangement and has a lot of promise. NO (resubmit)

Issues are already well covered so I won't repeat. The lossy master has a warm feel to it, it doesn't bother me too much. Really great performances and sequencing here, arrangement is solid. Lots of fun tempo and time sig ideas. Fun listen! YES