Chimpazilla

It is super duper easy to use. You just set up the patterns you want on the front of the interface, and switch between them using key switches. So fun! I love it. As for creating your own, I haven't tried that... I don't think you can do that actually, but there are so many combinations there I don't think you'll need to create anything else!

I'm struggling to hear enough source in this track. The first minute relies entirely on the four notes from 0:06-0:10 in the source. After the 1:00 mark, I'm really struggling to hear any source, I think it is loosely there but after several listens I can't pick it out very well. At 1:58 I hear clearly a few notes of the main Zelda theme, then it sort of loses focus again. At 2:42 the synth bell is playing the Temple Ruin source more clearly, but it seems so marginalized. The sounds are nice, if a little plain. A bit too much reverb and low end on the piano, it gets a bit muddy. That sleigh bell bothers me because it hits a bit behind the beat every single time, making the timing of the track sound off. The sleigh bell feels quite over-used by the end of the track. Some percussion changes would be welcome. This is quite a mellow track, but it feels quite sparse for much of it. I feel like it needs quite a bit more development. NO (resubmit)

The pace of this starts out feeling a bit plodding, after hearing the source, but picks up pretty well after the intro. The sounds are really good, even with the stiff sequencing. The glitching, vocal, and scratch effects are dynamite. Lots of nice little synth fills. Track is mixed quite well. The arrangement is fairly straightforward. Bass has good presence and nice upper-end buzz. Synth strings work well. Fun soloing. Piano is a nice addition at the end. The bridge/breakdown at 1:21 is a bit plainly written, but it'll work. I'm liking this a lot overall. YES

There is so much to like in this mix. Dat kick, first off! The sweeps, risers and filter effects are great. Production is fantastic overall. Andrew is right, a few more drum patterns would be great. He's also right about the dubstep bass parts, it would be better if they had more low end presence, but I think they work well enough in this context, especially when paired with the super low kick. A lot of the synth sounds here are indeed quite generic, the worst offender for me is the saw beginning at 1:32, it has very little character imo. Many of the same synths appear repeatedly throughout the mix, making the arrangement and textures feel unnecessarily repetitive. The ending is really abrupt, but not a dealbreaker. I feel like this is close. A few more drum variations and a few lead synth timbre changeups would make it feel less repetitive, especially since the lead writing is so similar all the way through. But I think in the grand scheme, the track is over the bar, and I personally enjoyed it. YES

I'm loving the sound choices here! The flute, the mallets/bells, the delayed piano, the synths! (I love the synth writing, wish there had been more) A bit heavy on the reverb overall, but I happen to be a huge fan of reverb. I think the instruments are separated quite well, considering you've got lots of elements in the same range, kudos on this. I like how you've used noise and sfx so it almost feels to me like it's raining at times. The transition into the piano break at 1:38 is a bit sudden, the piano could have started a few beats later and it would have made more sense to me. Tiny nitpick, though. The arrangement is quite straightforward, but you've created a terrific mood here. This get my vote! YES

I like this arrangement, it is fun! There is some great writing and ideas here. Ok I have to agree about the lack of low end. Really noticeable. The bass does sound a bit mid-heavy and the guitars are indeed scooped and thin. Drum writing is good but the sounds are a little weak, could be the samples and could be the mixing or both. The mix needs a nice beefy kick and snappy snare. The crashes sound pretty good to me. Lead work could be brought forward more, the lead and mallet-like synth feel buried often. I love the theramin lead starting at 1:41. The leads are loud enough, but could be brought forward more using eq and reverb techniques. (although you may need to rebalance things once you bring more low end into the guitars) In fact most of the sounds could be separated a bit better to give each instrument a place to breathe, you can use eq, reverb and stereo separation techniques for this (important in a place like 3:00-3:33 where the mix is really busy). I'd love to hear one more lead sound to switch things up, say at 2:31. When you re-eq the guitars, be careful when adding low end to them, not to overlap the bass and cause mud. I do feel like this is close to passing, with one more go at the mixing. Hope to hear it back soon, I like it! NO (resubmit)

Dem piercing frequencies! Buzzing and resonance... stylistic choice but needs to be done very carefully to avoid hitting the "ouch" territory. Please tone that down. I like this arrangement, it is an interesting interpretation to be sure. Just as the track is ending, my mind is ready for an epic drop and a long section with intense drums and wild solos. Song could easily be double the length and never lose focus. Wow, would that be cool. This isn't necessary of course, and is just an opinion. Please eq the harshest frequencies down, at least. NO (resubmit)

May all your poops be happy ones today, and everyday, my friend! {{{hugs}}}

I was saying that joke to myself as I climbed the escalator on Wednesday night! For anyone not familiar with Mitch's joke: "An escalator can never break: it can only become stairs. You should never see an Escalator Temporarily Out Of Order sign, just Escalator Temporarily Stairs. Sorry for the convenience."

That was AWESOME.

Oh no! Need some serious cheering up: "Is a hippopotamus a hippopotamus, or just a really cool Opotamus?" "Wearing a turtleneck is like being strangled by a really weak guy, all day. Wearing a backpack and a turtleneck is like a weak midget trying to bring you down." "My belt holds my pants up, but the belt loops hold my belt up. I don't really know what's happening down there. Who is the real hero?"

I'm finding that backing riff a little repetitive, but I know that's what you are going for, and you varied the instrumentation on it so I'm ok with that. I have to agree with Flex about the mechanical sounding drumming, and it is especially apparent against the organic instrumentation (wouldn't stand out as much in an electronic track). The snare is the worst offender since every hit is the same, and the snare is a touch woody for my taste. That choir sounds incredibly fake, which would be ok but it sounds distractingly dissonant to me at some points between about 1:21-1:40, maybe it is the writing, or maybe due to too long a release or too much reverb, or a bit of all of these factors. The piano also sounds a bit mechanical when it begins playing the backing phrase at 1:48-2:00. The velocities are varied enough, but the notes hit right on the grid each time. It is most noticeable there since it is totally exposed. I'm thinking instead of moving notes (which may sound worse), maybe some sort of light drum fill or even some nice cymbal splash would hide that a bit there. And yeah, fadeout ending! Ggggrrr. Not a fan of those at all. Regardless, nice arrangement, great guitar performances, and generally well mixed. Couple of little tweaks and it's there for me. NO (resubmit)

I love this, it's so weird and I'm with that! The dissonance really is working for me, it has a jazzy, mellow, yet nightmarish quality. Super duper cool. So many different elements coming and going... brass, chippies, and the piano. What an amazing and unique take on this source. I think because of all the unique elements, the mixing is extra important so things don't get buried. I'd like for example that little chip lead/arp to really hit me in the face when it comes in. Larry is right, some clarity contrast would be really great. Andrew is right about the kick and bass smothering each other, and it gives a slightly muddy effect. I feel like the brass is a little sharply center-panned. There's a lot of hazy wash going on in this track, and I love the effect, but one more pass at the eq on things would really make this dynamite. Can't wait to hear it again asap. NO (resubmit)

Here are mine.

Funniest thing EVAR....

That's just too hilarious!!!

If this can be worked out logistically, it sounds amazing! Aw Brandon, stop being such a weenie!

My first MAGFest is now over. Words fail to describe what a good time I had. This was one of the best things I've ever done in my life. I'm already looking forward to next year. It was great meeting so many of you that I've only known online, wondering what you'd be like in person. Every single person exceeded my expectations by a huge order of magnitude. I've never felt so much love or camaraderie among such a large group before. It was overwhelming, and in such a good way. I expect many of these friendships to go to the next level throughout the coming year. Too many highlights to do it justice... so just a few: 1. Having the two greatest roommates ever (WillRock and Wes-Emunator). I miss you guys already so much it's scary. 2. Meeting new people with whom I expect to have a much closer relationship going forward, in particular, Flex, halc and Stevo. We will be talking! 3. The suite parties, especially on Thursday night, where it was so packed that if you passed out you'd still be standing up, and seeing Larry enter the room and completely command it with his voice. Also, having Larry great everyone in the room with a huge hug and a loud "hal-SEEEEEE!" 4. Looking at a picture of the entire "Indie Crew," very similar to some of last year's pictures, and actually being IN it. Way too many more amazing things to even type out. But this was a life changing experience. Ok, so I guess I do have a touch of PMD. edit: one more: meeting Mazedude and having him say he was aware of me and likes my music. Wow!

Enjoy your day today, and see you soon at Magfest!

It's a "competition." We have one here called Remixing With the Stars, in which a posted remixer mentors a non-posted remixer through one mix to be completed in a week, and the results are judged against other such pairs at the end and a winner is declared. I did this compo once, as a "star," and my mentee never gave me the opportunity to help her. In other pairings it worked out much better and even resulted in postable mixes being produced. What I'm thinking of is a program that actually helps people, without any kind of judgement or winners/losers or a time limit. It just has to be manageable, because as Argle pointed out, people are busy. Yes the forums are GREAT. But I'm thinking of something more personal, and therefore more useful. If we can make it manageable! Otherwise this is just an exercise in futility.

That's why I haven't come up with anything yet. It will need to have a scope that's manageable. Not just hooking up two people so one can bug the other all day every day. So it has to be for a period of time, or to complete one mix, or even just to learn one skill like how to eq a drum kit. I do NOT want this to turn into a compo, either. Gonna be working on this. Any ideas to make this workable are appreciated.

I've been hinting at this for awhile now. Ok I'll get on this. Maybe I'll discuss this with a few folks at Magfest, brainstorm some good ideas, and get 'er going. We need it!

Omg now I finally know who to hit up when I need a trombone player!!! The performances here are really very good. I'd like the bass and drums to be a drop louder but I won't cry about it. I think the sparse-ish soundscape works here, giving the limelight to the excellent lead and countermelody writing. Agreed about the abrupt transitions, Larry is right, smoother would be better. Is it a dealbreaker? It's a close call, to be sure. Still, this was so well performed and kept me entertained for the entire 8:14... impressive. YES

I think the other J's, especially Flexstyle, covered the issues here to perfection. That kick is just too loud/hot/compressed, and has a bit too long of a decay for the busy writing. Way too much reverb overall, creating a washed-out soundscape (and I love reverb... so you know it really is too much, haha!). Flex has some great points about the trance arrangement too, like the drumless breakdown feeling abrupt, the transitions into and out of that breakdown will make that section work or not - needs better transitioning. What about trying a halftime section somewhere? Flex is also right about the lack of original writing, toward the end is a great place for some fun soloing and really varying up the source. That piano needs some more volume and sparkle/high-end to compete with the saws and sweeps. You could also notch the saws/sweeps a bit to let the piano cut through more in the higher frequencies. There's a lot to like here. I love the reverse sfx in the outro. I don't think this is too far from being passable. I think with some of the suggested changes made, this will really be a great track! NO (resubmit)