Chimpazilla

I've listened to this one several times now, trying to form an opinion. This is a tough one for me. The track does have some great sounds, and some great Timaeus soloing as I'd expect, although some portions of the melody writing are quite straightforward. I have very little to complain about the production and mixing. I agree at points the bass does feel like no sidechaining happened and this surprises me, especially noticeable from 1:23-1:58. I think I have to agree with the other judges that the track does sound quite repetitive for most of it, both in writing and in textures. The drum writing in particular sounds very repetitive, with the snare and hats bothering me the most. Those loud machine-gun hats are really a bummer for me, they are relentless. If they could have just changed to a lower-intensity pattern at least at 1:56, I might be able to overlook them. But there they are at the same velocity and speed all through the track. (sidenote, track needs moar Percolator, haha!) Ending was a little abrupt. This one isn't quite there for me yet. Fix it up! NO (resubmit)

Dem drums! (Damage?) Dem horns! (Pete, come on, get some better samples, stat! haha) Great textures here. Lots of little chippy/arpy details. I hear plenty of Sheldon source. I hear the Catfish chord progressions too, thanks for the source breakdown. It may be actually a bit source light overall, but it feels quite cohesive to me. Mixing is very good I think. Lower end could use just a teeny bit more definition. My impression overall of this arrangement is that it *does* have good dynamics and movement. I disagree with my fellow judges here. I like how the track builds, ebbs and flows. I love the varied ways you handled the source, while keeping it prominent enough. Nice gentle breakdown at 2:40. Soloing at 3:05 sounded like a good climax, ok that climax could have been a little longer and more epic, but it's not breaking the deal for me. I dig it. YES

Argle emailed me an update to this track this morning: I'll put this in the OP as well. (my vote is on the updated mix, which according to Argle is just some mixing improvements) I'm loving this mix. Great sounds! Not moldy at all, haha! It all sounds fresh and fun. Some of the sounds are indeed cheesy but in such a good way. The scratches are terrific . I like the unique chord ideas you've used, nice personalization. Nice gating at 2:45! Very upbeat take on a great source. Two complaints I have: the drum/organ groove really never changes all through the song, giving it a very stiff and quantized feel unnecessarily. I would have liked some drum variations, in particular. Also, yeah that ending is a real downer. I love the speedup intro, but the reverse of that doesn't quite have the same magic at the end. Overall, still a winner. YES

I think Andrew hit the nail on the head here. This is a GREAT sounding song, production is tight and the sounds are good. I love how you tackled this source. I also love the vocal clip, and the combination of guitars and synths. Really fun ideas! Andrew is also correct about the snare, needs more snap. I feel like the guitar lead is probably loud enough, but other leads are buried, such as the piano starting at 1:52. At 1:59 when the arrangement softens up, I'm hoping for a soft breakdown followed by some really epic soloing, then a cooldown and outro... song could really be more like 3 1/2 or 4 minutes. When it quickly fades out instead, I'm left wanting more. This song could really be so excellent. Please expand it! NO (resubmit)

Nice moody mix! I'm especially impressed that this came out of the RWTS compo. Aaron you sure picked the right Star! Nice work, guyzzz!

Some of the chippy sounds are really badly balanced volume-wise, waaaay too loud/dry and up-front. The writing throughout the mix is super quantized and robotic. I love the vocal clips (but I love vocal clips!). Nice beefy kick, but the snare/hats/crashes are weak by comparison. The breakdown at 1:56 is a great idea but the pads are sooooo loud and with such a long release it ends up sounding quite washed out. Lead writing in the breakdown is simple and repetitive. At 2:29 there are some SUPER cool bass ideas happening... but again the lead writing is really generic and repetitive, and the lead synth completely clashes with the high end of the bass. Some cool ideas here, good start. It just needs some more groove and personalization and a huge amount of production love. I'd recommend posting this in the wip forum for some more feedback! NO (resubmit)

Wow, FL stock sounds? Bass is really tight, synths are bright! (is that BooBass? C'mon, admit it!) The synths are stepping on each other a bit frequency-wise. A little more separation would have been wonderful. Dat kick! Yep, source is light... but it is there, and the overall vibe captures it nicely. I'm diggin' it! YES

Drums are sounding pretty good except the kick is really weak and buried. Snare is nice and snappy. Piano does sound mechanical, guitar and brass and strings are super noticeably fake. Bass is quite indistinct and ends up sounding muddy as a result. The mallets sound pretty sweet! I agree with the gentlemen that I can't really hear the source anywhere but in the bassline and some chord progressions. The guitar seemed like it started *almost* alluding to the melody and then quickly dropped it. Need to hear some of the melody! Another big issue here is the repetition. I agree with Larry that the cut/pasted part sounds creative (even while lacking source melody), but copy/pasta is such a letdown, as is the fadeout "I'm out of ideas" ending. NO (resubmit)

Great vibe going on here! Plenty of source and fun personalization. I agree about the samples, strings and piano in particular are thin and stabby, but the writing it dynamite. Yeah, drum kit could be better too. Fantastic arrangement though, really nice track. I love the synth lead at 1:21, and the soloing at 1:40 also. I feel like the ending didn't really need to fade... it could just have ended on that last cool chord... but that's a super minor nitpick. YES

You're right Timaeus, so much to nitpick... I agree with all the crits... but gosh this was written so long ago now, haha! I STILL love this mix though, it is still magical, and I'll always have warm feelings for it. Also, FIRST MIXPOST, WOOOOO!!! So special.

I think Flex sums up my feelings about this track just about perfectly. Good production, fun ideas (and I happen to LOVE vocal clips and sfx from games), source usage is fine... but it's just too repetitive. A few more melodic ideas, some additional drum writing, and a little more personalization would do the trick. Still, quite a great track... I hope to hear it back here again. NO (resubmit)

Agreed, nice time-sig conversion. I just adore 6/8. Really nice full soundscape, it is full without feeling overly cluttered, nice mixing work there. Great variation of instrumentation, I especially love the flutes and whistles with all their different articulations and sounds. Lovely arrangement. Nice expressive mix! YES

This is the coolest song... I love it (purchased Jake's EP a few months back). Track is a win for me, but I wasn't sure about the amount of source so I asked Jake for a breakdown. I think his timestamps are accurate, and it works out to 51% source. Cutting it a little close! I would have preferred a little more source in the intro and outro instead of sandwiched in the middle (but I'm guilty of something similar myself, and it passed haha!)... also I feel like the intro phase of the song goes on a little too long for how short this track is... but it's certainly cohesive enough, and man, what a track. Jake you sure are talented. YES

Brief source breakdown from Jake: 0:00 - 0:53 - arranged intro 0:53 - 1:12 - more arrangement 1:12 - 1:32 - arrangement into source 1:32 - 1:59 - buildup around the source 1:59 - 3:00 - source is displayed primarily, here 3:00 - 3:32 - more arrangement to an outro

You should be getting a visit tonight from The Birthday Skeleton

Happy birthday, Shariq! 30, eh? (just another young whippersnapper compared to me) Have a great day!

Happiest of birthdays, Avaris!!!

This is a fantastic album! I just bought my copy on Bandcamp. Support WillRock, people! It's worth it! Also the listening party last night was super fun!

Wow! What a nice hybrid of sounds. Really well-sequenced and humanized orchestral parts, paired with acoustic and electric guitar and synth work. Good dynamics as the piece progresses. The acoustic guitar sounds a tiny bit too up-front when it briefly appears. When the drums come in, the kick is a little soft compared to the "snare," I wish they had been a little more similar in volume (but that's a wicked snare!). I wish the transition to the soft outro had lasted a bit longer to let the energy recede a bit more naturally, but this works. Great track, nice work! YES

I agree the mix gets a bit noodly, but it never loses focus of the source imo. I think it is pretty creative. I like the sound choices. I do agree that the writing sounds stiff and robotic through most of it, but I'm not having a huge problem with it. I'd like it if the sounds were separated a bit more with eq, stereo separation and reverb techniques, but it's getting the job done. The soundscape sounds a bit flat, it could use a few surprises. Something to work on for next time. I like the 3/4 intro but I'm not a huge fan of the transition at 0:40, I wish that transition had built energy instead of letting it drop. The transition back to 3/4 at 3:42 works a bit better, but could still use an effect like a downward sweep or something to glue the sections together a bit better. This isn't going to be my strongest YES ever, but I do like this track and I think the production is over the bar. Nice work Eino! YES

This is a super cool arrangement, even while playing it close to the amazing source tune. I agree that the mix has almost no high end. It sounds like the whole mix has a blanket over it. Drums are way too quiet in general. Also I'd like to hear hats, crashes and high-end percussion elements a little wider in the soundscape and not just sitting in the middle. This needs a better mixing job to give your elements some sparkle. I hear the elements competing somewhat for frequency space, but my main complaint is that the whole soundscape is flat. The writing and playing are really good though! The ending is a bit abrupt, feels like it needs one more chord to resolve it properly. I'd recommend posting this in the workshop to get some top quality advice on how to bring the mixing up to code, and then please resubmit this one! NO (resubmit)

Oh gosh another lovely piece by PI511... you really are wonderful on that piano. This piece is so gorgeous. I have no complaints about the piano tone or playing, I hear beautiful dynamics. I think you could bring the master limiter up just a few decibels as the track peaks about -12db at the loudest point. You don't have to bring it to 0db of course, but maybe just a few db louder. Interested to see if this bothers anyone else. The track is arranged medley-style, one theme following another, but it feels cohesive. You have added some really nice personality to each theme, and I hear that you've transitioned them *very* well so the track has good flow. The original transitions are short but nice and fitting. Lovely piece! YES

Not true! The truly hardcore can ALWAYS find a way. Super congrats Dave, she is absolutely beautiful!

Well, I LOVE weird muziks and this one sure is weird. It's so creative. I am loving the wide soundscape and varied textures here, track is full of surprises. I love the different moods created as the piece goes along. Because the arrangement is so inherently weird, I'm not having any problem with the transitions between source and not-source, it feels cohesive to me. Plenty of source, mixing is great. My only complaint is that I wish the outro was a little more different from the intro, they kinda feel like bookends... but both are cool enough that I won't whine about it. Very cool track! YES

I think Larry and Andrew summed this up quite well. Gosh, it is really lovely, some really nice sounds here. It just needs to be fleshed out some more. Layer some source-melody variations over the empty patches of pad for starters. How about some distant arps, or a sound shooting from left to right like a shooting star, in the background? That would sure add interest to the cool spacey feel you've got going. The song comes to a full stop right before 2:20. Seems like a perfect opportunity to put in an entire new section with unique writing and different textures. I think the incredible minimalism in the intro and outro could maybe work, but there needs to be some more ideas going on in the middle! NO (resubmit)