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Chimpazilla

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Posts posted by Chimpazilla

    Intense Bass: Done in mixing, or mastering?

    in Music Composition & Production

    Posted

    Jordan, definitely the bulk of bass processing should occur during mixing. You will most likely eq the bass to cut out extreme lows (below 30Hz) fairly aggressively, then probably you'll want to cut out some mud anywhere from 200-400Hz (use your ears, don't cut too aggressively). Depending on the patch or sample, you may want to boost (slightly) anywhere from 2000-3000Hz to bring out the click or pluck or attack. As for mastering, you may want to use a mastering compressor, gently, to melt the highest peaks (typically bass and kick and/or snare) into a cohesive range, then finish it up with a limiter to catch the wild peaks from going over 0db (just make sure the track isn't crushed or overcompressed after you limit, then something is definitely too loud, go back and rebalance the instruments).

    What stage of production is it best to handle the bass in, mixing or mastering? I imagine one would either mix the bass to be louder in the mix, or EQ out more bass frequencies during mastering. Which is better, or does it depend?

    Happy Birthday, Emunator!!

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Happiest of birthdays, dear friend. I hope you had a great weekend, although I see you spent quite a bit of time judging! (wow, you guys slammed through TEN mixes yesterday...) Enjoy your day. Please be careful though, (don't drive), should you decide to exercise your newly legal right to drink! {{{big hugs}}} :)

    Streets of Rage "Souled Out"

    in Post Your Game ReMixes!

    Posted

    Maybe I should look at this as a learning experience, in multiple ways. Not just for music, but my reactions.

    This is the most important thing you said. Bravo! And we are all learning this, every day. Working within a forum is an excellent way to work on your people skills, too. :)

    No one here is mad at you. In fact, this spurred quite the cohesive conversation I think. It's all good.

    So make some new stuff, post here, and we'll all work through it together. :)

    Streets of Rage "Souled Out"

    in Post Your Game ReMixes!

    Posted

    I spent six months on a track once, it got horrible critiques in the wip forum. Clearly I was doing something wrong. I took careful note of the critiques and started something new.

    That something new took me four months and also got horrible critiques in the wip forum. Clearly I was still doing something wrong.

    I reached out to some musicians whose music I respected, and made friends with them. I sent track after track to them, and clearly I was doing stuff wrong. A bit less wrong as time went on.

    Each time I received bad criticism, either in a forum or in an email, I thanked the person heartily for the time they took to write the crit. Then I went off and cried for awhile, then considered the things said, and tried again.

    I'm now at a point where I can write something within a couple of weeks and get fairly good comments on it. Still, each person who takes the time to comment points out to me the things I still haven't learned, or things I just couldn't hear because I'm too close to the mix. This has been absolutely invaluable and I'm so thankful for it. I rely on it. I then go off and learn that thing, or fix that thing, or try that new thing.

    Each and every time I respond to anyone in a post or email, I'm always kind and gracious, even if the words written to me weren't so nice. If I can't respond kindly right away, I say nothing. Eventually, I am able to thank the person for whatever they said, and 9 times out of 10 their advice was correct. Clearly I'm doing something right. (funny, quite often, these very people whose words hurt me the most are the ones who give the most helpful advice, and often they become my good friends shortly thereafter, but only if I've treated them with respect and kindness, which I always do)

    Sometimes I paint myself into a corner on a track and it really can't be salvaged. I used to hang onto that track for months, not wanting to admit having "wasted" time. Now, when I hit that "painted into a corner" thing, I either reach out to a collaborator to see if they have any ideas for the track, or I scrap the track. Either way, I've learned something from the effort and the time is never "wasted." Clearly I'm doing something right.

    I also find myself getting invited onto album projects from time to time. I now have a reputation for being reliable and good to work with, as well as an improving musician. Clearly I'm doing something right.

    Hang in there. Try again. Make some new friends. Make some new tracks. Get feedback along the way instead of waiting until the very end. And above all, be civil in what you write. You'll get there. :)

    "Cloudhopping" - Yoshi Touch and Go - by Chimpazilla & Timaeus

    in Post Your Game ReMixes!

    Posted

    I'm so happy to see everyone liking this song so much! :smile:

    I think the snare is layered perfectly for this dancey style. And my later claps add just the right amount of get-up-and-go without being toooo clappy.

    Yeah that intro sine lead is meant to be mellow, a teaser for the epic first lead. And that short lead note was totally intentional to hear the gorgeous delay and the underlying EP chords.

    As for "Batman..." that is a private joke between anterroir and me from two years ago. It's not a translation, just a bit of sillyness!

    (and listen to *that* snare haha!)

    T - I know what "super-specific" thing you are talking about... I actually re-rendered three times trying to get rid of it... also couldn't find the cause... is it worth looking into further?

    Mario 64 "Powerful Mario" Remix

    in Post Your Game ReMixes!

    Posted

    I love this source. The beauty of this source is that it makes a nice blank canvas to write your own material over. I don't hear anything original until 1:13 when the piano comes in. I like the piano, it is a bit quiet, but this song screams out for great solos, right from the get-go. Several, unique solos with different instruments. And you can do tons with the drums in here too, lots of variations. A slow section, a fast one, sfx, glitching. And what about changing up those chords at some point for a unique section or breakdown?

    The bass is quite muddy and indistinct. The pad is very plain and dry. Spice up the sounds, improve the bass, just generally add more and better everything. Nice start though!

    "Cloudhopping" - Yoshi Touch and Go - by Chimpazilla & Timaeus

    in Post Your Game ReMixes!

    Posted

    We are now ready for mod review!

    Cloudhopping - mod review

    We have tamed the bass playing somewhat during the breakdown sections. We've tamed the main lead sound, as well as the "percolator" (that pingpongy thing) a little bit. We both felt the drums were already pretty good... although T did add a touch of Batman to the snare. ;-)

    The full source breakdown has now been added in the OP.

    Thanks again everyone for the great crits, especially anterroir and evktalo.

    DKC Aqua Ambiance Remix

    in Post Your Game ReMixes!

    Posted

    This is a gorgeous soundscape, nice and 3d. It's a bit repetitive for my taste, the instrumentation and drums/drum patterns never change. Very few chord progression changes. The piano tone sounds good to me but could use a slight high pass on the delay. Very nice, though!

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