Magellanic

This is amazin'. The bass on that first track is sexeh!!!

The drum part does work but it could do better to really emphasize sections better. up to 23 secs in its fine, though you could have a better fill between those sections. after 00:23 You could improve the beat. Its like the snare is hitting on every other bar which is great for the intro but Having it going in each bar would improve things imo. 00:39 works well rhythm-wise. 1:23 again works well. I could list each individual section but I think from listening to those points you'll get what I mean. The sections (like at 1:30) work well because the drum beat is working with the bass and rhythm guitar parts. It makes everything gel better. Again, with the snare sticking out like a soar thumb, just take it down a bit in level. Bring up the drums overal a tad. Get the click of the bass drum more noticeable and ease off the compression on the snare. I think your release might be a little too short. Hopefully that might give you something to experiment with. Taking a step back and coming back will probably make the mixing a bit easier for you Edit: and yeah, i understand the whole eagerness to post. Sharing is Caring

I get what you mean with the minimalist approach and, for the most part, it does work well. I think its just spacing the vocals out right. Perhaps just have an instrumental > vocals > instrumental > vocals type thing. It might give it better balance than how it currently is. If you're not sure how you want it, experiment. Go with it and see what happens

Great choice of source. Love FF8 and its soundtrack. I really really like this mix of it. Stays exactly true to the original but I'm getting the impression that's the intention. This would be very cool with lots of synths and all the rest of it but then it would sound very very close to the black mages version. This has its own personality and identity which is a good thing. My only comment would be the snare........its......sticking out too much and not really blending with the rest of the mix. I can't make my mind up though if that's to do with the mix though or the actual writing and that there needs to be more variation. I think if the snare is going to be that far forward the bass drum needs to be there to richochet off it. There is a lot of energy with you guitar playing and I feel like your drum part reigns it in too much when you could have a REAL face-melter with a more energetic drum part. Anywho, also just wanted to say, loved it and enjoyed listening

Its got a really good soundscape but I kinda get what Calum means with the amazing thing. The lead at the start is expressive.......but also not expressive enough to carry the arrangement. There's lots of little bits and bobs going on that are understated which I like. The synth which is panned to the right is a little niggly after a while. I really like it once the vox come in but when viewing the arrangement as a whole, it seems too late. There's nothing as dominant in the mix until the rapping comes in. I also agree that the "mega-phone" voice is just a bit too low. I get that its meant to be subtle but it could still be a little easier to make out. Looking forward to checking this out once you get some EQ in on there as its already sounding good. Liking the funky parts goin on in the background

I'm getting flashbacks of carnivals and Mr.Bungle songs hehe. This is very quirky and bright. Rather charming stuff. With more polish this will be a very entertaining mix. You already said yourself this is early on production-wise so I won't say much, but with some attention to the mix it could really give this some more life. (Is it normal to be wanting to chant "Hey" in time with the beat at the start of this? )

Really good expression in your singing. And honestly, using audacity and an intergrated mic to do this? Impressive results. I think it would definitely be worth developing this. There's no reason why you couldn't do a couple of versions and see which you like most (ie, instrumental and vocal or accapella). The current version would do well to serve as an introduction and then kick into either an instrumental version with vocal lead or (like stated above) vocal parts imitating instrumental parts. In honesty, there are a lot of directions in which you could take this. If you're lacking inspiration just get hold of a free piano vst/soundfont and fit some piano to it. You never know, it might inspire you to really know if you want to add anything more.

Just thought I'd post a quick update. Remix: Link removed Any help is appreciated.

In general, this is really nice. The gentle soundscape and builds really really well and is very well constructed. Not sure I can quite get used to the drums being biased to one side. The beat might be just a bit heavy for that, but then that's probably just personal preference. What is here sounds very well balanced, clear and very atmospheric. The structure works well and, bar a few transitions, flows rather nicely. More specific points: Transition at 1.06 could be a little smoother, perhaps it needs more of a pause before following through to the next section. At 1.30 the beat is a little awkward. I get the pulling and pushing of the beat but it could be done more smoothly The part at 3.00 is just BEAUTIFUL. I enjoyed that a lot. At 3.21 the guitar could be brought forward some more but also sounds as though theres a little slip up. 3.39 the guitar delay trail could spread a little further into the next section to gel the transition a little better. The ending piano is well done but could be a little smoother in parts. There are a couple of awkward timings. I understand that its like a rubato effect, but it should still sound smooth and flowing. I can't comment on the source usage as I'm not familiar but no harm in posting a link to the original if you are wanting opinions on it Edit: Just thought I'd emphasize the fact that I really enjoyed this

Definitely getting hold of a DAW of some sorts would be of great benefit in remixing. Sibelius is great when it comes to writing notation but as far as mixing and production goes, its kind of a deadend. You say you're adamant about using notation software but there is a lot of benefit in using piano scrolls. Having said that, there is no reason why you couldn't write it in Sibelius and then import the midi to the DAW of your choice (Cubase, Reason, FLStudio etc.) And get the mixing/production sorted. Perhaps check out Reaper: http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=13478 it has a free unlimited trial. So you can get familiar and learn. I'd say just to get some general info check out the production forum As far as the mix goes, I'm not familiar with the original (a link to the original will help people reference). You could definitely do with some variation in the sound/instruments used. The writing sounds good, but the everything sounds pretty much the same. Use timbrally different synth patches for the bass, accompaniments and melody lines. That would really help in seperating things out. I think really, the best thing to develop this initially would be to get your instrumentation sorted (ie choose better synth patches/samples for each part). Its difficult to currently pick out parts. This is where the advantage of using a DAW comes in, is you can use a variety of synthesizers and samples. Its also easier to manipulate the parts and adjust them so that they work better with the chosen synth/samples. Anywho, I hope that is of some help. I don't know how much or exactly what info you wanted but hopefully something there is of relevance to you. It was just about a year and a half ago when I was first getting to grips with writing/remixing so I definitely get where you're coming from. Before then I only wrote acoustic music with Sibelius

I'm definitely digging your jam. The source is amazing regardless of being used lots. Your playing is really tight and polished. I found this really enjoyable. Really cool cover. Kinda left me wanting more hehe

This should be on the front page. The clap makes this mashup nothing short of legendary!!! VCR for the win!

Wow, just fantastic. I definitely second Mono's "Wonderful"

So... the judges got back to me (Hurrah). They really didn't seem as though they liked it haha but fair play. I got some helpful comments and direction in how to improve the arrangement. If you are interested here's the thread: http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=38092 In summary, the arrangement needed to move further from the original and could do with a bit more flow. Hopefully that has been remedied. The production was also just....well rubbish. The entire track has been overhauled so I can say that there definitely isn't too much reverb this time......hopefully. (The odd moment of clipping seems to be a symptom of tindeck) Remix: Link removed Source: I need to re-record some of the guitars as the performances are a bit sloppy but other than that I feel much happier with it. Feedback is very welcome. Even just to say "I enjoyed it" (or not) is fine by me but comments on the arrangement especially would be amazing The original submission can still be listened to in the previous posts

I never saw Streets of Rage in such an emotional light before. It made my heart skip a beat

This is just gorgeous. The arrangement is so relaxing yet envigorating. Very chilled and captivating. I'll be listening to this for a long long time

Sounds gorgeous. Love the piano playing. You mention that you'd like to submit it to the Game Boy project. Ideally, it needs to not be posted publically and just PM'd to the album directors. If you want feedback, perhaps PM some people you know who are willing to help

Simply amazing! Loved it. Very slick and full of life. My only comment would be on the ending. For me, it would be better if the piano and claps stopped before the bass, so leaving the bass to end but that's personal preference. This is awesome

The bass instruments are definitely too low in the mix. Saying that, you really need ,for this kind of arrangement, to have some double bass in there to beef out the octave below. Even if it just plays the root of the chord on the first beat of each bar it would add some definition and robustness (and bounce) to the timing of the song. It would be rather nice if it entered the mix just before the violin solo or at the same time as the solo. I'm not familiar with the original but the arrangement in general is rather pretty and varied. It develops nicely and moves off to different ideas smoothly. Biggest thing is to just get something to ground the bass and play in that lower octave. Simply doing that imo would add an awful lot to this. Nice work and very nicely done Edit: Forgot to mention that the piano part is beautiful. Very natural and expressive

Not on topic of the mouse, but I've had the "identifying" problem a few times before. Each time (for me at least) its been a problem with the router keeping the ip of you pc and so it can't get another one and so connect to the interwebs. Simply restarting the router sorts that one out. Just thought it might be worth checking out as your wireless might still be fine. If that isn't the problem try releasing the ip in dos-prompt

Woo, first remix First off, you do need to watch your levels. The whole track is ,sadly, clipping. Bring down your track levels to get rid of the distortion. The arrangement sticks very close to the original. Don't be afraid to deviate and add variation to add interest to repeats. You could add more variation by simply moving the melody to another instrument/synth. Without changing what is there you could add further variation by dropping some of the accompaniment out for a while. Give the strings pizz chords for a few bars then return to the chords, drop out the melody for a while and focus on the supporting instruments. Maybe add your own intro with a solo violin playing the melody (or variation of the melody). Drums and percussion certainly aren't a necessity but the odd cymbal crash or snare (ala orchestral) could spice this up a bit. The biggest focus though should be to get rid of the clipping as its overshadowing all the good stuff at the moment

Man, this is a dark and brooding mix hehe It definitely has atmosphere As far as production-y type stuff, I'm not totally sold on the snare sound. I'm not sure it quite fits with the rest of the mix. As for the bass, it just sounds too clean to me. You got your wubs going but there isn't enough grit. There definitely could be more variation with the bass, but you may not need to much if you can just introduce a few extra elements to punctuate and enhance what is there. Even if you're wanting to keep the texture sparse, there is a place for a few accompanying motifs to remedy the repetiveness. I really like the feel, the bass drum is nice and phat but you could definitely add some more variation and synths. Everything feels very much like its in the center apart from the high-pitched part that plays throughout. Adding a few extra parts would certainly help adding some width to the mix. Hope that helps a little bit (but seriously, its just my opinion, so happily ignore ) I look forward to any revisions you may do

I love the source. Definitely works well in the style. Pretty good stuff. The drums could be a little more in your face. The snare feels a little lost, getting that more noticeble in the mix will get this really going You could definitely milk that intro more imo, tease the listener a little. With the drums (I'm pointing this out because I'm just terrible with drums) but you could definitely get some more variation on the beat. Get some fills going, drop out the snare for a bit, change the hi-hat rhythms. Just make sure they aren't too static. If you want references which are also VGM remixes, check out some of Blinds stuff. Don't be afraid to drop the bass for a bar or a few to really punctuate transitions or certain sections. Hope that's of some use to you and look forward to hearing an update

If you're going for that drum and bass feel you need to replace that bass drum (and as stated before) the drums are hardly noticeble. They need to be slap bang in your face. Look up some Pendulum for example ( ). DnB has that trademark snare sound which is kinda bottom heavy. Zircon posted a tutorial on making drum beats in the production forum: http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=38767 All the steps here are good when it comes producing any electronic-genre drums.All the synths and bass will meld much better into the style if you can get the drums right. Having said that, if you can work a bit more on the patches that will get things groovin'. They're a little plain. If you don't want to spend ages programming sounds, layer some synths to give more depth. As for the arrangement, you could definitely expand on the original more. Think about building up more gradually. Break up the lead in smaller motifs that eventually expand to their full original forms when you go for a drop. Add some filtering to the synths. The bass synth needs more life. Try to make it a little less mechanical. But yeah, just keep on refining it. Listen to some DnB and find a track that you really like and perhaps just try and emulate some of the elements of it to really get the track pumping

Its really nice to see another acoustic-styled arrangement. With you providing the sheet music its making it oh so tempting to give it a go on the old ivories. Its a shame my piano is unbelieveably out of tune. If I get it tuned in the near future I'll send you a rendition to you for funzies