XPRTNovice

[MODREVIEW] It really isn't necessary for me to comment on this, as the best I can do is severely pick nits, but... - In general, I think the melody is a little buried. It might be a taste thing, but I like my melodies to be pronounced. I noticed it most after the drop at 1:25, but it was prevalent earlier as well and is a sort of reoccuring thing I heard. - Maaaybe a touch more bassline support? +1-2db maybe. - the drop at 2:55 is reeeuuhhl nice Other than that man, nice arrangement. I like the way it kind of feels like a bubble bursting at the end; had I been arranging it I might have dragged out that ending a little bit but it's good as is. I don't see the judges having any major problems with this at all [/MODREVIEW]

....but parkour...

Welcome back! Speaking of injuries, does anyone know the best way to deal with a bruised heel? Well, not the heel, but the part of the arch right against the heel. I made a bad landing on the edge of a stone column two weeks ago and it seems like it's not getting better at all. No visible bruising.

But...the girl in their advertisement in my GameInformer can make video game characters come out of her computer monitor...

So, I have a GI Bill that I need to use, because I can't transfer it to anyone else in my family. I don't foresee any degrees I'll need in the future for any of my careers, so I thought, hey, why not get that music education you've always wanted? I'm in the DC/VA area, so I know my in-residence school options are extremely limited. That leaves pretty much two options for online schools: Berklee or Full Sail. I want to focus on composition/production, which is fine because literally the only degree program available to me through those two online universities is Music Production. I have a certificate from Berklee for about 15 credits worth of classes already from another time in my life, so that seems like the easy option. I'm just wondering if anyone has any opinions/advice on what someone in my situation might do. Or, more specifically, if anyone has gotten a degree through Berklee's online program and what they thought about it. I'm definitely open to considering in-residence options if there are reputable ones in my area, but I haven't heard of any.

I'm usually sitting at 60, though I haven't taken it in a while.

Hi YB, Just to point out something from the mod review guidelines (which are stickied at the top of the forums should you want to review them) Please try to get member feedback before bringing in the big guns. Mods are sort of supposed to be the one layer below judges for feedback on your mix. Thanks and happy mixing! I've gone ahead and marked this "Work in Progress" for you, since that seems to be the level you are at with this one based on your comment.

Is there discounted group reg for this?

[MODREVIEW] - The opening is cool stylistically, but I might recommend going a liiiitle easier on the high Hz there. It was uncomfortable there. - the side chain compression that starts at 37 is way too much IMO; it's jarring and makes it tough to listen - It's better at 1:00, but you're sidechain compressing your melody line, which gives the pieces a very disjointed feeling. I don't recommend doing that, or at least dramatically reducing - The arrangement in general feels very empty, like there's something missing in the middle. I hear a melody line, I hear drums, and I hear bass, but I don't hear anything supporting the melody. This problem goes away a little bit at 2:00 when you have those supporting chords come in. - 2:20 wubbing is nice. I still think there's way, way, way too much SC compression going on. It ruins your melody line and makes it almost sound like there's something wrong with my speakers. Ultimately I think this arrangement could use some filling out. Maybe it's a stylistic thing, but the SC compression is a major barrier to me enjoying the song, and it pervades the entire track. You've got some nice grooves going on, but it smacks of repetition; I get the impression that everything is kind of on autopilot, which some other commenters have noticed as well. You have some room to cut the track down a bit at 3:45, but I might try something different rather than simply removing sections. Best of luck! [/MODREVIEW]

I didn't mean to make it sound like you were a bad person or anything, just, you know, make it easy for folks who are listening to and providing feedback for your work! Give them higher quality, no-brainwork-required links. You'll get more feedback, I think You've posted a lot of work lately - keep it up!

I'm not familiar with those brass patches, but there might be some ways you can tweak them inside Kontakt to get them to blend a bit better. Most brass sample packs are tough to work with though, and that might be sort of an allowance you get from the judges. It didn't ruin the mix by any stretch, just something I would look into improving if I could.

I see that now, thanks man. But still...lots of isolated source track links to choose from that make it easier for people you are asking to do you a favor. Plus the quality tends to be better.

Link to source please.

YB - you really need to start finding isolated tracks that you can reference as sources. People (especially mods) aren't going to slog through your playthroughs to find the sources. There are plenty of references on YT and other places to find isolated tracks.

YB - source link is like 20 minutes of gameplay with a bunch of themes; please try to find the theme you're remixing and link to that.

hey BL - I've switched this off Mod Review without giving you one, as you just posted this 2 days ago and haven't had time to get anyone else's opinion first. I do think the quality of the recording is going to hurt you on this one, unfortunately.

[MODREVIEW] - I can't get a good handle on this, but there is some frequency in here (check around 100hz) that is making this sound overall muddy to me. A quick mastering EQ could probably fix this, as it's fairly consistent through the piece and - I could probably stand for the lead to be more prominent at 1:35, but only a touch. Nitpicking is part of my job! - That muddiness is really apparent to me at the 2:00 with that wub wub thing in there. It could be the room I'm in, but I hear some weird resonance going on there that might be fixed when you give it a solid mastering EQ - I dig the little breakdown at about 2:50, but there is something happening to my ears that made me rewind a couple of times and listen to it again. I THINK it's in the higher Hz of your kick drum. Take a listen and see if you can hear what I'm talking about. - From an arrangement standpoint, I do feel like this was a bit repetitive, but maybe not enough to spark the judges. The source itself isn't super varied, so that was part of the challenge of this. I think it's almost there with a good solid mastering. Good luck with it! [/MODREVIEW]

[MODREVIEW] - Solid groove, mixing seems very clean - the lead at 1:45 fading in and out was a little jarring, but that might be a style thing. - the break at 2:15 was very welcome, as Timaeus said; my ears were getting a little fatigued - I'll be honest, I don't have much for you on this one. I'm listening on my monitors, which can be a little forgiving if you've jacked up the bass mixing at all, but this sounds really clean and I think it's ready to go. My one arrangement nitpick is that by about 3:50 I was starting to feel like I'd heard the same thing too often, but right as I was starting to think it the song changed and you headed to the outtro. Good luck with this one! [/MO-DIDDLY]

[MODREVIEW] Hey there. Happy to review this for you. - Loving the bass jam going on in the background and the wonka wonka guitar. Cool stuff. - The brass patches, while well implemented, are a little on the cheesy side, in my opinion. The rest of your samples sound pretty nice, so there's a bit of contrast. I'm not sure if the judges would harp on that though. - The lead at 1:30 is a little loud. - The string pads at 2:25 ish sound like they're breathing a little bit too much - check your compression on them, maybe, and see if you can't smooth out the transitions between those whole notes for something a little less jarring. - By the end of the tune, I did sort of get used to the brass patches - Nice ending! I tell you what, I really like this. Nice groove, seems like solid mixing. Great job! [/Modreview]

That's the POWER of the home depot?

I'll be there.

Ugh. I'm in the longest dry spell of music in my life. It's really awful. All of my instrument skills have atrophied to the point where I feel like I'm in high school again, and I've barely written anything in the last year or so. It's easily one of the most frustrating aspects of my life right now, and I've found myself saying "I'll have more time for music next month" over and over again for like a year.

Freakin great stuff man. Keep it up.

I'm a parkour instructor We do this kind of stuff all the time. APK is actually near me, but I go to a different gym called Urban Evolution. In a strange twist, American Ninja Warrior has recently instituted a policy that discourages parkour instructors from applying because they feel it puts them at an unfair advantage. I think that's retarded. It's like the NFL draft saying "If you've played football before, we're not interested."

We'll call it a "Crust Up"