Elder Kirby

Awesome mix! at 2:22-2:40, particularly at 2:27, I think the synth piano that is panning around becomes a bit too distracting and makes that section muddy (probably because the chords are arpeggiated). I think you shouldn't have it pan so hard left and right, at least for that little bit. Afterwards I have no problem with it doing that--it adds a nice background when the source tune is playing. I agree about the quantization, but it's not inherently bad. Some original sections like the lead starting at 4:08 and the sections at 1:30 and 2:22 could definitely use it, though. It definitely wouldn't hurt to add the humanization to all the fills you do, at least. I disagree with timaeus about the stale groove. I think it varied itself enough (I would love a solo, though). Overall minor things, this is good stuff P.S. What are the voice samples from?

Sounds good so far. I think the closed hihat should be lowered a bit though, maybe 1-2 dB

Love this theme. Something about the strings in the background providing the rhythm sounds fake, maybe they're too mechanical. Try a different sample, perhaps. Your percussion seems overly-compressed, but it might just be youtube. Can you post a mirror? The tambourine in particular sounds very compressed. The violin lead appears to be fine, but I would add some more release to each cadence. I think I hear bongos among those drums, but if they're there they're too quiet; I would make them more pronounced.

This is really nice. I agree that some light drums could add some spice, maybe even some brass, but they would have to be sparse.

Sounds good! Reminds me of Sonic Adventure 2. My one complaint is that the kirby sound at 2:00 is a bit loud, everything else seems fine to me.

Tasty remix! I have no real complaints, but the percussion does seem to be just a bit too quiet in relation to the leads. It might just be the leads being too loud, though. Great work.

This is truly brilliant! I loved this arrangement. The transitions were very well done, the orchestra felt real and lucid and the length of the track felt appropriate. Good luck on your submission! May I ask which sample packs/DAW you're using?

I'm loving this. Although it's probably too conservative to submit, this is really nice. I'm getting a Martin O'donnell feel from it. If you were to progress this further I can totally see some light percussion (read: very light) fitting in quite nicely towards the end when you have the string swells.

Even though you say you can't mix, it seems that herein lies the problem! I would definitely tweak that middle section some more. The drums seem to all be panned towards the middle, and are too loud in some parts. The piano in that middle section seems very dry, I'd add a very tiny amount of extra reverb (some may disagree with me about this though ). It's also very loud in the mix for the section in particular. Everything else is fine; just work on that middle section--panning, mixing, humanization, etc.

You should work on your mixing. The mix gets very muddy in some parts, and some of the drums are very poorly heard. If you're going for this style, you're going to want your drums to be as pristine as possible; look up guides on mixing drums. That snare gets particularly irksome. Also, most of the instruments are panned to the center, which makes the mix seem even muddier than it already is. Try to space them out. Try to incorporate some original melody on top of the source, right now this is very cover-ish. I like what you did with the clock ticking in the beginning when it starts to get syncopated, though!

I agree with what chjolo has said; the cello and violin definitely need tweaking in their articulations. Try changing the attack and delay on the individual notes. Right now, it's very obvious where some notes end because they cut off unnaturally, which is pretty distracting. Definitely tweak around with the velocities of the notes more to add humanization. I also think you need some rhythmic variation in at least the second half of the track, otherwise it gets repetitive quickly. I don't know if you plan on making that your ending because it's a WIP, but you should change it because the cymbal comes on very suddenly. The listener has no way of knowing that the track is wrapping up. Try writing a relaxed ending section that lets the listener's ears adjust. Maybe you could try muting out certain instruments at a time, until it's just one instrument, in which case the cymbal would have to go. Overall this is very nice. I really like how the mix sits; it's not muddy at all and everything is heard nicely. I'd say your biggest concern is the rhythmic repetition throughout the song, which makes this very slightly cover-like. I like the melodic variations you used, but they aren't noticed that much because it's over the same arpeggio from the source. Not too many problems--you've got yourself a nice remix! You should definitely work on it some more, as it's got potential

Hey this is nice so far! Definitely expand beyond the source once you get around to it. The pause seems a bit out of place around 0:54 Maybe you should lower the attack a bit on those cellos at 1:27 (or whatever those low strings are) I actually like the pizzicato section, maybe you could expand on it for the next WIP instead of scrapping it. Definitely work it in somehow Good work P.S. Are you planning on adding any percussion?

While I'm a fan of ABA form arrangements, the section from 0:58-1:55 is way too different from the rest of the piece; it's very dark and broody, much unlike the groovy, down-to-earth sound of the sections before and after it. In my opinion it ruins the flow of the track and you should either rework it to sound more similar to the rest of the arrangement or shorten it or rework the part entirely. Production-wise, your drums and piano are very very mechanical and robotic; do try to humanize them. Stevo has a good guide for it here somewhere on the forum, and the rest of the internet has a plethora of guides. A very very small amount of reverb can help, too. I love the 1st and 3rd sections, especially the latter! Try to have more of it in your finished piece. Good work, this has a lot of potential.

Good stuff! Great recording quality. If you keep the gato theme, maybe you could use it as some sort of bridge?

While the drums and bass that come in at 0:57 detract from the celtic sound, I disagree with Trinity and think that it sounds nice. Sounds modern, I guess. I'd try to hop back and forth between this modern sound and the celtic feel in your mix; I think that could work well Definitely add fills and general humanization to the percussion, including the bongos or whatever those are. Good WIP so far!

First things first, very good job on the production. I really enjoyed almost everything! The way the kick subtly comes in at 2:23 is nice. Great orchestral overture. Love the jazz section. But! Your biggest problem by far (if you plan on submitting) is the medley-like aspect of the arrangement as a whole. What I mean by that is it sounds like many arrangements together instead of one solid arrangement. At 2:00 it completely begins to sound like a different mix. Yes, that's when the source changes to the fairy theme, but it has to transition well, which it does not. The same thing happens at 4:00. It's as if a new track begins to play. Also, around 1:00 the arps are too buried behind the wobbles at first, so try bringing them forward a bit, like how they are at 1:06. Just a bit, though. A few minor things that irked me are the transitions at 3:18 and 4:37. They're not necessarily bad, but I think they could have been executed better. The drop doesn't quite flow from the build-up, and the record spin into the jazz section could use more buildup or something to let the listener know what's coming, otherwise it sounds too hasty, especially so soon after the "third track" starts at 4:00. And the low health sound effect. It's not bad, but it doesn't add anything to your mix. If anything, it makes those transitions sound even more awkward. Either incorporate it better by fixing the transitions, or get rid of it. Again, your main priority should be smoothing out 1:35-2:00 and 3:50-4:37. Make it one track, not three. Transitions, transitions, transitions. While the genre variety is nice, you need good transitions to make it work. But good job, really. Once you consolidate this mix, I could totally see it getting posted.

Overall, this was a pleasant listen. Good source tune! I liked your choice of instruments; they all complemented each other nicely. Very soothing and laid back. The arrangement started to drag on in the second half; you should throw in something interesting for the listener or just cut mix to be shorter. The latter might also help if you plan on submitting this because an overly-lengthy mix with minimal content looks bad to the judges. Another thing dragging down this mix is the percussion. While the samples are fine, they're very mechanical and not humanized at all. There should also be more variety in the drums; it seems like you just have one pattern play off and on for the drums, and there are no fills! Lastly, I'd include just a little more of the original source, but that's just my own preference. Keep at it!

Hey, this is very nice! I agree with timaeus about the lower notes being muddy. The background noises and pads definitely add a lot of depth to this. Besides the muddiness, I don't see anything else that stands out as bad. The reverb is probably causing the muddiness, but it works well for the mid to treble range, giving the piece a nostalgic vibe. Good job!

Hey I love this! I love your articulation with the notes; you incorporated some really nice subtle dynamics. I'm having a very hard time deciding whether or not this is too medley-ish; you combined the themes very well! If you're planning on submitting it, I would at least return to the Lullaby theme at the end, to make a sort of ABA form going. That, and I would add just a bit more original melodies/variations. One part that stands to me is the transition into Midna's Lament. The ascending arpeggios seem a bit too sudden--I would smooth that out somehow. Other than that, this is some really nice work! Is this done on an electric keyboard? Or did you record it by other means?

Hey this is really awesome! I really really enjoyed everything after and including the piano interlude. Damn good stuff, haha My only real complaint is how the bass drum has a very repetitive sequence until the double bass section pops up; a variation or two wouldn't hurt! Certain sections could use velocity changes in the snare. Seriously, good job with this! You nailed that piano section Keep working on this--I want to see this get posted! I would work on the beginning of the track some more to entice listeners. Might I also ask what your setup is? (which instruments are real/midi, etc.)

Oh yes, definitely; I second this notion. I recently began this game and the soundtrack stood out right away! I was appalled when I searched for Mother 3 and couldn't find a posted mix of it

The pokemon card sound is dragged out a bit too long in the beginning; I would start the track from around 0:15, where the clicking picks up a bit. Arrangement-wise, this seems okay. Have you considered implementing drums? They could spice this up considerably if done well. I'd focus on getting a better recording quality; right now this is too "raw" and distant. I really like this, though! You should definitely keep working on this. By the way, do you ever hang around the NYC area? I'm sure you'll turn many a head playing this there

Hey this is nice! First of all, please don't use Youtube to link to your track; it compresses the living daylights out of everything. Soundcloud is a common, good alternative. Youtube gets in the way of us judging your production! Arrangement-wise, this seems to be fine. Overall, you should work on "fleshing out" your instruments; all of them need humanization and some creative automation--right now they're robotic, stale, and sound like you just slapped on an instrument to a midi. You should definitely take a second glace at the mixing. At 3:27 that new lead comes in weak, and is drowned out by the other stuff--it sounds like an important melody so it should stand out more. Don't go overboard, though. Also everything seems to be panned too much towards the center, but that could just be because of Youtube. Last two things: The instruments sound too generic, and they also sound too similar to the original source's instruments. While being conservative with the instrument choice isn't necessarily a bad thing, you should be making your arrangement more "you." The arrangement should take an interesting twist on the source instead of just changing up the melodies. Otherwise, this is nice, and I hope you work on this some more!

Absolutely stunning! I love the addition of the guitar

Nice work! I like the orchestral work, although it could use more humanization in a few select parts. As mentioned above, definitely add more phrasing to the drums (and to the arrangement in general). Work on balancing your soundscape, because some instruments get drowned out by the rest of them during the intense sections. I would also add more original arrangement to this, but that's just me. Is the ending unfinished? If not, I would work on having a good coda to wrap things up.