Blaine

Alright, here's some things I heard. 1) I think the overall arrangement is solid and works well, I wouldn't mess with this. 2) In the first 10 seconds, It sounds like you're using one sample and trying to get it to do two different things. If you want that opening to sound as if it's being played by one instrument, then I'd either choose a different instrument (like piano, or some mallet instrument, or maybe a harp...) or get a better sample. If you're going for two instruments, then I'd replace what you're using for the accompaniment sound with something different. 3) Overall, the drums sound good, I'd leave those alone for now. I like that they're not too heavy, they fit in well with the general feel. The bass that kicks in at 1:05 and 2:57 is also good =] (Though maybe a little overpowering, but I think that's more an issue with the other instruments being a bit underwhelming) 4) The "electric guitar" that starts at 1:35 (and 3:32), I'd scrap it. It sounds really not so great compared to what's going on around it. You could maybe try replacing it with some brass instead, I think even fake electro brass or lo-fi brass would work well (or at least better than that current sound =[). Play around with it. 5) In general, your melodic lines sound pretty stiff. A little inflection/humanization would go a long way to make those parts sound more interesting. They could also stand to be brought out more, I was sometimes struggling to hear the melodic bits amidst everything else. They weren't completely lost, they could just stand to be more prominent. 6) The last thing I'll say is that the build up around 2:44 needs to be bigger. What you have can work, it just needs to get louder for the silence to be even more effective. I'd compare the builds peak volume level with the volume level right after the silence (they should be about the same, or at least closer than they are). I'd also either a) cut off the lingering delay effects and make sure everything cuts off uniformly there, or let the silence linger just a bit longer if you want to go for a fake ending kind of thing. There's my 2 err... 6 cents. Hope that helps! I think what you've got could be really awesome (and is already pretty awesome), and I can hear where you're trying to go with it. Just give some TLC to the non-synth/non-percussion instruments =]

Done. Ha, yeah. I was actually planning on doing something for the previous round, but I got distracted with another project and ran out of time >_>

Hmmmm... I'd LIKE to submit something, and I have something to submit, but there seems to be an issue with ThaSuace allowing me to register, as it won't send me an activation email Any spells to fix this or get around it?

I'm happy that Metroid II is getting some love. I agree that this theme is underrated (along with the game itself IMO), though it's probably partially because the game is pretty musically sparse (not to mention squished practically to non-existence between two behemoth titles). Wasn't sure about what to expect from the guitar solo, considering the more relaxed nature of the remix, but it turned out to be quite tasteful (I should never have doubted ). Props to Viking G. for that, and to PPP for a great mix. Hadn't heard about the 101% run. Looks like I've got some music to download.

Well that's good to hear. I'm at least 90% positive I gave you guys a wav file, and I have a wav saved on multiple computers if not, so things should be fine in that regard. I guess if you don't really see a problem with it, then I'll try not to fret over it. I just heard all the awesome tracks in the preview and felt insecure about my own stuff I suppose

It's good to see things progressing nicely! The preview sounds really good. After hearing it though, I'm even more unsatisfied with my own track I thought about reworking some of it recently, but I've somehow lost the .flp file, along with a number of others . After hearing how good all these other tracks sound though... I might just try and re-work the track from scratch using my finished one as a reference.

I second timaeus on most of his points. I didn't have trouble noticing the opening bell line at 0:08, though that could be because I was expecting it. I'm not sure if it needs to be messed with. Fixing some of the general clarity issues might be all it needs. In general, it sounds like you have too much reverb on pretty much everything, or at least the things that are more prominent. Reverb can be great for creating a sense of space or helping blend things together. The more you add though, the less clear things will become and I think that's what's happening in your mix. I suggest messing around with wetness and delay levels on anything that has reverb (or similar effect), less important sounds should have more while more important sounds should have little to none (generally). This mix also sounds pretty static in terms of spatial use. You've got a fair amount of stuff going on, which is fine (great even), but it sounds like they're all stereo tracks set mostly in the center. Try pushing less important things further out to the sides (not too far though) and focusing some of the other sounds so they're less wide. Making sure things like the kick drum are really centered while thick pads are more peripheral can really help clear things up. TL;DR- Less 'verb, more panning (and maybe mess with EQing more). Also, have you thought about adding some actual glitch effects to the koto that comes in at 0:23? I'm not sure if it would actually sound good, but the way you wrote the part made me think of glitching/stuttering. Random thought to possibly mess with! Overall, I think this mix has a lot of good things going on, it just needs some clarity. Keep it up!

Sent in my WIP for Black Soup. I'm excited about a chance to contribute to this album, even if I'm joining in at the tenth inning.