Slimy

I really like the piano, and I didn't mind the melody being high up. I think the choir stood out a bit too much though, and I didn't really like the sound of it anyways. I'd prefer a softer string sound there or something. At 2:10, I think you could take out the instruments more subtlety. Or possibly build it up more before before starting to slow down for the ending.

I usually do different things on different days. I tend to get sucked into whatever I'm doing, so I don't want to have to stop immediately and do something else I'm not interested in at the moment.

https://soundcloud.com/slimy-4/footprints-on-zebes-update After months of getting sidetracked, I've finally made all the revisions. I EQ'd everything to be a bit darker, and I cut out the section that was at 4:26 because I didn't really like it, and changed the section that was after it to sound cooler. And some more minor tweaks. Alright, any feedback now?

I think it sounds really awkward when there aren't any instruments playing except for the percussion. (At least in the FF4 boss theme there's an awesome bassline as well as percussion whenever there's no melody playing. And in this rendition, there's a short timpani roll.) It also really kills the energy. In the certain fighting theme this may on may not be based on, the energy was always kept up by the non melody stuff. But in yours, there doesn't seem to be much besides the melody and percussion. Edit: You should check out a midi of the FF7 battle theme and dissect it in your DAW of choice to see exactly what makes it tick.

Hey, I loved your original "VS Kanden" remix! Don't really have any critique, just wanted to say you're awesome. I'll compare the two versions later.

The Portal 2 soundtrack might be a good reference. Mike Morasky added lots of chip-sounds into the soundtrack, but made sure not let the soundtrack sound "8-bit." Once you've figured out how to make different sounds with Plogue Chipsounds, I'd suggest just treating it and incorporating like a normal instrument. Placing it where you think it fits, and asking yourself, "where might an 8bit sound fit in?" If you have no idea what kind of sounds you can get with Plogue Chipsounds, (I've never tried it but I assume it's fairly complicated) you could download a free, simpler 8bit VST, and see what kinda of different sounds you can get with that. (On most free 8bit VST's I've tried, it's pretty easy to distinguish between the different sounds you can make.)

I'd suggest letting mixing and mastering take a backseat, and just focus on arranging for awhile. Download midi's of songs you like, and try to see what's going on, why it sounds good. Try to arrange copies or something similar to music you like, not for sharing, but so that you can learn about it and find out what works and what doesn't, and why stuff sounds the way it sounds. When it comes to mastering, I'm still mostly clueless. Getting to know your DAW is also important. I couldn't compose a thing until I found one I understood. (Mixcraft)

What a steal! There's some great sound in this!

It seems that way. Ah well, might get some good originality out of the non-melody stuff then.

That's not it. That's just the regular battle theme, the one I'm looking for is used for bosses. Kinda similar melody though.

Huh, I can't find a midi of this anywhere.

I particular liked 1:55, very pretty and relaxing . 3:24-onward sounded nice too, but the string pads could use song more expression and dynamics imo. Also, there's a strange pause in between the string chords, because the attack is slow. I'd suggest dragging out the release of each string chord so that in between chords the notes blend together instead of cutting off. The brushed drums do sound like white noise. I think they're being played much to slowly, and maybe they could use a stronger attack.

There are several melodies in the song that are memorable on their own. (I particularly liked the one at 1:54) But the song never really takes time with any of them, it goes straight from one to the next, etc. And because of that, none of them really stick out. I'd suggest chopping this song up into smaller songs that develop these melodies more.

I thought ocremix's obsession with techno was years ago? Shame. Everyone knows the best outro songs are orchestral

Ooh, I love that song! Not sure what to do with it though, but I may try some ideas when I'm done with the other remix I'm working on..

The piano into is rather bland and repetitive. I think that if you made it start slowly, then increased the tempo until it was up to speed, it would feel like it was building up to something, instead of just repeating itself over and over again. Taking out a few repetitions wouldn't hurt either. I like the percussion that comes in at 0:37. I like the bass at 0:37 too, but as the melody it feels kinda buried to me.

The transition between the songs is seamless, and it's very pretty sounding overall.

Aw, anybody? There are a few minor things that I plan to change, like note velocities, but it would be good to get other people's opinions. Even on the title.

I went for several months without making a single song once. During that time, I seemed to be getting fewer and fewer ideas, and the ideas I did get seemed bland and uninteresting. Even after getting new samples to play with, I still didn't write anything. Then one day, I listened to part of a movie soundtrack that sounded so badass, I tried to make something like it. After that, I seemed to be getting ideas for new songs again. I was much better after that slump, but it may have been the new samples I had to play with.

I'm going to have to take that with a grain of salt. I don't think I've ever seen an orchestra with timpani in the middle. And cellos are usually closer to the conductor than double basses, I don't know why they're both panned at 30. Still should be useful though.

Remix: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/zd91uqw4abrty6s/Footprints%20on%20Zebes.mp3?dl=0 (Old: https://soundcloud.com/slimy-4/footprints-on-zebes-update https://soundcloud.com/slimy-4/footprints-on-zebes) Source: Since "Adventure Through Lavender Town" went on for over 7 minutes, I decided to make this one 7 minutes exactly. 6:33 now At 1:22, I tried to capture the mood of the original, which I love and don't think is done by many remixes. (including the Metroid Zero Mission one, which bombards you with loud, unsubtle chords) I also used the item room theme in this remix, and bits of the opening theme from Super Metroid. Feedback would be appreciated!

It's hard to compliment any particular part - the entire song is made of shades of good, better, and excellent. Though I particularly liked the bass ostinatos. I felt that they added a sense of advancement or urgency to the song, which I liked.

The whole thing sounds great! Not sure what else to say. When is the game coming out? What is it about?

Your flute player never breathes and it's kinda bugging me. At the end if it's phrases you could have a little pause. Also, the ending is super anticlimactic. At least hold the last note out! The percussion is nice, and I like the little touches like that scratching effect. The guitar sounded fine, if it's off, I never noticed it.

Thanks for the replies! Good to know I had the right idea. That guide is pretty helpful.