Best Dude55

Awesome! Thank you so much everyone for all of the feedback! I go back to school next week, so I'll have my computer back and then I can continue working on this! It sounds like the biggest thing I'll need to change is the style a little bit. I'm not too sure how to change it, but I'll listen to some other remixes and such to see if I can get some ideas on that. Thanks again everyone!

Awesome, thanks for the suggestions! I'll take note of them for when I get back to school then I'll implement them! I suppose I can change it to mod review as well. I just wanted to make sure it didn't sound bad so that I didn't waste anyone's time with it haha

Just giving this a bump since it's been a few weeks. I don't have my desktop/FL studio with me at the moment, but any advice is still really appreciated for when I get back to school!

Since I was pretty bored today I decided to work on this some more. I didn't want to change too much, and I also made a backup of the last version in case I made any bad changes I messed with a bit with production stuff and changed maybe just a few notes here and there, but it was pretty sparse. Link: https://app.box.com/s/stabtrmsg68esw2qy40f6bel30m852fw

Alrighty, I changed the tag back to WIP since, well, it is still being worked on. In response to the last post, is it still too close to the original? Like, will I have to completely redo the arrangement to make it have any hope of passing? I'll also check out some of the chords for clashing once I get back to school and have my desktop back, thanks!

Just a bump. I'm gonna try not to bump this too much if there's no updates though!

Cool, thanks for all the feedback, I appreciate it! I've been trying to implement it over the past couple days, here's the new link: https://app.box.com/s/miiq930vxwpircxdwb6cq2sjd25c5n45 Changes: First, I changed up the lead. You had suggested raising it an octave, but when I did, quite a few parts seemed too high. So instead I tried using the harmonizer thing to add another octave on top to try to distinguish it more, but at the same time not to have too much highs. I tried making the cymbal roll a bit louder at 0:49 to try to make the connection smoother. The cymbal sample I have though isn't the best and it can be too much if it passes a certain volume. Nonetheless, I still tried raising it up as much as I could. I changed the drum patterns at 1:03 as a switch from low energy and a buildup. I'm not sure if it's too much in too little time, but I can switch it to something else if it is. Again at 1:30 I tried raising up the cymbal roll a bit more, but again trying not to overdo it volume-wise as to not sacrifice sound quality from it. Lastly, I tried changing the lead notes at 1:52 a bit. I tried out a kind of staccato pattern thing to try and get rid of the stagnant whole notes. I also tried adding some vibrato to that lead to make it a little more dynamic. Oh, and I also tried making the ending a little more smooth, instead of all of the drums cutting out at once like you said.

Well, I'm still really new to the forums here so I'm not sure that my input will be as helpful as others'. However, the reason I don't really comment on stuff (on either posted stuff or workshop stuff) is simply because I don't feel I have enough experience to where I could give any helpful constructive feedback. I wouldn't want to suggest something and have it be completely wrong and take the person's track in the wrong direction. I feel that I'm still a long way away from being able to give helpful advice/reviews to others. Also as a new member I can agree with others that the time it takes for submissions to reach the panel also kind of deters me from being more active. For me at least, I can't even remember the ideas I had going on remixes that I haven't touched in a year, so if it takes that long to get judge feedback I might not remember what musical direction I was working with on that. But this thread isn't about that so I don't want to discuss that too much.

Quick update! I've just made a few changes in this new version. The biggest is probably that I added a few runs/arpeggios (I don't really know what to classify them as) in a couple places. I just barely tweaked some other small stuff throughout also. I don't want to add too much at this point because I'm not really sure what it needs. Link: https://app.box.com/s/o5uzrxgg1sicy4k56jy9ry1slzdpotq0

Alright cool! I looked at the parts you mentioned and added back in some kicks so it didn't sound disconnected. Now there's only one section where the drums let up instead of like 5 haha. Here's the link: https://app.box.com/s/4e6u9c1o2g7voc4wt1sw80iycirpt03r I also tried to make an actual ending so it didn't just seem to stop like in the other versions. Edit: For now I'm gonna change this to 'finished' since I put an ending in. I may change it back to WIP pending future criticism on it.

Alright, so I tried a couple things to make it a little more... arranged. Here's an updated link: https://app.box.com/s/smzrir72b57rqne2xq5qfi9nsxx37icq I added a lead that plays for most parts of the song, and I changed the transition just a little bit. I'm still thinking of more ideas that would make it more original though. As for production, I tried doing some sidechaining. I've never really done it before so I looked up some tutorials, but since I'm still new with it I probably messed something up in there. I probably inadvertently screwed something else up with production too that I'm not noticing either. Hopefully I can come up with some more arrangement ideas to make it even more of its own thing!

Yeah, I figured that would be a big 'X' on the track as well, with the whole conservative thing. I'm not the best with original musical idea-making, but I'll open it back up and play with some different notes and see if I can try to make something a bit more dynamic and original with the notes (well, a lot more original if I want to progress with the track). Right now I don't have any sidechaining going on, but I'll definitely try it out! Thanks!

Ok, well thanks on the edit part! (I think? I'm not sure if it sounding like it could be in Kingdom Hearts is a good thing or a bad thing haha)

Hello everyone! I've been trying to branch our with my remixes lately, so I tried more a dance style for this one I suppose. I'm still pretty new to this style of remix, so there's probably gonna be a lot of issues with mixing, mastering, and, well, probably everything. I tried to listen to see what I could find what was wrong on my own, but I just don't think I'm skilled enough to hear what else is wrong at this point. Newest version link: https://app.box.com/s/lvpvf96fu27nt0j7omtvlw400opx7iqi and here's a link to the source: again, I already know there's probably a lot of issues, but I really want to improve with this kind of music so hopefully I can get some help! Thanks!

Sooo I was on my computer today and decided to work on this a bit more. I tried to add just a few woodwinds in some sections that sounded mainly string dominated to try to give a more complete sound, and I also reduced the reverb in the bass instruments because it seemed like it was making it sound kinda... ech. Mainly little touch ups, but hopefully it moved it in the right direction! http://tindeck.com/listen/xfank

Hello again! So I ran across some good fortune and managed to get the philharmonik orchestra VST! So with that, I took another stab at this thing. There are some pros and cons. Pros: the instruments actually sound realistic in this VST, so awesome! Cons: I'm still getting used to using it, so there's a good chance that there will be more issues in this WIP than in my last post. However it would be super awesome if you could help me out! I've also had a kinda long break from music, so that might show in there too :/ Anyway, here's the link to the newest version: http://tindeck.com/listen/yllnk Thank you!

Ah, that's what I was kinda afraid of hearing :/ I'm in a position now where every dollar I make goes to my school tuition and housing, so probably getting those nice VSTs isn't gonna be viable for a while. I suppose I'll just have to make the best of what I have for now then, thanks a bunch for all the previous tips though!

Cool, I'm glad you like the snare change! Just a quick question though, as I'm still new to the whole 'upper level' remixing. What do you think I should do to take this to the next level? I know you had said the changes are a step in the right direction, but I'm kinda lost now as to what I could work on to really make it polished and great. I really wanna make these remixes the best they could be, but I just feel like I've hit a wall with where to go next :/

Hmm, seeing how I keep working on this track maybe I shouldn't have tagged it 'finished' Anyway, I've been procrastinating on studying and worked on it some more. Here's a new version: http://tindeck.com/listen/vcepv Some things I've changed: -I changed the tom to a snare drum. I feel the rhythm definitely still needs work, and the roll sounds a bit awkward as it's really the only snare roll I could find. But like I said above, I'm gonna talk to my high school percussion instructor and get some percussion tips to try and improve it. -I also changed some parts in the second half to try to get some more original arrangement out of it. It's not much, but I figured I'd give it a shot and step out of my comfort zone. -Messed with some more general equalizer stuff to try and improve the sound a bit more (Like I said in the OP, I'm still not great at mastering so hopefully it helped, but please let me know if it sucks now) -I put in some cymbal rolls to try and add some to the buildups into new sections

Thanks! I've used FL studio for all of my stuff, it's a good program! Also, I'll be going home from college soon so I might stop by my high school and talk to the percussion instructor that taught my band. He might have some tips on what makes good percussion performances that I can implement into my remixes!

Yeah, actually the strings and brass are from the nexus vst, but they definitely don't sound as real as I would like. It's probably the most frustrating part of making remixes for me, since I really want better sounding strings and such but don't have the money to get a good orchestra vst because of college payments. I do have one cymbal roll that was used at the beginning that I could potentially use in other places to vary it up, I'll try it out. Also, I could switch the tom over to a snare, but I might have to change up the rhythm because the one I have now would probably sound pretty boring played on a snare. Might be a while 'til I get a new version done, since finals week is next week and I've gotta study, but thanks for the feedback and suggestions!

I had some time to work on it a bit more today! Here's a link to the newest version: http://tindeck.com/listen/fkbgb In the beginning I changed the synth to a piano to keep the orchestral theme. The drum is indeed a tom, it was the most fitting drum I could find in my (pretty bad) collection of drum soundfonts. I tried making it so that it has a better sound, but I'm not sure what else I can do besides adjusting the equalizer for it. I also tried toning down the reverb a bit in some of the instruments to see if that helped. Also went through and tried adding a bit of dynamic contrast here and there with the velocities and volumes. Lastly, I took out some of the cymbal crashes that seemed to frequent the the latter half of each section.

Thanks for the feedback! As for libraries, I'm using what I have in Nexus for everything but the tom and cymbal roll. I'd like to upgrade to a more suitable vst for orchestra, but I just don't have the money to upgrade right now and Nexus is the best I have. I'll also definitely look at things like phrasing and adding more dynamic contrast. Listening to it again it does feel kind of flat and stagnant. Maybe some subtle accents on count 1 since it is in 3/4? As for the synth, I suppose I was trying to get a kind of gentle intro that leads to the strings, but I could definitely replace it with another mallet instrument to get the same feel that will keep it consistent.

Hello everyone! I decided to make an account here so that I could really get serious about improving my remixes, so I'm starting off by posting a recent orchestration I did of the surfing theme from pokemon ruby/sapphire. Mainly, I'm looking for feedback about the quality of sound. I'm still not very good at making unique arrangements, but I've been trying to work on it. I think I could use work on things like mastering/dynamics and such, but tips on anything would be appreciated! Here's a link to the newest version of the remix: http://tindeck.com/listen/xfank ..and here's a link to the source in case you haven't heard it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMumv8yML-Q