Rotten Eggplant

Man, my mastering skillz are in high demand. Glad to be working with you again DFW. Look forward to seeing how this one turns out.

Guess who’s back... Right after the release of Arcadia Legends, I’m at it again. ^_^; Although, this time I get a track all to myself (not that I wasn’t given an opportunity in Arcadia Legends, I just didn’t have the time when it was offered). I’m looking forward to how a psytrance take on Felix’s Battle theme is going to come out. This is going to be fun!

I guess it’s my turn hahaha. Well, for those that know me, they know how hard it is to please me musically. It’s not an issue of “my style of music” or anything, but rather how a track resonates with me. That being said, it’s really hard to pick favorites, especially from each disc, as each resonates with me at different aspects and different reasons. It’s like having a favorite child. Disc 1 Naturally one would think I’d pick the track I had a hand in (On Wings of Feathers), but there is one track that stands out stronger. That would have to be @pu_freak‘s track, The Voyage Begins. The composition in this track continues to send chills up my back every time I listen to it. Disc 2 I’m going to go with @Jason Covenant‘s track Coding Angel. The lyrics and the composition here is amazing, and turned a song I didn’t care for much in the original ost into a song I thoroughly enjoy listening to. Disc 3 This might actually shock some of you, but my favorite on this disc is actually @Glejs‘s track Unknown Menace. This style of trance was my whole childhood, and combined with the game that was my whole childhood resulted in contender for one of my most favorite songs, not just with the album, but period. Artist Even though none of his songs ended up on the above list, I felt the need to make a special category for my favorite artist just because pretty much all his tracks on this album are such a joy to listen to. That would be Mr. @Deedubs. Amazing artist, great person to work with, I know some day he’ll make it big. Anyway, as I said before, it wasn’t easy picking favorites, and for everyone else, know that I admire the work you guys put into your tracks. To @Darkflamewolf and @Modus, thank you guys so much for letting me be a part of this!

I know I joined late to the party (like, really late), but I just wanted to express how amazing everyone has been and amazing the music is. I really hope I’m doing all the talent involved with the project justice with my mastering. I can’t wait for the release of the album, as I believe that not only will this be an amazing gift for Skies of Arcadia fans, but for everyone as a whole! Thanks @Darkflamewolf and @Modus for allowing me to be a part of this!

Not entirely sure I’m allowed to do this, but I wanted to thank everyone for all your advise and help with the track! It probably wouldn’t have passed the panel without it. I look forward to submitting more in the future!

@mothershipl I never have a problem with someone posting my music on their Youtube or Soundcloud, as long as proper credit is given, so by all means! @Uffe von Lauterbach Thanks! @Gario I could have sworn Sir_Nutz did a psytrance remix on this site...

FINAL UPDATE: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1XOs1iFAoqR0DeZNrcUoSSCw034gCFDta So, did some more mastering and sent it off to the judges. Hopefully they like it. The above link is the one I sent them, so you can hear the same thing they'll be judging.

The stuff that comes with FL Studio, like the Fruity EQ, Multiband Compressor, Limiter, etc.

UPDATE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/16FKnvtGPzqLdfh2TT6qyUOU8T1c6sMF1/view?usp=drivesdk I think this is it! This sounds ready to me. If no further objections are brought up, I'm going to submit this.

Good idea. I may have to bring something in, though, when the energy starts coming back. It's like every time I go to mix or master, I end up adding or changing it lol. For example, @TurboChaser and @Gario mentioned there wasn't enough source. Well, I agree, and I'll be fixing that.

UPDATE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/180cBVOCLkaOG9KiD7dAyIOWSfxTOjoJ3/view?usp=drivesdk Alright, so I gave it another go with mixing, trying to clean it up as much as possible. I'll master tomorrow after I let my ears rest, but I figured I'll show you what I did so far.

UPDATE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_lVEEJimImEZieLtW_kv7oKD7rjkpujs/view?usp=sharing (Hopefully) The final, fully mastered version. I added a lot of goodies in hope that it fills in the boring parts and make it more "psytrancy". I think it's ready for submission. Let me know. EDIT: So after doing a few "car test" runs on other speakers, I feel this could use a smidge more mastering. I'll update this post after I work on it some more.

Alright. Some of you guys have already been contacted by me already, and I plan on hitting the rest of you up in due time. I think it's time to post on the thread itself. (Well, again, at any rate) Right now I'm in the process of mastering the final tracks. There are a few that may need remixing (heh) at the instrument level, but for the most part, a normal song mastering will be fine. So, please contact me if you have any concerns about your track for the mastering process. Also, for those in need of other sound engineering services, I'll be happy to help.

I'm not saying you're wrong or even that you don't make a good point. The disappointment is more like a "yeah, he's probably right. Darn..." kind of thing.

Wow, thanks for the amazing eval! I've been throwing around the idea of changing the ending. I initially wanted to end it with somewhat of a climax followed by a rather abrupt outro, but it makes the ending seem TOO adrupt. I'm kind of disappointed that you didn't like the breakdown (well, the length if it, anyway)... I'll see if I can trim it or something without detracting from what I was trying to do with it. Something like adding arps. I plan on doing a final master before I submit this. I'll add the timestamp source thing you mentioned. I'll probably post one more update before I send it off. Thanks again for the eval!

I've sent @Darkflamewolf a PM already, but I figure I'll post here too. My childhood! I wish I discovered OCRemix much sooner, and joined this project near the beginning... So, I like to think myself somewhat knowledgable in the art of mastering and audio production. Went to school and everything. So, I'd be interested in joining as a sound director, masterer, etc. Also, I know a little about sound engineering, so I may be able to help those who find their sample quality a little lacking. Well, that's my pitch. If I'm something you guys might be looking for, I'd love the opportunity to join. I wouldn't mind claiming something too, if you guys wouldn't mind a very late entry.

Alright, my turn. Not a bad start, but man, some of those chords in the intro very nearly turned me off. See if you can get closer to the original chords if you need to. Now, for the things you asked The Damned that I may be able to help you with. The drums: You can make real sounding drums using white noise. It's all about how you EQ and mix it. This site has been my holy grail for EQing, and there are many others like it out there. If a particular drum isn't quite working for you, add another on top of it to achieve the sound you're looking for. May I also add that drums are nice, but are only half the equation. You need bass, drums or not. There's something of a tenor in your song in the form of a cello, but you need bass. Every ensemble and genre of musical instrument has a bass instrument (tuba, contrabass, bass flute, etc.) for a reason: it acts like a foundation for your music to sit on. I've heard songs without bass, and I got to tell you, they may work, but they're empty. To the other thing you asked The Damned: No to the increasing flute volume. Fade out the other instruments just enough to make the flute stand out, but not overpowering. If given a choice, decrease, not increase. Well, I mean if you start off soft, yeah, but if you're going from forte to piano, ensemble to solo, don't increase.

Despite the fact that I absolutely loathe sidechained pads in EDM, you've actually made me put that bias on hold for your mix. I'll definitely add this to my vg remix playlist. God, I hate sidechained pads...

Very relaxing. So, what exactly is the scenario for this piece? I ask because you labeled it a "video game" composition, and usually a VG song is written to create a specific mood and atmosphere for a scenario in a game. The only thing I can think of is a cutscene where an old school detective goes to the casino.

Definitely sets the mood, but not exactly memorable. Great job, nevertheless.

@The Damned I appreciate that. So, I gave it 24 hours just in case someone else had any suggestions. I'm going to go ahead and change this to Ready for Review. Wish me luck!

Here's a piece I've been working on. The piece came to me in a dream (a weird symbolic event to be sure), and I remembered it with perfect clarity when I woke up, so I opened my laptop and transposed this before I could forget it. I'm still ironing out some details of the composition and working on the EQ, but I'm interested in what you guys think. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fQbIF1Ls-QuNjSzouSJZMzetlSalgQLi/view?usp=drivesdk

UPDATE 2: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ThaxpuWI3w2AbRoZ5J-Zn8j7fhK6UlKl/view?usp=sharing Sorry for the long wait, been busy, then sick, So, did a lot of mastering work and I've implemented most of what @mothershipl suggested. I'm actually very happy with this right now, so barring any critical suggestions, I think it's ready for Mod Review.

@TurboChaser Wow, it's very flattering that you made an account just for this song! Thank you for your praise! @mothershipl Awesome! This is a feedback gold mine! Alright, I will try everything you suggested, although I can't make any promises that all of it will be fixed exactly like you suggest, only that I'll try everything and see what fits. You guessed somewhat right about the progression of the song. Everything up to the 2:59 mark was planned. Everything after was pretty much spaghetti thrown against the wall...

Thanks, and I'm still figuring out how to fix the repetition. Psytrance is almost literally trance on drugs. Psytrance is short for psychedelic trance. A couple of key things are the kick and drum, the synth special effects (like the "squelch"), and the emotional journey it takes you. I know thats like trying to explain "love" as "chemicals in the brain", but I'm new the the genre and there may be people who can explain it better than I. Another key thing to mention is that psytrance got it's roots in Goa, India. That's how the very similar Goa Trance genre got it's name. Goa Trance is a more mellow form of psychedelic trance with more of a traditional Indian sound, whereas psytrance is more about experimenting with synths and is generally an insane form of a sound. I must also say that psytrance is a bit of an aquired taste. Like I said, I'm not explaining it well, but that's the gist of it.