DrumUltimA

there is a GOOD CHANCE i'll be there.

ARRANGEMENT / INTERPRETATION [shoop] Too liberal - not enough connections to the source (too much original writing) [da] STRUCTURE [whoop] Too repetitive First of all-was that you talking in the beginning? And if so, what did you say? I couldn't make it out too clearly First of all, I know this happens a lot with techno/trance tracks, but I didn't get any source until 1:23. Not as bad as some tracks that I've heard, but it is a long build up. When the melody does come in though, it sounds great. The new stuff at 2:46 sounds really cool too--however, the source of this is based on two measures and you've stretched it out to encompass basically a third of your remix. It's cool that you're trying to emphasize such a small part of the form, but what actually ends up happening is that not only are you neglecting the rest of the source material, but you're also making the mix extremely repetitive. I'm not opposed to you stretching that chunk of the source out, of course--I just think you were too repetitive in your execution. The slowdown at 3:30 is REALLY cool, I like your drumbeat there--but then you go back to that theme again. Happy to hear the theme come back at 4:34--but you've devoted approximately 2:00 of your 6:10 piece to just that one section of the source. Glad to hear part B of the source at 5:15 too, for sure. Wish I had heard more of this theme. So even though technically you stuck to the source for a large chunk of the piece, my first reaction tells me that the piece of the source you stuck to was too small and strung out for too long compared to the rest of the source--especially considering you only had 1:48 of source material that wasn't those two measures (which were divided into 27 seconds each, meaning you only had the source playing in 16 measure increments). Also, that being said, you devoted a meager 27 seconds of you mix to the B section of the source. For 6:10 of material, I really think there needs to be more of the source present overall, and not just a two measure transition All that being said, your production skills (as far as I can tell) are GREAT. You do a lot of cool things with the texture and groove, and I like the instrumentation. The sound quality is pro, it's clear you know how to lay down a good electronic track (being electric concerto and all lol). But I think you're relying too much on sound choice, tempo, and texture for your variation, and not enough in harmony and melody. So if you are planning on sending this to OCR, I would address those things first. But outside of the arrangement, this track sounds really clean and really well done. Nice work

PRODUCTION [] Low-quality samples First of all, love this track. But I love the entire soundtrack so whatever Piano stuff is beautiful in the beginning!! I think you could stand to get some nicer samples--specifically that solo trumpet sounding one. Also, I'd like to hear a little more variation in that drum part, though it's pretty well sequenced as it is. But there were a few points where my ear wanted to hear the drums hit some of the figures with the other instruments. This is more preference on my part though, I think it sounds fine with what you've got. As far as the arrangement is concerned, I think it's solid--I'd like to hear a little more schmultz in the regression to solo piano at 3:10 or so. It would help keep the continuity with your beautiful introduction, and the fact that you brought the texture down to solo piano there leads me to believe you might have the same idea. Once again, this is subjective--doesn't make or break the piece, just an idea. Great mix man!

i registered, but it wont play for me...

Thanks for the feedback so far! Expanded it more a bit--expansions subject to change http://drumultima.googlepages.com/volcanojuice.mp3

wait, there was a sonic 3d blast contest! wtf i just started making this. :[

I have way too many remixes in progress right now. But I was messing around with a drumbeat today, and I found something i liked. So I started working it into act 2 of volcano valley. Only have about a minute of stuff so far, but this is what I've got! http://drumultima.googlepages.com/volcanojuice.mp3

sorry for double post but i made another substantial update! Help me with this drumset part i'm not convinced http://drumultima.googlepages.com/nostrumfull.mp3

I think I'm going to go see Play! in Baltimore in July... other than that, probably more loser classical and jazz stuff

hahah exactly

Just saw it. I liked it

Well, it's true--running a marathon and playing an instrument are comparable--tons of repetitive muscle motions for hours a day. The reason I'm talking in macro scales is because my small muscles are strong enough to do what they need to do. In fact, they are too strong--and I've worked them so hard I've damaged them. What I need to do now is readjust the tension that I hold in my body--get it out of my small muscles, which are needed for fast motions only, and put it in my large muscles. This will create support for my small muscles to move in the way they need to. Playing percussion is more wrist motion than most other instruments, which rely on finger motion. However, my arms should not be moving, and my back and shoulders should be strong enough so I don't have to support the weight of the mallet with my hands/arms.

UPDATE! Transposed it to a better key for me to sing in (e minor) and tried recording some lyrics! I am def going to rerecord, any suggestions would be great. http://drumultima.googlepages.com/nostrumfull.mp3

Ahh, much better. did you arrange this even more since your last post? I don't remember it being this long. Anyway, it's a fantastic arrangement. I agree with Snappleman about the dives in the solo, though. Also, I'm not a fan of how the organ takes over at :52, making the square lead simply drop out. I see what you're trying to do and I agree with the idea, I think it could be better executed. Try just playing the first few notes with that lead, or make it hold slightly over into the next measure? Or something like that. Not a big deal though, considering the quality of the rest of the mix. Also, the way you bring up the snare reverb at 1:57--once again I agree with the idea, but the pacing of this sounds a bit awkward to my ear. Perhaps go for a more gradual curve into 2:10, and have the last snare drum hit before 2:10 be the one that pops out? Just an idea. Anyway, fantastic mix. I'd love to see this get posted.

WOW. that's amazing. epic win.

At least your pain is shorter lived

Hey Will, sounds pretty good. Can you upload this as an mp3 on a different site, such as TinDeck? (http://www.tindeck.com) Often times sites like youtube and myspace that encode the files into their software will compress the file further than it needs to be, compromising the sound quality. I'd like to hear a file that wasn't so lo-fi.

This thread is slowly killing me from the inside.

Yeah: have a very controlled warm up and cool down regiment before and after practicing. Practice no more than 50 minutes before taking a ten minute break, and in those 50 minutes take lots of little breaks. Control the amount of tension your arms are holding while playing, make sure your technique is correct in this aspect, and practice good posture (back straight, shoulder back--- you don't want to be pulling your shoulders back with your shoulder blades, but they should not slouch forward). Also, exersize is a great way to keep the blood flowing--when i'm exercising regularly, I normally don't get arm problems. Running, swimming, even weight lifting can help (but don't lift too much when you have tendonitis )

I was born and raised on sonic. I always liked tails better though because he was the underdog (and he could fly lol)

Yeah, I'm getting therapy. It's going to take a while to heal, but it's getting there. I think...

Hey man, thanks for the feedback. Can you define to me what you mean by drop? I think I know what you're saying for the first one (3:24?) but I'm not sure what you mean by the second one. It may very well be that I'm already moving towards what you're looking for, but I'm not sure where you're talking about.

PRODUCTION [x] OTHER :3 STRUCTURE [x] Too repetitive PERSONAL COMMENTS (positive feedback, specifics on checklist criticisms, any other thoughts) Overall a very strong mix! Production is in general fine as far as I can tell--I do agree with Nutritious in that I'd like to hear more drums in the heavier sections. I'm not crazy with the lead instrument playing the melody (the synth plucking sound), but that's just personal preference so I can leave that be At the breakdown at 2:20, I'm hearing a lot of clicking/popping sounds--check your levels, see if you can figure out what's causing it all. Aside from this, things sound very well mixed, very clean and very well balanced. Nice work I know it's trance, but I think it may be a bit repetitive for ocr right now. I'm not worried about the drums or the chord progression because I know that's all part of the style, but perhaps some more melodic content would be nice--from counter-melodies to even original melodies. Something else would only emphasize the source melody more. But melodically speaking, I only hear one thing in a 5 and a half minute remix--I can't imagine some original content would break the continuity of the style. I also echo Nutritious' opinion in that I think you could build up a bit faster than you do. This is pretty long as it is, and despite the genre there is not that much musical content considering the length. Not to say I want you to put in more sections--just chop off some repetitions It sounds really really great for the most part though, definitely a strong track. Good luck!!

So, what category would things like clipping, hums, hisses and other production flaws fall under? I don't see a check for that, and I'd imagine that comes up a lot...

PRODUCTION [x] Too loud [x] Low-quality samples [x] Generic/cliche sound choices [x] Overcompressed (pumping/no dynamics) PERFORMANCE (live recorded audio/MIDI parts) [x] Wrong notes, general sloppiness STRUCTURE [x] Lacks coherence overall (no "flow") [x] Not enough changes in sounds (eg. static texture, not dynamic enough) [x] Too repetitive [x] Abrupt ending PERSONAL COMMENTS (positive feedback, specifics on checklist criticisms, any other thoughts) There's a lot in this mix that needs to be fixed--I can't comment on arrangement/interpretation until the basic musical elements of this mix are fixed. Your harmony needs a ton of work. A ton. The melody, accompaniment, and bassline are all in different keys. The original source (thank you for providing) definitely goes through more than one chord, but you don't change a thing throughout the entire mix. Also, there are many wrong notes in the melody itself-- 1:12, 1:36, and 1:39 to name a few. Go back, listen to the source, adapt the accompaniment riff to match up with the right chords, put the bassline in the right key... this is imperative. Everything is too loud, the only dynamic level I hear in this is loud. Your drums sounded a little lo-fi, and I thought everything could use at least a little reverb so it didn't sound so edgy. The soundscape was totally static, involve some more instruments. Once again not only is the accompaniment riff in the wrong key, it stays on one chord and repeats mercilessly (with the bass line) through the entire mix, albeit the break at 1:03. I find the transition into the melody at 1:12 a bit awkward, once again the synth is playing wrong notes and the gap of silence is too long imo. Ending is kind of weird to me, but I can deal with it compared to the other issues. So please, don't submit another update until you've gone back and carefully reconstructed the harmony of your accompanimental parts. It really sounds like you only sequenced one pattern in the bass and acc riff and looped it throughout, and then wrote the melody over top. Go back to those lines and do all the work--write out the key changes, match the keys etc. It's far too sloppy right now. Once you've gotten that try to branch out your soundscape and vary the mix to rid yourself of that repetition. This needs a lot of work. Good luck!