paradiddlesjosh

Cool stuff! I'll echo Seveneyes's comments as to wanting some of that G-Funk in your remix, at least more flourishes or hints of it. Mixwise, it feels too bass-heavy. I noticed the bassline is feeding into a ping-pong delay, which is a cool effect; if you don't shave off the lows from the delay, though, you'll end up with some unwanted mud and dissonance. Additionally, if you're not already running some sidechain compression, go for it -- you can't go wrong with some rhythmic pumping with this style. There's also an opportunity for some filter automation, which would mix it up a bit for listener interest. Some additional pads or textural fill-ins (sidechain them, too!) are great finishing touches too. Keep up the good work!

Howdy, Audiomancer! The mix is pretty damn good! It sounds like you've been paying attention to the production-related feedback from the judges. With that being said, I feel disappointed by the arrangement. Your drum writing is solid, particularly on the fills and transitions. The drop into a softer segment around the 1:00 mark is a smart choice and communicates a build into something interesting... But the filter sweep into the plucky B section melody without any beat to drive it forward costs your track all the momentum built up from the drop. It sort of meanders its way back to a recap of the A section material -- with some new approaches to the A section material, to be sure -- but there's a huge missed opportunity in the B section. If you like your approach with that bit of material, you could repurpose it into a new intro segment to your arrangement -- optionally, keep this B section segment in its current place as well, but incorporate a beat in half-time feel underneath it with those shuffled hats from the build. Or, you could cut this segment entirely and build right back to the A section recap. The point is your track loses a lot of steam around 1:25 and the recap at 2:04 suffers for it. You've made some great progress with this one; keep it up!

Oh, this is a fun one! Interesting use of the panning/mid-side on the walking bassline segments. The vocal samples are a nice touch, too -- this track has big Mario the Hedgehog vibes.

Howdy, Ruku! I'm going to ditto Seph above -- it's a lovely take on the source. I thought substituting the chord vamp in the keys for the guitar motif was a nice touch. Looking forward to the next R-mix!

Howdy, VQ! Also gonna reiterate live review notes for posterity: The judges honed in on the fuzziness happening from 3:25-4:09. It's highly likely to be too much saturation on something. This can be tamed with a high shelf cut around 6-8kHz or by pulling the saturation back about 10%. The modulation/key change into the same section was a great idea that needs the proper preparation for the listeners to stick with it. I think we determined you're going from Ab Major to E Major. Major third modulations are pretty easy to handle as modulations go -- I mentioned going to a shared chord between the keys but you don't have many between these two keys. However, Hemo suggested some tritone substitution action. In this case, do an Ab7 (Ab-C-Eb-Gb) chord into (in this case) a B7 (B-D#-F#-A) chord leading into the change into the E Major (E-G#-B). You can omit the 5ths on the 7 chords (Eb and F#, respectively) if you don't have enough voices to cover the chords -- but keep the 7th intervals spread out to minimize the potential dissonance.

City pop is so fun! I'll write down and expand my comments from the Office Hours voice chat: Outside of altering your basic arrangement framework or the key, the drums plod by the end of the second chorus. The groove is interesting and complex but needs more variation to maintain listener interest subtly. Consider simplifying the beat during a verse or two -- hew the kick to the bass, maybe save the snare and clap for beat 4, roll back the complexity of the hi-hat pattern or drop the hats entirely. During the choruses -- perhaps especially the choruses framing the guitar solo -- use some anticipatory kick drum placements (the 'a' of 3 or 4, and/or the 'and' of 4) for some bars. These extra 16th note spots from the kick create anticipation for the downbeat, ramping the energy up a notch and propelling the beat forward. If it still feels plodding, consider dropping the drums out entirely for a verse and going to just the claps for a couple of bars. Without changing the basic beat pattern, you can also vary the hi-hat pattern by incorporating some open hi-hat spots (beat 4 or the 'and' of 4 are good spots on alternate bars, or go for the disco approach and open the hats on the upbeats). If you keep the 16th note flourishes in the closed hi-hats, try opening the 'a' 16th note between the closed hi-hats.

Howdy, Seth! What a fun source. Gonna attach the source for other folks to check out as well; always good to include it with a WIP so we can be familiar with it. Since you mentioned volume leveling, sound design, and other edits, I'll frame my feedback with those aspects in mind. I generally like your instrument choices for this arrangement, particularly the trumpet and the marimba, and as my name would indicate, I'm gonna zero in on those drums. Volume leveling: once that 16th note double kick and bass pattern comes in (:23, 1:06, etc), the lows from the bass and kick are eating up the soundstage. A dynamic EQ targeting the sub-bass frequencies or a multiband compressor for those segments would help keep the lows under control. Sound design: if you want to hew closely to the sound of the Genesis, consider the sound channel limitations of the system. The drums (kick, snare, toms) will most likely be sample playback from the PCM channel while the cymbals are coming from the noise channel and the PCM isn't super hi-fi. Consider rolling off the super lows (20-40Hz) and the highs (10-12kHz, maybe as low as about 8kHz). Other edits: I think I'm hearing some artifacting in the render, some light crackling in the side channel. You'll most likely be cleaning this up by the end, but it's worth pointing out. Keep cookin'! We're looking forward to hearing more from you. :)

I'm not super familiar with either series and I've got a few events happening in July, but I'm happy to fill in for either team. Let's get mashin'!

Howdy Que! Echoing Seph's and luna's comments, your remix sounds impressive! You managed to get a lot of mileage out of the syncopated bassline of the source's intro. While the pacing of the arrangement is generally good, I think the shortness of the transitions causes the remix to suffer somewhat; you're keeping the adrenaline pumping, sure, but the listener doesn't have a moment to digest the segments. That being said, we're looking forward to hearing more from you. Keep it up!

Howdy, Master Mi! Besides calculating time-based effect durations, you can also use this calculation to place studio monitors in your space. First things first: the speed of sound through a given medium depends on the medium's density (and temperature). At room temperature (20C or 68F), the speed of sound through the air is 343 meters/second (about 1,125 feet/second), slower at lower temperatures and faster at higher temps. To calculate space in time-based effects like reverb and delay, that's 343 millimeters per millisecond (343 mm/ms) or about 1.125 feet per millisecond (1.12533 ft/ms). Next, sound waves radiate from the source -- almost perfectly spherical in lower frequencies and more directionally as the frequencies climb. A spherical room with a radius of about 11.25 feet will have early reflections (i.e. bounce off the walls) at 10ms. Of course, no room is spherical; most are rectangular prisms or combinations of 3D shapes, so you'd need to measure the distance from a given point in a room to all the faces (walls, floor, ceiling) to determine the travel time for the sound to reach that point from the wall and vice versa. Because higher-frequency sounds have smaller wavelengths, they lose energy faster than lower-frequency sounds. For especially large rooms like your cathedral example, it'll be necessary to roll the high frequencies off in your reverbs and/or delays for realism (and lower frequencies for mix balance). I like rolling off at 360Hz (high pass/low cut) and 3600Hz (low pass/high cut) as starting points but play around with these to suit your production. Regardless of the other dimensions, the average height for human males is about 1.77 meters (5.8 feet), while human females stand at about 1.63 meters (5.35 feet) so the time for a sound to travel from human-ish height to the floor is about 4.75-5.1 ms (1630 to 1770/343 or 5.35 to 5.8/1.125). But unless the sound source is facing the ground, most of this first reflection is likely not getting through your HPF. For the distances to other surfaces, convert the distance to either millimeters or feet and divide by either 343 (mm/ms) or 1.125 (ft/ms). It'll be up to you to decide how big you want this cathedral to be and calculate accordingly. You can also fudge those delay timings to simulate a colder or warmer room -- e.g. at 0C or 32F (freezing point of water), the speed of sound is about 331 m/s (1086 ft/s), or 331 mm/ms (1.086 ft/ms), so the time to the floor is about 4.9-5.3 ms. Not much slower for the first reflection, but the difference is more noticeable for further surfaces.

Howdy, Seth! I had to dig up the source for your track; it's always a good idea to include a link to the source for your arrangement as it helps the listeners compare. I can for sure hear Act 1 in your mix; if you also added stuff from Act 2, that would be good to know as well. Slick transition from the original audio at 0:06. The synced slapback delay on the snare and cymbals is a nice touch. Interesting kick/sub fills like at 0:27 and again at 1:08. Good hi-hat work throughout. The lead at 1:16 is a refreshing change-up, though the sustained pitch-bend ending of that lead fell a bit flat for me. Speaking of endings, there's an audible pop at 2:08 and a hard cutoff of the reverb tail. Keep cookin' on this one and you'll have a banger for sure. :)

I'll need to check out Reworks That Matter, 'cuz I want to experience the orchestral elements you cut out. I love the electronic and orchestral elements you've blended with this arrangement. Those timpani rolls are *chef's kiss.*

Howdy, Audiomancer! Dyluck and mo.oorgan provided some effective feedback already, so I'll echo those sentiments. The arrangement's short, fiery, and sweet. I dig the swing on the hats at 1:14. Really helps build that energy back up.

Howdy, Nase! I'll echo the other commenters on the choice of instrumentation -- funk and metal is a great combo and you've achieved a working blend in the mix. I can hear some crash cymbal hits (e.g. 0:45, 0:49, 1:20 and 2:21) that are either very dry or choked. If they are choked hits, they're unusually placed. A live drummer would have a hard time replicating that, so it pulls some realism away for me. Good call on your decision to alter the intro. It's pretty jarring as is, but once it hits the funk, it's gellin'. Good feel shift at 2:14-ish. As others have mentioned, keep an ear on the volume of the slides on that lead guitar. I'd love to see where you take this mix from here! I'm not very familiar with the MS/GG version of Sonic 2, so it's cool to hear some deep cuts and hidden gems--er, emeralds. :P

These resources aren't plug-ins: they're great reference tools! Brad the Mad's Tempo Calculator (Chart, lists given bpm subdivisions as ms and Hz; chart goes from 60 bpm to 179 bpm) Tuneform's Tempo Calculator (converts bpm to ms) MIDI CC List (Chart, lists common CC uses) Virtual Instrument Delay Chart (Google Sheet, lists delay offsets for most orchestral VST instruments; organized by instrument section, brand, library, and articulations). Use these as a starting point and adjust to your project as needed Tap Tempo (Webapp, click or tap a key in time with a piece of music to get its tempo) I was chatting in the Lounge on Discord with folks last night discussing the importance of tools like the tempo calculators: some time-based effects plug-ins (reverb and delay, but also the attack and release controls on compressors, limiters, gates, expanders, etc) have no tempo sync function. If you can convert the subdivision into ms or Hz, you can manually sync your plug-ins to your project tempo/tempi (plural of tempo). You can also use this chart to maintain a relative pulse while changing meters: in the example I gave from a project Seph and I are working on, there's an intro segment at 90 bpm, 4/4 time that evolves into a verse in 12/8 using the same structure as the intro. 12/8 is functionally equivalent to 4/4 with a triplet subdivision, but most DAWs only give tempo expressed in a quarter note bpm, so maintaining 90 bpm gives an incorrect pulse from the click. But if you check the chart, you can see that a quarter note at 90bpm equals 0.667 seconds (666.6 repeating ms, or 667 for simplicity's sake) and a quarter-note triplet equals 0.444 seconds (444.4 repeating ms). Scroll down the chart and you'll find 135 bpm has a quarter note value of 0.444 seconds and a dotted quarter note value of 0.667 seconds: for all intents and purposes, the quarter note value of 90 bpm equals the dotted quarter note value of 135 bpm!

Hey there peshti! The sound design and production are top-notch for your take on the track. The arrangement is very close to the source, with one A-B transition cut out and several voices removed (mostly trumpet and flute/piccolo lines). Like Liontamer, I would kill to hear some more transformative additions to the material from you on this one. Keep it up!

This mix is such a jam. Production-wise, I want some more low-mids in the bass, but I don't think it's a dealbreaker. I'll join the chorus of folks hoping this is OCR-worthy; that said, I think the source is a licensed track from outside the game.

Sounds like a great cover you've put together, mellowsonic! Your arrangement is almost 1:1 with the source material until a well-executed break to the bass elements at around 2:00. The build that follows works well -- love the ping-pong plucks at 2:13. The dark drums are a great touch at 3:24; I would have loved to hear them come in sooner, but part of why they're so impressive is because of how restrained the arrangement has been leading up to that point.

Arrangement: I second Liontamer's suggestion about expanding the instrumentation. The sparseness isn't selling the concept. Additionally, the drop at 0:46 seems like it was intended to change up the soundscape, but in execution, it's a big letdown because it throws all the energy you just spent the first 45 seconds or so building. It would be more effective to start with that more sparse, chordal bit and build the energy into what you've done with the intro. The false fade-out ending allows the interest curve to drop off too soon as well. Production: The lead synth at 0:16 could use a boost of about 1-2dB. Otherwise, the volume balance of your elements is well executed, at least to my ears. The solo violin at 1:45 is overexposed; if you have a higher-quality sample library you could replace it with or another texture for the lead overall, that would improve the sound greatly. It's a great relief to be able to recover some work after a crash. Keep pushing on this one, and you'll have something awesome.

I figured I should share my Equipboard as well. DAWs Presonus Studio One 4 Ableton Live 10 Notable VST Instruments Adam Szabo Viper (Virus TI emulation) Arturia Analog Lab V Intro Decidedly DecentSampler (the VSTi is free, with free libraries available at their website and Pianobook) ML Drums by ML Sound Lab (Essentials, Luxe, Meld -- the free version is a stripped-down Essentials kit) NI Battery 4 NI Kontakt 6 and Kontakt Player 7 (Pianobook also has many free Kontakt libraries -- full version of Kontakt required for those) 8dio Claire English Horn The Alpine Project Ferrum Free Edition ISW Shreddage 3 (Precision Free, Stratus Free) ISW Heritage Percussion ProjectSAM The Free Orchestra Orchestral Tools Free Series (Layers) Orchestral Tools SINEfactory (Clutch, Crucible, Dynamo, Gearbox, Helix, Lucent, Manifold, Ratio, Rotary) Plugin Alliance x Brainworx bx_oberhausen Steven Slate Drums 5.5 Spitfire Audio LABS Spitfire Audio BBC Symphony Orchestra (Core -- Discover is free and covers all the basic articulations/techniques, and the top-level Pro version has more soloists and mic placement controls) Spitfire Audio Originals (Epic Strings, Epic Brass & Winds, Cinematic Percussion, Cimbalom, Media Toolkit) Toontrack Superior Drummer 2 Vital Notable VST Effects Arturia MiniFuse Bundle (this came with my interface) Arturia Chorus JUN-6 Arturia Delay TAPE-201 Arturia Pre 1973 Arturia Rev PLATE-140 Korneff Audio El Juan Limiter (a free emulation of the legendary L1 Limiter) NI Guitar Rig 6 LE (free with Komplete Start) NI Supercharger (also free with Komplete Start) Plugin Alliance Ampeg SVT-VR Classic Plugin Alliance Black Box Analog Design HG-2 Plugin Alliance x Brainworx bx_console Focusrite SC bx_masterdesk (Classic available for free in the PA FREE bundle) bx_opto bx_rockrack V3 (Player available for free in the PA FREE bundle -- only does presets) Plugin Alliance Maag Audio EQ2 Plugin Alliance PA FREE bx_cleansweep V2 bx_solo bx_subfilter Double MS Free Ranger niveau filter Tokyo Dawn Records TDR Nova UrsaDSP Lagrange (granular delay) Voxengo SPAN Notable Utilities Akai EWI-USB Evans x Sunhouse Hybrid Sensory Percussion v2 Presonus Notion 6

Great take! Short and sweet, you managed to hit all the key points of the original without the unnecessary filler. 1:06 sounded a little overcompressed as Hemo mentioned, but that seems like the only rough spot.

It's an interesting take, for sure. Your synth ostinato starting at about 0:16 could use some more sonic variation besides the filter swell -- consider changing the ostinato's contour. Breaking up the continuous pattern will keep the line interesting while also preventing it from upstaging the melody line. Also, the piano is quite muddy due to the lack of presence and the abundance of reverb; when it gets to play the melody line, it's hard to make it out over the rest of the soundscape, which contributes to DS's point about the synth feeling like the focal point. With all that being said, I do like the variations in your percussion and effects. Keep up the good work on this one!

Good stuff so far, Nase! WIP-y though the track may be after the 2:00 mark, there are some very interesting elements added. I agree with DS, pixelseph, and Hemo. Based on the overall style and vibe you've established, the biggest arrangement improvement would be an ending -- I think building to a head-out would be just about perfect. Hit'm one more time with that brass lick and spike one final note. You might have a different idea about how to go about it. P.S. I loved the organ coming in at 3:16. It just kinda snuck in there and I could have sworn it was there the whole time, the way it just fit right in.

Welcome to the forums, tolliscpc! I'll ditto the points from Hemo and DS. As is, the arrangement's lack of dynamic contrast and sluggish changes make it a difficult listen. The kick drum will be more impactful with more gain as well as compression -- it lacks the punch necessary to drive the piece with the writing you've given it.