DarkeSword

Pretty cool, but those drums that sound cool when the start off end up sounding dry and a little too exposed in the soundscape. Some light reverb might help. Interesting stuff with the lead's pitch bends and harmonies. The bassline is too deep and rumbly and ends up sounding like a warbly drone. Try to define it a little more. Also, I'm really not a fan of the hard panning in that tom drum at 2:17. It cuts through the soundscape in a bad way and really exposes itself. All in all though, certainly not a bad arrangement here. THere are some great ideas worth further exploring. Keep at it! You've got the touch! NO

It's certainly an amazing effort recording all those vocals, but I think from a balance standpoint you're still out of whack. The low piano and strings are crowding that low end stuff, and the vocals end up flooding the whole soundscape. I feel like I'm standing in the middle of the choir rather than the choir standing in front of me; in other words the balance and panning feels off. Things get a little harmonically wonky around 1:52. I think the strings+piano in unison (which isn't all that effective anyway) is clashing with the vocals around there. Despite the scope, this really lacks a big epic sound. It sounds too much like it's its in a small room, rather than something expansive and sweeping. I haven't heard the original Enya piece, but I think that despite your attempts to emulate it, you should allow yourself to move beyond that template and really develop this piece a little more in terms of the arrangement. NO EDIT: EXTRA ADVICE

A little too much reverb on that whistle, don't you think? The droning low chords are putting me to sleep too. When the strings and brass come in at 1:31, I'm already gone. Everything sounds so lo-fi and muddy and the weak attacks on your samples aren't really helping either. You could have tried to do some interesting things with the guitar, instead of just relying on it for strumming. Other than that, there's just not enough expansion here. It just goes through the melody a few times and ends. That whistle at the end is also horribly out of tune. It sounds like you tried to make this really emotive, but it just came off as lifeless and plodding. You need to spice it up a little. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly has some very emotive songs in its score (i.e. Ecstacy of Gold); if that's what you're trying to emulate, you really should try to go beyond what you've got here. NO

Reverb in the opening causes a lot of dissonant clashing in that analog synth. Drums are too dry and exposed as well. A drone is not a viable bassline in this case. Detache strings are out of place in this soundscape and only show up for a little while before disappearing again. There's just not enough going on here. Apeggiators in the second half were welcome, but they just end up going through the motions like everything else. NO

I was a little iffy with the way this piece was going, but then the congas came in and I was like "oh, hot." This is definitely a Tetris Attack mix though; it's got a very "cute" sound to it, that fits with a Panel de Pon game. Those pizz strings add a nice flavor to the texture. Very dynamic percussion. I like this a lot. Very cool. YES

Swimming in reverb, which I guess makes sense stylistically, but when your piano stuff comes in, it's a little too much residual stuff mixing together. I love the bass in this though. I think you need to expand the arrangement a lot though; you could really nail that 80's B-movie feel if you brought in some percussive ideas (think the drum fill and subsequent pattern from Phil Collins' In the Air Tonight). Evolution in a piece like this is key, and I don't think you have enough yet. Keep at it. NO

Yeah I like this, it's pretty wild, but your is killing me. You need to EQ this shit. I also agree with Andy concerning the rhodes chords; it sounds interesting when it starts, but nothing really locks in with that major sound and it comes off dissonance that doesn't work. NO, resub

That drumloop pretty much killed this song for me by the 1:00 mark. Nice interpretation, but I don't feel like you did enough with it in terms of part-writing. It's all very simple; arpeggios in the harpsichord and some strings on the upbeats. Very boxed in. You used a groovy drumloop; try to bring that rhythm into the rest of the song for something a little more interesting. Not bad, but not great either. NO, resub

Yeah, the drumbeat is obviously a faster loop that's been sliced and tempo-matched; it's pretty repetitive and actually doesn't seem to change at all throughout the piece until halfway through, but then it's just replaced by some more repetitive beats. This whole song sounds pretty stiff and plodding. There's not much interesting stuff going on aside from the stuff during the transitions. The song just sounds like it's on autopilot. NO

Gotta agree with Andy here. I feel like important parts are getting lost in the reverb, namely some of the guitar stuff, and the lead instruments aren't really as defined as they could be. I don't think the strings are working as a good lead; you might be better served with a flute or clarinet; something with the potential to be a little more lyrical in its approach to the melody. The strings at the end especially lose their natural quality, playing far too high for the sample to handle well. Not really a bad piece; it's pleasant sounding, for the most part, but I think you should revisit it and try to tighten up the soundscape and define things a little more. NO, resub

TOO MUCH KOMPRESSOR COMRADE!! D: Yeah this whole mix has a really smushed sound to it and the lead eventually gets lost inside the soundscape, particularly starting around 1:45. I think you'd be better served scaling that back and allowing the instruments to balance a little more naturally. Despite all that, I think this is a pretty awesome track with some wicked phat beats. Yes, I said wicked phat. Pretty epic. EDIT: I initially had a "NO, resub" here, but I think that this mix is really strong in terms of arrangement and composition, so I'm going to just say Conditional YES

NO OVERRIDE isn't valid here. Chord progression is different enough from Pakkabelz' Cannonn to make it a non-issue. You know what? I like this. I think it's a lot of fun, and it's got a pretty good arrangement, given the usual trappings of the genre. The sound design and texture is a little simplistic, but I think there's some synergy here, and some pretty creative parts. I like that little march bit with the Lemmings voices and whistling; pretty cool. Could have done with more harmonic support, but it's not a dealbreaker. YES

Sequencing gets pretty mechanical in the bassline and percussion. It ends up sounding like one of those built-in demos they have on keyboards. The saxophone trying to swing was especially killing me. I think paying more attention to velocities would help with trying to sequence the swing. Accent 2 and 4 and your upbeats. I keep hearing a lot of plodding 1 and 3 and downbeat stuff. The arrangement here is great, but for a song with the word "swing" in the title, it's pretty square, and contrary to what Huey Lewis says, it is not hip to be square. NO, resub

This sounds like the rhythm section is at the front of the stage and all the lead players got shoved to the back corner. They're being drowned out. You need to spotlight those instruments and cut back on the rhythm guitars; they're not as important as they think. Put 'em in their place. I also think that if you're going to start off with an orchestral/rock fusion, don't forget about the orchestral elements in the end of the song. That whole bit at the end with the guitars rocking out (quite well, I should add) is completely devoid of any orchestral elements that you introduced earlier. Is this fusion, or is it not? It sort of messes with the overall textural cohesion of the piece. Let the flute jam out a little, or some harps or strings. What's here isn't bad; it's good, but there are arrangement/balance issues I think you need to address. NO resub

Simply excellent. I'm a big fan of how you mixed piano and synth elements here to create a very unique, cohesive texture. The arrangement is very dynamic and progresses quite nicely. I don't have any problems with this piece. YES

Agreed with Andy. Arrangement is fantastic, but this is really quiet. I love the cello stuff, but I have to turn up my volume just to appreciate it. Conditional YES - Fix volume please.

Rhythm guitar sounds crunched up. I hear what AnSo means about it missing important frequencies. Dunno what's up with that. The synth does take up a lot space, like Andy said. Might be worth it to balance things out a little more. Great arrangement though, don't change anything about that. Conditional YES - Work on levels, balance, and EQ.

A lot of the other joojes covered most of my gripes (like the simplicity in the writing and the thinness of the synths), so there's not much more to say aside from "where's the bassline?" There are some places where you start dropping some classy beats, but there's no meaty bassline to play with that. I think that it's hurting this piece. This is so close to a YES for me, but I think with a few tweaks this track could really shine. NO

You must not have ever played with me.

An instrumental version of "Reset" is used in-game. It's one of the themes in the ending sequences. It's also what McVaffe remixed.

Alright, you need to stop asking these questions all in one thread. Please take it to the remixing forum and provide some details about your problem: what kind of hardware are you using, what programs are you using to record, etc. etc.

No. Fuck medleys. We don't need that shit.

Actually, let's be totally honest here. This particular arrangement is about 70% Sixto, 30% me. Sixto deserves a lot more props on this song than I do. I suppose I should link the original arrangement I did. Get your tortilla chips out people, 'cause this is pure cheese: Sonic the Hedgehog - Melted Marble

1. It's a blurry line. Generally speaking, we're looking for something cohesive; stay away from medleys and develop your musical ideas. 2. There is no tried and true method. Everyone has their own preferred workflow. Just find whatever works for you. 3. Yes.

Threads about games belong in Community. Moved. And yes, Okami rox.