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Everything posted by DarkeSword
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Yeah. It's the same 2 bar motif played over and over again with some embellishments. Nice piano, but seriously, a 1:15 arrangement isn't going to cut it, especially with so little source material you're working with. NO
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*NO* Famicom Detective Club 2 'Start Investigation'
DarkeSword replied to djpretzel's topic in Judges Decisions
I don't think those are trip-hop beats. I think they're just regular old boring beats with too much reverb on them. This arrangement is boring. I'm already 2:30 into it and nothing new has happened at all. The percussion is repetitive, the soundscape is barren, and the instruments are playing the same thing over and over again. This piece uses about 1 minute's worth of material to fill up nearly 6. NO -
It really sounds a lot like BGM music you'd hear in a PS2 version of FFVII; that is to say, while it sounds good and is enjoyable to listen to, it lacks the sophistication a standalone orchestral piece needs. The samples are nice, the balance is right, and the production is good. The arrangement, however, isn't really compelling. It's going through the motions. It doesn't rise, it doesn't fall. The dynamics for MOST of the song are pretty much the same thoughout. It's a great start, but I want to see more development from you. NO
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For some reason, this piece never really comes together for me. There's a lack of energy here; I can't place my finger on it, but I think that it might be that there's no strong melodic hook to really draw the listener in. The arrangement really meanders and the different parts never come together to make a strong melodic statement. The piece sounds like it's leading upto something, but it never really gets there. I don't mind the samples so much; piano is nice, and the bassline is really well written. The acoustic guitar's sample does sound a bit thin. Overall I think the entire mix lacks warmth and energy. The lack of could be due to the kind of reverb you've used, but I'm fairly sure that the lack of energy is because of the way the different parts are interacting, or rather, not interacting. It doesn't feel like these parts are written with other parts in mind. There's a lot of embellishment without a lot to embellish. I'm gonna say NO on this one. The arrangement is...the best word I can think of is "cautious;" it's afraid to make a strong statement. Source material like this needs that, I think.
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OCR01463 - Grandia II "A Deus ex Harpa (Second Seal Mix)"
DarkeSword replied to djpretzel's topic in ReMix Reviews & Comments
What part of the theme is "occasional?" The only truly original melodic part in the entire song is the 16 measure section at 1:44. Everything else is A Deus. -
Super Street Fighter II Turbo: Blood on the Asphalt - History
DarkeSword replied to Shael Riley's topic in Projects
Moved to Site Projects. -
Well the judges have a soundclick account we use to get files hosted on soundclick, but it's always better to just host on some free webspace that allows direct linking. Angelfire is usually good enough, as long as you're not sharing that link with anyone else.
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All of the SITE HELP threads should go in site projects, technically, but I'm going to wait until the vB switch to do the actual move. For now we'll leave in General.
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Can we cut down on threadbloat plz? I'm not saying don't have fun...just be a bit more judicious with your posting.
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Aw please, Jill. I didn't stop because of being "forced" to. I've had (and still have) other stuff to do, also I know when to stop. Not to mention that I have a life "outside" of OCR. However this is something that you still have to learn in your young life. Happy birthday anyway. Your condescending attitude is neither needed nor wanted. Don't post in this thread again.
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Milky Way Wishes: A Kirby Super Star Tribute - History
DarkeSword replied to Arek the Absolute's topic in Projects
I'll strip powers from the both of you if you don't cut it out. -
OCR01468 - *YES* Lufia 'Metastatic Bloodline'
DarkeSword replied to djpretzel's topic in Judges Decisions
The drums are fine in the context of the song. Really, what are you expecting? I don't think that any of the problems cited are really so much of an issue that it kills the viability of the song as an OC ReMix. Maybe this isn't my strong genre, but I think that this sounds fine. I like the arrangement and I like the performance. Swing section is a nice change up. This is a solid piece of work. It's a good track. YES -
Question from newbie.
DarkeSword replied to The Unsung Plumber's topic in Music Composition & Production
A lot of people have differing opinions, but coming from someone with a lot of experience with music, I would definitely suggest learning some basic music theory. Learn about notes, chords, what a 'key' is, the different kinds of meter (or 'time signatures'). That stuff is really essential in learning how to write most kinds of music (including electronic genres). Piano lessons are a good way to learn about these things. As a side note, rather than thinking about starting to "remix," you should just focus on learning how to write music. One of the best things you can do is to write original music. It teaches you how to construct a song and what goes into writing different parts. -
OCRA-0006 - Chrono Trigger: Chrono Symphonic
DarkeSword replied to Claado Shou's topic in Album Reviews & Comments
IP check isn't necessary, but Ramirez's review was moved to Abuse. If you're going to review something, go ahead and review it intelligently. Insulting remixers won't get you anywhere. Review the music, not the people, please. -
Hey, pu_freak. If you're not going to post anything constructive, don't post in this thread.
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OCR01473 - *YES* Super Metroid 'Brinstar Bonsai Garden'
DarkeSword replied to djpretzel's topic in Judges Decisions
Hey they used the source tune of this for Torvus Temple in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Oh man, this is so slick. I love the flute/string harmonies and that bassline. Comping piano is excellent. Great implementation of electronic elements too. Some of the instrumentation may come off as gratuitous, like the asian instrument around halfway through, but I didn't have a problem. Nice concept, good execution. Cool. YES -
OCR01471 - *YES* Chrono Trigger 'Chronodyne Marine'
DarkeSword replied to djpretzel's topic in Judges Decisions
Nice. I remember when you showed this to me on IRC. This reminds me SOOOooo much of AE's stuff. Lots of thick, wild synthy shit. Awesome texture, awesome arrangement. Drums are win. I wish the synth guitar lead wasn't so fakey though. It'd be nice to get a live one in there. Either way, it's not a deal-breaker. YES -
I wish you had better high string samples. Anyway, the arrangement is (still) good, but the production is (still) lacking. The song still sounds empty, and there's a log of unnecessary reverb that makes everything sound wet. Combined with the sparse instrumentation and the poor string sequencing, the song doesn't quite execute the concept well enough. NO
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Not much else to say. NO
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zomg reverb Please tone that down a bit man, the reverb is making stuff bleed together way too much. I realize you're going for that full, spacey sound, but this is not working. Decays are too long. Arrangement gets old fast; please spice that up with some changeups in the accompniment. It's so repetitive. NO
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You would have done better to can the click track altogether. Nice guitar, but that percussion is ridiculous. The fact that I can hardly hear the kick (yes I know it's there) doesn't help. This thing is begging for a proper bossa nova percussion part. NO RESUB
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Sounds muffly. The violins don't work the way you're trying to use them; they come off sounding too thick and resonant. Plus they have a weak attack so it sounds like "....uuUHHH....uuUHHH....uuUHHH....uuUHHH." Not so nice. Yeah, it's pretty much the original with drumbeats and some new sounds. Work on arrangement and production. NO
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*NO* Sonic & Knuckles 'Speed Battery (RockHound) Double Act'
DarkeSword replied to djpretzel's topic in Judges Decisions
At first I thought I was listening to that "Loose Control" song from Rang de Basanti, but alas it was not meant to be. Things started out nicely, but when the melody came in, everything got way too busy. Nice ideas with that defiltering stuff, but the rest of the song was a disappointement too. The leads you've chosen for this song don't sound too great; they don't work really well with the other sounds. I could be wrong, but I get the feeling that you've just used sytrus presets for your sounds here. Nothing wrong with that, but sometimes it pays to take a greater hand in the sound design. Needs a sound overhaul; cleaner sounds that work better together, along with some adjustments to your composition so that things don't start sounding crazy busy. NO -
*NO* Space Harrier 2 'Illusions of Grandeur'
DarkeSword replied to djpretzel's topic in Judges Decisions
Those strings remind me of Mark Vera's Star Orion. <3 It's like this song is trying to be spacesynth, but doesn't quite make it. The lead is overpowering everything and the drums are pretty basic. Towards the end it really just starts repeating itself. Needs more variation and attention paid to balancing elements of the song. NO -
*NO* Legend of Legaia 'My Little Jeremi'
DarkeSword replied to djpretzel's topic in Judges Decisions
This song is really lacking in humanization. Everything is like...set to one velocity value throughout the entire song. Sax sounds really mechanical as does the piano. Drums are great, but it's obvious that that's what you really spent most of your time on. The rest of the mix is pretty boring, and that ending is just a cop out. Sounds like an unfinished WIP. NO edit: haha i said unfinished wip. redundancy ftw