DarkeSword

I've listened to this mix over and over again, and I have to say, that while it's pleasant enough, it's really not very interesting. Basically, as Prot said, the piece lacks the crucial 'human touch' that a solo piano piece simply MUST have. If you're going to do a piano piece, I would suggest playing it live; this sounds very sequenced. NO

This is Squidfont, however, it's not Squidfont used really well. The strings sound really lo-fi and filtered; sounds like you used those combination string section sounds at the end of the bank. The flute really goes out of tune at the higher register, sometimes it gets rather painful. Also, the horn seems to have no attention paid to velocities on it; it sounds very static and lifeless. I caution you when using Squidfont; it's not really much good for anything aside from strings, and you should always try to use the individual strings and build your string textures from there; aside from that, most of the other samples have intonation and clarity issues. As for the arrangement, I really don't find it very compelling; not much more than sustained strings with a flute and harp playing over it. The harp work in this song is the only real thing thats commendable. And that ending just cuts off; no resolution, no build, nothing. This piece really lacks any kind of tension and resolve that's so important in an orchestral piece. It meanders and repeats, and I cannot, for the life of me, understand the other judges' YES sentiments. NO

Ladies and Gentlemen, the wingless. Is that a YES vote from you Gray? Because I'm about to NO this. I agree with the lack of continuity sentiments by other judges. While I can see what Wingless is talking about with the stream-of-conciousness idea, I really don't think it's pulled off very well. There's too much repetition for a real tone-poem kind of stream-of-conciousness arrangement, but at the same time, the whole thing comes off much too simplistic to be of any real interest. Arrangement is sparse. There's a nice texture here too, but I think that the piano is just too damn bright. Now, I'll admit I'm a bit biased against brighter sounding pianos (OHNOES JUJDES BIASZZ!!~1!), but in this context it's just very out of place. Something warmer and darker would be much more appropriate and expressive than the metallic sound of that piano. NO

I agree. However, for this particular piece, I think there's enough substance and variation here to warrant a yes. The style is kind of crazy, but the piece manages to stay coherent at the same time. I really like how it switches back and forth from acoustic to electronic. It's short, yes, but it's still sweet, and it gets the job done. YES

I don't know if Shael's already used two fallthroughs or not; perhaps we should keep a running list. Anyway, here: I'm going to go with a NO here. The beat's not bad, but that lead has GOT to go. It's got a really lo-fi sound that just carries throughout the mix. I was waiting for something cleaner and clearer to bust in and break down the melody with some interpretation. As it stands though, there's not much going for this song aside from the beats. Not a lost cause at all, but I think it really needs more work. Sorry man. NO

Christ. A soundfont is a specific sample format developed by Creative Labs for use with MIDI data. A soundfont can have multiple patches available in one file, and can be velocity layered and multisampled. Now can we please the keep the discussion in here about FL? Thanks.

The concept is definitely there, but the execution is a bit lacking. Like malcos mentioned, the tonal stuff is kinda weak soundwise. FL's 'limited' library is no excuse. I use FL along with external sounds and get fantastic results. It's a VERY chill beat you've got, with a nice style, but there are some wonky tonality and intonation issues around the end. Perhaps cleaner samples/synth that allow more control over the polyphony would help. Sounds like you're using synths that have preset 5ths or 7ths (etc) in there. It's my experience that writing the harmony explicitly is better than relying on the synth to do so. (I could be wrong about this however; in which case forget I said anything). Anyway, NO, but pretty strong. I'd say go for a resubmit.

Very edgy and clean. Interpretation is there, execution is there. I like it. YES

Issues are fixed. No problems here. YES Kudos to Fray for taking suggestions in stride and to heart.

Awesome work man. I really enjoyed this. Submit more!

Zyko is egyptian.

I really wish that bassline would change up once in a while. That and the drums. However, this does have a nice sound to it. I'm not a big fan of the lyrics or how they sound (sounds like tiny room reverb), but I can see how people would enjoy something like this. Pretty intense; not my cup of tea, but not bad. YES

Okay guys. So this is a piece that got rejected by the panel shortly before I joined. I took some suggestions to heart and added some stuff I had wanted to do in the first iteration but didn't get a chance to. Here's the song: It's a remix of Zero's Themes from MMX1-3, using the X2 Zero Theme as the basis. I hope you at least enjoy.

Lets close this out, shall we? I fail to find the 'raw energy' Danny B mentions. This piece felt rather drab to me. The super old-school sounds weren't bad, but they sounded rather dry. Percussion didn't really do much to build any kind of momentum or tension either; while the patterns changed, the basic feel remained thougout. Pretty boring if you ask me. NO

Piano is so mechanical it hurts. Percussion is repetitive, and the bassline really sounds like something that would be ripped straight from the game. There are no highs and lows to this piece, really. It just keeps going with those eighth note intervals over and over without amounting to much. NO

Um, if you're not going to ask or answer a question, please don't post in the thread.

The opening sound reminds me of the Emperor of Balladry from Treasure Hunter G; nice glassy sound. However, everything in this sounds very faraway and distant. The reverb might be a bit much. Vig said cavernous, but for me it's just hollow and thin sounding. Aside from that, the arrangement is really repetitive. Voices are layered over eachother at different times, but it doesn't really seem like there's much interpretation here; mostly lines lifted out of the MIDI. While this isn't a rip, I wish you'd take some more chances with a song like this. An interesting sound, but my vote is NO.

OMG PROT UR THE SUCK! So yeah, I'm in agreement with Prot's points. Not long enough for what it attempts to accomplish, and rather boring and dissonant; not in that cool artistic way, but in that wrong-notes kind of way. NO

I really wish there was more to this. It's definitely trance; no question about that, but what I'm say is that all there really is to this is the lead, the bass, and the percussion. As a result, it comes off sounding very empty. It's also repetitive; its the same filter/defilter over and over again. NO

I judged this for IMC18. I ranked it first. Here's what I wrote: So yeah, aside from the minor repetitiveness, I like it. YES

It seems to me that once the shoomp-tss percussion starts going, the piece doesn't really develop into anything substantial. Some string work might have been appropriate, or perhaps bringing that organ back for some more in-depth organ work; but really, this came off a bit boring. The ending was kinda weak too. NO

"Several effects" doesn't begin to describe it. Anyway, like Vig said, musical parts are pretty weak. Everything feels like its in the same range, except for the pizzacato strings. Basically, if I took out the sound effects from this song, the mix would be pretty weak. The arrangement isn't all that interesting, and everything seems to be crammed into the low side of the pyramid of sound. That means this song is a bit gimmicky. NO, but I encourage you to work on musical aspects and resubmit.

RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE!!! This is sure to be a cult classic. Seriously though, what's up with the cheesy delayed voices and distorted laughing in the middle? Is this characteristic of metal? Anyway, guitar playing is nice I guess, but a bit mufflely with the cheesy amp-reverb. I'm going to borderline YES this, but if any judge can convince me otherwise, I'm changing my vote. I'm convinced. NO

I found this mix to be pretty uninteresting. The synths were typical and the arrangement felt like it was dragging a bit. Kudos for using trumpet in a dance mix, but shame on you for using such a terrible sample. Percussion was very boring too, which was a bit disappointing, because there were some interesting sounds in the intro. NO

Not bad as far as electronica goes, but it's still a fairly "bmmtss" arrangement of Aya's Theme. I kept waiting for the crazy-sick breakdown, but all I got was the same stuff over and over again. Not bad but unremarkable all the same. NO