DarkeSword

Not bad at all. Good part-writing throughout. A little punchy for my tastes. It's doing this thing where so many of your instruments feel like they're staccato and marcato, from percussion to strings to brass. To be honest the whole piece gets pretty tiring, constantly hammering away at my ears at that plodding pace. I'm not sure if that's a good enough reason to vote NO. I feel like the mix has a good arrangement with expansive, interpretive ideas and good execution of that, but I also I'm really not a huge fan of the instrumentation and performance choices. I'm on the borderline, but I can't decide either way. Gonna wait for other Js to hit this before I vote.

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I'm really not feeling this. Maybe it's the source, which I don't find appealing at all, but there's not a whole lot of variation in this track aside from some arbitrary instrumentation changes throughout. I don't feel like there's any form to this piece; it just sort of adapts the source in a very straightforward way with some very basic, mediocre sounds. There's also a lot of back-and-forth hard-panning going on in the leads, which is just just distracting. There's a lot you could do with a groove-based source like this, but playing it straight isn't the right approach I think. If you're looking to accentuate the source, you need to focus in on the strong rhythmic qualities the source has and kick those up to another level. Right now this sounds like a sound upgrade. Not feelin' it. NO

I need to get this out of the way first before I say anything else. That grace-note in the oboe at :33 is awful. It really exposes the fake-ness of the sample and to be honest I don't think any oboe player would ever make that choice to add that kind of grace note. Oof. Alright then. The rest of the track isn't so bad. The arrangement is very dynamic, with a lot of push and pull. I really like the faster section. However, the execution leaves something to be desired. I feel like this whole piece sounds very mushy; the reverb seems to be making this track sound really hazy and unclear. I realize that you're going for that big orchestra sound, but you need to take a look at your mixing. Maybe some other Js can provide some more in-depth advice as to what's going on here. Needs work. NO, resub

Painfully short, don't you think? I mean it's nice sounding, but I feel like it's the start of something. Also agree with Enumator; it's a pretty straightforward take but I'm not hearing a lot of development of the piece. Needs more. You got the chops, now let's hear something more substantial! NO, resub

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Nope, we're never ever going to do this. From the FAQ:

I don't really hear this as all that chaotic; high-energy perhaps, with a lot of syncopation, but it's pretty straightforward. I think Kris's source breakdown is pretty spot on, and I can hear the source all over this track so I'm not too worried about source usage. Nice effects and some pretty energetic part-writing. Kris might be right on possibly needing a break somewhere; this goes pretty hard all the way through, but I think you manage it pretty well. Nothing sticking out as bad here. I think it's a pretty solid track. YES

I love how that chippy synth comes in right on top of the acoustic guitar right at the start. Really digging how all these different instruments are melding together. Guitars, synths, flute, percussion...WOW. This is absolutely fantastic. I love the seamless doubletime feel at 1:58. Such a natural progression into that quicker feel. Flute sequencing is really great, IMO. Arrangement is awesome. Excellent development throughout, great performances from the guitarists, and a great texture all around. YES

There are some REALLY weird things going on harmonically here. I feel like you're not matching the chords up with what's going on in your background arp at certain points, and it sounds off. Some odd sound design choices too. I mean it's all produced well enough, but the synths and pads you've chosen are so smeary and mushy at times that things sort of meld together. There's also some pretty boring lead writing going on. It feels like the lead is just hitting some notes for the sake of hitting some notes, but I'm not really feeling any kind of melodic expression on the original stuff. Not really feeling this at all. Not sure what else to say. NO

Man I love these tracks that just commit so hard to being happy and upbeat. Really loving this one all around. AWESOME performances, especially the guitar solos. Clapping actually sounds a little strange, but I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it. Saxophone stuff makes it feel like something from the early 90s, in really good, nostalgic way. Awesome stuff. YES

I feel like the guitars are just filling up the entire space here, and then you have these elements like the flute and wind stuff that's just sort of trying to push through but can't really. Drums also feel like they're getting lost underneath the guitars, and whatever is there just feels like it's on autopilot. Arrangement and approach is nice, but there are balance issues here that you need to address. NO, resub

OMG the panning in this track... I gotta say there there's a ton of great ideas in here, but there are some issues that are holding it back. For one, you've got that lead at 1:47 that's just too loud; needs to scale back and bit and maybe you want to play around with the sound on the lead to make it a little more interesting. Then again, knowing the source, I can kind of tell what you're doing with it. The low piano playing the lead is also really problematic. It's really low, hard-panned, and also sounds really dry. It's not sitting in the mix at all. You really need to revisit that part and punch it up; I know you can do it because there's some really great part-writing here already, especially in the synth line. You've got to pull some of your tracks back to the center a little bit; the hard-panning is really distracting. I think this mix has a lot of potential but there are a lot of issues too. I wouldn't mind seeing this on OCR after you go back and do some revisions and rewrites. Hopefully you can throw this on the Post Your Mixes forum and get some good feedback. NO, resub

I think it's pretty great. Strong, consistent production throughout the track. Lots of little embellishments to keep things fresh, without getting carried away. Some really great syncopated bits. Also a pretty seamless integration of the two sources. Love it. I do hear what Kris is talking about with the length; around 4:30 it might be getting a little long. Still, excellent mix. YES

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That's what we're doing. Believe me, we're already way ahead of you on this.

Ezio's Family has to be the most heartbreaking VGM ever. Arrangement/performance/overall production is insanely good. Agree on the vocal levels but whatcha gonna do? This is fantastic. YES

Wow listen to that hard panning. Really crazy. I feel like there's a bit there where it's switching back and forth with every other note. Larry pretty much nailed every issue I have with this. Really mechanical, weird production decisions. Needs work. NO

Kris nailed it in her vote. The texture is nice, in a sort of inoffensive plain way, but there are so many instances of things just sort of coasting along. Kris is right in that you need to have sounds evolve more. I also thought it was a little strange that you went for 2+ minutes without even using the melody of the source track. If the track was really long I could understand holding off on that and then pushing that in and letting it sort of spiral through the rest of the track, but here's the track is already have done. A strange choice; not bad, I just don't really get it. Not really feeling this. Needs work. NO

This is so weirdly cheerful. Great performances all around though. Pretty creative take on the sources. I like it. YES

Washed out is right. Wow. There also seems to be no bassline to speak of. Love the source tune and the genre adaptation idea isn't bad, but this thing is drowning in reverb and the arrangement is just way too conservative. Needs to go back to the drawing board I think. Clearer soundscape and a more personalized take on the source. NO

I really like the arrangement but there's a huge issue here with the whole thing sounds over-compressed; it's very apparently in any section with the acoustic drums. You really need to ease off on that. I would love to say YES to this but this feels like a dealbreaker to me. Really would love this track on OCR but you gotta take a look at that compression. NO, resub

Not really feeling this at all. It's a very mechanical, conservative take on the source. The pan-flute is getting lost in those low strings as well, which are inexplicably panned to the right. I see what you're trying to do here but the execution is really lacking. Adapting such an energetic track to something so much slower really requires a very emotive performance, and that's just not coming across here. NO

I played so much K64 back in the day. Love the choice of source. I'm also a huge sucker for time signature adaptations. This is absolutely fantastic. I love the whole approach here, really emotive and lovely. Fantastic performance too. Absolutely YES.

I can see what some of you guys are saying about production issues, but none of it feels like a dealbreaker to me. I think this is a really solid take on a tough source. Very groovy piece with some great part-writing. I'm diggin' it. YES!