Sir_NutS

I like this a lot. It's funny, and clowny as you said. Very quirky stuff that worked for me, lots of different instruments that you would think would be messy to have them together but it somehow works here. The samples aren't the best 100% of the time but for the most part I think they are somewhere around the bar, maybe slightly lower. My main gripe is the arrangement, which... there's not much of it. Sounds a lot like the original, instruments and all, and there's not a lot of interpretation going on. Since this remix follows very closely the original thematically, there's no adaptation to be talked about here. This needs to be expanded further to make it for me. Also an upgrade in the intrument quality/sequencing would be welcomed. NO

Good arrangement, starts conservative but builds up over time, soloing was great!. I'm ok with this arrangement-wise, but the mix is not good production-wise. It all sounds very muffled and muddy, a lot of mid-low frequency content, lead guitars are drowning in the mix, lacking clarity. This needs a second pass production-wise to clear the mix, separate the elements, and give it some air and brightness. I do want to see this back in the panel with fixes though. NO (resubmit)

Looking good so far. I would say having the soundcloud/youtube links below the avatar picture would be excellent. Even a small reddit-like flair would be neat too.

A videogame community giving nostalgia a lot of weight is not unreasonable. That's what we live for!

I would say things like Discourse or Reddit are more productive to discussions in a conversational format, as every conversation and reply is nested, whereas in a forum format, someone might reply to something you said like 2 pages ago in the middle of a conversation between 3 other people, not to mention the posts filled with quotes and whatnot.

Great stuff, that piano performance is lovely. Bluelighter's music is always interesting as he likes to pull the sources into interesting places, and this one is no different, showing mastery on harmonizing your leads melodies on the piano as well as showing a fairly deep dynamic range, emphasizing the difference between the energetic vs calm/pensive parts. Really not much to add here, just beautiful stuff from an artist that just keeps growing. YES

Rama is on the ball here. Look, I'm one of the oldest members around here, been using the forums since they were a thing. But things are changing, and just like physical letters, forums are very niche nowadays. And even the forums that are still up with a strong community, have streamlined things a long time ago, so forums themselves are a different beast than what they were a few years ago. I'm hoping the admins can still find a way allow for personalization of their posts, or some way for people to show their art that fits better with a modern design. Even though forums are largely dead, I still appreciate that we have them here still, and I appreciate also any attempt at streamlining/modernizing them.

Hey @ad.mixx, not an admin here but it seems like I completely missed this project. I would be interested in doing a track for this, if it's decided that the project should go forward.

Amazing work here, those chugs man, I need a new face. Excellent performances, and great production. Yes, there's a but, sadly: it's a medley. Each song is played one after the other without interaction between the themes, and the structure is not that of unique arrangement with climaxes, verses, etc, but just different songs chained together. This will obliterate necks for sure but not it's not for OCR. NO

Jazzy vibes right from the start with those chords. Super smooth vibes all around, and an excellent arrangement to go with it. I can hear the original, but you included a lot of twists and surprises that kept me on my toes. I feel like no instrument here went into the final mix without detailing (sometimes extensive, as with the drumming). The structure breaks plenty of times and switches gears from energetic to soothing. The track is mixed well, so I have no qualms with the production. Overall an eclectic mix of forms and styles that works great. As Brad said, this is an easy vote and a recommended listen from me. YES

Man, what a cool adaptation. The lullaby feeling is mostly gone here in this folksy take, and it's for the better in my opinion. Great performances all around, love the accordion here, it fits even more when you think a lot of SM64 use this instrument. The mix is clean and instruments feel separated and mixed cohesively. I feel the tempo could be faster here as some sections feel like they are plodding through but it's not a deal breaker for me. As the mix progresses, more layers keep being added until the climax, and I didn't feel the mix got cluttered so kudos there. There's only one issue here and it's the overall volume is way too low. This should be an easy fix and I'm going to request this to be addressed before it goes up, but I'm onboard with this one. YES (Conditional on levels)

The MM5 OST is on the top 3 for me when it comes to classic mega man games, unpopular opinion maybe but yeah. I think this arrangement is a pretty simple take, and it needs more work to make it on the site. The beat is lacking punch, and the instruments as a whole feel buried in the mix somehow. The mix is lacking a bit of brightness too. There are some really fun bits here, I love the 3:36 section, very inventive change to the original that helps break things up and is kinda hype, but sadly the instrumentation is not helping it have the punch it really should have. Overall the sounds feel a bit too vanilla. The arrangement is not too expansive, and the added pad lines towards the end sound dissonant against the original arrangement in the foreground. I think you have good ideas here but you need to up your production and arrangement game. This was fun, but it's not quite there for OCR. I see potential though. NO

I've been coming back and forth on this one since it reached the panel. The mastering has pretty obvious issues, it's loud and it clips. The bass is overpowering. There's a crunchy quality a lot of the instruments share here which is up to taste, I don't think it breaks the track but it can be too much when there's so much crunch going around all the time. Some instruments could use better humanization, I hear the piano playing the same velocities for long sections of the track, i.e. I do hear some detailing done with the instruments but it's not enough. I liked the arrangement but the biggest issue here is production, and I believe this needs a second pass. I think this will be front page material after that, you're pretty close. NO (resubmit)

We've been harping on volume issues in Rebecca's tracks for a while now, and I'm glad she's taking the advice to heart, but things went slightly far to the other side on this one. The trick with compression for these types of organic tracks is subtlety and not dialing in too much of it, and I think this one would be much cleaner and better with less compression. Specially the cymbals here have a long release due to reverb and its natural release envelope and it's triggering the compressor in a way that makes the mix sound too processed. Compression also brings out stuff that's not necessarily intended to be heard or to be upfront, and it's causing the mix to sound cluttered. It's bringing up some of the mud in the low/low-mids as well. There are moments such as around 3:32 where I can hear some ducking tho I'm not exactly sure if it's due to the mastering. I liked the mix of glitch elements with the organic arrangement, they aren't upfront but add a lot of detail and personality to the arrangement. The arrangement is sweet and detailed as usual. Tough decision here. I'm going to let this one through, as I think the mastering issues don't really bring the whole track down, it's just that it would be so much better with a cleaner mix. It's a very close call and I could see this one not making it. YES (Borderline)

I really like the idea here but the execution is lacking. First, this track's volume is too low... again. Recurring issue here, not gonna dwell much on it but I hope future subs don't have this. Your vocals are pretty good! unfortunately there are indeed a lot of moments where the pitch drifts off and takes me out of the zen state that this track gives me. Other than the voice, there's not a lot to find here, some windchimes glissandos and pads/drones without much change in tone. I like the textures a lot though. I feel like if the vocals were less pitchy and the rest of the arrangement more substantial I would pass this as the concept is something I really enjoyed. There's not much rearrangement to speak of as the main melody is sung with no modifications. I would have liked to hear some subtle doubling on the vocals to accentuate some phrases and also change things up. In addition, the issue of the track being too quiet is going to push me for a rejection sadly. NO

Sort of a cinematic/trailer take on the original. Seems like you have some good samples in there but they're not used to their full extent. It's pretty robotic all the way, specially in the last section before the organ/piano part. Regarding the source, it's there and easily identifiable for me, but I feel like much more could've been done with it. This arrangement is too short to showcase any arrangement ideas, and a lot of the parts from the original were left behind and they could've been used to expand onto this. Overall this feels like a trailer for the real arrangement. The sequencing of the parts need more subtlety and the arrangement needs expansion to be considered for the site. NO

A bit overcompressed to my ears but solid stuff. Punchy drums and good, surprising arrangement ideas. I like how the original is expanded and soloed heavily over this EDM background, something you don't usually see in submissions for this genre. The only main gripe here for me is repetition in everything but the main lead, it feels like everything else but that remains pretty static. The only change I can hear is the addition of pads/strings in some of the verses. Tough one. There are breaks in the repetition, and they're done in interesting ways, but it feels like for the most part the rest of the track is on auto-pilot. I do think the extensive expansion on the original by way of the main lead synth balances out the repetition but it's a close call on whether this brings it over the bar. For me, I'm willing to give this a go as I really never felt the repetition brought down the entire track even if it did get boring for a few measures. YES (Borderline)

An improvement for sure, and I'm happy that you took the advice and tried to act on it. But there are still some issues left (and new issues) here. First, the balance is off. The hi-hats and snare are too bright and lack punch and the whole track feels like it has all the mids carved out. This makes the atmosphere feel empty even when it's not the case as there are more than a couple of layers going on at the same time. I think your bass suffers a lot from this lack of low-mids as it just sounds like it's overlapping itself in a ball of low frequency mud. I think you could probably replace the current bassline with just legato notes for the majority of the track and there won't be much difference because the bass is just melting into itself and the notes can't punch through. You need your bass to punch through in electronic music. I know the bass previously had this ugly tone and you tried changing that, but now it's just lost. Your snare also needs help to punch through. Don't make the mistake of removing lows from a snare, you need them! the lows carry the punch of the snare, and yeah you can cut or attenuate frequencies that will interfere with the bass and kick (Usually below 150 hz or so) but stuff around 200hz and above, you need it. It's different for each sample and pitch so I can't get into specifics but try finding the low peak of your snare, and give it a small boost. It doesn't need to BOOM like a synthwave or dubstep track but you need its presence to be felt, not necessarily heard. Alternatively, reducing the highs (which there are plenty here) and then slightly bumping up the volume can have a similar and less texture-changing effect. The track however has a cleaner sound to it and the sound quality overall has improved. I still think the interpretative parts are leaning towards being noodly rather than expressive, and I still think the lead synth could be slightly quieter. Anyways, you definitely have less issues to deal with this time around, but they are still significant. My advice here would be that if you're really feeling this one, give it another go but don't get stuck with this one, as trying new things will help you grow more. NO

I was torn on this one on the first listen but after a couple listens more I think I'm digging this one. The arrangement here is very, very minimal, and the centerpiece of this mix are the vocals. This is a very risky thing to do and I've seen many mixes get rejected because the main element in a minimal mix is not strong enough I do think the vocals are strong enough to carry the song, coupled with some short cameos from other instruments to switch things up a little. The constant didgeridoo drone didn't get old for me, as it changed its dynamics to reflect and complement the rest of the arrangement (well, mostly the vocals here). The vocals get a bit muddied up with all the reverb but I think they would sound a bit out of place and less dreamy otherwise. I do have to stress once again how low the volume on this one is. I don't know why there's so much headroom here but this is a recurring issue. Again, we don't ask for songs (specially ones with such a calm, soothing feel) to be mastered to get the last possible ounce of headroom like an EDM mix but this is the other extreme. I'm afraid this time I'm gonna have to ask for a fix. Lovely arrangement, lovely vocals (I don't really take as much issue with the pronunciations as Prophetik does, if at all), and really lovely atmosphere, I think this might grow on me to be one of my favorites from Rebecca, but we need the volume raised on this one so it's not vastly different from the other mixes on the site. EDIT: 10/06/2020 SO, the updated file is still quiet, and it's been too long since I listened to the previous version to compare but I'm not straining to hear the tracks' elements with this version. I think the volume could be pushed a bit further without marring the ambience and soul of the track but this is ok. YES

wow I really like the groove here, classic house-y vibe, reminds me of summer parties in the 90s. Sadly, the groove stays too static for way too long. By the time I reached the second half of the song it was already getting very old. The hi-hats feel too high-frequency heavy and a bit too loud as well, they dominate the mix too much. The sections get really busy as well, between the sampled effects, the beat, and several layers of instruments, it gets really chaotic at points (i.e. last section with the soloing ep and panning clavinet plus everything else). The arrangement is ok, just a bit basic. I think it could be expanded more, maybe using some of the sections that were left unused from the original. Overall this feels too loopy, the sampled FX are overused and the mix needs polishing and cleanup, production wise. This would sound like something you would hear in a modern sonic game if it was cleaner (reminds me of the sonic advance soundtracks) . NO

Love the warm synths here, they're silky smooth and just lovely. The drums are minimal but well sequenced and fit the rest of the textures very well. Heavy use of filters everywhere, and some effects like the initial bitcrunch on the drums. The mix is clean and I don't hear any issues that would drag the overall song down. The adaptation is great, fits the new genre and tone like a glove. The arrangement is ok but nothing super deep or complex. The ending was the biggest letdown here, very sudden and unfulfilling. So the only major issue I have with this one is the ending, and it's almost making me send this back but after a few listens, I think the rest of the track makes up for it and overall is a very well developed track that doesn't want to assault your senses but rather bring you into a pleasant experience. I need to repeat that I love the overall warm/analog feeling of everything, it's just so nice. So I think this will look pretty good in our frontpage and it will please a lot of FFXI fans as well. YES

Oof, I'm torn on this one. The arrangement is sweet, it's conservative but the adaptation and small changes in structure and sequencing did help distance it from the original. It's debatable whether it's enough tho. The production has some issues. I didn't think they were deal-breaking until I heard the harpsichord. When it started playing a leading role, it immediately caught my attention, it's so stiff it really separates itself from the rest of the instruments which are well sequenced IMO. I don't want to sound mean but I felt like I had switched to listening to a midi arrangement when the harpsichord came into play. It doesn't help when the other elements in the track are subdued in this section, exposing the harpsichord even more. There's also a bit too much low end and reverb applied to that low end in this track. Like I said, I'm torn. I think the rest of the track is passable but the harpsichord section (and to a lesser degree, the frequency balance of the entire mix in regards to the low end) really brings the whole thing down for me. I'm not sure this is over the bar and I feel I would really question the decision if I saw this on the frontpage as a listener. It's a very tough decision, but I think it's a NO (resubmit)

I'm hearing distortion on this one, the track might be clipping. I found it to be a bit static throughout and with some vanilla sounds that could use some spicing up (mostly the supersaw chords sound a bit dry). The drums are a bit loopy as well. Some sections sound pretty barren and I feel like the transitions could use some work... for example towards the end the drums just kinda start and stop, giving this feeling that the section is unfinished or unpolished. The arrangement is ok albeit the grooves can get repetitive. overall I don't think this is ready for the front page, it needs another mastering pass to keep the peaks under control, and the palette needs some love so it doesn't sound as vanilla. Ditto with the arrangement which needs to be less static IMO. NO

Dustin I think your music is getting better and better with each sub. I like the power metal take here, the adaptation is great, the energy is decidedly powerful (no pun intended) and the new arrangement parts fit like a glove. I think an area of improvement still could be production, as I think this submission lacks a bit of air and sounds a touch muffled but nothing to make me want to send this back. I feel a highlight with this one was the break 2:00. It was unexpected, very well executed and just sweet. It's not groundbreaking, but shows Dustin's arrangement skills' maturity. Short and sweet, to the frontpage with this one! YES

I liked this track, specially when it tried to do stuff that's not quoting the original. Sadly, that didn't happen a whole lot, and this arrangement is pretty close to the original. I'm not sure if it's too close as to reject it for that, but it's certainly a point of contention. The mastering here is not ideal either, it seems a touch too loud, the drums sounding pretty dry and lifeless too, and overall the mix feels very low-heavy. I don't think I'm a fan of the bass synth too much either, as it's very static, and it doesn't seem like it has any filtering or envelopes, which causes it to buzz constantly throughout the track. I like the idea, but the execution is not quite there. Expanding the track's arrangement and fine-tuning the production might bring it over the bar but there's work to do for sure. NO