Sir_NutS

Cool source. The mix feels slightly unbalanced towards the low end but nothing too bad. I do hear the kick causing the compressor to behave really badly on the bass, and noticeably but not as bad on the rest of the mix. Seems like it has too long of a release time, try shorten that so it matches the curve of the kick's punch instead, as right now there's a noticeable difference in amplitude after each kick hit that lasts almost a full second. Some of the sounds feel like they don't sit well in the mix, the orch hits are a good example as they get slightly distorted and are affecting the compressor too much, as well as the panned synths starting around 1:48 which feel exposed. The arrangement I feel is very close to the original, although some variations can be found I would've liked more interpretation than this. Not only is following the same structure but the same notes, beat and pacing for most of the song. There are many missed opportunities here to elevate the track over simply the original with modern sounds. The song also lacks ups and downs in energy levels throughout, feels very static. I think if the production issues are fixed, and more is done regarding the structure and arrangement this could get a pass, the sound design is good and I liked the retro electronica style but we need more interpretation. NO (resubmit)

I gotta say FTL is one of my favorite soundtracks in recent history. Now, I think you have some good ideas here Ryan, but the execution is not ideal. I'm not sure the guitars are working well here, they sound very artificial specially on the long sustained chords. They are also not mixed very well, sounding very muddy and lacking sharpness, and along with the bass they eat the kick in the busy sections until there's only snare to be heard. The sound design in general isn't too complex but it's good enough in my opinion. This is a nice arrangement, although it could've used some work in the transitions. Some of them are abrupt and don't really fit (02:15, 03:41), or don't have the proper lead-ins or energy buildup. I think the source was expanded upon well throughout the song. I thought the calm sections worked much better in this mix and presented a better executed soundscape than the busy guitar sections (03:00-03:41). I think this could improve with some work on the issues mentioned above. NO (Resubmit)

This is well produced, as the other judges have pointed out. I have to agree on the lead usage here, the articulations don't fit well, and the bell lead in itself doesn't fit the mix well either. It's fine as something for the intro but it's not dynamic enough for the rest of the song. By 4:00 the arrangement was already stale and the lead had overstayed its welcome far too much. In regards to arrangement, it's simple and as said before, got stale by the middle of the song. The claps follow a weird pattern that breaks flow, although they stabilize to a 2-8 patter later. The repetition of the original melody bothered me and the attempts to create variations on it at 4:21 failed pretty bad, very cheesy and out of context. The inclusion of the second theme wasn't marred well with the rest of the arrangement (i.e. 5:20) Cool drums and bass production, but the arrangement needs a lot of work. NO

Those drums sure are clicky. That snare is really upfront and dry sounding, It doesn't fit this mix at all. I'm not convinced by the drum performance either as it has very few flairs and feels simple and mechanical. The orchestral parts were good, the bells were a nice detail. I felt the busy sections lacked clarity specially when the lead guitar was involved. The rhythm guitars are muffled and needed more presence. Some of the guitar performances were a bit sloppy but it didn't bring the mix down. I do tend to favor well arranged pieces and this one shines in that department, I think the orchestral rock adaptation works well for this source, there was plenty of expansion on the original theme and the remix had a good grasp on structure with sweet breakdowns and powerful climaxes. I REALLY would've liked to hear something done about those drums though, they almost bring the whole thing down for me. Also I have to also express my surprise that this is a Brandon mix, as we know he can do much better. I think this is slightly over the bar anyways so, YES (Borderline)

Regarding the production, this feels a bit dry. The drum sequencing feels too loopy for the genre. Bass synth stabs are too exposed and dry. The mix is balanced overall though, but the song cuts off abruptly in the end. The arrangement has a few issues. I hear some notes that sound off and are not present in the original, i.e. in the ep section at 0:30. The arrangement is very repetitive and sticks too close to the original melody, as well as to the same progression throughout the song. Every section we hear is based in that progression so I would've liked to hear a change in that regard at some point. Most of the transitions are pretty abrupt, and I didn't feel the full stops for the bass synth stabs worked as they should've. I think more needs to be done in regards to the arrangement here for this to pass. The artist tried to shake things up a bit by using tempo changes but that's not enough in my opinion, since we have a fairly long track based on a very static base. NO

Good games man, keep working on that Chun, she can get real scary.

I have to agree with Deia, this remix starts really promising but somehow devolves over time and gets really messy. I love the sine lead at the start but the guitars panned to the left don't fit well with everything else that's going on. 1:00 is where it starts getting very chaotic as the left guitar and bass aren't really playing well together, and the pads are too prominent over the rest of the leads. 1:17 Has the guitar lead goin on his own accord while the synth bass plays its own progression. At 1:33 it all falls apart as the chugs are completely off rhythm and the synth bass is still going at his own pace without much regard for the other instruments. The upcoming break at 2:13 feels like its dragged out for longer than it should, and its transition into the new section is abrupt. The second section felt like it had very little stylistic relation to the first one, which felt jarring. I think this needs a lot of work, first on bringing up all the different elements into a coherent arrangement, and then on a structure that works. NO

Moonlight Sonata seems to be popping up a lot around here. Weird. On topic: Not much to comment on the production side of things, as Alex delivers yet another high quality orchestral production. Performances are believable, balanced mix, great design and attention to detail throughout . These are two nice sources, I specially liked the King's Field track. Both sources are implemented and woven together very well in this remix. There's a minimal usage of drums, as the arrangement is mostly strings-based. I think it gets monotonous at times, as it feels like the whole song sits in a bed of legato notes for the entirety of the duration and there aren't many peaks or downs in the structure. Nevertheless, the addition of the piano by the end and subtle drum touches here and there help make up for it. The tremolo strings were also a nice addition, dissonance worked well in those sections. Overall this is a solid track of course, even though I would've liked a more dynamic structure. edit 5/25/2016 : vote changed, explained below NO

Yeah I don't know what happened there, I play with people from canada without issues. If you want to give it a go sometime let me know.

Oh I love this source! I read through the complains in the old voting thread, although I couldn't check the original submission. I think the drums aren't quite where they need to be yet, specially the kick which gets lost in the busy sections, the track overall has a busy low end, but this is satisfactory. The guitars sound fairly clean and powerful. The arrangement represents the source pretty well while also supporting it with plenty of new elements and there's a fair amount of interpretation going that flows in a natural way. I liked the break you introduced at 02:51, it was the perfect moment to bring that in as the arrangement has very high levels of energy all the time, if it was like that through all the song it would've tired the listener but you knew better and that break was also executed well with some expansions on the original melody. Solid rework, I'm happy to give it a YES

wow those vocals! really strong voice, I think the vocals are the absolute best thing about this song. Sadly the rest of the song doesn't want to play along well, the mix feels dry, the synths feel very weak and don't sit well within the mix, sections like 0:16-0:32 feel really empty and even cheesy because the weak synths can't carry it on their own. The drums are well sequenced but the kick and snare are sitting outside the mix too much. The guitars are ok for the most part but the chopping at 01:48 sounds off, overly artificial. Regarding the arrangement I didn't hear much in terms of interpretation, it's very similar to the original and I would have liked much more interpretation specially since the style of this remix resembles the original's pretty closely. The melodies didn't play well with the vocals in quite a few places, and it seemed like the synths and the vocals were doing their own thing and not trying to harmonize together, i.e. 0:32-0:48. Other than that I thought the structure was fine and I enjoyed the break at 01:34 which brought some much needed originality to the song. The vocals were handled well, with different vocal harmonies backing the lead. I definitely think this is a more powerful version of the original, as you guys intended, and those vocals are strong as hell and powerful! but I think the overall mix is a bit behind. It needs a push in the production to get everything sounding tighter together, and more interesting synths. On the arrangement side of things I would like more interpretation and with it, changing the backing melodies so they fit the awesome vocal lead better. NO (Resubmit)

Yo, the Karin who invited you was me.

LET'S GO ALEX http://www.capcom-unity.com/haunts/blog/2016/03/10/new-character-alex-and-sfv-update-details

I love this arrangement, but I have to agree with Gario, it's very hard to justify sections like 01:42 - 02:57 as source. I'm very familiar with this song as I've remixed it before, and I really would have to stretch it quite a lot to say that the backings sound like Melody A there. As Gario pointed out it's vague enough that it could really be anything. It's really a pity because I enjoyed this a lot, the performances have soul and the mixing is clear enough. The signature changes are flawless and really keep the interest going. I would love a resubmit with more recognizable source in there. Even if we could somehow justify the faint hints of source pointed out in our votes, most of the track just doesn't feel like it's referencing the original material. Really lovely remix but please include clearer hints to the source or work out your interpretation to represent it better, and I will most assuredly give it a pass. Until then, NO (resubmit)

I find the mix in this track feels overly busy at times, and in the busiest sections it gets slightly muffled. I think a better job could've been done to keep the mix cleaner, sections like 1:50 feel really compressed and lacking dynamics. I do think though that the rest of the production is well executed. Great textures, The drums feel great and hit pretty hard too, and the sequencing is interesting. When the song relaxes a bit and less elements are interacting it does feels very clear and sharp. The arrangement makes use of both sources well, and I liked the whole direction of it. Very dark, industrial/metal sounding arrangement. Overdrive is used in a creative way around 1:01, not just for guitar chugs, and there are other little ideas and details sparse throughout the track. The high-pitched violin really cuts through and gives the arrangement a touch of anxiety. However, not a fan of the fadeout ending. At all. Overall this is a solid remix that takes both sources and transforms them into a rather aggressive and dark sounding remix which makes up for its shortcomings with good arrangement and great sounds and textures. YES

This remix is an oddity. I'm getting an italian folk song feel at times, while other times is just some whimsical rhapsody. Really weird but I feel this works. Production isn't the cleanest and I think some instruments could've used better humanization, i.e. the trombones. I think the sources are represented well and the arrangement is expansive. The highlight of this remix and where most of its character lies is in the accordion performance, it really gives it a different feel than the usual orchestral piece. Overall I think this is solid and creative. Not the most interpretative remix out there but there is indeed expansion on the sources and original ideas. YES

Cool source, there's not much melodically in there so I was curious about how someone would approach this. Your approach is an interesting idea, but the execution is flawed. The mix sounds hollow and empty despite you having a few instruments going on. I think the main problem is that you tried to adapt the guitar performances and rock drums to edm elements that inherently try to fill out the whole soundscape. In your adaptation, the guitar chugs and acoustic drums alone are not enough to get that job done, and the sub bass is being exaggerated in order to try to attain that, but its just muddying out your mix. The detuned saws sound very distant and not that interesting. The arrangement isn't too different from the original, following the structure rather closely but I think the new approach you took and some new elements would've made the difference enough. I definitely think you could infuse the track with more of your own interpretation, although that's not a deal-breaker right now. Overall, the idea is fine, but needs work to get the production where it needs to be, I hope our pointers can help if you so decide to give it another try. NO (resubmit)

I'm going to get risky here, and propose that this is good enough for a pass. The production is lacking in the humanization department, that's evident in a lot of places. The piano and harp are mechanical more often than not, the strings performances can feel stiff at times, with very static envelopes and I would agree to all of that and a couple more issues. But the mix is clear, effects are applied in a natural way, and the instruments don't sound dry or overcompressed. The reason for me to pass this is obviously not the sketchy execution on the production side but on the arrangement, and the mood. This remix is very moody yet sweet, implements the source in a way that's recognizable and not too far from the original sound but it's elevated another level by the addition of different supporting elements and actual melodies and structure which the original didn't really have much of. There's a range of emotions to be found in this piece, which feels nostalgic and even sad at times, and those are expressed in a compelling way. I think the arrangement is very solid; simple yet not lacking complexity. Overall I'm more on the side of accepting this because the arrangement worked really well with what was a pretty emotionless and very simple source, non-ideal production aside. Though I would understand if other judges feel otherwise, for me though, this is more of a: YES (borderline)

I wasn't a big fan of the production here, it sounds too busy and low end-focused for an epic orchestral piece, the dynamic range is squashed quite a lot, specially for this genre. The drums are obscured and hats and cymbals are being heavily effected by this. The humanization on some of the instruments left a lot to be desired, like the choir at the start or the strings at 02:30. Overall, I would've liked to see more clarity in this mix. I think the adaptation is terrific though. It's not always easy to and adapt a song in a completely different angle. So I liked that very much. I also liked that there was some originality in the interpretation, it wasn't a straight-up orchestral arrangement. Overall this is just a tiny step over the bar for me, given that the production quality wasn't that great. YES (borderline)

Repetition hates you back.

Umm yeah. I take quite a bit of time checking out sources for tracks, and I've never heard this soundtrack before so checking for sources would take me long hours. Please be more sensible next time o_0 Other than that, this is ok. I thought the song relied way too much for too long on the sidechained underlying rhythm. Some variation there would've kept me more interested, the track has good moments but the rhythm can get old. The production is clear and well above our bar so I think this gets a pass. But I would like to hear others' opinion on the repetitiveness of the base rhythm. YES (borderline)

Larry is to blame.

Regarding the production side of things, there are some piercing resonances, more evident in the lead guitar and cymbal crashes. There's an excessive amount of mid-high content here that needs to be tamed, which if you manage to leash under control, will even allow you to raise up the sharpness over 7k hz. The overall loudness could be toned down as well, it's causing unpleasant saturation in the mix. The dynamic range of this song is almost nonexistent, and I'm reading around -10 db rms which is pretty hard even by EDM standards. The arrangement is conservative but the interpretation is there, I just wish there was more of it. The arrangement is peppered with some cool details here and there which help expand it a bit. The artist has a good grasp on structure so the song had a good flow from section to section. Overall the main problems with this song lay in the production realm. Very harsh resonances and an imbalanced mix, coupled with very hard compression. Fix the mixing issues and be more lax on the compression, and you'll be on the right track. This song has a lot of power and I liked the energetic guitar chugs which you managed to make them the spotlight of some sections without making it feel empty. I hope you work more on this to bring it nearer to the bar. NO (Resubmit)

The soundscape feels empty, and I don't think it works in favor of the feel of the song. The bass has an odd tone, almost rubber-bandy, and feels very boring, specially because the bass lines are very monotonous and the bass is exposed quite a bit. I dislike the fadeout ending very much. The arrangement doesn't stray very far from the original, with some reinterpretation to be found in the second half of the mix. The substitution of the original orchestral elements could work if they filled more of the soundscape and brought more energy like those sections do in the original. Structurally some sections work better than others. 00:54 is way too basic, but on contrast, 02:24 and on work very well. Some good ideas here but overall needs more work in the arrangement, bring more interpretation. In the production side of things it needs to make the empty sections work. NO

Awesome arrangement. Some sections do indeed feel slightly medley-ish, but in general this feels like a single arrangement. I'm very familiar with the sources, as any megaman geek would, and I think the sources are well represented. The arrangement is incredibly high energy but also knows when to calm down for a while as to not tire the listener. My main issue here is the production. The mix is muddy and badly eq'd. I loaded the mix on my DAW and did some eq'ing and adjustments and found out that it's very easy to fix this so Nick, please contact me about it. It's not only an eq problem though, as the different elements feel cluttered together and the overall mix needs clarity and separation. I couldn't test this myself because I would need access to stems and the like, so my only recommendation there is to try to bus your different elements together and eq them separately to try and get a cleaner mix. You have a rockin' arrangement here, but needs work on the production side. NO (resubmit)