Nekofrog

ARRANGEMENT / INTERPRETATION PRODUCTION [X] Low-quality samples [X] Mixing is muddy (eg. too many sounds in the same range) STRUCTURE [X] Not enough changes in sounds (eg. static texture, not dynamic enough) [X] Too repetitive PERSONAL COMMENTS (positive feedback, specifics on checklist criticisms, any other thoughts) Love the concept/idea behind this piece, but yeah the execution needs a bit of work. First and foremost the samples. The only thing I found acceptable was the choir/female voice sample, that works rather well with the piece (at least, that's what I think I'm hearing). During the intro, the opening toms seem very appropriate for the piece, but breaking further into the tune a more "industrial" sound is definitely required. I honestly believe that with some higher quality samples/synths and a bit of practice with your mastering you could have a very cool tune here. Not OCR material until you get over the repetitiveness of it however; I think you can do a bit more in terms of interpreting the original. Good stuff though, I enjoyed it.

PRODUCTION [X] Low-quality samples [X] Drums have no energy PERFORMANCE (live recorded audio/MIDI parts) [X] Timing not tight enough STRUCTURE [X] Lacks coherence overall (no "flow") PERSONAL COMMENTS (positive feedback, specifics on checklist criticisms, any other thoughts) I couldn't find much that I liked with this piece, which was sort of depressing considering the fact that PE is one of my favorite games ever and one of my favorite soundtracks ever. I almost couldn't even discern what track you were trying to remix here. Samples were awful; just awful. The background synth seemed almost trembling throughout the piece and it was very, very jarring to listen to. I mean the almost-choir like "ohhhhs", or the layer or strings over them. One of those two is just... yeesh. Sax is bland, not sampled well, and too quiet compared to everything else. As Tensei touched upon, timing seems to be slightly off. The drumline is running in its direction whilst the rhythm section of the piece doesn't match up to it in pace. Plus, nts. Bad nts

PRODUCTION [X] Drums have no energy STRUCTURE [X] Lacks coherence overall (no "flow") [X] Not enough changes in sounds (eg. static texture, not dynamic enough) [X] Pace too plodding [X] Too repetitive PERSONAL COMMENTS (positive feedback, specifics on checklist criticisms, any other thoughts) I put a check for the drums because -- where are the drums? I myself can only listen to a drumless piece for so long until it starts to grate on me, unless it is a particularly well-written piece that just doesn't lend itself to drums. This is not the case with this piece, unfortunately. Need to throw something in there, even if it's just low-key. I couldn't find much in the piece in terms of direction. It didn't seem to be GOING anywhere or have much of a purpose other than an airy-floaty feel that didn't inspire much. Sounds/synths could use some change-up; some are used for far too long. When it does try to go somewhere, it usually seems to wind right back where it began with just a few new synths layered on top of the old ones this time around.

PRODUCTION [X] Low-quality samples PERFORMANCE (live recorded audio/MIDI parts) [X] Wrong notes, general sloppiness STRUCTURE [X] Too repetitive PERSONAL COMMENTS (positive feedback, specifics on checklist criticisms, any other thoughts) The sole reason for the low-quality sample check is for one thing; the drums. They're just way too low-energy compared to the rest of the track. They sound decent in the intro, but once it breaks into the main song you can barely even feel their presence. It could be something as simple as just boosting their volume a little, but I can't really hear it enough to gauge whether or not new drum samples are required or not. The wrong notes generally lie with what others have mentioned, not all the bends sound "on", most notably the one starting at :50 (also as mentioned by someone else). It's too repetitive in that once you get to 2:34 it breaks back into the main theme, a transition that really feels forced. Sad because the solo over it at the end is fantastic and deserves better than a retread of the main melody. POSITIVES: As others have mentioned, the sampled guitar sounds better than in this context than a real guitar would, and I find myself digging it tremendously. Don't fade out during the ending guitar solo, find some way to fill it out a bit more!

Actually I find that the newest version of their player is now finally working with Firefox. I could never get it to work with any Firefox on any computer, and now it's right there. Niiiice.

My car is broken down, but it should be more than up and ready in time for the July trip. Should also not be a problem sending the money on the 13th (payday).

People have made masterpieces on shoestring budgets. He chooses not to.

I used to take midis there, change the instruments, and then resubmit them like 10 years ago. Goddamn that was a long time.

I still haven't seen it, but to people ragging on its pacing and editing: Go back and watch Raiders of the Lost Ark. I watched it a few days ago for the first time in 15 years, and was amazed at how utterly lost I was. Protags are here -- bam they're there -- wait where are they now? -- who was that? -- what just happened? Its linearity seems extremely compromised, as it just jumps at random and only makes sense cognitively if you've seen it multiple times. Unlike Temple of Doom/Last Crusade, which are both so incredibly easy to follow that they're just far more enjoyable. The characters don't just randomly appear in a new location, you see the journey there or at least have it mentioned before they make it. That's why I rank Ark dead last in the original trilogy. Is the editing in that regard more similar to Ark or the other two?

I don't know, I think the dissonance is enough to kill any chance the piece has. It seriously interrupts the flow.

Thanks. At the rate the judge's panel is moving, we should know whether or not it's YES'd or NO'd in a year or two

Rewatching the first 3 films before seeing this. The Last Crusade (the best of the original trilogy) is up tonight. Watching Ark last night made me realize how disjointed that film really is; it's hard to make sense of what's going on unless you've seen it many times and are already familiar with the characters. Easily the weakest film of the trilogy (though nearly everyone would argue ToD is, I find it superior to the first due to it being easier to follow; more linear).

Midi + Guitar Pro = instant tab for every instrument

Glad you took my advice on the harmonization part, it sounds much more awesome. I've always found that with harmonizing leads, it always has a lot more emotional emphasis if you bring it in a bar after non-harmonization. I can't see this not getting a pass once it's fully realized length-wise. Production seems spot on. A+!

Looked into fanned frets.

I have no idea what you are talking about so here are a bunch of waka waka's. But seriously. What?

Get in IRC

If you've heard my previous two submissions (that are still on the panel ), you'll know I have a penchant for hard rock/metal, but turning it into a somewhat emotionally driven affair. I've always loved Lufia, ever since the original came out and I rented it only to find one of the best 16-bit soundtracks I'd ever heard (the Fortress of Doom theme is probably the single best song ever created in my eyes). So principal recording has begun on what I envision to be an epic piece that spans both Lufia 1 and 2, visiting tunes from both games and melding them all together into one epic piece. It's an ambitious project and will probably take a while, but it's something I've been wanting to do for a very very long time now. I thought I'd post up a (very) small sample of some of what I have done, and ask for advice. I'm not sure what sounds better on the clean guitar part: http://metalfrog.org/music/lufia/lufiamiddlepickup.mp3 http://metalfrog.org/music/lufia/lufianeckpickup.mp3 The first one is using the middle pickup, and it's much thinner and more glassy sounding. The second is using the neck pickup and is much fuller and rounder, but I can't decide which one sounds better. That's where you come in; I simply can't decide and would like some outside opinion. Let me know! And please know that this is very early and rough in the recording process, so nothing is EQed as it should be. Thanks!

ARRANGEMENT / INTERPRETATION PRODUCTION [X] Low-quality samples [X] Drums have no energy STRUCTURE [X] Not enough changes in sounds (eg. static texture, not dynamic enough) [X] Too repetitive PERSONAL COMMENTS (positive feedback, specifics on checklist criticisms, any other thoughts) Good, but could be better. Biggest complaints: 1. Percussion. The drums (both the primary snare and kick) all sound very weird. Like they almost have a notation to them. Each time I hear them go off, it almost seems like there's a note attached, and it clashes with the music. That may not make any sense, but I swear I can hear something that doesn't meld with the melody. Snare also has too much reverb, I think. That's not a huge deal though. 2. Samples, for the most part are either okay-to-good. The flute sample is just bad, though, I'd consider changing that somehow. Okay-to-good is acceptable in my book, so it's not a huge deal, but that flute needs some serious work.

ARRANGEMENT / INTERPRETATION PRODUCTION [X] Too loud [X] Too quiet [X] Low-quality samples [X] Drums have no energy PERSONAL COMMENTS (positive feedback, specifics on checklist criticisms, any other thoughts) The issues I have with this piece are entirely from a production standpoint. I don't have a ton of knowledge when it comes to SOTN (heretic, I know), but other CV games? Know 'em front and back. That was just some background info on my CV tune knowledge and doesn't really apply much. On the too loud/too quiet note, it's not so much a "too quiet" thing as it is a "too loud" thing -- the main synth just seems too loud and drowns out seems to be going on in the background. The flanging or whatever that is is nice when used in moderation (as is done in the piece), so no complaints there. Drums have absolutely no energy. Get rid of those claps, please. They drag what is otherwise a solid track down, despite the fact that they're not there for very long. Upon my first listen, I heard the claps and thought to myself "uggggggggggggggggh". For "low quality samples" it's mostly just the main synth (the lead sound starting at :16). Everything else seems top knotch.

PRODUCTION [X] Low-quality samples [X] Mixing is muddy (eg. too many sounds in the same range) STRUCTURE [ ] Lacks coherence overall (no "flow") [X] Not enough changes in sounds (eg. static texture, not dynamic enough) [ ] Pace too plodding [ ] Too repetitive [X] Too short [X] Abrupt ending PERSONAL COMMENTS (positive feedback, specifics on checklist criticisms, any other thoughts) Rhythm guitar sounds like you used a real guitar, but lead guitar (used for the solos and general melody) sounds very, very, very synthy. Rhythm guitar seems one tracked dead center to me (maybe it's not, but the muddiness of the track seems to indicate that). Pan your rhythm guitars out, and if your lead guitar isn't synth, try to work on making it sound... not synth. As it is right now I'm 95% certain it's a sample. Drums sound great (except maybe for cymbals); kick drum sounds great, snare drum is good, etc. Woodwind instruments at the beginning sound good. Tune is too short for its own good. With just the few tips above, I think this could be changed from just "okay" to all-out rocking. And it's not hard to just do some panning and re-recording.

http://vgmusic.com/music/console/nintendo/snes/qzeal.mid Yeah, NO OVERRIDE

... This is ready. Submit it now. Do it. Don't think about it. Don't go "but I still have more to put onto it!". Submit this now. Only thing I'd change is the lowered volume of the main theme when the other stuff comes over it; I think keeping the volume the same all throughout would actually make it even better. Now that I'm listening to it again for the fifth time, I think it's actually hurt by the lowered volume of the main melody. Raise that back up and then submit this bitch. I can't see this getting a single "no".

ARRANGEMENT / INTERPRETATION [X] Too conservative - sticks too close to the source PRODUCTION [X] Drums have no energy STRUCTURE [X] Lacks coherence overall (no "flow") [X] Not enough changes in sounds (eg. static texture, not dynamic enough) [X] Too repetitive PERSONAL COMMENTS (positive feedback, specifics on checklist criticisms, any other thoughts) There are a lot of nifty ideas here, and it helps that you're working with some of the best 16-bit music in existence (particularly K. Rool's DKC1 theme). Just a few issues that might help you turn this into something even better: 1. The introduction part (essentially from :00 to :16) seems to me the only original idea in the whole thing -- it's what OCRemix is about -- taking pre-existing music and changing it just enough so that it evokes the same feeling as the original piece, but changing it so much that it makes it lose the integrity of the original. If that statement makes any sense. In short, most of it seems very cover-ish. 2. Percussion is an issue. It seems like it's weighted to the right over-abundantly; try moving it to the center. Finding better samples might help too. 3. The synth strings at the beginning don't fit with the piece (the dundundundun-dun-dundundundundun-ness of the strings). The strings sound better when they're drawn out. 4. The synth brass doesn't seem to be very present in the mix. I hear it, and I know it's there, but dynamically there's just not a lot to them. They just plod around the same basic melody. I guess what I'm asking for is more interpretation and less reliance on the source.

Rule of thumb with rhythm guitar: Record one track, pan it left. Record the exact same track over again (don't just record one, copy and paste) and pan it right. If you want a MONSTER sound, record it 4 times and pan left/right/50% left/50% right, but in most cases you can get away with two tracks. For hard rock and metal, there's almost no way to get by without doing this. For solo/lead work, there's a few things you can do. One track in the center, or when harmonizing two tracks to the center (you can always halve it like I do, and one track 35% left and the harmonizing lead 35% right (or vice versa, doesn't matter).