Jean Of mArc

Hey Xpert, Your mix is definitely coming along, but I would say it's not quite ready for mod-time yet, and here's why: - Maybe it's just my speakers, but I still feel like the whistling is too quiet and distant... the guitar still seems a lot louder to me, but if others don't agree then it must just be me. - The separation between the bass and other stringed instruments is definitely improved, but could still use a tad more separation. - There are still moments where things don't line up rhythmically, but those moments are much fewer than they used to be. I'll try and point them out in soundcloud. As for the medley sound, I think you've improved it. Did you double it? Anyway, it sounds better than I remember it from before. I personally didn't find the transition to be that shocking, but maybe it's because I'm used to it by now? I think the reason that people are having trouble with the transition is because: - It's the first time it shows up in the piece. - It's the first usage of that dobro you were talking about. - It's the first time an instrument with such a bright sound is played in the whole piece. My theory is that if the listener is more familiar with these aspects, the transition won't seem so sudden. So either: - Use the dobro earlier for the "main" melody. - Don't use the dobro at all, but use instruments that you've used before for the Golden Saucer melody. - Use other "bright" sounds for the more familiar parts before using it for the Golden Saucer. Other than that, I have nothing new to add. I'll go through your soundcloud and point out areas of rhythmic problems. I think you're about 85% of the way to a mod review, so I'd like to work together to make this work.

The Unsung Heroes album is a fantastic album, and one of my personal favourites on this site... And this arrangement in particular stood out to me. I love the mixture of instruments, the rhythmic play, the somewhat avant-garde key modulations at the beginning, the amount of expansion that was produced on such limited source material, and the all-in-all uplifting experience this mix provides, even during its "minor" parts. Great job, ilp0!

http://ocremix.org/info/OCR_Mascot_060 Diddy Kong is also in "Super Smash Bros. Brawl" and "Donkey Kong Country Retruns" for the Wii.

Dude, you're a remix machine! And they are all pretty well-constructed too... This is another enjoyable piece of work! I think the thing that immediately strikes me about your work is that they often don't have much in the way of an intro/outro; this one in particular just sort of starts and at the end fades out... Getting the listener prepared for the song, and feeling complete afterwards, are important aspects of a "whole" mix. Aside from that, though, the actual arrangement is pretty nice. I like the high strings you are using for a lead, though they could stand to come out a bit more, especially at about 14 seconds in; they get a bit buried in other sounds. I like the sound of the drums you are using, so my only suggestion there would be to have them play a bit more of a fill when going from one section to another. You marked this as "finished", but it's incredibly short... in fact, if you strip away the fact that it does an almost perfect repeat, it's only about 40 seconds long! If you're not intending to develop further, that's fine, but I would encourage you to do more with this; you've already got some good material to work from. Hope to hear more some time!

Hey Ringworm! Thanks for posting. For future reference, please include the game that is being remixed in your thread topic name. Hm, this is kind of interesting. It's hard to give it much of a review production-wise because as you wrote, this is just a blueprint for your song, but I have to say that the lead synth (string-like) that you are using does not have enough attack to it, as it feels like every note is coming in too late. Speeding up the attack will allow you to get a better lead. I can hear an organ fitting in well here. I kind of like the up and down siren-like synth you've got going on during the non-melodic moments. That'll probably a characteristic quality of this mix, and I look forward to hearing how it sounds when you're using your intended instrument sounds. The only thing I could say negative about it is that it sounds like it is "restarting" twice in one bar at certain points... which is a bit distracting. Arrangement-wise, it seems like you have an ABAC-ABAC pattern going on, with a bit of a drop between them. It would be nice to have a new section in the second half at some point, one that takes the drone away from the note its been sitting on for the whole song thus far, unless you'd like it to remain drone-based the whole time. Hope that helps a bit!

Hey pokemoneinstein! Thanks for posting! I always love a good piano solo; they tend to make for some great arrangements; hence why one is released for every Final Fantasy game. The first thing that stood out to me was how mechanical the piano in the bass sounded. It seemed almost as if it were one dynamic, and every single eighth note plays a bass note at exactly the same tempo. Usually piano solos have a certain sense of "tempo breathing", in which the tempo has a bit of give to it. If you are only in "arrangement" mode and aren't concerned about that yet, then that's fine. I did hear more depth in the main melody, though, which was nice. My other concern was with the strings. You obviously have a cool swooshing idea going on their, probably representing the waves, which is a good idea. However, they sound so artificial to me that it actually takes AWAY from the piano sound to me, rather than contributing to it. Also, there are a few moments when the strings almost overtake the piano when its playing the melody. I would recommend only allowing the strings to come out whenever the melody is not in progress, unless the melody is holding down a note or resting. I would recommend listening to some similar music, and if possible its sheet music, to get some ideas and inspirations for how you can continue on with this. Some of the music of Jon Schmidt comes to mind. Anyway, this shows promise, and I think you have a good style for the mix in mind. I hope my notes, and those of others, can help you to improve on it!

Hey mickomoo! Calum has some good feedback, so I won't bother repeating it all, but will give my thoughts. I like the approach you are taking here, that being of a more orchestral sound; orchestra music is usually my favourite kind, but can be hard to pull off synthetically. The only confusing thing is how the instruments are used, as it feels almost as if different instruments are in charge of different pitches rather than in charge of a particular line of harmony or emphasis. When Calum says to try and just make it a piano piece, I support this idea in that in some ways it helps you to make sure that everything works when played together. Then you just allow different instruments to play the role of different lines of harmony from the piano part. For example, a trumpet playing the melody, a trombone playing a middle harmony, etc. However, I would also say that playing a piano piece is quite different from playing an orchestral piece; for example, a piano doesn't really include the percussion parts, and doesn't take into account moments where the lead instruments might change. So although trying to write it for piano may help, you don't have to take it as gospel either, as you are always allowed to take creative measures. Doubling would help give you some textures. By this, we mean that two (or more) instruments play the same line in unison, or in octaves, depending on the instruments. Every combination of instruments gives you a different texture, so experimentation is key in finding something nice. I kind of wish that the actual sounds of some of the instruments sounded more realistic, but I know that that particular issue can be hard to fix without heavy cash... at least in my experience. Having someone else (who does have good sounds) when the whole thing is ready to render it for you on their system is a solution to that. As for production, the thing that stood out to me a lot was that bell, which seemed very loud. I didn't mind that it was so high (gave it more of a harbour bell feel than a tubular bell), but it was definitely a bit piercing compared to the rest of the sounds. I would use it, but take it down a notch and I try not to overuse it. Looking forward to hearing your next version!

Cool mix! It's both cute and driving. I'm not well-versed when it comes to techno and trance, but it sounds pretty well-produced to me! As for the guitar, it sounds more a synth, which fits in pretty well, though its volume could be raised a bit. Either way, this is pretty nice. My only suggestion would be to take form into more account, it goes from "intro" sound to "build up" to "main trance" (which sounds doesn't feel like it takes the melody of the song into account), back to "intro", build-up with the "Still Alive" melody, then back a trance song. Ie, it kind of feels like there are two songs alternating each other rather than one consistent whole. At least, it does to me. Other than that, you seem well-versed with the style, as your production sounds very good to my ears... Keep it up!

Hey man, PMing previous reviewers to get more feedback on a new version; very clever. I'll have to do that sometime. Again, great work here. I really don't know anyone who wouldn't like this, for one reason or another. It's tons of fun. The string playing is energetic and lively, perfect for this kind of arrangement. I think your new section is quite creative, mixing the two themes together. It's less "medley-itis" than it was before, so good work on that! Having the guitar lead with a mixture of the Farmboy/Saucer mix sounds great. Good call! I'm still very impressed by your whistling skills... I tried whistling along, and got stuck on certain high pitches, and that vibrato you use. Here are some improvements you could make: - The whistling still sounds kind of distant and quiet compared to everything else. There are two things attributing to this: the reverb and the volume. Less reverb would make the lead sound "closer", but might not sound as good. Volume correcting is obvious. Currently, the guitar is louder than the lead, which most times shouldn't be the case. - The bass that you added probably is good, but it's hard to tell because it's hard to hear it. This is less of a volume problem, and more about the frequencies of the bass and guitar (and potentially other instruments) getting all tangled up. A little EQ on the guitar to remove or lessen its bass frequencies (when the bass starts up) should separate them more and yield a better sound. - There are moments in which the rhythm of the various stringed instruments don't line up together. I could go through and point some of them out if you request it, but if you can find them, try cutting and time shifting things so that the instruments line up in certain places, and/or re-record that particular section. - The sound that you use for the "second" half of the Golden Saucer melody doesn't make sense to me for the style: everything else is acoustic, and yet that sound is clearly not a real instrument, and isn't a part of the set of instruments used for this kind of music... Instead, I would recommend either continuing with your guitar lead by continuing to mix the two songs together, or even doing some dee-dum-daa singing for that part. I think you have a bit of singing earlier in the mix as background (or it sounded like singing anyway), and it worked great, so having generic syllables to sing the Golden Saucer part would probably fit quite well. The current instrument just really feels out of place, I think. I think this could really become a great mix. When OCReMix first began, djpretzel did a fun "Hillbilly" remix of Bubble Bobble, and I still remember it fondly to this day. There has never been an adequate follow-up in that style, but this mix could change all that. Hope that helps!

This mix is awesome fun! Farmboy is one of the tunes from FFVII that I whistle or hum a lot, and this actually took it to a whole new level. I particularly love the slower, laid back pace of the first section, but the following sections are equally fun in their hoe-down style. I do like the addition of Golden Saucer and Chocobo, though as others have said it does kind of take you off-guard while listening. The whistling work in this is just great! You've obviously got some "mad whizzlin' skillz", which is rare in game mixes for sure. I would agree with you that the fiddle soundfont is pretty unreal-sounding, compared to everything else. Also, the melody could stand to be a tad louder. Either way, well done, this is definitely making it into my music library when it's finished.

Do you have a zip of MP3s, or any series of MP3s, of this music downloadable? YouTube is not my preferred music player.

You did a WHOLE album by yourself!? Wow... that's a huge undertaking, so kudos to you for that! I'm listening to the first track now, and I'm already enjoying it quite a bit... it's pretty exciting, close to the original, but with more instrumentation, etc. I'll give you some overall impressions later!

Hey Yami, You've got some good ideas in there that when I have some time, I'll try and annotate your soundcloud file a bit. The main thing I noticed was that there was a lack of emphasis on 2 and 4 (currently most of the emphasis is on the 1 and 3), and the bass would probably sound more techno/trance-like if the bass were on the off-beat (ie. on the "and" of every beat). Here's an example of what I mean: there are two loops with a pause. The first one has the emphasis on 1 and 3, and the bass is on the beat. The second one (the example I'm trying to encourage you to try) has the emphasis on 2 and 4, and the bass is on the off-beat. http://db.tt/cYBBuowY Let me know what you think! Oh, and thanks for the compliments on the Darkwing Duck mix! The judges decided that it was a good arrangement, but that it sounded too synthetic, so I have to make it sound more "real". That will be my next project.

Thanks to your guys' encouragement and advice, I finally decided to submit this arrangement to the judges. Hope it makes it in. Thanks a lot everyone! http://jeanofmarc.bandcamp.com/track/jungle-drum-hijinx-donkey-kong-country-live-percussion

Hey Arceace! Thanks for posting this: it's pretty cool! I remixed this song myself many years ago, but I can safely say that yours is better and more interesting. I like the atmosphere of this piece, the whole time it really feels like you are in a place rather than just listening to a piece of music, and that's a compliment. Starting with a rain sound effect certain has been done a lot, but it works really well here (unlike other uses I've heard!) I really like that you gave it a swing feel. That's pretty unique for this kind of mix (in my opinion) and it works really well. Good job! I really like the way you integrated a lot of the pieces of that song in a way the original never did. The drums are never quite where I wish they were at the beginning, either not providing enough swing, or not delivering enough punch. I don't mean that it should have heavy techo drums, but something with a bit more emphasis would be my recommend for the middle part. I really like the piano parts; fits in really well, sounds nice, and is complemented by the more synthy sounds of the rest of the piece. The ending part sounds like a summary of the previous few minutes, without really adding much to it... Not sure if this was what you were going for, but it was just an observation. Anyway, thanks, that's a nice mix you've got there!

Hey Yami! Thanks for sharing! This one reminds me of the style of some of the OCR submissions when it was just getting started: synths, 4-to-the-floor bass drum with loop-based percussion. That's not a bad thing, but it does sort of have that typical techno remix feel to it. The biggest room for improvement would be in the percussion, which just sounds like it is either on or off, but doesn't really "interact" with the music much, by that I mean have any fills or emphasis, except for the rapid-fire claps at one point (I've never heard such fast clapping before haha). The atmosphere is kind of nice though, with the amount of reverb the lead has. Too much for some, maybe, but I'm a fan. Usually this kind of music emphasizes the off-beat as well, which works well and I would recommend doing. What's that sound at the end? It's like an off-key electric razor? Haha. Overall, the source material is certainly obscure, which I'm always a fan of, and the mix is not bad, but nothing unique either.

Hey Wiesty! This is a pretty awesome interpretation of the Terra theme. I've never heard it like this before, but you really made it work! I love vibraphones, and you clearly know how to use them. I can definitely hear that head-solo-head style that you were going for. While I'm more of a fully-composed jazz kind of guy, I think you definitely got what you wanted. Perhaps consider shortening the solo sections in favour of the head at points? Also, it would be neat if there were a section where the head was really emphasized with the vibes, keys and drums dynamically and rhythmically. I agree with Calum that the keys could come out a bit more at parts, though I disagree that this pieces is too slow: I think it's just right for the style you're going for. Definitely worth finishing, and looking forward to it.

Hey everybody! It's been a while since I've been very active in the OCR forums, but on a whim I decided to look into what albums were being created here, and found that my favourite video game of all time, Final Fantasy IX, is being OCR albumized! I've already sent a message to Fishy that I would like to try my hand at Frontier Village Dali. I'm really looking forward to this project. Oh, and I like both of them, but definitely would choose #1 for an album cover.

I'm a bit late to join this discussion, but I shall remedy that right now. Would you mind sharing what you sent them, and how they replied? I am very interested, as I have been getting mixed messages about Nintendo. Also, I would love to send my own letter to Nintendo, but I'm unsure which address exactly I should send it to...

Wow, I'm surprised by how well this is being received!! Since you guys consider this to be a valid ReMix, perhaps I will submit it after all! I'll check with the performers to see if they'd mind. Thanks for the input! I'll master it and take out the applause first though. Sorry for the looong space between post and reply... I was off getting married and such haha.