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Everything posted by Malcos
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These guitars sound quite thin, and the drums don't help to fill out the texture either. The drum pattern is very bland and as Liontamer said, plods along. The guitar pattern is very stiff and sounds as overly quantized and inhuman as the drums. There is no life in this, doesn't come up to OC standard. NO
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Guitar eq is not nice to my ears at all! On sound alone it's a no-no. Arrangement needs working on, and it's too short. But the sound of that guitar was the biggest issue, it's like it's got some crackly bit to it as well. Not nice. NO
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*NO* Metal Gear Solid 'Ghosts of Shadow Moses'
Malcos replied to djpretzel's topic in Judges Decisions
I found the arrangement interesting, there were lots of changes and fills which meant that it didn't sound nearly as repetitive as a lot of submissions we get from this genre. I have to give the mixer a lot of credit for that. Production level is good. The source melody didn't fit in as nicely as it could have done, but then I've heard much worse. With that being the only main gripe, I think this is worthy of OC. YES -
Now this is my kind of remix! Kind of deceptive at the beginning because I expected it to go into trance or dance. I an quite genre biased on this one, due to the beat, but I'll do my best to be objective. Oh. It was all going well until 1.19. The synth that came in sounded quite wrong, perhaps some reverb would have made it blend it a little more. At 1.38: . That piano needs some reverb soooo badly. I'm confused because the piano that came in before had plenty of it, so why does that piano suddenly sound so dry? It might sound like a small thing, but it really does spoil the mix. At 2.55, here comes the non-reverbed piano again. At this section, the drum beat could have been substituted for a different one and then the main beat could come back at 3.32. I think that would make this a stronger submission. Ending was very sudden, although stylistically I guess it's ok. I really enjoyed this mix for the most part, but the lack of reverb really spoiled this. Please resubmit, cause I really like this one. NO (Please resubmit)
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The intro was quite deceptive, once the piano started suddenly the mix jumped up a notch in terms of everything. It could have been better, but then I guess the whole point was to give it a little 'ooh' when the piano came in. Production level is good, although I felt the drums were dry at times. No new melody, which would have been nice in this imo, but all the other parts are different enough from the source. This has quite a chilled feel which I like, and I haven't heard this sort of take on the theme before which is a surprise. I think that the transition at 2.40 was quite poorly done, but other than that, I think this is a good submission. YES
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Guitar work sounds really low quality, and drums are repetitive. Production level hits you straight away as being really low. No new parts added at all, just been 'rocked up'. Nothing interesting or different about this mix at all, and at only 2.05, this isn't OC material. NO
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*NO* Sonic the Hedgehog 3 'Flames on the Ice'
Malcos replied to djpretzel's topic in Judges Decisions
Well there's this thing about Icecap submissions. We have so many submissions on it that the bar for this particular track is very high, due to us having excellent Icecap ReMixes already on the site. This mix, although quite pleasant, isn't spectacular, and that's why I know that it won't be posted. However, since this is the remixer's first, I think constructive feedback would be really useful. In terms of arrangement, I think some more variated patterns would add a lot more interest to the mix. The synth that comes in with the beat at 0.13 could do with a change of pattern at 0.40. The mix as a whole could do with a real bassline, that would really up the energy level. If you listen to the other Icecap ReMixes on this site, you will see that something extra has been added, in terms of original content/melody, breakdowns etc, things that your mix lacks. Not bad for a first effort. Keep working on it, and perhaps make use of the WIP forum for more feedback. NO -
I'm unsure as to whether remixing this sort of thing constitues a ReMix (in the OCR sense of the word). However I will judge it as such. Just a little too much reverb used here, although I can understand the kind of feel the remixer was going for. Perhaps it was used to fatten out an otherwise thin-textured orchestration? Interesting use of fx in the intro and outro, gave it an atmosphere that was appropriate to the game. Apart from the overuse of reverb, production wasn't bad. The arrangement was the thing that let this down quite a bit. The melody didn't cut to something else; there wasn't really a change in terms of chord structure at all. For the length, this should have had some more variation to it in terms of melodic content. NO
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Yeah these are really nice drums! I would have liked the encoding to be higher though, because it does let the submission down quite a bit. This is my biggest issue. Perhaps a completely different (breakdown) section would make the melodic elements more interesting to listen to, as those parts could do with a more dynamic twist. But yeah, a higher encoding on this one please! NO (borderline! plz resub)
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that 'reverse reverb' effect?
Malcos replied to anonymous hippopotamus's topic in Music Composition & Production
Actually drew it out and everything! Try using a delay instead of a reverb for a slightly different result; it's interesting with vocals. -
The piano work on this doesn't suit playing solo at all, and so at times it sounds really odd, with just a chord in the air without even any bass notes, or even any sustain. The delay wasn't enough to keep it from sounding very empty - in fact this mix is like an anorexic, it needs some meat. Some pads or underlying chords, some underlying piano work in the lower octaves, another layer of drums/percussion perhaps. Try the WIP boards for some more feedback on this. Not bad work, the remixer has a musical ear, just needs to flesh out the mix. A lot. NO
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Link wasn't working, so I used the judge ftp thingy. This has some potential, but I think the production really lets this one down. The instruments used don't really do it justice and it sounds very muddy at times. The panning it quite extreme and I don't think it works with this piece, I couldn't really see a reason for it. In addition, the arrangement could have been taken somewhat further. This just needs more work in all aspects. NO
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*NO* Battle of Olympus 'Arcadian Blues' *RESUB*
Malcos replied to djpretzel's topic in Judges Decisions
This just plods along, the drums really don't make any attempt to groove it up at all, leaving it sounding quite limp. The production isn't too bad, and is fitting with the genre. This needed some more expansion - for this style I would have expected a solo improvisation part or something that really took the melody away but instead it doesn't. Quite conservative in many ways that leave the listener quite bored - put some personality into this, otherwise this just sounds like generic stuff that I could hear anywhere. My issue is not with the quality by any means, but simply the execution of the arrangement. The unremarkable nature and unoriginality (pause for breath!) of this mix means that this is a NO -
This got a lot better when the guitar came in! Before that I could have nitpicked about the slightly muddy strings (at around 0.45) and bland sounding harpsicord part that went on for just a little too long. I really like the sub-bass, don't hear that kind of thing often with submissions. The guitar and piano part is excellent and give a good sense of atmosphere. It feels like the actual main part of the mix starts 'late' (2.20), although stylistically it is very interesting. YES
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Reverb level is way too much, just makes everything sound wishy-washy. Transitions don't really flow, eg that part at 1.43 where everything comes back in sounded really awkwardly done. The drumbeat that came in at 2.09 didn't suit the vibe of the song, and instead of chaging it it just went away again. At aound 3.20 - again a very jarring transition. In terms of production, dues to the reverb mostly I think, the whole thing sounded really muddy and undefined. Needs a total rework. NO
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Not bad, I like the stereo snare and the level of bass too. The only issue I have with this mix is that the texture seems quite thin indeed for an instrumental, and the high octave mallet instrument (vibes?) don't do much to fill it out since they are so high frequency. The section at 1.39 has an alright texture due to the guitars and pads filling it out, but earlier sections do sound empty. NO (please resub)
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This is ok to listen to, but isn't on par with OCR quality at the moment. I like the intro sound. The sounds that were used don't gel together as well as they could have, I think it's a combinaion of that factor and the mixing that makes the sound production not sound as high quality as it could. The section at 2.20 was nice, although I think that this mix in general needs some more melodic content, (a non repeating melody/improvisation section) and that section is a prime example of where a different melody would have fit in perfectly. On the second listen through of this piece, I'm bored because I've already heard everything. NO
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I swear the synth used for the melody here is exactly the same as the synth used in the source. Now whilst that would not count against a submission normally, when the melody is near enough the same as well, it does. In addition, the drums are anything but high energy level and are quite repetitive. That coupled with the very small amount of re-arrangement means that this is a NO
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OCR01493 - *YES* Zombies Ate My Neighbors 'The Curse'
Malcos replied to djpretzel's topic in Judges Decisions
The production has a raw kind of sound to it that I think fits the style of the mix. My only real gripe with this mix is the bass part, I think that I could be a little more prominent in the mix. I think the arrangement has been done well. Much has been said about this mix already - I don't see any reason why this shouldn't pass. YES -
OCR01521 - *YES* Final Fantasy 10 'Via'
Malcos replied to The Orichalcon's topic in Judges Decisions
This just sounds beautiful. The texture and the instruments fit together beautifully. I do think that the transpose wasn't needed, and the ending was disappointing! Oh man, why did you guys do the ending like that? Even though the ending has dampened my enthusiasm for this mix somewhat, listening to it again I can't say no. But please do a better ending next time, you know what I mean guys. YES -
I like this ReMix quite a bit, although I think some more time could have been spent filling out the mix in terms of texture. For example, perhaps a harder, more hip-hop like beat could have overdubbed the chip beat later on in the song to progress things a little more. Arrangement isn't the best I've ever heard but it is engaging nevertheless, and passable imo. Sound and production is good. No reason why this can't be a YES
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OCR01813 - *YES* Tales of Symphonia 'Strike of the Devil's Axes'
Malcos replied to djpretzel's topic in Judges Decisions
I agree with the Orichalcon in that it is quite obvious that the panned guitars are not equal in volume a lot of the time. This is good work, especially considering the shortness of the original track. The original has been nicely expanded on, really rocked out. I like the wah guitar at 3.08! I think OC fans will appreciate a ReMix like this. YES -
The flanged drums are annoying every time they come in and take away from the other instruments, overwhelming them at times. The piano that comes in at 0.36 could use a little more reverb. Nice buildup of energy and sound between 0.36 and 1.08, the melodic parts sound really good here, if not a little robotic due to the piano's constant velocity. Mixing is poorly done, instruments come in way too loud and clip the whole thing out, especially the drums. With better use of proper dynamics, rather than just loud or clipping, this could have been a good mix. From about 3 minutes on things get much better, although in my opinion the instruments are still rather dry (need some more reverb). Arrangement wise I like what has been added, especially the last half of the mix. However, the bad mixing and clipping issues mean that this is a NO