Malcos

Great mix!

This sounds fantastic, but I feel that it is much too liberal - only after 2.30 can I say that I heard clear links to the source. Everything else about this is OCR material, this was played beautifully. I hate to have to no this, but I must. NO (resub please)

1. Nah I don't know any judges in real life. And I get left out sometimes due to the fact that I'm the only UK judge and so in a different time zone 2. Paid? PAID? Haw Haw HAW! I don't do this for money, this is my way way of giving back to OCR for helping to make me a better musician. EDIT: I get love from all of my fellow OCR members (sometimes....)

I never finished the first one, I just got bored after a while, although I did complete crysis. It does look interesting though, I may try out a demo if there will be one. The thing is, there are just tooooooo many games competing for my time and money right now. Mirrors' edge, Street Fighter HD, Dead Space, Sonic Unleashed, Quantum of Solace (whatever that means!), Saint's Row 2, Mortal Kombat vs DC, Spiderman web of Shadows, Gears of War 2 - all coming out soon and crying 'play me, play ME!' I've missed out a few games in that list as well! Toooo many games.

This sounds good, but waaaay too overcompressed, especially when all the vocals and everything come in. I don't think it needs to be this loud. I had to turn it down a bit - sounds like you pushed the volume waaay up against a hard limiter and it just crunched it all out. Scale it back and I think this will sound less saturated. NO (due to mastering, resub)

The solo violin attacks did sound strange in the first section, and the hard attacks of two instruments together in the section that starts at 1.37 did sound odd at times. Choir shouts at 3.27 sound very mechanical, in stark contrast to the great way the other choir patch was used. This is a very expressive mix, using very good samples indeed, although I do think they could have been used more appropriately and edited more in order for the piece to sound more cohesive ie ADSR envelopes etc. The arrangement is great and the blend of instruments is quite original - this was not an easy concept to pull off. This would be a good addition to the OCR catalogue, but I feel that with just a few tweaks the mixer could do themselves more justice (is that grammatically correct?) NO (borderline/excellent candidate for resub)

Yep I'm definitely in. I'd like Imperial Theme please, from Disc 1.

Intro chords are similar to the original but with more embellishments. The sounds and production throughout are solid, drums sound like they come from modernbeats.com or something. This sounds more like a backing R&B track than anything, it's all here sans vocals. For this to be posted you would have to have a main lead instrument and rework it so it stands alone as a full instrumental track - or get someone to rap/sing over this. This is good but it's missing a lead/main melodic focus. NO (Resub?)

The guitar sounds a bit muddy in itself, apart from that everything else sounds great. Having listened to the source and the mix several times, this just seems too much like a cover for me to pass it, and that is my main issue here. Needs more original elements. NO (Resub)

Interesting preverb with the piano in the intro section. I like the overall sound with the lo-fi phat drum beat, solid bass and the piano - although as Another Soundscape mentioned the timing does seem strange at first, with the piano and the beat seeming at odds with each other. It doesn't sound wrong, but it does sound very quirky, which could be a good thing or a bad thing - as I listen more and more I get used to it. Production and level of arrangement is definitely up there, although perhaps some more melodic elements (other than just piano) would make this even more expressive. The rap does sound muffled at times with the pitch shift effect, perhaps some eq would help it cut through so that the lyrics could be heard. The rap itself was unexpected though, making it's apperance quite late in the song and then only lasting a few bars. I've seen other judges have mentioned DJ-Shadow and BT, this also has some elements from Yoko Kanno to me. Suffice to say, this is a very contemporary sound. Just some tweaks with the rap vocal processing and this would be a full yes from me, until then I'm conditional. YES (conditional)

I don't listen to this type of metal at all, but I'll give it my best shot anyways. The only issue I have with this mix is the vocals - I don't know if compression is used at all for metal vocals, but used here it could keep the vocal hot while at the same time stop it from over distorting and being overly loud compared to the instrumentation. At certain points in the mix, 2.15 being a good example, the vocal is just mixed too loudly. Everything else sounds top notch to me. Some more mixing would make this a yes, I would definitely like to see this on OCR. YES (conditional)

The gated snare is very 80's. It is mixed very loudly, almost louder than the lead, and is used to thicken up the sparse texture. The metallic sound is used to add more rhythm but does sound quite harsh and off-key. There isn't much added to the original guile theme, this needs a lot of fleshing out. An interesting mix, but needs more work in terms of production and original melodic elements. I like the concept, but the execution needs more. Keep working on it. NO (resub)

I agree with what has already been said here. Sounds great, but not interpretative enough with the source for OCR. The original section was it's own thing and didn't blend with the previous section. I'll have to go with a no for this one. NO

Sorry this one took so long to judge. I had a quick skim over the pages. I'm just gonna judge the mix by ear as I usually do. I could definitely hear the source and there is a nice amount of soloing plus original elements as well. Production and groove were great, sound level got a bit too hot over the 4 minute mark and there was quite a bit of clipping there. However, this for me is a definite yes, all the elements I'm looking for in a mix are present here. YES

The quality level in this competition is/was really high! I really enjoyed listening to all the entries, fantastic work I would be honoured to collaborate with you Jill , your voice is amazing!

I should be able to make the deadline! I'm at the mixing stage at the moment. EDIT: Sent!

Thanks for the Gen Disc post, I missed this. I can't sing rock, but I'll try just for fun.

The production on this mix is very good - the issues I have with this mix are to do with the arrangement. At 0.27 the changes to the melody sound wrong, perhaps adding original melodies would have been better. This happens several times in the mix. This would have been a yes had it not been for the changes to the original melody - it just does not sound right. The lead parts need to be re-worked. Everything else was there. NO (Good candidate for resubmission)

I think this idea of video tutorials is great Zircon. Perhaps you could spend like a whole 10 minutes on a concept, lets say a drum beat, and go through different elements like layering samples, compression, amount of reverb to use on different drum elements, use of a user-created drum pattern vs drum loops, layering both user created patterns and loops together, etc. I think people may appreciate you really breaking down the concepts, of course you have to be careful not to give too much of your own style away in the process lol. I was thinking of doing keyboard videos, shortcuts on how to play the keyboard, a series of them like a short course. Video tutorials could be another way for remixers to contribute...although you were first Zircon!

It is not often that we receive mixes like this one. Although I agree with some of the criticisms made, I think that the good points far outweigh the negatives. As Vig mentioned, there is a distinct lack of low frequency content in this mix. Although the texture itself is already nicely filled, some bass or a lower frequency kick in addition to the current one would balance out the soundscape a little. The strings that enter the piece at 3.03 don't seem to fit in with the rest of the instrumentation. While that may sound odd (as the strings are the only acoustic instrument in an almost entirely electronic arrangement), I think perhaps a different patch would have been more appropriate. With a mix such a this one, it is difficult to include the quirky sounds and slightly behind-the-beat rhythms with such musicality, and it takes a skilled remixer to do this. This is a good addition to OCR. YES

I'm too late! Happy Birthday and congratulations on your engagement

Little bit of downtempo bias here methinks? This is quite embarrassing that this has been here for 6 months. This is a very atmospheric soundtrack type smouldering beat. I think the slightly off time bass was quite groovy. However, what lets this mix down is the beat which is too repetitive (although there are additions at 1.39). If the beat was phatter ie, more emphasis on the kick, it would have also made this mix sound more solid. However, I thought the other instrumental elements were fantastic - and the arrangement, while simple, was very effective. Taking everything into consideration... YES

Yeah I missed Zircon's competition as well , I'll do my very best to make this one!

I'd just like to say I really rate you for re subbing this so many times and making so many changes to it. Like Liontamer said, the last sub was almost passed across the board (I passed it personally at any rate). This sounds markedly different from the last version. The musicality has improved overall, however this is a somewhat disjointed mix. The intro section gives a totally different vibe from the section where the snare enters, and that continues throughout the various sections, which don't sound as if they all belong in the same song. There were a few off-key melody notes in the first part of the pad section. The synth notes at 3.18 sounded quite loud and unsophisticated compared to the rest of the sounds. I think the last sub was your best mix of this source. Although overall your sound has improved, the arrangement quality and the energy level is much less than the previous version. I don't think this mix achieved it's purpose. NO P.S. I re-iterate what Liontamer said, I think you are on the level, just that this particular mix wasn't.

Yep, that's it.