Sam Ascher-Weiss

http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/ts.rsn - "Light and darkness" (ts-02.spc)[0:00-0:40] & "Light Side Field" (ts-17.spc) [0:40-2:33] & "Call at a Port" (ts-42.spc) [2:33-3:25] {I couldn't find "ressurection" and I am VERY familiar with this soundtrack [well miyoko's stuff, not Masanori} So yeah, none of the originals were sufficiently interpreted [with the exception of the meter change in "Call at a Port"], it was the type of medley you might find on an arranged soundtrack, if not for the somewhat slopping playing/mixing. I really enjoyed the oboe stuff though. n0

http://www.ocremix.org/songs/original/starfox.rsn - "1-11 Starfox - Titania", 1-23 Star Fox - Boss (Titania)" If judging were based entirely on personal taste then I'd YES this in a heartbeat! Seriously, I love this ReMix to DEATH and I will listen and gain pleasure from it for many moons to come. Unfortunately there is one serious issue I have with the song. While the source material is clearly here, it's not really expanded and is used like a schmear or coating for the rest of the track [which is brilliant in my opinion]. Also you only use a very small portion of both sources. Love the white noise/static drums and the harmonies like at 1:13. Each time you re-iterate the bridge melody from Boss (titania) you do it in new and interesting ways. I go wild when you do it with earthbound-esque sounds at 3:03. Ultimately, while you didn't use all that much of the source and rarely changed any of the notes, you took it places that it felt like it WANTED to go.... which in my crazy little world means you have a deep understanding of the source and honored it, bringing out its strengths by placing it in the musical contexts that it was born for. YeS

Fun fun fun fun fun fun fun. Love the corny drum pattern starting at 0:54 and 2:00. Love the bass line at 1:43. Love the take on the melody at 2:27. WHY DO I BRING UP THESE RANDOM THINGS YOU ASK?? Well, I'm trying to prove that you've got the chops to make a mighty fine ReMix if you put them to use. Up until 1:07 everything is fine, you had your clip of the original, your one slightly plain introduce the melody section and then the delightful kung-fu drum thing. NOW here instead of going back into a simple rendition of the melody with your crazy soloing going on in the back where it's practically inaudible, bring that solo to the front and change it so that it's outlining the melody while still going kir-aazy! Once that's done you can do the melody once but with the type of stuttered notes + punchy drum action from 1:34 the whole way through. Next when you break into the bass funk at 1:42, keep it going a little longer and maybe have the piano play part of the melody along with the bass line [instead of the walking octaves].Then you can return to the kung-fu drums like you did at 2:02. I do like the filter-sweep starting at 2:15 but it kills the momentum so you should skip ahead to the yummy bass action at 2:27. There you can have that version of the melody repeat more then once and have distantly panned stuff in the upper registers play counter rhythms to the bass melody after the first time through. All these suggestions are based on one princible. You're working with very simplistic sounds... that's not really good or bad by itself, it's just a fact. Because the sounds are so simple, the track itself has a built in consistency so you have the right, and I'd say the responsibility, to incorporate a lot more intricate arrangment ideas [which you do every now and again]. The framework I provided is just one example of how this might be done. There are millions of other options available n0 (Resubmit)

There are some serious tuning issues with the strings in this mix. I agree with Liontamer about the sounds bleeding into one another. I actually like when the bass emerges at 1:45 though it's true that it doesn't stick around long enough for that brief exposure to seem like anything more than an accident. Starting at 2:16 the detuned stuff begins developing some charm when it's left alone with just the bass and quiet percussion because now I am able to tell exactly where that slightly disturbing sound is coming from so I have the option of letting it take me places, where as before there was so much other stuff going on that it felt like a bitter aftertaste. At best this is an interesting mix using unique textures to create a somewhat unsettling, but intruiging none-the-less, listening experience. At worst it's a poorly executed ambient track. Either way it's a n0

Good job adjusting the 3/4 melody to fit the 4/4 groove. I pretty much agree with everything that's been said already. The ending... didn't even happen actually, the source doesn't enter until almost one third of the way through the song and when it does, IT'S NOT VERBATIM since the meter has been altered BUT it's not significantly expanded upon otherwise. I liked the section beginning at 1:51 and the melodic stuff at 2:24. There are many fun ideas in this mix but at two minutes and fourty seven seconds it makes very little use of the source. Had it been longer I think you could have further developed the source material enough to make this passable. Definitely above "form letter quality" in my book. n0 PS: Your last name isn't really "STONER" is it? If it is, then that's awesome!

OH MAN!! That was AMAZING!!!!!! This is obviously a joke mix so I don't think I really need to qualify this vote, but whatever. The vocal stuff was hysterical, both guitars, steel string and electric sounded nice, the brass sounded awful and there was no real arrangement plus the source melody doesn't come in until 0:40. n0

Nothing but two note flute chords a lot of the time, when another pitched instrument joins in, all of a sudden there is only one flute, when that pitched instrument leaves the second flute comes back. That drum solo was......... unique? Okay so there are NEVER more than 2 two notes played at any given time during the entire mix, the sounds are "midi-grade" as Liontamer said and it's also very close to the original. n0

OCR Hosted NSF - Track 58 ("Boundless Ocean") You chose a beautiful source tune, possibly my favorite song from FFIII. Let's start with some harmonic issues with the bridge that I'll try not to dwell on. The first chord was originally Gminor/Bb and you changed that to C [simplification but nothing terrible] the third chord was supposed to be Dminor and your flutes reflect this but the harp does not. This happens first at 1:32. It's very brave to write a four minute piece for only three instruments [though technically it's four instruments since often the harp is playing notes simultaeneously in different registers implying that there are two of them]. The interaction between the two flute parts and the harp is great a lot of the time. The completely new material from 1:48 to 2:51 was nice, however, ultimately the way you dealt with the source detracted from, rather than enhanced the beauty of the original. While the flutes don't ALWAYS move in unison, they do so more than they should when they are the only two melodic instruments. You want to make this ensemble sound fuller so having two instruments act as one too often is a bad idea. You do the best job of handling this in your new section as well as the final time through the melody at 2:55. Lastly, since this is such a small ensemble they don't have to always play exactly in tempo. Constant Gradual accelerations and decelerations would help A LOT. Remember, all three instrumentalists are in direct visual contact with eachother, so you can do what ever the heck you want with the tempo changes. n0 (very borderline)

2:45 is what it's all about! So is the solo, especially when it's joined by the second guitar for those jelly harmonies. Drums are but humble timekeepers, which is cool because they don't try to front like they're anything else. This song is good lovin' featuring material that makes my dopemine levels rapidly increase, like the breakdown and subsequent solo. YeS

okay, okay. I have no qualms with this mix on a compositional level. My only concern was that it was too liberal on interpretation... but my word is not LAW and my fellow judges Convinced me that I was wrong on this matter. I love the piano stuff at the end, all the sounds work for me, the structure of the arrangement with the beginning excitement opening up into a moment of calm before the drums crescendo their way back in. All top notch stuff! So I'm changing my vote to YeS

Lots of close-knit harmonies in the strings at the beginning [major and minor 2cnds]. That's a bad idea with the type of harsh string sounds that you're using. Also from the sound of those strings, I'd say they're not meant to be moving around so much. I love the piano stuff that follows. When you introduce the melody a few issues arise. You should pan the electric and acoustic guitars far away from each other. Also, things feel cloudy on occasion in that area because your F# chord is bleeding into you G chord thanks to reverb. You can make this work while still keeping the reverb, just make sure that right before the G chord is going to come in that no instruments are playing a Bb [or A sharp in this key]... they can play F#, C# or E and it will still feel like an F# chord. That will solve a lot of problems in that section. I guess the strings here are synthetic, but I don't mind and I like the note choices you made using 9ths, and 13ths while for the most part keeping the roots out of your string chords. Good move! In the next section, you have a similar situation with your oboe and bassoon in that they should be panned apart. It's not as big of a problem here because they're in different registers, but it would still be a good idea to separate them. At 2:21 the bassoon plays a D# and I'm almost 100% positive that was supposed to be a D being that it was played over a simple B minor chord. I like what the high string is doing during this part but you should get rid of it, either that or have it panned away from the oboe on the same side with the bassoon, more care should be taken to the guitar part here to make sure that it's playing notes that support the bassoon oboe stuff rather than interfere. I say this because the teamwork between the oboe and bassoon is beautiful and you should let it shine. The rhodes + bass + drums thing after the oboe bassoon part is excellent. This opens up into some subtle ambient textures with hand percussion. I have no objections to any of this. As for the issue of interpretation, it's true that you hardly alter the source melody, and your guitar part is very similar to that of the original as well, however you do add a lot of interesting things. The easiest way for you to get some more interpretation here would be to just mess around with the phrasing of the melody. Have it wait a couple extra beats before one part of the phrase and then have another fragment of the melody come in a beat or two early. If you just mix up the phrasing and occasionally have your guitar part play some more syncopated rhythms [using sixteenth or thirty-second notes depending on your BPM] then this should be fine in that area. I know you've already been asked to resubmit this once, but you're SOOOOO close this time and I really like most of what's hear. I want to see you take it the rest of the way. n0 (PLEASE RESUBMIT... JUST ONE MORE TIME!)

Original Decision: http://www.ocremix.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=60842 new version There you go! This is the full revised version. I hope you all like it! =D I can't really see how I could improve it more so I hope this is passeble. However, if there's anything you notice that may be a certain reason for NOing this PM me. You can post this version on the Judges Pannel aaaand... I can only star hoping now =) Thanks again Shnab, you've been a great help in the improvment of this song. Cheers!

The two sections in 9/4 were BEAUTIFUL! [0:45-1:10] & [2:08-2:27] I sooooooooooooo wish you had kept that going both times when the drums came back in, rather than switching back to 4/4. Just a personal taste thing, and you handled it in a classy way. You just let it stop on by twice briefly so it could play hard to get, making me want it even more. Everything else was cool as well! Next time, just for me, write an entire song with that 9/4 feel.... JUST FOR ME, DO IT FOR ME!!!! Oh man.... that would be so cool. Also you seem to have quite the affinity for the H.W. diminished scale YeS

Why don't more people ReMix Uematsu's stuff from CT? [bike Chase, Boss Battle 1 {with Matsueda}, Burn Bobonga, People Who Threw it All Away, Prehystoric Rhythm, Sealed Door, Sewer, Silent Light, Tyran Fortress].... oh well. I'm definitely feeling this appoach to meldey-ing. Take one theme as the bass and then have the other two interact with it, mostly through layering. It's true that none of it is too significantly interpreted, though the Undersea Palace stuff was adjusted to fit the 4/4. The Anchor in this piece is the Bb that's being sustained for four minutes straight. The occasional eigth notes streams of panned percussion work well over this. Because this track is NOT entirely ambient in nature as Vig stated, it would be a good idea to head in the direction of more fullness. When you add the charleston rhythm on top of the percussion waves, this starts to take effect but they soon leave us by ourselves with the Bb again. Aim for more of a build from start to finish by gradually increasing the depth of the arrangement. Also, you changed the chords in confusing melody from fifths to minor thirds. That definitely counts as some interpretation, but it would be a good idea to use both since the first one has a much more open feel which will provide some nice contrast.... in fact you could also try turning them into sixths or sevenths by sometimes moving the bottom note down again, but also by moving the top note up instead. If you do this, it will give the track a natural sense of direction, especially if the arrangement becomes richer as the intervals expand. n0 (resubmit)

The arrangement was fun and bouncy even if it wasn't remarkably reinterpreted. You accompaniment parts get relatively soupy from time to time with the clarinet dancing around beneath the melody without really caring about what's happening in the other instruments. Unfortunately some of the soupishness keeps me from being able to completely evaluate the orchestration because I can't make out everything that's going on. This most likely has a lot to do with using the SB Audigy's built in midi sounds. Yeah also...... I scanned through the GS2:TLA GSF and I couldn't find any track named "Lemurian Ship". Get yo' self some better sounds [there are many free orchestral samples that are FAR superior to the ones you're using now, go to the forums like Liontamer said]. What a happy ReMix!! n0

Here are all the Mascots

I say this a lot. You don't have to write a five minute song, you can go for three instead. The first 20 seconds are nice. Chunk 1: at 0:21 you bring in a melody which you repeat several times Chunk 2: at 1:08 you change up the melody a little but everything else stays exactly the same Chunk 3: At 1:53 the progression changes somewhat Chunk 4: 2:39 the first melody returns without any percussion Chunk 5: 3:23 percussion returns. Separate from the intro you have five chunks to work with. If you make all of them shorter, then the soul of your arrangement will still be there, but it will be compacted. I agree with DarkeSword about the muddiness. Some of it is caused by reverb BUT it also comes from CONSTANTLY having strings or flutes playing sustained notes and the dead center panned piano occupying the same territory as several other instruments. You don't need all of these layers all the time, and if you do have them, you've really got to pan that piano FAR FAR away from the guitar. So think shorter and cleaner. [shorter obviously is not a requirement, but it would help make it easier for you] n0

Medley Mania Themes connect well------Orchestral samples are amazing and I wish they were mine especially the brass and fast moving strings---------------Long but enough variety to justify length-----------My favorite sections were the arrangements of "Brink of Death" and "Wind Scene" BUT WHO CARES?????----------------That's it. YeS

Harmony is correct about the plain harmonies and you can also add the 1, 5, 1 patterns in the left hand to the list. You can change those sometimes to 1, 5, 9, 3,,,[over C minor C, G, D, Eb] 1, 7, 11, 3 [C, Bb, F, down to Eb] and you don't even have to land on a chord tone you could do 1, 7, 3, 13[Over Ab that's Ab, G, C, down to F]......... these are all viable alternatives to 1, 5, 1 [C G C or Ab Eb Ab Etc...] Try the following. At 1:06 {right after both hands play C, Bb, G} when the left hand moves to Ab and there's a G in the melody, keep the melody but change the left hand like this while holding G play [F, Db, Bb {then when the right hand plays F} C] then the left hand holds still while the right hand plays the fast F, G, C, then when the right hand lands on G the left hand can go [F, D, Bb, {then when the right hand plays F} Ab] finally when the melody hits C the left hand can go [Eb, D, Ab, Bb down to G] Listen {sorry about the crappy sample} This is somewhat in keeping with the arrangement style during the rest of the piece [you could also have the right hand play chords in the melody instead of just single notes]. It seems like a lot of trouble for one section, but it's not just about one section. I did this because I want you to see that there are millions of ways you can expand on this arrangement. Play the melody and at first you can just try throwing new notes underneath at random.... it's all about variety, especially when the piece chugs along so slowly most of the time. Hopefully hearing/playing this short passage will help open your mind to all the possibilities you have at your disposal. [even if you hate the way it sounds] I'm very impressed by your versatility as a musician. Pianist, Guitarist, Vocalist...... seriously. However at the moment I still think the piano needs a lot more work. n0

Hamauzu is mentioned in my profile and I know this song very very well.... if I could somehow show you on a piece of manuscript paper how the source is being used I would, but the problem is you don't exist outside of the internet and manuscript paper doesn't work on the internet. Please trust me! The reason you're having trouble hearing the source is because it was changed to 6/4. Keep that in mind and you might find it easier to make out.

http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/ct.rsn - "Chrono Trigger (Part 2)" (ct-1-2b.spc) & http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/ff6.rsn - "Edgare and Mash" (ff6-107.spc) Drums were fun. 2:32 is pretty short for two source tunes and you don't use the entirety of either one. The 7/4 works well in the drum and string sections because while the melody is locked into a rigid 4+3 the drum hits are on 1,3 and 7 so there's a nice ebb and flow. Unfortunately the same cannot be said of the 7/4 french horn and string section. There's nothing there to counteract the bar fragmentation caused by the phrasing. The same goes for when the drums join the french horn section because now the hits are locking in with the melody instead of playing off against it like in the string section. This isn't chamber orchestra music. There are strings acting as a single being.... some choral stuff and a french horn that grabs the melody every now and again. On occasion, the french horn is joined by something in the high register that sounds like a trombone sample being used to play notes that it would be incapable of playing in reality [this is fine for synth-orchestra... I'm just merely stating a fact, it's not really a detractor]. So, minimal orchestration, limited use of the sources and a sometimes constricted 7/4 keep me from giving this a yes. n0

http://www.zophar.net/usf/sm64usf.rar - "09 Super Mario 64 - Dire, Dire Docks.miniusf" Okay! The Fmajor7 you added sounds great [like at 1:10]. A lot of the problems from the Fisherman's horizon mix have returned here. The overall clowdiness caused by the strings and multiple reverbed/delayed guitar parts is here along with the mega-repetitive drums. Unlike in the Fisherman song though we do get a break on occasion like at 3:38. Also at 4:17 the drums become much more interesting. The reversal effects starting at 5:16 are cool. The left panned rhythm guitar part that enters at 6:05 could work well but the melody you wrote on top sounds awful. That's got to go! So listen up. This is nearly 7 minutes long. There's no need for that. The vibe solo was weak.... fix it or get rid of it. If I were you I would replace the vibe solo with the stuff at 3:38 and maybe add a little more hat action. The break at 2:56 should have happened much earlier. Unfortunately with this song, just getting rid of some sections is not enough. You have to deal with the all the mud. Step one would be to see how this sounds without the strings. Then get rid of alot of the reverb.... the panning at 3:26 was a good idea. More of that would also help clean up some of the mud but I think the biggest culprits here are the strings. Finally, you need to work more on varying your percussion. You did a great job of that towards the end so I know you're capable. n0

http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/ki.rsn - "Main Theme" (ki-01.spc) The vibrato sound is "spooky"! The slow attack reverbed stuff isn't spooky, but it is the pillow that smothers the rest of the piece. However if the piece hadn't been smothered it would have still been lobotomized thanks to the uninterpreted melody, repetitive drums and practically NO developement. Anyway.... I really like that vibrato sound. n0