Why, it's another FF remix! Battle Scene for FF 1.

[SplinterOfChaos]

God, it's been so long since I've posted an "any better?" here that I almost didn't care to upload it and ask.

But anyway, here it is. I hope it's any better. It's getting really hard to make it any better.

Rozovian

This track doesn't feel elaborate enough in terms of arrangement. I can hear why you're getting tired of it, it's kind'a repetitive. The simple synths and unprocessed samples don't really help that. Step back and focus on the sound. Start a new project wioth some cutouts from this peice and experiment with the sound, the synths, the samples, the mixing and EQ.

Yup, EQing is quite hell for me. I don't really even understand where to start with it, and it's been what...half a month? I'm not even really sure what I did is enough to justify how long it took me.

[Rozovian]

(yawn, long post)

Whoa, I had forgotten about this, but it didn't take long to remember. There's some nice new things I'm hearing, but it feels thematically repetitive. I know my current wip isn't any better in that sense, tho.

--

Let's talk random details.

The square wave or whatever the lead is... It's clear, which is good, but it's a little too clear, too simple. If you can write a good Slayer solo, it might sound better.

Guitar panning: Do it once, pan it right. Do it over, pan it left. That will give it a stereo soundscape. If it's all midi, you should use different (but similar) samples for each side. I think the panjumping (in lack of better words) is cool, tho, but for most part, you should use double guitars.

Some writing, like the nylon guitar stuff, is a little too simple and exposed. Adding a soft delay might help, but just adding notes to make it sound like more than one string would help. I mean, soft section guitar writing would, even with notes spaced apart, have some more playing. Little melodic snippets, two-three note thingies. A guitar player would be bored if he was told to play that. Use more strings, play slow arpeggiated chords, do something more. And add that soft delay.

The EQ is better, and makes the track lose much of it's newby feel. In the end, tho, it's not really helping enough when the arrangement still needs work, and some instruments should be replaced or altered or get an effect or... something.

We all know by now that the melody gets really repetitive. Changing chord structure, going from minor to major, it would make it easier to listen to. Changing the rhythm (which i noticed you had done towards the end) would also help.

Here's an idea - mute the drums and play around with the writing. Mute the melody, rework the chords and stuff, and then apply the melody and make it fit. Then rewrite drums for that part.

--

Overall, this is starting to sound like you're stuck. It's happened to me pretty often. My current wip (which I'm advertizing way too much in this post)... I worked on it in trackers, I worked on it in GarageBand, I've worked on it in Logic... It's been with me for years, I've done many different version of it over the years. Restarting, while frustrating, is sometimes a good thing, because you then have the opportunity to restructure it without having to make the old pieces fit.

Hum the melody slower, hum it to new chords, hum it backwards... See what else you can do with it. Even if you're not gonna restart the remix, it can get you ideas for how to improve this version of it.

But before you do anything, take a backup of your current version. It's always best to take backups before you make any big changes.

--

In conclusion, I feel like this is getting old. You've gotten much better, the track has gotten better, but in the end, the repetition is killing the progress. You can keep working on it, in which case you need to cut it to pieces and stitch it back together in some new fashion, or you can restart it, or retire it and take a new source track. Sorry for the low amount of positive feedback.

What are you gonna do now? (hint: take a backup first if you're doing either of the first two options)

[SplinterOfChaos]

I think I'm going to restart it. This is a common reoccurring theme in my life:

"This program is written in a messy and inefficient manner, restart from scratch, no copying and pasting."

"This story is good, but it lacks detail and depth; restart it with a new angle."

"This sandwich has rocks in it, make me a new one with peanut butter instead."

But the lesson never sticks until I've gone so far down this dirt road that I'm tired enough to consider it never-ending.

In conclusion, I feel like this is getting old. You've gotten much better, the track has gotten better, but in the end, the repetition is killing the progress. You can keep working on it, in which case you need to cut it to pieces and stitch it back together in some new fashion, or you can restart it, or retire it and take a new source track. Sorry for the low amount of positive feedback.

To be honest, I don't feel like I'm getting more negative feedback, but more in-depth negative feedback. I really appreciate the "You've gotten much better, the track has gotten better..." even if a "but" was attached.

So, one thing I was wondering is, is it bad just that the main instrument is the same throughout the song? Is a light change sufficient, or should I shoot for a dramatic shift in the main instrument for a period in the song?

[Rozovian]

You're getting better lap times, you're handling the curves better... BUT you drove into a tree. I'm gonna share a proverb of my own: Practice makes pancakes - the more, the better. Practice more (make more pancakes), and learn from the ones that didn't turn out great. And from the ones that did.

So, one thing I was wondering is, is it bad just that the main instrument is the same throughout the song? Is a light change sufficient, or should I shoot for a dramatic shift in the main instrument for a period in the song?

It can be done either way, as long as there is enough change in the overall feel or the overall sound. I mean, a solo piano remix suffers from "the main isntrument is the same" while other remixes switch genre and the entire instrumentation. In your case, you should experiment. If you burn a few pancakes, you know you're doing something wrong, and either go back to something you know works, or keep experimenting.

AFAIK, the standard approach when you've already written the main instrument throughout the track is to change the soundscape - the backing instruments and rhythms, the drums, all that. If the lead doesn't fit into the new soundscape, change it. If it does, keep it. or change it, your call.

Hum the melody slower, hum it to new chords, hum it backwards... See what else you can do with it.

Good luck! It's gonna be interesting to hear your new take on it. Do obsess about it before getting too far on the new version, so you have some new rhythms and ideas for it.