Final Fantasy XI, Ronfaure Theme

[Seij]

Hello everyone. This is my first attempt at any type of home recording so I am still quite green at the whole process. Nevertheless, I wanted to post it here as this seems to be a good place to get some healthy criticism.

Anyway, the song is a rock/metal version of the Ronfaure theme from Final Fantasy XI Online.

http://www.mediafire.com/?4wyyo1mntco

I'm using Cakewalk Sonar 7, and have only been working with it for a few days, so any advice is definitely appreciated.

[Sixto]

Hahaha, everytime I run through Ronfaure on a chocobo and listen to the music, I would wonder how it would sound as a rock/metal song. Anyway, the song seems a little empty right now but I think you're off to a good start. I would change up that melody, though, in a few sections. Maybe a counter-melody or something. Keep going! I'll be keeping an eye on this one.

[Rozovian]

The intro feels weak, the drums dry and the lead too soft. Actually, that applies to most of the track, but that's a mixing problem.

Arrangementwise, Sixto's right about this being kind'a empty. It picks up a bit after 2:00, which is nice, but I can't help but to want to hear a faster guitar melody in the bg. When it comesback to 2:45, it's grindtastic: same old, same old. That would have been the perfect place to give it so much more energy, especially in contrast with the following softer part.

4:10 - Why not up the drums to double speed top give it more grande finale feel? And pull a solo up to an octave higher, and whatever else you can think of. Seriously, it needs a finish.

Can't comment on source vs interpretation, but otherwise, this sounds like a technically successful WiP. As a WiP, I mean. It's not quite elaborate enough to work on OCR, so you need to add stuff, solos, background melodies, and variation.

I smell promise in this piece.

[Escariot]

Very weak throughout. Try to make your chords differ from the note the melody plays.

Very empty. Nothing going on. 4:38 is very long for as little entertainment value as this mix carries.

[Skummel Maske]

One of my jamming buddies and I have been toying a bit around with this track as well. It's definately remix-worthy. And as the others said, it really sounds a bit empty. The change around 2:00 is really nice though.

[Seij]

Hey guys, thanks for the feedback. I haven't had as much time as I'd hoped to really work on this the past week or so, but found some time today to redo some stuff. Still, I have been doing some research on home recording/mixing basics and I think I'm starting to get a grasp on it all.

I've added some reverb to the the drums as well as recorded some background guitar tracks. I changed up the rhythm guitar just a bit and have been messing with the rhythm guitar sound, trying to get it a bit fatter and less scratchy. I'm still not satisfied with it but I think it has a lot to do with the guitar processor I'm running through (using the built in processor from a Boss drum machine).

I also added a short guitar solo for the outro, but the more i think about it, the more I think it might sound better being somewhere in the middle of the song.

Anyway, I've got a lot more to do before even considering calling it finished, but wanted to post an update to see if you guys think it's heading in the right direction or not.

http://www.mediafire.com/?2vtcevdmumy

Also, here's a link to the source if interested:

http://www.mediafire.com/?drzcd2cbntj

[Rozovian]

Intro needs a more epic lead sound. Louder and more reverb, outdoor concert sound.

1:20, boring. Previous section too long.

Then I hear you've added a background guitar. Sounds better, but is a little too quiet, imo.

2:35 Wash, rinse, repeat. This would be the place to use double-tempo drums, especially as the following section is so dang slow.

Also, this has very much a mono-sound. Record another guitar exactly like the lead, and phard-pan them each in opposite directions. The more alike they are, the better sound you'll get.

Nice solo at the end, but the mixing feels a bit unbalanced. Either let the solo be background or foreground, don't have it share space with the old melody.

Ultimately, I gotta say this is boring. I'm sorry, that's just what I think. It needs more energy from somewhere, and my suggestion is using more intense drums. This by no means bad, but it's not interesting either. _That_ is the thing you should focus on, make it more interesting. Nice job so far.