FF7: Crisis Core Main Theme Remix

[NeoS]

Linkage

[NeoS]

Does nobody have any comments on this? I saw over 120 downloads, but no one has posted anything? Come on people.

[JH Sounds]

Hm. It could just be me, but the cymbal crashes in the first half seem a bit... high-pitched? They stand out in a not-good way. Production isn't really my forte, so I'm not sure how one would go about smoothing it out.

[Nutritious]

PRODUCTION

[X] Too quiet

[?] Generic/cliche sound choices (might wanna check with someone famliar with trance on this)

[X] Drums have no energy - Bring it up a notch here on full sections

STRUCTURE

[X] Not enough changes in sounds (eg. static texture, not dynamic enough)

PERSONAL COMMENTS

Trance isn't my forte so bear with me. Not familiar with source, so just focusing on production & song development:

-Sounds are really clear, no real muddiness that I can hear.

-Cymbal crashes are a bit harsh as mentioned, but not too bad on my ears

-Really felt like more should've hit at :42. This song is taking a really long time to build up. I understand that's normal for trance, but I think you could stand to fill things up more in these first few sections.

-Ok, everything breaks down at 1:24 to play a lead synth. Thing is, IMO, things haven't built enough yet to break down from. It kinda builds slowly, then gets to medium intensity, then falls off.

-Past 2:00 I'm still waiting for the standard saw synth to come in. Things REALLY stop at 2:25, but we haven't had force behind this track yet. If you're going to drop it off that much, consider having it occur after a very powerful passage. Otherwise, it seems meandering.

-Cool buildup after this, but it needs more, and again it's taking too long. We need more than just piano with the same lead synth

-Finally the saw at 3:44 . I can see what you're trying to do here with making the listener wait for everything, but it makes the track take a LONG time to develop into the full sound at 5:02. I really think this kind of level of sound could've come in much earlier in the song, and then be taken to a new level at 5:02.

Overall: Develop this more with greater buildups, more complex sound, and more dynamics. This needs more content (synths, hits, fills, etc) to keep it interesting in the long term. Breakdowns are nice, you just gotta lead into them better. The sounds used aren't bad at all to my ears - everything is clear and pretty nice trance sounds.

[DrumUltimA]

PRODUCTION

[x] OTHER :3

STRUCTURE

[x] Too repetitive

PERSONAL COMMENTS (positive feedback, specifics on checklist criticisms, any other thoughts)

Overall a very strong mix! Production is in general fine as far as I can tell--I do agree with Nutritious in that I'd like to hear more drums in the heavier sections. I'm not crazy with the lead instrument playing the melody (the synth plucking sound), but that's just personal preference so I can leave that be At the breakdown at 2:20, I'm hearing a lot of clicking/popping sounds--check your levels, see if you can figure out what's causing it all. Aside from this, things sound very well mixed, very clean and very well balanced. Nice work

I know it's trance, but I think it may be a bit repetitive for ocr right now. I'm not worried about the drums or the chord progression because I know that's all part of the style, but perhaps some more melodic content would be nice--from counter-melodies to even original melodies. Something else would only emphasize the source melody more. But melodically speaking, I only hear one thing in a 5 and a half minute remix--I can't imagine some original content would break the continuity of the style. I also echo Nutritious' opinion in that I think you could build up a bit faster than you do. This is pretty long as it is, and despite the genre there is not that much musical content considering the length. Not to say I want you to put in more sections--just chop off some repetitions

It sounds really really great for the most part though, definitely a strong track. Good luck!!

[NeoS]

Thanks guys, appreciate it.

I think i'll take this project and rearrange it. Make it less slow in terms of building to the climax and add some more energetic breaks and percussion.

Let's say that'll be the OCR-dub.